Method and system for determining and controlling position of valve
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining the position of a moveable first member relative to a second member, comprising:
- a cavity formed in the second member, wherein the first member is moveable within the cavity, and wherein the second member includes a portion having a first side adjacent to the cavity; and
a plurality of optical sensors positioned along a second side of the portion; and
at least one sensor interrogator on the first member for activating the sensors through the portion, wherein the sensors comprise fiber Bragg gratings configured to be strained by the at least one sensor interrogator.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods for accurately determining the position of a sliding or rotational sleeve valve in real time are disclosed. The apparatus comprises fiber optic cable based sensors which are either linearly or circumferentially arrayed in the housing that surrounds the sleeve and which can comprise bare cable or cable having fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). As the sleeve slides or rotates within the housing, the sensors in the arrays are deformed, and this deformation can be correlated to sleeve position by assessing the sensor'"'"'s reflectivity profiles. Deformation of the sensors is achieved by various mechanical and/or magnetic schemes incorporated into the sleeve.
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Citations
73 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining the position of a moveable first member relative to a second member, comprising:
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a cavity formed in the second member, wherein the first member is moveable within the cavity, and wherein the second member includes a portion having a first side adjacent to the cavity; and a plurality of optical sensors positioned along a second side of the portion; and at least one sensor interrogator on the first member for activating the sensors through the portion, wherein the sensors comprise fiber Bragg gratings configured to be strained by the at least one sensor interrogator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25)
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24. An apparatus for determining the position of a moveable first member relative to a second member, comprising:
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a cavity formed in the second member, wherein the first member is moveable within the cavity, and wherein the second member includes a portion having a first side adjacent to the cavity; a plurality of optical sensors positioned along a second side of the portion; at least one sensor interrogator on the first member for activating the sensors through the portion; and at least one deformer formed in the portion, wherein the deformer is engageable by the sensor interrogator to activate the sensors and wherein the deformer is spring biased. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A valve assembly coupled to a pipe, comprising:
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a cavity containing a sleeve, wherein the sleeve is moveable within the cavity; a cylindrical portion surrounding the cavity and having a first side adjacent to the cavity; a plurality of optical sensors positioned along a second side of the portion, wherein the optical sensors comprise an optical wavequide coated with a ferromagnetic material; and at least one sensor interrogator on the sleeve for activating the sensors through the portion. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A method for determining the position of a sleeve valve affixed to a pipe, wherein the valve comprises a (i) cavity for housing the sleeve, (ii) a portion surrounding the cavity and having a first side adjacent to the cavity, (iii) a plurality of optical sensors positioned along a second side of the portion;
- and, (iv) at least one sensor interrogator on the sleeve for activating the sensors through the portion, the method comprising;
moving the sleeve within the cavity to cause the sensor interrogator to pass proximate to the sensors to deform at least one sensor, wherein the sensor is deformed by at least one deformer formed in the portion, wherein the deformer is engageable by the sensor interrogator, and wherein the deformer is spring biased; and assessing a reflection profile from the deformed sensor to determine the position of the sleeve. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
- and, (iv) at least one sensor interrogator on the sleeve for activating the sensors through the portion, the method comprising;
Specification