Patent Application
20170356562
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to control valves and, more specifically, to systems and methods for filter orientation on a control valve.
Several industries commonly use control valves that direct, for example, hydraulic oil. Typical control valve environments (e.g., an internal combustion engine) are known to contain contaminants, which could potentially affect the function of the control valve. System performance issues due to contamination affecting control valve function can be a failure mode in many control valve applications. In an attempt to minimize this failure mode, one or more filters are generally installed on the control valve to restrict contaminants from entering the internal components of the control valve. Typically, these filters are orientated on or around supply and work ports of the control valve.
The present invention provides systems and methods for filter orientation on a control valve. In particular, systems and methods are provided for rotationally orienting a filter retention feature with respect to an application fluid passageway to control forces and stresses exerted on the filter retention feature. Additionally, methods for manufacturing a control valve are provided that enable a rotational relationship between a filter retention feature and an application fluid passageway to be constrained.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a control valve. The control valve includes a mounting feature and a valve body, and is configured to be installed in an application structure having at least one application passageway arranged therein. The method includes determining a location of a body key way arranged on the valve body, upon determining the location of the body key way, rotating the valve body such that the location of the body key way is in a first known orientation. The method further includes upon rotating the valve body such that the location of the body key way is in the first known orientation, installing a filter around a port arranged on the valve body thereby forming a valve body subassembly, and upon installing the filter around the port on the valve body, rotating the valve body subassembly such that the location of the mounting feature is in a second known orientation with respect to the first known orientation of the body key way. The method further includes coupling the mounting feature to the valve body subassembly.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a control valve configured to be installed in an application structure having at least one application passageway arranged therein. The control valve includes a valve body having a port configured to be in fluid communication with the application passageway and a body key way arranged adjacent to the port. The control valve further includes a mounting feature, and a filter coupled around the port of the valve body. The filter includes a filter retention feature to secure the filter around the port and a filter key received within the body key way to prevent rotation of the filter with respect to the valve body. A rotational relationship between the filter retention feature and the mounting feature is configured to enable a retention passageway angle between the at least one application passageway and the filter retention feature to be between approximately 45 degrees and 315 degrees, when the control valve is installed in the application structure.
The foregoing and other aspects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims and herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
The invention will be better understood and features, aspects and advantages other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such detailed description makes reference to the following drawings
Currently, mechanical failure of a retention feature (e.g., a weld, a mechanical clasp, a molded clasp, etc.) on a filter is a common failure mode in control valves employing a filter to control contamination. Mechanical failure of the retention feature may be caused by fatigue from stresses induced by pressure pulsations or flow forces. If a retention feature on a filter mechanically fails, the filter may not remain constrained around its respective supply/work port. This failure mode can result in contaminant reaching the internal components of the control valve and/or the filter itself becoming a dangerous contaminant to the control valve, or other application components.
Often, in an attempt to meet durability requirements, a filter and its corresponding retention feature can be designed to be robust to the pressure and flow rate requirements of a specific application. In some applications, the design of the filter and its corresponding retention feature may have to survive extreme pressure and fluid flow reversals (i.e., large cyclic variations in pressure and/or fluid flow). The requirement to survive extreme pressure and fluid flow reversals can lead to added costs in the design (e.g., due to thicker/stronger materials, larger retention features, etc.).
Due to the importance of maintaining the mechanical integrity of a filter retention feature to prevent contamination of a control valve, it would be desirable to have systems and methods for filter orientation on a control valve to control forces and stresses exerted on the filter retention feature. Additionally, it would be desirable to implement the filter orientation systems and methods when manufacturing a control valve to ensure that the filter retention features are oriented properly in application and without placing a burden on the installer.
The illustrated housing 14 can include opposing cutouts 20 to receive the mounting feature 16 and, when assembled, the housing 14 can extend over the mounting feature 16 and be crimped to a first end 22 of the valve body 18. It should be appreciated that the illustrated design and attachment mechanism of the housing 14, the mounting feature 16, and the valve body 18 is not meant to be limiting in any way and, in other non-limiting examples, the housing 14, the mounting feature 16, and/or the valve body 18 may be designed and/or attached differently, as desired. In some non-limiting examples, the mounting feature 16 may be attached to or formed integrally with the valve body 18 and/or the housing 14. In some non-limiting examples, anti-rotation geometry (e.g., keyed features) may be implemented to couple the housing 14 to the valve body 18.
