Air purging pressure regulating valve

A pressure regulating valve comprising:

• a valve housing receiving a spool, said spool having a regulating chamber selectively communicating a main supply port to a main return port, and said spool being biased in one direction by a spring force and there being a second force biasing said spool in an opposed direction, with said second force being provided by a fluid pressure within a hydraulic system associated with said pressure regulating valve, communication between said main supply port and said main return port being regulated by a position of said spool as the second force changes;
• damper chambers provided on opposed sides of said spool, and serving to dampen a speed of movement of said spool, and a damper supply line for supplying fluid into said damper chambers through check valves, said damper supply line serving to assist in purging air outwardly of said damper chambers;
• wherein said damper chambers communicate to a damper return passage through damping orifices to allow removal of air from said damper chambers;
• wherein said damper return passage is downstream of the damping orifice associated with each of said damper chambers, and said damping orifice provides a damper function by regulating a flow of the fluid between each said damper chamber and said damper return passage as the spool moves under the influence of the second force and the spring force;
• wherein said damping orifices are provided in a vertically upper location of the housing, with said damping orifices within an upper forty-five degrees on either side of a plane that will be vertical when said pressure regulating valve is mounted in use;
• and
• wherein said damping orifices are provided at top dead center of said housing.

A generator oil supply system comprising:

• a generator housing receiving a pump driven by a generator, a pressure regulating valve positioned downstream of said pump and a heat exchanger positioned downstream of said pressure regulating valve;
• the pressure regulating valve including a valve housing receiving a spool, said spool having a regulating chamber selectively communicating a main supply port to a main return port, and the main supply line receiving fluid from a pump discharge line, and said spool being biased in one direction by a spring force and there being a second force biasing said spool in an opposed direction, with said second force being provided by a fluid pressure indicative of a pressure within the oil supply system, communication between said main supply port and said main return port being regulated by a position of said spool as the second force changes;
• damper chambers provided on opposed sides of said spool, and serving to dampen a speed of movement of said spool, and a damper supply line in said spool for supplying fluid into said damper chambers through check valves in said spool, said damper supply line serving to assist in purging air outwardly of said damper chambers;
• and
• a sump in included as a reservoir for the fluid, and said main return port returning fluid to said sump.