Systems and methods for operating a ball valve
AssigneeWCM Industries, Inc.
InventorsGabriel Young, William T. Ball
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Aspects of the disclosure relate to providing a pulse control to a ball valve to reduce the amount of torque required to adjust the position of the ball valve. In an aspect, the technology relates to a method for reducing resistance of a ball valve. The method includes generating a pulse having a duration and a polarity; providing the pulse to an actuator configured to rotate a ball of the ball valve; and rotating, by the actuator, the ball of the ball valve by an amount based on the duration of the pulse and a direction based on the polarity of the pulse, wherein the ball valve does not change state after rotation of the ball.
Claims20
A system for reducing resistance of a ball valve, the system comprising:
- a ball valve, comprising a ball with a bore;
- an actuator, operatively connected to the ball valve, and configured to rotate the ball of the ball valve;
- and
- pulse generator circuitry, operatively connected to the actuator and configured to:
- generate a first pulse having a duration and a first polarity;
- provide the first pulse to the actuator to rotate the ball of the ball valve by an amount based on the duration of the first pulse and a direction based on the first polarity, wherein the first pulse is configured so that, when the ball valve is in a closed state before rotation of the ball by the amount, the ball valve remains in the closed state after rotation of the ball by the amount.
A system for reducing resistance of a ball valve, the system comprising:
- pulse generator circuitry, configured to perform a method, the method comprising:
- generating a series of pulses, including a first pulse and a second pulse, wherein:
- the first pulse has a first duration and a first polarity;
- and
- the second pulse has a second duration and a second polarity, wherein the second polarity is opposite the first polarity;
- and
- transmitting the series of pulses to a first actuator configured to control the position of a ball of a first ball valve.
A system for reducing resistance of a ball valve, the system comprising:
- a utility control device comprising circuitry configured to perform a method, the method comprising:
- causing a first series of pulses to be generated, including a first pulse and a second pulse, wherein:
- the first pulse has a first duration and a first polarity;
- and
- the second pulse has a second duration and a second polarity, wherein the second polarity is opposite the first polarity;
- causing the first series of pulses to be transmitted to a first actuator configured to control the position of a first ball of a first ball valve;
- causing a second series of pulses to be generated, including a third pulse and a fourth pulse, wherein:
- the third pulse has a third duration and a third polarity;
- and
- the fourth pulse has a fourth duration and a fourth polarity, wherein the fourth polarity is opposite the third polarity;
- and
- causing the second series of pulses to be transmitted to a second actuator configured to control the position of a second ball of a second ball valve;
- wherein the third duration is different from the first duration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.