This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/GB2008/002141 filed 23 Jun. 2008 which designated the U.S. and claims priority to GB Application No. 0712566.9 filed 28 Jun. 2007, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Technical Field
This document relates to control valves, particularly directional control valves, and couplers of the general kind that are used in subsea installations such as manifolds associated with subsea wells.
2. Related Art
A control valve of this kind comprises a body which has a plurality of ports, the communication between the ports being controlled by a valve member which may be in the form of a rod or spool and which is movable lengthwise, usually but not necessarily between operational positions. The control valve may be specifically a directional control valve in which a supply port is connected, in a manner dependent on the particular construction of the valve, to a ‘function’ port for one position of the valve member. The function port may be connected to a return or exhaust port for another position of the valve member. Preferably the control valve is operated by a solenoid actuator, the valve member carrying or constituting an armature of the solenoid. The valve member may have lip seals or shear seals that cooperate with the valve body in which the ports are provided. Control valves of this kind are described in GB-2344405 .
A coupler is employed to connect hydraulic lines. Typically couplers are provided in pairs, each consisting of a male or probe coupler and a female or socket coupler. It has been customary to mount an array of male couplers on a ‘stab’ plate for simultaneous mating with an array of female couplers on another ‘stab’ plate. In a typical construction the couplers of the pair each have an internal valve poppet which is lifted from its seat when the couplers of the pair are mated. The probe and socket usually have intermediate seals, which may be radial seals. Typical couplers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,047, U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,070 and WO2007/045811.
In current practice standard designs require several interfaces. It would be desirable to reduce the number of interfaces, reduce the size and weight of components and the total space required for an installation and generally achieve more efficient manufacture.
The exemplary embodiment is directed toward a control valve which comprises a body including an internal passageway and in which: the body constitutes at one end a coupler which includes a valve poppet openable to allow fluid access to or from the passageway past the poppet valve; the body defines at least one lateral port; and a valve member is disposed within the body and is movable lengthwise of the body to control fluid communication between the said passageway and said at least one lateral port.
Preferably an electrical actuator for causing the movement of the said valve member is disposed as an extension to the body at the end opposite the coupler.
Preferably the body is adapted for insertion through and securing within a mounting aperture extending transversely through a mounting plate. The lateral port may be positioned to communicate with a gallery within the mounting plate. The body may have an abutment which is disposed to cooperate with a step in the mounting aperture to provide correct location of the body within the aperture.
There follows a detailed description of one exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
At one end, the lower end 6 as shown in the Figure, the body 2 is constituted as a subsea coupler. In this example the coupler is a female coupler which has a spring-loaded valve poppet 7 held against a valve seat 8 in the passageway by a compression spring 9. When the coupler mates with a complementary (male) coupler inserted in the socket 10 of the coupler 6, the poppet 7 is depressed to allow fluid communication past the poppet with the internal passageway 3. The complementary coupler (not shown) may, as is usual, be connected by a hydraulic line to a source of highly pressurised hydraulic fluid. The coupler may itself be constructed in the manner described in the relevant documents identified above.
In the middle portion of the body 2 are lateral annular ports 11 and 12. These may be coupled to each other or to the internal passageway 3, depending on the intended functions, according to the position of a valve member comprising a spool 13. Springs 14 and 15 engage opposite ends of the spool (in this example) to maintain the spool in a neutral position in the absence of actuating force on the spool 13.
The ports 11 and 12 are positioned to communicate with respective fluid galleries 16 and 17 in the base plate. These galleries may communicate in any desired manner with hydraulically actuated devices. In this example the spool 13 is balanced with respect to line pressure and has a longitudinal passage 24 connecting the ends of the spool, with transverse passages 25 connecting that passage to the ports 11 and 12. Various other configurations are feasible.
At the end opposite the coupler 6 an extension of the body 2 houses an electrical actuator, preferably a solenoid actuator 18. The spool 13 is adapted (in known manner) to be an armature for this actuator, and is moved lengthwise under the control of the actuator to control the communication between the internal passageway and at least one of the lateral ports 11 and 12.
At one side, in this example the upper side, of the mounting plate 5 a nut 19 engages a threading 20 on the outside of the body 2. The body 2 has near its other end an (integral) abutment shoulder 21 which engages a step 22 in the hole 4. The body can be drawn upwardly by rotation of the nut until the shoulder and the step prevent further movement and the body is correctly positioned in the hole 4, the ports 11 and 12 being aligned with the galleries 16 and 17. Other fixing and locating means may be employed.
Sealing rings 23 are preferably disposed above and below the ports 11 and 12 to prevent fluid flow along the outside of the body between these ports.
The combined control valve and coupler may, but need not be, used in conjunction with a radially-ported electron-beam welded manifold baseplate. The fitment of the combined valve and coupler may interface directly with the porting in the base plate, thereby using the baseplate as its pressure-containing body.
Preferably the combination of the valve and coupler is disposed vertically as shown, with the solenoid actuator at the top. This disposition allows for easy access for wiring and maintenance.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0712566.9 | Jun 2007 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB2008/002141 | 6/23/2008 | WO | 00 | 4/20/2010 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2009/001056 | 12/31/2008 | WO | A |
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3646965 | Swartz | Mar 1972 | A |
4809749 | Ichihashi | Mar 1989 | A |
4869300 | Gudenau et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
5289850 | Sarson et al. | Mar 1994 | A |
5368070 | Bosley | Nov 1994 | A |
5465754 | Sudo et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
5810047 | Kirkman | Sep 1998 | A |
5937899 | Zeiber | Aug 1999 | A |
20020079473 | Jeory | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20070193638 | Kwon | Aug 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
295 13 000 | Oct 1995 | DE |
0 476 518 | Mar 1992 | EP |
1 298 463 | Jul 1962 | FR |
2 149 889 | Jun 1985 | GB |
2 227 295 | Jul 1990 | GB |
2 344 405 | Jun 2000 | GB |
WO 2005096695 | Oct 2005 | WO |
WO 2007045811 | Apr 2007 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report for PCT/GB2008/002141, mailed Nov. 6, 2008. |
Written Opinion for PCT/GB2008/002141, mailed Nov. 6, 2008. |
GB Search Report for GB 0712566.9, dated Sep. 23, 2007. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110175003 A1 | Jul 2011 | US |