Ford Motor Company Limited

Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Visteon Global Technolgoies, Inc.

Roger W Gettel

Leonard F Bishop

John Allen Oliver

Barry Howard Jacobs

A balanced rotary vane pump for a motor vehicle power steering system includes a rotor having fifteen vanes disposed in a three lobe cam ring. Three inlet ports and three outlet ports disposed in equally spaced pairs provide fluid communication to the three lobes of the cam ring. Because the subject vane pump provides a significantly larger number of pump pulses per revolution which are more closely spaced in time and may define smaller volumes, the pulsatile nature of the output and thus vibration as well as the excitation of sympathetic vibration is greatly reduced.

Balanced vane pump

A flow priority valve receives input fluid flow and divides the fluid flow between a primary device and a secondary device. The valve comprises a valve body have a bore formed therein, the bore having first and second ends and first and second annular channels formed in communication with the bore. The valve body further includes an input flow channel formed in communication with the bore for receiving the input fluid flow. A spool is movable within the bore and has a first land and a second land adjacent opposing ends of the spool. A spring is positioned within the bore for biasing the spool towards the first end of the bore. An electronically variable orifice (EVO) for electronically adjusting flow includes an EVO input portion in fluid communication with both the first annular channel and the first end of the bore, and an EVO output portion in fluid communication with both the second end of the bore and the primary device. The second annular channel is in fluid communication with the secondary device. The first and second lands are movable with the spool for selectively limiting flow from the bore to the first and second annular channels, respectively. The valve may be used for remote flow control, splitting between primary and secondary devices, and two such valves may be used to provide variable control to two devices.

Hydraulic flow priority valve

A power steering pump includes a housing defining an opening containing a sliding vane rotor, a cam ring and pressure plates located at each axial side of the rotor, inlet ports connected to a source of low pressure fluid, and outlet ports connected to a power steering system. The pressure control valve opens and closes an orifice of constant size connecting the pump outlet to a power steering gear. An electronically variable orifice arranged in parallel with the fixed orifice connects the pump and outlet to the power steering gear. When the control valve opens sufficiently, the pump outlet is connected to the inlet through a diffuser arranged to draw low pressure fluid into a high velocity stream of bypass fluid. An orifice fitting, located in a flow control valve that directs flow from a pump outlet port through the orifice aperture to an automotive power steering gear, diverts that flow to a bypass port connected to the pump inlet. The orifice aperture is offset radially from the axis of the valve.

Flow control orifice for parallel flow fluid supply to power steering

The flow control system includes a flow control valve, an orifice located between the pump outlet port, a passage carrying feedback pressure at a location downstream from the orifice to one side of the valve, and a bypass port located between the pump outlet and the pump inlet. The bypass port opens as a valve spool moves due to differential pressure across the orifice. When pump discharge is low, the valve closes the bypass port; when pump flow rate increases, the valve opens the bypass port. The jet pump effect of a bypass diffuser, located between the bypass port and the pump inlet, supercharges low pressure fluid in a remote reservoir by using kinetic energy in the bypass flow to draw fluid from the reservoir into the pump and to raise static pressure at the pump inlet. A clip having a relatively large wetted surface area in comparison to its cross sectional area is located in a passage connecting the pump outlet and the load.

Viscosity sensitive hydraulic pump flow control

A power steering pump includes a housing defining an opening containing a sliding vane rotor, a cam ring and pressure plates located at each axial side of the rotor and having inlet ports connected to a source of low pressure fluid and outlet ports connected to a power steering system. The pressure control valve opens and closes an orifice of constant size connecting the pump outlet to a power steering gear. An electronically variable orifice arranged in parallel with the fixed orifice connects the pump and outlet to the power steering gear. When the control valve opens sufficiently, the pump outlet is connected to the inlet through a diffuser arranged to draw low pressure fluid into a high velocity stream of bypass fluid. Kinetic energy of the stream is used to increase static pressure in the fluid supplied to the pump inlet. Porting directs hydraulic fluid, within vane slots pumped by the action of falling vanes, in the direction of rotation, across the rotor, through a terminal hole at the base of the rising vane slots, to the outlet ports. Pressure developed at the base of vanes forces the vanes radially outward into contact with the cam surface.

Rotary vane pump having enhanced cold start priming

A power steering pump includes a housing defining an opening containing a sliding vane rotor, a cam ring and pressure plates located at each axial side of the rotor and having inlet ports connected to a source of low pressure fluid and outlet ports connected to a power steering system. The pressure control valve opens and closes an orifice of constant size connecting the pump outlet to a power steering gear. An electronically variable orifice arranged in parallel with the fixed orifice connects the pump and outlet to the power steering gear. When the control valve opens sufficiently, the pump outlet is connected to the inlet through a diffuser arranged to draw low pressure fluid into a high velocity stream of bypass fluid. Kinetic energy of the stream is used to increase static pressure in the fluid supplied to the pump inlet.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States of America

Roger W Gettel