VALVE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR ANTICIPATING FAILURE IN A SOLENOID VALVE ASSEMBLY IN A MANIFOLD ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A solenoid valve assembly has a valve body in which a spool is slidably mounted and operated by a solenoid having a coil. A manifold member has a plurality of flow paths for supplying and discharging pressurized fluid to and from ports of the solenoid valve assembly. An intermediate block is interposed between the valve body and the manifold member. The intermediate block has a plurality of through holes for connecting ports of the manifold member to ports on the valve body. At least one sensor is housed in the intermediate block for sensing at least one of pressure and flow in at least one of the through holes.

Claims

1. A solenoid valve assembly characterized by: a valve body in which a spool is slidably mounted and operated by a solenoid having a coil that operably causes the spool to move; a manifold member having a plurality of flow paths for supplying and discharging pressurized fluid to and from ports of the solenoid valve assembly; an intermediate block being interposed between the valve body and the manifold member with said intermediate block having a first mounting face on which the valve body is placed and a second mounting face opposite from said first mounting face for placing said intermediate block on said manifold member and having a plurality of through holes for connecting ports at said manifold member to ports on said valve body; and at least one sensor being housed in said intermediate block for sensing pressure in at least one of said through holes. said at least one sensor being in the form of a sensor board mounted in said intermediate block and mounting a plurality of pressure transducers thereon for detecting pressure in a plurality of said through holes.

2. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 1, further characterized by; said at least one sensor includes a current sensor being housed in said intermediate block for sensing current supplied to said coil.

3. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 1 further characterized by: a position sensor positioned inside the intermediate block without intruding into said valve body for sensing the position of a magnet affixed onto said spool.

4. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 1 further characterized by: said at least one sensor being a leakage sensor that detects ultrasound caused by leaks in at least one of said flow paths.

5. A solenoid valve assembly characterized by: a valve body in which a spool is slideably mounted and operated by a solenoid having a coil that operable causes the spool to move; a manifold member having a plurality of flow paths for supplying and discharging pressurized fluid to and from ports of the solenoid valve assembly; at least one sensor for detecting parameters in said ports of which one parameter is pressure and which another parameter is current to said coil for comparing current with pressure during at least one actuation cycle of said solenoid valve assembly to establish a normalized cycle profile; a storage device operably connected to said at least one sensor for receiving storing said normalized cycle profile and storing a predetermined tolerance boundary from said normalized cycle profile; and a comparator operably connected to said storage device and said at least one sensor for comparing parameters from said sensors with said normalized cycle profile and said predetermined tolerance boundary; an alarm connected to said comparator being for actuation if said comparator compares a parameter from said at least one sensor with the normalized profile and said predetermined tolerance boundary and determines said parameter is outside of the predetermined tolerance boundary.

6. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 5 further characterized by: said at least one sensor being housed in an intermediate block disposed between the valve body and the manifold member with said intermediate block forming a first mounting face on which the valve body is placed and a second mounting face opposite from said first mounting face for placing said intermediate block on said manifold member; a plurality of through holes for operably connecting ports at said manifold member to ports on said valve body; and said at least one sensor being housed in said intermediate block for sensing at least one of pressure and flow in at least one of said through holes.

7. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 6 further characterized by; said at least one sensor being in the form of a board and mounting a plurality of pressure transducers thereon for detecting pressure in a plurality of said through holes.

8. A solenoid valve assembly as defined in claim 7 further characterized by: at least one sensor for sensing a position of said spool within said valve body.

9. A detection system for a solenoid valve assembly characterized by; a sensor for detecting current supplied to said coil of said solenoid valve assembly; a second sensor for detecting another parameter in supply and discharge ports of said solenoid valve assembly; a storage device operably connected to said sensors to receive parameter data for comparing current with said another parameter in said ports to establish a normalized cycle profile during at least one cycle of said solenoid valve assembly to establish said normalized cycle profile and storing a predetermined tolerance boundary determined from said normalized cycle profile; a comparator operably connected to the storage device and said sensors for comparing parameters from said sensors to said normalized cycle profile and said predetermined tolerance boundary; and an alarm device operably connected to said comparator being actuated if said comparator compares a parameter from said at least one sensor with the normalized profile and the predetermined tolerance boundary and finds the parameter is outside of said predetermined tolerance boundary.

10. A detection device system as defined in claim 9 further characterized by; said second sensor for detecting another parameter being a pressure sensor.

11. A detection device system as defined in claim 9 further characterized by; said second sensor for detecting another parameter being a leakage sensor.

