Caterpillar Inc.

Fluid Power Industries, Inc.

C Nickolas Goloff

John C Endsley

Zilek Liberfarb

John A Hoffman, Ii

Rodney L Rolffs

Joseph Reilly

Ronald E Trost

William F Guse, Jr

Joseph P Reilly

A latching electromagnet is provided. The electromagnet (300) includes a core (305) having a pole face, a coil of windings (325), and an armature (330). Advantageously, the core has a geometry that locally increases the magnetic flux density to saturation levels.

Latching electromagnet

A coil assembly for a solenoid valve includes a sealing member having a sealed cavity that generally encircles an opening containing an electrical lead extending from the windings of the coil. The sealing member is disposed within a encapsulating material that is pressure molded around the windings of the coil assembly. During the pressure molding process, the pressure from the molding process exerts a force on the outermost side of the sealing member and compresses the outer member. The force being exerted to the outermost diameter is transferred through the sealed cavity to the innermost portion of the sealing member forcing it into a forced intimate contact with the lead. The force on the lead is maintained after the pressure from the molding process is removed. This arrangement provides a seal between the lead and the sealing member that is effective to prohibit damaging elements reaching the windings contained in the coil assembly.

Coil assembly for a solenoid valve

Accumulators normally are teed into existing conduits and require large amounts of space or are placed in spool type bores having a spring biased piston slidably disposed therein. Most times these accumulators require a bladder that is vented to the atmosphere or a fluid chamber connected to a reservoir. In the subject invention, an accumulator 24 is provided that has a fluid filled member 36 which can be disposed in a closed chamber 32 of a housing 30 and connected to a source of pressurized fluid. The fluid filled member 36 has a fixed maximum surface to volume ratio and is capable of being compressed when subjected to a pressure higher than the pressure within. The accumulator may be integral with other components in the hydraulic system 10 and can be made with varying volumetric capacities and varying precharged pressures in order to match the requirements of the hydraulic system.

Internal accumulator for hydraulic systems

An injector system adaptable for outputting a predetermined volume of lubricating oil from a diesel engine into an engine fuel system includes a piston slidably disposed in a body and cooperates with the body to define a first and second chamber in the body at opposite ends of the piston. A controller controls the movement of a valve to alternately connect the first and second chambers to a pressurized source of oil so that fluid filling one chamber moves the piston which will expel fluid from the other chamber. The chamber remains filled until the valve is actuated to connect the unfilled chamber to the pressure source which causes the chamber to fill with oil and expel the oil from the previously filled chamber.

Injector system for an oil renewal system

Known all wheel steer arrangements use standard spool-type valves which are inherently subject to leakage that results in the front and rear wheels getting out of synchronization due to the leakage. In the subject invention, a hydraulic system has front and rear pairs of steerable wheels respectively interconnected by front and rear fluid actuated mechanisms. A steering valve delivers pressurized fluid to the front fluid actuated mechanism for steering of only the front pair of wheels and to both the front and rear fluid actuated mechanisms to steer the front and rear pairs of wheels simultaneously but in opposite directions. Furthermore, a rear steer valve mechanism is provided to independently direct pressurized fluid to the rear fluid actuated mechanism to steer the rear pair of wheels independent of the front pair of wheels. A normally open pilot operated poppet valve and a pair of normally closed pilot operated poppet valves are utilized to provide control for the various modes of operation and to provide separation of the fluid between the front and rear fluid actuated mechanisms when they are being operated independently. By utilizing pilot operated poppet valves, the leakage thereacross is substantially reduced and the synchronization between the front and rear pair of wheels is generally maintained.

Steering control system

A solenoid valve assembly, subject to high vibration and shock induced loading, providing both axial and radial motion restraint of critical valve structures as economical means for achieving structural integrity.

Solenoid valve assembly

Many known all wheel steer arrangements suffer from the problem that the front and rear wheels getting out of synchronization due to leakage and/or inadvertent passing of fluid across the control valve arrangement therein. In the subject invention, a hydraulic system has front and rear pairs of steerable wheels respectively interconnected by first and second fluid cylinder arrangements. A steering control arrangement operatively controls the front and rear pairs of steerable wheels between a mode in which only the front pair of wheels are steered, a second mode in which both the front and rear pairs of wheels are simultaneously steered but in opposite directions, and a third mode in which the rear wheels are steered independently of the front pair of wheels. First, second and third poppet valve arrangements 50, 70, 82 are utilized to provide control for the various modes of operation and to provide separation of the fluid between the first and second cylinder arrangements used to steer the respective front and rear wheel assemblies. Back to back poppet valves are used in each of the first, second and third poppet valve arrangements to insure that when the respective poppet valve arrangements are in their closed flow blocking position, that no fluid flow is allowed to pass thereacross.

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Secor, IL, United States of America

C Nickolas Goloff