Wireless fluid shut-off valve

A fluid flow meter, comprising:

• a fluid meter configured to measure a volume of fluid passing through the meter;
• a shutoff valve assembly comprising:
• a valve body having a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet and a valve interior, at least a portion of the valve body comprising a non-ferromagnetic material;
• a valve ball positioned within the valve interior, the valve ball comprising a ferromagnetic material;
• and
• a valve seat within the valve interior,
• wherein the valve ball and valve seat are configured to inhibit flow of fluid through the fluid outlet when the valve is in a shut configuration;
• a valve actuation mechanism comprising a magnet positioned outside the valve interior;
• a control processor electrically coupled to the valve actuation mechanism and to the fluid meter;
• and
• a wireless transceiver coupled to the control processor, the wireless transceiver being configured to communicate via a wireless communication network,
• wherein the control processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to comprising:
• sending a valve closure signal to the valve actuation mechanism in response to receiving a valve closure command message transmitted via the wireless communication network;
• and
• receiving meter data from the fluid meter and transmitting the meter data via the wireless communication network;
• and
• wherein the valve actuation mechanism is configured to:
• position the magnet on an exterior surface of the valve body when the valve is in the shut configuration so as to apply a magnetic field from the magnet to the valve ball with sufficient force to hold the valve ball in a position removed from the valve seat associated with an open configuration;
• and
• reduce the magnetic force applied to the valve ball sufficient to enable the valve ball to engage the valve seat in response to receiving the valve closure signal from the control processor.

A method of closing a fluid shutoff valve, comprising:

• establishing a communication link with a wireless communication network via a wireless transceiver within the fluid shutoff valve;
• receiving in a control processor of the fluid shutoff valve a valve closure command message from the wireless communication network;
• sending a valve closure signal from the control processor to a valve actuation mechanism within the fluid shutoff valve in response to receiving the valve closure command message;
• reducing a magnetic force that is maintaining a valve ball within the fluid shutoff valve in an open configuration sufficient to enable the valve ball to move to a closed configuration;
• storing in a memory a valve close status value in response to receiving the valve closure command message;
• sensing a position of the valve ball within the fluid shutoff valve;
• and
• sending a valve closure signal from the control processor to the valve actuation mechanism within the fluid shutoff valve when the valve close status value stored in memory indicates that the fluid shutoff valve should be in a closed configuration but the sensed position of the valve ball indicates the fluid shutoff valve is in an open configuration.

A method of closing a fluid shutoff valve, comprising:

• establishing a communication link with a wireless communication network via a wireless transceiver within the fluid shutoff valve;
• receiving in a control processor of the fluid shutoff valve a valve closure command message from the wireless communication network;
• sending a valve closure signal from the control processor to a valve actuation mechanism within the fluid shutoff valve in response to receiving the valve closure command message;
• reducing a magnetic force that is maintaining a valve ball within the fluid shutoff valve in an open configuration sufficient to enable the valve ball to move to a closed configuration;
• receiving signals from a plurality of communication nodes within the wireless communication network;
• measuring signal strengths of the signals received from the plurality of communication nodes;
• estimating a distance to each of the plurality of communication nodes based upon the measured signal strengths;
• estimating a position of the fluid shutoff valve with respect to the plurality of communication nodes;
• reporting the estimated position of the fluid shutoff valve via the wireless communication network.