SOLENOID VALVE ASSEMBLY

Technical Field

This invention relates generally to solenoid valves. In one of its aspects it relates to the assembly of solenoid valves. In another of its aspects it relates to improving the resistance to failure of solenoid valve assemblies which encounter mechanical stress. Background Art

Solenoid valves have become a mainstay in the everyday operation of machinery. They find use in items ranging from household heating and cooling systems to automobile engines to control systems for the largest of modern construction equipment. They are particularly important in uses requiring instant response.

Solenoid valves provided with replaceable solenoid assemblies have in recent years been designed utilizing computers to optimize the size, weight, material of construction and all other aspects that contribute to their improved usefulness in specialized applications. As the environments for these specialized applications have become increasingly hostile in recent years, valves designed for specific purposes can meet conditions in operation that involve stresses that approach the stress limitations of their design. For example, in heavy machinery applications of recent design, the valves can be subjected to high vibrational frequencies _greatly exceeding those

encountered in previous applications, with the result that even small design gaps resulting from machine tolerances can result in large stresses threatening the mechanical integrity of the components.

It is essential that such solenoid valves maintain their structural integrity for long periods of time, because premature failure of a solenoid valve under operating conditions has potentially serious results. Moreover, repair of a prematurely failed solenoid valve results in unanticipated maintenance and higher costs to the operator. Furthermore, loss of use of some large moving and construction equipment for even a short time can be costly.

It has been found that solenoid valves used in such equipment, installed in a standard configuration with the solenoid housing shell extending from the mounting and assembled with industry standard internal tolerances, can be subjected to conditions that cause excessive vibration, acting much like a bell vibrating on a fixed clapper, that builds up cantilever-type stress forces that result in mechanical failure of the coil and valve assembly.

In the solenoid valve assemblies that suffer the vibrational problems that inspired the present invention, a mounting adapter attached to a solenoid valve train is juxtaposed at an external surface with an internal surface of a flux ring. The fit is within specified tolerances to leave a minimum air gap between the mounting adapter and the bobbin, but the axial pressure applied by tightening a nut at the top of the valve train is not sufficient in combination with the tolerance

allowed between the mounting adapter and the flux ring at the open end of the housing shell to provide alignment and stability to prevent bell¬ like vibration of the housing shell against the valve train acting as a fixed clapper thereby producing cantilever stress which can be sufficient to cause failure of the valve train, for example, at the joint of the mounting adapter and the tube. Correcting this problem involves not only securing the valve train assembly to the solenoid assembly to eliminate harmful vibrations, but also accomplishing this without creating other stresses in the valve assembly. Since the process of securing the valve train assembly to the solenoid assembly entails applying pressure that compresses the solenoid assembly along its longitudinal axis, special care must be taken that the solenoid itself is not mechanically compressed and still has room within the components confining it to allow for thermal expansion without being subjected to forces that can cause windings to become broken or loosened. Moreover, the process of securing its valve train assembly to the solenoid assembly must be accomplished without requiring excessively tight machining tolerances that would greatly increase the cost of fabricating the solenoid valve. The present invention addresses these problems.

This invention provides means by which the mechanical integrity of a solenoid valve assembly can be better secured in an economical manner.

This invention provides means for reducing the possibility of vibrational stresses in a solenoid valve assembly.

This invention provides means by which compression can be applied to a solenoid valve assembly along its longitudinal axis without damage to the solenoid. This invention also provides changes to solenoid valve assemblies that can be made to existing assemblies, in the field, without replacement of the entire assembly.

These and other aspects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading this specification and studying the drawings and appended claims.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the present invention there is provided improvement to the mechanical integrity of solenoid valve assemblies without subjecting the valve assemblies to undesirable, additional stresses.

The invention provides a solenoid valve assembly that has among its components: (A) a solenoid assembly which has as components (1) a central, open, cylindrical shaft adapted to accommodate a solenoid valve train, (2) a hollow, cylindrical solenoid coil surrounding and co-axial with the shaft and (3) a hollow, cylindrical housing shell surrounding and co-axial with the solenoid coil with the housing shell open at one end and closed at the other except for the central shaft that passes therethrough; (B) a solenoid valve train; (C) a first means for releasably attaching the solenoid assembly to the solenoid valve train at the closed end of the housing shell; and (D) a second means for attaching the solenoid

assembly to the solenoid valve train at the open end of the housing shell.

