Iwis Motorsysteme Gmbh & Co. Kg

Renzo Perissinotto

Henning Geibel

Tobias Schmid

Christian Bauer

Ulrich Schelzig

Martin Bodensteiner

Stefan Belmer

Franz Stiglmaier

Dag Heinrich

Thomas Englbrecht

Markus Aurnhammer

A valve unit for a tensioning device of an endless drive is provided, in particular a chain drive of an internal combustion engine, with a carrier plate having an underside forming a contact surface and an upper side which can be faced towards a pressure chamber of the tensioning device, and a valve body which is guided in a receptacle movably relative to the carrier plate for opening and closing a valve seat of the tensioning device. Such a valve unit is to be simplified and more cost-saving. The receptacle is formed by the carrier plate and a suspension device is provided in the region of the receptacle on which the valve body is suspended from the carrier plate in a lowermost position. The carrier plate is horizontal in the non-installed state of the tensioning device, such that the valve body projects downwardly out of the receptacle and is movable upwardly by at least the opening stroke. The invention relates to a corresponding hydraulic tensioning device.

Valve unit with carrier plate and valve body

A chain drive for an internal combustion engine comprises a driving sprocket and at least one driven sprocket, a drive chain coupling the sprockets to each other, and at least one guide rail and/or one tensioning rail for guiding and/or tensioning the drive chain. At least the guide rail and/or the tensioning rail comprises at least two slide elements, arranged at a non-guided distance from one another for contacting the drive chain, such that at least two slide elements are arranged in at least one span of the chain drive. In at least one span, the ratio of guided chain length to non-guided chain length is smaller than 1. Such a chain drive is to be improved with respect to its vibration characteristics. To this end, the sum of the two non-guided lengths of the drive chain between a slide element and the respective nearest sprocket is, in at least one span, which is in contact with a guide rail and/or a tensioning rail with at least two slide elements arranged at a non-guided distance from one another, smaller than 0.5 times the total length of the respective span.

Chain drive having a plurality of sliding elements

A guide rail or a tensioning rail for a chain drive of an internal combustion engine, comprises two separate sliding elements associated with the same span of the chain drive and arranged on a support, the sliding elements having a sliding surface that exhibits a convex curvature in the direction of movement of the chain. This kind of rail is to be improved with respect to its producibility and its tensioning and guiding effect. The angle bisectors of the two opening angles of the two convex sliding surfaces extend relative to each other at an angle other than 0&#xb0;, the sliding elements being attached to the support as separate modular components. Kits for a guide rail and a tensioning rail as well as a chain drive are provided.

Modular guide rail or modular tensioning rail

A tensioning rail for an endless drive means, in particular for a chain drive of an internal combustion engine, comprises a support body and a sliding body arranged on the support body and having a sliding surface for contacting the endless drive means as well as at least one lubricant opening for wetting the sliding surface with lubricant. A press-on area provided on the support body and used for contacting a tensioning device has an inflow opening for the lubricant. A feed passage extending from the inflow opening through the support body and a lubricant passage extending in the longitudinal direction of the support body allow the supply of lubricant to the at least one lubricant opening.

Tensioning rail with lubricant passage

A tensioning or guide rail for a chain drive, in particular for a chain drive of an internal combustion engine, comprises two spaced-apart contact sections and one non-contact section arranged therebetween, the contact sections each having a sliding surface which is adapted to be brought into contact with a chain, and the non-contact section interconnecting the two contact sections as a support structure. Such a rail is to be configured such that the installation space available can be utilized more advantageously. To this end, the support structure of the non-contact section comprises an opening extending continuously from a front to a rear of the tensioning or guide rail and separating the contact sections provided with the sliding surfaces. The invention also relates to an endless drive of the type in question.

Tensioning or guide rail with opening

A tensioning or guide rail for a drive chain, in particular for a chain drive of an internal combustion engine, comprises a carrier body with at least two chain guide sections and with at least one recessed section. The at least one recessed section is arranged between two chain guide sections and recessed relative to a tangent connecting the adjoining chain guide sections, the at least two chain guide sections having each a sliding-contact surface for contacting the drive chain. A continuous sliding body is arranged on the carrier body along the at least two chain guide sections and the at least one recessed section, the sliding body defining the sliding-contact surfaces of the at least two chain guide sections and a surface of the at least one recessed section, the surface facing the drive chain.

Tensioning or guide rail having a continuous recessed sliding body

A tensioning or guide rail and a method of producing a tensioning or guide rail for an endless drive means are provided, in particular for a chain drive in an internal combustion engine, comprising a supporting body and a sliding body of plastic material arranged on the supporting body. The method comprises the steps of producing a sliding body profile strand and separating the individual sliding body from the sliding body profile strand. The sliding body of a tensioning or guide rail is a segment of such a sliding body profile strand, the plastic material being oriented in a longitudinal direction.

Tensioning or guide rail having an extruded sliding lining body

A link chain has alternating inner and outer chain links connected by a chain articulation, having a direction of motion, wherein each inner chain link has at least one inner plate, and each outer chain link has at least two outer plates and two chain link pins connecting these plates, each pin being rotationally fixed in a pin opening of the associated outer plate and extending through a link opening of the associated inner chain link to form a chain articulation. The inner and/or outer chain links have plate backs contactable with a tensioning rail or guide rail. A forward region of the plate backs in the direction of motion of a part of the inner and/or outer plates extends at an angle to a plane projected between the center lines of the pin openings or link openings. The vertex of the angle points away from the direction of motion.

