Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co .kg

Schaeffler Kg

Florin Bugescu

Richard Best

Matthew Evans

Lutz Kirbach

Debora Manther

Donald R Haefner

Lucian Botez

Anna Strehlau

James Westbrook

Jemel Jones

William Dammers

Debra Manther

Device for coupling two valve activating levers of an internal combustion engine with at least one carrier body () mounted on the internal combustion engine, wherein at least one hollow shaft () in which oil of the internal combustion engine is stored is attached to the carrier body, and a coupling pin () is supported parallel to the hollow shaft () in each of the valve activating levers () and is spring loaded on one side and loaded by pressurized fluid on the other side in such a way that the coupling pin () connects or releases the valve activating levers (), wherein control of the pressurized fluid that is taken advantageously from the oil circuit of the internal combustion engine is realized by at least one electromagnetically activated valve () and wherein the supply of pressurized fluid is realized by channels () that are provided in the carrier body () or carrier bodies of the internal combustion engine.

Device for coupling valve activating levers of an internal combustion engine

The switchable hydraulic lash adjuster uses balls that move radially in order to lock and unlock the switchable elements in the hydraulic lash adjuster. An axially movable piston acts on the ball to force it to engage and to allow it to disengage the inner housing.

Switchable hydraulic lash adjuster with spherical locking pins

The invention proposes a push-rod valve train having an adjustable valve tappet (). This has an outer part (), an inner part () and a lost-motion spring (), which forces the inner part () towards a relative position, at least one retainer ring (), which is fixed in an annular groove () of the outer part () and which interacts with a stop face () of the inner part (), being provided for fixing the relative position, said retainer ring having lugs () extending radially inwards and separated by a fitting gap (). In this the free movement of the valve push rod () relative to the lugs () is assured by the provision of a torsional locking means (), which serves to fix the radial position of the fitting gap () inside the annular groove ().

Valve train of an internal combustion engine having a cylindrical valve tappet

The switchable dual lifter has two hydraulic lash adjusters, one which is fixed within the common housing, and the other which is movable to allow for deactivation of one of the two valves acted on by the dual lifter. Using the dual lifter with a switchable hydraulic lash adjuster allows for closing of one of the adjacent valves while allowing the other of the adjacent valves to operate.

Switchable dual lifter

A hydraulic cam follower for simultaneous actuation of several equal-acting gas-exchange valves, especially for a tappet pushrod valve train of an engine, includes an outer part, whose base forms a cam contacting surface, and from whose head hollow-cylindrical guides extend in the same number as the valves in a direction towards the base. A housing of a hydraulic play compensation element is provided in each guide and sits with its bottom side on an inside of the bottom of the outer part. A concentric pressure piston is guided in a borehole starting from a head end of each housing so it can move axially. A non-return valve is located at a bottom-side base of the piston and a high-pressure space is formed axially between the base and the bottom side of the housing. A reservoir for hydraulic medium is formed between the base and a head end of the piston.

Hydraulic cam follower

A switchable valve train for gas-exchange valves of internal combustion engines with a rocker arm device (), in which a rocking motion about a rocker arm axis () can be introduced by at least one cam (), one tappet, or the like, wherein this rocking motion can be transmitted to at least one valve (). The rocker arm device () is formed from at least one cam lever part () in working connection with the cam () and a valve lever part () in working connection with the valve (), which are supported so that they can rock about the rocker arm axis (). A coupling device is constructed between the cam lever part () and the valve lever part (), in order to selectively engage and disengage the transmission of the rocking motion.

Switchable valve train for gas-exchange valves of internal combustion engines

The dual valve lifter assembly has a dual valve lift with two hydraulic lash adjusters therein and a guide for orienting and preventing rotation of the dual valve lifter. The guide has four ledges and the dual valve lifter has four flats which mate with the four ledges. The flats and the ledges prevent the rotation of the lifter. One pair of flats and one pair of ledges are spaced the same while the other pair of flats and the other pair of ledges are spaced at a different distance than the first pair of flats and ledges. The difference in the spacing of the pairs of ledges and flats allows for correct orientation of the lifter when mating it with the guide.

Dual valve lifter assembly

The low profile valve lifter assembly has flats inside the bore of the outer housing and walls are formed and extended down from the plate of the guide such that the walls align with the flats of the bore to prevent rotation of the lifter with the guide. A groove and protuberance are provided in the flats and on the side wall of the guide in order to properly orient the lifter with the guide. The flats can be connected to form a pocket and the walls of the guide can be connected to form a sleeve that mates with the pocket.

