EA043803B1 - CONTROL VALVE ASSEMBLY WITH ORIENTATION ADJUSTMENT - Google Patents

Description

Branch of technology and background of the invention

This invention relates to hydraulic control valves for controlling fluid flow, and in particular relates to a control valve assembly for use with similar hydraulic control valves.

It is known that to provide control pressure in the drive chamber of a hydraulic control valve, a control valve assembly is used. Various principles of operation of control valves are known to implement different types of control, including, but not limited to: pressure reduction, pressure maintenance, flow limitation, etc. Control valves typically respond to inlet pressure and/or outlet pressure and are in flow connection with the hydraulic control valve actuator chamber. These different functions are often carried out using a connecting pipe that is external to the body of said hydraulic control valve and said control valve. In other cases, specially designed valve manifolds may combine a hydraulic control valve with a control valve in a combination housing.

In some cases, hydraulic control valves may be designed to simply turn the remote control function on and off. In one such embodiment, a hydraulic control valve is used, wherein the bonnet includes an actuator chamber, and said bonnet has a threaded control socket that provides access to flow passages connected to permit fluid flow to the actuator chamber of said hydraulic control valve and the outlets a connecting channel of said hydraulic control valve. The threaded control socket is preferably designed to accept a standard solenoid valve controller and allows selective opening and closing of the flow path, which is effective in switching the control valve between two states.

The essence of the invention

This invention is a control valve assembly for connection to a hydraulic control valve.

In accordance with the teachings of one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control valve assembly for connection to a hydraulic control valve, wherein said hydraulic control valve has a cover that at least partially encloses the actuator chamber, said cover has a threaded control seat that allows access to flow passages connected to provide fluid flow to a drive chamber of said hydraulic control valve and an outlet connecting passage of said hydraulic control valve, wherein said control valve assembly comprises: (a) a connector having a generally cylindrical body enclosing an internal channel extending parallel to the axis of said housing, wherein a first end portion of said connector is provided with an external thread for engagement with said threaded control socket of said hydraulic control valve, a second end of said connector is provided with a plurality of teeth located around the edge of said second end, and on the outer the surface of said connector has an annular groove located at some distance from said second end; (b) a control valve comprising a mechanism for regulating pressure within the actuator chamber of said hydraulic control valve, wherein said control valve has a recess configured to engage with said second end of said connector, wherein said recess has a plurality of complementary teeth configured to engage with said plurality of teeth of said connector in a plurality of angular orientations; and (c) a pressing device for engaging said annular groove so as to press the control valve against said second end of said connector with complementary teeth engaging said plurality of teeth, thereby fixing the angular orientation of said control valve.

In accordance with one feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said clamping device comprises a fork-shaped wedge having two wedge teeth for insertion through guide channels provided in said control valve so that said wedge teeth engage with said annular groove and gradually press said a control valve to said second end of said connector.

According to another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said plurality of teeth are provided on an axially facing end surface of said second end of said connector and protrude in an axial direction.

In accordance with another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said control valve also includes a connecting tube protruding from said recess and configured to be inserted through said internal channel of said connector for connection with the flow path opening of said hydraulic control valve.

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According to another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said control valve is a pressure reducing control valve configured to regulate the pressure in the drive chamber of said hydraulic control valve depending on at least the pressure from the outlet connecting passage.

In accordance with another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said control valve is configured to shut off a flow path from the drive chamber of said hydraulic control valve to an outlet connection channel depending on at least the pressure in said outlet connection channel.

According to another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said control valve is configured to switch a flow path into a drive chamber of said hydraulic control valve between a first state connected to the inlet connecting channel, a second state of blocking the flow, and a third state for relieving pressure from the chamber. driving said hydraulic control valve.

According to another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, said control valve is a diaphragm control valve.

In accordance with another feature of one embodiment of the present invention, the control valve includes a spring-loaded diaphragm loaded with a spring, and a spring adjusting mechanism for varying the load applied to the spring.

