Hydraulic Control Block and Hydraulic Axle Therewith

Abstract

A hydraulic control block for controlling a supply of pressurizing medium to an electrohydraulic or servo hydraulic axle includes a plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces configured to fluidically connect at least one of a source of pressurizing medium and a pressurizing medium sink of the axle to any hydraulic cylinder selected from a group of hydraulic cylinders of different structural forms, wherein the internally situated hydraulic interfaces are configured to selectively supply pressurizing medium to the selected hydraulic cylinder. The control block further includes an insert part configured as a function of the structural form of the selected hydraulic cylinder such that each of the plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces is one of tapped and blocked for the purpose of the fluidic connection.

Claims

1. A hydraulic control block for controlling a supply of pressurizing medium to an electrohydraulic or servo hydraulic axle, comprising: a plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces configured to fluidically connect at least one of a source of pressurizing medium and a pressurizing medium sink of the axle to at least one piston surface of any hydraulic cylinder selected from a group of hydraulic cylinders of different structural forms, wherein the internally situated hydraulic interfaces are configured to selectively supply pressurizing medium to the selected hydraulic cylinder; and an insert part configured as a function of the structural form of the selected hydraulic cylinder such that each of the plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces is one of tapped and blocked for the purpose of the fluidic connection.

2. The control block as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of: the insert part is an adapter configured to removably connect to the hydraulic cylinder; and the insert part forms a structural unit with at least a section of the selected hydraulic cylinder.

3. The control block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structural form of the selected hydraulic cylinder is determined at least by one or more of a number of piston surfaces of the at least one piston surface, a piston surface ratio, and a diameter of a cylinder tube of the selected hydraulic cylinder.

4. The control block as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: at least one externally situated hydraulic interface via which the at least one of the piston surfaces is fluidically connected to the at least one of the source of pressurizing medium and the pressurizing medium sink of the axle.

5. The control block as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: one of a bore and through bore into which the insert part is inserted.

6. The control block as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one of the bore and through bore is introduced into a side face of the control block; and has a radially widened circumferential recess into which a radial collar of the insert part is inserted and supported thereon.

7. The control block as claimed in claim 5, wherein: the one of the bore and through bore is the through bore; and the through bore is one of symmetrical with respect to a direction of the bore, and has at least a symmetrical basic shape.

8. The control block as claimed in claim 5, wherein the internally situated hydraulic interfaces have axially spaced apart openings into the one of the bore and the through bore.

9. The control block as claimed in claim 8, wherein the openings extend over at least a part of the inner circumference of the one of the bore and the through bore as grooves.

10. The control block as claimed in claim 5, wherein: the plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces includes a first internally situated hydraulic interface with a first opening into the one of the bore and the through bore; and the plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces includes a second internally situated hydraulic interface with two second openings into the one of the bore and the through bore.

11. The control block as claimed in claim 10, wherein the two second openings are arranged in a direction of the bore which is symmetrical with respect to that of the first opening.

12. The control block as claimed in claim 8, wherein respective tapping points assigned to the respective axially spaced apart openings have respective transverse or radial bores in the insert part which are at least partially covered by the respective axially spaced apart openings.

13. The control block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insert part is formed by an adapter socket with a through recess which is configured to be traversed by a piston rod of the selected hydraulic cylinder.

14. The control block as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one of a guide and a bearing point on which a piston rod of the selected hydraulic cylinder is guided or bears is formed by one of an inner lateral surface and sections of an inner lateral surface of the through recess of the adapter socket.

15. The control block as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one sealing element is provided on at least one of an inner lateral surface and sections of an inner lateral surface of the through recess of the adapter socket.

16. The control block as claimed in claim 14, wherein one of the at least one piston surfaces is configured to be sealed with respect to another of the at least one piston surfaces via the at least one sealing element and the piston rod.

17. The control block as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first and second internally situated hydraulic interfaces are tapped.

18. The control block as claimed in claim 14, wherein one of the at least one piston surfaces is configured to be sealable with respect to the atmosphere via the at least one sealing element and the piston rod.

