Hydraulic control valve

A control valve for use with fluid pressure operated devices, comprising:

• an elongated valve body having external surfaces and having a cylindrical bore extending lengthwise therethrough, a pump port communicating with said bore at the longitudinal middle thereof;
• first and second central drain ports communicating with said bore and being located on opposite longitudinal sides of said pump port;
• first and second bridge ports communicating with said bore and being located on opposite longitudinal sides of said first and second central drain ports, respectively, the laterally outer ends of said first and second bridge ports being connected to each other so that said first and second bridge ports form a substantially U-shaped passage;
• first and second load ports communicating with said bore and being located on opposite longitudinal sides of said first and second bridge ports, respectively, said first and second load ports being adapted to be connected to a load device;
• first and second longitudinally outer drain ports communicating with said bore and being located on opposite longitudinal sides of said first and second load ports, respectively;
• a valve spool disposed within said bore for longitudinal sliding movement between a central position and first and second terminal positions on opposite sides of said central position, said valve spool having a first land in the longitudinal center thereof which communicates said pump port with said first and second central drain ports in said central position, which blocks communication between said pump port and said second central drain port in said first terminal position of said valve spool and which blocks communication between said pump port and said first central drain port in said second terminal position, second and third lands disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of said first land for blocking communication of said first bridge port with said first load port and blocking communication of said second bridge port with said second load port in said central position of said valve spool, for communicating said first bridge port with said first load port in said first terminal position of said valve spool and for communicating said second bridge port with said second load port in said second terminal position of said valve spool, fourth and fifth lands disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of said second and third lands, respectively, for blocking communication of said first load port with said first outer drain port and for blocking communication of said second load port with said second outer drain port in said central position of said valve spool, for communicating said second load port with said second outer drain port in said first terminal position of said valve spool and for communicating said first load port with said first outer drain port in said second terminal position of said valve spool, a parallel port adapted to be connected to receive a pump output, said parallel port extending transversely in the central portion of said valve body and communicating with the central region of said U-shaped passage, said parallel port being located laterally inside of the central region of said U-shaped passageway;
• a load check valve disposed between said parallel port and the central portion of said U-shaped passage;
• a single automatic pressure relief valve communicated to an end region of said second load port between said second load port and said second outer drain port for permitting excessively pressurized fluid in the load device to be discharged therefrom;
• a single suction valve separate from said pressure relief valve and communicated to an opposite end region of said second load port between said second outer drain port and said second load port for supplying fluid to the load device when a vacuum is created therein, said pressure relief valve and said suction valve being disposed on said valve body on opposite sides of the fifth land of said spool proximate said second drain port and remote from said first drain port and communicated to said second outer drain port by a respective pressure relief passage and suction passage whereby said pressure relief valve and said suction valve both communicate to said second outer drain port, said suction valve being communicated to said opposite end region of said second load port by a second suction passage oriented at an acute angle relative to said suction passage and passage means for communicating said first outer drain port to said second outer drain port such that said excessively pressurized fluid or said vacuum can be accommodated by said single pressure relief valve or said single suction valve regardless of the terminal position of said spool and regardless of said single pressure relief valve and said single suction valve being disposed remote from said first drain port.