Pressure protection system and related methods

Abstract

Example pressure protection system and related methods are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a valve fluidly coupled between a first location and one or more devices downstream of the first location, the valve biased to a closed position, and a pressure sensor switch fluidly coupled to the first location and to the valve, the pressure sensor switch to detect a pressure of fluid from the first location, when the pressure satisfies a threshold, cause the valve to switch from the closed position to an open position to fluidly couple the first location to the one or more devices, and when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, enable to valve to at least one of return to or remain in the closed position.

Description

PRESSURE PROTECTION SYSTEM AND RELATED METHODSRELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This patent claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 476,788, titled “Pressure Protection System and Related Methods,” filed December 22, 2022. U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 476,788 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to piping systems and, more particularly, to a pressure protection system and related methods.BACKGROUND

[0003] In a gas pipeline, gas in a pipe is pressurized to enable transmission and / or storage of gas in the pipe. In some cases, one or more devices (e.g., sensors, pressure gauges, etc.) are fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the pipe. In some such cases, the pressurized gas may cause damage to the one or more devices when the gas is above the threshold pressure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example fluid transfer system in which examples disclosed herein can be implemented.

[0005] FIG. 2A illustrates an example pressure protection system in accordance with teachings of this disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 2B illustrates the example pressure protection system of FIG. 2A in an open configuration.

[0007] FIG. 2C illustrates the example pressure protection system of FIGS. 2A and / or 2B in an open configuration with an example under pressure cutoff switch in an open state.

[0008] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the example pressure sensor switch of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C.

[0009] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the example valve of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C.

[0010] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example control system that may be implemented in the example pressure protection system of FIGS. 2A, 2B. and / or 2C.

[0011] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of a method of manufacturing the example pressure protection system as described in connection with FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C.

[0012] FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions and / or example operations that may be executed by example programmable circuitry' to implement the example control system of FIG. 5.

[0013] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processing platform including programmable circuitry structured to execute, instantiate, and / or perform the example machine readable instructions and / or perform the example operations of FIG. 7 to implement the example control system of FIG. 5.

[0014] FIG. 9 illustrates the example fluid transfer system of FIG. 1 fluidly and / or operatively7coupled to an example pipe.

[0015] FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch of FIG. 9 in a closed position.

[0016] FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch of FIGS. 9 and / or 10A in an open position.

[0017] FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of a third example pressure sensor switch that can be coupled to the example pipe of FIG. 9.

[0018] FIG. 10D is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch of FIGS. 9, 10A, and / or 10B implementing an example spring.

[0019] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the programmable circuitry of FIG. 8.

[0020] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of another example implementation of the programmable circuitry of FIG. 8.

[0021] In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. The figures are not to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers or regions may be enlarged in the drawings. Although the figures show layers and regions with clean lines and boundaries, some or all of these lines and / or boundaries may be idealized. In reality7, the boundaries and / or lines may be unobservable, blended, and / or irregular.

[0022] As used herein, connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and joined) may include intermediate members between the elements referenced by the connection reference and / or relative movement between those elements unless otherwise indicated. As such, connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and / or in fixed relation to each other. As used herein, stating that any7part is in “contact” with another part is defined to mean that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.

[0023] Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., are used herein without imputing or otherwise indicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in a list, and / or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and / or arbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for identifying those elements distinctly that might, for example, otherwise share a same name.

[0024] As used herein, “approximately” and “about” modify their subjects / values to recognize the potential presence of variations that occur in real world applications. For example,“approximately’' and “about'’ may modify dimensions that may not be exact due to manufacturing tolerances and / or other real world imperfections as will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art. For example, “approximately” and “about” may indicate such dimensions may be within a tolerance range of + / - 10% unless otherwise specified in the below description. As used herein “substantially real time” refers to occurrence in a near instantaneous manner recognizing there may be real world delays for computing time, transmission, etc. Thus, unless otherwise specified, “substantially real time” refers to real time + / - 1 second.

[0025] “Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation of any kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc., may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including” are open ended. The term “and / or” when used, for example, in a form such as A, B, and / or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) B with C, or (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and / or things, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and / or things, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution ofprocesses, instructions, actions, activities and / or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and / or steps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B.

[0026] As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an’', “first”, “second”, etc.) do not exclude a plurality7. The term “a” or “an” object, as used herein, refers to one or more of that object. The terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more”, and “at least one” are used interchangeably herein. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality' of means, elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., the same entity' or object. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and the inclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and / or advantageous.

[0027] As used herein, “programmable circuitry ” is defined to include (i) one or more special purpose electrical circuits (e.g., an application specific circuit (ASIC)) structured to perform specific operation(s) and including one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g., electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors), and / or (ii) one or more general purpose semiconductor-based electrical circuits programmable with instructions to perform specific functions(s) and / or operation(s) and including one or more semiconductorbased logic devices (e.g., electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors). Examples of programmable circuitry7include programmable microprocessors such as Central Processor Units (CPUs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and / or functions. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that may be programmed with second instructions to cause configuration and / or structuring of the FPGAs to instantiate one ormore operations and / or functions corresponding to the first instructions, Graphics ProcessorUnits (GPUs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and / or functions, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and / or functions, XPUs, Network Processing Units (NPUs) one or more microcontrollers that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and / or functions and / or integrated circuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). For example, an XPU may be implemented by a heterogeneous computing system including multiple ty pes of programmable circuitry7(e.g., one or more FPGAs, one or more CPUs, one or more GPUs, one or more NPUs, one or more DSPs, etc., and / or any combination(s) thereof), and orchestration technology' (e.g., application programming interface(s) (API(s)) that may assign computing task(s) to whichever one(s) of the multiple types of programmable circuitry' is / are suited and available to perform the computing task(s).DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Buildings, plants, factories, and other facilities commonly use natural gas for various purposes such as heating, power generation, transportation, etc. In a piping system (e.g., a natural gas piping system), pipelines are used to transport the natural gas between one or more locations. In some instances, the piping system includes one or more devices fluidly and / or operatively^ coupled to a pipe. For instance, the devices can include a pressure gauge to measure and / or indicate a pressure of the gas in the pipe, a pressure switch (e g., an under pressure cutoff switch) to shut off a compressor operatively coupled to the pipe when the pressure of the gas is below a cutoff pressure, a filter to remove contaminants and / or other unwanted particles from the gas, etc. In some instances, one or more of the devices may be externally coupled to the pipe and / or may be implemented between two pipes in the piping system to perform a particular function. In some instances, the one or more devices may be implemented along pipes fluidlycoupled to but separate from a main transmission pipeline (e.g.. a high-pressure line) of the piping system.

[0029] In some instances, one or more of the devices are configured to operate below a threshold pressure and / or within a range of threshold pressures. However, gas in the pipeline may be pressurized at or above the threshold pressure to enable transmission of the gas betw een one or more locations. In some such cases, the pressurized gas may cause damage to and / or prevent proper functioning of the one or more of the devices when the devices are exposed to the pressurized gas. In some instances, to prevent and / or reduce exposure of the devices to high pressures (e.g., pressures at or above the threshold pressure), one or more regulators are implemented along the piping system. For instance, the one or more regulators may be fluidly coupled between the devices and a high-pressure line of the piping system. The regulators reduce a pressure of the gas from the high-pressure line prior to the gas reaching the one or more devices, thus preventing exposure of the devices to high pressures and, as such, preventing and / or reducing damage to the devices.

[0030] In some instances, the gas may change phase when flowing to and / or through the regulators. For instance, changes in pressure and / or temperature may cause all or some of the gas to change to liquid, such that a gas-liquid mixture flows to and / or through the regulators. In some regulators, a regulator seat of the regulator is sensitive to a ratio of liquid to gas in the gasliquid mixture and, thus, the regulator may be ineffective and / or inoperable when the ratio of liquid to gas does not satisfy a threshold ratio (e.g., is at or above the threshold ratio). Further, typical regulators are configured to operate within a particular range of pressures. As such, in some cases, multiple regulators may need to be implemented in series to reduce a pressure of the gas to at or below a desired final pressure.

[0031] Examples disclosed herein protect devices in a gas piping system from high pressures by restricting flow of fluid (e.g.. gas and / or liquid) to the devices when the fluid is ator above a threshold pressure (e.g., 0 psi, 60 psi, 200 psi, 500 psi, 510 psi, 725 psi, 1250 psi,1250 psi, 1480 psi, etc ). In some examples, the threshold pressure is selected based on a reference pressure and / or a maximum operating pressure in the gas piping system. For example, the threshold pressure can be a percentage (e.g., 10%, 15%, 20%, etc.) greater than the reference pressure, and / or can be a percentage (e.g., 50%, 60%, 75%, etc.) of the maximum operating pressure. Examples disclosed herein include a valve operatively and / or fluidly coupled to a fluid source (e.g., a high pressure line of a gas piping system) and to one or more devices downstream of the fluid source. In some examples, the fluid from the fluid source is at a high pressure (e.g., greater than 500 psi, greater than 1000 psi, greater than 2000 psi, etc.). In some examples, the valve is biased to a closed position in which the valve prevents and / or restricts fluid flow from the fluid source to the one or more devices. Further, an example pressure sensor switch is fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the fluid source and to the valve. In some examples, the pressure sensor switch is to detect a pressure of fluid from the fluid source. In some such examples, when the detected pressure satisfies a threshold (e.g., is less than a threshold pressure), the pressure sensor switch causes the valve to switch from the closed position to an open position in which the valve fluidly couples the fluid source to the one or more devices and, thus, enables fluid flow from the fluid source to the one or more devices. Advantageously, examples disclosed herein reduce and / or prevent damage to the one or more devices by restricting flow of high pressure fluid thereto. Further, examples disclosed herein may reduce a number of regulators to be implemented in a gas piping system, thus reducing parts costs associated therewith.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example fluid transfer system 100 in which examples disclosed herein can be implemented. The example fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 is configured to transport fluid (e.g., gas and / or other fluid) from a first location to a second location. In some examples, the first location corresponds to a high pressure line (e.g., a main transmission line, a supply line, etc.) of a gas piping system, and the second locationcorresponds to a location upstream or downstream of the first location, a different pipe of the gas piping system, a gas storage unit, the atmosphere, etc. The example fluid transfer system 100 includes an example fluid inlet (e.g.. a fluid intake) 102 coupled to the first location and an example fluid outlet (e.g., fluid discharge) 104 coupled to the second location. Fluid is compressed by example compressor units 106 A, 106B as the fluid flows from the fluid inlet 102 to the fluid discharge 104. The compressor units 106 A, 106B each include example compression pistons 108 A, 108B implemented in example compression cylinders 110A, HOB, and an example air piston 112 implemented in an example air cylinder 114. The air cylinder 114 includes a first example chamber 116 and a second example chamber 118 coupled to an example air supply 120 via an example air control valve 122. The compression cylinders 110A, HOB include third example chambers 124A, 124B and fourth example chambers 126A, 126B coupled to the fluid inlet 102 via example inlet check valves 128 A, and coupled to the fluid outlet 104 via example outlet check valves 128B.

