Patent ID: 6957800

Claim:
A valve assembly, comprising: a valve body having an inlet port, an outlet port, and a flow passage extending therebetween; a valve element mounted at least partially within the flow passage and moveable between an open position and a closed position to thereby control fluid flow therethrough; and a valve actuator mounted proximate the valve body, the valve actuator including: two rails extending substantially parallel to one another, an armature moveably disposed at least partially between, and electrically coupled to, each of the rails, the armature coupled to the valve element and moveable between at least a first position and a second position, to thereby move the valve element to at least the open and closed positions, respectively, a first armature lock disposed adjacent at least one of the rails and configured to selectively lock the armature in the first position, and a second armature lock disposed adjacent at least one of the rails and configured to selectively lock the armature in the second position, wherein a current flows through the armature in a first or a second direction upon application of an electrical potential of a first or second polarity, respectively, across the rails, to thereby generate a Lorentz force and move the armature to the first or second position, respectively, and the valve element to the open or closed position, respectively.