Low profile valve lifter assembly

A hydraulic cam follower (), such as a roller tappet, is provided. This is used for the actuation of two identically operating gas-exchange valves and should be installed inclined to the direction of the force of gravity. The cam follower () comprises a pot-shaped housing (), whose bottom () is provided with a roller as a cam contacting element (). In the housing (), two guides () extending parallel to the direction of the internal combustion engine are provided, in each of which a pressure piston () is arranged so that it can move axially, whose end () away from the housing is constructed as a support for contact with a respective tappet pushrod. Each pressure piston () encloses a reservoir () for hydraulic medium. For each pressure piston (), an opening () extends from the outer casing () of the housing () for feeding hydraulic medium to the reservoirs (), wherein the openings () are arranged on a peripheral segment of the outer casing () lying at the top viewed in the direction of the force of gravity. Thus, a so-called double roller tappet is provided as a cam follower (), which can store a sufficiently large amount of hydraulic medium despite its inclined installation.

A switchable double tappet () is provided, especially for a tappet-push rod valve train of an internal combustion engine, with a cylindrical housing (), which is arranged so that it oscillates via its outer casing () in a guide () in the internal combustion engine side and which has a bore () on the camshaft side, in which an inner element () moves axially relative to this borehole, wherein, on one side, a cam contact surface () is intrinsic to this inner element on its end projecting past an edge () of the borehole () or lower head () running in the region of the edge () and also, on the other side, at least one coupling slide () is intrinsic in its interior in the decoupled case, and this coupling slide can be displaced partially for a coupled case in or under a respective catch surface () of the housing (), wherein between an upper head () of the inner element () facing away from the lower head () and a lower side () of a crossbar () of the housing (), at least one lost-motion spring () is tensioned and, in a borehole () of the housing () away from the camshaft, above the crossbar (), there are two supports () lying next to one another, on each of which an end of a tappet push rod can be supported.

Switchable double tappet

A variable valve drive for changing control timing of cam-actuated gas-exchange valves of an internal combustion engine is provided, with a tappet (), which, with convex cam engaging contour (), engages a cam () of a camshaft () and which is guided so that it can move in the longitudinal direction in a rotatable tappet guide (), whose rotational angle () is adjustable for changing the control timing. In this way, the tappet guide () can rotate about a rotational axis () parallel to a longitudinal axis () of the camshaft ().

Variable valve drive for changing the control timing of cam-actuated gas-exchange valves

A device () for the hydraulic lash adjustment for several identically acting gas-exchange valves per cylinder of a valve train of an internal combustion engine is provided, the device ()including a common housing () with directly adjacent pressure pistons () provided corresponding to the number of identically acting gas-exchange valves. Each pressure piston () moves relative to the housing in an axial direction in a separate guide () in the housing (), and also has a support () for an at least indirect contact with the corresponding gas-exchange valve on a distal end () away from the housing, and a non-return valve () in the region of a housing bottom () wherein a separate high-pressure chamber () is associated with each pressure piston () in which the non-return valve () opens. The high-pressure chamber () extends axially between the bottom () of the pressure piston () and a base () of the housing (), and the pressure pistons () arranged in the common housing () have a common reservoir.

Device for hydraulic lash adjustment

A valve train for an internal combustion engine is provided, with the valve train having a switchable rocker arm assembly () with a plurality of rocker arms () for activating at least one gas exchange valve (), and also having at least one camshaft () with differently contoured cams () through which different adjusting displacements can be imparted to individual rocker arms of the rocker arm assembly (). The assembly further includes a switching device () for selectively activating the rocker arms for driving the gas exchange valve () with a varying valve lift. To create a valve train in which individual gas exchange valves can be operated in different modes of operation with only a small amount of construction work and expense, the rocker arm assembly () has a stationary rocker arm shaft () on which at least two outer rocker arms (), that are in continuous contact with associated, differently contoured cams (), and a center rocker arm () with a lever arm extension () through which the gas exchange valve (), in operative connection to one of the two outer rocker arms (), can be selectively actuated, are mounted for tilting movement. Actuatable locking pins () are arranged on the outer rocker arms () for sliding axially parallel to the rocker arm shaft (), a locking pin receiver () is arranged on the center rocker arm () and positioning aids () are arranged on the outer and the center rocker arms (), so that the center rocker arm () can be selectively force-locked to one of the two outer rocker arms () or be deactivated.

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

Florin Bugescu