Link chain with inclined plate backs

The damping device of the tensioning device has at least one damping channel that is open in both flow directions as a component of the fluid supply in such a way that during operation at least a portion of the supply stream is fed through the at least one damping channel into the pressure reservoir, and the damping device and the venting device are coupled with each other by fluid engineering means such that a drainage flow from the pressure reservoir occurs via the damping device and the venting device in combination, and the supply flow occurs predominantly independently of the venting device.

Tensioning device with damping channel in the fluid supply system

A tensioning system with restoring action for tensioning a flexible drive means is provided, in particular a drive chain of an internal combustion engine, composed of a tensioning apparatus and a restoring device. The tensioning apparatus comprises a housing, a tensioning piston which is guided in a movable manner in the housing and which has a detent profiling, and a detent hook for the stepped adjustment of the working range of the tensioning piston, wherein the detent hook has a clamping region for engaging into the detent profiling in the tensioning piston. Here, a retraction stop is provided at the housing, at which retraction stop, in an abutting state of the detent hook, a further retraction movement of the tensioning piston into the housing is prevented by virtue of the clamping region being clamped on the detent profiling. The restoring device has a restoring element which is separate from the tensioning apparatus and which is received in a restoring receptacle of the tensioning apparatus and which prevents the abutment of the detent hook against the retraction stop and which, in the event of abutment of the detent hook against the restoring element and a further retraction movement of the tensioning piston, causes the clamping region to spread open and permits a restoring movement of the tensioning piston. The present system also relates to a corresponding tensioning apparatus having a restoring receptacle for receiving the restoring element.

Tensioning system with restoring action

A tensioning device for a flexible drive means, such as a chain or a belt, includes a housing, a tensioning piston movably arranged in the housing and provided with a hollow space, a pressure chamber for hydraulic fluid arranged between the housing and the tensioning piston, a vent opening arranged in the tensioning piston, and a damping means in flow communication with the vent opening and with the pressure chamber. A packing element is arranged in the hollow space of the tensioning piston and is at least a component of the damping means, such that the damping means comprises a capacity for hydraulic fluid which corresponds to at least 30% of the volume of the pressure chamber added in a 1 mm stroke of the tensioning piston in the extension direction. The device relates to a series of tensioning devices as well as a transmission and a series of transmissions.

Tensioning device with a damping means comprising a minimum capacity

A tensioning apparatus or device for a flexible driving means, particularly a drive chain for an internal combustion engine, comprises a housing, a tensioning piston movably guided in said housing and an adjusting or regulating means for gradually adjusting the working stroke of the tensioning piston. The adjusting means comprises a locking bracket and an appertaining locking profile at the tensioning piston, two arch-shaped clamping sections of said locking bracket being engageable with said locking profile, and a resilient spring portion with a torsional area combining the clamping sections in spring-resilient manner. In a preferred embodiment, the locking bracket comprises a U-shaped section with a portion angled towards the housing wall and forming the torsional area. The housing is further provided with a guide projection projecting from said housing wall for axially guiding said angled portion of said U-shaped section of said locking bracket in the working stroke of said tensioning piston in torsion-proof manner.

Tensioning apparatus with locking bracket

A tensioning device for a flexible driving means, in particular a chain tensioner for a timing chain of an internal combustion engine, with a housing, a tensioning piston guided in a piston bore of the housing and a latching element arranged outside on the housing, is provided. A latching profile is provided on the front region of the tensioning piston in the tensioning direction. The latching element has at least one spring arm protruding over the housing in the tensioning direction, which engages the latching profile of the tensioning piston outside of the housing. The latching element for the delimitation of the free working range between a front end-stop and a rear end-stop in and against the tensioning direction is arranged movably on the housing.

Tensioning device with restraint system

The present invention provides a tensioning device, in particular for a timing chain of an internal combustion engine, having a housing, a tensioning piston guided in a piston bore of the housing, and a locking means for limiting the retraction motion of the tensioning piston into the piston bore of the housing. The locking means comprises a locking ring arranged on the tensioning piston. Furthermore, the locking means comprises a separate locking sleeve that can be reversibly radially expanded and is arranged at one tensioning end of the housing to introduce the locking ring into the locking means in the retraction direction of the tensioning piston and to retain the locking ring in the locking means in the tensioning direction of the tensioning piston.

Tensioning apparatus with a blocking device

The present invention relates to a tensioning rail for a chain drive, in particular a timing chain drive of an internal combustion engine, comprising a base body () and a pressure body () connected to the base body which provides a pressing area () for pressing a chain tensioner, wherein a pressing surface () of the pressure body () which faces the chain tensioner during use is formed with a channel device (). The invention also relates to a tensioning device for an endless drive element, in particular a timing chain of an internal combustion engine, comprising a tensioning rail which can be pushed on the endless drive element having a base body () and a pressure body () which can be connected to the base body () and which provides a pressing area, and having a chain tensioner which presses on the pressing area () of the pressure body ().

Growing community of inventors

Dachau, Germany

Renzo Perissinotto