Track Tensioner Valve Assembly With No-Preload Spring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing track tensioning systems for power machines face difficulties in servicing due to pre-loading of springs, which complicates field maintenance and can lead to damage from obstacles or foreign materials.
Innovation Solution
A two-position, dual-direction check valve system allows pressurized fluid to be introduced or evacuated from a single port, combined with a no-preload spring and piston retaining features, to manage track tension effectively without pre-loading, enabling easier maintenance and protection from obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a spring is pre-loaded in the track tensioning system to protect from obstacles, then the track system is protected from damage, but the servicing difficulty increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is designed to be non-preloaded and dynamically responds to obstacles only when they occur. The spring remains relaxed during normal operation and only engages when an obstacle is encountered, allowing easy servicing while maintaining protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring preload parameter is changed from a fixed preloaded state to a zero-preload state. This parameter change allows the spring to remain uncompressed during normal operation, making the tensioning system easy to service while still providing obstacle protection when needed.
2Device complexity
If a dual-direction check valve is used to allow fluid introduction and evacuation through a single port, then the valve assembly complexity is reduced, but the valve element control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve element automatically moves between positions based on fluid pressure conditions. When fluid is introduced, pressure moves the element to allow filling; when evacuation is needed, pressure differential moves it to allow draining. The system self-regulates without external control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Fluid pressure acts as an intermediary that automatically controls the valve element position. The pressure differential across the valve element serves as the mediating force that moves the element to the appropriate position based on whether fluid introduction or evacuation is required.
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 system simplifies track tensioning by allowing fluid flow control through a single port, reducing complexity and preventing damage from obstacles, while maintaining proper track tension without the need for pre-loading, thus enhancing maintenance efficiency and system reliability.
Implementation Method 1
A two-position, dual direction check valve is provided in a track tensioning system... The mechanism, in some embodiments, uses a single check ball in a device that is moveable from a first position, in which fluid is blocked in one direction... while allowing flow in the other direction
Implementation Method 2
A spring is positioned in-line with the cylinder to allow the idler to deflect a certain amount when hitting an obstacle or when foreign material (like, for example, a rock) is introduced between the idler and the track
Implementation Method 3
The system includes a valve assembly having a valve assembly body with an inlet providing the single port and an outlet... In the first position, pressurized fluid can be introduced from the inlet, through the fluid path and outlet, into the cavity
Data Source
AI summary
Valve assemblies are provided in a track tensioning system or in other applications. The valve assemblies allow pressurized fluid (grease or hydraulic fluid from a power machine) to be introduced or evacuated from the same port. The valve assemblies use either a single check ball or poppet configuration, or a dual check ball or poppet configuration which are moveable from a first configuration, in which fluid is blocked in one direction while allowing flow in the other direction, to a second configuration where the reverse is true. A track tensioning element includes piston retaining features which retain a piston within a track tensioning cylinder tube. A track tensioning element can also include a no-pre-load spring positioned in-line with the tensioning cylinder. Disclosed track tensioning systems and track tensioning elements can, in various embodiments, utilize any combination of all or some of the disclosed features.