Abstract: It is described herein a hydraulic lifter for an internal combustion engine. The hydraulic lifter may comprise a lifter body, a self-contained hydraulic cartridge, a pushrod seat, and a retaining clip. The self-contained hydraulic cartridge may be disposed within a cartridge bore in the lifter body. The self-contained hydraulic cartridge may comprise a self-contained hydraulic system such that a lifter piston of the hydraulic system is not directly disposed within a bore in the lifter body.

Abstract: A lash adjuster includes a cylindrical body, a cylindrical plunger, a low pressure chamber defined in the plunger, a high pressure chamber defined in a hollow lower interior of the body and filled with an operating fluid, a check valve allowing the operating fluid to flow into the high pressure chamber when in a valve-opened state and cutting off flow of the operating fluid from the high pressure chamber into the low pressure chamber when in a valve-closed state. A retainer of the check valve includes a base plate and a cylindrical portion extending upward from an outer circumferential edge of the base plate so as to surround the valve element. The base plate includes a central portion on which the valve element is placed and which has an upper surface formed with a swollen portion. The cylindrical portion has a plurality of openings formed through it circumferentially equiangularly.

Abstract: A return spring is formed using a compression coil spring that is installed so that its axial direction is an up-down direction. The return spring is provided in a high-pressure chamber, and powers a plunger in an upwards direction. A coil diameter of the return spring varies along the axial direction. When the return spring is in a maximally compressed state, an axial direction dimension (up-down direction dimension) is smaller than a dimension that is a thickness of a spring wire multiplied by the number of coil turns. Hence, an overall height of a lash adjuster A can be reduced in comparison to when a return spring with a constant coil diameter over an entire length is used.

Abstract: A lash adjuster in which, when a plunger descends, a valve element moves to a valve-closed position without delay. A check valve (27) has a valve hole (28) penetrating through a bottom wall (17) of a plunger (12), a retainer (30) placed in a high pressure chamber (25) and vertically moving together with the plunger (12), and a valve element (29) capable of vertically moving in the high pressure chamber (25), between a valve-opened position at which the valve element (29) is separated from the valve hole (28) to be placed on the retainer (30) and a valve-closed position which is located above the valve-opened position and at which the valve element (29) closes the valve hole (28). When the plunger (12) is at a standstill, the valve element (29) is held at the valve-opened position by the self-weight.

Abstract: A lash adjuster 100A includes a plunger 2, a body 1 in which the plunger 2 is inserted in a fitting manner, a first sealing member 5 provided between the plunger 2 and the body 1, and a second sealing member 20A that slidably seals a portion of the plunger 2 exposed out of the body 1, and that is arranged in a manner covering a clearance K provided between an open end portion of the body 1 and the plunger 2 in a state of being directly or indirectly fixed in close contact to the body 1, and a portion of the body 1 located on the side nearer to the open end portion thereof than the first sealing member 5 is provided with a communication hole 1a that communicates an inner wall surface of the body 1 with an outer wall surface thereof.

Abstract: A return spring is formed using a compression coil spring that is installed so that its axial direction is an up-down direction. The return spring is provided in a high-pressure chamber, and powers a plunger in an upwards direction. A coil diameter of the return spring varies along the axial direction. When the return spring is in a maximally compressed state, an axial direction dimension (up-down direction dimension) is smaller than a dimension that is a thickness of a spring wire multiplied by the number of coil turns. Hence, an overall height of a lash adjuster A can be reduced in comparison to when a return spring with a constant coil diameter over an entire length is used.

Abstract: The liquid is sealed in the lash adjuster so that the volume “V1” of the gas, in the reservoir chamber when the lash adjuster is being produced and the plunger protrudes from the body, is equal to or more than 1.24 times as great as the sum of the volume “Vo1” of the liquid discharged from the high-pressure chamber when the plunger moves downward, and the increase “Vo2” in the volume of the liquid that expands, due to heat, when the temperature of the gas in the reservoir chamber is increased from the production temperature to the maximum use temperature, and the ratio of “V1” to “Vo1+Vo2” is equal to or higher than a ratio, which is derived based on the production temperature and the maximum use temperature, when the inner pressure of the lash adjuster increases by 500 kPa at maximum.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing lubricant to a plurality of hydraulic lifters in an internal combustion engine is disclosed, in which the amount of gas bubbles present in the lubricant provided to the lifters is reduced or eliminated so that lifter noise is reduced or prevented. The apparatus, which is part of an internal combustion engine that includes valve trains with hydraulic lifters that are positioned proximate the crankcase and one another, includes a lifter feed gallery that receives lubricant from a feed passage, and communicates the lubricant to lifter feed holes. The lifter feed holes in turn communicate the lubricant to the respective hydraulic lifters. At or near the top of the lifter feed gallery proximate where the feed passage is coupled to the gallery is a single bleed orifice, which diverts gas bubbles away from the gallery and into the crankcase.

Abstract: The aim of the invention is to functionally improve a hydraulic play compensation element for a valve gear of an internal combustion engine. To this end, the play compensation element is characterized by the following features. Both components (4; 6) enclose a pressure chamber (7) between them, which is sealed from the exterior and which has a volume that depends on the relative position of both components (4; 6). A pressure spring (5) that presses both components (4; 6) away from one another is mounted inside the pressure chamber (7). The pressure chamber (7) can be connected to the storage chamber (8) via a spring-loaded one-way valve (10) through which media can flow exclusively into the pressure space. An additional controllable stop valve (11) is provided in the connection of the pressure chamber (7) to the storage chamber (8). A throttling channel (17), which serves as a bypass to the one-way valve (10), is provided between the pressure chamber (7) and the controllable stop valve (11).

Abstract: The cup tappet (1) of the invention for a valve train of an internal combustion engine comprises a hollow cylindrical skirt (2) whose one end (3) is connected to a bottom (5) for making contact with a cam. The skirt (2) has a clearly smaller height than the overall height of the cup tappet (1), and the bottom (5) rises in a roof-like taper from said end (3). By virtue of this configuration, the bottom (5) has a very high rigidity, so that it is possible to minimize its thickness ‘d’ significantly compared to thicknesses of prior art cup tappet bottoms.

Abstract: A hydraulic lash adjuster has a plunger assembly the outer end of which can be moved inwardly until the inner end abuts a seal and closes a high pressure chamber, thus preventing further movement. This accommodates any necessary movement of a valve towards its closing position to ensure proper closure. Consequently, net-shaped cams wherein the base circle is not necessarily accurately concentric may be used. A leaf sprung ensures opening of the chamber when the base circle of the cam is next reached.

Abstract: Oil metering valve means in a hydraulic valve lifter configured such that a metering plate cooperates with a pushrod seat to meter the flow of oil in a forward direction. The metering means is also conducive to the flow of oil in the reverse direction, permitting an oil reservoir in the lifter to be filled by reverse oil flow, either after assembly of the lifter or upon engine shutdown. Embodiments of such oil metering valve means may include: a metering plate having one or more notches around its periphery to permit oil to flow past the plate and a feature supporting the plate; a metering plate having one or more apertures to permit oil to flow through the plate; a metering plate having one or more nonplanar areas along the edges of the plate to prevent sealing of the plate against the supportive feature; and a metering-plate supportive feature having one or more irregularities, such as grooves, bumps, or undulations to permit flow around the edge of the plate past the irregularities.