Patent ID: 6991211

Claim:
A pneumatically actuated fluid control valve for permitting fluid flow from a valve inlet to a valve outlet, comprising: a. a piston having a valve open position and a valve closed position for controlling said fluid flow, said piston having at least a piston portion that is magnetically conductive, said magnetically conductive piston portion being movable away from the vicinity of a valve seat to said valve open position and sealingly moveable into the vicinity of said valve seat to said valve closed position, whereby said magnetically conductive piston portion and said valve seat act cooperatively to close said valve when said valve is in said valve closed position; b. a piston actuator including a permanent magnet having magnetic flux for applying said magnetic flux to said magnetically conductive piston portion; c. at least first and second piston actuator positions for magnetically disposing said magnetically conductive piston portion in a selected one of said valve open and valve closed positions; and d. a pneumatic actuator driving circuit for pneumatically moving said piston actuator from one to the other of said first and second piston actuator positions in accordance with said magnetic flux applied to said magnetically conductive piston portion and independently of any mechanical coupling operative to transmit mechanical energy from said permanent magnet to said magnetically conductive piston portion whereby said pneumatic actuator driving circuit pneumatically moves said piston from one to the other of said valve open and said valve closed positions.