Low leak boom control check valve

Abstract
An insert or cartridge that fits into a cavity in a valve body provides a check valve function and an anti-cavitation function and a pressure relief function. This insert is substantially circular and has an internal cavity with a valve assembly that has two pairs of valve seats, one pair of valve seats providing the anti-cavitation function and the other pair of valve seats providing the pressure relief function. The outside of the insert itself engages with a sealing surface in the cavity in the valve body to provide the check valve function.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates generally to hydraulic controls for regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid to hydraulic actuators. More particularly, it relates to spool valves for regulating such flow.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Hydraulic valves for controlling the movement and position of hydraulic actuators that are connected to large loads usually include several hydraulic circuit protection devices necessary to prevent damage to the hydraulic system, either the actuator or the hydraulic valves themselves. The two primary problems faced by hydraulic systems are that a sudden impact on the actuator or a sudden application of high pressure hydraulic fluid may lead to a large high pressure pulse in hydraulic components that are not sized to handle these high pressure pulses. To cure this problem, hydraulic controls and particularly spool valves that are commonly used to regulate hydraulic flow are equipped with an over-pressure relief circuit that dumps excess pressure back to the hydraulic tank, which is at a substantially lower pressure than the hydraulic supply pressure. Typical tank pressures range from 0 to 100 psi, where typical supply pressures may range from 500 to 4,000 psi. The relief valve, by opening, permits fluid pressure applied to the actuator to be automatically reduced. Once the pressure is within the proper range, typically 100 to 800 psi, these over-pressure relief valves automatically close.




Another problem faced by hydraulic systems is the formation of a vacuum in hydraulic lines. Just as hydraulic over-pressure can damage hydraulic systems by bursting actuators, valves and conduits, a vacuum in a hydraulic line can cause the hydraulic fluid to vaporize. These vapor bubbles in themselves are not damaging. When the pressure is increased, however, these bubbles collapse upon themselves as the hydraulic vapor condenses. There are substantial local transient pressure waves produced. Pressure waves formed by the collapsing bubbles will, over time, damage and dangerously weaken the hydraulic components in the system. This problem is called “cavitation”.




For this reason, hydraulic controls, and particularly hydraulic spool valves and valve bodies, are provided with “anti-cavitation valves”. These valves operate in a somewhat similar fashion to over-pressure relief valves. In a sense, anti-cavitation valves are under-pressure relief valves. When a hydraulic pressure drops below tank (or “return”) pressure, the anti-cavitation valves automatically open and permit the flow of hydraulic fluid into the low pressure regions, thus preventing the formation of hydraulic vapor bubbles. When the under-pressure condition is relieved, the anti-cavitation valves automatically close, thereby cutting off additional hydraulic flow.




Another common feature in hydraulic controls, spool valves and valve bodies is the hydraulic check valve. A check valve is one that permits the flow of fluid in one direction only. These valves are typically disposed between a manually or electrically actuated spool (that direct flow to an actuator) and the actuator itself. Check valves relieve the pressure differential that would otherwise remain on the spool at all times. Without the check valve, sudden over-pressure conditions in the actuator would be instantly transmitted backwards to the control valve that regulates flow to or from the cylinder. These sudden pressure pulses can cause the control valve (the directional spool valve) damage. In addition, the check valves reduce leakage that would otherwise occur if the actuator pressure was maintained on the spool.




In prior art spool valves, these three valves: check valve, anti-cavitation valve and over-pressure relief valve, typically required that three different openings be drilled into the valve body, one for each valve. This required extensive machining. Typically, the valve body was drilled at three different locations.




What is needed, therefore, is a new check valve, over-pressure relief valve, and anti-cavitation valve arrangement that reduces the required or typical number of holes in a valve body. It is an object of this invention to provide such a valve arrangement.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with the first embodiment of the invention, a unitary insert for a cavity in a valve body is disclosed that includes a check valve, an anti-cavitation valve, and a pressure relief valve. The insert may have a longitudinal axis, a first end and a second end, and the first end may include a circular sealing surface coaxial with the longitudinal axis and configured to engage a mating coaxial circular sealing surface defined on an inner surface of the valve body cavity. The anti-cavitation valve may also include a first pair of coaxial mating surfaces defining therebetween a first flow path that opens under cavitation conditions. The pressure relief valve may include a second pair of coaxial mating surfaces that define therebetween a second flow path that opens under over-pressure conditions. The anti-cavitation valve may include an anti-cavitation spring disposed to bias the first pair of mating surfaces together. The pressure relief valve may include a relief spring disposed to bias the second pair of mating surfaces together. The first and second springs may be coaxial.




In accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, a valve for directing the flow of fluid both to and from a hydraulic actuator is disclosed including: a valve body having a first cavity configured to receive a valve insert, the first cavity having a cylindrical inner surface and a bottom; an insert disposed in the first cavity, the insert including an anti-cavitation valve, a check valve and a pressure relief valve; and a spool disposed in the valve body and configured to direct the flow of hydraulic fluid both from a source of hydraulic supply to an outlet port, and from the outlet port to a hydraulic tank. The insert may be disposed within the valve body to move axially within the cavity, and by such motion to function as the check valve. The insert may include a shell and a valve assembly inside the shell, wherein the valve assembly is disposed to move axially with respect to the shell, and by such motion to reduce cavitation at the outlet. The valve assembly may include a poppet and a poppet seat, and the poppet may be disposed to move with respect to the poppet seat to function as the pressure relief valve. The anti-cavitation valve may include a first seat disposed on an inner surface of the insert body and a second seat disposed on an annular ring of a valve assembly disposed within the insert body and configured to seal against the first seat. The valve assembly may include a poppet having a third seat wherein the annular ring has a fourth seat and the third and fourth seats are disposed to seal against each other. A first spring may be provided to move the insert axially to function as a check valve. The valve may also include a second spring disposed within the insert body to move the valve assembly axially within the insert body such that the first and second seats are sealed against each other. The valve assembly may also include a third spring disposed to bias the poppet's third seat against the annular ring's fourth seat.




In accordance with the third embodiment of the invention, a bi-directional hydraulic flow control valve that is couplable to a supply of pressurized hydraulic fluid and a hydraulic drain or tank, includes: a valve body with an elongate opening, two cavities, and two outlet ports; a valve spool with a plurality of lands positioned within the elongate opening and fluidly communicating with the first and second outlet ports and the hydraulic supply and the tank, such that axially moving the spool from a first neutral position to a first fill position will direct a flow of hydraulic fluid from the first outlet port to the tank and from the hydraulic supply to the second output port, and further where moving the spool from the neutral position to a second fill position will direct the flow from the hydraulic supply to the first outlet port and from the second outlet port to the tank; a first insert disposed in the first cavity and in fluid communication with the first outlet port, the first insert including a check valve, an anti-cavitation valve and a pressure relief valve; and a second insert disposed in the second cavity and in fluid communication with the second outlet port, the second insert including a check valve, an anti-cavitation valve and a pressure relief valve. Each of the first and second inserts may include a hollow valve body having an internal valve assembly with a first pair of seats in a mutually sealing arrangement to prevent or permit the flow of sufficient hydraulic fluid to prevent cavitation in a cavitation condition, and a second pair of seats in a mutually sealing arrangement to prevent or permit the flow of sufficient fluid to relieve an over-pressure condition. The valve assemblies inside the hollow valve bodies may each include first and second springs configured to close the first and second pair of seats, respectively, when the respective cavitation condition and the over-pressure condition no longer exist. Each of the first and second inserts may include a check valve seat located on an outside surface of the insert that abuts and seals against a mating valve seat on an inner surface of the first and second cavities, respectively. The valve may also include first and second check valve biasing springs abutting the first and second inserts, respectively, to bias the check valves of the first and second inserts closed. The first and second inserts may be disposed in flow paths between the first and second outlet ports and the spool to check hydraulic fluid from flowing backwards from the two outlet ports to the spool when the spool is in the neutral position.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a first embodiment of the invention including a monolithic valve body with a directional spool valve and two combined check, pressure relief and anti-cavitation valve cartridges (or “inserts”);





FIG. 2

is a cross-section through the valve body of

FIG. 1

taken at section line


2





2


and showing details of the pressure relief passageways;





FIG. 3

is a cross-section through a valve body including a directional spool valve and a single combined valve cartridge identical to that of

