Hydraulic camshaft adjuster

A method for locking a rotor to a stator of a hydraulic camshaft adjuster, comprising:

• providing the hydraulic camshaft adjuster, the hydraulic camshaft adjuster having:
• a plurality of working chambers formed between outwardly projecting vanes of the rotor and radially inwardly projecting webs of the stator;
• and,
• a first locking element and a second locking element disposed in the rotor, the first and second locking elements configured to lock the rotor in a middle position relative to the stator;
• and,
• the first locking element and the second locking element configured to be locked in a common stepped locking slotted guide, the stepped locking slotted guide having a base, a middle step, and a plateau, the middle step formed between the base and the plateau;
• providing the rotor in a first position so that the first and second locking elements rest on the plateau of the stepped locking slotted guide;
• moving the rotor in a first adjustment direction to a second position so that the first locking element rests on the middle step of the stepped locking slotted guide;
• moving the rotor in the first adjustment direction to a third position so that the first locking element rests on the base;
• moving the rotor in the first adjustment direction to a fourth position so that the second locking element rests on the middle step and the first locking element rests on the base;
• moving the rotor in the first adjustment direction to a fifth position so that both the first and second locking elements rest on the base;
• and,
• in the second, third, fourth, and fifth positions of the rotor, the rotor is blocked from moving in a second adjustment direction by at least one of the first or second locking elements.

A hydraulic camshaft adjuster for variable adjustment of control times of gas exchange valves of an internal combustion engine, the hydraulic camshaft adjuster comprising:

• a stator having radially inwardly projecting webs;
• a rotor having outwardly projecting vanes configured to be rotatable relative to the stator;
• a plurality of hydraulic working chambers formed between the stator and the rotor, each of the plurality of hydraulic working chambers divided into working chambers by one of the vanes of the rotor;
• a first locking element and a second locking element disposed in the rotor, the first and second locking elements configured to lock the rotor in a middle position relative to the stator;
• and,
• the first locking element and the second locking element configured to be locked in a common stepped locking slotted guide, the stepped locking slotted guide having:
• a base, a middle step, and a plateau;
• the middle step formed at each of a first end and a second end of the stepped locking slotted guide between the base and the plateau.