The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 15, 2006
Filed:
Jul. 14, 2005
Paul D. Perry, Chatham, CA;
Andre Veinotte, Dresden, CA;
Paul D. Perry, Chatham, CA;
Andre Veinotte, Dresden, CA;
Siemens VDO Automotive Inc., Chatham, CA;
Abstract
A purge valve is provided for a vehicle. The purge valveincludes a bodyto be coupled to an intake manifoldof the vehicle and to a canister. The body has an orificefor communicating vapor from the canisterwith airflow in the intake manifold. A valveis movable between a first position closing the orificeand a second position opening the orifice. A shape memory alloy (SMA) structureis associated with the valve such that when electric current is provided to the SMA structureto heat the SMA structure above a transformation temperature thereof, the SMA structure transforms from an original shape to a second shape, thereby causing the valveto move from the first position to the second position, and when the current is removed from the SMA structure, the SMA structure returns to the original shape, thereby permitting the valveto return to the first position.