Pressure regulating valve

Abstract

A pressure regulating valve includes a valve housing provided with an internal space extending in an axial direction and a gas inlet port and a gas outlet port leading to the internal space; a piston movably provided in the internal space of the valve housing, a gas chamber being formed between an outer surface of the piston and an inner surface of the valve housing, the outer surface of the piston being provided with a first sealing element; and an elastic element urging the piston in the axial direction at a predetermined elastic force to an initial first position at which the gas inlet port and the gas outlet port are in fluid communication via the gas chamber; when a gas pressure in the gas chamber is greater than a predetermined pressure, the gas pressure is able to overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element to move the piston in the axial direction to a second position at which the first sealing element separates the gas chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber that are not in fluid communication with each other. The pressure regulating valve of the present disclosure is able to provide a stable gas for a target mechanism, thereby improving the safety performance and durability of the target mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to the technical field of vehicles. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a pressure regulating valve, especially for use in an automatic shift actuator of a vehicle, to provide a stable gas supply to the automatic shift actuator. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the automotive industry and the increasing demands of consumers for driving experience, the performance and intelligence of automatic transmission systems used in vehicles (such as commercial vehicles) have become a focus of attention.

[0003] With the development of automatic shift actuators in automatic transmission systems, the desired outcome is to provide these actuators with a stable gas supply (e.g., gas within a predetermined pressure range or with a substantially constant pressure). However, existing vehicles suffer from unstable gas supply to the automatic shift actuators, a problem that urgently needs to be addressed. Utility Model Content

[0004] This disclosure aims to provide a pressure regulating valve that can be used in the automatic shift actuator of a vehicle to provide a stable gas supply to the automatic shift actuator, thereby improving the safety performance and durability of the automatic shift actuator or the automatic shift system including the automatic shift actuator.

[0005] To this end, this disclosure provides a pressure regulating valve, comprising: a valve housing having an internal space extending in an axial direction and an inlet and an outlet leading to the internal space; a piston movably disposed coaxially with the valve housing in the internal space of the valve housing, a gas chamber being formed between the outer surface of the piston and the inner surface of the valve housing, and a first sealing element being disposed on the outer surface of the piston; and an elastic element configured to push the piston in an initial first position along the axial direction with a predetermined elastic force, wherein in the first position, the inlet and the outlet are in fluid communication via the gas chamber; wherein, when the gas pressure in the gas chamber is greater than a predetermined pressure, the gas pressure can overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element and move the piston in the axial direction to a second position, wherein in the second position, the first sealing element divides the gas chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber that are not in fluid communication with each other, wherein the inlet leads to one of the upper chamber and the lower chamber, and the outlet leads to the other of the upper chamber and the lower chamber.

[0006] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the pressure regulating valve further includes an adjusting element configured to change the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element by changing the amount of compression of the elastic element.

[0007] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the adjusting element is configured as an adjusting screw that is screwably mounted on the valve housing to change the amount of compression of the elastic element by turning the adjusting screw to different positions.

[0008] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the pressure regulating valve further includes a support element for supporting the elastic element, the support element being disposed between the elastic element and the regulating element.

[0009] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the elastic element is configured as a compressible helical spring.

[0010] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the piston includes an inner cavity extending along the axial direction, and the helical spring is compressively disposed within the inner cavity.

[0011] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the outer surface of the piston is provided with an annular flange, the first sealing element is configured as an annular sealing element, and the inner surface of the annular sealing element has an annular groove for receiving the annular flange, so that the annular sealing element can be fitted onto the annular flange of the piston.

[0012] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the pressure regulating valve further includes an annular retaining element for retaining the first sealing element.

[0013] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the annular retaining element is provided with one or more stop tabs along its circumferential direction, the stop tabs cooperating with a stop element disposed on the outer surface of the piston to restrict the movement of the annular retaining element along the axial direction.

[0014] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the annular retaining element is constructed as a metal retaining element.

[0015] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the inner surface of the valve housing is provided with a stop portion. When the piston moves to the second position, the first sealing element abuts against the stop portion and, by cooperating with the stop portion, divides the gas chamber into the upper chamber and the lower chamber, which are not fluidly connected to each other.