FIG. 1

for bi-directionally controlling the flow to a single port on a hydraulic actuator;





FIG. 4

is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the valve cartridge in both of

FIGS. 1 and 3

showing the inner details and construction of the cartridge more clearly;





FIG. 5

is a fragmentary cross-section of the valve bodies of

FIGS. 1 and 3

showing the position of any of the valve cartridges in those FIGURES in the position the cartridges will assume when the directional spool valve is directing fluid to the cartridge and actuator from the supply;





FIG. 6

is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the valve body and cartridges of

FIGS. 1 and 3

showing the position of the components in the valve cartridges when they are operating in an anti-cavitation mode;





FIG. 7

is a fragmentary cross-section of the valve bodies and cartridges of

FIGS. 1 and 3

showing the internal components of the cartridges in the position they will assume when the cartridge is operating in an over-pressure relief mode;





FIGS. 8 and 9

are plan and side views, respectively, of the spacer used in the valve cartridges of all the preceding FIGURES;





FIG. 10

is a fragmentary cross-section of the cartridges of any of the preceding views showing the spacer and its associated components in greater detail; and





FIGS. 11-13

are fragmentary cross-sections of the directional spool valves shown in

FIGS. 1 and 3

indicating how they are moved to control the flow of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic supply and to the tank in (a) a neutral (no flow) position) (FIG.


11


), in (b) an empty position in which the actuator is empty of hydraulic fluid (FIG.


12


), and in (c) a fill position in which spool valve directs a flow of pressurized hydraulic fluid from the supply “S” to its associated cartridge and thence to the actuator.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring now to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, a double acting hydraulic actuator


10


is shown coupled to and in flow communication with hydraulic valve


12


. Actuator


10


is shown here as a hydraulic cylinder with a movable piston and piston rod. When hydraulic fluid is channeled through valve


12


to hydraulic line


14


and into port


16


of the cylinder, the piston and rod move leftward extending the length of the actuator. When hydraulic fluid is directed through hydraulic passageway


18


to port


20


of the cylinder, the piston and rod retract within the cylinder, thus reducing the overall length of the actuator.




Valve


12


includes two outlet ports


22


and


24


through which hydraulic fluid is coupled to hydraulic lines


14


and


18


respectively. These ports are threaded and accept mating hydraulic connectors that are well known in the art.




Valve


12


also includes a directional control valve


26


comprised of a spool


28


and a plurality of mating cylindrical lands


30


. These lands support spool


28


and permit it to travel leftward and rightward (as shown in the drawing). This leftward and rightward motion of spool


28


causes cylindrical mating surfaces


32


to engage and disengage with lands


30


according to their size and spacing to direct flow to and from ports


22


and


24


.




In the spool positions shown in

FIG. 1

, the spool is in a “neutral” position in which the spool blocks hydraulic fluid flow both to and from ports


22


and


24


and the hydraulic tank and/or supply. At the bottom of

FIG. 1

there are passageways identified with the letter “T”. This indicates that these passageways are connected to hydraulic return tank (not shown). The hydraulic tank is under low or no pressure (typically 0 to 100 psi) as compared to the supply pressure, which is indicated by the letter “S” in

FIG. 1. A

source of hydraulic fluid under pressure is connected to the passageways indicated with the letter “S”. This source forms no part of the invention and thus, has not been shown.




Directional control valve


26


simultaneously controls the flow of fluid to and from both of ports


22


and


24


. When spool


28


of directional control valve


26


is shifted to the left, as shown in

FIG. 1

, the hydraulic supply connected to passageway “S” is in fluid communication with fluid port


24


and the hydraulic tank connected to passageway “T” is in fluid communication with port


22


. Since these two ports are in fluid communication with extension port


16


and retraction port


20


of actuator


10


via hydraulic lines


14


and


18


, respectively, shifting the spool to the left causes the actuator to retract as fluid is exhausted from port


16


and returned to tank and as fluid simultaneously fills port


20


of actuator


10


.




