METHOD FOR PRECISE ELECTRIC ACTUATOR CONTROL WITH REDUCED REPOSITIONING

The present invention encompasses systems and methods for enabling electronically actuated valves to operate reliably and precisely with prolonged life by achieving effective control with less-frequent reposition requirements. A time interval is selected at which position command signals will be received. When a position command signal is received for a valve, a check is made to determine if the absolute value of the sum of differences between each position command signal (since the last repositioning of the valve) and the actual current position of the valve exceeds a preset threshold. If it does, the valve is repositioned according to the most recently received position command signal. If the absolute value sum of the differences does not exceed the preset threshold, the valve is not repositioned, but the value of the absolute value sum of the differences is stored in memory. At the next time interval for receiving position command signals, a next position command signal is received and the process repeats. Once the threshold is exceeded, the valve is repositioned according to the most recent position command value, and the absolute value of the sum of differences is reset to zero.