[0016] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the outer surface of the piston is further provided with a second sealing element spaced apart from the first sealing element, the second sealing element being used to seal the gas chamber.

[0017] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the second sealing element is configured as an O-ring.

[0018] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the valve housing includes a valve body that is generally cylindrical and has a top opening, and a top cover for sealing the top opening, with a third sealing element disposed between the valve body and the top cover.

[0019] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the valve body includes a bottom portion, the adjusting element is adjustablely disposed on the bottom portion, and the valve housing further includes a bottom cover for sealing the bottom portion.

[0020] It should be noted that aspects of this disclosure described with respect to one embodiment can be included in other different embodiments, although these other different embodiments are not specifically described. In other words, features of all embodiments and / or any embodiments can be combined in any manner and / or combination, as long as they do not contradict each other. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Several aspects of this disclosure will be better understood after reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 A perspective view of a pressure regulating valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 The pressure regulating valve shown is a front view, with a portion of it cut out.

[0024] Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 The side view of the pressure regulating valve shown.

[0025] Figure 4 It shows Figure 1 The pressure regulating valve shown is a side sectional view.

[0026] Figure 5 It shows Figure 1 A perspective view of the piston of the pressure regulating valve shown.

[0027] It should be understood that the same reference numerals denote the same elements in all the accompanying drawings. For clarity, the dimensions of some features may be altered and they may not be drawn to scale. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be presented in many different ways and is not limited to the embodiments described below; in fact, the embodiments described below are intended to make the disclosure more complete and to fully illustrate the scope of protection of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

[0029] It should be understood that the terminology used in this specification is for describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. All terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. For the sake of brevity and / or clarity, well-known functions or structures may not be described in detail.

[0030] Unless otherwise specified, the singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this specification include the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “containing” used in this specification indicate the presence of the claimed feature but do not exclude the presence of one or more other features. The term “and / or” used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the relevant listed items.

[0031] When a component is described in the specification as being "on", "attached" to, "connected" to, "joined" to, or "in contact" with another component, the component may be directly located on, attached to, connected to, joined to, or in contact with the other component, or there may be an intermediate component present.

[0032] In this specification, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used for ease of explanation only and are not intended to be limiting. Any technical feature represented by "first," "second," "third," etc., is interchangeable.

[0033] In the specification, spatial relation terms such as "above," "below," "front," "back," "top," and "bottom" describe the relationship between one feature and another in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that spatial relation terms include not only the orientation shown in the drawings but also the different orientations of the device during use or operation. For example, when the device in the drawings is inverted, a feature previously described as "below" other features can now be described as "above" other features. The device can also be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), in which case the relative spatial relationships will be explained accordingly.

[0034] Reference Figures 1 to 4The diagram illustrates a pressure regulating valve 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The pressure regulating valve 1 can be used in the automatic shift actuator of a vehicle (particularly a commercial vehicle) to provide a stable gas supply to the automatic shift actuator (e.g., providing gas within a predetermined pressure range or having a substantially constant pressure). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The pressure regulating valve 1 can be used in any other suitable actuator.

[0035] The pressure regulating valve 1 may include a valve body 10. For example... Figure 4 As shown more clearly, the valve housing 10 may have a generally cylindrical elongated shape that extends along the axial direction A (see...). Figure 2 and Figure 4 The valve housing 10 has an internal space extending along the axial direction A. The internal space of the valve housing 10 may also be generally cylindrical. The valve housing 10 also has an air inlet 11 and an exhaust port 12 leading to its internal space. Figure 1 As shown, the air inlet 11 and the exhaust port 12 can be located at different positions on the valve body 10 and can have different orientations to facilitate connection. The air inlet 11 of the valve body 10 can be connected to a gas source to introduce gas from the gas source into the valve body 10. The exhaust port 12 of the valve body 10 can be connected to a target mechanism that needs to receive gas, such as the automatic shift actuator of a vehicle, to stably deliver the gas in the valve body 10 to the target mechanism at, for example, a predetermined pressure. The air inlet 11 can be located in an intake connector, and the exhaust port 12 can be located in an exhaust connector. Figure 1 As shown, both the intake and exhaust connections can be constructed as connecting shafts with channels, and can extend in a direction intersecting (e.g., orthogonal) the axial direction A.