In a similar fashion, when spool


28


of valve


26


is shifted to the right, the opposite flows and actuator motions occur. Note that the spool in this embodiment is symmetric about its middle, and therefore, when one port is filled, the other port is emptied and vice-versa. When spool


28


is shifted to the left, port


24


of valve


12


is connected to tank “T” and port


22


of valve


12


is connected to supply “S”. This causes flow of hydraulic fluid from port


22


to extension port


16


of actuator


10


and causes fluid flow from retraction port


20


of actuator


10


to tank “T”. When spool


28


is shifted to the right, actuator


10


extends.




Note that the passageways are also mirror images of each other along a vertical centerline of the valve


12


(FIG.


1


). This bi-directional symmetrical relationship of valve


12


means that the operation of the valve on either side, and therefore for either of ports


22


and


24


, is always its reverse of the operation on the other side of the valve.




Due to this symmetry, we limit our description of the operation of cartridges


34


to only the left-hand cartridge shown in FIG.


1


. All of the functions and operations of the left hand cartridge in FIG.


1


and the left hand portion of the spool in

FIG. 1

are identical to the functions and operations of the right hand cartridge and right hand spool shown in FIG.


1


. Thus, while the description below is limited to the left-hand side of valve


12


, it is equally true for the right hand side as well.




Valve


12


includes two cartridges or inserts


34


through which hydraulic fluid passes on its way to ports


22


and


24


from valve


26


and on its way back to valve


26


when it returns from ports


22


and


24


. These cartridges include internal valves that provided the anti-cavitation and pressure relief features of the present invention. Furthermore, each of the cartridges has a circular external seat, preferably conical, that mates with a similar seat formed in the cavity


36


that receives the cartridge. Once cartridges


34


have been inserted into their respective cavities


36


, a threaded end cap


38


is screwed into the opening of cavity


36


to seal a cartridge in place and prevent the leakage of hydraulic fluid. Depending on the particular application for which the valve is intended, a spring


40


may be disposed between the cartridge and the end cap to bias the sealing surface on the outside of the cartridge against the sealing surface on the inside of cavity


36


. These surfaces define the check valve function.




A hydraulic pressure relief passageway


42


is provided in the valve body that couples the backside of the cartridge


44


with an opening in a land


30


that abuts spool


28


. Details of the construction of this passageway can be seen in more detail in FIG.


2


. In this manner, when spool


28


moves to the left, as shown in

FIG. 12

, the backside


44


of cartridge


34


is in fluid communication with the tank, and effectively at tank pressure. When spool


28


is in a neutral position, this passageway is closed off. Similarly, when the spool is shifted to the right, such that fluid flow is conducted from the supply to port


22


, this passageway


42


is also closed off.




Referring now to

FIG. 3

, we can see a single-acting valve


12


′ similar to the valve illustrated in FIG.


1


. The difference between this valve and the valve of

FIG. 1

is that there is only a single cartridge


34


disposed in the valve body and a single port


22


. In addition, the spool


28


′ is configured to direct flow to and from cartridge


34


in port


22


, and lacks similar features to control two ports such as spool


28


in FIG.


1


. In effect, the valve


12


′ shown in

FIG. 3

is identical to the left hand portion of valve


12


shown in FIG.


1


and to the right-hand side of valve


12


has been removed. Since valve


12


′ in

FIG. 3

only has a single port


22


, it is appropriate for use with single acting cylinders such as cylinder


10


′ to which port


22


is coupled.




A single-acting valve


12


′ would be appropriate where bi-directional hydraulic force need not be applied to an actuator in order to control both its extension and retraction. A typical case might be for a boom lift cylinder in a backhoe, for example, or for a hydraulic car jack. In both these cases, the motion of an actuator, both in extension and retraction, can be controlled simply by applying pressurized fluid to one side of a piston or removing such pressurized fluid from that side of a piston. In all other respects, other than its lack in symmetry, valve


12


′ is identical to valve


12


in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 4

is a cross-sectional view of cartridge


34


in cross-section. The cartridge is supported inside cavity


36


by two sealing rings


46


,


48


. Sealing ring


46


is disposed in a circumferential groove on the outer surface of cartridge


34


towards the outer end of cartridge


34


. Sealing ring


48


is similarly disposed in a circumferential groove on an inner end of cartridge


34


.




