Lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6823673
  • Patent Number
    6,823,673
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, March 27, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 30, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A lower control system serves to regulate the flow rate of lifting jack oil, and is installed between a reverse flow valve and an inner oil chamber, regulates the oil flow from the inner chamber to an outer chamber. The lower control system comprises an outer valve body, a steel ball, a spring, and a throttle body. The throttle body has a tapered portion, formed at its front end, and at least one throttling slot way and one lateral slot way, formed respectively on the tapered portion and the circumferential wall thereof. When the jack is not loaded, a reverse flow valve can lift the steel ball so that oil swiftly flows by the throttle body through the lateral slot ways to complete the reverse flow. When the jack is loaded, oil gently flows by the throttle body through the throttling slot ways, leading to a reduction of oil flow rate and a slower descending of the jack.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




(a) Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil, more particularly to a mechanism that slows down oil flow under high oil hydraulic pressure and therefore achieve a slow and safe descending of a lifting jack.




(b) Description of the Prior Art




The conventional mechanism of reverse oil flow of a lifting jack utilizes a reverse flow valve to control oil in an inner chamber flowing back to an outer chamber, so that the lifting arm of a lifting jack may descend, restoring its the initial state. However, the conventional oil-reversing device cannot control the flow rate of lifting jack oil. Therefore, oil reversing under loading has a higher flow rate due to the high pressure in the inner oil chamber. As a consequence, the descending of the lifting arm of a lifting jack is swift under loading, which may endanger operational safety.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil, which is suitable to be installed between a reverse flow valve and an inner oil chamber of a lifting jack to uniformize the oil flow rate in various loading situations. Especially when the jack is loaded, the control system slows down oil reversing to prevent the lifting arm from descending too fast.




To achieve above object, the present invention comprises an outer valve body, a steel ball, a spring, and a throttle body. The throttle body has a tapered portion, formed at its front end, and at least one throttling slot way and one lateral slot way, formed respectively on the tapered portion and the circumferential wall thereof. When the jack is not loaded, a reverse flow valve can lift the steel ball so that oil swiftly flows by the throttle body through the lateral slot ways to complete the reverse flow. When the jack is loaded, oil gently flows by the throttle body through the throttling slot ways, leading to a reduction of oil flow rate and a slower descending of the jack.




The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view of a throttle body according to the present invention.





FIG. 3

is a top view of a throttle body according to the present invention.





FIG. 4

is a cross-sectional view of the present invention being installed between a reverse flow valve and an inner oil chamber of a lifting jack.





FIG. 5

is a cross-sectional view of the present invention when the reverse flow valve is closed.





FIG. 6

illustrates oil reversing when the present invention is in a loaded state.





FIG. 7

is an enlarged view illustrating the oil flow rate being restricted when the present invention is in a loaded state.





FIG. 8

illustrates oil reversing when the present invention is not loaded.





FIG. 9

is an enlarged view illustrating the oil flow rate being high when the present invention is not loaded.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIG. 1

, the lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil according to the present invention comprises an outer valve body


1


, a steel ball


2


, a spring


3


, and a throttle body


4


. The outer valve body


1


is a hollow valve body in which a dividing portion


11


divides the interior into a front chamber


12


and a rear chamber


13


. A valve hole


14


is formed to connect both sides the dividing portion


11


. An oil lead


15


is formed through the wall of the front chamber


12


at a selected location. The front chamber


12


receives a spring


51


and a reverse flow valve


5


, whereas the rear chamber


13


receives in order a steel ball


2


, a spring


3


, a throttle body


4


, and a retaining ring


6


.




The steel ball


2


is used to close the valve hole


14


. One end of the spring


3


holds against the steel ball


2


, and the other end thereof holds the throttle body


4


.




As shown in

FIGS. 1

to


3


, the throttle body


4


has a tapered portion


41


formed at one end, a throttling slot way


411


and a lateral slot way


42


being formed on the tapered portion


41


and on the circumferential wall of the throttle body


4


. A locating pin


412


is formed on the top face of the tapered portion


41


for settling the spring


3


. A retaining ring


6


is inserted within the end opening of the rear chamber


13


of the outer valve body


1


for stopping the throttle body


4


from being ejected outwardly by the spring


3


.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, the lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil according to the present invention is particularly suitable to be installed between the reverse flow valve


5


of a lifting jack


10


and an inner oil chamber


101


. As the lifting jack


10


is loaded and the reverse flow valve


5


open so that oil reversing is activated, the present invention serves as a mechanism to control the oil flow from the inner oil chamber


101


, thereby the oil flows through the reverse flow valve to an outer oil chamber


102


in a slow and uniform manner. In this way, the lifting jack


10


descends at a gentle speed so that the operational safety is assured.




