Hydraulic control system for improving pump response and dynamic matching of pump and valve

A hydraulic control system having a pump for delivering fluid under pressure from a fluid reservoir, a hydraulic actuator selectively driven by the fluid, the system comprising:

• a main flow control valve connected between the pump, the actuator, and the reservoir for selectively providing fluid to and from the actuator, the main flow control valve comprising four valves with each of the valves being selectively operated to further control the flow of fluid to and from the actuator;
• and
• a control unit connected to each of the valves of the main flow control valve for variably limiting the rate of change in displacement of each of the valves.

A method of operating a hydraulic control system having a pump for delivering fluid under pressure from a fluid reservoir and a hydraulic actuator selectively driven by the fluid, the method comprising the steps of:

• selectively providing the fluid to and from the actuator by providing a main flow control valve connected between the pump and the actuator;
• and
• controlling the operation of the main flow control valve to limit the rate of change of the area of the main flow control valve dependent upon the rate of delivery of fluid from the pump.