Valve control and a method for operating a valve control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025297691-A1
Application number	US-202519084245-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 19, 2025
Priority date	Mar 20, 2024
Publication date	Sep 25, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve, with a control device which includes a current measuring device for determining a coil current. The control device is designed to determine an electrical resistance of the solenoid coil and on the basis of the determined resistance to select at least one parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time from a table of values which is stored in the control device, for a subsequent control of the solenoid coil and/or wherein the control device is designed to determine a parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time. And a method for operating a valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve.

First claim

1 . A valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve, with a control device which comprises a current measuring device for determining a coil current, wherein the control device is designed to determine an electrical resistance of the solenoid coil and on the basis of the determined resistance to select at least one parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time from a table of values which is stored in the control device, for a subsequent control of the solenoid coil and/or wherein the control device is designed to determine a parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time.

2 . The valve control according to claim 1 , wherein for determining the pull-in current, the control device is designed to provide the solenoid coil with a continuously increasing coil current I 2 and to determine the pull-in current Ia by way of determining a first direction change, in particular a current drop, in the measured coil current I 2 , said first direction change characterising a valve movement.

3 . The valve control according to claim 2 , wherein for determining a pull-in time ta, the control device is designed to determine a further direction change which characterises an end of the valve movement, in the measured coil current I 2 and to determine the pull-in time ta from the temporal difference between the provision of the coil current I 1 and the further direction change of the measured coil current I 2 .

4 . The valve control according to claim 1 , wherein for determining the holding current, the control device is designed to continuously reduce the coil current I 1 which is provided to the solenoid coil and to determine the holding current Ih by way of determining a direction change, in particular an increase, in the measured coil current I 2 , said direction change characterising a valve movement.

5 . The valve control according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is designed to store a parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time in the table of values in the control device and/or to update it in the table of values which is stored in the control device.

6 . The valve control according to claim 5 , wherein the control device is designed to increase one of the determined parameters from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time by a suitable safety factor before the storing and/or the updating in the table of values.

7 . The valve control according to claim 1 , wherein the control device comprises at least one controller, in particular PID-controller, wherein a closed-loop control behaviour of the controller is adapted in dependence on at least one parameter from the group; pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time and/or in dependence on the determined electrical resistance of the solenoid coil.

8 . The valve control according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is designed to determine the electrical resistance of the solenoid coil by way of a switching signal which is sent to the solenoid valve.

9 . A method for operating a valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve, comprising the steps: determining an electrical resistance of the solenoid coil of the solenoid valve connected to the valve control, by way of a switching signal which is sent to the solenoid valve and selecting at least one parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time on the basis of the determined resistance from a table of values which is stored in the control device, for a subsequent control of the solenoid valve and/or determining a parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time of the solenoid valve.

10 . The method for operating a valve control with a control device for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve according to claim 9 , further comprising: providing a continuously increasing coil current I 1 , measuring the continuously increasing coil current I 2 , determining a pull-in current Ia by way of determining a direction change of the measured coil current I 2 which characterises a valve movement and/or providing a continuously decreasing coil current I 1 , measuring the decreasing coil current I 2 and determining a pull-in current Ia by way of determining a direction change of the decreasing coil current I 2 which characterises a valve movement.

11 . The method for operating a valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve according to claim 10 , further comprising: determining a further direction change of the measured coil current I 2 which characterises an end of the valve movement and determining a pull-in time ta from the temporal difference between the provision of the first coil current I 1 and the further direction change of the measured coil current I 2 .

12 . The method for operating a valve control for the control of a solenoid coil of a solenoid valve according to claim 9 , further comprising: adapting a closed-loop control behaviour of a controller of the control device in dependence on a selected and/or defined parameter from the group: pull-in current, pull-in time, holding current and holding time.

Assignees

• Festo Se & Co Kg

Inventors

• Bühler Andreas
• Watzer Tobias
• Engelhardt Jens

Classifications

• F16K37/0041

  for measuring valve parameters (F16K37/0033 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F16K37/0083

  by measuring valve parameters · CPC title

• F16K31/06 Primary

  using a magnet {, e.g. diaphragm valves, cutting off by means of a liquid} · CPC title

• F16K31/0675 Primary

  Electromagnet aspects, e.g. electric supply therefor · CPC title

• H01F2007/1855

  using a stored table to deduce one variable from another · CPC title