HIGH STIFFNESS LOW MASS ROCKER ARM
A rocker arm is provided that includes a body which is comprised of a single vertical wall having an I-shape cross section and an axle that extends perpendicular from the vertical wall area for making contact with a valve and a pivot point. The pivot point for the rocker arm may be located centrally or at the end of the rocker arm that is opposite the rocker arm valve arm. An external cam follower bearing is mounted on the axle on each side of a single vertical wall. The rocker arm of the invention is characterized by a relatively reduced mass and has a stiffness that exceeds limits achieved by known prior art designs for an overhead cam and cam follower valve train; the gain in stiffness being attributed to the body's I-shape cross-section relative to conventional prior art rocker arms having a U-shape or dual vertical wall cross-section.
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The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/277,439 filed on Mar. 24, 2006.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a valve train system using a cam and cam-follower rocker arm for an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved rocker arm characterized by relatively reduced mass and increased stiffness and has enhanced bearing quality provided by cam-follower bearings positioned outside the rocker arm.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONEfforts to improve engine power and performance are directed to improvements to the valve train. The introductions of cam phasing, valve deactivation and variable lift technology have all contributions to improved engine power and performance. However, these technologies are relatively expensive and cannot ordinarily be fitted into an existing engine without modifications to the engine. One critical area of the valve train is the rocker arm. Two key design factors for enhancing rocker arm performance are stiffness and mass. Reducing the moving mass of the rocker arm allows more aggressive valve lift profiles, which in turn can improve engine power, raise limiting speed, and reduce hydrocarbon emissions. Mills U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,717, at column 1, lines 13-17, for example, describes the advantages of a lightweight rocker arm. Increased stiffness can improve high-speed valve train system stability, valve train component durability and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,717, at column 1, lines 26-28, also describes the importance of a stiffer rocker arm and at column 4, lines 18-45 teaches the art of a rocker arm. Pryba et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,676, at column 7, lines 18-34 describes a flat rocker arm with a tube extending from the sides to be assembled onto a fixed shaft with a bearing contained within the rocker arm. Many rocker arm configurations of the prior art have been used in efforts to improve on the mass and stiffness design factors but a need still exists for an improved advancement in rocker arm construction that surpasses current design goals, has favorable cost and can be packaged into today's existing conventional valve trains.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe rocker arm of the invention characterized by improved applicability comprises a body having a vertical wall; an axle that extends perpendicular from and through the vertical wall of the body, an area for making contact with a valve, and an opposite pivoting area that engages and is pivotally actuated by a lash adjuster. An external cam-follower bearing is mounted at the axle on each side of the rocker arm vertical wall. The rocker arm of the invention is characterized by a relatively reduced mass and has a stiffness that exceeds limits achieved by known prior art designs for a valve train that utilizes a cam-follower rocker arm. Commercially available computer aided engineering analysis tools are used to compare different cross sectional shapes and provide results to optimize the rocker arm's stiffness and mass. From the analysis results, improved stiffness and reduced mass can be achieved through the use of an I-shape cross section for the rocker arm body instead of the conventional U-shape cross section. The unique design of the rocker arm of the present invention provides a substantial increase in stiffness and reduction in effective mass. The result of the modified cross section and the external cam-follower bearing arrangement provide the capability for valve train and engine performance levels substantially above that normally attainable with conventional rocker arm designs
The rocker arm of the invention pertains to a rocker arm of reduced mass and increased stiffness for use with a valve train assembly that comprises a cam and cam-follower rocker arm. Illustrated in
The lash adjuster 12 is slidably carried in a chamber (not shown) and is urged upwardly by fluid such as oil under pressure in its chamber. The lash adjuster 12 thereby can yield somewhat when the cam 11 rotates. In practice, the lash adjuster 12 is devised to move corresponding to movement of the high lobe 11a of the cam 11 which rotates to provide a zero lash adjustment for the rocker arm.
Additional conventional details of the peripheral elements functioning in conjunction with the rocker arm of the invention may be found in the disclosure of aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,717, the description of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto.
As noted, the assembly includes an overhead cam 11 provided with lobe 11a mounted on camshaft 16, a hydraulic lash adjuster 12, valve stem 13 and rocker arm 14. The rocker arm 14 is in contact with the camshaft cam 11. As the camshaft cam 11 rotates the camshaft lobe 11a it displaces the rocker arm, i.e., the rocker arm pivots relative to the hydraulic lash adjuster 12 fixed in a pocket in the head, and the rocker arm translates rotating motion of camshaft 11 into linear motion which opens and closes the valve via valve stem 13.
Shown in
The prior art rocker arm body comprises two parallel sides 40a and 40b as shown in
As shown in
A rocker arm assembly of the needle bearing type as shown in
From a manufacturing and performance perspective, a journal bearing configuration in the rocker arm of the invention comprising an I-shape cross-section body has been found advantageous. The journal bearing configuration of the cross-section rocker arm requires fewer components and is easier to assemble. While the needle bearing configuration illustrated by
As illustrated in
Although the invention has been described in terms of specific test and embodiments, one skilled in the art can substitute other tests and embodiments and these are meant to be included herein. The invention is only to be limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A rocker arm characterized by relatively high stiffness and low mass comprising:
- a. an elongated lever body having an I-shape cross-section, and having a first valve end, a mounting pivot point and a cam follower bearing point;
- b. the cam follower point comprising an axle positioned transversely through said lever at said point, said axle having an extension on either side of the lever; i. a rotatable cam-follower bearing mounted on said axle and extending from each of the sides of the lever; ii. bearing plates mounted on said axle outboard of each of said cam-follower bearings to retain the cam-follower bearings on the axle; and iii. a retaining pin for securing said cam-follower bearings and bearing plates to provide an integrated rocker arm assembly.
2. The rocker arm of claim 1 wherein the cam follower bearing is centrally located on the rocker arm.
3. The rocker arm of claim 1 wherein the cam follower is located at one end of the rocker arm.
4. The rocker arm of claim 1 in which the transverse axle is provided with circumventing needles over which said cam-follower bearing are mounted to reduce bearing friction.
5. The rocker arm of claim 2 in which one end of the vertical I-shape body is provided with a pivot end and the opposite end of said body is provided with a valve pad.
6. The rocker arm of claim 3 in which one end of the vertical I-shape body is provided with a pivot end and the opposite end of said body is provided with a valve pad.
7. The rocker arm of claim 5 wherein the pivot end comprises a generally concave configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 30, 2007
Publication Date: Sep 27, 2007
Applicant: GenTek Technologies Marketing Inc. (Westfield, MI)
Inventors: Scott P. Smith (Temperance, MI), Blaine R. Lingenfelter (Hartland, MI), John E. Brune (Stockbridge, MI)
Application Number: 11/668,726
International Classification: F01L 1/18 (20060101);