Patent ID: 7251933

Claim:
A flow rate control device for power steering, comprising: a hydraulic pump; an electromagnetic flow rate control valve that controls the flow rate of hydraulic oil supplied from the hydraulic pump to a power steering mechanism, the electromagnetic flow rate control valve including an upstream side flow path that communicates with the pump, a downstream side flow path that communicates with the power steering mechanism, a cylindrical sheet portion between the upstream side flow path and the downstream side flow path, a shaft having a leading end that is insertable into the sheet portion, a spring that urges the shaft toward the sheet portion, a guide flow path that communicates from a front end of the shaft toward an outside surface, and a proportional solenoid that resists the spring and applies a thrust force in an axial direction, wherein the upstream side flow path and the downstream side flow path communicate through the guide flow path in a state where the shaft is inserted into the sheet portion, while an opening portion on a side of the guide flow path is blocked when the shaft passes out of the sheet portion, and the upstream side flow path and the downstream side flow path are linked through a space between the sheet portion and the shaft; and a pressure compensation valve that maintains a fixed pressure difference between upstream and downstream sides of the electromagnetic flow rate control valve and bypasses an excess flow rate, wherein the electromagnetic flow rate control valve maintains a predetermined initial opening when a control current is zero, while an opening of the electromagnetic flow rate control valve decreases to become a minimum opening when the control current increases from zero, and the opening afterward gradually becomes larger toward a maximum opening when a predetermined control current is exceeded.