JP2021162105A - Flow rate control device, flow rate control method, and flow rate control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a flow rate control device capable of stably controlling a position of an actuator at a desired position in accordance with a position of a spool of a pilot valve.SOLUTION: A flow rate control device 100 for controlling a flow rate of fluid supplied to an actuator by performing drive control so that an actual position of a pilot spool becomes a target position includes: a first acquiring section 31 for acquiring an actual position PVx of the pilot spool, and a value of a flow rate relation parameter related to a flow rate of the fluid flowing to the actuator when the pilot spool is positioned at the actual position; a second acquiring section 32 for acquiring a position command showing a target position PVs1 of the pilot spool; a correcting section 36 for correcting the target position PVs1 on the basis of the actual position and the value of the flow rate relation parameter; and a drive control section 37 for driving the pilot spool in accordance with a target position PVs2 after correction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a flow rate control device, a flow rate control method, and a flow rate control program.

Patent Document 1 describes a servo control system including a servo system using feedback. This servo control system includes a hydraulic cylinder controlled by a servo valve, a load operated by the hydraulic cylinder, and a controller that gives a control input so as to eliminate a deviation between the hydraulic cylinder stroke displacement and a target signal.

Japanese Patent No. 3490561

The present inventors have obtained the following recognition about a flow rate control device that controls the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the actuator by controlling the position of the spool of the pilot valve. Even if the position of the spool of the pilot valve is controlled according to a position command from a host controller such as an engine control device, there is a problem that a desired flow rate of fluid does not flow to the actuator depending on the shape of the spool.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a flow rate control device capable of stably controlling the position of the actuator to a desired position according to the position of the spool of the pilot valve.

The flow rate control device of a certain aspect of the present invention is a flow rate control device that controls the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the actuator by driving and controlling the actual position of the pilot spool, which is the spool of the pilot valve, so as to reach the target position. The first acquisition unit for acquiring the actual position of the pilot spool and the value of the flow rate-related parameter related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool is located at the actual position, and the pilot. A second acquisition unit that acquires a position command indicating the target position of the spool, a correction unit that corrects the target position based on the actual position and the value of the flow rate-related parameter, and the corrected target position. Therefore, it includes a drive control unit that drives the pilot spool.

It should be noted that components and expressions of the present invention that are mutually replaced between methods, devices, programs, temporary or non-temporary storage media on which programs are recorded, systems, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention. be.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a flow rate control device capable of stably controlling the position of the actuator to a desired position according to the position of the spool of the pilot valve.

It is a figure which shows schematic the structure around the valve control device of a hydraulic servo valve. It is a figure which shows the structure of the hydraulic servo valve schematicly. 3A to 3C are schematic views schematically showing the position of the valve body of the pilot spool and the open / closed state of the port. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the valve control device. 5 (a) to 5 (c) are views showing the states of the valve body and the second port of the pilot spool in the neutral position. 6 (a) to 6 (c) are diagrams showing the correlation between the position of the valve body of FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c) and the flow rate of the hydraulic oil supplied to the main valve, respectively. 7 (a) to 7 (c) show that when the width of the valve body of the pilot spool is smaller than the opening width of the second port, the amount of change in the flow rate of hydraulic oil with respect to the position of the valve body 12a increases. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of a valve control device. It is a flowchart which shows the update operation of a valve control device. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of a valve control device. It is a figure which shows the correlation between the position of the valve body of a pilot spool, and the moving speed of a main spool. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the valve control device. It is a flowchart which shows the estimation operation of a valve control device.

Hereinafter, in the embodiments and modifications, the same or equivalent components and members will be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the dimensions of the members in each drawing are shown enlarged or reduced as appropriate for easy understanding. In addition, some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiment in each drawing are omitted and displayed.

[First Embodiment]
See FIG. The valve control device 100 can be used to control an arbitrary control valve, but in the present embodiment, it controls the hydraulic servo valve 1 used in the engine 80 mounted on the ship. The valve control device 100 is an example of a flow rate control device.

The engine 80 mounted on a ship includes a plurality of cylinders 81. The hydraulic servo valve 1 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of cylinders 81, and controls fuel injection and exhaust in each cylinder 81.

The engine control device 90 transmits a position command to be described later to the valve control device 100 based on the engine output Hs (see FIG. 4) input from a control panel (not shown) for controlling the navigation of the ship. The specific control executed by the engine control device 90 will be described later.

The valve control device 100 controls the position of the spool of each pilot valve, which will be described later, in response to a position command from the engine control device 90. The specific control executed by the valve control device 100 will be described later.

See FIG. The hydraulic servo valve 1 includes a pilot valve 10 that controls the operation of the actuator by supplying hydraulic oil (fluid) 48, and a main valve 20 that is an example of the actuator. The pilot valve 10 and the main valve 20 are proportional control valves that control the pressure or flow rate of the output fluid in proportion to the input signal. In this case, since the valve operates in proportion to the control amount, stable feedback control can be realized.

The pilot valve 10 has a pilot spool 12. The pilot spool 12 moves based on the command of the valve control device 100 and its position changes. The pilot valve 10 changes the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 according to the position of the pilot spool 12.

The main valve 20 has a main spool 22. The main spool 22 moves and its position changes according to the delivery state of the hydraulic oil 48 from the pilot valve 10. The main valve 20 is a hydraulic oil supplied to another actuator provided for driving an injection valve that injects fuel into the engine 80, an exhaust valve that exhausts air in the engine 80, and the like according to the position of the main spool 22. Change the flow rate of 48. In another example, the main valve 20 may directly drive an injection valve, an exhaust valve, or the like by moving the main spool 22.

The hydraulic system of the main valve 20 includes a drain tank 44 that stores the hydraulic oil 48 and a hydraulic pump 42 that pressurizes and sends out the hydraulic oil 48 of the drain tank 44. The hydraulic oil 48 delivered from the hydraulic pump 42 is supplied to the inside of the main valve 20 and the pilot valve 10 through the pump-side piping portion 28p in the main valve 20. The hydraulic oil 48 discharged from the inside of the pilot valve 10 and the main valve 20 is returned to the drain tank 44 through the tank-side piping portion 28t in the main valve 20.

The pilot valve 10 includes a first position sensor 14s, a sleeve 16, and a spool drive unit 18. The pilot spool 12 has a plurality of valve bodies 12p, 12a, 12t that can move in the hollow sleeve 16. The spool drive unit 18 includes a solenoid (not shown) that moves the pilot spool 12 forward and backward along a first direction (longitudinal direction of the pilot spool 12 in FIG. 1). The spool drive unit 18 moves the pilot spool 12 based on a command from the valve control device 100 to control the positions of the valve bodies 12p, 12a, and 12t. In this example, the three valve bodies 12p, 12a, and 12t are arranged at positions where the three first port 16p, the second port 16a, and the third port 16t, which will be described later, can be opened and closed, respectively. The three valve bodies 12p, 12a, 12t change the communication state of the three ports 16p, 16a, 16t according to their positions. The width of the valve body 12a of the present embodiment in the first direction (hereinafter referred to as the width) is designed to be larger than the width of the second port 16a on the assumption that the shape changes with time due to its wear.

