MXPA98003341A - Method and apparatus for assembling carr valves - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for assembling a spool valve within a valve orifice of a housing, characterized in that it comprises: a carrying body, a passage in the carrying body constructed to receive a spool valve; having an end placed adjacent to the spool valve, and constructed to advance the spool valve within the passage, and a supply of compressed gas in communication with the passage and the valve orifice, to distribute compressed gas to each of them, with the compressed gas in the passage at a higher pressure than the compressed gas in the valve orifice, whereby the driving rod advances the spool valve inside the passage and the compressed gas drives the valve spool inside the valve orifice, as opposed to the force on the spool valve of the compressed gas and distributed to the valve orifice, and the As compressed in the passage and in the valve orifice they keep the spool valve substantially concentrically aligned with each other.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING REEL VALVES FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to reel valves and more particularly to a method and apparatus for assembling a spool valve within the light or inner diameter of a valve of a body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Due to the extremely narrow tolerances, great care must be taken when mounting a spool valve within the lumen or internal diameter to a valve of a body, such as a transmission housing. Typically, the clearance between the outer surface of the spool valve and the inside of the inner diameter or orifice of the valve is approximately 12.7 μm (0.0005 inch) per side. This makes it very difficult to insert a spool valve into the orifice or inner diameter of a valve without damaging the spool valve or having to become stuck inside the bore or internal diameter. REF: 27275 Consequently, the process is performed mainly by hand due to the problems associated with the mechanical insertion devices. Prior mechanical insertion devices have used a drive rod, usually pneumatically or hydraulically actuated, to directly push a spool valve into the orifice or inner diameter of the valve. Extreme precision is required in the alignment of the spool valve with the orifice or internal diameter of the valve, with these devices and the devices being prone to clogging. In addition, mounting the spool valves within the orifice of a valve either manually or with current mechanical insertion devices, may scratch or otherwise damage the coupling spool valve and / or the surface of the bore or internal diameter of the body, thereby decreasing the integrity and service life of the valve assembly in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A method and apparatus for assembling or assembling one is described. Reel valve within an orifice or inner diameter of a body valve, using compressed gas to either align the spool valve with the bore or to advance the spool valve aligned within the bore. Preferably, the compressed gas is supplied to and discharged through the orifice of the valve at a pressure below the pressure of the compressed gas supplied to a transfer passage within the carrier body containing a spool valve substantially aligned concentrically with the orifice or inner diameter of the valve to advance the spool valve from the transfer passage to the valve orifice. The compressed gas in the passage provides a force that acts generally uniformly on the spool valve to substantially concentrically align the spool valve within the passage and to advance it. The compressed gas supplied to the valve orifice also acts substantially uniformly on the spool valve tending to substantially concentrically align the spool valve within the valve orifice, as the spool valve is advanced into the bore and provides an air cushion between these. While the gas in the passage and the orifice of the valve align the spool valve, the higher gas pressure in the valve advances the spool valve into the valve orifice. The apparatus preferably has a frame or structure on which the valve body, such as a transmission housing, and the carrier body are received to accurately and concentrically align the transfer passage with the valve orifice. The carrier body is preferably slidably received for axial alternating movement on a pair of guide rails, so that it can be advanced and retracted relative to the transmission housing, to facilitate the assembly of the spool valves in successive transmission housings. Preferably, each spool valve is individually charged within the carrier body from an automatic magazine of the spool valve received adjacent to the transfer passage. Preferably, the spool valve is loaded into the carrier body within a reception passage upstream of the transfer passage, and is advanced in the transfer passage by a drive rod operably coupled to a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder. The receiving passage is larger in diameter than the transfer passage, to facilitate the movement of the spool valve therethrough, and the g-as or p-rimi-do provided, in the receiving passage and -the The travel of the transducer substantially concentrically aligns the spool valve with each passage as it is advanced through them. The objectives, features and advantages of this invention include the provision of a method and an apparatus for assembling a valve-valve in a valve orifice of a body that concentrically aligns the valve of the valve. -arrete within