[0033] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, fluid enters the fluid transfer system 100 via the fluid inlet 102 and flows to the compressor units 106A, 106B via example piping 130. The fluid enters the third chambers 124 A, 124B and the fourth chambers 126A, 126B through the inlet check valves 128 A. The inlet check valves 128 A allow the fluid to flow unidirectionally from the fluid inlet 102 to the compressor units 106A, 106B. The air control valve 122 also directs compressed air from the air supply 120 to the air cylinder 114. The air control valve 122 can alternate flow of the compressed air between the first chamber 116 and the second chamber 1 18. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the air control valve 122 directs compressed air to the first chamber 1 16 when a first example switch 129A is engaged, and directs compressed air into the second chamber 118 when a second example switch 129B is engaged, where the first switch 129 A and the second switch 129B are operatively coupled to the air control valve 122. In other examples, the air control valve 122 can switch a direction of flow of the compressed air based ona command and / or a signal from a computer and / or other processor communicatively coupled to the air control valve 122.

[0034] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, in response to the air control valve 122 directing the compressed air to flow into the first chamber 116, the compressed air generates pressure on the air piston 112 to move the air piston 112 to the right (e.g., towards the second compression cylinder 110B). The air piston 112 is operatively coupled to the compression pistons 108 A, 108B via an example rod 132 such that the compression pistons 108 A, 108B move with the air piston 112. In response to the air piston 112 moving to the right and, thus, the compression pistons 108A, 108B moving to the right, the fluid in the fourth chambers 126A, 126B is compressed by the compression pistons 108A, 108B. Compressed fluid is expelled from the fourth chambers 126 A, 126B and flows through the respective outlet check valves 128B towards the fluid discharge 104. The outlet check valves 128B allow the fluid to flow unidirectionally from the fluid inlet 102 to the compressor units 106A, 106B.

[0035] When the air piston 112 is positioned to the right (in reference to the arrangement of FIG. 1), the air piston 112 engages the second switch 129B coupled to the right side of the air cylinder 114. When the second switch 129B is engaged, the air control valve 122 stops the flow of compressed air to the first chamber 116 and directs the flow of compressed air to the second chamber 118. The compressed air from the first chamber 116 can be expelled to the atmosphere via air exhaust tubing 134. In some examples, the compressed air from the first chamber 1 1 can be used to cool the compressed fluid via an example heat exchanger 136 prior to the compressed air being expelled to the atmosphere.

[0036] Conversely, in response to the air control valve 122 directing the flow of compressed air to the second chamber 1 18, the compressed air causes the air piston 112 and the compression pistons 108A, 108B to move to the left (e.g., toward the first compression cylinder 110A). In such examples, the fluid in the third chambers 124A. 124B is compressed by thecompression pistons 108 A, 108B. The compressed fluid is expelled from the third chambers 124 A, 124B and flows through the respective outlet check valves 128B towards the fluid discharge 104.

[0037] When the air piston 112 is positioned to the left (in reference to the arrangement of FIG. 1), the air piston 112 engages the first switch 129A coupled to the left side of the air cylinder 114. When the first switch 129A is engaged, the air control valve 122 stops the flow of compressed air to the second chamber 118 and once again directs the flow of compressed air to the first chamber 116. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the air control valve 122 continuously redirects the flow of compressed air between the first chamber 116 and the second chamber 118 to compress fluid entering the third chambers 124A, 124B and the fourth chambers 126 A, 126B. The above process repeats until the fluid transfer system 100 is shut off (e.g., automatically and / or by an operator).

[0038] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, an example under-pressure cutoff switch (UPCO) 140 is coupled to the piping 130 between the fluid inlet 102 and the air control valve 122. In some examples, the UPCO 140 can detect whether a pressure of the fluid in the piping 130 drops below a cutoff pressure. In response to the UPCO 140 determining that the pressure of the fluid has dropped below the cutoff pressure, the UPCO 140 can send an air signal to the air control valve 122 to shut off the flow of compressed air into the compressor units 106A, 106B and, as such, prevent the compressor units 106 A, 106B from further compressing the fluid. In some examples, by shutting off the compressor units 106 A, 106B, the UPCO 140 prevents the fluid transfer system 100 from creating a vacuum at the first location.

[0039] In some examples, the UPCO 140 includes a diaphragm to detect and / or sense the pressure of the fluid. In such examples, the pressure of the fluid on the diaphragm causes the diaphragm to deflect, and an amount of deflection of the diaphragm corresponds to a magnitude of the pressure. In some examples, when the pressure of the fluid is below the cutoff pressure.the deflection of the diaphragm enables the air signal to flow to the air control valve 122. In some examples, the UPCO 140 is sensitive to changes in pressure of the fluid when the pressure is in a threshold range (e.g., up to 200 pounds per square inch (psi), up to 500 psi, etc.).However, in some examples, the UPCO 140 may not be effective and / or operable when the fluid transfer system 100 operates at pressures greater than the threshold range.

[0040] In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the fluid transfer system 100 includes first and second example pressure gauges 142, 144 fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the piping f 30 between the fluid inlet f02 and the air control valve 122. In some examples, the first and second pressure gauges 142, 144 are configured to measure the pressure of the fluid in the piping 130 and / or display a value of the pressure to an operator. In this example, the first pressure gauge 142 can measure values of the pressure up to a first threshold value (e.g., up to 60 psi, up to 100 psi, etc.), and the second pressure gauge 144 can measure values of the pressure up to a second threshold value (e.g., up to 1000 psi, up to 2000 psi, etc.). In some examples, a resolution of measurement values of the first pressure gauge 142 is greater than a resolution of measurement values of the second pressure gauge 144. In other words, while the second pressure gauge 144 can operate under a greater range of pressures compared to the first pressure gauge 142, the first pressure gauge 142 provides greater resolution and / or precision of measurement values compared to the second pressure gauge 144.

[0041] In some examples, the pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 may vary significantly (e.g., between 0 psi to 2000 psi or above) and / or undergo phase changes (e.g., liquid to gas, gas to liquid, etc.) during operation of the fluid transfer system 100. In some examples, the first pressure gauge 142 may be damaged and / or inoperable when the first pressure gauge 142 is exposed to pressures greater than the first threshold value (e.g., greater than 60 psi, greater than 100 psi, etc.). Accordingly, in this example, an example regulator 146 is fluidly coupled between the piping 130 and the first pressure gauge 142 to restrict the pressureof the fluid to be sensed by the first pressure gauge 142. For example, the regulator 146 reduces the pressure of the fluid flowing from the piping 130 to the first pressure gauge 142 such that the pressure exposed to the first pressure gauge 142 is less than the threshold value. However, the regulator 146 may be damaged and / or inoperable when a liquid-to-gas ratio of the fluid therethrough is above a threshold ratio.

[0042] FIG. 2A illustrates an example pressure protection system 200 in accordance with teachings of this disclosure. In some examples, the pressure protection system 200 of FIG. 2A can be implemented in the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 in addition to or instead of the regulator 146 of FIG. 1 to restrict pressure of fluid flowing to one or more devices (e.g., the UPCO 140 and / or the first pressure gauge 142) of the fluid transfer system 100. For example, the pressure protection system 200 can be implemented along the piping 130 of FIG. 1 upstream of the UPCO 140 and / or the pressure gauge 142. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2A, the pressure protection system 200 includes an example valve (e.g., a pilot-operated check valve) 202 fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet 102 and fluidly coupled to one or more example devices 204 downstream of the fluid inlet 102. In this example, the devices 204 include the UPCO 140 and the first pressure gauge 142 of the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively, the devices 204 can include one or more components and / or devices of the fluid transfer system 100 that are configured to operate at pressures less than a threshold pressure. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2A, the pressure protection system 200 includes an example pressure sensor switch 206 fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet 102 and fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the valve 202. In this example, fluid from the fluid inlet 102 flows to the valve 202 via first piping (e.g., first tubing) 208, and flows to the pressure sensor switch 206 via second piping 210 separate from the first piping 208.

[0043] In the illustrated example of FIG. 2A, the valve 202 is shown in a closed position(e.g.. a closed state). In the closed position, the valve 202 operates as a check valve that enablesfluid flow (e.g., backflow) from the devices 204 to the fluid inlet 102, but restricts fluid flow from the fluid inlet 102 to the devices 204. In some examples, the valve 202 is biased (e.g., spring-biased) to the closed position, such that the valve 202 remains in the closed position when the pressure sensor switch 206 does not provide an air signal to the valve 202 (e.g., when the pressure of fluid from the fluid inlet 102 is less than a threshold pressure).

[0044] In the illustrated example of FIG. 2A, the pressure sensor switch 206 senses and / or detects a pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102, and controls a position of the valve 202 based on the pressure. In this example, the pressure sensor switch 206 is in a first position in which the pressure sensor switch 206 decouples an example air supply (e.g., a pneumatic control air supply) 212 from the valve 202 and / or the UPCO 140. Further, in the first position, the pressure sensor switch 206 fluidly couples the UPCO 140 and the valve 202 to an example vent 214 to enable backflow and / or venting of air from the UPCO 140 and / or the valve 202.

[0045] When the pressure sensor switch 206 is in the first position and the valve 202 is in the closed position (as shown in FIG. 2A), the pressure protection system 200 is in a closed configuration. In such examples, the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 is greater than the threshold pressure and the fluid is prevented and / or restricted from flowing to the devices 204.