Brief description of the figures

This invention is described below by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a hydraulic control valve equipped with a control valve assembly constructed and operated in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the hydraulic control valve shown in FIG. 1, before connecting said control valve assembly;

fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through a hydraulic control valve equipped with said control valve assembly shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 4A is an isometric exploded view showing the components of said control valve assembly, including the connector, along with the hydraulic control valve portion of FIG. 1;

fig. 4B is an enlarged isometric view of the connector shown in FIG. 4A;

fig. 5 is an isometric exploded view showing the components of the control valve assembly shown in FIG. 1, wherein said control valve is shown inverted to show the design of the recess for connection with said connector;

fig. 6A is a side view of the control valve assembly shown in FIG. 1, together with a portion of said hydraulic control valve, where portion M is indicated by a circle;

fig. 6B is a partial sectional view in a plane parallel to the central axis of a control valve connector assembly taken at portion M of FIG. 6A illustrating the operation of the wedge clamping mechanism;

fig. 7 is a simplified top view of the control valve assembly shown in FIG. 1, together with a portion of said hydraulic control valve, showing said control valve located in a range of different angular orientations labeled A-D;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a control valve assembly illustrated in a simplified cross-sectional context of a hydraulic control valve and connector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, wherein said control valve assembly utilizes a two-way control circuit;

fig. 9A is a top view of the control valve assembly shown in FIG. 1, together with a part of said hydraulic control valve, where line A-B is indicated;

fig. 9B is a sectional view taken along the line A-B indicated in FIG. 9A, showing one embodiment of said control valve assembly shown in FIG. 8; and figs. 10 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a control valve assembly, illustrated schematically in the context of a cross-section of a hydraulic control valve and connector in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, wherein said control valve assembly utilizes a three-way control circuit.

Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

This invention relates to a control valve assembly for connection to a hydraulic control valve.

The constituent parts and operating principle of control valve assemblies in accordance with the present invention can be better understood by reference to the figures and detailed description below.

In fig. 1-10 shows different versions of the control valve 10 assembly, designed

- 2 043803 configured and operating in accordance with the teachings of specific embodiments of the present invention, for connection to a hydraulic valve 100. In particular, this invention is suitable for use in hydraulic control valves 100 having a cover 102 that at least partially encloses the actuator chamber 104 , wherein the cover 102 has a threaded control seat 106 providing access to flow channels 108 and 110 that are connected to provide fluid flow to the actuator chamber 104 and the outlet connection channel 112 of the hydraulic control valve 100, respectively.

Some particularly preferred embodiments of the control valve assembly 10 include a connector 12, which is best seen in FIG. 4A-5, fig. 6B and 9B, and having a generally cylindrical body enclosing an internal passage 14 extending parallel to the axis of said body. The first end portion 16 of the connector 12 is provided with an external thread 18 for engagement with a threaded control seat 106 of the hydraulic control valve 100. The second end 20 of the connector is provided with a plurality of teeth 22 located around the edge of the second end 20. On the outer surface of the connector 12, at some distance from the second end 20, an annular groove 24 is made.

The control valve assembly 10 also includes a control valve 26 containing a mechanism for regulating the pressure in the actuator chamber of said hydraulic control valve. The control valve 26 is provided with a recess (see FIG. 5) for engagement with the second end 20 of the connector 12. The recess 28 has a plurality of complementary teeth 30 configured to engage the teeth 22 of the connector 12 in any of a variety of angular orientations. .

A pressing device is also provided to engage the annular groove 24 so as to press the control valve 26 against the second end 20 of the connector 12 with complementary teeth 30 engaging the plurality of teeth 22, thereby fixing the angular orientation of said control valve.

At this point it will be clear that some preferred embodiments of the present invention provide highly effective modularity and convenience. In particular, with the use of connector 12, different types of control valve can be used by directly connecting to the known threaded control socket of the known hydraulic control valve, and also with reduced requirements with no requirement for external pipes. The engagement configuration between said control valve 26 and connector 12 allows an angular orientation to be selected that is compatible with the design of both the hydraulic control valve 100 and said control valve 26, as well as any other adjacent components installed, and then the selected orientation to be secured using said clamping device, preferably without the need for rotational movement of said control valve during clamping. A selection of such possible orientations is shown schematically superimposed on one another in FIG. 7 in orientations A B, C and D. These and other advantages of the various embodiments of the present invention will be better understood from the following description and the accompanying figures.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, this invention can be implemented for a wide variety of hydraulic control valves 100, including, but not limited to, control valves operated by actuator chamber pressure acting on a flexible diaphragm and control valves operated by actuator chamber pressure acting on a piston. As one non-limiting example, FIG. 2 shows a diaphragm valve in which the outer periphery of the flexible diaphragm 114 is sandwiched between the cap 102 and the valve body 116. A plug 118, installed in the middle of said membrane, is selectively pressed against the valve seat 120. In some cases, depending on the type of control valve control used (as discussed below), a restricted flow path 122 is provided, in this case through the central channel of the plug 118, to provide limited flow from the inlet side of said control valve into the actuator chamber 104.

