Solar generator and hydraulic control seat valve

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9618016-B2
Application number	US-201313920274-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2013
Priority date	Jun 22, 2012
Publication date	Apr 11, 2017
Grant date	Apr 11, 2017

Abstract

In a solar generator, comprising a reflector and an electrohydraulic sun-position tracking device with at least one hydraulic cylinder and a hydraulic control seat valve, the reflector can be guided via the control seat valve to follow in synchronism with the course of the sun continuously and uninterruptedly. The control seat valve for regulating a pressure medium flow permanently supplied to the hydraulic cylinder comprises a seat surface and a sealing surface permanently pressed against each other with variable contact pressure, with which the pressure medium flow can be generated as controlled leakage. The sealing surface is made of a material that can be deformed by contact pressure. In the control seat valve, the controlled leakage is set in a control position at least substantially without lifting movement exclusively by the relative material deformation of the sealing surface on the seat surface, which deformation is set via the contact pressure.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hydraulic control seat valve for the continuous speed control of a hydraulic cylinder, the control seat valve comprising:
a seat surface made of at least substantially non-deformable material; and
a sealing surface comprising a material that is deformable relative to the seat surface and configured to be permanently pressed against the seat surface in a seat portion of the control seat valve during use, the sealing surface or the seat surface surrounding a pressure medium passage;
wherein the seat surface has a predetermined roughness with grooves that extend to or at least partially cross an open end of the pressure medium passage so that the grooves are able to intersect the pressure medium passage when the sealing surface is pressed against the seat surface, and the sealing surface has a predetermined flatness in a non-deformed state and is deformable by contact pressure into the grooves of the seat surface, and wherein the sealing surface and the seat surface are configured to be permanently pressed against one another by a set contact pressure without lifting movement in a hydraulic cylinder speed control position of the control seat valve for generating a continuous pressure medium flow from a pressure source to the hydraulic cylinder as a controlled regulated leakage through the seat portion by relative material deformation of the sealing surface on the seat surface, which deformation is set by the contact pressure of the sealing surface on the seat surface.

2. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the deformable material comprises plastic, nonferrous metal, metal alloy, light metal, or light-metal alloy.

3. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the sealing surface is provided on a closing body made at least predominantly of the deformable material.

4. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the seat surface has a circular round contour, the passage as a bore in the center, and a predetermined area, and wherein the area of the sealing surface conforms at least to the predetermined area of the seat surface.

5. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the sealing surface is made of a plastic material, and the seat surface is made of steel and has a roughness with the grooves defining a roughness value between about Rz 1 and Rz 5 .

6. The control seat valve according to claim 5 wherein the plastic material comprises PTFE or glass fiber reinforced polyamide.

7. The control seat valve according to claim 5 wherein the sealing surface is machined and the seat surface is hardened and ground with a predetermined grinding tool grain that defines the grooves, in a predetermined number of grinding cycles and a single grinding cycle direction crossing at least in part the pressure medium passage.

8. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the seat surface in a surface size and roughness defined by the grooves, the sealing surface in its deformation behavior, and the contact pressure in a predetermined variation range are matched to one another such that a pressure medium flow is controlled between 0.001 to 0.15 l/min in an inlet pressure range of the pressure source between about 100 to about 300 bar.

9. The control seat valve according to claim 1 further comprising a proportional solenoid for pressing the sealing surface with the contact pressure onto the seat surface, the proportional solenoid having an armature configured to be driven without lifting movement and being positioned with an actuation end in an area of a maximum magnetic flux density into a pole piece of the proportional solenoid.

10. The control seat valve according to claim 1 wherein the grooves are predominantly straight.

11. A hydraulic control seat valve for continuous speed control of a hydraulic cylinder of a solar generator, wherein the solar generator includes a reflector and an electro-hydraulic sun-position tracking device for the reflector, the control seat valve is arrangeable between at least one working line of the hydraulic cylinder and a pressure source of the sun-position tracking device for guiding the reflector by speed control of the hydraulic cylinder with a pressure medium flow to the hydraulic cylinder to follow a course of the sun, the control seat valve comprising:
a seat surface made of at least substantially non-deformable material; and
a sealing surface comprising a material that is deformable relative to the seat surface under contact pressure and configured to be permanently pressed against the seat surface in a seat portion of the control seat valve during use, the sealing surface or the seat surface surrounding a pressure medium passage;
wherein the seat surface has a pre-determined roughness with grooves that extend to or at least partially cross an open end of the pressure medium passage so that the grooves are able to intersect the pressure medium passage when the sealing surface is pressed against the seat surface, the sealing surface has a pre-determined flatness in a non-deformed state and is deformable by contact pressure into the grooves of the seat surface, and the sealing surface and the seat surface are configured to be permanently pressed against one another by the contact pressure without lifting movement in a hydraulic cylinder speed control position of the control seat valve for generating a continuous pressure medium flow from the pressure source to the hydraulic cylinder for guiding the reflector to follow the course of the sun in synchronism continuously and uninterruptedly as a controlled regulated leakage through the seat portion by relative material deformation of the sealing surface on the seat surface, the deformation being set by the contact pressure of the sealing surface on the seat surface.

12. The hydraulic control seat valve according to claim 11 further comprising a proportional solenoid for pressing the sealing surface with the contact pressure onto the seat surface without a lifting movement, the proportional solenoid comprising an armature accommodated in an insulation-containing armature tube and a pole piece, the proportional solenoid being operable to act on the sealing surface via a nonmagnetic plunger extending through the pole piece, with an actuation end of the armature being positioned in an area of the insulation of the armature tube and in an area of maximum magnetic flux density into the pole piece.

13. The hydraulic control seat valve according to claim 12 wherein the pole piece is seated in a screw-in sleeve comprising the sealing surface on a closing body and a stop for positioning a seat of steel comprising the seat surface and the pressure medium passage in an accommodating bore, including channels connected to a pressure line and a working line.

14. The hydraulic control seat valve according to claim 11 wherein the grooves are predominantly straight.

Assignees

• Hawe Hydraulik Se

Inventors

• Heusser Martin
• Imlauer Markus
• Nocker Andreas

Classifications

• F16K25/02

  Arrangements using fluid issuing from valve members or seats · CPC title

• Y02E10/47

  Mountings or tracking · CPC title

• F16K1/42

  Valve seats (for double-seat valves F16K1/44) · CPC title

• F24S50/20

  for tracking · CPC title

• F15B13/021

  Valves for interconnecting the fluid chambers of an actuator · CPC title