Piloted valve

A valve comprising

• a casing having a first pressure chamber, a pressure medium inlet for supplying a pressure medium into said pressure chamber, a pressure medium outlet for expelling pressure medium from said pressure chamber, a first valve seat about said outlet;
• a main lid movably mounted in said pressure chamber between a closed position seated on said valve seat and an open position spaced from said valve seat, said lid having a valve chamber therein, at least one bore communicating said valve chamber with said pressure chamber, a passage communicating with said outlet and a second valve seat about said passage;
• a pilot lid disposed in said valve chamber coaxially of said main lid for movement between a closed position seated on said second valve seat and an open position spaced from said second valve seat;
• a spindle connected to said pilot lid and having two spaced apart coaxial guide members for guiding said pilot lid in said valve chamber, said guide members sub-dividing said valve chamber into a first component chamber near said outlet, a second component chamber remote from said outlet and a communicating chamber between and communicating with said component chambers, said communicating chamber being in communication with said bore in said main lid with said pilot lid in said closed position thereof and being blocked from said bore by one of said guide members with said pilot lid in said open position thereof;
• housing means having an equalizing chamber receiving a distal end of said spindle and being in continuous communication with said valve chamber and a second pressure chamber between said equalizing chamber and said valve chamber and said second pressure chamber being in continuous communication with said first pressure chamber;
• a magnet armature mounted on said spindle and slidably mounted in said second pressure chamber and an electromagnetic winding about said armature for moving said pilot lid;
• a first abutment surface within said main lid for limiting an opening movement of said pilot lid relative to said main lid when a portion of said pilot lid abuts said first abutment surface;
• a second abutment surface on said casing within said second component chamber for limiting an opening movement of said main lid relative to said casing when a portion of said main lid abuts said second abutment surface;
• a third abutment surface on said housing means within said second pressure chamber for limiting an opening movement of said pilot lid relative to said casing when said armature abuts said third abutment surface wherein said abutment surfaces are disposed relative to each other so that the maximum stroke of said pilot lid relative to said casing is greater than the maximum stroke of said pilot lid relative to said main lid and less than the sum of said latter stroke and the maximum stroke of said main lid relative to said casing.