Systems and methods for operating a ball valve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025189996-A1
Application number	US-202519060357-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 21, 2025
Priority date	Jun 29, 2020
Publication date	Jun 12, 2025
Grant date	—

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.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . 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; and pulse generator circuitry operatively connected to the actuator and configured to:
generate a first pulse having a duration and a first polarity, and
provide the first pulse to the actuator to rotate the ball by an amount based on the duration and a direction based on the first polarity;
wherein at least one of the actuator or the pulse generator circuitry is configured to, upon detecting a trigger, cause the actuator to rotate the ball to a fully closed position, and wherein detecting the trigger comprises detecting a loss of connection to a remote utility control device.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the amount is less than fifteen degrees.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuitry is further configured to provide a second pulse having a second polarity opposite the first polarity.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the pulse generator circuitry is further configured to provide a third pulse having the first polarity prior to the second pulse.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuitry is locally connected to the ball valve.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse generator circuitry comprises the remote utility control device.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a capacitor configured to discharge upon the trigger to rotate the ball to the fully closed position.

8 . A system for reducing resistance of a ball valve, the system comprising:
a utility control device located remotely from a ball valve and configured to generate a series of pulses including a first pulse and a second pulse with opposite polarities; an actuator operatively connected to the ball valve and configured to receive the series of pulses and rotate the ball based on the series of pulses; valve circuitry, comprising a capacitor configured to discharge to rotate the ball to the fully closed position wherein the valve circuitry is configured to, upon detecting a trigger, cause the capacitor to discharge and the actuator to rotate the ball to a fully closed position, wherein detecting the trigger comprises detecting a loss of connection to the utility control device.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the first pulse and the second pulse are provided as a pulse pair separated by a time interval.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the series of pulses includes a second pulse pair provided after a period from the pulse pair.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein a ratio between the time interval and the period is less than 1/100.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the utility control device is operatively connected to the actuator via one or more Ethernet connections.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more Ethernet connections provide Power over Ethernet (POE).

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the utility control device is configured to communicate with a plurality of actuators, including the actuator, and transmit distinct series of pulses to each of the plurality of actuators, wherein each of the plurality of actuators is separately addressable via an identifier associated with its respective ball valve.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a media access control (MAC) address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or uniform resource locator (URL).

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein a first series of pulses transmitted to a first actuator is configured for a first fluid type, and a second series of pulses transmitted to a second actuator is configured for a second fluid type.

17 . A system for reducing resistance of ball valves, the system comprising:
a utility control device configured to communicate with a plurality of ball valve systems, each ball valve system comprising an actuator and an associated ball valve; wherein the utility control device is configured to transmit addressable control signals to each of the plurality of actuators to rotate its associated ball valve; wherein each ball valve system is configured to, upon detecting a trigger comprising a loss of connection with the utility control device, cause its actuator to rotate its associated ball valve to a fully closed position.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein each ball valve system comprises a capacitor that is charged when power is applied, the capacitor discharging upon detecting the trigger.

19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the utility control device is configured to transmit a different series of pulses to each actuator, and wherein each actuator is separately addressable.

20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the utility control device is connected to each ball valve system via a Power over Ethernet connection.

Assignees

• Wcm Ind Inc

Inventors

• Young Gabriel
• Ball William T

Classifications

• F16K5/0652

  for remote operation · CPC title

• F16K31/042

  with electric means, e.g. for controlling the motor or a clutch between the valve and the motor · CPC title

• F16K37/0041

  for measuring valve parameters (F16K37/0033 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16K29/00

  Arrangements for movement of valve members other than for opening and closing the valve, e.g. for grinding-in, for preventing sticking · CPC title

• G05D3/10 Primary

  without using feedback · CPC title