[0046] FIG. 2B illustrates the example pressure protection system 200 of FIG. 2A in an open configuration. In some examples, the pressure protection system 200 switches from the closed configuration of FIG. 2A to the open configuration of FIG. 2B when a pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 drops to less than a threshold pressure to allow fluid flow from the fluid inlet 102 to the devices 204. In some examples, the threshold pressure can be selected and / or adjusted by adjusting a setting of the pressure sensor switch 206.

[0047] In the illustrated example of FIG. 2B, when the pressure of the fluid is below the threshold pressure, the pressure sensor switch 206 switches from the first position of FIG. 2A to a second position shown in FIG. 2B. In this example, when the pressure sensor switch 206 is inthe second position, the pressure sensor switch 206 fluidly couples the air supply 212 to the valve 202 and the UPCO 140, and the vent 214 is closed. In such examples, an air signal (e.g., compressed air) from the air supply 212 is directed through the pressure sensor switch 206 to the valve 202, and the air signal causes the valve 202 to move to an open position as shown in FIG. 2B. In particular, the air signal overcomes a spring force biasing the valve 202 to the closed position of FIG. 2A such that the valve 202 moves to the open position of FIG. 2B.

[0048] When the valve 202 is in the open position, fluid from the fluid inlet 102 can flow to the devices 204. For example, the pressure gauge 142 can measure and / or indicate a pressure of the fluid flowing thereto, and the UPCO 140 can control operation of the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 based on the pressure of the fluid. For example, in FIG. 2B, the UPCO 140 is in a closed state in which the UPCO 140 prevents and / or restricts flow of air from the air supply 212 to the air control valve 122 of FIG. 1. Further, the UPCO 140 in the closed state of FIG. 2B fluidly couples the air control valve 122 to a second example vent 216 to vent air therefrom. In some examples, the UPCO 140 is held the closed state when the pressure protection system 200 is in the closed configuration of FIG. 2A, and / or when the pressure protection system 200 is in the open configuration of FIG. 2B and the pressure of the fluid is greater than a cutoff pressure (e g., 0 psi, 1 psi, etc ).

[0049] FIG. 2C illustrates the example pressure protection system 200 of FIGS. 2A and / or 2B in the open configuration, with the example UPCO 140 in an open state. In some examples, when the pressure of the fluid to the UPCO 140 is below a cutoff pressure (e g., 0 psi, 1 psi, etc.), the UPCO 140 switches from the closed state of FIG. 2B to the open state of FIG. 2C. In some examples, the cutoff pressure can be selected and / or adjusted by adjusting a setting of the UPCO 140. In this example, when the UPCO 140 is in the open state, the UPCO 140 fluidly couples the air supply 212 to the air control valve 122. In such examples, the UPCO 140 can direct an air signal to the air control valve 122 to prevent the air control valve fromproviding air to alternating ones of the first and second chambers 116, 118 of the compressor units 106 A, 106B of FIG. 1. As a result, the UPCO 140 can stop operation of the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 when the pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 is below the cutoff pressure.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the example pressure sensor switch 206 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the pressure sensor switch 206 includes an instrument pressure outlet 302, a high pressure port 304, a low pressure port 306, and a sensor fluid port 308. In some examples, the instrument pressure outlet 302 is fluidly coupled to the valve 202 and the UPCO 140 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C, the high pressure port 304 is fluidly coupled to the vent 214 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C, and the low pressure port 306 is fluidly coupled to the air supply 212 of FIGS. 2 A, 2B, and / or 2C. Further, the sensor fluid port 308 is fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet 102 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C to receive fluid therefrom.

[0051] In this example, the pressure sensor switch 206 includes a spring 310 positioned in an example chamber 311 of the pressure sensor switch 206, where the spring 310 biases a piston 312 in a first example direction 313 (e.g., a downward direction) in FIG. 3. In particular, the spring 310 applies a first force (e.g., a spring force) on the piston 312 in the first direction 313 to bias the piston 312 toward a first piston position (e.g., a downward position in FIG. 3) in the pressure sensor switch 206. Further, the pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 1 2 to the sensor fluid port 308 applies a second force on the piston 312 in a second example direction 315 (e.g., an upward direction in FIG. 3), where the second direction 315 is opposite the first direction 313. In some examples, when the pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 is at or above the threshold pressure, the second force on the piston 312 overcomes (e.g., is greater than) the spring force of the spring 310, thus causing the piston 312 to move in the second direction315 and compress the spnng 310. In some such examples, the piston 312 moves in the seconddirection 315 to a second piston position in the pressure sensor switch 206. In such examples, when the piston 312 is in the second piston position (e.g., the piston 312 is positioned upward in FIG. 3 and / or the spring 310 is compressed), the low pressure port 306 is closed and the high pressure port 304 is fluidly coupled to the instrument pressure outlet 302, such that the pressure sensor switch 206 is in the first position shown in FIG. 2A.

[0052] Conversely, when the pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102 to the sensor fluid port 308 drops below the threshold pressure, the spring force of the spring 310 pushes the piston 312 in the first direction 313 in FIG. 3 toward the first piston position. In such examples, when the piston 312 is in the first piston position, the high pressure port 304 is closed and the low' pressure port 306 is fluidly coupled to the instrument pressure outlet 302, such that the pressure sensor switch 206 is in the second position shown in FIGS. 2B and / or 2C.

[0053] In some examples, the threshold pressure at which the pressure sensor switch 206 moves between the first and second positions can be adjusted using an adjustment cap 314 of the pressure sensor switch 206. For example, the adjustment cap 314 can be moved up or down by manually twisting the adjustment cap 314 along an example threaded portion (e.g., athreaded surface) 316 of the pressure sensor switch 206. Turning the adjustment cap 314 clockwise causes the adjustment cap 314 to move downw ard on the threaded portion 316 to further compress the spring 310 and increase the spring force. Alternatively, turning the adjustment cap 314 counterclockwise causes the adjustment cap 314 to move upward on the threaded portion 316 to reduce compression of the spring 310 and, in turn, reduce the spring force (e.g., adjust a magnitude of the spring force). Increasing the spring force causes an increase in the threshold pressure, whereas reducing the spring force causes a reduction in the threshold pressure.

[0054] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the example valve 202 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the valve 202 includes a first port 402 and a second port404 proximate a first end 406 of the valve 202, and a pilot port 408 proximate a second end 410of the valve 202. In this example, the first port 402 is fluidly coupled to the devices 204 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C, the second port 404 is fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet 102 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C, and the pilot port 408 is fluidly coupled to the pressure sensor switch 206 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and / or 3.

[0055] In this example, when the pressure sensor switch 206 in the first position (shown in FIG. 2A) does not provide an air signal to the pilot port 402, the valve 202 is in the closed position (shown in FIG. 2A) to restrict flow of fluid from the fluid inlet 102 to the devices 204. For example, when the valve 202 is in the closed position, a poppet spring 412 urges a poppet 414 tow ard a body 416 of the valve 202. In such examples, the poppet 414 allows fluid flow from the first port 402 to the second port 404 while restricting fluid flow from the second port 404 to the first port 402.

[0056] Conversely, when the pressure sensor switch 206 in the second position (shown in FIGS. 2B and / or 2C) provides an air signal to the pilot port 408, the valve 202 moves to the open position (shown in FIGS. 2B and / or 2C). For example, the air signal applies pressure on an actuator piston 418 to move the actuator piston 418 downward in FIG. 4 to compress an actuator spring 420. In such examples, when the actuator piston 418 is positioned downward, the actuator piston 418 compresses the poppet spring 412 to move the poppet 414 downw ard and away from the body 416 of the valve 202. Accordingly, when the poppet 414 is spaced apart from the body 416, fluid can flow' from the second port 404 to the first port 402 (e.g., from the fluid inlet 102 to the devices 204).

[0057] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example control system 500 that may be implemented in the example pressure protection system 200 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. In some examples, the UPCO 140 and / or the valve 202 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C may be electrically actuated (instead of pneumatically actuated) via electrical signals provided by the control system 500. In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the control system 500 includesexample signal generation circuitry' 502 operatively and / or electrically coupled to the UPCO 140 and / or the valve 202, and example pressure detection circuitry' 504 operatively coupled to the pressure sensor switch 206 of FIGS. 2 A, 2B, and / or 2C.

[0058] The control system 500 of FIG. 5 may be instantiated (e g., creating an instance of, bring into being for any length of time, materialize, implement, etc.) by processor circuitry such as a central processing unit executing instructions. Additionally or alternatively, the control system 500 of FIG. 5 may be instantiated (e g., creating an instance of, bring into being for any length of time, materialize, implement, etc.) by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and / or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) structured to perform operations corresponding to the instructions. It should be understood that some or all of the circuitry of FIG. 2 may, thus, be instantiated at the same or different times. Some or all of the circuitry may be instantiated, for example, in one or more threads executing concurrently on hardware and / or in series on hardware. Moreover, in some examples, some or all of the circuitry' of FIG. 2 may be implemented by microprocessor circuitry executing instructions to implement one or more virtual machines and / or containers.

[0059] In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the example pressure detection circuitry 504 determines, based on a first example signal 506 from the pressure sensor switch 206, a value of pressure of the fluid from the fluid inlet 102. For example, the first signal 506 may be a pneumatic signal and / or an electrical signal from the pressure sensor switch 206 that indicates the pressure of the fluid. In some examples, the pressure detection circuitry 504 determines that the pressure of the fluid satisfies (e.g., is below) the threshold pressure in response to receiving the first signal 506. In some examples, the pressure detection circuitry 504 is instantiated by processor circuitry executing pressure detection circuitry instructions and / or configured to perform operations such as those represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7.