the hole of the v ^ álvu-La., at all lq_ length of. Assembly, prevents damage to the spool valve during the assembly, uses compressed-to-pressure relatively low to align and make a.van, z_ar. the valve, eliminates contaminants from the orifice of the valve, can be substantially self-adjusting, can be quickly adapted to assemble various spool valves, variant spools, easily mounts the successive spool valves in successive valve orifices, it is relatively simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture and assemble and is pre-sa, reliable and has a long service life in service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This and other obj-et-ivo-s, caw? Terlstica-. and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the '-need mode, < of the appended claims and of the appended drawings, in lps cμa ^ Les: L-a Figure 1 is a top view of an apparatus according to the invention; and Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Referring more to the details, the FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an apparatus 10 that exemplifies this nve-nce, for the? N_section, and a spool valve 12 inside. from a hole 14 in a housing 1.6, such as a transmission de-stem body when advancing the spool valve 12 through a transfer passage 18, with compressed gas supplied to the flow passage through from. an inlet gate 2.0 at a pressure greater than the pressure of the compressed gas distributed through a gas inlet 22 to the orifice of the valve 14. The spool valves 12 are deposited one at a time in a passage 2 $ in a carrier body 28 through which the valves 1-2 are advanced through the compressed gas stream, ta. as air inside the _pa-3aj ^ d & transfer by a pusher mechanism 30. When sufficiently received within the transfer passage 18, the valve 12 is advanced through the transfer passage 18 and into the hole 14 of the housing by the deference of punch between the compressed gas distributed to the passage of transfer 18 and to port 14. E-, 1 housing 16 is preferably-, held by an arm 32 of an oscillating connecting clamp 34, between a collator block 36 and a plate 38 with a sealing member 40, such as a layer of rubber material placed therebetween which provides a seal adjacent the valve orifice 14, to prevent leakage of the compressed ga. from the transmission housing 16. The pins 42 are inserted through the plate 38 and the sealing member 40 within the openings 44 in the transmission housing 16, for plugging the openings 44 and preventing the escape of the gas through beams. Either of these pins 42 or others placed and the blog 3-6 align the axis of the hole 14 d-_ the valve * of the housing coaxially with ex. axis of the transfer passage 18 of the carrier body 28. The orifice 14 ^ of the valve extends through several walls 4-6 l which define separate passages 43 through which the fluid in the housing 16 is communicated on the reel valve 12. The carrier body 28 is generally in the form of tt providing four arms 50, each, one with an opening 52 therethrough, which receives one of a pair of guide rails 54 , - 56. for the axial alternating movement of the carrier body 28 at the l.rgo of the guide rails 54, 56. The guide rails 54, 56 are supported by a pair of stop blocks 53, 60 fixed. two the. guide rails 54 * 56 between the adjacent arms 50, to limit the axial alternating movement of the carrier body 28, and a block 62 fixed to the rails 54, 56. The carrier body 28 is deflected by springs, preferably by springs of compression 64, 66 received on the guide rails 54 ^ 56 and joining the carrier body 28 and the block 62. The block 62 has a central hole 68 therethrough to receive-a drive rod 70 of the pusher mechanism 30, which is preferably driven by a fluid cylinder ~ / 2. The. drive rod 70 has a head 74 of enlarged diameter coupled to its free end, and received at a prism 76 of the carrier 28 and engageable with a stop plate &Q? μie has a hole 82 through which. the shaft 84 of the drive rod 70. moves alternately. The head 74 preferably has a toric ring 86 received in a groove88 formed in the head 74 to substantially seal the passageway 2.6 in the carrier body 2,8 and prevent leakage of the compressed gas past the head 74 when the spool valve 12 is sufficiently within the transfer passage 18. such that the pressure of the compressed gas acts on the spool valve-12, to advance it through the transfer passage 18. When the drive rod 70 is retracted towards the block 62 and the head 74 of the drive rod 7Q makes contact with the stop plate 80 to move the carrier body 28 towards the blog 62, against the deviation of the springs 64, 66. The carrier body 2-8 has to be advanced towards the housing 16 by the force of the springs 64, 66 when the housing rod 70 is extended into the passage 26 to advance the spool valve 12 in the transfer passage 18. An automatic magazine 90 of the spool valve contains a plurality of valves of reel 12 and load the spool valves 12 one at a time into the carrier body 28, a &trthrough a receiving groove 91 formed in the carrier body 8, which opens to the passage 26, t to supply the apparatus 10 with a spool valve i2 for each successive housing 16. The spool valve charger it can be controlled by a computer or some other suitable device to distribute in a substantially automatic way the individual spool valves 12 to the body, carrier 28. The passage 26 is preferably slightly larger-in diameter than the transfer passage 18, to facilitate the movement of the spool valve 12 through it when it is advanced by the pusher mechanism 30.

