Cam phaser having a retention feature for aiding assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10480361-B2
Application number	US-201816050419-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2018
Priority date	Jan 13, 2017
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

A cam phaser has a stator, a rotor positioned in the stator and including a locking pin, a locking cover including a receiving feature for receiving the locking pin, a cover plate, and a check valve plate positioned between the stator and the locking cover and including a plurality of valve elements. The cam phaser also has a plurality of first openings in each of the stator, locking cover, and check valve plate, a plurality of second openings in the locking cover, and a third opening formed in the check valve plate. The cam phaser further includes a retention feature for aligning components of the cam phaser during assembly, the retention feature including one or more tabs on a first component and one or more indentations on a second component receiving the one or more tabs.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cam phaser comprising:
a stator;
a rotor positioned in the stator and including a locking pin;
a locking cover including a receiving element for receiving the locking pin;
a cover plate on an opposite side of the stator from the locking cover;
a check valve plate positioned between the stator and one of the locking cover or the cover plate, the check valve plate including a plurality of valve elements;
a plurality of first openings in each of the stator, the locking cover, and the check valve plate;
a plurality of second openings in the locking cover;
a third opening formed in the check valve plate; and
a retention feature for aligning components of the cam phaser during assembly, the retention feature including a tab on the check valve plate that extends into an indentation on at least one of the stator or the locking cover.

2. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the tab extends perpendicular to a plane of the check valve plate into the indentation.

3. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the tab includes a plurality of tabs and the indentation includes a plurality of indentations, and each tab extends into a respective one of the plurality of indentations.

4. The cam phaser of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of indentations is formed on only one of the stator or the locking cover.

5. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the indentation is formed on the locking cover such that the tab extends from an inner periphery of the check valve plate into the indentation.

6. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the indentation includes an indentation formed in each of the stator and the locking cover.

7. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the check valve plate is aligned with the stator, the rotor, and the locking cover such that the plurality of first openings are aligned for receiving a fastener; the plurality of second openings are aligned with the valve elements; and the third opening is aligned with the receiving element such that the locking pin is configured to extend through the third opening into the receiving element.

8. The cam phaser of claim 1 , wherein the tab and the indentation are radially aligned with the plurality of first openings.

9. A method of assembling a cam phaser, the method comprising:
positioning a stator, a rotor, a locking cover, and a check valve plate with respect to each other such that:
a plurality of first openings in the stator, locking cover, and check valve plate are aligned for receiving a fastener,
a plurality of second openings in the locking cover are aligned with a plurality of valve elements of the check valve plate; and
a third opening in the check valve plate is aligned with a receiving feature in the locking plate such that a locking pin on the rotor is configured to extend through the third opening into the receiving feature, and

positioning the check valve plate as a first component with at least one of the stator or the locking cover as a second component by inserting a tab on the check valve plate into an indentation on the at least one of the stator or the locking cover in order to align the first and second components with each other.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the tab extends perpendicular to a plane of the check valve plate into the indentation.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the tab includes a plurality of tabs and the indentation includes a plurality of indentations, and each tab extends into a respective one of the plurality of indentations.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the indentation is formed on the locking cover such that the tab extends from an inner periphery of the check valve plate into the indentation.

Assignees

• Schaeffler Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Camilo Alexandre
• De Oliveira Ghiraldi Renato
• Cantin Peter

Classifications

• F01L2303/00

  Manufacturing of components used in valve arrangements · CPC title

• F01L2250/02

  the camshaft being driven by chains · CPC title

• F01L1/3442 Primary

  using hydraulic chambers with variable volume to transmit the rotating force · CPC title

• F01L2001/34469

  Lock movement parallel to camshaft axis · CPC title

• F01L2001/34483

  Phaser return springs · CPC title