Systems and methods for valve actuation
AssigneeFisher Controls International LLC
InventorsBryan Leger, Trent Jackson, Wade Helfer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A valve system can include a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, a valve member moveable between open and closed positions to fluidically couple and decouple the inlet and the outlet, and an actuator. The actuator can include an actuation chamber, an actuator member to move the valve member, ports, and a control system. The ports can be arranged to permit flow from the inlet to first and second volumes of the actuation chamber, and to permit flow from the first and second volumes of the actuation chamber to the outlet. The control system can selectively direct fluid flow through the ports.
Claims20
A valve system, comprising:
- a valve body having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet providing an entrance to an upstream fluid passageway of the valve body, and the outlet providing an outlet to a downstream fluid passageway of the valve body;
- a valve member arranged to fluidically couple the upstream fluid passageway and the downstream fluid passageway when the valve member is in an open position, and to fluidly decouple the upstream fluid passageway and the downstream fluid passageway when the valve member is in a closed position;
- and
- an actuator comprising:
- an actuation chamber;
- an actuator member movable within the actuation chamber to move the valve member between the open position and the closed position, the actuator member forming first and second sub-chambers in the actuation chamber;
- a first flow path arranged to permit one-way flow from the upstream fluid passageway to the first and second sub-chambers of the actuation chamber, and a second flow path to permit one-way flow from the first and second sub-chambers of the actuation chamber to the downstream fluid passageway;
- and
- a control system operable to selectively direct fluid flow from the upstream fluid passageway through the first flow path to the actuation chamber, and fluid flow from the actuation chamber through the second flow path to the downstream fluid passageway.
An actuator for a valve, the valve having a valve body that defines a valve inlet and a valve outlet, and a valve member movable between an open position and a closed position to selectively permit or prevent flow from the valve inlet to the valve outlet, the actuator comprising:
- an actuation chamber;
- a piston system including a piston that forms first and second actuation volumes within the actuation chamber and is movable relative to the actuation chamber to move the valve member between the open and closed positions;
- and
- a control system to control movement of the piston, the control system including:
- a first flow controller arranged to selectively permit one-way fluid flow from the valve inlet to one or more of the first and second actuation volumes within the actuation chamber, and
- a second flow controller arranged to selectively permit one-way fluid flow to the valve outlet from one or more of the first and second actuation volumes within the actuation chamber.
A method of controlling a valve with an actuator, the method comprising:
- moving a valve member of the valve toward a closed position to prevent flow from a valve inlet to a valve outlet, including by controlling one or more flow controllers of the actuator to:
- divert fluid via a first one-way flow path from the valve inlet to a first actuation volume of an actuation chamber on a first side of a piston connected to the valve member, to increase pressure in the first actuation volume, and
- divert fluid via a second one-way flow path from a second actuation volume of the actuation chamber on a second side of the piston to the valve outlet, to decrease pressure in the second actuation volume;
- and
- moving the valve member toward an open position to allow flow from the valve inlet to the valve outlet, including by controlling the one or more flow controllers to:
- divert fluid via the first one-way flow path from the valve inlet to the second actuation volume of the actuation chamber, to increase pressure in the second actuation volume, and
- divert fluid via the second one-way flow path from the first actuation volume of the actuation chamber to the valve outlet, to decrease pressure in the first actuation volume.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.