Wireless fluid shut-off valve

摘要

A low-cost safety valve for gas lines and similar supply lines that can be remotely activated via a secure wireless link employing a low leakage sealing mechanism that is compatible with low energy actuators to for extended battery life. A miniaturized controller and wireless electronics assembly provides the control mechanism for actuating the valve, as well as reporting data regarding the valve status to wireless interrogators or external networks via an ad hoc wireless network. A variety of simple magnetic valve operating mechanisms can be implemented with the miniaturized electronic control circuits and the valve body. Such control actuation mechanisms enable automatic resetting or manual resetting valves. The gas line shut off valve can provide important safety benefits at an affordable price. An RFID transceiver may be included to enable low-power operation and communications using RFID technologies as well as an automatic antenna tuning capability to maximize radio range.

主权项

1. A fluid shutoff valve, comprising:
a 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; anda valve seat within the valve interior configured to receive the valve ball when the valve is in a shut configuration,wherein the valve body, 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 a first wireless transceiver coupled to the control processor and configured to receive wireless signals, wherein the control processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to send a valve closure signal to the valve actuation mechanism in response to the first wireless transceiver receiving a wireless signal, and wherein the valve actuation mechanism is configured to:
apply a magnetic field from the magnet to the valve ball with sufficient force to hold the valve ball in an open configuration in which the valve ball is removed from the valve seat; andreduce 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.