Systems and Methods for Hydraulic Ride Control System

A ride control valve comprising:

• a valve body defining a work passage, a pump passage, a tank passage, and an accumulator passage;
• a ride control spool movably disposed within the valve body and configured to move between:
• a first ride control position that blocks the work passage and the pump passage, and couples the accumulator passage with the tank passage;
• a second ride control position that blocks the tank passage and the work passage, and couples the pump passage to the accumulator passage;
• a third ride control position that blocks the work passage and configured to selectively couple the accumulator passage with each of the pump passage and the tank passage;
• and
• a fourth ride control position that blocks the pump passage and the tank passage, and couples the accumulator passage with the work passage;
• and
• a pressure balancing spool movably disposed within the ride control spool, the pressure balancing spool being configured to move relative to the ride control spool to selectively couple the accumulator passage with each of the pump passage and the tank passage.

A method for controlling a ride control valve for a hydraulic machine, the method comprising:

• moving a ride control spool of a ride control valve between a plurality of ride control positions to selectively couple a work passage, a pump passage, a tank passage, and an accumulator passage, wherein the plurality of ride control positions includes:
• a first ride control position configured to couple the accumulator passage with the tank passage;
• a second ride control position configured to couple the pump passage to the accumulator passage, the second ride control position being a variable position between the first ride control position and a third ride control position;
• the third ride control position configured to balance an accumulator pressure of the accumulator passage with a work pressure of the work passage;
• and
• a fourth ride control position configured to couple the accumulator passage to the work passage.