Patent ID: 8480057

Claim:
A microvalve comprising: a valve housing including an opening and a seal surface disposed around the opening; a displacement member arranged to be displaceable in a direction towards and away from the opening; and a valve seat member disposed in the opening and providing a seal between the valve housing and the displacement member; wherein the valve seat member includes a cylinder portion that is disposed in the opening with a gap therebetween and includes a through hole in a central portion of the cylinder portion, a flange portion that has a diameter greater than a diameter of the cylinder portion and is provided at an axial end of the cylinder portion, and a seal portion that is provided on a periphery of the flange portion and that has a thickness greater than that of the flange portion; in an open state, at least one of a flow path through the through hole and a flow path through the gap between the cylinder portion and the opening is open, and in a closed state, the seal portion is sandwiched between the displacement member and the seal surface of the valve housing; the valve seat member, including the cylinder portion, the flange portion, and the seal portion, is an integral, unitary member such that the cylinder portion, the flange portion, and the seal portion are made of the same material; the seal portion extends axially above and axially below the flange portion; the seal portion defines an outermost portion of the periphery of the flange portion; and the displacement member contacts the outermost portion of the periphery of the flange portion.