The transfer passage 18 is preferably formed in an insert 92 releasably received within an orifice 94 and ex against hole 96 of the carrier body 2, and having a flange 98 extending radially with a substantially flat face 100 received adjacent. on a substantially planar face 102 of the carrier body 28 positioned substantially perpendicular to the axis of the hole 14, to align coaxially. eg transfer passage 18 with orifice 14 of the valve. The insert 92 has a wall 104 that extends axially, defining the open end of the transfer passage 18 and constructed for s ex al. less. partially received ^ within a counter-bore 106 of the housing 16, and preferably has a cantilevered end constructed to be received adjacent a chamfer 110 in the housing 16 adjacent the valve orifice 14. The transfer passage 18 has a frustaconic inlet portion 111 that provides a slight transition from the larger diameter passage 26 to the transfer passage 1 &, which has a diameter equal to or only slightly greater than the diameter maximum of valve orifice 14. With the use of various inserts 92, the apparatus 10 can be easily changed to assemble spool valves 12 of different construction into complementary housings 16-, In use, the compressed gas, such as air, is supplied to the carrier body 2. 8 through the inlet gate 20 at a pressure preferably in the range of about -0.70-kg / cm2 to 2.11 kg / cm2 (10 psi and 30 psi) and the compressed gas supplied to the pump. housing 16 through the gas inlet 22, is at a pressure of approximately 0.35 kg / cm2 and 1.40 kg / cm2 (5_ psi and 2Q psi). Typically, the pressure differential between these is from about 0.35 kg / cm2 to 1.05 kg / cm2 (5 to 15 psi) and preferably 0.35 kg / cm2 to 0.70 (5 to 10 psi). More preferably, the compressed gas supplied to the carrier body 28 is at a pressure of about 1.05 kg / cm2 (15 psi) and the gas pressure supplied to the housing 16 is at a pressure. of approximately 0.70 kg / cm2 (10 psi). The compressed gas within the transfer passage 18 acts substantially uniformly on the spool valve 12 to concentrically align the spool valve 12 within the passage 16, the transfer passage 1-8 and the orifice 14 of the valve compliant it moves through these. The gas 1 J The tablet supplied to the housing 16 opposes the force of the compressed gas supplied to the carrier body 28 and also acts substantially uniformly on the spool valve 12 to maintain its concentric alignment with the transfer passage 18 and the orifice. 14 of the valve when, it is received in it. In addition, the difference in pressure between the transfer passage 18 and the valve orifice 1-4 is large enough to drive the spool valve 12 from the transfer passage 18, and into the valve orifice 14 still It is small enough to avoid forcing it. valve, spool 12 inside the valve hole 14 and thereby damage the spool valve-12 o. orifice 14 of the valve, or cause the spool valve 12 to become jammed within the valve orifice 14. Even if a spool valve 12 becomes jammed during the mounting within the valve orifice 14, the relatively small pressure difference acting on the spool valve 12 is insufficient to damage the spool valve or the orifice 14. d & The valve . To assemble a spool valve 1-2 within the bore 14 of the housing valve 16, a spool valve 12 is loaded into the passage 26 of the carrier body 28 by the automatic spool valve loader 90. The drive rod 70 of the pusher mechanism 30 is advanced towards the spool valve 12, and the carrying body 28 is moved to follow the movement of the driving rod 70 through the force of the springs 64, 66 which deflect the carrying body 28. When the carrying body 28 and the housing 16 are engaged, the end beveled 108 of the insert 92, and the chamfer 110 of the housing 16, adjacent the valve orifice 14, align and center the transfer passage 18 with the orifice 14 of the valve. Before the head 74 and the O-ring 8ß of the drive rod 70 close the passage 26, at least some of the compressed gas flows through the passage 26 and around the spool valve. 12, to center it inside the passage 26 and facilitate its movement therethrough, when it is made to-anza? -, by the head 74 of the driving rod 70. The continuous advancement of the driving rod 70 towards its position xte dida after the. carrier body 28 and eg housing 16. are coupled, decouples the head 74 from the stop plate 80 and advances the head 74 towards the spool valve 12. When the head 74 enters the passage 26 it substantially seals the pad 26 to prevent the escape 'of the gas. compressed from the passage 26. The -7-operation rod makes the spool valve 1Z move sufficiently through the passageway 2,6 and adjacent to or partially into the transfer passage 18. The pressure of the gas acting on, the Rear portion of spool valve j2 upstream of gate 20.? it is in general equal to the ression of the gas supplied to the carrier body, or 1 ^ 05 kg / cm2 (15 psi). The pressure of the gas acting on the ca-rga portion of the forward spool valve 12 beyond or downstream of the gate 20 is generally greater than the pressure acting on the upstream or trailing portion of the valve. of spool 12. In this way, the compressed gas acting on the rearward poocción of the spool valve 12, which is at a higher pressure than the compressed gas acting on the front portion, advances the valve of spool 12 in the passage passage 18 and thereafter within the hole 14 of the valve of the housing 16.

