Patent ID: 7744059

Claim:
A valve system comprising: a valve body mountable in a valve housing, the valve body being movable between a valve closing position in which the valve body is disposed for assisting in the closure of a valve opening and a valve open position in which the valve body is disposed for permitting passage of a fluid through the valve opening; a shape memory element for assisting in the movement of the valve body between its valve closing position and its valve open position, the shape memory element having the property that it will cycle through a transformation in which it transfers from an undeformed rest state into a deformed tension state and thereafter transfers from the deformed tension state back into the undeformed rest state; and a force deflecting device, the force deflecting device and the shape memory element cooperatively operating with one another to effect movement of the valve body between its valve closing position and its valve open position with the shape memory element assisting in a movement of the valve body between its valve closing position and its valve open position only during a selected one of a transformation of the shape memory element in which it transfers from its undeformed rest state into its deformed tension state and a transformation of the shape memory element in which it transfers from its deformed tension state back into its undeformed rest state and the force deflecting device operating without the assistance of the shape memory element to maintain the valve body in both its valve closing position and its valve open position.