Pneumatic time delay valves

Pneumatic time delay valves are used to delay operations in time-based sequences. As in an electrical system, it is also possible to form in pneumatics an on-delayed and an off-delayed time valve, with a normally open or normally closed contact.

Application:

• As a step-enable condition within a sequence control
• As a reaction time, e.g. time-controlled two-hand start
• To compensate transitions like pressure / no pressure. This is especially important for large systems which have eventually long pneumatic lines.

On-delay time valve

logic symbol on-delay

Compressed air flows into the pressure accumulator via the control connection 12. Since the air is compressible, a certain amount of time passes until the switching pressure has built up and the actuator (in this case a 2/2-way valve) switches through.

Function on-delay time valve

Note:
The pressure increases according to an e-function. It is possible to determine a time constant T and thus determine the switching time.

Off-Delay time valve

logic symbol off-delay

Technical implementation in pneumatics:

Pneumatic time-off delay valve

Compressed air flows into the pressure accumulator via the control port 12 - but now unthrottled. The timer switches immediately. When the control pressure at port 12 drops, the air escapes throttled from the pressure accumulator. That`s why it takes a while until the pressure falls below the switching value.

Application: Time-controlled two-hand locking

In this case, unlockable is only possible if button S1 and button S2 are pressed simultaneously within a certain time. This control is also available as a module as shown here.

Pneumatic time-controlled two-hand locking