19. The control block as claimed in claim 10, wherein one of the first and second internally situated hydraulic interfaces are tapped and the other is blocked.

20-31. (canceled)

32. A hydraulic axle having a hydraulic control block which is configured as claimed in claim 1, and having a hydraulic cylinder, wherein at least one of at least one piston surfaces is configured to be fluidically connected to one of the plurality of internally situated hydraulic interfaces via a tapping point of the insert part.

Description

[0060] Multiple exemplary embodiments of a hydraulic control block according to the invention and a hydraulic axle according to the invention are illustrated in the drawings. The invention will now be explained in detail with the aid of these drawings.

[0061] In the drawings:

[0062] FIGS. 1a to c show different structural forms of a hydraulic cylinder in a schematic illustration,

[0063] FIGS. 2a to c each show a hydraulic axle according to the invention, based on a differential cylinder, according to a first to third exemplary embodiment,

[0064] FIGS. 3a to c each show a hydraulic axle according to the invention, based on a double-rod cylinder, according to a fourth to sixth exemplary embodiment,

[0065] FIGS. 4a and b each show a hydraulic axle according to the invention, based on a tandem cylinder, according to a seventh to ninth exemplary embodiment,

[0066] FIG. 5 shows the hydraulic axle according to FIG. 4 in a partially perspective view,

[0067] FIG. 6 shows the hydraulic axle according to FIGS. 4a and 5 in a partial section in the region of a control block and with an illustration of the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4b,

[0068] FIG. 7 shows the hydraulic axle according to FIG. 6 with an enlarged partial section in the region of the control block and of an insert part designed as an adapter socket,

[0069] FIG. 8a shows hydraulic interfaces situated inside the control block, valid for all the exemplary embodiments,

[0070] FIG. 8b shows mounting interfaces on the control block, valid for all the exemplary embodiments,

[0071] FIG. 9 shows the hydraulic axle according to FIG. 2c in a detailed view in the region of the control block and the adapter socket,

[0072] FIGS. 10a and 10b show a detail of the section according to FIG. 9, with the use of different cylinder tubes according to exemplary embodiments,

[0073] FIG. 11 shows mounting interfaces and an adapter socket, shown separately, according to an exemplary embodiment, and

[0074] FIG. 12 shows the hydraulic axle according to FIG. 3a in a longitudinal section in a region of the adapter socket.

[0075] It will be illustrated below how, with the aid of different adapter sockets which can be arranged in a hydraulic control block, different structural forms of hydraulic cylinders, which can differ in particular in the number of piston surfaces and cylinder tube diameters, can be connected to the same hydraulic control block base body, and more broadly to the same hydraulic input drive module.

[0076] FIGS. 1a to 1c show different structural forms of hydraulic cylinders. FIG. 1a shows a differential cylinder 2 with a first piston rod 8 on which a first piston 10 is arranged. The latter is guided in a first cylinder tube 12 and separates a first annular piston space 14 from a second piston space 16 at the base. The piston spaces 14, 16 can be connected fluidically to a source of pressurizing medium or a pressurizing medium sink of a hydraulic axle via a first and second hydraulic interface 18, 20. FIG. 1b shows a double-rod cylinder which, in a purely functional sense, has the same components 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 except that a second piston rod 20 is arranged on the first piston 10 and extends through the second piston space 16 and out of the cylinder tube 12, opposite the first piston rod 8. A first piston surface 24 and a second piston surface 26 are here, in contrast to the case of the differential cylinder, of the same size. FIG. 1c shows a tandem cylinder, a particular structural form of a multi-surface cylinder. It is a functional extension of the differential cylinder according to FIG. 1a. A second cylinder tube 28 adjoins the first cylinder tube 12. A second piston 30 is guided inside it. Both pistons 10, 30 are coupled via the second piston rod 22. By virtue of the separation of the two cylinder tubes 12, 28, a third and a fourth piston space 32, 34 are thus created. A third hydraulic interface 36 is provided for the purpose of supplying pressurizing medium to the third piston space 32. The fourth piston space 34 is connected only to the atmosphere and “breathes” when the piston moves. Because the diameter of the second piston 30 corresponds to the diameter of the first piston rod 8, when the tandem cylinder 6 is extended/retracted a so-called oscillating volume or differential volume occurs. Rapid and power motions can be obtained by the corresponding hydraulic application of pressurizing medium to the piston surfaces of the two pistons 10, 30.

