GB2216236A

GB2216236A - Multi position valve

Info

Publication number: GB2216236A
Application number: GB8900200A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Helmut Ott; Guenter Baldauf
Original assignee: Herion Werke KG
Current assignee: Herion Werke KG
Priority date: 1988-02-22
Filing date: 1989-01-05
Publication date: 1989-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 2009-01-05
Also published as: GB8900200D0; DE3805506A1; SE8803809D0; SE8803809L; FR2627571A1; GB2216236B; IT8919453A0; DE3805506C2; FR2627571B3; IT1229888B; SE501618C2

Description

2'236 MULTI-POSITION VALVE The invention relates to a multi-position valve

which can be actuated manually or mechanically, particularly although not exclusively for use as an emergency manual gear shift for an automatic gearbox of a vehicle, the valve having a housing with a pressure connection, a vent connection and a plurality of service connections (for example leading to a gearbox) an electric switch (which may be used for enabling or disabling the automatic gear shift), as well as a valve element for pressurizing and venting the individual service connections.

Electro-pneumatic or electronic-pneumatic gear-shifting means without a linkage are offered for motor vehicles by various manufacturers. It is logical to equip such gearshifting means with an independent emergency shift system so that, in the event of damage to or f ailure of the gearshifting means, the vehicle can at least travel to the next repair shop without external -aid.

Now it is the object of the invention to develop further a valve of the kind mentioned at the beginning in such a manner that it can execute several control functions.

According to the invention, this is achieved by providing a multiposition valve comprising: a housing with a pressure connection, a vent connection and a plurality of service connections, the valve further comprising a valve element for pressurising and venting the individual service 2 connections and an electric switch, wherein the valve element is movable axially to actuate the electric switch and is rotatable to connect the service connections selectively to the pressure connection and the vent connection.

Thus the valve according to the invention first enables the electric switch for the automatic gear shift to be actuated and hence the automatic transmission to be switched off; a plurality of receiving devices can be actuated, which can be pressurized and vented. At least three control states are possible, namely receiving device vented and electric switch in initial position, receiving device vented and electric switch in control position, and receiving device pressurized and electric switch in control position.

The correlation of the control states is effected compulsorily.

The valve element may appropriately be provided with a tappet which actuates the electric switch and then a control valve in the pressure connection; furthermore, it has a rotary slide valve to connect the individual service connections to the pressure connection. The tappet may appropriately have a shoulder whereby the connection from the service connections to the vent connection is shut off before the control valve. is opened.

According to a further development of the invention, a default service connection is continuously connected to the 3 pressure connection behind the control valve but in front of the rotary slide valve. This service connection tends always to shift the automatic gear box into the neutral position.

The control valve may be a seat valve or a slide valve. The rotary slide valve is appropriately provided with an axial bore through which the tappet for the actuation of the electric switch and of the control valve is taken for sliding. Both the tappet and the rotary slide valve can advantageously be actuated by means of a single actuating handle.

The rotary slide valve is preferably provided with an entrainment dog which is held against rotation but for axial displacement in a bore in the actuating handle. The actuating handle may appropriately have a radial projection which cooperates with detent surfaces formed on the housing at different axial heights to set the individual stages of the valve element.

The rotary slide valve may advantageously be axially_ supported against the housing by means of balls and be radially centred in its current control position by at least two ball-and-spring elements situated opposite one another.

The actuating handle, the tappet, the rotary slide valve, the control valve and the electric switch preferably lie on one axis.

One example of a form of embodiment of the invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings in 4 which: - Fig. 1 shows the valve in the initial position, in section; Figs. 2 and 3 show the valve in section, in a first and in a second control position; - Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically, a view of the rotary slide valve; Fig. 5 shows, in a developed view, the detent surfaces formed on the housing and in which the actuating handle can engage in the various control positions.

Fig. 1 shows a multi-position valve having a housing 10 which is formed from a lower portion 14 and an upper portion 12, which portions are rigidly connected by means of suitable screws.

The housing 10 is provided with a pressure connection 16j, a vent connection 18, three service connections 20, of which only one is illustra.ed in each of the Figs. 1 to 3, and a service connection 21.

Formed in the housing is a valve seat 22 with which there cooperates an annular valve member 24, for example of a suitable plastics material, in order to open and to close the pressure connection 16 for the pressure fluid, for example compressed air.

