US Patent 11904333 Systems and methods for controlling operation of a valve

A solenoid valve includes a solenoid coil, a poppet, and a drive circuit. A first semiconductor device of the drive circuit is controlled by a gate signal to control a coil current. A flyback circuit of the drive circuit includes a second semiconductor device in series with a diode. The second semiconductor device is controlled by a flyback control signal to: (i) enable the flyback circuit to maintain the coil current through the solenoid coil when the poppet transitions to a second position, and (ii) disable recirculation of the coil current through the solenoid coil when the poppet transitions to a first position. A controller is configured to transition the poppet to the second position using the gate signal, enable the flyback circuit using the flyback control signal, and reduce at least one of a duty cycle and a frequency of the gate signal when the flyback circuit is enabled.