NETWORKS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Ser. No. 63/046,912, filed on July 1, 2020, and entitled “SAFETY SYSTEM FOR REMOTE SHUT-OFF IN RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS.” The content of this application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Resource recovery companies may employ flow controls to regulate flow of material, like natural gas, throughout their intricate network of pipes and pipelines. Conventional practice is to include safety shut-off devices (e.g., valves) in certain locations to prevent damage, for example, in the event of changes in pressure in the system. These “shut-offs” typically require local, manual intervention to stop or cease flow of material. Often, the company needs to send a technician out to the location to physically close the valve(s), which in some situations can expose the technician to potentially dangerous conditions, like fire or catastrophic storms.

SUMMARY

[0003] The subject matter of this disclosure relates to improvements to avoid these potentially dangerous situations. Of particular interest are embodiments that can remotely stop flow of material. These embodiments may take advantage of remotely-operated valves, like a solenoid valve. These valves can direct pressure to actuate the actuator on the shut-off, causing it to close without the requisite change in pressure nominally necessary to close the device. The closed shut off stops flow of material downstream of the device.

DRAWINGS

[0004] Reference is now made briefly to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0005] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a safety system; [0006] FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of the safety system FIG. 1 in a first operative state;

[0007] FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of the safety system of FIG. 2 in a second operative state;

[0008] FIG. 4 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of the safety system of FIG. 1;

[0009] FIG. 5 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of the safety system of FIG. 1; and

[0010] FIG. 6 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of the safety system of FIG. 1.

[0011] Where applicable, like reference characters designate identical or corresponding components and units throughout the several views, which are not to scale unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments disclosed herein may include elements that appear in one or more of the several views or in combinations of the several views. Moreover, methods are exemplary only and may be modified by, for example, reordering, adding, removing, and/or altering the individual stages.

[0012] The drawings and any description herein use examples to disclose the invention. These examples include the best mode and enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. An element or function recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of said elements or functions, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. References to “one embodiment” or “one implementation” should not be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments or implementations that also incorporate the recited features.

DESCRIPTION

[0013] The discussion now turns to describe features of the embodiments shown in drawings noted above. These features promote safe, remote operation of shut-offs to stop or cease flow of material. The proposed designs adapts to changes in the field. Where practice was to avoid any impediment to downstream flow, improvements in technology and increasing risks of fire, severe storms, and other hazardous conditions have led to the need to keep technicians and equipment safe above all else.

[0014] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of a safety system 100. This example connects to part of a distribution network 102. This part carries material 104 through conduits 106, which couple with a flow control 108. This arrangement allows material 104 to enter and exit the flow control 108, typically via an inlet 110 and an outlet 112, respectively. A remotely- controlled device 114 couples with the flow control 108 and with the distribution network 102 to receive a signal Fi. In use, this signal is a fluid signal, for example, in the form of material 106. The remotely-controlled device 114 may also exchange electronic signals with a remote device 116, for example, via a network 118. These signals may include a control signal Si.

[0015] Broadly, the safety system 100 may be configured to provide a useful safety feature in the field. These configurations respond to remote activation, for example, a signal from a utility control room or control center. This safety feature can fully or wholly stop flow without the need for any local, manual intervention (by a technician) or any local changes in pressure that would normally prevail in order for similar actions to occur in the field. As a result, the proposed design operates independent of the set point of the resident shut-off. This feature is of particular benefit in emergency situations, where the system may not see the requisite pressure change to activate the resident shut-off. Likewise, the proposed design avoids the need to put technicians in harm’s way to stop flow of resources in high risk areas.

[0016] The distribution network 102 may be configured to carry flowing resources. For many configurations, material 104 is natural gas; but material 104 could also comprise other gases, liquids, or solids, as well. Conduits 106 may embody pipes or pipelines. The pipes may connect a well head to a storage facility. In other implementations, the pipes may form an intricate municipal network that delivers natural gas to residential homes or commercial properties.

[0017] The flow control 108 may be configured to regulate flow of natural gas through the conduit 106. These configurations may include slam shut valves and like shut-offs, typically with a pair of operating states. A first or “open” state allows fluid to flow through the shut-off from the inlet 110 to the outlet 112. Its second or “closed” state wholly prohibits downstream flow. In one implementation, the shut-off may react to a change in outlet pressure. This change may cause the shut-off to actuate from is normally open state to its closed state to quickly shut off downstream flow of natural gas. Often, a technician must manually operate or “reset” the shut-off to change it from its closed state to its open state.

[0018] The remotely-controlled device 114 may be configured to facilitate this change in operating state of the flow control 108. These configurations may embody solenoid valves or like devices that can regulate flow in response to a signal (e.g., control signal Si). Like shut-offs, the solenoid valve may have two operating states, including an open state and a closed state. The operating states are useful to control flow of the fluid signal Fi to the flow control 108. In one implementation, the solenoid valve remains in its normally closed state, which prevents flow of the fluid signal Fi downstream to the flow control 108. A change to the open state, on the other hand, allows the fluid signal Fi to impinge on the flow control 108. Introduction of this fluid signal Fi may cause the flow control 108 to actuate to its closed state. As noted above, this feature can cause shut-offs to close independent of pressure conditions that prevail at its location.

