Borgwarner Inc.

Sean R Simmons

Joseph P Goodsell

Matthew W Crump

Bradley F Adams

Christopher Van Loon

Kevin B Todd

Timothy K White

Mark M Wigsten

Dale N Smith

Keith B Cobb

Simon Barrette

Seongdo Hong

Joseph Manley

Richard Love

John Crockett

An automatic mechanical tensioner assembly with a shipping and installation position in which a collar engages a fixed hollow sleeve, limiting or securing a moveable tensioner housing in place against the force of a spring. The collar has a semicircular body defining an inner circumference extending from a first end to a second end of the body. The semicircular body has two axially extending flanges defining a cutout, and a collar tab extending radially from the semicircular body. In the shipping and installation position, the first end of the collar engages with a delivery groove of the hollow sleeve, biasing the moveable housing towards an anti-rotation washer engaged with an end of the fixed hollow sleeve and compressing the spring.

Automatic mechanical tensioner with adjustable initial position

A tooth jump protection device is used to control chain slack and delay the torque at which chain jump occurs, thus increasing jump torque performance. The tooth jump protection device is preferably mounted to the transfer case.

Tooth jump protection device

A chain tensioning device which combats natural build-up of chain slack. In controlling the chain slack, the torque at which a chain jumps occurs is delayed resulting in a higher jump torque performance.

Method(s) to apply tension to increase drivetrain jump torque capacity

A stack of disk springs are placed between a second piston of a dual hydraulic variable force tensioner system and a hydraulic tensioner arm to allow much higher spring rates if desired. The springs may be stacked in multiple configurations to provide different spring rates. Package space can be reduced depending on the number of springs and orientations of said springs within the tensioner arm.

Variable force tensioner arm with cap disk spring

A pressure regulator is in fluid communication with a supply inlet of a hydraulic tensioner to actively control fluid to the inlet of the hydraulic tensioner. By actively controlling the pressure regulator based on engine conditions and thus the oil pressure being fed to the hydraulic tensioner, the oil pressure to the hydraulic tensioner may be reduced at low engine speeds, increasing the efficiency of the timing system, or allowing full oil pressure at high engine speeds and low engine temperature.

Hydraulic tensioner with controllable inlet pressure

A tensioner uses a low rate torsion spring in a first stage and a high rate torsion spring in a second stage to maintain tension in a chain or belt. The first stage is connected to the second stage by a torque coupling. The high rate torsion spring is maintained in an energized state between a ground and a dead stop to store energy and to provide tension under high loads. In some embodiments, the torque coupling is a damper. In other embodiments, the torque coupling is a clutch. A method stores energy in a high rate torsion spring of a tensioner.

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Cortland, NY, United States of America

Sean R Simmons