The body


50


of cartridge


34


forms substantially the entire outer surface of the cartridge. It is formed of two cup-shaped shells


52


,


54


. Shell


52


is disposed at and forms the outer end of the cartridge and shell


54


is disposed at and forms the inner end of the cartridge. The shells have mating threads


56


by which they are threadedly connected. Shells


52


,


54


have a plurality of passageways


58


,


60


, respectively, that provide fluid communication from the interior of each shell to the exterior of that shell. Passageways


58


are disposed in shell


52


and open onto the outside of the shell between sealing rings


46


and


48


. Passageways


58


are in constant fluid communication with annular groove


62


that, as best seen in

FIGS. 1 and 3

, and are therefore, in constant fluid communication with the tank passageway “T”. Thus, regardless of the lateral position of cartridge


34


within cavity


36


, the central cylindrical outer surface portion end of cartridge


34


between rings


46


and


48


is always substantially at tank pressure.




Passageways


60


are formed at the right end of the cartridge and provide fluid communication between the inside of shell


54


and the outer surface of the cartridge. As best seen in

FIG. 5

, passageways


60


are disposed outside of sealing rings


46


and


48


. Passageways


60


are in constant fluid communication with chamber


62


, which in turn is in constant fluid communication with port


22


. Thus, the right-hand inside end of shell


58


is always at substantially the same fluid pressure as the pressure at port


22


, and hence the pressure in actuator


10


(

FIG. 1

) or


10


′ (FIG.


3


).




We can see, therefore, that no matter the lateral position of cartridge


34


, its interior is divided into two chambers, each chamber is at a different pressure: the leftmost region at tank pressure and the right-most region at actuator pressure. Clearly, if there is no barrier between these two regions, there would be no way to move the actuator. Any fluid directed toward actuator


10


by cartridge


34


's operation as a check valve would immediately exhaust to the tank.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, this barrier is shown as valve assembly


64


. This assembly acts not only as a barrier for free flow through cartridge


34


from actuator to tank but also provides the anti-cavitation and pressure relief functions of the cartridge. Valve assembly


64


includes a poppet


66


that extends substantially the entire length of assembly


64


, an annular ring


68


, a spring guide


70


, an over-pressure relief spring


72


, a spring adjustment stop


74


and an anti-cavitation spring


76


. All these components are substantially circular and co-axial.




Poppet


66


has a head


78


on one end and a threaded end portion


80


at the other. Annular ring


68


includes two sealing surfaces


82


,


84


. It is preferably symmetric in shape about its longitudinal axis. Sealing surface


82


abuts a mating sealing surface


86


on the inside surface of poppet


66


. Sealing surfaces


82


and


86


act as a first barrier preventing the flow of fluid from one side of valve assembly


64


to the other. Sealing surface


84


of ring


68


is configured to abut and seal against sealing surface


88


of shell


52


. Sealing surfaces


84


and


88


are likewise circular and act as a barrier preventing flow from the right-hand chamber of cartridge


34


(at actuator pressure) to the left-hand chamber of cartridge


34


(at tank pressure).




There are therefore a total of four concentric sealing surfaces inside cartridge


34


that prevent fluid flow from the one interior region of the cartridge to the other. It is these sealing surfaces that open and close to provide concentric circular gaps under anti-cavitation and over-pressure conditions as described below.




Spring


72


holds sealing surfaces


82


and


86


together. Spring


76


holds sealing surfaces


84


and


88


together. One end of spring


72


, the left-most end in the figures herein, applies a force to guide


70


, which, in turn, presses against seat


68


. The right-most end of spring


72


presses against spring stop


74


which is threaded onto the right-most end of poppet


66


. By varying the amount of threaded engagement between stop


74


and the right-most threaded portion of poppet


66


, the amount spring


72


preload compression can be varied. This permits one to vary the force that holds sealing surfaces


82


and


86


together.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, as fluid pressure in port


22


(and hence actuator


10


) increases, the pressure in the right hand chamber inside cartridge


34


also increases. When this pressure reaches and over-pressure condition, it is sufficient to overcome the force holding seat


82


against seat


86


through annular gaps “G1” (FIG.


