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AssigneeDelphi Technologies, Inc.
InventorsKeith B. Fong, Veronica Morales, Jeffrey Alan Heinrichs, Javier Gomez, Omar Rocha
Estimating the term…
A uniformly preset spring force pre-load among a number of identical solenoid actuated valve assemblies (28) by uniquely adjusting the spring pocket length (L) of each respective plunger (12) to accommodate a respective spring (20) which is uniquely mated thereto. This adjustment is accomplished using a two-component plunger (12) consisting of a plunger body (14) having a central bore (22) and a rod (18) slidably located within the central bore. The rod (18) is press-fit into the central bore (22), and the spring pocket includes a portion of the central bore unoccupied by the rod. By pressing the rod (18) a selected distance into the central bore (22), a precisely set spring pocket is obtained which is uniquely correct for a selected spring (20), in that the selected spring is compressed to a precisely preset spring force pre-load. The adjusted plunger (12) and spring (20) are uniquely assigned to each other to collectively form a customized plunger assembly (10) having a preset spring force pre-load, whereupon a valve assembly (28) is manufacturable therewith having the precisely preset spring force pre-load. In carrying-out the adjustment of the plunger (12) with respect to a specific spring (20), the rod is pressed into the bore by a controllable source of force, such as for example provided by a stepper motor (88), and the spring force pre-load is monitored by a load cell (78) to ascertain when the desired spring force pre-load is achieved. Monitoring and force control is preferably automatic via a micro-controller (98), but may be manual.
A method for providing a uniformly preset spring force pre-load among a number of plunger assemblies, wherein each plunger assembly comprises a plunger and a spring mated therewith, wherein the plunger includes a plunger body having a central bore and a rod partially received in the central bore, wherein a spring pocket is defined between a rod end located within the central bore and an abutment location spaced from the rod end, the spring being located in the spring pocket, and wherein the preset spring force pre-load is defined by compression of the spring between the rod end and the abutment location, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.