It should be noted that the hydraulic control valve 100 thus described can operate as an on/off control valve by simply screwing a known solenoid actuator (not shown) into the threaded control socket 106. When the solenoid valve is open to allow flow from port 108 to port 110 , the pressure in the actuator chamber 104 is released to the outlet side of the control valve with a flow resistance much less than the restricted flow through the flow path 122, resulting in a low pressure in the said actuator chamber and the opening of the said valve. When said solenoid valve is switched to the closed state, the sealing element of said solenoid actuator is pressed against the opening of port 110 to shut off flow from port 108 to port 110. The pressure in actuator chamber 104 then increases as the pressure on the inlet side of the valve equalizes from the edge to edge of the restricted flow channel 122 without any escape path, resulting in increased pressure in the actuator chamber, which (usually by means of a spring) forces plug 118 to its closed position.

The control valve assembly in accordance with the present invention facilitates the conversion of such an on/off valve, typically without modification, to operate under control

- 3 043803 control valve to provide extended functionality by simply connecting the control valve via connector 12.

The connection of the connector 12 to the threaded adjustment socket 106 is preferably made through a known threaded connection, typically reinforced with an O-ring 107, which can be installed in a corresponding annular recess, which is best seen in FIG. 6V, making the connector interchangeable with the electromagnetic drive. Once connector 12 is installed in socket 106, the desired orientation for control valve 26 is selected and engaged with connector 12 so that complementary teeth 22 and 30 approach and begin to engage. At this point the orientation can still be easily adjusted. Once the position has been determined, a clamping device is used to securely engage the complementary teeth 22 and 30 and to secure the control valve 26 to the connector 12.

A variety of different clamping devices may be used to seal the engagement between said control valve and said connector and secure them to one another. These may include various fasteners, fasteners, clips, toggle mechanisms, etc. According to one particularly simple and effective non-limiting example set forth in this specification, said clamping device comprises a fork-shaped wedge 32 with two wedge teeth 34 for insertion through guide channels 36 formed in the control valve 26 so as to intersect a recess 28 aligned with the annular groove 24. The wedge angle of the wedge teeth 34 and the orientation of the guide channels 36 are preferably chosen such that as the wedge teeth advance, they gradually press the control valve 26 against the second end 20 of the connector 12. The sealing effect is best shown in the partial enlarged cross-section of FIG. 6B, where it can be seen that the wedge tooth 34 presses one side of the annular groove 24 against the opposite side of the guide channel 36, displacing the said connector towards the innermost surface of the recess 28.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown here, a plurality of teeth 22 are provided on the axially facing end surface of the second end 20 of the connector 12, and said teeth protrude in the axial direction. It should be noted that the term protrude is used in this specification to refer to the apexes of the teeth relative to the grooves therebetween, and the teeth do not necessarily protrude beyond the end 20 of the connector. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, all of the teeth may lie at or below the level of the solid edge defining the end 20, which may promote the formation of a seal against the base of the recess 28, reinforced by the ring seal 38.

In various applications of the present invention, the control valve 26 requires separate flow to two flow channels 108 and 110 within the threaded control seat 106. This can be achieved either by installing a connector 12 with an internal structure (not shown) that defines two different flow channels through said connector , or as shown in FIG. 5 and fig. 9B, by providing a connecting tube 40 that projects from the recess 28 and which is configured to advance through the internal channel of the connector 12 for connection with an opening associated with one of the flow channels, in this case the flow channel 110. In the design shown here, the sealing collar 42 facilitates a sealed connection between the connecting tube 40 and the flow channel 110.

Control valve 26 may be configured to implement any desired control scheme and provide any desired control mode, including, but not limited to, pressure reduction, pressure maintenance, flow limiting, and other control functions. By way of non-limiting examples, this invention is described below as a pressure reduction control valve implementing control modes and using two-way and three-way valve mechanisms.

