Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Charles Michael Philo

Donald E Wilcox

William Paul Vukovich

Albert C Stone

Rick C Wirth

Daniel Patrick O'Neill

Ralph L Clayson, Iii

Mark E Kaminski

Philip E Lenhart

A hydraulic lash adjuster for disposition between a rocker arm and a valve stem of an internal combustion engine comprises a body having an axially extending neck depending from a lower end thereof. An enlarged head portion extends from the terminal end of the neck and has a semispherical lower surface. A foot assembly includes a disk shaped foot with an upper surface, a lower surface and a cylindrical sidewall defining an outer perimeter. The upper surface has a socket configured to receive the enlarged head. The foot assembly further includes an inverted cup shaped retainer having a cylindrical wall and radial leaves extending inwardly from the upper end of the cylindrical wall, defining a central opening. The axially extending neck extends through the central opening and the opening has a diameter smaller than the enlarged head. The cylindrical wall of the retainer is parallel to the cylindrical sidewall of the foot and is sized to define a parallel frictional force therebetween sufficient to maintain engagement of the foot and retainer. The retainer operates to prevent disassembly of the body and the foot assembly.

Hydraulic element assembly

A valve lifter has a cam follower body with a closed end, or head from which depends concentric inner and outer cylinder surfaces. The inner cylinder surface defines a hollow cylinder having a first, closed end and a second, open end configured to receive a hydraulic lash adjuster, for engagement with the valve of an internal combustion engine. Additionally the inner and outer cylinder surfaces define laterally spaced recesses therebetween for receiving cam engaging rollers supported on transverse shafts extending therein. The shafts are supported at their radially outer ends in openings in the outer cylinder surface and at inner radial ends by abutment with the inner cylinder surface. The cantilevered shafts are thus supported against bending under loads applied by the rollers through the fixing of outer ends in the openings and through frictional interaction of the inner radial ends of the shaft against the inner cylindrical surface of the follower.

Valve lifter

A valve actuation assembly is disclosed for use on an internal combustion engine. The assembly includes a cam follower having a follower body. The follower body has an upper head portion and is configured to receive a pair of spaced rollers therein. The rollers are mounted on shafts in the follower body and extend outwardly from the head portion to engage corresponding spaced cam surfaces of a rotatable camshaft for actuating the valve lifter and, consequently, an associated engine valve. The head portion of the follower body cooperates with the inner sidewalls of the rollers to define a space therebetween for straddling a radially outwardly extending spacer mounted for rotation on the camshaft between the spaced cam surfaces. The side surfaces of the outwardly extending spacer are operable with corresponding sidewalls of the rollers to prevent rotation of the cam follower relative to the camshaft.

Valve actuation assembly

A roller valve lifter, especially of the hydraulic lash adjusting type for diesel engines, has an enlarged bronze roller shaft journal for extended wear with a diameter at least half that of the surrounding skirt of the lifter body within which it is mounted. The roller/shaft assembly is received in a recess through the open bottom end of the lifter body, the shaft having mounting tangs with flats which engage abutments in the recess to locate the roller in the recess. Retention is preferably by staking portions of the tangs into recesses in the skirt, preferably formed by openings adjacent the ends of the tangs.

Enlarged shaft roller lifter with retention means

A valve train module which can be assembled, tested, shipped and then mounted to the cylinder head of an engine and actuated by a camshaft to effect operation of the intake and exhaust valves for the respective associate cylinders formed in part by the cylinder head includes a rocker positioner used with flanged hex head bolts to support and retain a pair of rocker shafts in a predetermined spaced apart parallel relationship to each other, with each such rocker shaft pivotably supporting associate rocker arm assemblies that are maintained in axial spaced apart relationship to each other by rocker arm positioners on the rocker positioner.

Growing community of inventors

Hudsonville, MI, United States of America

Charles Michael Philo