The valve member 24 sits in a bush 26 which is provided with an elongated shank 28 of which the lower end in the drawing rests on a disc 30 which is continuously acted upon by a compression spring 32 as a result of which the bush 26 and hence the valve member 24 are pressed against the valve seat 22 and so this is closed.

The compression spring 32 is supported on a stopper 34 which is screwed into an axial tapped hole in the lower portion 14 of the housing and which already represents part of the automatic gear shift with which the valve illustrated cooperates. The pressure connection 16 is sealed off from the vent connection 18 by seals 38, 40 (Fig. 2), the sealing ring 38 being disposed between the lower portion 14 of the housing and a sleeve 42, while the collar 40 lies between the sleeve 42 and the outer circumference f the shank 28 of the bush 26.

The bush 26 is taken through the disc 30 and a ring 36 (Fig. 2) installed in the housing.

The sleeve 42 surrounds the disc 30 and the spring 32 and it likewise rests with its lower end on the stopper 34.

The sleeve 42 is provided with transverse bores 4-4 which connect the spring compartment 33 to the vent connection 18 via an annular space 48 between the sleeve 42 and the housing. Installed inside the stopper 34 of hollow cylindrical construction is a tripping pin 50 which is coupled to an electric switch 92 which is illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 2 and 3 and which serves to switch on and off the automatic control of the gear shift with which the valve illustrated cooperates.

Extending through the bush 26 is a tappet 52 of which the lower end in the figure just rests on the tripping pin 6 in the initial position shown in Fig. 1. The internal diameter of the bush 26 is larger than the external diameter of the portion of the tappet 52 which passes through the bush so that an annular space 46 (Fig. 2) remains between tappet and bush, which space connects the spring compartment 33 to an annular space 72 (Fig. 2) above the valve seat 22.

The tappet 52 is provided with a shoulder 54 whereby the valve member 24 can be lifted from the valve seat 22, as will be explained later, as a result of which the inlet for the pressure fluid from the pressure connection 16 to the service connections is opened. The tappet 52 is part of an actuating handle 56 or is rigidly connected to this.

Accommodated in the upper portion 12 of the housing is a rotary slide valve 58 which has a central axial bore through which the tappet 52 passes for sliding. The rotary slide valve 58 is provided with an entrainment dog 60 which engages in an axial bore 62 in the actuating handle 56, the latter being displaceable axially relative to the entrainment dog 60.

The rotary slide valve 58 is mounted in the upper portion 12 of the housing and supported axially upwards by means of balls 64 while it rests with its lower end face on the upper end face of the lower portion 14 of the housing. The rotary slide Valve 58 is further provided with at least two ball-and-spring elements 66 which centre it in the housing. Each of these elements 66 consists of a ball which is continuously urged radially outwards, by means of a 7 compression spring, against an inner wall of the upper portion 12 of the housing.

The rotary slide valve 58 is provided, at its under side, with a recess 68 which is substantially nose-shaped in plan view (Fig. 4) and which, on the one hand, is in continuous communication with the annular space 72 and can be connected to the individual service connections 20 by turning the rotary slide valve 58 as will be explained later. For this purpose, each of the service connections is provided with a channel 70 which opens into the upper end face of the lower portion 14 of the housing, within the region which is covered by the recess 68 in the rotary slide valve 58 when the latter is turned about its longitudinal axis.

A channel 74 branches off from the annular space 72 to.the service connection 21 so that the latter is continuously connected to the annular space 72.

The recess 68 in the under side of the rotary slide valve 58 is sealed off at the-top by a sealing collar 76 (Fig. 2) surrounding the tappet 52 and at the side by a sealing ring 78 which is seated in a groove in the lower end face of the rotary slide valve 58 and completely surrounds the nose-shaped compartment'68 as shown in particular in Fig. 4.

As Fig. 4 shows in particular, the rotary slide valve 58 is further equipped with a vent compartmen-: 80 which, like the recess 68, extends upwardly from the lower end face 8 of the rotary slide valve 58 and surrounds the recess 68, as Fig. 4 shows, but has no communication with this. The vent compartment 80 is continuously connected to the vent connection 18 through a channel 82.

The service connections 20 which are not acted upon by the pressure f luid, each lead into the vent compartment 80 through their respective channels 70 and are therefore vented through the channel 82 and the vent connection 18 as will be explained later.

The actuating handle 56 is provided with a radially directed projection 84 which cooperates with stops or detent surfaces 86, 88, 90 which are formed on the upper portion 12 of the housing and are illustrated in Fig. 5 in a developed view.

