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:
Apr. 11, 2000
Filed:
Nov. 10, 1998
Timothy Wilton Kunz, Rochester, NY (US);
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A valve actuator subassembly, such as a finger follower and a hydraulic lash adjuster or a rocker arm and push rod, are held together for shipping and installation in an engine valve train by a retainer clip made of wire or sheet, metal or plastic material. The retainer clip includes a U-shaped body having first and second nearly parallel legs interconnected at first ends by a resilient portion. The legs are adapted to resiliently engage opposite sides of a wall of a rockable actuator member having a raised portion on a first side aligned with a socket on a second side. The first leg includes a guide recess adjacent a second end and adapted to guidingly engage the raised portion on the first side of the wall. The second leg includes a gripping recess adjacent a second end and has a pair of opposed resilient edges adapted to frictionally grip nearly opposite sides of a cylindrical member, such as push rod or lash adjuster plunger, upon engagement of the cylindrical member with the socket in the wall of the actuator member. The resilient edges frictionally grip the cylindrical member at points nearly aligned on an axis normal to the directions of said legs from their first to their second ends so that the retainer clip frictionally retains said cylindrical member in the socket of the rockable actuator member in the subassembly positioned for installation in a valve train. Various embodiments are disclosed.