Adjustable damping valve with a fail-safe damping force characteristic

Abstract

An adjustable damping valve including an actuator, which exerts an actuating force on a valve body against the force of a spring to influence the throttle cross section which determines the damping force, where an emergency valve is connected in parallel with the throttle cross section with respect to the flow direction of the damping medium, where the two control surfaces of the valve body move in the axial direction and can thus can come to rest alternately on the two valve seating surfaces, and where the valve body is divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction, and each valve body assembly has its own control surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is to be explained in greater detail below on the basis of the following description of the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of an adjustable damping valve;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of part of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows the emergency operating mode position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an adjustable damping valve 1 in a design with a pilot valve with a valve housing 3, in which a magnetic coil 5 with an axially movable anchor forms an actuator 7. The actuator 7 acts on a valve body 9, which determines a throttle cross section 11 and thus changes the outflow from a pressure space (not shown) forming part of a main damping valve. The less the throttling of the outflow, the smaller the pressure-dependent closing force on the valve body of the main-stage valve. Reference can be made to DE 41 04 110 A1 by way of example.

FIG. 2 is limited to showing the lower end of the valve body 9. The valve housing 3 has a cup-shaped base body with a sleeve-like extension 13. Between the extension 13 and the bottom part 15 of the base body, there is a through-opening 17, to which radial discharge openings 19 are connected. The valve body 9 is supported so that it is free to move back and forth in the axial direction and passes through a ring-like valve seating disk 21, which rests on the base body. The valve seating disk 21 has a valve seating surface 23, 25 on each cover surface for the valve body 9. The valve body 9 is divided into two parts in the longitudinal or axial direction, so that two valve body assemblies 27, 29 are present, each of which has its own control surface 31, 33. Depending on the axial position of the valve body 9, these control surfaces can rest alternately on the valve seating surfaces 23, 25 of the valve seating disk 21.

The valve body assembly 29, which determines the emergency operating mode position, has a fastening pin 35, which passes through the valve seating disk 21 and engages in a blind hole 37 in the second valve body assembly 27. The fastening pin 35 can have, for example, a fastening thread, or it can be welded, adhesively bonded, or press-fitted into the blind hole 37.

Adjoining the fastening pin 35 is a receiving sleeve 39, in which an axial channel 41 for the flow of damping medium during emergency operation is provided. On the side facing the valve seating disk 21, the receiving sleeve 39 has the conical control surface 33, which can come to rest against the lower valve seating surface 25. At least one opening 43 is provided in the control surface 33; this opening 43 extends at least partially in the radial direction inside and leads to a through-opening 45 in the valve seating disk 21. A compression spring 47 acts on a circumferential collar of the receiving sleeve 39. This spring is supported axially on a threaded disk 49, which in turn is screwed into the sleeve-shaped extension 13 of the damping valve housing 3. The compression spring 47 acts against the force of the actuator 7.

A pretensioning spring 51, which holds the axially movable valve seating disk 21 against the bottom part 15 of the cup-shaped base body, is supported on the threaded supporting disk 49. The pretensioning force of the pretensioning spring 51 is greater than the maximum actuating force of the actuator 7, so that the valve seating surfaces 23, 25 are always held on the valve housing 3.

A valve sleeve 53 for an emergency operating valve 55 is installed in the receiving sleeve 39. The emergency valve comprises a closing body 57, which is spring-loaded by an emergency valve spring 59. The bottom part of the valve sleeve 53 has an emergency valve seating surface 61 and the top part has an axial support surface 63 for the emergency valve spring 59. The valve sleeve 53 is pressed into the receiving sleeve 39.

Depending on how the main-stage valve is designed, during normal operation the actuating force acts against the compression spring 47 of the valve assembly 27. Thus the valve assembly 27 can close the throttle cross section 11 between the valve seating surface 23 on the top side of the valve seating disk 21 and a control surface 31 on the valve assembly 27 as increasing amounts of current are supplied.

In the case of a main-stage valve in which the pressure-actuated surfaces in the closing direction are larger than the pressure-actuated surface in the opening direction, a different operating behavior is observed. In a design of this type, the valve body 9 maintains a constant functional distance from the valve seating surface 23, i.e., the height of the throttle cross section 11 remains constant. The variable current being supplied to the actuator 7 has the effect of changing the force acting on the valve body 9, as a result of which a new difference is produced between the pressure acting on the pressure-actuated surfaces of the main-stage valve body in the opening direction and the pressure acting in the closing direction, where this pressure difference in turn determines the lifting stroke of the main-stage valve body.

In FIG. 2, the throttle cross section is shown completely closed against the force of the spring 47 at maximum current to the actuator 7. If the actuator 7 or the power supply fails, then the compression spring 47 shifts the entire valve body 9 axially, so that the control surface 33 of the valve assembly 29 now rests against the bottom surface of the valve seating disk 21, as shown in FIG. 3. The damping medium entering via the openings 65 in the threaded disk 49 cannot flow externally around the receiving sleeve 39 through the valve seating disk 21, because this flow route is blocked by the receiving sleeve 39 and the control surface 33. As a function of the pressure acting on the closing body 57 of the emergency valve 55, this closing body 57 can be lifted against the force of the emergency valve spring 59 from the emergency valve seating surface 61, and the damping medium can escape through the axial channel 41 and onward through the valve seating disk 21 to the discharge openings 19. The dimensions of the pressure-actuated surface of the closing body 57 in correspondence with the cross-sectional area of the opening in the bottom of the valve sleeve and the pretensioning force of the emergency valve spring 59 can be used to define any desired damping force characteristic for the adjustable damping valve for emergency operation, because the cross sections of the axial channel 41 or of the openings 43 are much larger than the pressure-actuated surface of the closing body 57.

Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. An adjustable damping valve comprising: a housing comprising a first valve seating surface and a second valve seating surface;a valve body in the housing, the valve body being divided axially into a first valve body assembly comprising a first control surface and a second valve body assembly comprising a second control surface, said valve body and housing defining a cross-section of a throttle therebetween;a spring acting on the valve body;an actuator configured to exert an adjusting force on the valve body against a force of the spring to influence the cross section of the throttle which determines a damping force; andan emergency valve connected in parallel with the cross section of the throttle with respect to a flow direction of the damping medium,wherein when the valve body moves axially, the first control surface and the second control surface can alternately contact the first valve seating surface and the second vale seating surface.

2. The adjustable damping valve of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprising a valve seating disk, the first and second valve seating surfaces being formed on the valve seating disk, the second valve body assembly comprising a fastening pin extending through the valve seating disk, the second valve body assembly determining an emergency operating mode when the second control surface contacts the second valve seating surface.

3. The adjustable damping valve of claim 2, wherein the second valve body assembly has an axial channel for the damping medium in the emergency operating mode.

4. The adjustable damping valve of claim 3, wherein the second valve body assembly further comprises a receiving sleeve attached to the fastening pin and surrounding the axial channel.

5. The adjustable damping valve of claim 4, wherein the emergency valve comprises a valve sleeve disposed in the receiving sleeve.

6. The adjustable damping valve of claim 5, wherein the valve sleeve comprises an emergency valve seating surface at one end and an axial support surface at the other end, the emergency valve further comprising an emergency valve spring supported by the axial support surface.

7. The adjustable damping valve of claim 5, wherein the valve sleeve is pressed into the receiving sleeve.

8. The adjustable damping valve of claim 2, further comprising a supporting disk threaded into the housing, the spring comprising a compression spring supported by the supporting disk.

9. The adjustable damping valve of claim 2, wherein the valve seating disk is removable from the housing.

10. The adjustable damping valve of claim 9, further comprising a pre-tensioning spring holding the valve seating disk in place against a wall of the housing.