The valve according to the invention works as follows.

Fig. 1 shows the initial inoperative position of the valve. The valve seat 22 is closed and so the inflow of the pressure fluid is shut off; the service connection 20 illustrated in Fig. 1 is vented via the channel 70, the recess 68, the annular spaces 72 and 46, the spring compartment 33, the transverse bores 44 and the annular space 48 to the vent connection 18. The other vent connections 20, not illustrated, are vented via their associated channel 70, the vent compartment 80 and th-e channel 82 to the vent connection 18. The electric switch 92 is not actuated.

As Fig. 1 shows, in this position of the valve, the 9 projection 84 of the actuating handle 56 lies against the detent surface 86 which, as Fig. 5 shows, is constructed in the form of a groove.

If the actuating handle 56 is now pressed down, into a first axial control position as Fig. 2 shows, the tripping pin 50 is first likewise pressed downwards by the tappet 52 and as a result, the electric switch 92 is switched over, that is to say opened. As a result of the opening of the electric switch 92, the automatic control of the gear box not illustrated is put out of operation so that the gear can now be shifted manually.

On further pressing down of the actuating handle 56, the passage between the bush 26 and the tappet 52, that is to say the annular space 46, is closed by the shoulder 54 of the tappet 52 and so the connection from the annular space 72 to the vent connection 18 is shut off.

If the actuating handle 56 and hence the tappet 52 is now pressed down further to a second axial control position corresponding to the height ofthe detent surface 90, as shown in Fig. 3, the valve seat 22 is opened by the shoulder 54 of the tappet and the pressure fluid can flow from the pressure connection 16 into the annular space 72 and from there, via the channel 74, into the service connection 21. As a result of this, a corresponding cylinder is acted upon in the control of the associated gear box as a result of which the gear is shifted into neutral position.

During these operations, the actuating handle 56 has always only been pressed further down axially but the rotary slide valve 58 has not been turned. The latter, and hence the nose-shaped recess 68 formed at its under side, are in the initial position shown in Fig. 4 in which the recess -68 is not in communication with one of the service connections 20. Only the service connection 21 is pressurized since, with the valve seat 22 open (Fig. 3), the pressure fluid flows out of the annular space 72 directly to the service connection 21 via the channel 74.

If, in this axial position as shown in Fig. 3, the actuating handle 56 and hence the rotary slide valve 58 is now turned about the longitudinal centre axis of the valve, one of the service connections 20 is connected to the supply of pressure fluid.

In the example described, three service connections 20 are provided through which the first, second and reverse gears can be engaged.

In the course of this, the pressure f luid is supplied to the particular service connection 20 from the open valve seat 22 via the annular space 72, the recess 68 in the rotary slide valve and the particular bore 70 to the service connection 20 in question. In this manner, depending on the position of the rotary slide valve, one of the three service connections 20 at a time can-be acterd uupon by the pressure fluid, as a result of which the associated gearbox can be put into second gear, first gear or reverse gear. During rotation of actuating handle 56, the service connection 21, which tends to shift the gear into the neutral position, remains always acted upon by the pressure f luid.

Thus, of the service connections 20, one at a time can be pressurized while the other two are vented via the vent compartment 80 and the channel 82 to the vent connection 18.

If one of the service connections 20 has now been pressurized, one of the gears in the gearbox, for example the first gear, the second gear or the reverse gear, has been engaged.

If the actuating handle 56 is now released, it goes back into the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the projection 84 rests against the detent surface 88. Such a detent surface 88 is provided for each of the three gears and each is constructed in the f orm of a groove, as Fig. 5 shows. The return of the actuating handle 56 can be effected by means of a spring (not shown) which, for example, continuously urges the tripping pin 50 towards the tappet 52 so that the actuatingr handle 56 is pushed back into the aforesaid position via the tappet 52. A corresponding spring may, however, also be provided between the actuating handle 56 and the rotary slide valve 58.

On the return of the actuating handle 56 to the height stage II, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the valve seat 22 is closed and the service connection 21 as well as the service connection 20 just acted upon are vented but in the gearbox with which the valve illustrated cooperated, the gear which 12 has been actuated remains engaged.

This venting is effected so that the gear-wheels in the gearbox can centre themselves.

