F15B5/00

Constructing valve positioners for hazardous areas

A controller for a valve assembly that is configured to meet requirements for use in hazardous areas. These configurations may regulate flow of instrument air to a pneumatic actuator to operate a valve. The controller may comprise enclosures, including a first enclosure and a second enclosure, each having a peripheral wall forming an interior space, and circuitry comprising a barrier circuit disposed in the interior space of one of the enclosures that power limits digital signals that exits that enclosure. In one example, the peripheral wall of enclosures are configured to allow instrument air into the interior space of the first enclosure but to prevent instrument air from the interior space of the second enclosure.

SYSTEM CONDITION DETECTION USING INLET PRESSURE
20200116167 · 2020-04-16 ·

A controller for a municipal water system having a pump connected to a suction line, featuring a signal processor and a memory module configured to: receive suction line pressure sensor signaling sensed by a suction line pressure sensor arranged on the suction line and containing information about a suction line pressure of water flowing in the suction line; receive low suction pressure limit signaling programmed in the memory module and containing information about a low suction pressure limit of the water flowing in the suction line; and provide control signaling containing information to control the operation of the pump depending on a relationship between the suction line pressure and the low suction pressure limit, based upon the suction line pressure sensor signaling and the low suction pressure limit signaling received. The control signaling may contain information to reduce or stop the water flowing in suction line if the suction line pressure falls below the low suction pressure limit.

Methods and apparatus for automatically detecting the failure configuration of a pneumatic actuator

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for automatically detecting the failure configuration of a pneumatic actuator. A control module is operatively coupled to the actuator, and the actuator is operatively coupled to a valve having a flow control member. When a number of pilot valves included in the control module is indicative of a double-acting actuator, the failure configuration of the actuator is determined based on the number of pilot valves. When the number of pilot valves included in the control module is indicative of a single-acting actuator, the failure configuration of the actuator is determined by comparing a first measurement value obtained in response to moving the flow control member in a first direction to a first position and a second measurement value obtained in response to moving the flow control member in a second direction opposite the first direction to a second position.

SERVOVALVES
20200096016 · 2020-03-26 ·

A single stage flapper type servovalve comprises a valve housing comprising a bore, a pair of opposed nozzles arranged in the bore and a flapper element arranged between the pair of nozzles. The valve housing further comprises a plurality of fluid ports for communicating a working fluid to and from the nozzles and in fluid communication with the housing bore. The valve housing and the nozzles are both made from a stainless steel material.

Electro-Pneumatic Converter, Use of an Electro-Pneumatic Converter, Positioner, and Control Unit

An adjustable electro-pneumatic converter or transducer based on the nozzle/baffle plate principle is proposed. A defined roughness (Rz) of the baffle plate surface can prevent the occurrence of Bernoulli forces at output pressures close to the initial pressure, i.e. when the exhaust nozzle (140) is almost completely closed by the baffle plate (100). The system thus becomes more dynamically controllable under these conditions. Such a converter can be used to control any consumer system, e.g. air power amplifiers for electro-pneumatic positioners.

Fluid valve assembly and a process valve positioner
10598194 · 2020-03-24 · ·

A fluid valve assembly for controlling a single-acting or double-acting actuator comprises a valve body having a central bore with at least one supply port for receiving a supply of fluid under pressure, at least one actuator port (C1,C2) for providing a control fluid pressure to an actuator, and at least one exhaust port (EX1,EX2). At least one pair of counter-acting metering edges operationally tied together by a stem movable within central bore in an axial direction a pilot force. Each metering edge of each counter-acting pair comprises a mating seat surface (PS1,PS2,PS3,PS4) on the valve body or the stem, and a poppet ring (PR1,PR2, PR3,PR4) supported by a flexible element (SD1,SD2,SD3,SD4) to the valve body or the stem in a manner allowing a relative axial movement of the poppet ring and the supporting valve body or stem also in a closed state of the respective metering edge.

Pressure exchange system with hydraulic drive system
10557482 · 2020-02-11 · ·

A system including a rotary isobaric pressure exchanger (IPX) configured to exchange pressures between a first fluid and a second fluid. The rotary IPX includes a rotor and a shaft coupled the rotor. Additionally, the system includes a hydraulic drive system including a hydraulic drive device coupled to the rotor via the shaft. The hydraulic drive device is configured to receive a hydraulic fluid and to convert hydraulic energy of the hydraulic fluid into mechanical energy to rotate the rotor at a rotational speed that is based on a flow rate of the hydraulic fluid entering the hydraulic drive device.

Pressure exchange system with hydraulic drive system
10557482 · 2020-02-11 · ·

A system including a rotary isobaric pressure exchanger (IPX) configured to exchange pressures between a first fluid and a second fluid. The rotary IPX includes a rotor and a shaft coupled the rotor. Additionally, the system includes a hydraulic drive system including a hydraulic drive device coupled to the rotor via the shaft. The hydraulic drive device is configured to receive a hydraulic fluid and to convert hydraulic energy of the hydraulic fluid into mechanical energy to rotate the rotor at a rotational speed that is based on a flow rate of the hydraulic fluid entering the hydraulic drive device.

Integrated transducer
10539251 · 2020-01-21 · ·

A transducer for a connection to a fluid pressure source having a mechanism for setting a pneumatic output by way of an electrical input signal. The transducer provides a lower housing assembly and an upper housing assembly. The lower housing assembly comprises lower housing configured to receive a supply nozzle. The supply nozzle fluidly communicates with a supply port and intermittently fluidly communicates with an output port of the lower housing through an internal fluid passageway. The upper housing assembly comprises an upper housing configured to receive a coil and an armature such that the upper housing, coil and armature define a latching electromagnetic circuit that provides alternating contact of the armature with the supply nozzle of the lower housing assembly.

Systems and methods for executing cryptographic operations across different types of processing hardware

The present disclosure is directed towards systems and methods for executing cryptographic operations across different types of processing hardware. An intermediary device may identify a cryptographic function to be performed at the device, according to a message from a client or a server. The device may identify a sequence of cryptographic operations to be executed for performing the cryptographic function. The device may determine subsets of the cryptographic operations to be executed on across different types of processing hardware. The different types of processing hardware may reside on the device. Each of the types of processing hardware may execute, responsive to the determination, the respective subset of the cryptographic operations, according to the sequence of the cryptographic operations.