Servo-Valve Port Geometry for Faster Actuator Response

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing servo-valves face challenges in achieving high response speed due to issues with material selection, mechanical strength, and manufacturing costs, which affect their control accuracy.

Innovation Solution

The servo-valve design incorporates non-circular openings for the discharge and inflow ports, allowing for a significant increase in the overlapping area between these ports during nozzle movement, thereby enhancing the responsiveness of the servo-valve and actuator.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If conventional circular openings are used for discharge and inflow ports, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the overlapping area changes slowly during nozzle movement, resulting in low response speed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponse speedVSAvoidopening shape complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies asymmetry by changing the opening shape from circular to non-circular (such as rectangular or elliptical). This asymmetric shape design causes the overlapping area between the discharge port and inflow port to change more rapidly during nozzle movement, directly improving the response speed of the servo-valve while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the geometric parameters of the openings by using non-circular shapes with specific dimensions and orientations. This parameter change optimizes the overlapping area characteristics during nozzle displacement, enabling faster fluid flow response without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the overlapping area between discharge and inflow ports is increased rapidly, then the fluid flow rate improves and response speed increases, but the nozzle stroke must be shortened

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefluid flow rateVSAvoidnozzle stroke
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The non-circular opening shapes are designed with asymmetric dimensions that maximize the overlapping area change rate. This allows the servo-valve to achieve the necessary fluid flow rate with a shorter nozzle stroke, as the asymmetric geometry creates more effective overlap during smaller displacements compared to conventional circular openings.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

3Speed

If non-circular openings are used to improve response speed, then the overlapping area changes rapidly, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponse speedVSAvoidopening shape precision
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent specifies optimized geometric parameters for the non-circular openings that balance performance and manufacturability. By carefully selecting dimensions and shapes, the patent achieves rapid overlapping area change while maintaining reasonable manufacturing precision requirements that can be met with conventional machining capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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 ensures a high response performance by ensuring a necessary fluid flow rate at an early stage, improving the servo-valve's responsiveness and actuator operation.

Implementation Method 1

displacing a nozzle toward left and right sides of a rotation axis based on an electromagnetic principle

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElectromagnetic principle: Electromagnetic Induction

Data Source

PatentEP3263914B1Servo-valve and fluidic device
Publication Date: 2025.09.10 NABTESCO CORP
  • EP3263914B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3263914B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(d)
  • EP3263914B1 patent drawingFigure 3(a)~3(e)

AI summary

The disclosure discloses a servo-valve (100) that controls a fluid discharged from a discharge port (221) of a nozzle (200) by displacing the nozzle (200) and drives an actuator. The servo-valve (100) includes a receiver (300) provided with a first inflow port into which the fluid discharged from the discharge port (221) flows. At least one of the discharge port (221) and the inflow port (311, 312) is an opening formed in a non-circular form such that the amount of change in the area of overlapping of the discharge port (221) and the inflow port (311, 312) occurring when the nozzle (200) is displaced from the initial position is larger than when the discharge port (221) and the inflow port (311, 312) are formed in circular forms of the same area. Since the change amount of the area of overlapping of the discharge port (221) and the inflow port (311, 312) occurring when the nozzle (200) is displaced from the initial position increases so that the fluid can flow into the inflow port (311, 312) in a short time, a response speed of the actuator is improved.