Fluidic control device

Claim 1

A fluidic magnetic proximity sensor for use in a fluidic circuit comprising; a body portion; a non-magnetic cover sealably attached to the body portion and defining a sealed space therein bounded by a sensing face in the body portion for receiving a magnetic actuator and permitting occilatory movement thereof toward and away from the sensing face; a ferromagnetic latching member attached to the sensing face of the body portion and forming a part thereof; a magnetic actuator within the sealed space and occilatory into and out of contact with the latching member, the magnetic actuator and the latching member being substantially mated when in contact and defining a flow space between them when out of contact and the magnetic actuator being a specially polarized magnet so that with respect to its axis of movement one end is a South pole only and the other end is a North pole only; a fluid supply channel extending through the body and the latching member into communication with the flow space and closable by the magnetic actuator when it is in contact with the latching member and communicable at its entry with a fluidic circuit supply; at least one venting channel extending through the body and the latching member into communication with the flow space and closable by the magnetic actuator when in contact with the latching member so that a fluidic supply flowing from the supply channel will flow through the flow space into the vent channel when the magnetic actuator is in its position away from the sensing face; at least one signal channel extending through the body into communication with the supply channel upstream of the flow space and at a higher resistance to the flow of fluid from the supply channel than the vent channel when the flow space is present and communicable with the fluidic circuit so that fluid will not flow through the signal channel when the flow space is present but will instead flow through the venting channel.