[0036] The pressure regulating valve 1 includes a piston 20. Similar to the valve housing 10, the piston 20 may also have an elongated shape that is generally cylindrical or cylindrical. The piston 20 is movably disposed within the internal space of the valve housing 10 in a manner substantially coaxial with it. A gas chamber 30 is formed between the outer surface of the piston 20 and the inner surface of the valve housing 10 for containing gas. The pressure regulating valve 1 also includes an elastic element 40 configured to push the piston 20 into an initial first position (e.g., ) along the axial direction A with a predetermined elastic force. Figure 4 As shown, the piston 20 is pressed against the valve housing 10 at its top (in the first position), and the inlet 11 and outlet 12 are in fluid communication via the gas chamber 30.

[0037] Piston 20 can also move to a second position different from the initial first position. Specifically, when the gas pressure in the gas chamber 30 is greater than a predetermined pressure (e.g., 8 bar or other predetermined pressure), the gas pressure can overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40 and move piston 20 along the axial direction A (e.g., in…). Figure 4 (Move down from the middle) to the second position.

[0038] A first sealing element 21 is provided on the outer surface of the piston 20. When the piston 20 moves to the second position, the first sealing element 21 can divide the gas chamber 30 into an upper chamber 31 and a lower chamber 32 that are not fluidly connected to each other. The inlet 11 can open to one of the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32, while the outlet 12 opens to the other of the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32. Figures 1 to 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the air inlet 11 opens to the lower chamber 32, while the exhaust outlet 12 opens to the upper chamber 31. In other embodiments, depending on the direction of movement of the piston 20, the air inlet 11 may open to the upper chamber 31, while the exhaust outlet 12 may open to the lower chamber 32.

[0039] According to this disclosure, the pressure regulating valve 1 can provide a stable gas to a target mechanism (such as the automatic shift actuator of a vehicle), for example, a gas within a predetermined pressure range or with a substantially constant pressure. Specifically, during operation, gas at a predetermined pressure (e.g., 8 bar or other predetermined pressure) from a gas source is first introduced from the inlet 11 into the gas chamber 30 within the valve body 10 of the pressure regulating valve 1. During normal operation, this predetermined pressure is insufficient to overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40, so the piston 20 is always pushed by the elastic element 40 in the initial first position. At this time, the inlet 11 and the outlet 12 are in fluid communication via the gas chamber 30, allowing gas to be discharged from the gas chamber 30 at the predetermined pressure via the outlet 12 and supplied to the target mechanism. In some cases, when the gas pressure in the gas chamber 30 becomes greater than a predetermined pressure (this change may be caused by a change in gas pressure at the gas source; it may also be caused by other factors, such as inconsistencies between the intake velocity of the inlet 11 and the exhaust velocity of the outlet 12), the gas pressure in the gas chamber 30 can overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40 and move the piston 20 to a second position along the axial direction A. As mentioned above, in the second position, the first sealing element 21 can separate the gas chamber 30 into an upper chamber 31 and a lower chamber 32 that are not fluidly connected to each other. At this time, the gas in the lower chamber 32, which is connected to the inlet 11, can no longer flow into the upper chamber 31, and the gas pressure in the upper chamber 31 gradually decreases due to discharge through the outlet 12. When the gas pressure in the upper chamber 31 decreases below the predetermined pressure, the elastic force of the elastic element 40 pushes the piston 20 back toward the initial first position, thereby making the upper chamber 31 and the lower chamber 32 fluidly connected again. This process is repeated, ensuring that the gas pressure discharged through exhaust port 12 and supplied to the target mechanism remains within a predetermined pressure range or has a substantially constant pressure, thereby ensuring a stable gas supply to the target mechanism. When the target mechanism is the automatic transmission mechanism of a vehicle, this can improve the safety performance and durability of the automatic transmission mechanism or the automatic transmission system containing the automatic transmission mechanism, because the supplied gas pressure will not exceed the predetermined pressure and will always remain within the predetermined pressure range.