[0077] In the exemplary embodiment shown according to FIG. 1c, the third hydraulic interface 36 takes the form of a branch of one of the abovementioned hydraulic interfaces.

[0078] Hydraulic cylinders of different structural forms 2, 4, 6 can, according to FIGS. 2a to 4b, be connected to an input drive module 40 with a uniform hydraulic control block base body by means of the insert part, in particular the adapter, described in the general part of the description, the hydraulic interfaces, and the mounting interfaces. The embodiment described below of the control block, its interfaces, and its insert part, in particular the adapter, here enables the extremely flexible connection of the input drive module 40 and its spatial orientation relative to the hydraulic cylinder 2, 4, 6, and vice versa.

[0079] Basically, the input drive module 40 according to Figure (illustrated with the aid of the hydraulic axle according to FIG. 4a) has an electric motor 42 which is coupled to a hydraulic pump 48 (illustrated schematically on the right), accommodated in a hydraulic control block 46, via a clutch 44 for the purpose of transmitting torque. The tandem cylinder 6 shown in the exemplary embodiment shown can be mentioned as the output drive module.

[0080] In FIG. 6, the hydraulic axle 1 is illustrated in a side view, partially in section. The structural form of the hydraulic axle 1 according to FIG. 4b is illustrated, again schematically, in the top right of FIG. 6. An adapter socket 50, adapted to the structural form of the tandem cylinder 6, is arranged in a through bore 62 in the hydraulic control block 36. The adapter socket 50 taps the second and third internally situated hydraulic interface 20, 36 and connects them to the assigned piston spaces 16, 32. A “rigid”, i.e. non-switchable, fluidic connection exists between the interfaces 20, 36 and the piston spaces 16, 32 via the adapter socket 50. The first hydraulic interface 18′ represents an externally situated hydraulic interface of the control block 46. It is connected, via a hydraulic tube 52 connected to the control block 46, to a cylinder port 18 which opens into the first piston space 14.

[0081] The hydraulic axle 1, or to be more precise the hydraulic control block 46, furthermore has on both sides of the through bore 62 mounting interfaces 54, 56 which are provided so that they are matched to multiple possible structural forms of the hydraulic cylinder which are provided for use with the control block 46.

[0082] The through bore 62 is closed by means of a first cover 58 on the first cylinder tube 12 side and by means of a second cover 60 on the second cylinder tube 38 side. As explained below, at least the first cover 58 assumes a mounting or clamping function for the adapter socket 50 in the respective exemplary embodiment.

[0083] Different structural forms of hydraulic cylinders 2; 4; 6 can be connected to different input drive modules 40 by means of different adapter sockets in conjunction with the hydraulic interfaces 20, 36, 18′, standardized for different structural forms of hydraulic cylinders 2, 4, 6, and the mounting interfaces 54, 56 which are additionally symmetrical in such a way that a great variety of hydraulic axles 1 can be represented. This variety is achieved not by means of many differently designed control blocks 46 but by means of the combination of the variation in the structural forms 2; 4; 6 of the hydraulic cylinder and the theoretically required respective different control block 46 in the adapter socket 50.