7


). This position is shown in

FIG. 7

where fluid flow is shown passing around notches


83


in spring guide


70


on its way from actuator towards tank “T.” At this point, poppet


66


moves to the left with respect to the cartridge body, and fluid is permitted to escape between sealing surfaces


82


and


86


. The cartridge itself does not change position during this process. It remains stationary. Only the internal components move with respect to each other. In a similar fashion, spring


76


presses against the entire valve assembly


64


and pushes it such that sealing surface


84


on ring


68


is pressed against sealing surface


88


on the left hand shell of the insert. When an under-pressure condition occurs, a condition likely to cause cavitation, these two sealing surfaces open up to permit fluid to flow from the tank passageway “T” toward port


22


to relieve the under-pressure condition.




As the pressure in actuator


10


(and hence port


22


) drops, there is a point at which tank pressure pressing against the head


78


and seat


68


on the left hand end of the insert is sufficient to move the entire valve assembly rightwardly compressing spring


76


(see FIG.


6


). This rightward movement of all of valve assembly


66


causes an annular gap, “G2”, (

FIG. 6

) to appear between sealing surface


84


on ring


68


and sealing surface


88


on the inside of shell


52


. As a result, fluid under tank pressure can flow into the insert, through the insert, and towards port


22


as shown by the arrow in FIG.


6


. This fluid flow will continue as long as the under-pressure condition in the region of port


22


persists.




Once the pressure in port


22


has risen sufficiently, spring


76


will force seat


68


back against annular sealing surface


88


of shell


52


and the flow will be cut off (see position in FIG.


4


).




We have described above how the cartridge operates as a pressure relief valve and as an anti-cavitation valve by the relative motion of the cartridge's internal components. The final mode of operation is the check valve mode, which we now describe.

FIG. 5

illustrates the position of cartridge


34


when valve


26


sends fluid toward port


22


. In order to send fluid from the supply toward port


22


to fill actuator


10


, spool


28


is moved to the right from the neutral position shown in

FIG. 11

to the rightwardly deflected position shown in FIG.


13


. This motion opens a path for fluid flow from the hydraulic supply “S” to a line “V” that extends from spool


28


to the rightmost end of cartridge


34


. Fluid pressure at supply pressure is therefore applied to the end face


90


of cartridge


34


. This causes a net force in balance on the entire insert and the insert moves to the left compressing spring


40


. The insert during this motion is preferably supported on sealing rings


46


and


48


that prevent the flow of fluid from the rightmost end to the leftmost end.




The pressure applied to the leftmost end of cartridge


34


is substantially equal to the actuator pressure. A fluid flow passageway


92


shown in

FIG. 4

permits fluid to flow from the interior of cartridge


34


to leftmost end of cartridge


34


. This passageway is coupled to the interior of the insert such that it communicates with the pressure at port


22


. This is substantially the same as the pressure in actuator


10


and the pressure in passageway


62


shown in FIG.


4


. As a result, cartridge


34


will always move to the left as shown in

FIG. 5

as long as the supply pressure is greater than the pressure in the actuator.




Once actuator


10


has moved the appropriate amount, the operator releases spool valve


28


and returns to the neutral position shown in FIG.


11


. This return to a neutral position is provided by the spring and flange assembly


94


located at the left end of valve


12


(FIG.


1


). When spool


28


returns to the neutral position of

FIG. 11

, flow from supply “S” to passageway “V” is blocked off and interrupted. As a result, the force applied to the right end face


90


of cartridge


34


drops. The pressure in region


62


around the right end of cartridge


34


rapidly drops to the internal pressure at port


22


and hence in the pressure inside actuator


10


. This pressure, as we described above is also applied to the left end of cartridge


34


. As a result, fluid pressures on both ends of cartridge


34


are equal and there is a fluid force balance. Spring


40


, however, exerts a force on the left end of cartridge


34


and therefore moves cartridge


34


rightwardly from the position shown in

FIG. 5

to the position shown in FIG.


4


. This closes off fluid communication between port


22


and spool


28


. The above is how cartridge


34


operates as a check valve.




Fluid is moved from actuator


10


through port


22


and back to the tank in the following manner. First, the spool is in a neutral position shown in FIG.


11


. In order to connect port


22


to tank, the operator moves spool


28


leftwardly as shown in FIG.


12


. In this position, the supply is blocked off and cannot flow to passageway “V”, which leads to the right-most end


90


of cartridge


34


. Instead, passageway “V” is fluidly connected to the tank passageway “T” as shown in FIG.