[0040] return Figure 4 In some embodiments, the pressure regulating valve 1 may further include an adjusting element 50. The adjusting element 50 is configured to change the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40 by changing the amount of compression of the elastic element 40. The predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40 may correspond to a predetermined pressure of gas supplied to the target mechanism. Figure 4In the illustrated embodiment, the adjusting element 50 is configured as an adjusting screw, which is screwably mounted on the valve housing 10 (e.g., on the bottom portion 17 of the valve housing 10) to change the amount of compression of the elastic element 40 by turning the adjusting screw to different positions, thereby changing the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element 40. In this embodiment, the adjusting element 50 is an integral adjusting screw.

[0041] In some embodiments, the pressure regulating element 1 may include a support element 60 for supporting the elastic element 40. The support element 60 may be disposed between the elastic element 40 and the regulating element 50. The support element 60 may have any suitable configuration. Figure 4 In the embodiment shown, the support element 60 is configured in the shape of a hat, which includes a brim for supporting the elastic element 40 from one side and a tube for receiving the adjustment element 50 from the other side.

[0042] exist Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the elastic element 40 is configured as a compressible helical spring. The piston 20 may include an inner cavity 22 extending along the axial direction A. The compressible helical spring may be compressibly disposed within the inner cavity 22.

[0043] Continue to refer to Figure 4 And refer to Figure 5 In some embodiments, the outer surface of the piston 20 may be provided with an annular flange 23. Correspondingly, the first sealing element 21 may be configured as an annular sealing element, the inner surface of which has an annular groove (e.g., for receiving the annular flange 23) for receiving the annular flange 23. Figure 4 As shown in the figure, the annular sealing element can be fitted onto the annular flange 23 of the piston 20.

[0044] In some cases, the first sealing element 21 may deform under gas pressure and detach from the annular flange 23 of the piston 20. To prevent the first sealing element 21 from detaching from the annular flange 23 due to deformation, in some embodiments, the pressure regulating valve 1 may further include an annular retaining element 24 for retaining the first sealing element 21, such as... Figure 5 As shown. An annular retaining element 24 can be fitted over the first sealing element 21 to retain the first sealing element 21 on the annular flange 23. The annular retaining element 24 can be made of a rigid material to prevent deformation of the first sealing element 21. For example, the annular retaining element 24 can be made of metal (e.g., stainless steel or other metals). To prevent the annular retaining element 24 from moving along the axial direction A, the annular retaining element 24 can be provided with one or more stop tabs 25 along its circumferential direction. The stop tabs 25 can extend obliquely from the inner surface of the annular retaining element 24 toward its center, such as... Figure 5As shown. Correspondingly, a stop element 26 may be provided on the outer surface of the piston 20. The stop element 26 may be an annular flange provided on the outer surface of the piston 20. The stop tab 25 may cooperate (e.g., abut) with the stop element 26 provided on the outer surface of the piston 20 to limit the movement of the annular retaining element 24 along the axial direction A.

[0045] In some embodiments, the outer surface of the piston 20 is further provided with a second sealing element 27 spaced apart from the first sealing element 21. The second sealing element 27 may be disposed on the outer surface of the piston 20 near its bottom, for sealing the gas chamber 30. The second sealing element 27 may be configured as an O-ring. The O-ring may be placed in a groove provided on the outer surface of the piston 20, such as... Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown. Using an O-ring can save on the manufacturing cost of pressure regulating valve 1 while ensuring the required sealing performance.

[0046] return Figure 4 In some embodiments, a stop portion 13 may be provided on the inner surface of the valve housing 10. The stop portion 13 may be configured as an annular flange, particularly, as... Figure 4 The upwardly inclined annular flange is shown. When the piston 20 moves to the second position, the first sealing element 21 (specifically, the bottom surface of the first sealing element 21) can abut against the stop 13 and, by cooperating with the stop 13, divide the gas chamber 30 into an upper chamber 31 and a lower chamber 32 that are not in fluid communication with each other. When the stop 13 is configured as an upwardly inclined annular flange, it can form a line seal with the bottom surface of the first sealing element 21, which can produce a better sealing effect.

