A hydraulic drive system includes control valve and operating devices, a variable displacement pump, and a flow regulator. When an operating lever inclination angle becomes a value, a control valve opening area becomes a reference. When the operating lever inclination angle maximizes, the opening area maximizes. The flow regulator: until the operating lever inclination angle becomes the value, increases the pump discharge flow rate with the inclination angle, so a differential pressure between pump discharge and actuator load pressures is constant; when the operating lever inclination angle becomes the value, controls the pump discharge flow rate, so a control valve passing flow rate is an actuator maximum flow rate when the differential pressure is constant; and when the operating lever inclination angle is between the value and the maximum, defines a maximum pump discharge flow rate, so the pump discharge flow rate is kept to the actuator maximum flow rate.

A hydraulic machine includes an actuator, a tank, a directional control valve disposed between the actuator and the tank, and an adjustable return check valve disposed between the directional control valve and the tank. The directional control valve includes an attachment actuator directional control valve disposed between an attachment actuator of the actuator and the tank and a swing actuator directional control valve disposed between a swing actuator of the actuator and the tank. The adjustable return check valve allows fluid to flow from the attachment actuator directional control valve toward the tank while applying the low back pressure but blocks a flow, and allows fluid to flow from the swing actuator directional control valve toward the tank while applying the high back pressure but blocks a reverse flow.

A pump that supplies hydraulic oil to a boom cylinder and a turning hydraulic motor; a regenerative hydraulic motor is coupled to the pump and to which the hydraulic oil discharged from the boom cylinder at a time of boom lowering and/or the hydraulic oil discharged from the turning hydraulic motor at a time of turning deceleration is/are led; an engine drives the pump; an alternator mounted to the engine and operable to rotate an output shaft of the engine when electric power is supplied to the alternator; an electrical storage device connected to the alternator; a power converter interposed between the alternator and the electrical storage device; and a controller that switches the power converter to either a servo-on state or a servo-off state and that controls the power converter either in a charging mode or in a discharging mode when switching the power converter to the servo-on state.

A control valve is provided for construction equipment having a holding valve which prevents the natural lowering of an operation apparatus due to the dead weight of the operation apparatus when an actuator is in a neutral position. A control valve for construction equipment according to the present invention includes: a valve body in which a supply path in communication with a pump path, through which a hydraulic fluid is supplied from a hydraulic pump, and actuator ports connected to an actuator are formed; a spool which is embedded in the valve body so as to be switchable; a holding valve having a holding poppet which is formed at the actuator port of any one of the actuator ports, and an auxiliary spool which is connected to a back pressure chamber of the holding poppet and releases the held load of the actuator at the time of switching; a control valve provided in the valve body; a pilot pressure control valve, embedded in the holding valve so as to be switchable, which applies or blocks a pilot pressure applied to switch the auxiliary spool on or off through a path when the pilot pressure control valve is switched on or off by means of the pressure of the hydraulic fluid which is drained from the back pressure chamber of the holding poppet at the time of switching the auxiliary spool on or off.

An example valve section includes: a valve body configured to be fluidly coupled to the source and the actuator; a spool movable in the valve body intermediate the source and the actuator; a pressure compensator valve disposed upstream from the spool and configured to regulate flow received from the source, where the valve body defines (i) a first passage disposed upstream from the spool and configured to fluidly couple the pressure compensator valve to the spool, and (ii) a second passage disposed downstream from the spool and configured to fluidly couple the spool to the actuator; and a counterbalance valve disposed in the second passage downstream from the spool, where the counterbalance valve is opened to permit flow therethrough from the actuator to the spool in response to a pilot pressure derived from the first passage when the spool is shifted from a neutral position.

The present invention provides a work machine including a steering device that is very responsive to switching operations. The work machine includes: a proportional solenoid valve for outputting a first pilot pressure oil with a pressure responding to a steering signal; a solenoid valve for outputting a second pilot pressure oil with a predetermined pressure while the steering signal is outputted from the steering device; a switching valve capable of switching to a first state of outputting the first pilot pressure oil to a directional control valve and a second state of outputting the second pilot pressure oil to the directional control valve, while the first pilot pressure oil is outputted from the proportional solenoid valve and the second pilot pressure oil is outputted from the solenoid valve in parallel; and a controller to switch the switching valve from the first state to the second state in a case where a malfunction is detected in a main circuit ranging from the steering device to the directional control valve via the proportional solenoid valve and the switching valve of the first state.

A flow controller that changes the flow rate of air exhausted from an air cylinder in mid-stroke includes a first switching valve displaced from a first position to a second position under the effect of pilot air, and causing one port of the air cylinder to communicate with a first channel at the first position, exhausting air exhausted from the one port of the air cylinder while reducing the flow rate of the air using a first regulating valve at the second position. Since the pilot air is taken into the first switching valve from a second channel in a system different from the system of the first channel, a second regulating valve can be adjusted without being affected by the degree of opening of the first regulating valve.

A flow control manifold apparatus includes a housing defining a first flow path from a flow input port to flow output port and a second flow path from a return inlet port to a return outlet port. A first flow regulating valve is placed inline the first flow path and an excess flow path fluidly couples the first flow path to the second flow path. An excess pressure valve is placed inline the excess flow path and is in a closed orientation when the first flow regulating valve is open so that all of the fluid exits through the flow output port. The excess pressure valve is then in a partially open orientation when the first flow regulating valve is partially closed so that a first portion of the fluid exits through the flow output port and a second portion of the fluid exits through the return outlet port.

A travel control device is provided with hydraulic pumps of a variable capacity type that are driven by an engine; hydraulic motors that are driven by discharged oil from the hydraulic pumps; traveling devices that are rotation-driven by the hydraulic motors; a travel operation lever that is operated so as to instruct a traveling operation; a first control valve for generating a charged hydraulic pressure by adjusting the discharged oil from a charge pump and a second control valve for generating a capacity control hydraulic pressure in accordance with the operation of the travel operation lever. The first control valve is designed to pressure-adjust and generate a charged hydraulic pressure in accordance with the rotation speed of the engine, and the hydraulic pump is subjected to a variable capacity control process by a capacity control hydraulic pressure that is pressure-adjusted and generated by the second control valve.

A load sensing valve maintains a differential pressure at a set pressure by controlling a regulator in accordance with a differential pressure between a discharge pressure of a hydraulic pump and a load pressure of hydraulic actuators. A set pressure control device controls the set pressure. A controller controls the set pressure control device to reduce the set pressure more than when the work implement is being operated, when a predetermined determination condition that includes the work implement not being operated is satisfied.