The first example, shown schematically in FIG. 8 and in the specific embodiment in FIG. 9B, a connecting channel 44 is provided from the connected outlet flow channel 110 to the control actuator chamber 46, the pressure of which acts on the spring-loaded diaphragm 48, which controls the variable flow restrictor 50. The inlet side of the variable flow restrictor 50 is a volume 52 connected through a flow channel 54 to a flow channel 108 of the drive chamber. When the pressure on the outlet side of the hydraulic control valve, as measured through flow path 110, is low, the spring-loaded diaphragm 48 holds the variable flow restrictor 50 open, thereby allowing pressure from the actuator chamber 104 to be released to the outlet side of the valve, causing the valve to open. As the output pressure increases, the increased pressure in the control actuator chamber 46 acts on the spring-loaded diaphragm 48, causing the variable flow restrictor 50 to gradually close. Given the restricted flow path from the inlet side of said control valve into said actuator chamber (as described above), closure of restrictor 50 causes a gradual increase in pressure within said actuator chamber, displacing plug 118 toward valve seat 120. Thus, this circuit provides the function of regulating the outlet pressure. By adjusting the degree of spring pretension of the spring-loaded diaphragm 48, the output target pressure can be adjusted

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Claims (1)

tion. Optionally, a solenoid-actuated plug 56 (controlled by an electromagnet 58) is used to selectively shut off the flow path through said control valve, most preferably in the flow path 54, thereby providing remote and/or automatic switching between the above-described pressure control state and a shutdown state in which the flow channel 54 is blocked, causing said control valve to close. Plug 56 or another valve plug (not shown) may also be manually activated. In fig. 10 schematically illustrates an alternative embodiment of a pressure reducing control valve in which there is no direct flow between the inlet and outlet sides of the control valve through said control valve and where there is no direct flow path from the inlet fluid supply to the actuator chamber. Here also, the connecting channel 44 from the connected outlet flow channel 110 provides an output pressure to the control actuator chamber 46, in which the pressure acts on the spring-loaded membrane 48. In this case, the spring-loaded membrane 48 controls a three-way valve 60 for switching the relationship of the flow channel 62, 108, which is connected to the hydraulic control valve actuator chamber 104, between a first position connected to the inlet connecting passage 64 for increasing the pressure in the actuator chamber and forcing the plug of said hydraulic control valve into its closed state, a second state of blocking flow for maintaining the hydraulic control valve in its current state state, and a third state for releasing pressure through the opening 66 from the hydraulic control valve actuator chamber 104 to increase the opening of the hydraulic control valve. The pretension force in the spring of the spring-loaded diaphragm 48 is adjusted by a spring adjustment mechanism, typically a threaded adjusting screw or similar mechanism, such that at the desired target fluid pressure, the three-way valve 60 assumes its second flow shut-off state, while above normal pressure moves it into the first state, and the pressure below normal moves it to the third state, thus successfully regulating the outlet pressure of the hydraulic control valve. Solenoid 58 may be installed to control an additional valve, such as two-way valve 57, to close flow path 62 and connect directly to inlet connecting flow path 64, thereby electrically closing the control valve. Valve 57 or another valve (not shown) may additionally or alternatively have a manual actuation function not described here. Although the control valve control circuits described above are not themselves new, this invention allows for easy and modular integration of control valves operating on these principles with a hydraulic control valve having only a threaded control socket 106, which is typically used for simple control of the activation solenoid/ shutdown, while providing convenient flexibility in the orientation of the control valve relative to the hydraulic control valve and facilitating quick connection of components, optionally without the use of tools. To the extent that the appended claims have been drafted without multiple dependencies, this has been done only to satisfy formal requirements in jurisdictions that do not allow such multiple dependencies. It should be noted that all possible combinations of features that may be caused by multi-dependency claims are expressly contemplated and should be considered part of the invention. It should be understood that the above descriptions are intended to serve as examples, and many other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention, which is defined in the appended claims. CLAIM 1. A control valve assembly for connection to a control valve having a bonnet that at least partially encloses the actuator chamber and having a threaded control seat that provides access to flow passages connected to permit fluid flow to the control valve actuator chamber. and a control valve outlet connecting channel, wherein said control valve assembly comprises: (a) a connector having a generally cylindrical body enclosing an internal channel extending parallel to the axis of said body, wherein a first end portion of said connector is externally threaded for engagement with a threaded control socket of a control valve, a second end of said connector is provided with a plurality of teeth arranged around the edge of this second end, and on the outer surface of said connector, an annular groove is provided, located at some distance from said second end; (b) a mechanism for regulating the pressure inside the control valve actuator chamber, when -