12. A detection device system as defined in claim 11 further characterized by; said sensor sensing ultrasonic vibrations caused by leakage through said valve.

13. A detection device system as defined in claim 9 further characterized by; a sensor constructed for sensing a position of a spool of said solenoid valve assembly during said at least one cycle and when said comparator compares said normalized cycle profile and said predetermined tolerance boundary.

14. An intermediate block for being interposed between a manifold block and a control valve body housing control valve with a solenoid for actuating said control valve; said intermediate block characterized by: a set of through holes for connecting ports in said manifold block with ports in said control valve body; a conductive circuit line for providing current to and from a power circuit line in said manifold block and to and from a coil of said solenoid of said control valve; and a sensor for sensing current in said conductive circuit line; and a second sensor mounted therein for sensing another parameter in at least one of said through holes.

15. A detection device system as defined in claim 14 further characterized by; said second sensor for detecting another parameter being a pressure sensor.

16. A detection device system as defined in claim 14 further characterized by; said second sensor for detecting another parameter being a leakage sensor.

17. A detection device system as defined in claim 16 further characterized by; said second sensor sensing ultrasonic vibrations caused by leakage through said valve.

18. An intermediate block as defined in claim 9 further characterized by: said sensor constructed for sensing a position of said control valve in said control valve body.

19. An intermediate block as defined in claim 18 further characterized by: a mid-section member having said set of through holes; a pair of end-sections made from non-magnetic material attached to said mid section; and at least one of said end sections having a interior with a position detector mounted under an upper wall of said end section within said interior.

20. A method of determining the operating condition of a solenoid operated fluid valve characterized by: actuating said solenoid operating fluid valve for at least one cycle; measuring at least two parameters after actuating of said solenoid operating fluid valve for said at least one cycle to establish a normalized operating profile of said solenoid operating fluid valve and storing said normalized operating profile in a memory device; establishing a tolerance boundary based on said normalized operating profile and storing said tolerance boundary in said memory device; sensing and measuring said at least two parameters during normal operation of said solenoid operating valve; comparing said measured two parameters with said normalized operating profile and said tolerance boundary in said memory device; and actuating an alarm if said measured parameters are outside of said tolerance boundary.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Reference now is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective and partially schematic overview of one embodiment according to the invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded cross sectional view taken along 2-2 shown in FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a sandwich block shown in FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the sandwich block shown in FIG. 3;

[0019] FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view of the sandwich block illustrating the position of the pressure board and current board installed therein;

[0020] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an established profile showing current draw to a pressure buildup for an actuation cycle of the control valve and a then established tolerance boundary of current and pressure build up during a cycle;

[0021] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a sandwich block according to the invention.

[0022] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the sandwich block shown in FIG. 7.

[0023] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the electric circuit for producing a position indication signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a fluid control system 10 is modular in nature and has a plurality of valve manifold blocks 12 interconnected together. The particular number of blocks 12 is dependent on the application and the capacity of a circuit board 60 installed in each manifold block 12. Each manifold block 12 may have two valve stations 14 for mounting two control valves 18. Each control valve 18 may have an outer body 19. A pair of control valve bodies 19 may be mounted directly on the upper surface 13 of the manifold block 12. While a manifold block 12 is illustrated with two valve stations, it is foreseen that a manifold block with a single valve section can also be used.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, each manifold block 12 has fluid supply and fluid exhaust passages 20, 22, and 24 that extend laterally through the block to be in communication with an adjacent block 12. Each manifold block also has discharge passages 21 and 23 that extend to an outer wall 29 for connecting to a pneumatically operated device (not shown). Each manifold block also has a transverse pilot pressure passage 25. Each passage 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 connects to a respective port 40, 42, 44, 46, 48 and 49 at the upper surface 13 of the manifold block.

[0026] An intermediate block 26 often referred to as a sandwich block is interposed between at least one control valve body 19 and one manifold block 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate block 26 has a plurality of through holes 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 39 that connect the supply, discharge pilot and exhaust ports 40, 42, 44, 46, 48 and 49 of the manifold block to the supply, discharge pilot and exhaust ports 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 59 of the control valve 18.

[0027] The circuit board 60 supplies electric power to the solenoid valve coil 64 of the control valve for actuating the solenoid valve and moving its spool 66. In a well known fashion, the spool may be biased to one direction by a spring 68 and is movable in the opposite direction by application of fluid pressure to the opposite end of the spool. Although the embodiment shown is a single solenoid valve assembly, it will be understood that commercially available dual solenoid valve assemblies may also be used.

