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Four-way clevis valve and method

  • US 4,046,061 A
  • Filed: 12/03/1975
  • Issued: 09/06/1977
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1975
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In combination with a fluid control system including a source of pressurized fluid, a low pressure reservoir, and a fluid operated motor having a pair of motor ports communicating with opposed fluid chambers of the motor;

  • a closed center flow control valve comprising;

    a housing having an internal cavity, an inlet port communicating with said source of fluid, an exhaust port communicating with said reservoir, and a pair of work ports communicating with said motor ports, said internal cavity communicating with one of said inlet and outlet ports;

    means in the housing defining a pair of substantially flat, opposed, transversely spaced surfaces exposed to said cavity, said means having a first passage therein communicating with the other of said inlet and outlet ports, and second and third passages therein communicating with said work ports, each of said first, second and third passages opening onto both of said opposed surfaces at laterally spaced locations therealong with said first passage disposed intermediate said second and third passages;

    a longitudinally extending control member in said housing having a bifurcated end straddling said means defining said opposed surfaces, said member pivotally mounted to said housing whereby said bifurcated end shifts primarily laterally along said surfaces as the member pivots;

    a pair of cup elements affixed to said bifurcated end of the control member, each of said cup elements having a continuous, flat peripheral wall slightly spaced from the adjacent surface and cooperating therewith to define a fluid transfer zone between the cup element and the adjacent surface;

    said member pivotal to shift said cup elements laterally in one direction from a first central position wherein said peripheral walls substantially cover said second and third passages toward a second position wherein said first and second passages are interconnected through said fluid transfer zones while said third passage is open to said internal cavity, said member pivotal to shift said cup elements laterally in an opposite direction from said first position toward a third position wherein said first and third passages are interconnected through said fluid transfer zones while said second passage is open to said internal cavity; and

    solenoid operated actuator means carried by said housing and operable upon the end of said control member opposite said bifurcated end for selectively pivoting said control member to shift said cup elements in said one and said opposite directions, said peripheral walls of the cup elements operable to variably meter fluid communication of said first passage respectively with said second and third passages through said fluid transfer zones while providing substantially balanced flows through said transfer zones as said cup elements respectively shift in said one and said opposite directions, said peripheral walls being of slightly less width than the openings on said surfaces communicating with said second and third passages to permit restricted communication directly between each of said second and third passages and said cavity in said first central position of said member.

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