The second means for attaching the solenoid assembly to the valve train at the open end of the housing shell comprises:

(1) a mounting adapter attached to the solenoid valve train with the mounting adapter having an external surface mateably interactable with a flux ring at the open end of the housing shell, and (2) a flux ring mateably interactable on a first surface with the external surface of the mounting adapter, and juxtaposable on a second surface with the internal surface of the housing shell.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic section of a solenoid valve assembly of this invention showing frustroconically mateable surfaces and shouldered flux ring. FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic section of a split flux ring.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section of a portion of a solenoid valve assembly of this invention showing a grooved, shouldered flux ring. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic section of a bellville washer.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic section of a portion of a solenoid valve assembly of this invention showing frustoconically mateable surfaces.

In all figures the same numbers are used to identify the same items.

Modes for Carrying Out the Inventions

Referring now to FIG. 1, for the purposes of this invention the solenoid valve assembly 1 will be described as having two major parts: (A) the solenoid assembly 3 which includes the housing shell 5 and the solenoid coil 9 which is made up of a polymeric bobbin 11 on which the conductive metal windings 13 are wound and which has a central, open, cylindrical bore 15, with the remainder of the interior of the housing being filled with a light weight, non-conductive, resin material 17, and (B) the solenoid valve train 19 which includes the cage 21 which forms the body of the train, the spool 23 which slides within the cage providing the opening or closing of the ports 25 and drain 26, the tube 29 which defines the body of the train that is within the solenoid assembly 3 and contains the armature 31 which is acted upon by causing the flow of current through the solenoid coil 9 to produce a magnetic field within the bore 15 to move against the spring 33, pole piece 35, and metal washer 37.

As can be seen in the drawings, when the solenoid is activated and the spool 23 is pulled forward the inlet ports 25a are uncovered and the drain 26 is closed so that fluid can enter one set of ports 25a and be directed out of the ports 25b that are always open to pressurize the system. When the solenoid deactivates, the inlet ports 25a are closed and the drain 26 opens allowing the fluid to escape through the drain which depressurizes the system. In some systems the ports are equipped with screens to prevent dirt from entering the system.

The flux ring 7 and the mounting adapter 27 which operate to provide a stationary fit between the solenoid assembly 3 and the solenoid valve train 19 have, for the purposes of this invention, been characterized separately from the solenoid assembly and the solenoid valve train. In actual practice the mounting adapter can be a separate item that is an integral part of the machinery to which the valve assembly is to be attached, in which instance the mounting adapter can be equipped with threaded means for the valve train to be attached thereto. The mounting adapter can also, as shown here, be made a part of the valve train by being threadedly attached thereto or permanently attached, as by brazing. Similarly, the flux ring can be fabricated as part of the solenoid assembly.

Also for the purposes of this invention, the first means for releasably fixedly attaching the solenoid assembly to the solenoid valve train at the closed end of the housing shell has been illustrated as a threaded end piece 39 that extends externally of the solenoid assembly to accommodate a locking means 41 which usually has a lock nut 43 and washer 45 combination; however, the first means can be any system such as a hole and cotter pin, C-ring etc. which fixedly attaches the solenoid assembly to the solenoid valve train at the closed end of the housing shell while selectively permitting the solenoid assembly to be replaced without disturbing the solenoid valve train.

