VALVE AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING PRESSURES OF A FLOW MEDIUM

Abstract

A valve having at least one valve housing and at least one piston. The valve housing (7) has a hollow-cylindrical first portion (11) with a first diameter (D1) and a second portion (12), connected to the first portion (11), with a second diameter (D2); a first opening (15) is formed on the end face of the valve housing (7) and at least a second opening (16) is formed in the second portion (12); and the first diameter (D1) of the first portion (11) is greater than the second diameter (D2) of the second portion.

Claims

1. A valve comprising: a valve housing; the valve housing has a hollow-cylindrical first portion with a first diameter and a second portion, connected to the first portion, with a second diameter; a first opening formed on an end face of the valve housing and at least one second opening formed in the second portion; the first diameter of the first portion is greater than the second diameter of the second portion; and a piston located in the valve housing.

2. The valve according to claim 1, further comprising multiple of the second openings distributed on a circumference of the second portion.

3. The valve according to claim 2, wherein at least some of the second openings are distributed adjacent to one another with uniform separation on the circumference of the second portion.

4. The valve according to claim 2, wherein some of the second openings are axially offset from one another.

5. The valve according to claim 1, wherein at least two steps are formed on the valve housing, at which in each case two of the hollow-cylindrical portions of the valve housing merge radially into one another.

6. The valve according to claim 1, further comprising a hollow-cylindrical third portion surrounding the first opening, and the hollow-cylindrical third portion merges with the hollow-cylindrical second portion.

7. The valve according to claim 6, further comprising a seal guided on the third portion.

8. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the piston is axially movably guided in the second portion.

9. A device for controlling pressures of a flow medium in a component, the device comprising: the component; and the valve according to claim 1, wherein the valve has an axially aligned valve axis and is at least partially seated in the component and the at least one second opening opens into an annular gap at least partially surrounding the valve, the annular gap being formed between the valve and the component.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the annular gap is sealed with at least one seal.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein a first channel and the first opening are fluidically connected to one another and a second channel opens into the annular gap.

12. A valve comprising: a valve housing having a hollow-cylindrical first portion with a first diameter and a hollow-cylindrical second portion, connected to the first portion, with a second diameter; a first opening formed on an end face of the valve housing and at least one second opening formed in the hollow-cylindrical second portion; the first diameter of the hollow-cylindrical first portion is greater than the second diameter of the hollow-cylindrical second portion; and a piston located in the valve housing that is axially movable to open and close the at least one second opening.

13. The valve according to claim 12, further comprising multiple of the second openings distributed on a circumference of the second portion.

14. The valve according to claim 13, wherein at least some of the second openings are distributed adjacent to one another with uniform separation on the circumference of the second portion.

15. The valve according to claim 13, wherein some of the second openings are axially offset from one another.

16. The valve according to claim 12, further comprising a hollow-cylindrical third portion surrounding the first opening, and the hollow-cylindrical third portion merges with the hollow-cylindrical second portion.

17. The valve according to claim 16, wherein at least two steps are formed on the valve housing, at which in each case two of the hollow-cylindrical portions of the valve housing merge radially into one another.

18. The valve according to claim 16, further comprising a seal guided on the third portion.

19. The valve according to claim 12, the piston is axially movably guided in the second portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The disclosure is explained in more detail below by means of exemplary embodiments. In the figures:

[0020] FIG. 1—shows a device 1 for controlling pressures of a flow medium in a longitudinal section along a valve axis 2 of a valve 3;

[0021] FIG. 2—shows a sectional three-dimensional view of the device according to FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3—shows an overall view of a valve housing 7, e.g., that of valve 3;

[0023] FIG. 4—shows a schematic representation of the valve housing 7 according to FIG. 3, showing the hole pattern and the distribution of the openings 15 and 16 on the valve housing 7, and

[0024] FIG. 5—shows a further exemplary embodiment of a valve housing 37, which can be installed in a valve 3 or in a device 1 as an alternative to the valve housing 7 and which has a modified hole pattern compared to the valve housing 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, the device 1 is formed by an only partially shown component 4, the valve 3 and by a seal 5. The valve 3 is seated in a through-hole 6 of the component 4. The component 4 is, for example, a gearbox housing or a rotating component of a gearbox and consists, for example, of an aluminum alloy or alternatively of steel.

