Rotary valve with brake mode

摘要

An example valve includes a sleeve having a plurality of openings configured along a length of the sleeve. A spool is rotatable within the sleeve and includes a respective plurality of openings along a length of the spool corresponding to the plurality of openings of the sleeve. A rotary actuator coupled to the spool is configured for rotating the spool within the sleeve. The rotary actuator can rotate the spool to a given rotary position in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction to cause at least a partial alignment between a subset of the respective plurality of openings of the spool and a subset of the plurality of openings of the sleeve.

主权项

1. A hydraulic circuit comprising:
a supply line for containing pressurized fluid; a return line including fluid having pressure lower than that of the pressurized fluid; a hydraulic actuator including a first chamber and a second chamber; and a valve comprising:
a sleeve having a plurality of openings configured along a length of the sleeve, wherein the plurality of openings includes at least: a first opening configured to receive the pressurized fluid from the supply line, a second opening configured to communicate fluid to the return line, a third opening configured to communicate fluid to and from the first chamber of the hydraulic actuator, and a fourth opening configured to communicate fluid to and from the second chamber of the hydraulic actuator;a spool rotatable within the sleeve, the spool including a respective plurality of openings along a length of the spool corresponding to the plurality of openings of the sleeve; anda rotary actuator coupled to the spool for rotating the spool within the sleeve to a given rotary position in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction to cause at least a partial alignment between a subset of the respective plurality of openings of the spool and a subset of the plurality of openings of the sleeve so as to: (i) connect one of the first chamber and the second chamber of the hydraulic actuator to the supply line, and connect the other chamber to the return line, or (ii) connect both the first chamber and the second chamber of the hydraulic actuator to the return line, wherein rotation of the spool to reach the given rotary position takes a first amount of time if the spool rotates in the clockwise direction and takes a second amount of time different from the first amount of time if the spool rotates in the counter-clockwise direction.