Modular Hydraulic Priority Valve for Flexible Consumer Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydraulic systems in agricultural and construction machines are inflexible and require significant structural effort to expand or adapt to changes in priority levels or added consumers, leading to potential undersupply issues where critical components may not receive sufficient hydraulic flow.
Innovation Solution
A modular hydraulic arrangement using common load-pressure-controlled priority valves for first and second consumers, with an additional priority valve for the third consumer, allowing for easy addition or removal of the second consumer without significant installation effort, ensuring maximum supply priority to higher-priority components during undersupply conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple priority valves are used to implement three priority levels, then reliable priority control is achieved, but device complexity and construction volume increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple priority control functions into a single integrated priority valve with multiple outlets. Instead of using separate priority valves for each priority level, one priority valve handles multiple consumers with different priority levels through its multiple outlets, each controlled by load pressure signals from respective consumers. This merging approach maintains reliable priority control while significantly reducing device complexity and construction volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The priority valve is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple consumers across different priority levels. A single priority valve controls supply to multiple hydraulic consumers by receiving load pressure signals from each consumer and selectively directing flow based on priority needs, making the system adaptable to different configurations without requiring additional valves.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the hydraulic system is expanded to add more priority levels or consumers, then system functionality is improved, but structural effort and construction volume increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The system is designed with dynamic adaptability where the priority valve can accommodate different numbers and configurations of hydraulic consumers through adjustable outlets and configurable load pressure connections. The system can be dynamically reconfigured to add or remove consumers and adjust priority levels without requiring structural changes or additional valves, enabling easy system expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The priority valve is segmented into multiple independent outlets, each capable of serving a different hydraulic consumer with specific priority level. This segmentation allows individual outlets to be activated or deactivated independently, enabling flexible system expansion where new consumers can be integrated by simply connecting to available outlets without affecting other parts of the system.
3Device complexity
If hydraulic consumers are combined into fewer priority levels, then device complexity is reduced, but supply priority for critical consumers may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Each outlet of the priority valve is configured with specific local quality characteristics tailored to the connected hydraulic consumer. Load pressure signals from individual consumers are selectively applied to control specific outlets, ensuring that each consumer receives appropriate priority treatment based on its criticality. This local customization maintains supply priority assurance while using a single integrated valve.
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
This design creates a flexible, cost-effective, and robust hydraulic supply priority system that can be easily adapted, ensuring minimum supply to high-priority consumers while reducing the volume flow to lower-priority consumers during undersupply, thus maintaining operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a common load-pressure-controlled priority valve for the at least one first hydraulic consumer and for the second hydraulic consumer
Implementation Method 2
If the entire system is undersupplied, the further priority valve closes due to activation by load pressure lines and prevents or reduces a volume flow flowing through the further priority valve
Data Source
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AI summary
The arrangement (12') has a hydraulic pump (21) connected with a first hydraulic consumer (30), second hydraulic consumer and third hydraulic consumer (34) via first, second and third supply conduits (24-28). The first and second conduits are connected with the pump via a common load pressure steered priority valve (70). The third conduit is connected with the pump via an additional priority valve. A first load pressure spacer (62) is guided to the pump and connected with a second load pressure spacer (66) and a third load pressure spacer (42') of the third consumer. The common load pressure steered priority valve is designed as a 3/2-path proportional valve, 2/2- path proportional valve, and the hydraulic pump is designed as a load pressure-dependent variable flow pump and fixed displacement pump.