The sleeve 16 extends in the first direction to accommodate the pilot spool 12. The sleeve 16 includes a first port 16p, a second port 16a, and a third port 16t. The first port 16p is connected to the pump-side piping portion 28p of the main valve 20 and receives the supplied hydraulic oil 48 pressurized from the hydraulic pump 42. The first port 16p inputs the hydraulic oil 48 from the hydraulic pump 42. The second port 16a is connected to the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a of the main valve 20. The second port 16a supplies the hydraulic oil 48 input from the first port 16p to the main valve 20. The third port 16t is connected to the tank-side piping section 28t, and the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the pilot valve 10 is discharged to the drain tank 44 through the tank-side piping section 28t. The third port 16t discharges the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20.

The first position sensor 14s detects the position of the pilot spool 12 and outputs the detection result (hereinafter, referred to as “actual position PVx”) to the valve control device 100.

The main valve 20 includes a main spool 22 and a second position sensor 24s that acquires the position of the main spool 22. The main spool 22 moves based on the pressure of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied from the pilot valve 10 to the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a, and changes the amount of fuel supplied to the engine 80. That is, the amount of fuel supplied to the engine changes according to the position of the main spool 22.

The second position sensor 24s detects the position of the main spool 22 and outputs the detection result (hereinafter, referred to as “actual position MVx”) to the engine control device 90 and the valve control device 100.

With reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C, the position of each valve body of the pilot valve 10 and the open / closed state of the port with respect to the position will be described. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the valve bodies 12a and 12p are located in the first region in which the second port 16a and the first port 16p communicate with each other. In this state, the second port 16a supplies the hydraulic oil 48 from the first port 16p to the hydraulic oil receiving unit 28a (hereinafter, referred to as “supply mode”). In the supply mode, the hydraulic oil 48 is supplied from the hydraulic pump 42 to the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a of the main valve 20 via the first port 16p. By this operation, for example, the main spool 22 of the main valve 20 moves in the direction of increasing the fuel supply amount to the engine 80 (in the direction opposite to the first direction in FIG. 1).

FIG. 3B shows a state in which the valve body 12a is located in a neutral region in which the second port 16a is blocked and the first port 16p and the third port 16t are not communicated with the second port 16a, respectively (hereinafter, neutral). The position in the area is also called the "neutral position"). The neutral position is a position that becomes the origin when the pilot spool 12 moves in the advancing / retreating direction. In this state, the second port 16a is shut off, and the hydraulic oil 48 is neither supplied nor recovered from the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a (hereinafter, referred to as "neutral mode"). In the neutral mode, the oil pressure of the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a of the main valve 20 is maintained in the state immediately before the valve body 12a is located in the neutral region. By this operation, for example, the main spool 22 of the main valve 20 is stopped at the immediately preceding position, and the fuel supply amount to the engine 80 is maintained at the immediately preceding state.

FIG. 3C shows a state in which the valve bodies 12a and 12t are located in the second region that communicates the second port 16a and the third port 16t. In this state, the second port 16a collects the hydraulic oil 48 from the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a and returns it to the tank side piping portion 28t (hereinafter, referred to as “recovery mode”). In the recovery mode, the hydraulic oil 48 of the hydraulic oil receiving portion 28a of the main valve 20 is recovered to the drain tank 44 through the second port 16a, the third port 16t and the tank side piping portion 28t. By this operation, for example, the main spool 22 of the main valve 20 moves in the direction of reducing the fuel supply amount to the engine 80 (the first direction in FIG. 1).

The valve control device 100 will be described. Each functional block shown in FIG. 4 can be realized by an electronic element such as a computer CPU or a mechanical component in terms of hardware, and can be realized by a computer program or the like in terms of software. However, here, the functional blocks realized by their cooperation are drawn. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by combining hardware and software.

As shown in FIG. 4, the valve control device 100 includes an information processing unit 30 in which a plurality of functional blocks are integrated, and a storage unit 50. The information processing unit 30 includes a first acquisition unit 31, a second acquisition unit 32, a determination unit 33, a correlation data generation unit 34, an update unit 35, a correction unit 36, and a drive control unit 37. .. The storage unit 50 stores the correlation data 51 and the correction data 52, which will be described later. In the present embodiment, the information processing unit 30 and the storage unit 50 are configured as an integrated module.

The first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 from the first position sensor 14s provided on the pilot valve 10. The first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position MVx of the main spool 22 from the second position sensor 24s provided on the main valve 20.

The first acquisition unit 31 acquires the values of the flow rate-related parameters related to the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the main valve 20 for each actual position PVx. The flow rate-related parameter of the present embodiment is the moving speed of the main spool 22 in the first direction (hereinafter referred to as moving speed). Since the moving speed changes in proportion to the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the main valve 20, it is related to the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the main valve 20. The first acquisition unit 31 of the present embodiment acquires the moving speed for each actual position PVx based on the displacement of the actual position MVx of the main spool 22 acquired by the first acquisition unit 31. Specifically, the first acquisition unit 31 acquires the moving speed of the main spool 22 that is moved by the hydraulic oil 48 flowing from the second port 16a when the pilot spool 12 is located at the actual position PVx.

The second acquisition unit 32 acquires a position command indicating the target position PVs of the pilot spool 12 from the engine control device 90. The second acquisition unit 32 stores the target position PVs in the storage unit 50.

The determination unit 33 determines whether or not the update conditions and the like described later are satisfied.

The correlation data generation unit 34 generates update correlation data. The update correlation data shows the correlation between each actual position PVx acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 and the value of the parameter acquired for each actual position PVx when the pilot spool 12 is moved in the advancing / retreating direction. .. Correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50 also shows this correlation.

The update unit 35 updates the correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50 based on the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 acquired after the correlation data is generated and the values of the flow rate relation parameters for the actual position PVx. do. The update unit 35 updates the correlation data 51 using the update correlation data generated by the correlation data generation unit 34. Further, the update unit 35 updates the correction data 52 stored in the storage unit 50 based on the correlation data 51. The correction data 52 of the present embodiment indicates the corrected target position PVs2 of the corresponding pilot spool 12 for each target position PVs1 of the pilot spool 12. The method of updating the correction data 52 of the present embodiment will be described later.

The correction unit 36 corrects the target position PVs1 of the pilot spool 12 acquired by the second acquisition unit 32 based on the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 and the values of the flow rate relation parameters at the actual position PVx. Specifically, the correction unit 36 corrects the target position PVs1 using the correction data 52 generated based on the correlation data 51. As a result, the correction unit 36 generates the target position PVs2 of the corrected pilot spool 12 and outputs it to the drive control unit 37.

The drive control unit 37 controls the operation of the pilot spool 12. Specifically, the drive control unit 37 performs predetermined arithmetic processing based on the deviation between the corrected target position PVs2 of the pilot spool 12 and the actual position PVx acquired by the first acquisition unit 31, and the pilot spool. Twelve drive signals are generated. The spool drive unit 18 acquires a drive signal from the drive control unit 37 and drives the pilot spool 12 based on the drive signal. The drive control unit 37 in the present embodiment performs feedback control including PID control based on the calculation result.

By the way, the pilot spool 12 is driven in the hollow sleeve 16 so as to repeatedly move in the advancing / retreating direction. Therefore, when the pilot valve 10 is used for a long time, the pilot spool 12 is worn due to the frictional force between the pilot spool 12 and the inner wall of the hollow sleeve 16. The wear of the pilot spool proceeds in the order of FIGS. 5 (b), 5 (a), and 5 (c), which will be described later. Further, as this wear progresses, foreign matter such as metal powder of the pilot spool 12 may be mixed in the hydraulic oil 48. As a result, the pilot spool 12 may be deformed, for example, the foreign matter in the hydraulic oil 48 scrapes the pilot spool 12. Further, the pilot spool 12 may have a manufacturing error thereof.