[0026] The valve 3 consists of a valve housing 7, a piston 8, a compression spring 9 and a support element 10. The valve axis 2 is axially oriented. Radial means transverse to the valve axis 2. The valve housing 7 has a first portion 11 configured as a seating portion, using which the valve 3 is centered in the through-hole 6 of the component 4. The piston 8 is axially guided in a second portion 12 of the valve housing 7, which is designed as a guide portion for the piston 8. The support element 10 is firmly seated in the valve housing 7 at the end of the valve housing 7. The compression spring 9 is axially supported on a piston base 13 of the piston 8 and axially clamped between the piston base 13 and the support element 10 in a resilient manner. In a closed position shown in FIG. 1, the piston 8 is biased against a valve seat 14 by the action of the compression spring 9. In this closed position, a frontal first opening 15 of the valve housing 7 is closed by means of the piston 8. The first opening 15 is axially equally aligned with the valve axis 2.

[0027] Second openings 16 are formed in the valve housing 7, which are radially opposite a piston casing 17 of the piston 8. The second openings 16 are directed radially towards the valve axis 2 transversely to the axial direction. A first channel 18 and the first opening 15 for flow media are aligned in a permeable manner with respect to one another. A third hollow-cylindrical portion 19 formed on the valve housing 7 surrounds the first opening 15. The second portion 12 of the valve housing 7 extends axially from the first portion 11 to the third portion 19. A third channel 35 optionally connects to the valve 3 at the end 36, depending on the design of the valve 3.

[0028] Radially between the second portion 12 and an inner lateral surface 20 of the through-hole 6, a annular gap 21 is formed around the valve housing 7 and thus around the valve axis 2. The thickness G of the annular gap 21 results from the difference of the diameters D1 and D2, wherein D1 is the diameter of the through-hole 6 at the seat of the first portion 11 in the through-hole 6. At other locations, the through-hole 6 can have other diameters. D2 is the outer diameter of the second portion 12. The second openings 16 open into the annular gap 21. A second channel 22 leads into the annular gap 21. The outer diameter of the first portion 11 and the inner diameter D1 of the through-hole 6 are at least partially equal in the nominal dimension in the area of the first portion 11, wherein a difference in diameter results, where applicable, from a clearance or transition fit or from an interference fit between the first portion 11 and the through-hole 6.

[0029] The piston 8 is a hollow-cylindrical component, which is designed to be stepped in diameter. The first step 23 of the piston 8 is formed between the piston casing 17 and the piston base 13. The piston base 13 has a smaller diameter than the piston casing 17, resulting in an annular channel 24 at the step 23 inside the valve 3. The annular channel 24 is formed between the first opening 15 and the second openings 16.

[0030] The outer diameter D3 of the hollow-cylindrical third portion 19 is smaller than the outer diameter D2 of the second portion 12, resulting in a step 25 on the valve housing 7. The seal 5 is guided radially on the hollow-cylindrical third portion 19 via a reinforcement 27 of the seal 5 and is axially supported on an annular surface 26 of the step 25. The seal 5 further comprises at least one sealing ring 28. The reinforcement 27 and the sealing ring 28 are either firmly connected to one another, for example by vulcanization, or the sealing ring 28 rests axially on the radially aligned leg 29 of the reinforcement 27. The outer diameter D4 of the reinforcement 27, determined by the outer edge of the disc-shaped leg 29, is smaller than or equal to the inner diameter D2 of the through-hole 6, formed as a through-bore, at the point where the valve 2 is seated with the first portion 11 in the through-hole 6. In addition, the outer diameter D4 of the reinforcement 27 is larger than the outer diameter D2 of the second portion 12. This results in the following relation: D2<D4≤D1. The reinforcement 27 is rigidly guided radially via a collar 33 on the third portion 19 and at the same time is rigidly supported with the leg 29 on the annular gap 26 and thereby projects radially with the leg 29 beyond the outer lateral surface 30 of the valve housing 7 and at the same time at least partially bridges the annular gap 21 radially. The collar 33 is hollow-cylindrical and integrally connected with the leg 29 to the reinforcement 27. The sealing ring 28 is radially squeezed between the collar 33 and an inner lateral surface 31 in the through-hole 6 and is clamped in axial directions between a cover 32 and the leg 29.