[0028] The circuit board 60 besides having electrical power traces may also have a single communication line for serial connection to each control valve 18. Such a single line is described in more detail in U.S. Ser. No. 14/765,019 filed on Jul. 31, 2015 and is incorporated herein by reference. The power traces and single communication line is generally attached to pin connector 74.

[0029] Besides the through holes 30-39, the intermediate block also has power line 70 passing through for connecting connector pin 74 on circuit board 60 to the pin connector 76 in the valve body such that the solenoid coil 64 is powered by power line 70. Appropriate pin connectors 75 and 77 are at the top and bottom faces of the intermediate block 26 for operable connection to the respective pin connectors 74 and 76 to provide continuity of power line 70 from pin connector 74 to pin connector 76.

[0030] A communication line 72 also extends from circuit board 60 and up through intermediate block 26 connected to a current sensor board 78 and a pressure sensor board 80 mounted in the intermediate block. The communication line can be incorporated in pin connectors 74 and 75. The current sensor board is also connected to the current power line 70. The pressure sensor board 78 has three pressure transducers 82, 84, 86 connected to discharge through holes and supply through holes 32, 34 and 36 for sensing pressure therein.

[0031] An optional position sensor magnet 88 may be connected to the spool and sensed by a position sensor 90 for example a Hall effect sensor also mounted on current sensor board 78.

[0032] The parameter data such as pressure, flow, electrical current, and response time is sent via the communication line 72 to a local or remote microcontroller such as one installed in communication module 92 which houses memory storage 98 and a comparator 99.

[0033] Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, a second embodiment of a sandwich or intermediate block 126 is shown. It generally has two end caps 127 and 129 and a mid section 131. End cap 127 has a pin connector 133 extending out an end 135 for providing power for one or two Hall effect sensors and for a signal communication pin. Each end cap 127 and 129 is made from a non magnetic material such as plastic or aluminum and houses Hall effect sensor 190 and optional second Hall effect sensor 191 in proximity to upper walls 141 and 143. Second Hall sensor 191 is in electrical communication via a cable strap 145 that extends through mid section 131.

[0034] The mid section has the through holes 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 139 and similarly houses the other sensors as described for the first embodiment such as the pressure or flow, or additional sensors for sensing other parameters for example vibration or leakage sensors.

[0035] A schematic example of a normalized cycle is shown in FIG. 6. The normalized cycle for current being turned on and off is shown by dotted and dash curve 94 for a cycle time T.sub.o. The pressure is measured in the discharge line for a given pressure in the supply lines. The measured pressure values are shown as a solid curve 96 which can be stored in memory storage 98. A tolerance band or limit can then be established as shown by broken curve 97 in memory storage 98 bases on certain degradation from line 96 for which the valve is not moving quickly enough and the buildup of pressure lags. A comparator 99 can compare a measured parameter to the normalized profile and the respective tolerance band limit for a particular time Ti. Once the degradation goes below i.e outside the tolerance limit, an alarm may be sent by the communication module 92 to the operator, for example via a light indicator 100 in the communication module 92 or to a light indicator 100 in the communication module 92 in a corresponding I/O unit 102 corresponding to the particular control valve indicating which control valve is below the preset tolerance limit. Other parameters may be substituted such as spool motion or flow rate in place of or in addition to pressure and time. The choice of parameters may be selected depending on the specific application of the control valve.

[0036] The electronic schematic of the Hall effect sensor is disclosed in FIG. 9. The power connector has a ground volt pin 151, power voltage pin connector 153, and output signal connector 155. The Hall effect sensor 190 receives voltage from pin 103. Voltage also goes through resister R3 to transistor 157. When the Hall effect sensor 190 senses a sufficient magnetic field strength from the magnet 88 on spool, it actuates to pass voltage to line 159 through resistor R2 which turns on transistor 157 and allows voltage out through line 155 to indicate the position of the spool.

[0037] At the time when a control valve shows some degradation before a complete failure, indication of this degradation can be in the form of an alarm or visual notification which allows the control valve to be repaired or replaced at the next down time or scheduled maintenance before complete failure occurs which can then avoid unscheduled and unnecessary line stoppage.

[0038] By having the pressure sensors, current sensors, and other parameter sensors being installed in the intermediate block, one can retrofit a standard existing control valve 18 with the intermediate block 26 interposed between the manifold block 12 and the control valve body with no further modification to the control valve body 19 or manifold block 12. One or a plurality of intermediate blocks 26 may be added later as an accessory to the valve manifold 10 at any or all of the control valve stations.

[0039] It is also foreseen that the information may be transmitted to the controller by wireless technology.

[0040] Other variations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.