As described above, the pilot spool 12 has individual differences in its shape due to the wear state, deformation, manufacturing error thereof, and the like. The shape of the pilot spool 12 (particularly, the valve body 12a that opens and closes the second port 16a) affects the correlation of the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 with respect to the position of the pilot spool 12, as will be described later. give.

Hereinafter, the reasons for affecting this correlation will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c) to 7 (a) to 7 (c). In FIGS. 5A to 5C, the center of the valve body 12a coincides with the center of the opening of the second port 16a in the first direction. Hereinafter, the position of the valve body 12a at this time is referred to as a "reference position". Further, in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the horizontal axis indicates the position of the center of the valve body 12a, and the vertical axis indicates the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing to the main spool 22 via the second port 16a. The origin of the horizontal axis in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) indicates that the valve body 12a is in the reference position.

In the example of FIG. 5A, the width of the valve body 12a is equal to the opening width of the second port 16a. In this case, the second port 16a is blocked by the valve body 12a at the reference position, and the hydraulic oil 48 does not flow at the second port 16a. On the other hand, if the valve body 12a moves even a little from the reference position, the second port 16a communicates with another port, and the hydraulic oil 48 flows to the second port 16a. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 changes in proportion to the position of the valve body 12a.

On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 5B, the width of the valve body 12a is larger than the opening width of the second port 16a. In this case, the second port 16a does not communicate with other ports immediately after the valve body 12a moves from the reference position. As a result, the state in which the second port 16a is blocked by the valve body 12g continues. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 in a wide position range centered on the reference position becomes 0. When the second port 16a communicates with another port due to the movement of the valve body 12a, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 is proportional to the position of the valve body 12a, as shown in FIG. 6B. Will change.

Further, in the example of FIG. 5C, the width of the valve body 12a is smaller than the opening width of the second port 16a. In this case, even when the valve body 12a is in the reference position, a gap is formed between the valve body 12a and the second port 16a, and the second port 16a opens slightly. In particular, when there are gaps on both sides of the valve body 12a in the first direction as shown in FIG. 5C, the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the second port 16a increases as compared with the case where there is a gap on one side. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, the amount of change in the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 with respect to the position of the valve body 12a increases in the vicinity of the reference position where gaps are formed on both sides of the valve body 12a as compared with the others.

The reason why the amount of change in the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 increases will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 (a) to 7 (c). The flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 is determined by the cross-sectional area of the gap between the valve body 12a and the second port 16a. The cross-sectional area of this gap varies depending on the width of the gap. As shown in FIG. 7A, in the neutral position where there is a gap of, for example, 1 mm in width on both sides of the valve body 12a and the second port 16a, the hydraulic oil of the flow rate corresponding to the gap of 1 mm in width from the gap on the first direction side. 48 is discharged from the second port 16a. On the other hand, the hydraulic oil 48 having the same flow rate corresponding to the gap having a width of 1 mm is supplied to the second port 16a from the gap on the opposite side. Therefore, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the second port 16a becomes zero.

A case where the valve body 12a moves by 0.5 mm in the first direction from the neutral position in FIG. 7A will be described (FIG. 7B). In this case, the hydraulic oil 48 having a flow rate corresponding to the gap having a width of 0.5 mm from the gap on the first direction side is supplied to the main spool from the second port 16a. On the other hand, the hydraulic oil 48 having the same flow rate corresponding to the gap having a width of 1.5 mm from the gap on the opposite side is discharged from the main spool to the drain tank via the second port 16a. Therefore, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing to the second port 16a before and after the movement is increased by the flow rate corresponding to the gap having a width of 1.0 mm.

A case where the valve body 12a moves by 0.5 mm in the first direction from the state where the valve body 12a has a gap on the side opposite to the first direction will be described (FIG. 7 (c)). In this case, the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing from the gap on the opposite side before and after the movement is increased by the flow rate corresponding to the gap having a width of 0.5 mm.

As described above, before and after the valve body 12a moves by 0.5 mm, in the case of FIG. 7C, the flow rate changes by the flow rate corresponding to the gap of the width of 0.5 mm. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 7B, the flow rate changes by the amount corresponding to the gap corresponding to the width of 1.0 mm. Therefore, when the valve body 12a moves, the amount of change in the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 differs between the two.

Here, for comparison, a case where the correction unit 36 is not used will be described.

As described above, the valve control device 100 controls the position of the pilot spool 12 in response to the position command from the engine control device 90. If the correction unit 36 is not used, the feedback control will be performed based on the deviation between the target position PVs1 and the actual position PVx included in the position command.

However, when the shape of the valve body 12a of the pilot spool 12 changes, the correlation of the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 with respect to the position of the pilot spool 12 changes. For example, as described above, when the width of the valve body 12a is larger than the opening width of the second port 16a as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the main is near the neutral position as shown in FIG. 6 (b). The hydraulic oil 48 is not supplied to the valve 20. Therefore, the main spool 22 does not move. On the other hand, when the width of the valve body 12a is smaller than the opening width of the second port 16a as shown in FIG. 5C, it is compared with the main valve 20 near the neutral position as shown in FIG. 6C. A hydraulic oil 48 having a large flow rate is supplied. Therefore, the main spool 22 moves significantly.

When the target position PVs1 of the pilot spool 12 set by the engine control device 90 is used as it is, the influence of the change in the correlation cannot be considered. For example, when the target position is set in the engine control device 90 assuming the state shown in FIG. 5B, a relatively small amount of hydraulic oil 48 is applied to the main spool 22 in order to move the main spool 22 small. Consider the case of supplying to. In this case, for example, in FIG. 6B, a position near where the flow rate rises from 0 is set as the target position. However, when the shape of the valve body 12a is in the state of FIG. 5C, a large amount of hydraulic oil 48 is supplied to the main spool 22 at the target position as shown in FIG. 6C. As a result, the main spool 22 moves significantly.

As described above, when the target position PVs1 is used as it is, the hydraulic oil 48 of the target flow rate may not be supplied to the main valve 20, and the main spool 22 may not move to the target position PVs1. As a result, there is a problem that the response time of the feedback control becomes long in order to eliminate the deviation from the target position PVs1, and the responsiveness of the control deteriorates. Therefore, it is desirable that feedback control is performed according to the state of the pilot spool 12.

Based on the above description, the feedback control control loop of the engine control device 90 and the valve control device 100 will be described.

First, the operation of the engine control device 90 will be described. The engine control device 90 specifies the target position MVs of the main spool 22 corresponding to the target engine output Hs. The engine control device 90 calculates the target position PVs1 of the pilot spool 12 according to the deviation between the specified target position MVs of the main spool 22 and the actual position MVx of the current main spool 22. The engine control device 90 transmits a position command indicating the calculated target positions PVs1 of the pilot spool 12 to the valve control device 100. In this way, the engine control device 90 performs feedback control of the position of the pilot spool 12 based on the deviation between the target position MVs of the main spool 22 and the actual position MVx. As a result, the actual position MVx of the main spool 22 is controlled to follow the target position MVs.

Next, the operation S10 by the information processing unit 30 of the valve control device 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation S10 is repeatedly executed at regular intervals (for example, 10 milliseconds).