The addition of a compressed gas, such as air, to different pressures to the transfer passage 18 and to the orifice 14 of the valve-provides an air bearing and a slight driving force to facilitate the spool valve 12 within of the orifice 14 of the valve, while keeping it substantially concentrically aligned with the transfer passage 18 and the valve orifice 14, to prevent the spool valve 12 from becoming damaged and reaching to jam during assembly. The process can be substantially completely automated, thereby eliminating the cost and time associated with manually inserting the spool valve 12 into the valve orifice 14, and the high precision and relatively small force applied to the valve. reel valve 12 during assembly ^ prevent problems associated with • previous mechanical devices. The insert. 92 received in the carrier body 28 allows the apparatus 10 to be rapidly converted to insert spool valves 12 with various designs within various bodies. In this way, the device and.-El. method for inserting the spool valve 12 into the valve orifice 14 is efficient, easily adaptable to various designs of spool valve 12 and housings 16, faster and easier than manual insertion, and more accurate and less susceptible to damage to the spool valve and / or to the hole in the housing than the mechanical insertion devices before.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant for carrying out said invention is, for example, clear from the present description of the invention.

The invention having been described above, the content of the following is claimed as property:

Claims (12)

1. An apparatus for assembling a spool valve within a valve orifice of a housing, characterized in that it comprises; a carrier body; a passage in the carrier body constructed to receive a spool valve; a drive rod having an end positioned adjacent to the spool valve, and constructed to advance the spool valve within the passage; and a supply of compressed gas in communication with the passage and the orifice of the valve, to distribute compressed gas to each of them, with the compressed gas, in the passage, at a higher pressure than the compressed gas in the orifice. from valvule, . whereby the driving rod advances the spool valve within the passage and the compressed gas drives the spool valve into the valve orifice, as opposed to the force on the spool valve of the compressed gas and distributed to the spool valve orifice. the valve, and the compressed gas in the passage and in the valve orifice keep the spool valve substantially aligned concentrically therewith.

2. The compliant apparatus according to claim 1 further characterized in that it comprises a cylinder which has a slit-like lip received therefrom. for the movement alternating in it, and operably associated with Iß. rod d. drive to operate the drive rod.

3-. -He. conformity apparatus. with - claim 1 6 2.-. face-etherized also because it comprises a counter-feature in the substantially concentric housing with the valve orifice, and said passage is at least partially pole-lined within the contour to substantially concentrically align the passage and orifice of the valve. The valve.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further characterized in that it comprises a spool valve loader containing a supply of spool valves and constructed to individually assemble a spool valve within the carrier body.

5. The apparatus according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the passage has an open end and the actuator rod substantially seals the passage. when advancing in the latter, to prevent the leakage of the compressed gas beyond the driving rod.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3- ^ 4 'or 5, characterized in that the rod advances the spool valve sufficiently so that its forward end is downstream from the point at which the compressed gas, At a higher pressure, enter the passage.

7. The apparatus according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that the point at which the compressed gas at the highest pressure enters the passage, is upstream of the point where the compressed gas enters. to the orifice of the valve, an axial distance at least substantially equal to the axial length of the spool valve.

8. The apparatus according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that the passage has a frusto-conical transition area that joins a larger diameter portion of the passage with a smaller diameter portion of the running passage below the larger diameter portion, and the ga§ compressed at higher pressure is admitted to the passage in the transition area.

9. The apparatus according to claims t 2, 3? A, - 5 6, > 1 or 8, -. characterized in that the difference in pressure of the compressed gas supplied to the passage, and the orifice of the valve is in the range of approximately 0.35 to 0.70 kg / cm2 (5 to 10 psi).

10- The apparatus according to claims 1 ^ 2, 3, 4, f-j, 6, 7, 8 or 9, characterized by the pressure of the compressed gas in • the passage is .. between < approximately 0-7 to 2.11 kg / cm2 (.10 to 3.0 psi) and the pressure of the compressed gas in the. Valve hole is between approximately 0.35 to 1.40 kg / cm? (5 to 20 psi).

11. A method for assembling a spool valve within a valve orifice of a housing, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a carrier body having its passage aligned substantially concentrically with the orifice of the valve. valve; ? 5.) The provision of a spool valve in the passage; t C) the supply of compressed gas to the passage and the orifice of the valve, with the gas pressure inside the passage that is greater than the gas pressure inside the orifice. valve, to-, make-advance the spool valve inside the valve orifice.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressure of -93-s. compressed in the passage is between approximately 0 ^ .70 'to 2.11 kg / cm2 (10 to 30 psi) and the pressure- of the compressed gas in the valve orifice is between approximately 0.35 to 1.40 kg / cm2 (5 a 20 psi). R? E SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method and apparatus for assembling a spool valve in an orifice or inner valve diameter of a body is described by providing compressed gas to the valve orifice at a pressure below the pressure of the compressed gas supplied to a valve. passage within a carrier body containing a reel valve aligned substantially. in a manner - concentric with the valve orifice, to advance the spool valve from the passage within the valve orifice. The compressed gas in the passage provides a force that acts on. generally uniformly on the spool valve by substantially concentrically aligning the spool valve within the passage. The compressed gas supplied to the valve orifice also substantially uniformly acts on the spool / tending valve to concentrically align concentrically the spool valve within the valve orifice when the spool valve is advanced therein. While the gas in the passage and the orifice of the valve align the spool valve, the higher gas pressure in the passage advances the spool valve into the valve orifice.