A hydraulic manifold is a component which regulates fluid flow between pumps and actuators and other components in a hydraulic system. It is like a switchboard in an electrical circuit because it lets the operator control how much fluid flows between which components of a hydraulic machinery. The manifold is connected to the levers in the operator's cabin which the operator uses to achieve the desired manifold behavior.A manifold is composed of assorted hydraulic valves connected to each other. It is the various combinations of states of these valves that allow complex control behavior in a manifold. A block and bleed manifold is a hydraulic manifold that combines one or more block/isolate valves, usually ball valves, and one or more bleed/vent valves, usually ball or needle valves, into one component, for interface with other component of a hydraulic system. The purpose of the block and bleed manifold is to isolate or block the flow of fluid in the system, so the fluid from upstream of the manifold does not reach other components of the system that are downstream, then bleed off or vent the remaining fluid from the system on the downstream side of the manifold. For example, a block and bleed manifold would be used to stop the flow of fluids to some component, then vent the fluid from that component's side of the manifold, in order to effect some kind of work on that component. A block and bleed manifold with one block valve and one bleed valve is also known as an isolation valve or block and bleed valve; a block and bleed manifold with multiple valves is also known as an isolation manifold. Also used in combustible gas trains in many industrial applications.
Air manifolds for industrial air filters, sometimes referred to as bag houses, are formed by extrusion and provided with flat mounting and sealing surfaces for accommodating staggered and offset rows of valves secured to the mounting surface and provided with blow pipes extending from the valves through the manifold and through the lower sealing surface. A feature of the invention is the substitution of an air header/manifold in the shape of a tank for containing compressed air and formed from extruded aluminum, rather than a circular steel pipe commonly used in the prior art. The improved manifold is formed with an upper surface that is flat and has sufficient width to accommodate, for example, eight inch valves staggered on 7 inch centers, thereby corresponding to the typical 7 inch spacing of the filter bags. Further, the air pipes exiting from the manifold have a smaller footprint than the valves with the result that the lower portion of the manifold enclosing the air pipes is made narrower than the portion mounting the valves, thereby reducing the amount of metal used in the construction of the manifold, with a corresponding reduction in weight and costs.