The second acquisition unit 32 determines whether or not a position command indicating the target position PVs1 has been acquired from the engine control device 90 (S11). If the position command is not acquired (N in S11), the operation S10 ends. When the position command is acquired (Y in S11), the second acquisition unit 32 outputs the target position PVs1 indicated by the position command to the correction unit 36, and the operation S10 proceeds to S12. Further, in the present embodiment, when the position command is acquired, the target position PVs1 and the oil pressure of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied by the hydraulic pump 42 (hereinafter referred to as supply oil pressure) are associated with each other and stored in the storage unit 50. Will be done. The supply oil pressure of the present embodiment is acquired from the hydraulic pump 42 when the position command is acquired. This supply hydraulic pressure corresponds to the pressure that the fluid exerts on the actuator.

Next, the correction unit 36 acquires the corrected target position PVs2 by correcting the acquired target position PVs1 using the correction data 52 created based on the correlation data (S12). The correction data 52 of the present embodiment is a data table in which the corrected target positions PVs2 are associated with each target position PVs1. The correction unit 36 of the present embodiment uses the correction data 52 to acquire the corrected target positions PVs2 by table processing using the acquired target positions PVs1 as a key. Specifically, the correction unit 36 extracts the corrected target position PVs2 corresponding to the acquired target position PVs1 from the correction data 52. The correction unit 36 acquires the extracted and corrected target positions PVs2.

The first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 and outputs the acquired actual position PVx to the drive control unit 37 (S13). The drive control unit 37 calculates the deviation between the actual position PVx from the first acquisition unit 31 and the corrected target position PVs2 (S14). Next, the drive control unit 37 executes feedback control of the position of the pilot spool 12 by outputting a drive signal to the spool drive unit 18 based on the deviation calculated in S13 (S15). After outputting the drive signal, the drive control unit 37 outputs the first determination instruction to the determination unit 33.

Next, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the update condition is satisfied in response to the first determination instruction from the drive control unit 37 (S16). The determination unit 33 of the present embodiment has a predetermined pattern in which the time transition of the position of the pilot spool 12 indicated by each of the plurality of position commands acquired from the engine control device 90 within a predetermined period until the position command is acquired in S11. Judgment is made with the case of indicating as the update condition. This predetermined pattern is, for example, a pattern in which the pilot spool 12 is repeatedly moved 10 times between the reference position and the position ± 0.5 mm from the reference position. If the update condition is not satisfied (N in S16), the operation S10 ends. When the update condition is satisfied (Y in S16), the determination unit 33 outputs an acquisition instruction to the first acquisition unit 31, and the operation S10 proceeds to S17.

Next, the first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position PVx after the control of S15 and the moving speed in response to the acquisition instruction from the determination unit 33, and outputs these to the correlation data generation unit 34 in association with each other. (S17). In this step, the first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position PVx from the first position sensor 14s and acquires the moving speed based on the actual position MVx acquired from the second position sensor 24s.

Next, the correlation data generation unit 34 generates update correlation data based on the associated actual position PVx and movement speed from the first acquisition unit 31 and the correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50. , Output to the update unit 35. (S18). The update correlation data shows the correlation of the moving speed of each position of the pilot spool 12. Specifically, the correlation data generation unit 34 sets the moving speed of the correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50 at the position corresponding to the actual position PVx from the first acquisition unit 31 from the first acquisition unit 31. Replace with moving speed. As a result, the generated update correlation data reflects the actual position PVx from the first acquisition unit 31 and the corresponding movement speed.

Next, the update unit 35 updates the correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50 by using the update correlation data from the correlation data generation unit 34 (S19). In the updated correlation data 51, the moving speed of the position corresponding to the actual position PVx acquired in S17 is updated by the moving speed corresponding to the actual position PVx.

Next, the update unit 35 updates the correction data 52 based on the updated correlation data 51 (S20). The update operation of the correction data 52 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The update unit 35 calculates the opening area of the second port 16a when the pilot spool 12 is located at the acquired target position PVs1 (S201). For example, the renewal unit 35 has a dimension in the depth direction of the valve body 12a in FIG. 5 and a first direction of a gap between the valve body 12a and the second port 16a when the pilot spool 12 is located at the target position PVs1. The product with the dimensions of is calculated as the opening area. In the present embodiment, the depth dimension of the hollow portion of the sleeve 16 is used as the depth direction dimension in FIG. 5 for the valve body 12a. Further, the update unit 35 acquires the supply oil pressure corresponding to the acquired target position PVs1 from the storage unit 50 (S202). Next, the renewal unit 35 calculates the assumed flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 at the target position PVs1 based on the calculated opening area and the acquired supply oil pressure (S203). This assumed flow rate is the flow rate assumed to be supplied to the main valve 20 at the target position PVs1. Next, the updating unit 35 divides the calculated estimated flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 by the cross-sectional area of the main spool 22 to calculate the estimated moving speed of the main spool 22 at the target position PVs1 (S204). This assumed moving speed is the moving speed of the main spool 22 that is assumed when the vehicle moves to the target position PVs1. Next, the update unit 35 specifies the position of the pilot spool 12 from the correlation data 51 when the movement speed matches the calculated assumed movement speed (S205). Next, the update unit 35 updates the correction data 52 stored in the storage unit 50 with the specified pilot spool position as the corrected target position PVs2 corresponding to the target position PVs1 (S206). This completes the update operation in S19.

By using this correction data 52, it is possible to realize the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 targeted by the target position PVs1 by the corrected target position PVs2. Further, according to this method, even when the engine 80 is operating, the correction data 52 can be updated according to the shape of the pilot spool 12 at that time. Therefore, for example, the shape of the pilot spool 12 can be reflected in the corrected target positions PVs2 in real time during the navigation of the ship.

At the time of shipment of the hydraulic servo valve 1, the correlation data 51 and the correction data 52 created by prior experiments or simulations are stored in the storage unit 50 in advance. The same applies to the flow rate and the drive current as other examples of the flow rate-related parameters as described in the following modification.

After S20, the operation S10 ends.

In the present embodiment, the correction unit 36 corrects the target position PVx based on the correlation data 51 showing the correlation between the values of the flow rate relation parameters acquired for each of the plurality of actual positions PVx and the plurality of actual positions PVx. do. Further, this flow rate-related parameter is a parameter related to the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 flowing through the actuator. This flow rate-related parameter changes according to the state of the pilot spool 12.

According to this embodiment, the target position PVx is corrected according to the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48. As a result, even if the pilot spool 12 is worn, deformed, has a manufacturing error, or the like, the hydraulic oil 48 having a flow rate controlled according to the state of the pilot spool 12 is supplied to the main valve 20. Therefore, the position of the main spool 22 can be stably controlled to a desired position.

In particular, for example, even when the pilot spool 12 is driven for a long time and the pilot spool 12 is worn in the order of FIG. 6 (b) → FIG. 6 (a) → FIG. 6 (c), the worn shape The target position is corrected according to. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the flow rate flowing through the main spool 22 from being significantly deviated from the target flow rate, so that the main valve 20 can be controlled stably. Further, the supply amount of fuel injected into the engine 80 and the exhaust amount of the engine 80 can be stabilized.

Further, in the present embodiment, the flow rate-related parameter of the present embodiment is the moving speed. According to this configuration, the correlation data 51 can be acquired without using an additional sensor such as a flow meter, so that an increase in manufacturing cost is suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the assumed flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 is calculated based on the oil pressure of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied from the hydraulic pump 42. For example, due to wear or deformation of the pilot spool 12, the hydraulic oil 48 may leak from the gap between the pilot spool 12 and the second port 16a even in the neutral position, for example. According to this configuration, even when such a leak occurs, the position of the main spool 22 can be controlled to a desired position more accurately.

In the present embodiment, as shown in S17 of FIG. 8, the first acquisition unit 31 has a real position PVx when the pilot spool 12 is controlled according to the corrected target position PVs2, and the pilot spool 12 is the real position PVx. Get the moving speed when located in. According to this configuration, the correlation data generation unit 34 can generate the update correlation data by using the actual position PVx and the moving speed after the feedback control acquired by the first acquisition unit 31. As a result, the correlation data generation unit 34 can generate the update correlation data during the operation of the engine 80 without requiring any special operation other than the feedback control in the present embodiment. Therefore, the correlation data generation unit 34 can generate update correlation data while stably operating the engine 80 even when the engine 80 is in operation.

<Modification example>
In the present embodiment, the correction data is used to acquire the corrected target position PVs2, but the correction formula is not limited to this and shows the correlation between the target position PVs1 and the corrected target position PVs2. It may be used. Further, a correction model created by using a known machine learning method such as a support vector machine, a neural network (including deep learning), a random forest, or the like may be used.

The update condition of the present embodiment is a case where the signal by the position command group acquired within the predetermined period shows a predetermined pattern, but is not limited to this. The update condition may be that the engine 80 to which fuel is supplied is stopped according to the position of the pilot spool 12. For example, if it is determined based on the actual position MVx of the main spool 22 that the main spool 22 stays at a position within a predetermined range in which fuel cannot be supplied to the engine 80 for a predetermined time or longer, the engine 80 is stopped. Is determined. If the detection data (PVx, MVx) is acquired while the engine 80 is operating, the error of the detection data becomes large depending on the operation status such as the response delay of the engine control. By setting the state in which the engine is stopped as the update condition, it is possible to suppress an error in the detection data and create highly accurate correlation data 51 and correction data 52.

Further, the update condition may be the case where the sticking prevention operation of the main valve 20 or the pilot valve 10 is executed. The sticking prevention operation is performed to prevent the spool from sticking due to solidification of the fluid in the main valve 20 or the pilot valve 10. In the sticking prevention operation, for example, the spool reciprocates periodically so that the valve repeatedly opens and closes. The sticking prevention operation is sometimes referred to as a dither operation. As a result, detection data (PVx, MVx) can be acquired while preventing sticking by the sticking prevention operation. In this way, by using the sticking prevention operation, it is possible to combine the operation for data acquisition, so that energy saving can be achieved as compared with the case where another operation is performed.

In the present embodiment, the supply oil pressure is obtained from the output value of the oil pressure of the hydraulic pump 42, but a pressure gauge for measuring the supply oil pressure may be used. Further, the supply oil pressure may be constant, such as when there is no gap between the pilot spool 12 and the second port 16a in the neutral position. In this case, a constant such as a set value of the hydraulic pump 42 may be used without using the output value of the oil pressure of the hydraulic pump 42 when the position command is acquired.

The flow rate-related parameter of the present embodiment is the moving speed, but is not limited thereto. The flow rate-related parameter may be the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20. In this case, for example, a flow meter that measures the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 supplied to the main valve 20 may be used. Further, the flow rate may be calculated from the opening area of the second port 16a determined by the obtained moving speed and the positional relationship between the valve body 12a and the second port 16a at that time. According to this configuration, the target position is corrected based on the correlation between the position of the pilot spool 12 and the flow rate of the hydraulic oil 48 actually supplied to the main valve 20 at that position. Therefore, the main valve 20 can be controlled more accurately according to the shape of the pilot spool 12.

The flow rate-related parameter may be a drive current for driving the pilot spool 12. In this case, the pilot valve 10 may be provided with a current sensor that detects the value of the drive current flowing through the coil of the solenoid of the spool drive unit 18 and transmits the detection result to the information processing unit 30.

In the present embodiment, the target positions PVs1 are corrected based on the correction data 52, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. In the correlation data 51, the correction unit 36 may correct the target position PVs1 by setting the position corresponding to the movement speed corresponding to the assumed movement speed of the main spool 22 at the target position PVs1 as the corrected target position PVs2. In this case, the correction unit 36 executes the same operation as that of S201 to S205 in FIG. 9 to position the pilot spool 12 at a movement speed that matches the assumed movement speed of the main spool 22 at the target position PVs1. To identify. Next, the correction unit 36 may correct the target position PVs1 by setting the position of the specified pilot spool 12 as the corrected target position PVs2.

In the present embodiment, the corrected target positions PVs2 are acquired by creating the correction data 52 based on the correlation data generated by the correlation data generation unit 34, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the corrected target positions PVs2 may be acquired by creating the correction data 52 based on the flow rate relational parameters corresponding to the actual positions of the pilot spool 12 without using the correlation data.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the information processing unit 30 and the storage unit 50 are integrally configured is shown, but these may be configured separately.

The update correlation data of the present embodiment is generated using the actual position PVx when the pilot spool 12 is controlled according to the corrected target position PVs2, but is not limited thereto. For example, if the engine 80 is stopped, the update correlation data may be generated using the actual position PVx when the pilot spool 12 is controlled according to the target position PVs1.

Next, the second to seventh embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[Second Embodiment]
The valve control device 100 of the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. The description overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the configuration different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

In the first embodiment, in S10 of FIG. 8, the correction data 52 is updated every time the target positions PVs1 are acquired, but the present invention is not limited to this. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the correction data 52 is updated by acquiring the corrected target positions PVs2 for each of the plurality of target positions PVs1 acquired during the predetermined period. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, after passing through S31 to S34 which are the same as those of S11 to S14 described above, the drive control unit 37 executes feedback control in the same manner as in S15 of FIG. 8 (S35). After outputting the drive signal, the drive control unit 37 outputs an acquisition instruction to the first acquisition unit 31.

The first acquisition unit 31 acquires the actual position PVx after the control of S35 and the moving speed in response to the acquisition instruction from the drive control unit 37, and stores them in the storage unit 50 in association with each other (S36). Further, the first acquisition unit 31 outputs a second determination instruction to the determination unit 33 after this storage.

Next, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the update condition is satisfied in response to the second determination instruction from the first acquisition unit 31 (S37). In this case, the renewal condition may be that a predetermined period (one day, one week, etc.) has passed since the last renewal. If the update condition is not satisfied (N in S37), the operation S30 ends. When the update condition is satisfied (Y in S37), the determination unit 33 outputs the generation instruction to the correlation data generation unit 34, and the operation S30 proceeds to S38.

The correlation data generation unit 34 generates update correlation data in response to a generation instruction from the determination unit 33 (S38). In this step, the correlation data generation unit 34 generates update correlation data based on each set of the actual position PVx and the movement speed stored in association with the storage unit 50. In the present embodiment, the moving speed corresponding to each target position PVs1 acquired during the period from the time when the above update condition is satisfied in the previous operation S30 to the time when the above update condition is satisfied in the current operation S30. Correlation data that reflects is obtained.

Next, the update unit 35 updates the correlation data 51 stored in the storage unit 50 using the update correlation data (S39). Since this S39 is the same as S19 in FIG. 8, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the update unit 35 updates the correction data 52 based on the updated correlation data 51 (S40). In the present embodiment, the update unit 35 of the main spool 22 with respect to each target position PVs1 acquired from the time when the above update condition is satisfied in the previous operation S30 to the time when the above update condition is satisfied in the current operation S30. Calculate the assumed movement speed. The update unit 35 specifies the position of the pilot spool 12 at a movement speed that matches each of the calculated assumed movement speeds. The updating unit 35 updates the correction data 52 stored in the storage unit 50 with the specified position as the corrected target position PVs2 for each target position PVs1.