The housing 14 is configured to enclose an actuator (not shown) typically in the form on an electromechanical actuator, or solenoid. The actuator (not shown) can be coupled to a valve element (not shown), or spool, slidably arranged within the valve body 18. Actuation of the valve element (not shown) via the actuator (not shown) can selectively control fluid flow through the control valve 10, as will be described below.
The mounting feature 16 can facilitate attaching the control valve 10 to a surface on or in which the control valve 10 is mounted in application. The illustrated mounting feature 16 can be in the form of a mounting flange, or bracket, that extends outwardly between the housing 14 and the valve body 18. The illustrated mounting feature 16 includes a mounting aperture 24 configured to receive a mounting fastener (not shown), such as a bolt, a rivet, a screw, etc. It should be appreciated that the design of the illustrated mounting feature 16 is not meant to be limiting in any way, and other mechanisms for attaching the control valve 10 to a surface, in application, are within the scope of the present disclosure.
The valve body 18 can include a plurality of ports 26 spaced longitudinally apart along the valve body 18. The plurality of ports 26 can each define a generally annular radial recess formed in the valve body 18. Each of the plurality of ports 26 can be configured to receive a filter 28. That is, when assembled, the filters 28 can extend circumferentially around each of their respective port 26. The illustrated valve body 18 includes three ports 26. The number of ports 26 is not meant to be limiting in any way and, in other non-limiting examples, the valve body 18 can include more or less than three ports 26, as desired.
The plurality of ports 26 can each include a body key way 30 formed therein. Each of the body key ways 30 can define a generally concave cutout, which is formed on a first recess surface 32 of the ports 26, that extends radially inward. When assembled, the body key ways 30 each can be configured to receive a filter key 34 of the respective filter 28 received within the port 26. The body key ways 30 and the filter keys 34 can cooperate, when assembled, to inhibit rotation of the filters 28 with respect to the valve body 18, as will be described below. It should be appreciated that other anti-rotation mechanisms to rotationally constrain the filters 28 with respect to the valve body 18 are possible, and the illustrated body key ways 30 and corresponding filter keys 34 are but one non-limiting example.
Turning to
The illustrated filters 28 can be fabricated from a strip of material (e.g., metal, plastic, etc.) and can include a mesh, or screen, that can catch contaminants and prevent them from entering the control valve 10. Openings defined by the mesh in the filter 28 can be sized such that harmful contaminants are caught by the mesh, and such that the filter 28 does not induce a large pressure drop for fluid flowing through the plurality of ports 26. The illustrated filters 28 of
In another non-limiting example, the filter retention feature 38 can be in the form of a clasp as shown in
In still another non-limiting example, the filter 28 can be in the form of a molded filter as shown in
It should be appreciated that the various forms of the filter 28 described above with reference to
Turning to
As shown in
In one non-limiting example, the filters 28 can be installed on each of the respective ports 26 such that the filter retention features 38 can be opposite the body key ways 30 (i.e., the retention key angle θRR can be approximately 180 degrees), as shown in
The rotational relationships, described above, can define a rotational relationship between the filter retention features 38 and one or more application passageways, when the control valve 10 is installed, to control forces and stresses exerted on the filter retention features 38 during operation.
As shown in
The design and manufacture of the valve body 18 enables a rotational position of the filter retention features 38 to be known. Typically, the rotational orientation of the application passageways 70 within the application structure 64 can be known in relation to an application mounting feature 72. In the illustrated non-limiting example, the application mounting feature 72 can be in the form of an aperture configured to receive a fastening element received within the mounting aperture 24 of the mounting feature 16. Thus, proper orientation of the mounting feature 16 with respect to the valve body 18, when the housing 14 is coupled to the valve body 18, can thereby provide a desired rotational relationship between the filter retention features 38 and the application passageways 70, when the control valve 10 in installed into the application structure 64.
The ranges of the retention passageway angle θRP, described above, can ensure that the filter retention features 38 are arranged rotationally away from the application passageways 70. That is, the locations where the application passageways 70 intersect the ports 26 can be areas with the highest pressure pulsations and/or flow forces. In an attempt to control the forces and stresses exerted on the filter retention features 38, which maintain the filters 28 secured around the ports 26, the retention passageway angle θRP can be controlled to ensure that the filter retention features 38 are arranged rotationally away from the application passageways 70.
