ELECTROHYDRAULIC VALVE HAVING A SOLENOID ACTUATOR PLUNGER WITH AN ARMATURE AND A BEARING
First Claim
1. An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
- a valve body with a bore and having a two ports in communication with the bore;
a spool slideably received within the bore of the valve body and a passage therein which selectively connects and disconnects the two ports in different positions of the spool in the bore; and
an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with a coil aperture therein and comprising an armature slideably received in the coil aperture, and a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool, the actuator further includes a cage and a plurality of rollable elements held in the cage;
wherein the cage is a single piece that comprises a first ring and a second ring spaced apart with a plurality of walls extending there between and forming a plurality of slots between adjacent walls within which the plurality of rollable elements are captured.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A solenoid operated valve has a valve body with a plurality of ports and a spool slideable within the valve body to interconnect the ports in different combinations. An actuator drives the spool into several operating positions. The actuator has a solenoid assembly with an armature that moves within a bore in response to an electromagnetic field. A push member projects from the armature and has a bearing secured thereto. The bearing has a cage that retains a plurality of rollable elements in slots separated by walls that are resilient enabling the rollable elements to be forced into the slots during assembly and thereafter be captured in the cage when the walls return to their original positions. A latch on the cage engages the push member to affix the bearing in place.
47 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
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a valve body with a bore and having a two ports in communication with the bore; a spool slideably received within the bore of the valve body and a passage therein which selectively connects and disconnects the two ports in different positions of the spool in the bore; and an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with a coil aperture therein and comprising an armature slideably received in the coil aperture, and a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool, the actuator further includes a cage and a plurality of rollable elements held in the cage; wherein the cage is a single piece that comprises a first ring and a second ring spaced apart with a plurality of walls extending there between and forming a plurality of slots between adjacent walls within which the plurality of rollable elements are captured. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An electrohydraulic valve comprising:
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a valve body with a bore and having an inlet port, an outlet port, and a first workport in communication with the bore; a spool slideably received within the bore of the valve body and at least one passage therein to connect the first workport selectively to the inlet port and to the outlet port in different positions of the spool in the bore; and an actuator having a solenoid coil assembly with a coil aperture therein, an armature slideably received in the coil aperture, and a push member projecting from the armature into engagement with the spool, the actuator further includes a cage and a plurality of rollable elements held in the cage; wherein the cage is a single piece that comprises a first ring and a second ring spaced apart with a plurality of walls extending there between and forming a plurality of slots between adjacent walls, the walls are resilient to enable the rollable elements to be forced there between and into the plurality of slots during assembly of the actuator and thereafter the plurality of rollable elements being captured in the cage. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification