Valve positioner and user interface for valve positioner
AssigneeMetso Flow Control Oy
InventorsTero Ihalainen, Juha Yli-Petäys
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A smart valve positioner is provided with a local user interface with non-mechanical touch buttons and a display inside a positioner housing under a housing cover for locally operating the valve positioner. The touch buttons are user-operable by touching the touch buttons when the housing cover is open. The housing cover is arranged to make the touch buttons user-operable from outside the housing by touching the housing cover, when the housing cover is closed.
Claims13
A smart valve positioner comprising a housing and a housing cover, the housing encompassing control circuitry connectable to a field control line, and a local user interface with one or more buttons and optionally a display inside the housing under the housing cover for locally operating the valve positioner, wherein the local user interface comprises one or more non-mechanical touch buttons enclosed inside the housing, and the housing cover is configured to make the touch buttons user-operable from outside the housing by touching the housing cover,
- wherein each of the touch buttons are arranged to detect an electrical or optical influence of a user finger in the close proximity, and the housing cover is adapted to enable such electrical or optical influence through the housing cover to the touch button when the user finger touches a predetermined point on the housing cover, and
- wherein a thickness of the housing cover is reduced at said predetermined point in comparison with an overall thickness of the housing cover.
A smart valve positioner comprising a housing and a housing cover, the housing encompassing control circuitry connectable to a field control line, and a local user interface with one or more capacitive touch buttons and a display enclosed inside the housing under the housing cover for locally operating the valve positioner, wherein the housing cover can be opened and the same capacitive touch buttons can be operated both with the housing cover closed and open, each of the capacitive touch buttons being arranged to detect an electrical influence of a user finger in the close proximity, and the housing cover is configured to enable such electrical influence through the housing cover to the capacitive touch button when the user finger touches a predetermined point on the housing cover and thereby make the capacitive touch buttons user-operable from outside the housing by touching the housing cover, when the housing cover is closed, and wherein the capacitive touch buttons are user-operable by directly touching the capacitive touch buttons inside the housing, when the housing cover is open.
A valve assembly comprising
- a valve;
- an actuator;
- and
- a smart valve positioner;
- the smart valve positioner further comprising a housing and a housing cover, the housing encompassing control circuitry connectable to a field control line, and a local user interface with one or more buttons and a display inside the housing under the housing cover for locally operating the valve positioner, wherein the local user interface comprises one or more touch buttons enclosed inside the housing, and the housing cover is configured to make the touch buttons user-operable from outside the housing by touching the housing cover, and wherein the local user interface is provided with electrical, optical or mechanical detector detecting whether the housing or the housing cover is opened or closed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.