Pressure compensating fluid control valve

A proportional pressure compensating hydraulic control valve having a valve body and a valve spool mounted in the valve body for movement from a neutral or open center position wherein fluid flows through the valve body to an operating position wherein the flow of fluid through the valve is restricted to direct inlet fluid through a flow control orifice to a pressure passage within the valve body, the pressure passage being connected to one of a pair of cylinder passages, the other cylinder passage being connected to a tank passage. The valve spool in an open center mode controlling the flow of fluid to the control orifice and being pressure compensated to maintain a predetermined flow rate through the control orifice, pressure compensation being achieved by imposing inlet and pressure passage pressures selectively to each end of the valve spool so that the valve spool responds to the pressure differential across the control orifice. The valve spool in the closed center mode restricts the fluid flow between the pressure passage and the cylinder passage. The flow rate between the inlet passage network and the pressure passage is controlled either by a low force proportional solenoid valve assembly or a mechanically actuated assembly.