Cylinder valve operating apparatus
First Claim
1. A cylinder valve operating apparatus comprising:
- a camshaft with at least one set of cams, including a first cam and a second cam;
a rocker shaft having a latch release cam;
a rocker arm supported by said rocker shaft and driven by said first cam for rotatable motion about said rocker shaft, the rocker arm having a chamber;
a free cam follower supported by said rocker arm and driven by said second cam for rotatable motion relative to said rocker arm;
a lever supported by said rocker arm, said lever being movable to a locked position where said lever is in driving engagement with said free cam follower to provide a positive motion connection between said free cam follower and said rocker arm and to a released position where said lever is out of driving engagement with said free cam follower to provide relative motion of said free cam follower to said rocker arm;
a release spring for biasing said lever toward said released position;
a piston received in said chamber of said rocker arm, wherein the piston is adapted to move in a first direction tending to protrude out of said chamber in response to application of hydraulic fluid pressure in said chamber;
hydraulic means for controlling supply and discharge of hydraulic fluid to and from said chamber;
a latch operatively connected to said rocker arm, said latch having a cam follower finger adapted to cooperate with said latch release cam;
a cup positioned between said piston and said lever, wherein the piston is adapted to move said lever in said first direction toward said locked position against said release spring; and
a motion assisting spring positioned between said piston and said lever to assist said piston in moving toward a second direction opposite to said first direction subsequent to the piston moving in said first direction.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rocker arm which supporting a free cam follower is rotatably supported by an engine-cylinder-mounted rocker shaft to lift cylinder valves against valve springs. The rocker arm and the free cam follower are in cooperation with first and second cams on a camshaft. A lever is supported by the rocker arm and has a locked position wherein the lever is in driving engagement with the free cam follower to provide a positive motion connection between the free cam follower and the rocker arm and a released position wherein the lever is out of driving engagement with the free cam follower to provide relative motion of the free cam follower to the rocker arm. A hydraulic piston and a release spring cooperate with each other to shift the lever between the locked position and the released position. For adjusting the shifting operation in timed relationship with motion of the rocker arm, a latch is arranged to restrain motion of the hydraulic piston when the rocker arm is unlifted and until the rocker arm is lifted.
17 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A cylinder valve operating apparatus comprising:
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a camshaft with at least one set of cams, including a first cam and a second cam; a rocker shaft having a latch release cam; a rocker arm supported by said rocker shaft and driven by said first cam for rotatable motion about said rocker shaft, the rocker arm having a chamber; a free cam follower supported by said rocker arm and driven by said second cam for rotatable motion relative to said rocker arm; a lever supported by said rocker arm, said lever being movable to a locked position where said lever is in driving engagement with said free cam follower to provide a positive motion connection between said free cam follower and said rocker arm and to a released position where said lever is out of driving engagement with said free cam follower to provide relative motion of said free cam follower to said rocker arm; a release spring for biasing said lever toward said released position; a piston received in said chamber of said rocker arm, wherein the piston is adapted to move in a first direction tending to protrude out of said chamber in response to application of hydraulic fluid pressure in said chamber; hydraulic means for controlling supply and discharge of hydraulic fluid to and from said chamber; a latch operatively connected to said rocker arm, said latch having a cam follower finger adapted to cooperate with said latch release cam; a cup positioned between said piston and said lever, wherein the piston is adapted to move said lever in said first direction toward said locked position against said release spring; and a motion assisting spring positioned between said piston and said lever to assist said piston in moving toward a second direction opposite to said first direction subsequent to the piston moving in said first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification