Pilot Valve Assembly With Adjustable Orientation and No External Tubing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic control valves with simple on-off remote control functionality lack flexibility and enhanced functionality due to limited integration options with pilot valves, often requiring external tubing and restrictive rotational orientations.
Innovation Solution
A pilot valve assembly with a connector having external threading and an array of teeth, allowing modular connection to a hydraulic control valve's threaded control socket, featuring a clamping arrangement with a forked wedge for secure angular orientation and a connector tube for flow path connection, enabling various control schemes like pressure reduction and flow throttling without external tubing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If external tubing is used to connect pilot valve to hydraulic control valve, then flexibility in positioning is improved, but device complexity and potential for leakage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the pilot valve directly into the hydraulic control valve body, eliminating external tubing connections. The connector includes internal passages that provide fluid communication between the pilot valve chamber and the hydraulic control valve actuator chamber, merging two previously separate components into a single integrated assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The threaded control socket is designed to accept multiple types of actuators including solenoids, manual operators, and pilot valves. The universal interface allows the same socket to serve different control functions, eliminating the need for separate connection mechanisms for each actuator type.
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed rotational orientation is used for pilot valve connection, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but adaptability to different installation configurations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connector incorporates a rotatable section with circumferential slots and corresponding lugs that allow the pilot valve to be rotated to different angular orientations after assembly. This dynamic adjustment capability enables installation in various configurations while maintaining a simple fixed-threaded connection structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into separate functional sections: a threaded connection portion for secure attachment, an internal passage system for fluid flow, and a rotatable section with circumferential slots for orientation adjustment. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently while working together as a unified component.
3Ease of operation
If modular connector design is used for pilot valve assembly, then ease of installation and removal is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed as a modular component that can be independently manufactured and installed. It includes distinct functional sections: external threading for attachment to the control socket, internal passages for fluid communication, and a rotatable section with circumferential slots for orientation adjustment. This segmentation enables easy installation and removal while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector serves as an intermediary component between the hydraulic control valve body and the pilot valve. It provides the interface that enables modular connection, allowing the pilot valve to be easily installed and removed without modifying the main valve body, while the circumferential slots provide an intermediate mechanism for orientation adjustment.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A pilot valve assembly (10) includes a cylindrical connector (12) having a first end portion (16) with external threading (18) for engaging a threaded control socket (106) of a hydraulic valve (100), and a second end (20) with an array of teeth (22) arrayed around its edge. A circumferential slot (24) around connector (12) is spaced from second end (20). The assembly also includes a pilot valve (26) with a mechanism for controlling a pressure within the hydraulic control valve actuator chamber. Pilot valve (26) is formed with a recess (28) having a complementary teeth (30) for engaging teeth (22) of connector (12) in a range of angular orientations. A clamping arrangement engages slot (24) and clamps pilot valve (26) to second end (20) of connector (12), thereby fixing an angular orientation of the pilot valve.