US 2026/0298115 A1Published application

Engine gear mesh backlash optimization

AssigneeDeere & Company

InventorsDouglas S. Base, Sachin W. Pawar

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Abstract

Disclosed is an embedded backlash adjuster for an overhead cam work vehicle engine having an engine block, a valve head, and a head idler gear meshed with a cam gear and meshed with an engine idler gear. The embedded backlash adjuster includes mounting bolts, a stub shaft mounted to the valve head by the mounting bolts and supporting the head idler gear, and a pivot member extending along a pivot axis and disposed within a recess in the valve head. The stub shaft being pivotable about the pivot axis when not fixed securely by the mounting bolts. The pivot axis being radially offset from the rotation axis such that pivoting the stub shaft about the pivot axis adjusts a mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the engine idler gear while maintaining a working mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the cam gear.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An embedded backlash adjuster for an overhead cam work vehicle engine system having an engine block to which is mounted a valve head with a valve train operated by a cam shaft that is driven by an input gear assembly including a cam gear mounted to the cam shaft that meshes with a head idler gear which in turn meshes with an engine idler gear, the head idler gear spanning a head gasket disposed between the engine block and the valve head, the embedded backlash adjuster comprising:

a plurality of mounting bolts;
a stub shaft mounted to the valve head or a component of the valve head by the mounting bolts and supporting the head idler gear for rotation about a rotation axis;
and
a pivot member extending along a pivot axis and disposed within a recess in the valve head or a component of the valve head, the stub shaft being pivotable about the pivot axis with respect to the valve head when not fixed securely by the mounting bolts without repositioning the pivot member, and the pivot axis being radially offset from the rotation axis such that pivoting the stub shaft about the pivot axis adjusts a mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the engine idler gear while maintaining a working mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the cam gear.

1 more element

An overhead cam engine of a work vehicle, the overhead cam engine comprising:

an engine block;
a valve head positioned above and mounted to the engine block, the valve head comprising a valve train operated by a cam shaft;
a head gasket positioned between the valve head and engine block;
a cam gear mounted to the cam shaft;
an engine idler gear mounted to the engine block;
a head idler gear mechanically coupled to the valve head, wherein the head idler gear is meshed with both the cam gear and the engine idler gear, and wherein the meshing of the head idler gear and engine idler gear spans the head gasket;
and
an embedded backlash adjuster comprising:
a plurality of mounting bolts;
a stub shaft mounted to the valve head or a component of the valve head by the mounting bolts and supporting the head idler gear for rotation about a rotation axis;
and
a pivot member extending along a pivot axis and disposed within a recess in the valve head or a component of the valve head, the stub shaft being pivotable about the pivot axis with respect to the valve head when not fixed securely by the mounting bolts without repositioning the pivot member, and the pivot axis being radially offset from the rotation axis such that pivoting the stub shaft about the pivot axis adjusts a mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the engine idler gear while maintaining a working mesh backlash between the head idler gear and the cam gear.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.