In order to dise'ngage the engaged gear again, the actuating handle 56 is again pressed down into the height stage III, as shown in Fig. 3, and the rotary slide valve 58 is turned into the initial position or the neutral position N provided between the first gear and the reverse gear (Fig. 4). In this position of the rotary slide valve 58, only the service connection 21 is pressurized, through which the gear box is again put into the neutral position.

When the actuating handle 56 is released in the initial position, it returns so the height stage I, as illustrated in Fig. 1. On the other hand, if the rotary slide valve 58 is in the neutral position N (Fig. 4), the actuating handle 56 remains at the height stage III, but none of the service connections 20 is pressurized. On the other hand, in this position, the service,connection 21 is pressurized which, as already mentioned puts-the gear in the neutral position.

The height stage I corresponds in this case to the detent surface 86, that is to say the initial position; the height stage II corresponds to the detent surfaces 88, that is to say the two f orward gears and the reverse gear; the height stage III corresponds to the detent surface 90, thatis to say the neutral position.

The individual control positions of the actuating handle and hence of the tappet 52 can be fixed by the detent 13 surfaces or the associated grooves in which the projection 84 of the actuating handle can engage.

When the actuating handle 56 returns to the initial position in which the projection 84 strikes against the detent surface 86 as illustrated in Fig. 1, the electric switch 92 is again closed, for example by spring force and so the automatic control of the gearbox not illustrated is switched on again.

Each of the three service connections 20 and hence each of the three gears provided in the gearbox is controlled in the same manner as described above.

The actuating handle, the tappet, the rotary slide valve, the control valve and the electric switch lie on one axis.

14

Claims

1 A multi-position valve comprising: a housing with a pressure connection, a vent connection and a plurality of service connections, the valve further comprising a valve element for pressurising and venting the individual service connections and an electric switch, wherein the valve element is movable axially to actuate the electric switch and is rotatable to connect the service connections selectively to the pressure connection and the vent connection.

2. A valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve element comprises a tappet which actuates the electric switch and then a control valve in the pressure connection, and that there is further provided a rotary slide valve for connecting the individual service connections to the pressure connection.

3. A valve according to claim 2, wherein a default service connection is connected to the pressure connection upstream of the control valve but downstream of the rotary slide valve.

4. A valve according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the tappet is provided with means whereby a connection from the service connections to the vent connection can be blocked before the control valve is opened.

5. A valve according to claim 4, wherein said means comprise a shoulder provided on the tappet and which is cooperable with a valve seat surrounding the tappet and through which the tappet extends.

6. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the control valve is a seat valve or a slide valve.

7. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the rotary slide valve is provided with an axial bore through which the tappet for the actuating of the electric switch and the control valve is taken for sliding.

8. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the tappet and the rotary slide valve can be actuated by means of an actuating handle.

9. A valve according to claim 8, wherein the rotary slide valve comprises an entrainment dog which is held against rotation in a bore of the actuating handle but is axially displaceable relative thereto.

10. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 9 wherein the tappet is axially movable between an inoperative control 16 position in which the switch is closed and a first axial control position in which it opens the switch.

11. A valve according to claim 10 when dependent upon claim 4 wherein the tappet is movable into a second axial control position wherein said connection blocking means is caused to operate and said rotary slide valve can be actuated to connect an individual service connection to the pressure connection.

12. A valve according to claim" 11, wherein the actuating handle is provided with a radial projection which cooperates with detent surfaces of different axial height which are formed on the housing, to set individual axial control positions of the tappet.

13. A valve according to any one of the preceding. claims wherein the actuating handle, the tappet, the rotary slide valve, the control valve and the electric switch lie on one axis.

14. A valve according to claim 13 when dependent upon claim 3 wherein the tappet is carried by the actuating handle and the detent surfaces Are. dispos.ed at axial locations such that the tappet is held in its second axial control position when the default service connection is connected to the pressure connection via the rotary slide valve and the 17 tappet is held in its first axial control position when the other service connections are connected to the pressure connection, the detent surfaces acting to restrain rotary movement of the handle except when the tappet is in its second axial control position.

15. A valve according to any one of claims 2 to 14 wherein the rotary slide valve is radially centred by ball-andspring elements.

16. A rotary slide valve substantially as described with reference to or as shown in the drawings.

17. A control system for an automatic gearbox including a valve as claimed in any preceding claim.

P011shed 1989 atThe Patent 0Moe, Stme, House, 66.71 High HolbornLondonWCIR 4TP. Parther copies maybe obtainedfrom The PatentOfrice.