Chain tightener

Abstract

A chain tightener with a dampening piston guided in a housing and axially acted upon by a spring in the chain tightening direction, and a radially resilient stop ring which cooperates with recesses of the housing and the dampening piston and limits its stroke while allowing a return movement of the dampening direction opposite to the chain tightening direction, wherein the housing (1) has a receiving groove (10) and the dampening piston (3) has an insert edge (25) for the stop ring (26) wherein during sliding of the dampening piston (3) into the housing (1) the insert edge (25) shifts the stop ring (26) until the latter radially snaps into the receiving groove (10), that a locking groove (18) for the stop ring (26) is provided at the dampening piston (3) which is defined on the one hand by a stop end face (19) and on the other hand by a stop ramp (20) wherein the stop ramp (20) fits under the stop ring (26) snapped in the receiving groove (10), that the stop end face (19) shifts the stop ring (26) under the action of the spring (6) out of the receiving groove (10) into an index notch (11) of the housing (1) and that at the end of a return stroke (H), the stop ring (26) disposed in the index notch (11) abuts against the stop ramp (20).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.