Since the operation of the solenoid is based on the creation of a magnetic field, all of the parts of the solenoid valve assembly are metal; and most are steel. The washer 37 is brass, which,

together with the tube 29 and the spring 33, are non-magnetic. The bobbin 11 and the filler for the housing have been noted previously as being made of non-magnetic resin. The function of the second means for attaching the solenoid assembly to the solenoid valve train, as set out herein, can be explained with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, such a means useful at the open end of the housing shell employs the combination of a mounting adapter 27 attached to the solenoid valve train 19 and a flux ring 7 which has a shoulder 47 on its surface that is adjacent to the inside of the housing shell 5. This shoulder 47 acts as a base for the open end of the housing shell 5 so that when axial compression is applied from the closed end of the housing shell 5 by torquing down the nut 43 or other device on top of the housing shell the housing shell cannot slide past this shoulder and permit damage to the solenoid coil 9 (unless excessive compression is applied so as to buckle the housing shell) while sufficient axial pressure can be applied to the valve train to provide stability. Referring to FIG. 1, both the mounting adapter and the flux ring have been shaped to provide mateably interacting frustoconical abutting surfaces 49. This allows the valve train 19 to which the mounting adapter 27 is attached and the solenoid assembly 3 with which the flux ring 7 is associated to be better and more securely aligned with one another providing sufficient radial restraint without requiring large axial compression loads on the solenoid assembly. By providing such mateably interacting surfaces, secure alignment is

achieved without the necessity of fabricating components with excessively tight tolerances at uneconomical manufacturing costs. Moreover the mateable interacting surfaces provides the additional benefit of reducing eddy currents and residual magnetism in the flux ring and solenoid assembly, resulting in faster valve response time. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a split flux ring 51, can be used in conjunction with the mounting adapter 27. The split flux ring 51 acts as a radial clamp to prevent radial vibration while still allowing axial movement when axial pressure is being applied from the closed end of the housing shell 5. FIG. 3 shows a variation with a flux ring

53 with a shoulder 55 on its side adjacent the housing shell 5. The shoulder has a curved groove 57 to provide a surface that guides the open edge 59 of the housing shell 5 to curl inward when enough axial pressure is applied. This allows a maximizing of pressure application at the closed end of the housing shell by supplying a guide as to the amount of pressure that the system will still bear. Turning now to means for attaching the solenoid assembly 3 to the valve train 19 at the closed end of the housing shell 5, FIG. 1, shows the common means of using a lock nut 43 and washer 45 to tighten down on the valve train 19 at the closed end of the housing shell 5. This means can be used with any of the means set out above to provide an improvement over the configurations formerly used for applying axial pressure on the solenoid valve assembly 1. As noted above, other means can also be used to attached the solenoid

assembly 3 to the valve train 19 at the closed end of the housing shell.

Substituting a bellville washer 61 (See FIG.4) for the plain washer 45 as set out above provides means for maintaining axial pressure in the event of plastic deformation of the solenoid coil 9. This adds the versatility of additional margin for error in the process of applying the axial pressure. In the valve assembly shown in FIG. 5, another means is depicted. In this embodiment, both the locking means, here a common lock nut 43 with a modified washer 63, and the housing shell 5 have been shaped to provide frustoconically mateable surfaces 65. This allows the valve train 19, to which the locking means 43,63 is attached, and the solenoid assembly 3, of which the housing shell 5 is a part, to be more accurately and more securely aligned with one another. Moreover, this embodiment is easily used as an adaption to existing solenoid valve assemblies currently in the field to provide at least a portion of the benefits of the present inventions.

In this description, the terminology "frustoconically mateable surfaces" has a meaning whereby either of the interacting surfaces can be the "frustoconical" surface, i.e. the protruding surface or the "frustroconically receptive" surface, i.e. the recessed surface. It can be readily seen that the inventive means for applying axial pressure to a solenoid valve assembly set out above do not have to be limited to use as one from the open end of the housing shell list and one from the closed end list. There can be a great advantage, for example,

in simultaneously using both the frustoconically mateable surfaces and the shoulder on the housing shell side of the flux ring at the open end of the housing shell.

Industrial Applicability

The components of the means for attaching the solenoid assembly to the solenoid valve train act in cooperation to produce an axial compression force on the components of the valve train and solenoid assembly. This force holds the solenoid valve assembly in axial alignment and prevents vibration of the valve train within the solenoid assembly either in an axial or a radial direction. At the same time care is taken to prevent the application of axial pressure on the solenoid assembly in an amount sufficient to cause damage to the solenoid coil. Axial pressure can cause the windings of the solenoid to separate or even break. Separated windings are susceptible to vibrational damage by rubbing against each other causing loss of insulation or breaking with the possible, ultimate short circuiting of the coil.