[0060] The example signal generation circuitry 502 generates one or more signals (e.g., electrical signals) to control the UPCO 140 and / or the valve 202. For example, in response to the pressure detection circuitry 504 determining that the pressure of the fluid satisfies (e.g., is below) the threshold pressure, the signal generation circuitry' 502 provides a second example signal 508 to the UPCO 140 to cause the UPCO 140 to switch from the closed state (shown in FIGS. 2A and / or 2B) to the open state (shown in FIG. 2C), and / or provides a third example signal 510 to the valve 202 to cause the valve 202 to switch from the closed position (shown in FIG. 2A) to the open position (shown in FIGS. 2B and / or 2C). In some examples, the signal generation circuitry' 502 is instantiated by processor circuitry' executing signal generation circuitry' instructions and / or configured to perform operations such as those represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7.

[0061] While an example manner of implementing the example pressure detection circuitry 504 of FIG. 5 is illustrated in FIG. 5, one or more of the elements, processes, and / or devices illustrated in FIG. 5 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated, and / or implemented in any other way. Further, the example signal generation circuitry' 502, the example pressure detection circuitry' 504, and / or, more generally, the example pressure detection circuitry' 504 of FIG. 5, may be implemented by hardware alone or by hardware in combination with softw are and / or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example signal generation circuitry 502, the example pressure detection circuitry 504, and / or, more generally, the example pressure detection circuitry 504, could be implemented by processor circuitry, analog circuit(s), digital circuit(s), logic circuit(s), programmable processor(s), programmable microcontroller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), and / or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)) such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).Further still, the example pressure detection circuitry 504 of FIG. 5 may include one or moreelements, processes, and / or devices in addition to. or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 5, and / or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

[0062] A flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions, which may be executed to configure processor circuitry to implement the pressure detection circuitry 504 of FIG. 5, is shown in FIG. 6. The machine readable instructions may be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executable program for execution by processor circuitry, such as the programmable circuitry 812 shown in the example programmable circuitry7platform 800 discussed below in connection with FIG. 8. The program may be embodied in software stored on one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media such as a compact disk (CD), a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive (SSD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, a volatile memory (e.g., Random Access Memory7(RAM) of any ty pe, etc.), or a non-volatile memory7(e.g., electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FLASH memory', an HDD, an SSD, etc.) associated with processor circuitry located in one or more hardware devices, but the entire program and / or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by one or more hardware devices other than the processor circuitry and / or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. The machine readable instructions may be distributed across multiple hardware devices and / or executed by two or more hardware devices (e.g., a server and a client hardware device). For example, the client hardware device may be implemented by an endpoint client hardware device (e.g., a hardware device associated with a user) or an intermediate client hardware device (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)) gateway that may facilitate communication between a server and an endpoint client hardware device). Similarly, the non-transitory computer readable storage media may include one or more mediums located in one or more hardware devices. Further, although the example program is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 6, many other methods of implementing theexample pressure detection circuitry 504 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and / or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry, discrete and / or integrated analog and / or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, an operational- amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation without executing software or firmware. The processor circuitry may be distributed in different network locations and / or local to one or more hardware devices (e.g., a single-core processor (e.g., a single core central processor unit (CPU)), a multi-core processor (e.g., a multi-core CPU, an XPU, etc.) in a single machine, multiple processors distributed across multiple servers of a server rack, multiple processors distributed across one or more server racks, a CPU and / or a FPGA located in the same package (e.g., the same integrated circuit (IC) package or in two or more separate housings, etc.).

[0063] The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in one or more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmented format, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc. Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as data or a data structure (e g., as portions of instructions, code, representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create, manufacture, and / or produce machine executable instructions. For example, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and stored on one or more storage devices and / or computing devices (e.g., servers) located at the same or different locations of a network or collection of networks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machine readable instructions may require one or more of installation, modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing, configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution, reassignment, compilation, etc., in order to make them directly readable, interpretable, and / or executable by a computing device and / or other machine. For example, themachine readable instructions may be stored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted, and / or stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts when decrypted, decompressed, and / or combined form a set of machine executable instructions that implement one or more operations that may together form a program such as that described herein.

[0064] In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in a state in which they may be read by processor circuitry , but require addition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library' (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc., in order to execute the machine readable instructions on a particular computing device or other device. In another example, the machine readable instructions may need to be configured (e.g., settings stored, data input, network addresses recorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructions and / or the corresponding program(s) can be executed in whole or in part. Thus, machine readable media, as used herein, may include machine readable instructions and / or program(s) regardless of the particular format or state of the machine readable instructions and / or program(s) when stored or otherwise at rest or in transit.

[0065] The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented by any past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language, programming language, etc. For example, the machine readable instructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

[0066] As mentioned above, the example operations of FIG. 6 may be implemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and / or machine readable instructions) stored on one or more non -transitory computer and / or machine readable media such as optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, an HDD, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a CD, a DVD, a cache, a RAM of any type, a register, and / or any other storage device or storage diskin which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and / or for caching of the information). As used herein, the terms non-transitory computer readable medium, non-transitory computer readable storage medium, non-transitory machine readable medium, and non-transi tory machine readable storage medium are expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and / or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein, the terms “computer readable storage device” and “machine readable storage device” are defined to include any physical (mechanical and / or electrical) structure to store information, but to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Examples of computer readable storage devices and machine readable storage devices include random access memory of any type, read only memory' of any ty pe, solid state memory, flash memory, optical discs, magnetic disks, disk drives, and / or redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems. As used herein, the term “device” refers to physical structure such as mechanical and / or electrical equipment, hardware, and / or circuitry that may or may not be configured by computer readable instructions, machine readable instructions, etc., and / or manufactured to execute computer readable instructions, machine readable instructions, etc.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of an example method 600 to manufacture the example pressure protection system 200 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. The example method 600 begins at block 602, which includes fluidly coupling the example pressure sensor switch 206 to the example fluid inlet 102. For example, the pressure sensor switch 206 can receive fluid from the fluid inlet 102 to measure and / or detect a pressure thereof.

[0068] At block 604, the example method 600 includes fluidly coupling the valve 202 between the fluid inlet 102 and the devices 204. For example, the valve 202 is fluidly coupled to the fluid inlet 102 and further fluidly coupled to the UPCO 140 and to the pressure gauge 142.

[0069] At block 606, the example method 600 includes operatively coupling the pressure sensor switch 206 to the valve 202 and / or one or more of the devices 204. For example, the pressure sensor switch 206 is coupled to the valve 202 and the UPCO 140 to provide air signals thereto when the pressure of the fluid sensed by the pressure sensor switch 206 satisfies (e.g., is below) a threshold pressure.

[0070] FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions and / or example operations 700 that may be executed and / or instantiated by processor circuitry to implement the example control system 500 of FIG. 5. The machine readable instructions and / or the operations 700 of FIG. 7 begin at block 702, at which the example control system 500 determines a pressure of fluid from the fluid inlet 102 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. For example, the example pressure detection circuitry 504 of FIG. 5 determines the pressure of the fluid based on the first signal 506 from the pressure sensor switch 206 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C.

[0071] At block 704, the example control system 500 determines whether the pressure of the fluid satisfies a threshold pressure. For example, in response to the pressure detection circuitry 504 determining that the pressure satisfies (e.g., is below) the threshold pressure (e.g., block 704 returns a result of YES), control proceeds to block 706. Alternatively, in response to the pressure detection circuitry’ 504 determining that the pressure does not satisfy (e g., is at or above) the threshold pressure (e.g., block 704 returns a result of NO), control proceeds to block 708.

[0072] At block 706, the example control system 500 provides one or more signals to the UPCO 140 and / or the valve 202 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and / or 2C. For example, the example signal generation circuitry 502 of FIG. 5 provides the second signal 508 to the UPCO 140 to cause the UPCO 140 to switch from the closed state (shown in FIGS. 2A and / or 2B) to the open state (shown in FIG. 2C), and / or provides the third signal 510 to the valve 202 to cause the valve 202to switch from the closed position (shown in FIG. 2A) to the open position (shown in FIGS. 2B and / or 2C).

[0073] At block 708, the example control system 500 determines whether to continue monitoring. For example, the pressure detection circuitry 504 determines, based on the first signal 506, not to continue monitoring when the pressure of the fluid has dropped below a cutoff pressure and / or when the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 is shut off. In response to the pressure detection circuitry 504 determining to continue monitoring (e.g., block 708 returns a result of YES), control returns to block 702. Alternatively, in response to the pressure detection circuitry 504 determining not to continue monitoring (e.g., block 708 returns a result of NO), control ends.

[0074] In some examples, the control system 500 includes means for generating a signal. For example, the means for generating a signal may be implemented by the signal generation circuitry 502. In some examples, the signal generation circuitry' 502 may be instantiated by programmable circuitry such as the example programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8. For instance, the signal generation circuitry 502 may be instantiated by the example microprocessor 1 100 of FIG. 11 executing machine executable instructions such as those implemented by at least block 706 of FIG. 7. In some examples, the signal generation circuitry 502 may be instantiated by hardware logic circuitry, which may be implemented by an ASIC, XPU, or the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 configured and / or structured to perform operations corresponding to the machine readable instructions. Additionally or alternatively, the signal generation circuitry 502 may be instantiated by any other combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, the signal generation circuitry 502 may be implemented by at least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry', discrete and / or integrated analog and / or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, an XPU, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (opamp), a logic circuit, etc.) configured and / or structured to execute some or all of the machinereadable instructions and / or to perform some or all of the operations corresponding to the machine readable instructions without executing software or firmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

[0075] In some examples, the control system 500 includes means for detecting pressure. For example, the means for detecting pressure may be implemented by the pressure detection circuitry7504. In some examples, the pressure detection circuitry 504 may be instantiated by programmable circuitry' such as the example programmable circuitry' 812 of FIG. 8. For instance, the pressure detection circuitry' 504 may be instantiated by the example microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 executing machine executable instructions such as those implemented by at least blocks 702, 704, 708 of FIG. 7. In some examples, the pressure detection circuitry 504 may be instantiated by hardware logic circuitry, which may be implemented by an ASIC, XPU, or the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 configured and / or structured to perform operations corresponding to the machine readable instructions. Additionally or alternatively, the pressure detection circuitry 504 may be instantiated by any other combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, the pressure detection circuitry 504 may be implemented by at least one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuitry', discrete and / or integrated analog and / or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, an XPU, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (opamp), a logic circuit, etc.) configured and / or structured to execute some or all of the machine readable instructions and / or to perform some or all of the operations corresponding to the machine readable instructions without executing software or firmware, but other structures are likewise appropriate.

