Patent ID: 7275702

Claim:
A rotary atomizer having a valve unit for an electrostatic installation for series coating of workpieces comprising; a housing extending to an atomizer bell for coating the workpieces, a paint tube disposed in said housing and fluidly communicating with said atomizer bell for delivering the paint to said atomizer bell for coating the workpieces, a remote-controlled switchable valve disposed in said housing and being cooperable with said paint tube and a valve element wherein said valve element is moveable between a first switch position wherein said valve releases a path of a medium flowing through said valve and a second switch position wherein said valve is closed, an opto-electronic sensor device with at least one optical waveguide sensing movement of said valve element between at least two of said switch positions, a magnetically active transmitter element arranged on said moveable component with said sensor device includes an optical polarization device, that by approaching said magnetically active transmitter polarizes the light guided through said polarization device wherein the light is varied in said sensor device in a magneto-optically way to generate a light signal, whereby an optical waveguide arrangement of said sensor device is connected to said polarization device, which leads to a remote electronic device to generate an electric signal corresponding to said light signal, and wherein said sensor device contains a reflector that guides the light coming from said polarization device and being analyzed by said polarization device, in which a refraction element that rotates the direction of polarization is situated between said polarization device and said reflector and that a light guide for the light fed to the sensor device and said light guide for the light fed to said remote electronic device are connected to said polarization device.