According to the configuration of the second embodiment, since all the data obtained from the previous update to the current update are used at the time of update, it is possible to create highly accurate correlation data 51 and correction data 52. ..

[Third Embodiment]
The valve control device 100 of the third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. The description overlapping with the second embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the configuration different from the second embodiment will be mainly described.

In the second embodiment, in S38 of FIG. 10, correlation data is generated for each position corresponding to each target position PVs1 acquired during a predetermined period, but the present invention is not limited to this. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that correlation data is generated based on the first position and the second position, which will be described later.

In S38 of FIG. 10, the correlation data generation unit 34 acquires the first position and the second position of the pilot spool 12. For example, the correlation data generation unit 34 specifies the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 as the first position when the value of the flow rate relation parameter becomes a value within a predetermined low value range. Further, the correlation data generation unit 34 specifies the actual position PVx of the pilot spool 12 as the second position when the value of the flow rate-related parameter is no longer within the predetermined low value range. The first position here is the position of the pilot spool 12 when the first port 16p and the second port 16a communicate with each other. The second position is the position of the pilot spool 12 when the second port 16a and the third port 16t communicate with each other.

A method of specifying the first and second positions of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the predetermined low range is a predetermined low speed range including a moving speed of 0 m / s. In the correlation data 51, the correlation data generation unit 34 specifies the minimum value as the first position and the maximum value as the second position among the positions of the pilot spool 12 whose moving speed is within a predetermined low value range. The predetermined low range is appropriately determined with reference to 0 m / s in consideration of the detection error of the actual position MVx for calculating the moving speed.

The correlation data generation unit 34 generates update correlation data based on the specified first and second positions. Here, a method of generating the update correlation data of the present embodiment will be described. In the correlation data in this case, the moving speed is set to 0 m / s for the position between the first position and the second position, and the other positions have a predetermined inclination with respect to each position of the pilot spool 12. Set the movement speed so that For this predetermined inclination, for example, the inclination of the moving speed at a position other than between the first and second positions in the correlation data set at the time of shipment of the hydraulic servo valve 1 is used.

The distance between the first position and the second position decreases as the wear of the position of the pilot spool 12 progresses. On the other hand, at the position of the pilot spool 12 other than between the first position and the second position, the moving speed changes in proportion to the position of the pilot spool 12. Therefore, even if the above distance becomes small, the amount of change in the moving speed with respect to the position change is constant. In the present embodiment, the correlation data generation unit 34 uses these relationships to generate update correlation data from the first and second positions.

According to the present embodiment, the correlation data is updated based on the first and second positions also for the positions of the pilot spool 12 that were not acquired as the target positions during the predetermined period. Therefore, also at this position, the hydraulic oil 48 of the flow rate controlled according to the shape of the pilot spool 12 is supplied to the main valve 20. As a result, the position of the main spool 22 can be controlled to a desired position with higher accuracy.

In the present embodiment, the correlation data is updated based on the first and second positions, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the storage unit 50 stores in advance different correction data 52 for each combination of the first and second positions. The update unit 35 uses the combination of the first and second positions as a search key to read out the correction data 52 corresponding to this combination from the plurality of correction data 52 stored in the storage unit 50. The update unit 35 may update the correction data 52 using the read correction data.

[Fourth Embodiment]
The valve control device 100 of the fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the third embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. The description overlapping with the third embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the configuration different from the third embodiment will be mainly described.

In the present embodiment, the update condition in S37 of FIG. 10 is the position of the pilot spool 12 indicated by each of the plurality of position commands acquired from the engine control device 90 within a predetermined period until the position command is acquired in S37. This is the case where the time transition shows a predetermined pattern. In this predetermined pattern, for example, the movable range of the pilot spool 12 is ± 1 mm from the reference position, whereas the pilot spool 12 is repeatedly moved 10 times between the reference position and the position ± 50 μm from the reference position. It is a pattern like. That is, the pilot spool 12 repeatedly moves in a minute section with respect to the movable range of the pilot spool 12. Therefore, when this update condition is satisfied, in S36 of FIG. 10, the first acquisition unit 31 acquires the movement speed for each actual position PVx in this minute section, and corresponds to the acquired actual position PVx and the movement speed. It is attached and stored in the storage unit 50. The range for moving the pilot spool 12 is not limited to ± 50 μm from the reference position, and may be a range including the first position and the second position.

The method of specifying the first position and the second position of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the correlation data generation unit 34 calculates the slope of the movement speed at each position based on the actual position PVx and the movement speed stored in association with the storage unit 50 in S36 of FIG. Here, the correlation data generation unit 34 calculates the average value of the moving speeds at a plurality of points (for example, 100 points) before and after the position of the target for which the inclination is calculated for each position. The correlation data generation unit 34 calculates the slope of the average value for each adjacent position. The correlation data generation unit 34 specifies a position where the difference between the calculated slope and the predetermined slope is smaller than the threshold value, and is closest to the reference position on the first direction side and the opposite side. This predetermined inclination is set in the same manner as the predetermined inclination used in the third embodiment. The correlation data generation unit 34 has a position specified on the first direction side (minus direction of the x-axis in FIG. 6 (c)) as the first position, and the opposite side (+ of the x-axis in FIG. 6 (c)). The position specified in (direction) is set as the second position.

Next, an example of the method of generating the update correlation data in the present embodiment will be described. The distance between the first position and the second position decreases from the state of FIG. 5 (b) as the wear of the valve body 12a progresses, and then becomes 0 as shown in FIG. 5 (a). After that, when the wear of the valve body 12a further progresses and the width of the valve body 12a becomes smaller than the opening width of the second port 1a, the distance between the first position and the second position becomes large again. Therefore, when the distance between the first position and the second position becomes 0 and then increases again, the positions other than between the first position and the second position are relative to each position of the pilot spool 12. The movement speed is set so as to have a predetermined inclination, and the movement speed is set so as to be twice the predetermined inclination for the position between the first position and the second position. As a result, update correlation data is generated. In this method, in the above example of the generation method, each point of the moving speed with respect to the first and second positions needs to be at a position symmetrical with respect to the origin on the graph. This is because if the positions are not point-symmetrical, correlation data such that the points of the moving velocities with respect to the first and second positions are connected on the graph cannot be obtained.

Next, another example of the method for generating the update correlation data in the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the flow rate at the position between the specified first position and the second position is stored in the storage unit 50 by driving the pilot spool 12 according to a predetermined pattern in S36 of the present embodiment. Therefore, the moving speed for each position stored in the storage unit 50 is used. For positions other than between the first position and the second position, the moving speed is set so as to have a predetermined inclination with respect to each position of the pilot spool 12. According to this generation method, even if each point of the moving speed with respect to the first and second positions is not in a point-symmetrical position with respect to the origin due to uneven wear of the pilot spool 12 or a detection error of the moving speed, these points Correlation data is obtained such that

As described above, the correlation data generation unit 34 of the present embodiment generates the correlation data for update.

In the third embodiment, the values of the flow rate related parameters are specified based on a predetermined low range. However, when the width of the valve body 12a is smaller than the opening width of the second port 1a as shown in FIG. 5C, the value of the flow rate-related parameter is near the neutral position as shown in FIG. 6C. It will increase greatly. Therefore, since the values of the flow rate-related parameters immediately increase beyond the predetermined low range near the neutral position, the first position and the second position cannot be accurately specified. According to this embodiment, the first position and the second position can be specified even when the width of the valve body 12a is smaller than the opening width of the second port 1a. Further, the first distance and the second distance can be specified only by repeatedly moving a minute section with respect to the movable range of the pilot spool 12. Therefore, energy saving can be achieved as compared with the case where the pilot spool 12 is moved over the movable range of the pilot spool 12.