[0076] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example programmable circuitry platform 800 structured to execute and / or instantiate the machine readable instructions and / or the operations of FIG. 7 to implement the example control system 500 of FIG. 5. The programmable circuitry platform 800 can be. for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, a self-learningmachine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, a headset (e.g., an augmented reality' (AR) headset, a virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.) or other wearable device, or any other type of computing device.

[0077] The programmable circuitry platform 800 of the illustrated example includes programmable circuitry 812. The programmable circuitry 812 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, the programmable circuitry' 812 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, FPGAs, microprocessors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and / or microcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The programmable circuitry' 812 may be implemented by one or more semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) devices. In this example, the programmable circuitry' 812 implements the example signal generation circuitry' 502 and the example pressure detection circuitry 504.

[0078] The programmable circuitry 812 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 813 (e.g., a cache, registers, etc.). The programmable circuitry' 812 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 814 and anon- volatile memory 816 by a bus 818. The volatile memory 814 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory' (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM®), and / or any other type of RAM device. The non-volatile memory' 816 may be implemented by flash memory and / or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 814, 816 of the illustrated example is controlled by a memory controller 817. In some examples, the memory controller 817 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer, or any other type of circuitry to manage the flow of data going to and from the main memory 814. 816.

[0079] The programmable circuitry platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes interface circuitry 820. The interface circuitry 820 may be implemented by hardware in accordance with any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC) interface, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interface, and / or a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interface.

[0080] In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 822 are connected to the interface circuitry7820. The input device(s) 822 permit(s) a user to enter data and / or commands into the programmable circuitry7812. The input device(s) 822 can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, an isopoint device, and / or a voice recognition system.

[0081] One or more output devices 824 are also connected to the interface circuitry7820 of the illustrated example. The output device(s) 824 can be implemented, for example, by display7devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display7(LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, an in-place switching (IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer, and / or speaker. The interface circuitry 820 of the illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip, and / or graphics processor circuitry7such as a GPU.

[0082] The interface circuitry 820 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and / or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) by a network 826. The communication can be by, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, atelephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, a satellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephone system, an optical connection, etc.

[0083] The programmable circuitry' platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes one or more mass storage devices 828 to store softw are and / or data. Examples of such mass storage devices 828 include magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, floppy disk drives, HDDs, CDs, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, solid state storage devices such as flash memory devices and / or SSDs, and DVD drives.

[0084] The machine readable instructions 832, which may be implemented by the machine readable instructions of FIG. 7, may be stored in the mass storage device 828, in the volatile memory 814, in the non-volatile memory 816, and / or on a removable non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

[0085] FIG. 9 illustrates the example fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 1 fluidly and / or operatively coupled to an example pipe 902. In some examples, the fluid transfer system 100 is configured to transfer and / or compress fluid from a first example location 904 of the pipe 902 to a second example location 906 of the pipe 902. In this example of FIG. 9, the first location 904 is upstream relative to an example ball valve 908 implemented along the pipe 902, and the second location 906 is downstream relative to the ball valve 908. In the illustrated example, fluid flows from the first location 904 to the fluid transfer system 100 via an example inlet line 910, and the fluid flows from the fluid transfer system 100 to the second location 906 via an example discharge line 912.

[0086] In the illustrated example of FIG. 9, a second example pressure sensor switch 914 is fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the discharge line 912. In some examples, fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to a first example chamber (e.g., a bottom chamber) 916 of the second pressure sensor switch 914 via first example piping 918. In some examples, fluid from the discharge line 912 also flows to a second example chamber (e.g.. a top chamber) 920 of thesecond pressure sensor switch 914 via second example piping 922 and third example piping 924. In the illustrated example, an example valve (e.g., a manual valve) 926 is fluidly and / or operatively coupled between the second and third piping 922, 924. In some examples, when the valve 926 is in an open position, the valve 926 allows fluid to flow from the second piping 922 to the third piping 924 and, thus, to the second chamber 920. Conversely, when the valve 926 is in a closed position, the valve 926 prevents and / or restricts fluid flow from the second piping 922 to the third piping 924 and, thus, to the second chamber 920.

[0087] In some examples, the second pressure sensor switch 914 is fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the fluid transfer system 100 to control operation thereof. For example, the second pressure sensor switch 914 can provide an example air signal 928 to the fluid transfer system 100 to shut off (e.g., halt operation of, prevent compression by) the fluid transfer system 100. In some such examples, the fluid transfer system 100 can resume operation when the second pressure sensor switch 914 stops providing the air signal 928 to the fluid transfer system 100. Conversely, in some examples, the fluid transfer system 100 operates when the second pressure sensor switch 914 provides the air signal 928 to the fluid transfer system 100, and the fluid transfer system 100 stops operating when the second pressure sensor switch 914 stops providing the air signal 928.

[0088] In some examples, the second pressure sensor switch 914 provides and / or removes the air signal 928 based on a pressure of the fluid from the discharge line 912. For example, the second pressure sensor switch 914 is configured to provide (or stop providing) the air signal 928 when the pressure of the fluid is at or above a threshold pressure. Conversely, in some examples, the second pressure sensor switch 914 is configured to provide (or stop providing) the air signal 928 when the pressure of the fluid is below the threshold pressure. While the second pressure sensor switch 914 is fluidly and / or operatively coupled to the discharge line 912 in this example, the second pressure sensor switch 914 can be fluidly and / oroperatively coupled to the inlet line 910 in some other examples. In this example, the second pressure sensor switch 914 senses and / or measures the pressure of the fluid from the discharge line 912 based on a differential pressure between the first and second chambers 916, 920.

[0089] FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch 914 of FIG. 9 in a closed position. In the illustrated example of FIG. 10A, fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to the first chamber 916 via a first example port 1002, and the fluid applies pressure on a first example surface 1004 of the first chamber 916. Similarly, when the valve 926 (shown in FIG. 9) of the second pressure sensor switch 914 is open, fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to the second chamber 920 via a second example port 1006, and the fluid applies pressure on a second example surface 1008 of the second chamber 920. Stated differently, when the valve 926 is open, both the first and second chambers 916, 920 are exposed to the fluid from the discharge line 912. In the illustrated example of FIG. 10A, a first surface area of the first surface 1004 corresponds to (e.g., is substantially equal to) a second surface area of the second surface 1008. As such, when the valve 926 is open and the fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to the first and second chambers 916, 920, the pressure on the first surface 1004 is substantially the same (e.g., within ±2%) as the pressure on the second surface 1008.

[0090] In the illustrated example of FIG. 10A, the second pressure sensor switch 914 includes an example air inlet port 1010 fluidly coupled to an air supply (e.g., the air supply 120 of FIG. 1), and an example air outlet port 1012 fluidly coupled to the fluid transfer system 100. When the second pressure sensor switch 914 is in the closed position of FIG. 10A, air is prevented from flowing from the air inlet port 1010 to the air outlet port 1012 and, thus, to the fluid transfer system 100 (e.g., as the air signal 928 of FIG. 9). As such, the fluid transfer system 100 can operate when the second pressure sensor switch 914 is in the closed position (e.g., the air signal 928 is not provided to the fluid transfer system 100).

[0091] In some examples, the valve 926 can be closed (e.g.. manually by an operator) to set a reference pressure in the second chamber 920. For example, when the valve 926 is closed, the valve 926 prevents fluid from flowing into or out of the second chamber 920, such that a static pressure of the fluid in the second chamber 920 remains substantially constant (e.g., does not change). In such examples, a position of the second pressure sensor switch 914 is based on a pressure differential between the first and second chambers 916, 920. For example, when the fluid in the first chamber 916 is at a first pressure that is less than or equal to the reference pressure in the second chamber 920, the second pressure sensor switch 914 remains in the closed position. Conversely, when the fluid in the first chamber 916 is at a second pressure that is greater than the reference pressure in the second chamber 920, the second pressure sensor switch 914 can move to the open position as described below in connection with FIG. 10B.

[0092] FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch 914 of FIGS. 9 and / or 10A in an open position. In some examples, the second pressure sensor switch 914 is in the open position when the valve 926 (shown in FIG. 9) is closed and the pressure in the first chamber 916 is greater than the pressure in the second chamber 920. For example, the pressure in the first chamber 916 causes an example piston 1020 of the second pressure sensor switch 914 to move upward in the view of FIG. 10B and fluidly couple the air inlet port 1010 to the air outlet port 1012. In such examples, the air signal 928 can be provided from the air inlet port 1010 to the air outlet port 1012 and, thus, to the fluid transfer system 100 of FIG. 9. In some examples, the air signal 928 causes the fluid transfer system 100 to shut off and / or stop compression of fluid from the pipe 902 of FIG. 9.

[0093] In some examples, the second pressure sensor switch 914 returns to the closed position when the pressure in the first chamber 916 decreases to less than or equal to the reference pressure in the second chamber 920. For example, an operator can adjust a setting of the fluid transfer system 100 to reduce the pressure of the fluid in the discharge line 912 and,thus, in the first chamber 916. In some examples, the setting of the fluid transfer system can be adjusted automatically (e.g., by a servomotor, an actuator, a valve, etc.). In some examples, the operator can adjust the reference pressure in the second chamber 920 by opening and closing the valve 926 of FIG. 9. For example, the operator can open the valve 926 such that additional fluid can flow to the second chamber 920 to increase the pressure therein, and the operator can close the valve 926 to set the reference pressure at the increased pressure. In some examples, when the pressure in the first chamber 916 is less than or equal to the reference pressure in the second chamber 920, the piston 1020 moves downward in the view of FIG. 10B (e.g., the second pressure sensor switch 914 returns to the closed position of FIG. 10A) to prevent and / or restrict air flow between the air inlet port 1010 and the air outlet port 1012. In such examples, the air signal 928 is not provided to the fluid transfer system 100, such that the fluid transfer system 100 can resume operation.

