Patent ID: 7735509

Claim:
A distribution valve comprising: a housing having an internal fluid chamber; at least one inlet to permit the ingress of fluid into said fluid chamber; a plurality of outlets to permit the egress of fluid from said fluid chamber; a valve member disposed within said fluid chamber, said valve member carrying at least one rotary position identifying element thereon, said valve member rotating and reciprocating to connect each of said outlets to said fluid chamber in succession in response to alternating drops and rises in pressure of the fluid supplied to said at least one inlet; a plurality of non-contact sensors disposed at spaced locations external of and about said fluid chamber to sense the presence of said at least one rotary position identifying element at different positions within said fluid chamber as said valve member moves; and a controller communicating with the sensors and recording data representing the operation of the distribution valve, said recorded data being examined to detect improper operation of said distribution valve.