[0084] According to FIG. 8a, a through bore 62, which has an inner lateral surface which is symmetrical with respect to a bore axis 64 and a plane of symmetry 66, is provided in the hydraulic control block 46, encompassing all structural forms 2; 4; 6. Grooves or annular ducts 70, 72, 74 are introduced into this inner lateral surface, over its whole circumference, distributed evenly and arranged symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry 66. The through bore 62, with radial widened portions 80, 82 which are likewise symmetrical with respect to the plane of symmetry 66, opens into the side surfaces 76, 78 of the control block 46. According to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8a, the groove 72 arranged centrally about the plane of symmetry 66 is assigned to the second hydraulic interface 20 arranged on the inside of the hydraulic control block 46 and is fluidically connected thereto in a permanently assigned fashion. According to FIGS. 7 and 8a, the grooves 70, 74 arranged distributed symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry 66 are assigned to the third hydraulic interface 36 arranged on the inside of the hydraulic control block and is fluidically connected thereto in a permanently assigned fashion. The groove 72 here represents an annular opening of the second hydraulic interface 20 and the grooves 70, 74 represent annular openings of the third hydraulic interface 36 into the through bore 62. The groove 74 is here fluidically connected to the third hydraulic interface 36 indirectly via a pressurizing medium duct 37, formed in the control block 46, and via the groove 70.

[0085] In other words, valid for all exemplary embodiments, according to FIG. 8a, four webs are formed in the through bore 62 with three circumferential annular ducts 70, 72, 74 arranged between them.

[0086] Wherein two fits 80, 82 are formed at the end sections of the through bore 62.

[0087] The third hydraulic interface 36 is provided as an inflow/outflow of pressurizing medium such that pressurizing medium which flows in or out is provided in both grooves 70, 74.

[0088] In the case of the tandem cylinder, both internally situated hydraulic interfaces 20, 36 are tapped by means of the adapter socket according to FIG. 7, wherein the second hydraulic interface 20 is fluidically connected to the second piston space 16 via the groove 72 and an assigned radial bore 82, and a longitudinal bore 84 of the adapter socket 50.

[0089] The third hydraulic interface 36 is connected, via the groove 70, to the pressurizing medium duct 37 which opens into the groove 74. For the purpose of tapping the latter, at least one radial bore 86 configured as a blind bore is provided. A radial/axial duct 88 angled in the direction of the bore axis 64 extends in each case from this radial bore or these radial bores 86 toward a recess 90, arranged opposite the recess 64, at the end of the adapter socket 50. The third piston space 32 communicates with the recess 90. The second cylinder tube 38 penetrates a radial widened portion 104 of the recess 90 and centered as a result.

[0090] The adapter socket 50 according to FIGS. 6 and 7 thus taps, for the tandem cylinder 6 mounted on the hydraulic control block 46 (compare also FIGS. 4a, 5b, 5, 6), the internally situated hydraulic interfaces 20, 36 and conveys pressurizing medium into the piston spaces 16, 32 provided in the case of this structural form of the cylinder.

[0091] Because the inner lateral surface 68 of the through bore 62 is rotationally symmetrical and additionally mirror-symmetrical with respect to the plane of symmetry 66 and hence to a central plane of the hydraulic control block 46, it is possible to arrange the complete input drive module 40 rotated by 180°, as illustrated in FIGS. 4a, 4b and FIG. 6. The internally situated hydraulic interfaces 20, 36 are then connected in the same way to the piston spaces 16, 32. The same arrangement, rotated by 180°, is also possible for the other structural forms of a differential cylinder 2 and a double-rod cylinder 4 by virtue of the internally situated hydraulic interfaces 20, 36 and their openings 70, 74, and 72 arranged symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry 66.

[0092] According to FIG. 8b, the same mounting interfaces in the form of an identical mounting bore layout 54, 56 are provided as mechanical interfaces on both sides of the through bore 62, i.e. on both sides of the plane of symmetry 66. This layout can be used for mounting the respective hydraulic cylinder 2, 4, 6 and other components.

[0093] According to FIG. 7, the adapter socket 50 is mounted in the hydraulic control block 46 via the cover 58 designed as a ring nut flange. For this purpose, the ring flange 58 is designed with an internal thread 92 and screwed onto an end section 94, on the control block side, of the first cylinder tube 12 which has an external thread. The ring flange 58 is thus screwed on far enough that an annular end face of the first cylinder tube 12 projects from the ring flange 58 with a clearance 96. The ring flange 58 is mounted or screwed on the hydraulic control block 46 by means of tensioning screws 98. As a result and by virtue of the gap 96 provided for clamping, the adapter socket 50 is clamped in the hydraulic control block 46 via the annular end face of the first cylinder tube 12 which is supported on the end of the adapter socket 50. To be more precise, for this purpose a radial collar 100 of the adapter socket 50 is in this way supported and pretensioned on a radial widened portion 102 of the through bore 62. The adapter socket 50 is thus installed in a statically determined fashion. This method, known per se, of mounting a cylinder tube via the ring flange on the hydraulic control block can also be performed with the adapter socket 50, wherein the adapter socket 50 is held in position with distinct frictional contact over a short distance.

