Patent ID: 7913972

Claim:
A valve actuator comprising: a support structure; a drive gear supported by the support structure for rotation about an axis of rotation; a return spring biasing the drive gear in a first direction about the axis of rotation; a latch arrangement for manually setting the orientation of the drive gear relative to the support structure, the latch arrangement including a spring level operably coupled to the drive gear for coordinated rotation of the drive gear and spring lever, the sprig lever extending out of the support structure through a slot of the support structure, the slot of the support structure including a first recessed portion including a first abutment wall, the latch arrangement having a locked condition in which the spring lever is positioned within the first recess and is biased against the first abutment wall by biasing provided by the return spring in the first direction, the latch arrangement having an unlocked condition in which the spring lever is positioned above the first recess and the first abutment wall such that the first abutment wall will not interfere with movement of the spring lever during movement of the spring lever in the first direction; wherein the spring lever is resiliently bent into the first recess in a second direction extending generally parallel to the axis of rotation in the locked condition; and wherein the first recess includes a bottom wall extending generally perpendicular to the abutment wall and the support structure includes a catch extending beyond the first abutment wall in a third direction, generally opposite the first direction, the catch and bottom wall forming a gap therebetween, the spring lever inserted into the gap and between the catch and bottom wall in the locked position, the catch securing the spring lever within the first recess until the spring lever is moved away from the first abutment wall in the third direction.