To ensure that the desired retention passageway angle θRP can be achieved, the control valve 10 can be manufactured using the processes outlined in the non-limiting example of
As shown in
Once the filter retention features 38 are applied at step 108, the valve body 18 subassembly including the installed filters 28 can be coupled to the housing 14 and the mounting feature 16. The illustrated control valve 10 includes a mounting feature 16 that is separate from the housing 14; however, in other non-limiting examples, the mounting feature 16 may be formed integrally with the housing 14. Alternatively or additionally, the mounting feature 16 may be coupled to the housing 14 prior to installation onto the valve body 18. To ensure that a desired rotational orientation can be achieved between the filter retention features 38 and the application passageways 70 (i.e., the retention passage way angle θRP), first, an image can be acquired of the valve body 18 subassembly at step 110.
With the image of the valve body 18 subassembly acquired at step 110, the location of the body key ways 30 can be determined, or located, at step 112. Once the location of the body key ways 30 are determined at step 112, the valve body 18 subassembly can be rotated to a second known orientation with respect to the mounting feature 16 at step 114. The mounting feature 16 can be in a known, or fixed, position such its rotational orientation is known prior to rotationally arranging the valve body 18 subassembly in the second known orientation at step 114. Rotationally arranging the valve body 18 subassembly in the second known orientation with respect to the mounting feature 16, prior to coupling, can enable a desired rotational orientation to exist between the filter retention features 38 and the application passageways 70, when the control valve 10 is installed in the application structure 64. For example, the retention passageway angle θRP defined between the filter retention features 38 and the application passageways 70 can be between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 315 degrees. Once the valve body 18 subassembly has been oriented accordingly at step 114, the mounting feature 16 can be coupled to the valve body 18 subassembly, for example, by crimping the housing 14 to the valve body 18, at step 116.
It should be appreciated that, in other non-limiting examples, the valve body 18 subassembly may be arranged in a known, or fixed position, and the mounting feature 16 may be rotated to the second known orientation with respect to the valve body 18 subassembly, prior to coupling.
The above-described manufacturing process can ensure that when the control valve 10 is manufactured, that the filters 28 are prevented from rotating with respect to the valve body 18, and that the filter retention features 38 are applied in a known rotational orientation. This known rotational orientation of the filter retention features 38 can be used to rotationally orient the filter retention features 38 with respect to the mounting feature 16 such that that a desired rotational relationship exists between the filter retention features 38 and the application passageways 70, when the control valve 10 is installed. That is, the retention passageway angle θRP can be controlled to ensure that the filter retention features 38 are arranged rotationally away from the application passageways 70 (e.g., the retention passageway angle θRP can be between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 315 degrees) in an attempt to control the forces and stresses exerted on the filter retention features 38 and prevent failure of the filters 28.
The following examples set forth, in detail, ways in which the systems and methods disclosed herein may be used or implemented, and will enable one of skill in the art to more readily understand the principle thereof. The following examples are presented by way of illustration and are not meant to be limiting in any way.
Table 1 below illustrates filter life test results for various rotational arrangements of the filter retention feature with respect to an application passageway (i.e., the retention passage way angle θRP). As shown in Table 1, over half of the filter tested with the filter retention feature arranged over the passageway (i.e., θRP=0 degrees) failed during testing, with some filters failing as early as 82,800 cycles. When the filter retention feature was oriented away from the passageway (i.e., θRP 0 degrees), some filters lasted over 10,000,000 cycles with no failures.
Within this specification embodiments have been described in a way which enables a clear and concise specification to be written, but it is intended and will be appreciated that embodiments may be variously combined or separated without parting from the invention. For example, it will be appreciated that all preferred features described herein are applicable to all aspects of the invention described herein.
Thus, while the invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments and examples, the invention is not necessarily so limited, and that numerous other embodiments, examples, uses, modifications and departures from the embodiments, examples and uses are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. The entire disclosure of each patent and publication cited herein is incorporated by reference, as if each such patent or publication were individually incorporated by reference herein.
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