12


. As a result, the pressure applied to end face


90


of cartridge


34


drops from tank pressure to actuator pressure.




In addition, however, the pressure on the left-most end of cartridge


34


also drops to tank pressure. Note in

FIG. 12

that the leftward motion of spool


28


also connect passageway


42


to tank pressure. In

FIG. 11

, the neutral position, passageway


42


is blocked off by a portion of spool


28


. Similarly, in

FIG. 13

, when spool


28


is moved rightwardly in order to send fluid from supply “S” to port


22


, described above, passageway


42


is also blocked off by spool


28


. In

FIG. 12

, however, when spool


28


is moved leftwardly to connect passageway “V” acting on which conducts fluid to or from the end face


90


of cartridge


34


, passageway


42


is connected to tank as well.




As a result, and referring back to

FIG. 4

, the pressure on the left end of cartridge


34


drops to tank pressure as fluid is conducted through passageway


42


to tank “T”. The pressure on end face


90


on the right end of cartridge


34


also drops to tank pressure. Thus, spring


40


exerts a rightward force on cartridge


34


, and the actuator pressure, which is communicated to chamber


62


exerts a leftward force on cartridge


34


. Spring


40


is selected such that it will not overcome the force provided by the actuator pressure in chamber


62


and the whole spool shifts to the left as shown in FIG.


5


. This movement fluidly couples passageway


62


and passageway “V”. Since passageway “V” is connected to tank, fluid is permitted to flow from actuator


10


through port


22


through chamber


62


through passageway “V” and then to the tank. Once the actuator pressure drops to tank pressure, the force balance on cartridge


34


will be changed and spring


40


will again move cartridge


34


rightwardly until passageway “V” and passageway


62


are blocked off. Alternatively, if at any time during this emptying process the operator moves spool


28


from the empty position shown in

FIG. 12

to the neutral position shown in

FIG. 11

, the emptying process will also stop. When the operator moves spool


28


from the position in

FIG. 12

to that of

FIG. 11

, the communication between passageway “V”, and the tank “T” is cut off by spool


28


. Furthermore, passageway


42


is blocked off preventing flow from the left end of cartridge


34


to the tank. As a result of the these two changes, actuator pressure builds up on the left end of cartridge


34


as well as the right end of cartridge


34


leading to a fluid force balance. With this fluid force balance, the force applied by spring


40


is again able to move cartridge


34


rightwardly until passageway


62


and passageway “V” are again blocked off.



Claims
  • 1. A unitary insert for a cavity in a valve body, the insert comprising:a check valve, an anti-cavitation valve, a pressure relief valve; and an insert body comprising a first cup and a second cup, said first and second cups being threadedly engaged to define an enclosure for the anti-cavitation valve and the pressure relief valve, wherein said body is configured to be moveable in said cavity by a check valve spring.
  • 2. The insert of claim 1, wherein the insert body has a longitudinal axis, a first end and a second end, and further wherein the first end includes a circular sealing surface coaxial with the longitudinal axis and configured to engage a mating coaxial circular sealing surface defined on an inner surface of the valve body cavity.
  • 3. The insert of claim 2, wherein the anti-cavitation valve further includes a first pair of coaxial mating surfaces defining therebetween a first flow path that opens under cavitation conditions.
  • 4. The insert of claim 3, wherein the pressure relief valve includes a second pair of coaxial mating surfaces that defines therebetween a second flow path that opens under over-pressure conditions.
  • 5. The insert of claim 4, wherein the anti-cavitation valve further includes an anti-cavitation spring disposed to bias the first pair of mating surfaces together.
  • 6. The insert of claim 5, wherein the pressure relief valve further includes a relief spring disposed to bias the second pair of mating surfaces together.
  • 7. The insert of claim 6, wherein the first and second springs are coaxial.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This divisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 09/981,103 filed on Oct. 17, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,639, by G. Fiala et al. with the same title, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/241,911, filed Oct. 20, 2000, the full disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
3506031 Stacey Apr 1970 A
3978879 Termansen et al. Sep 1976 A
4958553 Ueno Sep 1990 A
5778932 Alexander Jul 1998 A
5921165 Takahashi et al. Jul 1999 A
6581639 Fiala et al. Jun 2003 B2
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/241911 Oct 2000 US