Patent ID: 7866796

Claim:
A valve mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid therethrough, comprising: a plunger member journalled for axial reciprocation between a rest and an operative position within an electric coil under the influence of a magnetic field generated by that coil when an electric current passes through the coil, the distal end of the plunger extending into a valve head chamber having an nozzle bore, the reciprocation of the plunger being adapted to open or close a fluid flow path from the valve head chamber through the nozzle bore; and wherein: a. the plunger is of a unitary construction and is made from an electromagnetically soft material having a saturation flux density greater than 1.4 Tesla, a coercivity of less than 0.25 ampere per centimeter, and a relative magnetic permeability in excess of 10,000; b. the nozzle bore leads from the valve head chamber to a nozzle orifice and has a length to diameter ratio of less than 8:1; and c. the nozzle orifice has a diameter substantially the same as that of the nozzle bore.