[0094] Alternatively, in some examples, an air supply (e.g., the air supply 120 of FIG. 1) can be fluidly and / or operatively coupled to a second example air inlet port 1022 of the second pressure sensor switch 914 (e.g., instead of the air inlet port 1010). In such examples, the air signal 928 is provided to the fluid transfer system 100 when the pressure in the first chamber 916 is less than or equal to the reference pressure, and the air signal 928 is not provided to the fluid transfer system 100 when the pressure in the first chamber 916 is greater than the reference pressure. In some such examples, the fluid transfer system 100 can operate when the air signal 928 is provided thereto, and the transfer system 100 is shut off when the air signal 928 is not provided.

[0095] FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of a third example pressure sensor switch 1050 that can be coupled to the example pipe 912 of FIG. 9. In some examples, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 of FIG. 10C can be used in addition to or instead of the second example pressure sensor switch 914 of FIGS. 9. 10A. and / or 10B. In the illustrated example ofFIG. IOC, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 includes a first example chamber 1052 in a first example casing 1054 and a second example chamber 1056 in a second example casing 1058. In some examples, the first chamber 1052 is fluidly coupled to the example discharge line 912 of FIG. 9 via a first example port 1060 in the first casing 1054, and the second chamber 1056 is fluidly coupled to the discharge line 912 via a second example port 1062 in the second casing 1058. In some examples, fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to the first chamber 1052 via the first port 1060, and the fluid applies a first example pressure on a first example surface 1064 of the third pressure sensor switch 1050. Similarly, fluid from the discharge line 912 flows to the second chamber 1056 via the second port 1062, and the fluid applies a second example pressure on a second example surface 1066 of the third pressure sensor switch 1050.

[0096] Referring to FIGS. 10A and / or 10B, the first and second chambers 916, 920 of the second pressure sensor switch 914 of FIGS. 10A, and / or 10B are substantially the same size (e.g., within ±1%). In contrast, turning to FIG. 10C, a size of the second chamber 1056 of the third pressure sensor switch 1050 is greater than a size of the first chamber 1052 of the third pressure sensor switch 1050. For example, a second width 1070 of the second chamber 1056 may be greater (e.g., by 1 millimeter (mm), 2 mm, etc.) compared to a corresponding first width 1068 of the first chamber 1052 of FIG. 10C. Further, a surface area of the second surface 1066 is greater than a corresponding surface area of the first surface 1064. As a result, when the fluid from the discharge line 912 pressurizes the first and second chambers 1052, 1056, the first pressure on the first surface 1064 is less than a second pressure on the second surface 1066. In some examples, an example valve (e.g., similar to the valve 926 of FIG. 9) is fluidly coupled between the second chamber 1056 and the discharge line 912, and the valve can be closed to set a reference pressure in the second chamber 1056, where the reference pressure corresponds to the second pressure on the second surface 1066.

[0097] In some examples, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 remains in a closed position when the first pressure on the first surface 1064 is less than the second pressure (e.g., the reference pressure) on the second surface 1066. When the third pressure sensor switch 1050 is in the closed position, a fluid pathway between an example inlet port 1072 and an example outlet port 1074 is blocked, such that fluid flow is restricted between the inlet and outlet ports 1072, 1074. Conversely, when the pressure on the first surface 1064 is greater than the second pressure on the second surface 1066, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 moves to an open position in which the inlet port 1072 is fluidly coupled to the outlet port 1074. In some examples, when the third pressure sensor switch 1050 is in the open position, a pneumatic signal can flow through the inlet and outlet ports 1072, 1074 and to the example fluid transfer system 100 of FIGS. 1 and / or 9 to activate and / or halt operation of the fluid transfer system 100.

[0098] In some examples, as a result of the size differential between the first and second chambers 1052, 1056, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 is biased to the closed position. For example, when the first pressure on the first surface 1064 drops below the second pressure on the second surface 1066, the third pressure sensor switch 1050 returns to and / or remains in the closed state unless and until the first pressure exceeds the second pressure.

[0099] FIG. 10D is a cross-sectional view of the second example pressure sensor switch 914 of FIGS. 9, 10A, and / or 10B implementing an example spring 1080. In the illustrated example of FIG. 10D, the spring 1080 is positioned in the second chamber 920 of the second pressure sensor switch 914 and is coupled between the second surface 1008 and a third example surface 1082 of the second pressure sensor switch 914. In some examples, the spring 1080 can be used to bias the second pressure sensor switch 914 to the closed position and / or to adjust a magnitude of the reference pressure on the second surface 1008. For example, the second pressure sensor switch 914 can move to the open position when the first pressure on the first surface 1004 is greater than the reference pressure on the second surface 1008. where thereference pressure is based on a fluid pressure in the second chamber 920 and a spring force of the spring 1080 on the second surface 1008. In some examples, when the first pressure on the first surface 1004 drops below the reference pressure, the spring 1080 causes the second pressure sensor switch 914 to return to and / or remain in the closed position unless and until the first pressure exceeds the reference pressure.

[0100] In some examples, the reference pressure in the second chamber 920 is based on a stiffness of the spring 1080, and different springs corresponding to respective different stiffness values can be implemented in the second pressure sensor switch 914 to adjust a magnitude of the reference pressure. Additionally, while the spring 1080 is implemented in the second pressure sensor switch 914 in this example, the spring 1080 can similarly be implemented in the second chamber 1056 of the third pressure sensor switch 1050 of FIG. 10C in some examples.

[0101] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8. In this example, the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8 is implemented by a microprocessor 1100. For example, the microprocessor 1100 may be a general-purpose microprocessor (e.g., general-purpose microprocessor circuitry). The microprocessor 1100 executes some or all of the machine-readable instructions of the flowchart of FIG. 7 to effectively instantiate the circuitry of FIG. 2 as logic circuits to perform operations corresponding to those machine readable instructions. In some such examples, the circuitry of FIG. 5 is instantiated by the hardware circuits of the microprocessor 1100 in combination with the machine-readable instructions. For example, the microprocessor 1100 may be implemented by multi-core hardware circuitry such as a CPU, a DSP, a GPU, an XPU, etc. Although it may include any number of example cores 1102 (e.g., 1 core), the microprocessor 1100 of this example is a multi-core semiconductor device including N cores. The cores 1102 of the microprocessor 1100 may operate independently or may cooperate to execute machine readableinstructions. For example, machine code corresponding to a firmware program, an embedded software program, or a software program may be executed by one of the cores 1102 or may be executed by multiple ones of the cores 1102 at the same or different times. In some examples, the machine code corresponding to the firmware program, the embedded software program, or the software program is split into threads and executed in parallel by two or more of the cores 1102. The software program may correspond to a portion or all of the machine readable instructions and / or operations represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7.

[0102] The cores 1102 may communicate by a first example bus 1104. In some examples, the first bus 1104 may be implemented by a communication bus to effectuate communication associated with one(s) of the cores 1102. For example, the first bus 1104 may be implemented by at least one of an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus, a PCI bus, or a PCIe bus. Additionally or alternatively, the first bus 1104 may be implemented by any other type of computing or electrical bus. The cores 1102 may obtain data, instructions, and / or signals from one or more external devices by example interface circuitry 1106. The cores 1102 may output data, instructions, and / or signals to the one or more external devices by the interface circuitry 1106. Although the cores 1102 of this example include example local memory 1120 (e.g., Level 1 (LI) cache that may be split into an LI data cache and an LI instruction cache), the microprocessor 1100 also includes example shared memory 11 10 that may be shared by the cores (e g., Level 2 (L2 cache)) for high-speed access to data and / or instructions. Data and / or instructions may be transferred (e.g., shared) by writing to and / or reading from the shared memory 1110. The local memory 1 120 of each of the cores 1102 and the shared memory 11 10 may be part of a hierarchy of storage devices including multiple levels of cache memory and the main memory (e.g., the main memory 814, 816 of FIG. 8). Typically, higher levels of memory in the hierarchy exhibit lower access time and have smallerstorage capacity than lower levels of memory. Changes in the various levels of the cache hierarchy are managed (e.g., coordinated) by a cache coherency policy.

[0103] Each core 1102 may be referred to as a CPU, DSP, GPU, etc., or any other type of hardware circuitry. Each core 1102 includes control unit circuitry 1114, arithmetic and logic (AL) circuitry' (sometimes referred to as an ALU) 1116, a plurality of registers 1118, the local memory71120, and a second example bus 1122. Other structures may be present. For example, each core 1102 may include vector unit circuitry', single instruction multiple data (SIMD) unit circuitry', load / store unit (LSU) circuitry', branch / jump unit circuitry', floating-point unit (FPU) circuitry', etc. The control unit circuitry' 1114 includes semiconductor-based circuits structured to control (e.g., coordinate) data movement within the corresponding core 1102. The AL circuitry 1116 includes semiconductor-based circuits structured to perform one or more mathematic and / or logic operations on the data within the corresponding core 1102. The AL circuitry 1116 of some examples performs integer based operations. In other examples, the AL circuitry 1116 also performs floating-point operations. In yet other examples, the AL circuitry' 1 116 may include first AL circuitry that performs integer-based operations and second AL circuitry that performs floating-point operations. In some examples, the AL circuitry' 1116 may be referred to as an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU).

[0104] The registers 1118 are semiconductor-based structures to store data and / or instructions such as results of one or more of the operations performed by the AL circuitry 1 1 16 of the corresponding core 1102. For example, the registers 1118 may include vector register(s), SIMD register(s), general-purpose register(s), flag register(s), segment register(s), machinespecific register(s), instruction pointer register(s), control registers), debug register(s), memory management register(s), machine check register(s), etc. The registers 1 118 may be arranged in a bank as shown in FIG. 11. Alternatively, the registers 1118 may be organized in any other arrangement, format, or structure, such as by being distributed throughout the core 1102 toshorten access time. The second bus 1122 may be implemented by at least one of an I2C bus, a SPI bus, a PCI bus, or a PCIe bus.

[0105] Each core 1102 and / or, more generally, the microprocessor 1100 may include additional and / or alternate structures to those shown and described above. For example, one or more clock circuits, one or more power supplies, one or more power gates, one or more cache home agents (CHAs), one or more converged / common mesh stops (CMSs), one or more shifters (e.g., barrel shifter(s)) and / or other circuitry may be present. The microprocessor 1100 is a semiconductor device fabricated to include many transistors interconnected to implement the structures described above in one or more integrated circuits (ICs) contained in one or more packages.

