Electrohydraulic valve having an armature with a rolling bearing
AssigneeHUSCO International, Inc.
InventorsRobert S. Nordstrom, Curtis L. Van Weelden
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solenoid operated valve has a valve body with a plurality of ports and a spool slidable within the valve body to interconnect the ports in different combinations. An actuator drives the spool into several operating positions. The actuator has a solenoid assembly with an aperture within which first and second tubular pole pieces are received. An armature is able to slide within the two pole pieces and a push member projects from the armature abutting the spool. The push member is secured to a rolling bearing which has a plurality of rolling elements that roll against the pole pieces to reduce resistance to movement of the armature.
Claims31
An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
- a valve body with a bore and having an inlet port, an outlet port, a first workport, and a second workport in communication with the bore;
- a spool slidably received within the bore of the valve body and having passages therein to selectively connect the inlet port and the outlet port to the first workport and the second workport in different positions of the spool in the bore;
- and
- an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with a coil aperture formed therein, an armature slidably received in the coil aperture, and a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool, the actuator further includes a cage secured to at least one of the armature and the push member with an outer surface in which a plurality of slots extend, and a plurality of rollable elements received in the plurality of slots and contact with the actuator aperture.
An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
- a valve body having a bore there through forming an outlet port at one end of the valve body, and having with a first port, a second port and an inlet port in communication with the bore;
- a spool slidably received within the bore of the valve body and having an aperture extending from an end of the spool to a point proximate an opposite end of the spool, the spool including an notch in an exterior surface;
- a spring which biases the spool away from the one end of the valve body;
- and
- an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with an coil aperture therein, a first pole piece with a tubular section that extends into one end of the coil aperture, and a second pole piece having a tubular section extending into another end of the coil aperture and spaced from the first pole piece, the actuator further including a plunger comprising an armature slidable within the tubular interior section of the first pole piece and the tubular section of the second pole piece, a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool, and a bearing that has a plurality of rollable elements which guide movement of the armature within at least one of the first and second pole pieces.
An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
- a valve body with a bore and having an inlet port, an outlet port, a first workport, and a second workport in communication with the bore;
- a spool slidably received within the bore of the valve body and having passages therein to selectively connect the inlet port and the outlet port to the first workport and the second workport in different positions of the spool in the bore;
- and
- an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with a coil aperture formed therein, an armature slidably received in the coil aperture, wherein the armature has a region at one end with a reduced thickness to concentrate, in that region, magnetic flux produced by the coil, and the actuator further includes a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool and a bearing secured to at least one of the armature and the push member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.