[Fifth Embodiment]
The valve control device 100 of the fifth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals. The description overlapping with the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the configuration different from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 12, the information processing unit 30 further includes a third acquisition unit 61, an estimation unit 62, an output unit 63, and a wireless communication unit 64.

In the present embodiment, the third acquisition unit 61 specifies the first position and the second position based on the correlation data 51 as in the third embodiment. Further, the third acquisition unit 61 acquires the first distance by calculating the first distance between the first position and the second position.

The estimation unit 62 estimates the state of the pilot spool 12 based on the comparison between the first distance calculated by the third acquisition unit 61 and the reference value. The reference value of the present embodiment is the first distance calculated first for the pilot spool 12 (for example, the first distance at the time of shipment). The state of the pilot spool 12 of the present embodiment is the degree of wear of the pilot spool 12.

The output unit 63 outputs the estimation result of the estimation unit 62. Further, the output unit 63 notifies that the replacement of the pilot valve 10 is recommended when the first distance is equal to or less than the reference value.

The wireless communication unit 64 performs wireless communication with the outside. For example, the wireless communication unit 64 wirelessly communicates with the remote controller 40 for remotely controlling the valve control device 100 from the outside.

The operation S50 of the valve control device 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The determination unit 33 determines whether or not the estimation condition is satisfied (S51). The estimation condition of this embodiment is that a predetermined period (one day, one week, etc.) has passed since the previous estimation. However, the estimation condition is not limited to this, and may be a case where the update condition is satisfied.

If the estimation condition is not satisfied (N in S51), the operation S50 ends. When the estimation condition is satisfied (Y in S51), the determination unit 33 outputs the calculation instruction to the third acquisition unit 61, and the operation S50 proceeds to S52.

In S52, the third acquisition unit 61 calculates the first distance between the first position and the second position based on the correlation data 51. The first position and the second position are specified by the same method as that described in the third embodiment. The third acquisition unit 61 outputs the calculated first distance to the estimation unit 62.

Next, the estimation unit 62 determines whether or not the first distance calculated by the third acquisition unit 61 is equal to or less than the reference value (S53).

When the calculated first distance is larger than the reference value (N in S53), the operation S50 proceeds to S54. When the calculated first distance is equal to or less than the reference value (Y in S53), the operation S50 proceeds to S55.

In S54 and S55, the estimation unit 62 estimates the state of the pilot spool 12 based on the comparison between the first distance and the reference value. Specifically, the estimation unit 62 estimates the degree of wear of the pilot spool 12 based on the difference between the first distance and the reference value. After S54, the estimation unit 62 outputs the estimation result to the output unit 63, and the operation S50 proceeds to S56. After S55, the estimation unit 62 outputs the estimation result and the notification instruction to the output unit 63, and the operation S50 proceeds to S57.

In S56 and S57, the output unit 63 outputs the estimation result of the state of the pilot spool 12. Specifically, the output unit 63 outputs this estimation result to the remote controller 40 via the wireless communication unit 64. As a result, the estimation result is displayed on the display of the remote controller 40. The output unit 63 may display the estimation result on a display (not shown) provided on the pilot valve 10, the valve control device 100, or the like. After S56, the operation S50 ends. After S57, operation S50 proceeds to S58.

In S58, the output unit 63 notifies that the replacement of the pilot valve 10 is recommended based on the notification instruction from the estimation unit 62. For example, the output unit 63 outputs a notification signal to the remote controller 40 via the wireless communication unit 64, and causes the display of the remote controller 40 to indicate that the replacement of the pilot valve 10 is recommended. The output unit 63 may generate a voice to the effect of the above recommendation on the remote controller 40. After S58, the operation S50 ends.

Here, when the operation of the hydraulic servo valve 1 or the engine 80 becomes unstable, it is easy to determine an abnormality or deterioration such as wear or deformation of the pilot spool 12 from the data related to the operation or the like. On the other hand, in the valve control device 100, as described above, the target positions PVs are corrected according to the state of the pilot spool 12. Therefore, the hydraulic servo valve 1, the engine 80, and the like operate stably even when the pilot spool 12 is actually worn. Therefore, in the valve control device 100, it is difficult to determine an abnormality or deterioration such as wear and deformation of the pilot spool 12. As a result, the hydraulic servo valve 1, the engine 80, and the like may suddenly stop operating normally even though they have been operating stably until then.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the first distance is equal to or less than the reference value, an alarm is generated to recommend the replacement of the pilot valve 10. Therefore, the pilot valve 10 can be replaced at an appropriate replacement time. As a result, it is possible to prevent the hydraulic servo valve 1, the engine 80, and the like from suddenly not operating normally.

In the present embodiment, the reference value to be compared with the first distance is the first distance first acquired in the pilot spool 12. According to this configuration, the wear of the pilot spool 12 from the start of using the hydraulic servo valve 1 can be accurately estimated.

The reference value of the present embodiment is the first distance calculated first for the pilot spool 12, but the reference value is not limited to this. The reference value may be set based on the first distance calculated at the same timing for the pilot spool 12 of the hydraulic servo valve 1 corresponding to the other cylinder 81. For example, the reference value may be the average value of the first distances calculated at the same timing for the pilot valve 10 of the hydraulic servo valve 1 corresponding to the other cylinder 81. In this case, it is possible to grasp the relative size of the width of the target pilot spool 12 with respect to the width of the pilot spool 12 of the hydraulic servo valve 1 corresponding to the other cylinder 81. As a result, the state of the target pilot spool 12 can be accurately estimated.

Further, the reference value may be appropriately set according to the purpose, such as a value equal to the opening width of the second port 16a.

In the present embodiment, the estimation unit 62 estimates the state of the pilot spool 12 based on the first distance, but is not limited to this. The estimation unit 62 may estimate the state of the pilot spool 12 based on at least one of the first position, the second position, and the first distance. In this case, the reference value is determined for each of the first position, the second position, and the first distance. For example, the estimation unit 62 may estimate the state of the pilot spool 12 based on the difference between the first position and the reference value determined for the first position. In this case, the reference value may be the first position initially identified for the pilot spool 12. The second position may be used for this estimation as well as the first position. Further, the third acquisition unit 61 may acquire at least one value of the first position, the second position, and the first distance.
[Sixth Embodiment]
The sixth embodiment is a flow rate control method for the hydraulic servo valve. The control method of the present invention can be used for various hydraulic servo valves, but in the present embodiment, the fluid supplied to the actuator by driving and controlling the actual position of the pilot spool 12 of the pilot valve 10 so as to reach the target position. Illustrated by a flow rate control method for controlling the flow rate of.

The flow rate control method includes a step of acquiring the actual position of the pilot spool 12 and the value of the flow rate-related parameter related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool 12 is located at the actual position, and the pilot spool 12 It includes a step of acquiring a position command indicating the target position of the above, a step of correcting the target position based on the value of the flow rate-related parameter, and a step of driving the pilot spool 12 according to the corrected target position. This fluid control method can be realized by the valve control device 100.

According to the configuration of the sixth embodiment, the same actions and effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

[7th Embodiment]
A seventh embodiment is a flow control program (computer program) for a hydraulic servo valve. The control program of the present invention can be used for various hydraulic servo valves, but in the present embodiment, the fluid supplied to the actuator by driving and controlling the actual position of the pilot spool 12 of the pilot valve 10 so as to be the target position. Illustrated by a computer program for controlling the flow rate of.