[0031] The sealing ring 28 can, where applicable, also bridge a gap 34 formed between the leg 29 and the inner lateral surface 31. The sealing ring 28 is supported axially in the direction of the annular gap 21 by the leg 29 in such a manner that it comes to rest securely against the inner lateral surface 31 and is not drawn into or slips into the annular gap 21 and loses its sealing effect.

[0032] In FIG. 2, the piston 8 is in an open position. The flow medium symbolized by the arrows is initially in contact with the piston 8 in the first channel 18 under pressure in the closed position shown in FIG. 1. When the pressure exceeds a certain limit, the piston 8 lifts off the valve seat 14 and is displaced axially in the direction of the support element 10 against the action of the compression spring 9. The first opening 15 is released. The flow medium passes through the interior of the valve 3 and leaves it via the second openings 16, flows into the annular gap 21 formed between the inner lateral surface 20 and the valve 3, and from there into the second channel 22. The annular gap 21 is axially sealed (closed) in one direction on the end face of the valve 3 by means of the seal, so that no flow medium can escape between the cover 32 and the housing of the component 4, and is closed in the other direction by the seat of the first portion 11 of the valve housing 7 in the component 4.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 3, the valve housing 7 is double stepped and has a hollow-cylindrical first portion 11, a hollow-cylindrical second portion 12, and a hollow-cylindrical third portion 19. The second portion 12 of the valve housing 7 extends axially from the first portion 11 to the third portion 19. The three portions 11, 12 and 19 have diameters D1, D2 and D3 that differ from one another.

[0034] D1 is the outer diameter of the first portion 11. D2 is the outer diameter of the second portion 12 and D3 is the outer diameter of the third portion 19. The first step 38 is formed between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 because the diameter D1 of the first portion 11 is larger than the diameter D2 of the second portion 12. This results in the radial first step 38 between the first portion 11 and the second portion 12 via an end face annular portion 39. The annular portion 39 is designed to be dome-shaped.

[0035] The outer diameter D3 of the third portion 19 is smaller than the outer diameter D2 of the second portion 12, resulting in a second step 25 on the valve housing 7. The result is the radial second step 25 via the annular portion 26.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 4, the first opening 15 is surrounded by the third portion 19 formed on the valve housing 7. Three second openings 16 are formed in the second portion 12 of the valve housing 7, which are formed with uniform separation, i.e., each offset from the other by an angle of 120°, distributed around the circumference.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 5, four second openings 16 are formed in the second portion 12 of the valve housing 37, which are formed with uniform separation, i.e., each offset from the other by an angle of 90°, distributed around the circumference.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0038] 1 Device [0039] 2 Valve axis [0040] 3 Valve [0041] 4 Component [0042] 5 Seal [0043] 6 Through-hole in the component [0044] 7 Valve housing [0045] 8 Piston [0046] 9 Compression spring [0047] 10 Support element [0048] 11 First portion of the valve housing [0049] 12 Second portion of the valve housing [0050] 13 Piston base of the piston [0051] 14 Valve seat [0052] 15 First opening [0053] 16 Second opening [0054] 17 Piston casing of the piston [0055] 18 First channel [0056] 19 Third portion [0057] 20 Inner lateral surface of the through-hole [0058] 21 Annular gap [0059] 22 Second channel [0060] 23 Step of the piston [0061] 24 Annular channel [0062] 25 Second step of the valve housing [0063] 26 Annular surface [0064] 27 Reinforcement of the seal [0065] 28 Sealing ring of the seal [0066] 29 Leg of the reinforcement [0067] 30 Outer lateral surface of the valve [0068] 31 Inner lateral surface of the through-hole [0069] 32 Cover [0070] 33 Collar of the reinforcement [0071] 34 Gap [0072] 35 Third channel [0073] 36 End of the valve [0074] 37 Valve housing [0075] 38 First step of the valve housing [0076] 39 Annular portion