REGULATING PRESSURE AND HARVESTING ENERGY AS RELATES TO FLOW METERS AND METROLOGY HARDWARE
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- a pipe section forming a flowpath;
a rotary mechanical device at least partially disposed in the flow path;
a generator operative to generate a first signal in response to rotation of the rotary mechanical device; and
a load control device operative to generate a second signal to modulate operation of the generator.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An energy harvester for use in-line with a pipe to harness potential and kinetic energy of fluids flowing therein. Structure for the energy harvester may include a shaft and a blade extending radially therefrom. The shaft can penetrate a housing that operates as a pipe section to install the device in-line with pipe. The shaft can couple with an electrical generator. A load may connect with voltage terminals on the generator so that fluid impinging on the blades will rotate the generator to power the load, effectively harvesting power from the flowing fluid. In one implementation, a load control device that couples with the generator voltage terminals controls a pressure characteristic of the fluid, such as pressure drop, by applying an electrical load on the generator and controllably impeding rotation of the shaft.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system, comprising:
-
a pipe section forming a flowpath; a rotary mechanical device at least partially disposed in the flow path; a generator operative to generate a first signal in response to rotation of the rotary mechanical device; and a load control device operative to generate a second signal to modulate operation of the generator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. An apparatus, comprising:
-
an elongate tube having a peripheral wall forming a bore terminating at open ends with flanges; a shaft extending across the bore; blades coupled with the shaft and disposed in the bore; pressure sensors disposed on either side of the blades; and a microcontroller coupled with the pressure sensors, wherein the microcontroller is operative to calculate pressure drop across the blades using values from the pressure sensors. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
17. A method, comprising:
-
using a rotary mechanical device in a pipe section to drive a generator in response to flow of natural gas through the pipe section; directing a first signal from the generator to a gas meter; and generating a second signal that modulates operation of the generator to set pressure of the flow downstream of the rotary mechanical device.
-
Specification