System and method for controlling a field device
AssigneeFisher Controls International LLC
InventorsShawn W. Anderson, J. Adin Mann, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for controlling a field device includes a valve coupler having a first portion configured to couple to an actuator rod of an actuator, a second portion configured to couple to a movable component of a control valve, and one or more sensors measuring one or more parameters indicative of the health and/or remaining service life of the control valve assembly and/or one or more components of the valve assembly. Further, at least one of the one or more sensor devices may generate energy from the control valve assembly and/or the operating environment of the control valve assembly for operation of the electronics.
Claims22
A system for controlling a valve, the system comprising:
- a control valve assembly including a stem slidably attached to a valve body;
- an actuator coupled to the control valve assembly, the actuator including an actuator rod providing linear movement to the stem;
- a coupler configured to receive a first end of the stem and a first end of the actuator rod thereby slidably coupling the stem and the actuator rod, wherein linear movement of the actuator rod provided by the actuator results in linear movement of the stem, and wherein the coupler further configured to wirelessly transmit a mechanical actuator output to an input of the control valve assembly;
- a wireless communication module integral with the coupler and coupled to one or more sensors therein, wherein the one or more sensors measuring one or more parameters indicative of the health and/or remaining service life of the control valve assembly and/or one or more components of the control valve assembly.
A coupler for a control valve assembly for controlling a valve, the coupler comprising:
- a first portion configured to receive an end of an actuator rod of an actuator;
- a second portion configured to receive an end of a stem slidably attached to a valve body of the control valve assembly, wherein the coupler slidably couples the actuator rod and the stem, and wherein linear movement of the actuator rod provided by the actuator results in linear movement of the stem;
- one or more sensors attached to the coupler and measuring one or more parameters indicative of the health and/or remaining service life of the control valve assembly and/or one or more components of the control valve assembly;
- and
- a wireless communication module integrated with the coupler and communicably coupled to the one or more sensors.
A method of measuring the health and/or remaining service life of a control valve assembly and/or one or more components of the control valve assembly, the method comprising:
- affixing a first end of a stem slidably attached to a valve body to a coupler;
- affixing a first end of an actuator rod of an actuator to the coupler thereby slidably coupling the stem and the actuator rod, wherein linear movement of one of the actuator rod provided by the actuator results in linear movement of the stem, and wherein the coupler including a wireless communication module integrated therein and one or more sensors measuring one or more parameters indicative of the health and/or remaining service life of the control valve assembly and/or the one or more components of the control valve assembly;
- measuring, via the one or more sensors, one or more parameters related to flow induced vibration and/or looseness of internal control valve assembly components;
- and
- wirelessly transmitting the measured one or more parameters to a controller for storing and/or analyzing the measured one or more parameters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.