The computer program acquires the actual position of the pilot spool 12 and the values of the flow-related parameters related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool 12 is located at the actual position of the computer of the flow control device. The first acquisition unit 31, the second acquisition unit 32 that acquires a position command indicating the target position of the pilot spool 12, the correction unit 36 that corrects the target position based on the values of the flow rate-related parameters, and the corrected target. It can function as a drive control unit 37 that drives the pilot spool 12 according to the position.

The computer program may be installed in the storage (for example, the storage unit 50) of the valve control device 100 as an application program in which a plurality of modules corresponding to the functional blocks of the valve control device 100 are mounted. The computer program may be read and executed in the main memory of the processor (for example, CPU) of the valve control device 100.

According to the configuration of the seventh embodiment, the same actions and effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

The examples of the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. All of the above-described embodiments are merely specific examples for carrying out the present invention. The content of the embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many design changes such as changes, additions, and deletions of components are made within the range not deviating from the idea of the invention defined in the claims. It is possible. In the above-described embodiment, the contents that can be changed in such a design are described with notations such as "in the embodiment" and "in the embodiment", but the contents are designed without such notations. It's not that changes aren't tolerated.

Any combination of each of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present invention. The new embodiment produced by the combination has the effects of the combined embodiment and the modified example.

Information processing unit 30, first acquisition unit 31, second acquisition unit 32, judgment unit 33, correlation data generation unit 34, update unit 35, correction unit 36, drive control unit 37, storage unit 50, valve control device 100.

Claims (19)

A flow control device that controls the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the actuator by driving and controlling the actual position of the pilot spool, which is the spool of the pilot valve, so that it reaches the target position.
A first acquisition unit that acquires the actual position of the pilot spool and the value of the flow rate-related parameter related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool is located at the actual position.
A second acquisition unit that acquires a position command indicating the target position of the pilot spool, and
A correction unit that corrects the target position based on the actual position and the value of the flow rate-related parameter,
A drive control unit that drives the pilot spool according to the corrected target position,
Flow control device, including. The actuator is a main valve having a main spool which is a spool moved by the fluid supplied from the pilot valve.
The flow rate control device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate-related parameter is a moving speed of the main spool. The actuator is a main valve having a main spool which is a spool moved by the fluid supplied from the pilot valve.
The flow rate control device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate-related parameter is the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the main valve. The flow rate control device according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate-related parameter is a drive current flowing through a solenoid that drives the pilot spool or a drive voltage applied to the solenoid. 1. The flow rate control device according to any one of 4. The actuator is a main valve having a main spool which is a spool moved by the fluid supplied from the pilot valve.
The correction unit
Based on the target position, the assumed flow rate of the fluid that is assumed to be supplied to the main valve when the pilot spool is located at the target position is calculated.
Based on the calculated assumed flow rate, the values of the flow rate-related parameters assumed when the pilot spool is located at the target position are calculated.
The fifth aspect of claim 5, wherein in the correlation data, the target position is corrected by setting the actual position corresponding to the value of the flow rate-related parameter that matches the value of the assumed flow-rate-related parameter as the corrected target position. Flow control device. The flow rate control device according to claim 6, wherein the correction unit further calculates the assumed flow rate based on the pressure that the fluid applies to the main valve. The correlation data generation unit includes the first position of the pilot spool when the first port for inputting the fluid and the second port for supplying the fluid input from the first port to the actuator communicate with each other. The third port for discharging the fluid supplied to the actuator and the second position of the pilot spool when the second port communicates with each other are specified.
The flow rate control device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the correlation data generation unit acquires the correlation data based on the first position and the second position. A storage unit that stores the correlation data and
An update unit that updates the correlation data stored in the storage unit based on the actual position and the value of the flow rate-related parameter for the actual position acquired after the correlation data is generated.
With more
The flow rate control device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the correction unit corrects the acquired target position based on the updated correlation data. The flow rate control device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the correlation data generation unit generates the correlation data when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The flow rate control device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined condition includes executing the anti-sticking operation of the pilot spool. The flow rate control device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined condition includes stopping an engine to which fuel is supplied according to the position of the pilot spool. The actuator is a main valve having a main spool which is a spool moved by the fluid supplied from the pilot valve.
The flow rate control device according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined condition includes the main spool staying at a position where the fuel is not supplied to the engine for a predetermined time or longer. The first acquisition unit obtains the actual position when the pilot spool is controlled according to the corrected target position and the value of the flow rate-related parameter when the pilot spool is located at the actual position. The flow rate control device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 to be acquired. Based on the actual position and the value of the flow rate-related parameter at the actual position, the first port for inputting the fluid and the second port for supplying the fluid input from the first port to the actuator communicate with each other. The first position, which is the position of the pilot spool, and the second position, which is the position of the pilot spool when the third port for discharging the fluid supplied to the actuator and the second port communicate with each other. , A third acquisition unit that acquires at least one value of the distance between the first position and the second position, and
An estimation unit that estimates the state of the pilot spool based on the comparison between the at least one value and the reference value, and
The flow rate control device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising. The at least one value is the distance.
The flow rate control device according to claim 15, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that replacement of the pilot valve is recommended when the distance is equal to or less than the reference value. It is a flow rate control method that controls the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the actuator by controlling the position of the pilot spool, which is the spool of the pilot valve.
A step of acquiring the actual position of the pilot spool and the value of the flow rate-related parameter related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool is located at the actual position.
A step of acquiring a position command indicating the target position of the pilot spool and
A correction unit that corrects the target position based on the values of the flow rate-related parameters,
The step of driving the pilot spool according to the corrected target position, and
Flow control methods, including. A computer of the flow control device that controls the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the actuator by controlling the position of the pilot spool, which is the spool of the pilot valve.
A first acquisition unit that acquires the actual position of the pilot spool and the value of the flow rate-related parameter related to the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the actuator when the pilot spool is located at the actual position.
A second acquisition unit that acquires a position command indicating the target position of the pilot spool, and
A correction unit that corrects the target position based on the values of the flow rate-related parameters,
A drive control unit that drives the pilot spool according to the corrected target position,
A flow control program that can function as. By driving and controlling the actual position of the pilot spool, which is the spool of the pilot valve, to reach the target position, the fluid supplied to the main valve having the main spool, which is a spool moved by the fluid supplied from the pilot valve. A flow control device that controls the flow rate
A first acquisition unit that acquires the actual position of the pilot spool and the moving speed of the main spool when the pilot spool is located at the actual position.
A correlation data generation unit that generates correlation data indicating the correlation between the plurality of actual positions of the pilot spool and the movement speed acquired for each of the plurality of actual positions.
A second acquisition unit that acquires a position command indicating the target position of the pilot spool, and
A correction unit that corrects the target position based on the correlation data,
A drive control unit that drives the pilot spool according to the corrected target position,
When the first port for inputting the fluid and the second port for supplying the fluid input from the first port to the main valve communicate with each other based on the actual position and the moving speed at the actual position. The first position, which is the position of the pilot spool, and the second position, which is the position of the pilot spool when the third port for discharging the fluid supplied to the main valve and the second port communicate with each other. The third acquisition unit that acquires the distance between and
An estimation unit that estimates the state of the pilot spool based on the comparison between the distance and the reference value, and
A notification unit that notifies that replacement of the pilot valve is recommended when the distance is equal to or less than the reference value.
Flow control device including.

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