Manually-operable hydraulic stabilizing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11052878-B2
Application number	US-201916541220-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 15, 2019
Priority date	Mar 29, 2017
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

A stabilizing system includes a plurality of jacks, each operated by a corresponding hydraulic actuator. A hydraulic fluid transfer pump supplies hydraulic fluid to and receives hydraulic fluid from one or more pressure chambers of the actuator. A pilot-operated check or directional valve may be provided in fluid communication with one or more of the pressure chambers and configured to regulate the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from the pressure chamber. A directional control valve may connect the pump output with the jacks via respective pilot-operated directional valves. The directional control valve may include a plurality of switch positions respectively connecting the pump output with pairs of the jacks.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hydraulic stabilizing system comprising:
a plurality of hydraulic stabilizing jacks, each of said jacks having an actuator comprising:
an actuator cylinder;
an actuator piston slidingly engaged with said actuator cylinder, said actuator piston cooperating with said actuator cylinder to define an actuator extend chamber and an actuator retract chamber;
an actuator piston rod connected to said actuator piston and selectively extendable from and retractable into said jack cylinder; and

one of a pilot-operated check valve and a pilot-operated directional valve having a first flow port connected to said actuator retract chamber in fluid communication therewith;
a fluid reservoir;
a fluid transfer pump having an input in fluid communication with said fluid reservoir, wherein said fluid transfer pump is one of a reciprocating pump and a gear pump;
a hydraulic line connecting an output of said pump with said one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of at least one of said actuators and with a second flow port of said one of pilot-operated check valve and a pilot-operated directional valve of said at least one of said actuators; and
a control valve operable to selectively establish fluid communication between said first hydraulic line and said fluid reservoir.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a pressure relief valve configured to selectively relieve fluid from said hydraulic line to said fluid reservoir.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said fluid transfer pump is a gear pump.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said fluid transfer pump is a reciprocating pump comprising:
a first fluid chamber having a first input in selective fluid communication with said fluid reservoir and a first output in selective fluid communication with said hydraulic line; and
a second fluid chamber having a second input in selective fluid communication with said fluid reservoir and a second output in selective fluid communication with said hydraulic line.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said one of said pilot-operated check valve and pilot operated directional valve is configured to selectively enable and disable flow between said output of said pump and said one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a biasing mechanism associated with the other of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators, said biasing mechanism configured to bias said actuator piston of said at least one of said actuators from said one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators toward the other of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a biasing mechanism associated with the other of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators, said biasing mechanism configured to bias said actuator piston of said at least one of said actuators from said other of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators toward said one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of said at least one of said actuators.

8. The system of claim 1 installed on a vehicle.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein said vehicle comprises four corners and said plurality of jacks comprises four jacks, each of said four jacks located at a corresponding one of said four corners.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a directional control valve connected to the hydraulic line and connecting the output of said pump with one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of the plurality of said actuators via respective pilot-operated directional valves of said plurality of said actuators, wherein said directional control valve includes a plurality of switch positions respectively connecting the output of said pump with pairs of said actuators.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein said four jacks comprise a left front jack, a right front jack, a left rear jack, and a right rear jack, and wherein said plurality of switch positions include at least one of (1) a front jacks positions connecting the output of said pump with the left front jack and the right front jack, (2) a rear jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the left rear jack and the right rear jack, (3) a left jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the left front jack and the left rear jack, and (4) a right jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the right front jack and the right rear jack.

12. A hydraulic stabilizing system comprising:
a plurality of hydraulic stabilizing jacks, each of said jacks having an actuator comprising:
an actuator cylinder;
an actuator piston slidingly engaged with said actuator cylinder, said actuator piston cooperating with said actuator cylinder to define an actuator extend chamber and an actuator retract chamber; and
an actuator piston rod connected to said actuator piston and selectively extendable from and retractable into said actuator cylinder;

a fluid transfer pump;
a hydraulic line receiving output from said pump; and
a directional control valve connected to the hydraulic line and connecting the output of said pump with one of said actuator retract chamber and said actuator extend chamber of the plurality of said actuators via respective pilot-operated directional valves of said plurality of said actuators,
wherein said directional control valve includes a plurality of switch positions respectively connecting the output of said pump with pairs of said actuators,
the system comprising four of said hydraulic stabilizing jacks including a left front jack, a right front jack, a left rear jack, and a right rear jack, wherein said plurality of switch positions include (1) a front jacks positions connecting the output of said pump with the left front jack and the right front jack, (2) a rear jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the left rear jack and the right rear jack, (3) a left jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the left front jack and the left rear jack, and (4) a right jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the right front jack and the right rear jack.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein said plurality of switch positions further comprises an all jacks position connecting the output of said pump with the left front jack, the right front jack, the left rear jack, and the right rear jack.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the switch positions of said directional control valve are selected via a user-operator actuator.

Assignees

• Lippert Components Inc

Inventors

• Kinder Mark
• Tiedge Robert L
• Cornett Nicholas

Classifications

• B60S9/10 Primary

  by fluid pressure · CPC title

• F15B7/003

  with multiple outputs · CPC title