[0094] The second cylinder tube 38 is mounted on the opposite side 78 of the control block 46 and the through bore 62 is closed by the second cover 60. The second cylinder tube 38 here traverses the second cover 60 with some play, i.e. stresslessly, penetrates the radial widened portion 104 of the recess 90 of the adapter socket 50 and is supported there at its end. The second cover 60 is mounted directly and in an abutting fashion on the side 78 of the control block 46 by means of tensioning screws 106. Independently thereof, the second cylinder tube is mounted via tension rods 108 (compare FIG. 5). Tension rods 108 are screwed into threaded bores 110 of the adapter socket 50 by their end sections and traverse the second cover 60 stresslessly, as described already for the second cylinder tube 38.

[0095] The second cover 60 consequently has no force-transferring function for the mounting of the second cylinder tube 38. This is effected exclusively by the above described adapter socket 50 installed in a way that is determined with frictional contact over a short distance. As a result, two pretensioning situations which can be calculated independently and simply are provided for mounting the first cylinder tube 12, on the one hand, and the second cylinder tube 38, on the other hand.

[0096] In particular in the case of hydraulic cylinders with two cylinder tubes centered and mounted on the control block 46, as is the case for the tandem cylinder 6, the adapter socket 50 has an advantageous centering and additionally coaxially orienting function with respect to the cylinder tubes 12, 38.

[0097] The centering and/or coaxial orienting function can be produced easily by the through bore 62 being bored, the respective adapter socket 50 being manufactured by being turned, and the radial widened portion 104 and the opposite collar 112 thus being provided on it.

[0098] The second cylinder tube 38 is centered on the radial widened portion 104, and the first cylinder tube 12 is centered on the collar 112.

[0099] This centering and, associated therewith, the mutual coaxial orientation bring advantages in terms of the frictional behavior of the hydraulic cylinder and minimize the wear between the pistons and the cylinder tubes.

[0100] FIG. 9 shows a base of a differential cylinder 2, wherein the base is formed by an adapter socket 51. The second piston space 16 is here supplied with pressurizing medium via the second hydraulic interface 20 arranged inside the control block 46. For this purpose, the second piston space 16 is fluidically connected to the second interface 20 via the annular groove, or the opening 72 and the radial bore 82, and the recess 84. The second hydraulic interface 20 is thus tapped, whereas the third hydraulic interface 36 arranged inside the control block 46 is not tapped, i.e. is blocked. This blocking is here effected by means of the design of the adapter socket 51 which is adapted to the differential cylinder 2. The first piston space 14 is, as in the preceding exemplary embodiment, supplied with pressurizing medium via the hydraulic interface 18′ arranged outside the control block 46, the hydraulic tube 52, and the port 18 (cf FIG. 6). The mounting of the adapter socket 51 and the first cylinder tube 12 on the control block 46 is identical to the preceding exemplary embodiment such that any explanation of this has been omitted. The same applies to a second cover 61 according to FIG. 9, wherein, in a variation, the latter is not traversed by a second cylinder tube (cf FIG. 7) and instead is closed. A displacement measuring device in the form of a rod displacement measuring system 114 is optionally provided, traversing the second cover 61 and a base of the adapter socket 51.

[0101] In a variation from the exemplary embodiment illustrated according to FIG. 9, the second piston space 16 can be supplied with pressurizing medium via the third hydraulic interface 36 instead of via the second hydraulic interface 20. For this purpose, the radial bore 82 illustrated must then be closed and one or more radial bores must be provided in the region of the annular groove 70.