[0106] The microprocessor 1100 may include and / or cooperate with one or more accelerators (e.g., acceleration circuitry, hardware accelerators, etc.). In some examples, accelerators are implemented by logic circuitry to perform certain tasks more quickly and / or efficiently than can be done by a general-purpose processor. Examples of accelerators include ASICs and FPGAs such as those discussed herein. A GPU, DSP and / or other programmable device can also be an accelerator. Accelerators may be on-board the microprocessor 1100, in the same chip package as the microprocessor 1100 and / or in one or more separate packages from the microprocessor 1100.

[0107] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of another example implementation of the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8. In this example, the programmable circuitry 812 is implemented by FPGA circuitry 1200. For example, the FPGA circuitry 1200 may be implemented by an FPGA. The FPGA circuitry 1200 can be used, for example, to perform operations that could otherwise be performed by the example microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 1 1 executing corresponding machine readable instructions. However, once configured, the FPGA circuitry 1200 instantiates the operations and / or functions corresponding to the machine readableinstructions in hardware and, thus, can often execute the operations / functions faster than they could be performed by a general-purpose microprocessor executing the corresponding software.

[0108] More specifically, in contrast to the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 described above (which is a general purpose device that may be programmed to execute some or all of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7 but whose interconnections and logic circuitry are fixed once fabricated), the FPGA circuitry 1200 of the example of FIG.12 includes interconnections and logic circuitry that may be configured, structured, programmed, and / or interconnected in different ways after fabrication to instantiate, for example, some or all of the operations / functions corresponding to the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7. In particular, the FPGA circuitry 1200 may be thought of as an array of logic gates, interconnections, and switches. The switches can be programmed to change how the logic gates are interconnected by the interconnections, effectively forming one or more dedicated logic circuits (unless and until the FPGA circuitry 1200 is reprogrammed). The configured logic circuits enable the logic gates to cooperate in different ways to perform different operations on data received by input circuitry. Those operations may correspond to some or all of the instructions (e.g., the software and / or firmware) represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7. As such, the FPGA circuitry 1200 may be configured and / or structured to effectively instantiate some or all of the operations / functions corresponding to the machine readable instructions of the flowchart of FIG. 7 as dedicated logic circuits to perform the operations / functions corresponding to those software instructions in a dedicated manner analogous to an ASIC. Therefore, the FPGA circuitry 1200 may perform the operations / functions corresponding to the some or all of the machine readable instructions of FIG. 7 faster than the general-purpose microprocessor can execute the same.

[0109] In the example of FIG. 12, the FPGA circuitry 1200 is configured and / or structured in response to being programmed (and / or reprogrammed one or more times) based ona binary' file. In some examples, the binary file may be compiled and / or generated based on instructions in a hardware description language (HDL) such as Lucid, Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL), or Verilog. For example, a user (e g., a human user, a machine user, etc.) may write code or a program corresponding to one or more operations / functions in an HDL; the code / program may be translated into a low-level language as needed; and the code / program (e.g., the code / program in the low-level language) may be converted (e.g., by a compiler, a software application, etc.) into the binary' file. In some examples, the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may access and / or load the binary' file to cause the FPGA circuitry' 1200 of FIG. 12 to be configured and / or structured to perform the one or more operations / functions. For example, the binary' file may be implemented by a bit stream (e.g., one or more computer-readable bits, one or more machine-readable bits, etc.), data (e.g., computer-readable data, machine-readable data, etc.), and / or machine-readable instructions accessible to the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 to cause configuration and / or structuring of the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12, or portion(s) thereof.

[0110] In some examples, the binary' file is compiled, generated, transformed, and / or otherwise output from a uniform software platform utilized to program FPGAs. For example, the uniform software platform may translate first instructions (e.g., code or a program) that correspond to one or more operations / functions in a high-level language (e.g., C, C++, Python, etc.) into second instructions that correspond to the one or more operations / functions in an HDL. In some such examples, the binary file is compiled, generated, and / or otherwise output from the uniform software platform based on the second instructions. In some examples, the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may access and / or load the binary file to cause the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 to be configured and / or structured to perform the one or more operations / functions. For example, the binary file may be implemented by a bit stream (e.g., one or more computer-readable bits, one or more machine-readable bits, etc.), data (e.g..computer-readable data, machine-readable data, etc.), and / or machine-readable instructions accessible to the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 to cause configuration and / or structuring of the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12, or portion(s) thereof.

[0111] The FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12, includes example input / output (I / O) circuitry71202 to obtain and / or output data to / from example configuration circuitry 1204 and / or external hardware 1206. For example, the configuration circuitry 1204 may be implemented by interface circuitry' that may obtain a binary' file, which may be implemented by a bit stream, data, and / or machine-readable instructions, to configure the FPGA circuitry' 1200, or portion(s) thereof. In some such examples, the configuration circuitry' 1204 may obtain the binary' file from a user, a machine (e.g., hardware circuitry' (e.g., programmable or dedicated circuitry ) that may implement an Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) model to generate the binary file), etc., and / or any combination(s) thereof). In some examples, the external hardware 1206 may be implemented by external hardware circuitry. For example, the external hardware 1206 may be implemented by the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11.

[0112] The FPGA circuitry' 1200 also includes an array of example logic gate circuitry' 1208, a plurality of example configurable interconnections 1210, and example storage circuitry 1212. The logic gate circuitry 1208 and the configurable interconnections 1210 are configurable to instantiate one or more operations / functions that may' correspond to at least some of the machine readable instructions of FIG. 7 and / or other desired operations. The logic gate circuitry 1208 shown in FIG. 12 is fabricated in blocks or groups. Each block includes semiconductorbased electrical structures that may be configured into logic circuits. In some examples, the electrical structures include logic gates (e.g., And gates. Or gates. Nor gates, etc.) that provide basic building blocks for logic circuits. Electrically controllable switches (e.g., transistors) are present within each of the logic gate circuitry 1208 to enable configuration of the electncal structures and / or the logic gates to form circuits to perform desired operations / functions. Thelogic gate circuitry 1208 may include other electrical structures such as look-up tables (LUTs), registers (e g., flip-flops or latches), multiplexers, etc.

[0113] The configurable interconnections 1210 of the illustrated example are conductive pathways, traces, vias, or the like that may include electrically controllable switches (e g., transistors) whose state can be changed by programming (e g., using an HDL instruction language) to activate or deactivate one or more connections between one or more of the logic gate circuitry 1208 to program desired logic circuits.

[0114] The storage circuitry 1212 of the illustrated example is structured to store result(s) of the one or more of the operations performed by corresponding logic gates. The storage circuitry 1212 may be implemented by registers or the like. In the illustrated example, the storage circuitry 1212 is distributed amongst the logic gate circuitry' 1208 to facilitate access and increase execution speed.

[0115] The example FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 also includes example dedicated operations circuitry' 1214. In this example, the dedicated operations circuitry71214 includes special purpose circuitry' 1216 that may be invoked to implement commonly used functions to avoid the need to program those functions in the field. Examples of such special purpose circuitry 121 include memory7(e.g., DRAM) controller circuitry, PCIe controller circuitry, clock circuitry, transceiver circuitry, memory, and multiplier-accumulator circuitry. Other types of special purpose circuitry may be present. In some examples, the FPGA circuitry71200 may also include example general purpose programmable circuitry 1218 such as an example CPU 1220 and / or an example DSP 1222. Other general purpose programmable circuitry71218 may additionally or alternatively be present such as a GPU, an XPU, etc., that can be programmed to perform other operations.

[0116] Although FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate two example implementations of the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8. many other approaches are contemplated. For example,FPGA circuitry may include an on-board CPU, such as one or more of the example CPU 1220 of FIG. 11. Therefore, the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8 may additionally be implemented by combining at least the example microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 and the example FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12. In some such hybrid examples, one or more cores 1102 of FIG. 11 may execute a first portion of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7 to perform first operation(s) / function(s), the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may be configured and / or structured to perform second operation(s) / function(s) corresponding to a second portion of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7, and / or an ASIC may be configured and / or structured to perform third operation(s) / function(s) corresponding to a third portion of the machine readable instructions represented by the flowchart of FIG. 7.

[0117] It should be understood that some or all of the circuitry of FIG. 5 may, thus, be instantiated at the same or different times. For example, same and / or different portion(s) of the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 may be programmed to execute portion(s) of machine-readable instructions at the same and / or different times. In some examples, same and / or different portion(s) of the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may be configured and / or structured to perform operations / functions corresponding to portion(s) of machine-readable instructions at the same and / or different times.

[0118] In some examples, some or all of the circuitry of FIG. 5 may be instantiated, for example, in one or more threads executing concurrently and / or in series. For example, the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 may execute machine readable instructions in one or more threads executing concurrently and / or in series. In some examples, the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may be configured and / or structured to carry out operations / functions concurrently and / or in series. Moreover, in some examples, some or all of the circuitry of FIG. 5 may beimplemented within one or more virtual machines and / or containers executing on the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11.

[0119] In some examples, the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8 may be in one or more packages. For example, the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11 and / or the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12 may be in one or more packages. In some examples, an XPU may be implemented by the programmable circuitry 812 of FIG. 8, which may be in one or more packages. For example, the XPU may include a CPU (e.g., the microprocessor 1100 of FIG. 11, the CPU 1220 of FIG. 12, etc.) in one package, a DSP (e.g., the DSP 1222 of FIG. 12) in another package, a GPU in yet another package, and an FPGA (e.g., the FPGA circuitry 1200 of FIG. 12) in still yet another package.

[0120] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that protect devices in a gas piping system from exposure to high pressure fluids (e.g., fluids at or above a threshold pressure). Examples disclosed herein provide a valve fluidly coupled between the devices and a first location, where the valve remains in a closed position to prevent fluid flow from the first location to the devices when the fluid is at or above the threshold pressure. Conversely, when the pressure is below the threshold pressure, an example pressure sensor switch provides a pneumatic signal to the valve to cause the valve to move to an open position, thus allowing the fluid to flow from the first location to the devices. By preventing and / or restricting the devices from exposure to high pressure fluid, disclosed systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture prevent and / or reduce damage to the devices. Further, unlike some known regulators, examples disclosed herein can operate when a liquid-to-gas ratio of the fluid varies during operation of a fluid transfer system. Examples disclosed herein can also replace and / or reduce a number of regulators to be implemented in a gas piping system, thus reducing parts costs associated therewith. Disclosed systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufactureare accordingly directed to one or more improvement(s) in the operation of a machine or other electronic and / or mechanical device.

