The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 02, 1992
Filed:
May. 03, 1991
Michael M Schechter, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Aladar O Simko, Dearborn Heights, MI (US);
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
A modular control mechanism for shifting the phase or angular position of a camshaft or camshafts relative to a crankshaft in an internal combustion engine, and utilizing the energy produced by the reaction torque pulses on the camshaft, and resultant pressure pulses in the cavities, to provide a self-actuating system. In one embodiment, e.g. for controlling a single camshaft, the mechanism comprises two hydraulic cylindrical housings attached to either the camshaft flange or the camshaft driving sprocket, and a respective piston within each cylindrical housing and attached to the other flange to form a rotational hydraulic coupling. The hydraulic cylinders provide a pair of fluid chambers varying in displacement as the two flanges are rotated relative to one another. A hydraulic control apparatus regulates the flow of fluid between the hydraulic cylinders, thus controlling the phase shift between the crankshaft and camshaft. In another embodiment, the two hydraulic cylindrical housings are replaced with a single housing including a double acting piston. The control mechanism of the foregoing embodiments being limited to controlling a single camshaft and utilizing a dual planetary gear set for controlling the degree of phase shift.