Switchable hydraulic lash adjuster with external spring and solid stop

Abstract

A valve train of an internal combustion engine with a switchable hydraulic lash adjuster (SHLA) is provided, including a cylinder head having a boss, with an opening defined in the boss. The SHLA is located in the opening, and the SHLA includes: an outer housing having an inner bore, an inner housing movably located in the inner bore of the outer housing, and including a spring retainer at an outer end thereof, and a plunger assembly with a hydraulic lash adjuster mechanism movably located in a bore of the inner housing. A lost motion spring is located between the spring retainer and a spring seat located around the boss. This arrangement reduces the overall packaging length of the SHLA in that only a fraction of the lost motion spring's installed height has an influence on the overall length of the SHLA.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.