[0121] An example pressure protection system and related methods are disclosed herein. Further examples and combinations thereof include the following:

[0122] Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising a valve fluidly coupled between a first location and one or more devices dow nstream of the first location, the valve biased to a closed position, and a pressure sensor switch fluidly coupled to the first location and to the valve, the pressure sensor switch to detect a pressure of fluid from the first location, when the pressure satisfies a threshold, cause the valve to switch from the closed position to an open position to fluidly couple the first location to the one or more devices, and when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, enable to valve to at least one of return to or remain in the closed position.

[0123] Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the valve in the closed position enables backflow from the one or more devices to the first location and restricts fluid flow from the first location to the one or more devices.

[0124] Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the pressure sensor switch is in a first position when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, the pressure sensor switch to fluidly couple the valve to a vent and fluidly decouple the valve from an air supply when the pressure sensor switch is in the first position.

[0125] Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 3, wherein the pressure sensor switch is in a second position when the pressure satisfies the threshold, the pressure sensor switch to fluidly couple the valve to the air supply and fluidly decouple the valve from the vent when the pressure sensor switch is in the first position.

[0126] Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 4, wherein the pressure sensor switch in the second position enables an air signal to flow from the air supply to the valve, the valve to switch to the open position responsive to the air signal.

[0127] Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 4, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes a first port fluidly coupled to the valve, a second port fluidly coupled to the air supply, a piston movable within the pressure sensor switch between a first piston position and a second piston position, the first port fluidly decoupled from the second port when the piston is in the first piston position, the first port fluidly coupled to the second port when the piston is in the second piston position, and a third port fluidly coupled to the first location to receive the fluid from the first location, the fluid to apply a first force on the piston in a first direction, the piston to move to the first piston position when the first force is greater than a second force on the piston in a second direction, the piston to move to the second piston position when the first force is less than the second force on the piston.

[0128] Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 6, wherein the fluid is first fluid, the pressure sensor switch including a chamber including second fluid, the second fluid to apply the second force on the piston.

[0129] Example 8 includes the apparatus of example 6, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes a spring positioned in a chamber, the spring to apply the second force on the piston.

[0130] Example 9 includes the apparatus of example 8, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes an adjustment cap movable along a threaded surface of the pressure sensor switch, the adjustment cap to adjust a magnitude of the second force.

[0131] Example 10 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the one or more devices include at least one of an under-pressure cutoff switch or a pressure gauge.

[0132] Example 11 includes a pressure sensor switch comprising an inlet port, an outlet port, a first chamber to receive first fluid from a first location, the first fluid at a first pressure, a second chamber to receive second fluid from the first location, the second fluid at a second pressure, a valve operatively coupled between the first location and the second chamber, the valve to set the second pressure in the second chamber, and a piston to fluidly couple the inlet port to the outlet port when a difference between the first and second pressures satisfies a threshold.

[0133] Example 12 includes the pressure sensor switch of example 11, wherein the inlet port is fluidly coupled to an example air supply.

[0134] Example 13 includes the pressure sensor switch of example 11, wherein the outlet port is fluidly coupled to a fluid transfer system implemented along an example pipe, the first location corresponding to a discharge line of the fluid transfer system.

[0135] Example 14 includes the pressure sensor switch of example 13, wherein the pressure sensor switch is to provide an air signal to the fluid transfer system when the inlet port is fluidly coupled to the outlet port, the air signal to halt operation of the fluid transfer system.

[0136] Example 15 includes the pressure sensor switch of example 11, wherein a first size of the first chamber is less than a second size of the second chamber.

[0137] Example 16 includes the pressure sensor switch of example 1 1 , further including a spring positioned in the second chamber.

[0138] Example 17 includes a method comprising fluidly coupling a valve between a first location and one or more devices downstream of the first location, the valve biased to a closed position, and fluidly coupling a pressure sensor switch to the first location and to the valve, the pressure sensor switch to detect a pressure of fluid from the first location, when the pressure satisfies a threshold, cause the valve to switch from the closed position to an openposition to fluidly couple the first location to the one or more devices, and when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, enable to valve to at least one of return to or remain in the closed position.

[0139] Example 18 includes the method of example 17, further including fluidly coupling a first port of the pressure sensor switch to the valve, fluidly coupling a second port to an air supply, and positioning a piston within the pressure sensor switch, the piston movable between a first piston position and a second piston position, the first port fluidly decoupled from the second port when the piston is in the first piston position, the first port fluidly coupled to the second port w hen the piston is in the second piston position.

[0140] Example 19 includes the method of example 18, further including fluidly coupling a third port of the pressure sensor switch to the first location to receive the fluid from the first location, the fluid to apply a first force on the piston in a first direction, the piston to move to the first piston position when the first force is greater than a second force on the piston in a second direction, the piston to move to the second piston position when the first force is less than the second force on the piston.

[0141] Example 20 includes the method of example 18, further including positioning a spring in a chamber of the pressure sensor switch, the spring to bias the piston to the first piston position.

[0142] Example 21 includes the method of claim 20, further including adjusting a magnitude of a spring force of the spring on the piston by adjusting an adjustment cap of the pressure sensor switch, the adjustment cap movable along a threaded surface of the pressure sensor switch.

[0143] Example 22 includes the method of claim 17, wherein fluidly coupling the valve to the one or more devices includes fluidly coupling the valve to at least one of an under pressure cutoff switch or a pressure gauge.

[0144] Although certain example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. An apparatus comprising: a valve fluidly coupled between a first location and one or more devices downstream of the first location, the valve biased to a closed position; and a pressure sensor switch fluidly coupled to the first location and to the valve, the pressure sensor switch to: detect a pressure of fluid from the first location; when the pressure satisfies a threshold, cause the valve to switch from the closed position to an open position to fluidly couple the first location to the one or more devices; and when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, enable to valve to at least one of return to or remain in the closed position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valve in the closed position enables backflow from the one or more devices to the first location and restricts fluid flow from the first location to the one or more devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor switch is in a first position when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, the pressure sensor switch to fluidly couple the valve to a vent and fluidly decouple the valve from an air supply when the pressure sensor switch is in the first position.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the pressure sensor switch is in a second position when the pressure satisfies the threshold, the pressure sensor switch to fluidly couple the valve to the air supply and fluidly decouple the valve from the vent when the pressure sensor switch is in the first position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pressure sensor switch in the second position enables an air signal to flow from the air supply to the valve, the valve to switch to the open position responsive to the air signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes: a first port fluidly coupled to the valve; a second port fluidly coupled to the air supply; a piston movable within the pressure sensor switch between a first piston position and a second piston position, the first port fluidly decoupled from the second port when the piston is in the first piston position, the first port fluidly coupled to the second port when the piston is in the second piston position; and a third port fluidly coupled to the first location to receive the fluid from the first location, the fluid to apply a first force on the piston in a first direction, the piston to move to the first piston position when the first force is greater than a second force on the piston in a second direction, the piston to move to the second piston position when the first force is less than the second force on the piston.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the fluid is first fluid, the pressure sensor switch including a chamber including second fluid, the second fluid to apply the second force on the piston.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes a spring positioned in a chamber, the spring to apply the second force on the piston.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pressure sensor switch includes an adjustment cap movable along a threaded surface of the pressure sensor switch, the adjustment cap to adjust a magnitude of the second force.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more devices include at least one of an under-pressure cutoff switch or a pressure gauge.

11. A pressure sensor switch comprising: an inlet port; an outlet port; a first chamber to receive first fluid from a first location, the first fluid at a first pressure; a second chamber to receive second fluid from the first location, the second fluid at a second pressure; a valve operatively coupled between the first location and the second chamber, the valve to set the second pressure in the second chamber; and a piston to fluidly couple the inlet port to the outlet port when a difference between the first and second pressures satisfies a threshold.

12. The pressure sensor switch of claim 11, wherein the inlet port is fluidly coupled to an example air supply.

13. The pressure sensor switch of claim 11, wherein the outlet port is fluidly coupled to a fluid transfer system implemented along an example pipe, the first location corresponding to a discharge line of the fluid transfer system.

14. The pressure sensor switch of claim 13, wherein the pressure sensor switch is to provide an air signal to the fluid transfer system when the inlet port is fluidly coupled to the outlet port, the air signal to halt operation of the fluid transfer system.

15. The pressure sensor switch of claim 11 , wherein a first size of the first chamber is less than a second size of the second chamber.

16. The pressure sensor switch of claim 11 , further including a spring positioned in the second chamber.

17. A method comprising: fluidly coupling a valve between a first location and one or more devices downstream of the first location, the valve biased to a closed position; andfluidly coupling a pressure sensor switch to the first location and to the valve, the pressure sensor switch to: detect a pressure of fluid from the first location; when the pressure satisfies a threshold, cause the valve to switch from the closed position to an open position to fluidly couple the first location to the one or more devices; and when the pressure does not satisfy the threshold, enable to valve to at least one of return to or remain in the closed position.

18. The method of claim 17, further including: fluidly coupling a first port of the pressure sensor switch to the valve; fluidly coupling a second port to an air supply; and positioning a piston within the pressure sensor switch, the piston movable between a first piston position and a second piston position, the first port fluidly decoupled from the second port when the piston is in the first piston position, the first port fluidly coupled to the second port when the piston is in the second piston position.

19. The method of claim 18, further including fluidly coupling a third port of the pressure sensor switch to the first location to receive the fluid from the first location, the fluid to apply a first force on the piston in a first direction, the piston to move to the first piston position when the first force is greater than a second force on the piston in a second direction, the piston to move to the second piston position when the first force is less than the second force on the piston.

20. The method of claim 18, further including positioning a spring in a chamber of the pressure sensor switch, the spring to bias the piston to the first piston position.

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