[0047] In some embodiments, the valve housing 10 may include a valve body 14 that is generally cylindrical and has a top opening, and a top cover 15 for sealing the top opening of the valve body 14. A third sealing element 16 may be disposed between the valve body 14 and the top cover 15. The third sealing element 16 may be configured as an O-ring. Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, at least a portion of the top cover 15 is inserted into the top opening of the valve body 14. In other embodiments, the valve housing 10 may further include a bottom cover 18 for sealing the bottom portion 17 of the valve body 10. By constructing the valve housing 10 as a separate valve body 14, top cover 15, and / or bottom cover 18, it is possible to simplify the assembly and disassembly of the pressure regulating valve 1.

[0048] Exemplary embodiments according to this disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. All changes and modifications are included within the scope of protection of this disclosure as defined by the claims. This disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and equivalents of those claims are also included.

Claims

1. A pressure regulating valve, characterized in that, The pressure regulating valve includes: A valve housing having an internal space extending in the axial direction and an air inlet and an air outlet leading to the internal space; A piston, movably disposed coaxially with the valve housing within the interior space of the valve housing, a gas chamber forming between the outer surface of the piston and the inner surface of the valve housing, and a first sealing element disposed on the outer surface of the piston; and An elastic element configured to push the piston in an initial first position along the axial direction with a predetermined elastic force, wherein the air inlet and the air outlet are in fluid communication via the gas chamber; When the gas pressure in the gas chamber is greater than a predetermined pressure, the gas pressure can overcome the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element and move the piston to a second position along the axial direction. In the second position, the first sealing element divides the gas chamber into an upper chamber and a lower chamber that are not fluidly connected to each other. The air inlet leads to one of the upper chamber and the lower chamber, while the exhaust port leads to the other of the upper chamber and the lower chamber.

2. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure regulating valve further includes an adjusting element configured to change the predetermined elastic force of the elastic element by changing the amount of compression of the elastic element.

3. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 2, characterized in that, The adjusting element is configured as an adjusting screw, which is screwably mounted on the valve housing to change the compression of the elastic element by turning the adjusting screw to different positions.

4. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 2, characterized in that, The pressure regulating valve further includes a support element for supporting the elastic element, the support element being disposed between the elastic element and the regulating element.

5. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 2, characterized in that, The elastic element is configured as a compressible helical spring.

6. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 5, characterized in that, The piston includes an inner cavity extending along the axial direction, and the helical spring is compressedly disposed within the inner cavity.

7. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The piston has an annular flange on its outer surface, and the first sealing element is configured as an annular sealing element. The inner surface of the annular sealing element has an annular groove for accommodating the annular flange, so that the annular sealing element can be fitted onto the annular flange of the piston.

8. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 7, characterized in that, The pressure regulating valve also includes an annular retaining element for retaining the first sealing element.

9. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 8, characterized in that, The annular retaining element is provided with one or more stop protrusions along its circumference, and the stop protrusions cooperate with the stop elements provided on the outer surface of the piston to restrict the movement of the annular retaining element along the axial direction.

10. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 8, characterized in that, The annular retaining element is constructed as a metal retaining element.

11. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner surface of the valve housing is provided with a stop portion. When the piston moves to the second position, the first sealing element abuts against the stop portion and, by cooperating with the stop portion, divides the gas chamber into the upper chamber and the lower chamber, which are not fluidly connected to each other.

12. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer surface of the piston is also provided with a second sealing element spaced apart from the first sealing element, the second sealing element being used to seal the gas chamber.

13. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second sealing element is configured as an O-ring.

14. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 2, characterized in that, The valve housing includes a valve body that is generally cylindrical and has a top opening, and a top cover for sealing the top opening, with a third sealing element disposed between the valve body and the top cover.

15. The pressure regulating valve according to claim 14, characterized in that, The valve body includes a bottom portion, the adjusting element is adjustablely disposed on the bottom portion, and the valve housing also includes a bottom cover for sealing the bottom portion.

Images