Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

John Ioan Manole

Burak Abdulkadir Gecim

Madhusudan Raghavan

Chunhao J Lee

Farzad Samie

Kumaraswamy V Hebbale

Gary Lee Jones

Andrew Leslie Bartos

A normally-engaged clutch is provided having a friction-element with a first side and an opposing second side, a first plate configured for pressing against the friction-element on the first side, and a second plate configured for pressing against the friction-element on the second side. The clutch also includes a biasing device configured to apply a first force to the second plate for pressing the second plate against the friction-element to engage the clutch. Additionally, the clutch includes an apply piston for applying a second force to the first plate, and a release piston for applying a third force to the second plate. The clutch is disengaged when the second plate is pushed away from the friction-element by the third force in the absence of the second force, and is engaged when the first plate is pressed against the friction-element by the second force.

Dual-piston normally-engaged clutch

A locking mechanism for a plural rocker arm valve train assembly is provided. The locking mechanism is adapted for use with a camshaft having a plurality of different cam lobes having a plurality of different profiles, which result in variable valve displacement and duration. A plurality of rocker arms are located on a pivot shaft which runs parallel to the camshaft, each rocker arm having structures configured to be acted upon by respective lobes of the camshaft. An active rocker arm has structure configured to act upon an engine valve or valves. A movable locking element is fully enclosed by the rocker arms and is capable of selectively moving along the pivot shaft to allow the active rocker arm to selectively engage one or more of the other rocker arms for common pivoting, resulting in varied displacement of the engine valve or valves.

Sliding-pivot locking mechanism for an overhead cam with multiple rocker arms

A multi-step valve actuation system is provided to selectively open a poppet valve of an internal combustion engine having a camshaft rotatably supported by a cylinder block. The multi-step valve actuation system includes a rocker arm operable to selectively open the poppet valve and a pushrod operable to bias the rocker arm. A first follower arm is engageable with a first cam of the camshaft and operates to selectively bias the pushrod. A lash adjuster is disposed between the first follower arm and the pushrod. A second follower arm is engageable with a second cam of the camshaft and selectively latchable with respect to the first follower arm, while a third follower arm is engageable with a third cam of the camshaft and selectively latchable with respect to the first follower arm. An internal combustion engine incorporating the multi-step valve actuation system of the present invention is also disclosed.

Multi-step valve actuation system

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Chesterfield, MI, United States of America

John Ioan Manole