Fluid control valve with soft startup

A fluid control valve comprising:

• a valve housing defining an inlet port, and outlet port and an exhaust port;
• a valve spool assembly movable with respect to said valve housing between an open condition and a closed condition;
• a first passage extending between said outlet port and said exhaust port;
• a second passage extending between said input port and said outlet port
• a third passage extending between said input port and said outlet port;
• and
• a piston slidably disposed upon said valve spool assembly, said piston closing said second passage and opening said third passage when said valve spool assembly is moved from said closed position to said open position, said piston opening said second passage a specified period of time after said valve spool assembly is moved to said open position.

A fluid control valve comprising:

• a valve housing defining an inlet port, an outlet port and an exhaust port;
• a first passage extending through said housing connecting said outlet port to said exhaust port;
• a second passage extending through said housing connecting said input port to said outlet port;
• a valve spool assembly movable with respect to said valve housing between an open condition and a closed condition, said second passage being closed and said first passage being open when said valve spool assembly is in said closed condition, said first passage being closed when said valve spool assembly is in said open condition;
• a piston slidably disposed on said valve spool assembly, said piston movable between an open position and a blocked position, said piston being disposed in said blocked position to close said first passage when said valve spool assembly is first moved to said open condition;
• and
• a third passage extending through said valve spool assembly connecting said input port to said outlet port, said third passage being open when said piston is in said blocked position to allow a specified flow of fluid between said input port and said outlet port such that fluid pressure increases in said outlet port at a rate slower than when said second passage is open, said piston moving from said blocked position to said open position to open said second passage when said fluid presure in said outlet port reaches a specified pressure.