Control Valve Poppet Design Reduces Sliding Resistance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing pressure proportional control valves face issues with high sliding resistance, hysteresis, and increased manufacturing costs due to unbalanced fluid pressure and adhesive material interference, leading to reduced response performance and larger solenoid requirements.

Innovation Solution

A control valve design with equalized pressure receiving areas for poppet valves and pressure sensing springs, allowing for compact solenoid operation and reduced sliding resistance by using poppet valves with tapered surfaces and bellows-shaped pressure sensing springs that expand and contract without sliding against the main body, preventing adhesive material interference.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional sliding valves are used with seal rings, then sealing is achieved, but sliding resistance increases and response performance decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesealing performanceVSAvoidvalve response speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the conventional mechanical sliding valve system with seal rings with a poppet valve system. The poppet valve opens and closes by lifting off the valve seat rather than sliding, eliminating the seal ring and its associated sliding resistance. This substitution maintains sealing performance when closed while dramatically improving response speed during opening and closing operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The valve body is segmented into multiple pressure receiving areas (first, second, third pressure receiving areas) that are equal in area. This segmentation allows balanced fluid pressure distribution across the poppet valve, preventing unbalanced forces that could cause sticking or delayed response, thereby maintaining both sealing reliability and fast response performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Stress or pressure

If unbalanced fluid pressure acts on the valve body, then pressure control is achieved, but hysteresis and malfunction occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressure control capabilityVSAvoidvalve operation stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Stress or pressureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates equipotential conditions by providing equal pressure receiving areas (first, second, and third pressure receiving areas of equal area) on the valve body. This ensures that fluid pressure acts uniformly across all areas, eliminating unbalanced forces that cause hysteresis and malfunction. The balanced pressure distribution maintains valve operation stability while preserving pressure control capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #12Equipotentiality

3Productivity

If adhesive material interferes with sliding surfaces, then valve operation continues, but malfunction increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevalve operation continuityVSAvoidvalve operation reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the sliding surfaces and seal rings from the valve system. By using a poppet valve that opens and closes by lifting off the valve seat rather than sliding along it, the invention removes the surfaces where adhesive materials could accumulate and cause malfunction. This maintains operational continuity while significantly improving reliability by eliminating the interference mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Stress or pressure

If larger solenoid is used for high pressure control, then control capability is improved, but device size increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehigh pressure control capabilityVSAvoidsolenoid size
Core Design Contradiction:
Stress or pressureVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses the balanced pressure receiving areas to create counterbalancing forces that offset the high fluid pressure loads. The equal areas ensure that pressure forces are distributed uniformly, reducing the net unbalanced force that the solenoid must overcome. This allows for a more compact solenoid design while maintaining high pressure control capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #8Anti-weight (Counterweight)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The design enhances valve response performance, reduces hysteresis, and lowers manufacturing costs by minimizing sliding resistance and solenoid size, enabling efficient high-pressure control with balanced fluid pressure distribution.

Implementation Method 1

bellows-shaped pressure sensing springs that expand and contract without sliding against the main body

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

poppet valves with tapered surfaces and bellows-shaped pressure sensing springs that expand and contract without sliding against the main body, preventing adhesive material interference

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Data Source

PatentEP2184523B1Control valve
Publication Date: 2017.04.19 EAGLE INDS
  • EP2184523B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2184523B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2184523B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention enlarges the working pressure flowing into the working chamber and improves the response ability of the valve controlling the fluid using a compact solenoid portion. In the control valve according to the present invention, the first effective pressure receiving area of the first pressure sensing spring apparatus, the first pressure receiving area of the first poppet valve and the second pressure receiving area of the second poppet valve are made substantially equal while the second effective pressure receiving area of the second pressure receiving spring apparatus are made larger than the first effective pressure receiving area of the first pressure receiving spring apparatus; and the valve seat body co-operates with the first valve body to close and open the first poppet valve and the second poppet valve in accordance with a pressure of the working fluid flowing into the communication chamber from the third poppet valve when the third poppet valve is opened and the fourth poppet valve is closed by moving the solenoid rod forward.