The outer valve body


1


just disclosed has a thread portion


16


and a polygon portion


17


formed on the outer wall of the front chamber


12


thereof, for being firmly integrated with the lifting jack


10


. The outer valve body


1


further contains one or more oil seal slots


18


for receiving oil seal components


19


in order to prevent oil leakage.




The above-mentioned reverse flow valve


5


has a lifting pin


52


formed at the front end thereof for opening the valve hole


14


by pushing the steel ball


2


away from the valve hole


14


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the reverse flow valve


5


of the lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil according to the present invention is closed and oil reversing is not allowed. In this situation the steel ball


2


holds against the valve hole


14


to prevent oil from flowing through the oil lead


15


. When the jack is in a loaded state, as shown in

FIG. 6

, immense oil hydraulic pressure from the inner oil chamber


101


compresses the spring


3


, leading to a close contact between the tapered portion


41


of the throttle body


4


and the corresponding inner wall of the outer valve body


1


, as shown in FIG.


7


. In this configuration, oil flows from the inner oil chamber


101


to the outer oil chamber


102


only through the throttling slot ways


411


on the tapered portion


41


of the throttle body


4


, and therefore the flow rate is restricted. This regulation of oil flow effectively prevents the lifting jack


10


from fast descending, assuring a slow and uniform downward motion. This measure reduces the risks of structural damage and hazards to personnel.





FIG. 8

shows the operation of the lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil when the jack is not loaded and undergoing oil reversing. Because of much less oil pressure exerting on the throttle body


4


, the reverse flow valve


5


can eject the steel ball


2


and retreat the tapered portion


41


of the throttle body


4


, making gap between the tapered portion


41


of the throttle body


4


and the corresponding inner wall of the outer valve body


1


more spacious, as shown in FIG.


9


. Oil in this configuration can flow through the lateral slot ways


42


of the throttle body


4


in large amounts, leading to faster descending of the jack.




A lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil is thus disclosed. It will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.




Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A lower control system regulating a flow rate of lifting jack oil comprisingan outer valve body being a hollow valve body and having a dividing portion which divides said outer valve body into a front chamber and a rear chamber; a valve hole being formed on said dividing portion and an oil lead being formed through a lateral wall of said front chamber at a selected location, a steel ball controlling the closure of said valve hole, a spring, and a throttle body having a tapered portion formed at a front end thereof; at least one throttling slot way and one lateral slot way being formed respectively on said tapered portion and a circumferential wall of said throttle body; said spring having one end holding against said steel ball and another end holding said throttle body; said rear chamber receiving said steel ball, said spring, said throttle body, and a retaining ring sequentially; said lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil, with said steel ball holding against said valve hole, prohibiting exchange of lifting jack oil between an inner oil chamber and an outer oil chamber through said oil lead; said lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil, with said lifting jack being loaded, restricting the flow rate of lifting jack oil from said inner oil chamber to said outer oil chamber; said restricting effect being realized by a close contact between said tapered portion of said throttle body and a corresponding inner wall of said rear chamber, and therefore oil flowing only through said throttling slot ways on said tapered portion; said close contact being achieved by said throttle body being pushed by said spring that is compressed due to the high hydraulic pressure in said inner oil chamber.
  • 2. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein said front chamber of said outer valve body receiving a spring and a reverse flow valve.
  • 3. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 2, wherein said reverse flow valve has a lifting pin.
  • 4. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein a locating pin extends from said tapered portion of said outer valve body.
  • 5. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein said retaining ring is inserted within an end opening of said rear chamber of said outer valve body for blocking said throttle body.
  • 6. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein said oil lead of said outer valve body leads to said outer oil chamber of said lifting jack.
  • 7. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein said outer valve body has a thread portion and a polygon portion formed on an outer wall of said front chamber thereof.
  • 8. The lower control system regulating the flow rate of lifting jack oil of claim 1, wherein said outer valve body contains at least one oil seal slot for receiving an oil seal component.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Number Name Date Kind
6240726 Lin Jun 2001 B1
6247307 Hung Jun 2001 B1
6742767 Bruzek Jun 2004 B1
6748740 Fan Jun 2004 B2