Patent ID: 7823602

Claim:
A hydraulic system having at least one hydraulic valve for actuating a component, said hydraulic system comprising: a pilot circuit having a supply pressure source and including an actuator, wherein the actuator is an electromagnetically operated proportional valve; a pilot orifice positioned in the pilot circuit between the supply pressure source and the component; wherein the at least one hydraulic valve for actuating the component is responsive to a control pressure that is controllable by the supply pressure of the pilot circuit; and a pressure reduction device connected in series with the pilot orifice, wherein the pressure reduction device is a pressure limiting valve that is connected between the pilot orifice of the pilot circuit and the proportional valve and is operative to reduce a resulting differential pressure between the supply pressure of the pilot circuit and the control pressure, wherein the pressure limiting valve includes a spring-loaded control piston movable relative to a valve seat and having at one end a first area (A 1 ) subjected to the supply pressure and a second area (A 2 ) subjected to the control pressure, and wherein the first and second areas of the control piston are each located at a common end face of the control piston and each of first and second areas faces the proportional valve.