[0019] The remote device 116 may be configured to operate the solenoid valve 114 between its open and closed states. These configurations may include computing devices (e.g., laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.). These devices may incorporate into a broader control network that may monitor and manage flow of natural gas across other parts of the distribution network 102. The network 118 may allow for the control signal Si to transit by wired or wireless modalities. In one implementation, an end user can cause the control signal Si to transmit in response to an alert, for example, a warning that fire is in proximity to the part of the distribution network 102.

[0020] FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of an example of the safety system 100 in its deactivated state. The flow control 108 may embody a valve assembly 120 with a regulating device 122; however, this device may not be required in some applications of the flow control 108. The regulating device 122 may include various components including, for example, a pilot 124, a filter 126, and a flow restrictor 128 (e.g., a fixed orifice of specified diameter). Together, these components regulate pressure around a shut-off 130. In one implementation, the shut-off 130 may have a body 132 with flanges 134, 136 at the inlet 110 and the outlet 112. Flanges 134, 136 are useful to receive and to attach to conduits 106. Welds or appropriate fasteners (e.g., bolts) may be useful for this purpose. The shut-off 130 may also have a flapper 138, preferably resident in the body 132. The flapper 138 opens and closes to regulate flow from the inlet 110 to the outlet 112. This example shows the flapper 138 in its open position and, thus, flow can move through the body 132 from its inlet 110 to its outlet 112.

[0021] As best shown in detail A, the system 100 may include mechanics to change the position of the flapper 138. These mechanics may include an actuator 140 with a housing 142 that may enclose a latch 144, typically a linkage or like mechanism that can set the position for the flapper 138 in response to changes in fluid pressure. A plate 146 may attach the housing 142 to the body 132. In one implementation, the plate 146 may have a first port 148 that couples the actuator 140 to a controller 152. The controller 152 may be configured to activate the latch 144 in response to pressure changes downstream of the valve assembly 120. This configuration may include one or more pilot valves (e.g., a first pilot valve 154 and a second pilot valve 156). The solenoid valve 114 may couple with a port 158 on the controller 152. In one example, the system 100 includes a fluid circuit with a line Li that extends from conduit 106 that affixes to the inlet side of the shut-off 130. The line Li connects the solenoid valve 114 with “upstream pressure.” A change in state of the solenoid valve 114 may connect this upstream pressure to the first pilot valve 154 through the port 158, which changes the system 100 to its activated state.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows an example of the system 100 of FIG. 3 in its activated state. Here, the solenoid valve 114 is opened in response to a first value for the control signal Si, for example, a high or low voltage. This first value may correspond with safety procedures that require or initiate shut-off of the flow control 108. In one implementation, the change in state of the solenoid valve 114 elevates pressure through the controller 152 to the actuator 140. The latch 144 changes state in response to the change in pressure, which changes the position of the flapper 138 to close the shut-off 130 and cease flow of natural gas 104 to the outlet 112. The control signal Si may have a second value that will close the solenoid valve 114. This second value may correspond with tasks to reset the flow control 108, for example, to allow flow of natural gas 104 to the outlet 112. In some applications, however, a technician must physically open the shut-off 130 to reset it to its open state; for example, a technician may need to manually change the state of the latch 144 to reset the position of the flapper 138 to allow flow of natural gas 104 to the outlet 112. [0023] FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 depict examples of the system 100 of FIG. 1. These examples include configurations for the fluid circuit. In FIG. 4, the fluid circuit may include a line L2 that couples the solenoid valve 114 with a sense line L3, which itself couples with conduit 106 that affixes to the outlet side of the shut-off 130. This configuration couples the solenoid valve 114 to “downstream pressure.” It also bypasses the second pilot valve 156, which permits the system 100 to change the position of the flapper 138 independent of whether the second pilot valve 156 reaches its setpoint because it feeds the downstream pressure directly into the actuator 140. FIG. 5 depicts an example that couples the pilots 154, 156 to line L3. The fluid circuit may also include a line L4 that couples the solenoid valve 114 to the outlet port of the first pilot 154. As shown in FIG. 6, which also couples the pilots 154, 156 to line L3, the fluid circuit may include a line Ls that couples the solenoid valve 114 to a second port 150 on the plate 146 on the actuator 140.

[0024] In view of the foregoing, the improvements herein provide additional safety measures in the field. The proposed designs allow operators, like utilities, to remotely stop flow of natural gas (and other materials). This feature can improve response time to potential issues, where operators can stop flow without the need to deploy technicians to manually shut-off valves or like flow controls.

[0025] The examples that appear below include certain elements or clauses one or more of which may be combined with other elements and clauses to describe embodiments contemplated within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. The scope may include and contemplate other examples that occur to those skilled in the art.