[0102] FIGS. 10a and 10b show that, with the same through bore 62 and also the otherwise same mounting interfaces 54, 56, cylinder tubes of a different diameter can be connected just by changing the collar 112 of the adapter socket 50; 51; 53. Just by varying the collar 112 or centering collar, this is readily possible without having to intervene in the rest of the hydraulic control block 46. A first cover 58 which is adapted to the changed cylinder tube is, however, necessary.

[0103] As is the case for all the exemplary embodiments, the uniform interfaces 20, 36, 18′,54, 56 furthermore make it possible to structurally implement conventional types of cylinder mounting. The MP3/MP5 mounting type is thus illustrated, for example, in FIG. 11. The input drive module with an electric motor, clutch, hydraulic machine, and control block is thus not illustrated, such that the adapter socket 51 is shown separately.

[0104] FIG. 12 shows the situation according to the configuration from FIG. 3a with a double-rod cylinder 4 which is mounted with one of its cylinder heads on the hydraulic control block 46. Accordingly, as can be seen in FIG. 3a and is discernible from the path of the pressurizing medium ducts of the hydraulic interfaces 20, 36, the control block 46 is rotated by 180° about its vertical axis. The first cover 58 is accordingly then arranged on the right in FIG. 12, and a second cover 63 on the left. An adapter socket 53, which is adapted to this structural form of the hydraulic cylinder 4, is inserted into the through bore 62.

[0105] According to FIG. 12, the adapter socket 53 taps the third hydraulic interface 36 arranged inside the hydraulic control block 46 via the radial bore 82. The first piston rod 8 completely traverses the adapter socket 53. An annular space 84, leading to the first piston space 14 and via which the third hydraulic interface 36 is fluidically connected to the first piston space 14, is defined between the first piston rod 8 and the adapter socket 53. The second hydraulic interface 20, likewise arranged inside the control block 46, is blocked by the adapter socket 53. The adapter socket 53 can also be used for a differential cylinder in the structural form of the hydraulic axle 1 according to FIG. 2a. In this case, it is possible to tap the interface 20 and fluidically block the interface 36.

[0106] In the exemplary embodiment shown according to FIG. 12, the adapter socket 53 forms a guide and sealing system 116 and 118 for the first piston rod 8. For the other exemplary embodiments too, in which one of the piston rods traverses the adapter socket, it is the case that, when changing to a different piston rod diameter, all that is required is to adapt the relevant adapter socket or simply replace it with a different, prepared adapter socket. There is thus no longer any need to machine the control block 46 because, as already explained many times, the through bore 62 and the internally arranged hydraulic interfaces 20, 36 with their openings 72 and 70, 74 are and remain generic.

[0107] Independently of the exemplary embodiments shown, the production of many different and hence expensive control blocks is avoided by virtue of the internally situated hydraulic interfaces of the control block which are the same for multiple structural forms, the adapter socket adapted to the respective hydraulic cylinder used, and additionally the mounting interfaces which are the same for multiple structural forms. Instead, a common control block base body can be constructed, manufactured, and stored for a number of hollow cylinders which can be used selectively. The additionally used adapter socket of the control block here represents a very simply producible turned part with bores and has no compulsory milling processes. Compared with conventional control blocks which always need to be manufactured so that they are adapted to specific structural forms of the hydraulic cylinder, this complexity is thus shifted to the adapter socket and consequently also significantly reduced.

[0108] In addition to the symmetrical design of the mounting interfaces, the through bore, and the hydraulic interfaces, there is also the advantage of spatially positioning the input drive module relative to the hydraulic cylinder in an extremely flexible fashion.

[0109] A hydraulic control block for connecting a plurality of structural forms of a hydraulic cylinder to be supplied with pressurizing medium is disclosed, wherein mounting and hydraulic interfaces are provided for the plurality of structural forms on the control block, facing the hydraulic cylinder, and wherein, depending on the structural form, at least some of the hydraulic interfaces are tapped or blocked or deactivated by a removably provided insert part, in particular an adapter.

[0110] Also disclosed is a hydraulic axle therewith and with a hydraulic cylinder connected at least hydraulically to the control block.