Adrienne Maloof -- I Need Protection Against My Ex Paul Nassif ... Again

Adrienne Maloof and ex-hubby Paul Nassif are back at it -- TMZ has learned, she's gone to court for ANOTHER restraining order ... claiming he got violent with her in front of their kids.

Sources tell us, Adrienne raced to court on Valentine's Day for an emergency protective order, claiming he violently snatched her phone away from her the week before ... while she was photographing her kids.

Nassif claims in legal docs Adrienne was actually trying to film him while he was disciplining one of their kids ... to use the footage against him during their ongoing custody battle. He says she was all up in his face with the camera, almost hitting him.

The judge refused to grant the order because it wasn't an emergency and felt she didn't need immediate protection. A hearing is set for April.

It's not the first time Adrienne sought a restraining order against Paul -- back in 2012, she obtained one after he allegedly spanked and choked their kids ... allegations that were unfounded by DCFS. They called a truce ... but it clearly didn't last.