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:
Jan. 09, 2007
Filed:
May. 04, 2004
Michael Joens, Beverly, MA (US);
Michael Joens, Beverly, MA (US);
Millipore Corporation, Billerica, MA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for controlling a solenoid that ensures accurate timing between the enabling of the driving circuit and the activation of the solenoid, while simultaneously providing a two energy level driving scheme to reduce power consumption. The present invention utilizes a single enable signal and supplies the solenoid two different energy levels, a higher 'set' level and a lower 'hold' level. The generation of these two levels is based on the enabling signal and guarantees that the higher “set” level is present when the solenoid is activated, thereby minimizing undesirable timing jitter.