Patent ID: 8678346

Claim:
A method of controlling a process flow in a hazardous environment, comprising: plumbing a process control valve assembly within the hazardous environment, the hazardous environment being physically isolated from a non-hazardous environment by a vapor tight barrier such that no fluid or gas flowing through the process control valve assembly crosses through the barrier, the process control valve assembly including a solenoid operated valve, a solenoid coil, and one or more sensors; providing power inductively to the process control valve assembly from the non-hazardous environment; receiving data signals inductively from the one or more sensors of the process control valve assembly in the non-hazardous environment, the data signals containing information pertaining to an operation of the process control valve assembly; and using a controller in the non-hazardous environment to control operation of the solenoid operated valve inductively in response to the data signals inductively received from the one or more sensors.