Valve operating system for internal combustion engine

A valve operating system for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least two rollered cam followers arranged adjacent each other and having rollers put in contact with a plurality of cams, said cam followers, excluding one of them, being operatively connected to an engine valve, so that the valve operating characteristic of said engine valve can be changed by moving a switching pin mounted in adjacent ones of said cam followers for sliding movement astride said adjacent cam followers, thereby enabling connected and disconnected states of the cam followers to be switched over from one to another, said one cam follower being provided with a portion receiving the biasing force of a biasing means for normally biasing said one cam follower toward a corresponding valve operating cam, wherein

• said one cam follower comprises a cam follower body having a pair of support walls integrally provided thereon and arranged in parallel to sandwich said roller therebetween, and a roller shaft which is fitted and supported at outer peripheries of opposite ends thereof in through-bores in said support walls, said roller shaft having the roller rotatably carried on an intermediate portion thereof, and said valve operating system further includes a first groove which is defined in an inner peripheral surface of the through-bore on one of said support walls to extend in a circumferential direction of said through-bore, a second groove which is defined in an outer peripheral surface of one end of said roller shaft corresponding to said first groove, and a C-shaped resilient fastener mounted in said first and second grooves and capable of engaging with inner surfaces of said grooves astride the grooves to limit an axial relative movement of said roller shaft and said support walls, said receiving portion being formed on the other support wall.

A valve operating system for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least two rollered cam followers arranged adjacent each other and having rollers put in contact with a plurality of cams, at least one of the cam followers being operatively connected to an engine valve, so that the valve operating characteristic of said engine valve can be changed by moving a switching pin mounted in adjacent one of said cam followers for sliding movement astride the adjacent cam followers, thereby enabling connected and disconnected states of the cam followers to be switched over from one to another, wherein each of said cam followers comprises a cam follower body having a pair of support walls integrally provided thereon and arranged in parallel to sandwich the roller therebetween, and a hollow roller shaft which is fitted and supported at outer peripheries of opposite ends thereof in through-bores in said support walls, said roller shaft having the roller rotatably carried at an intermediate portion thereof, and said system further includes a first groove defined in an inner peripheral surface of the through-bore in one of the support walls of another of said adjacent cam followers that receives said switching pin in said connected state, so as to extend in a circumferential direction of the through-bore, a second groove defined in an outer peripheral surface of the roller shaft at one end thereof corresponding to the first groove, and a C-shaped resilient fastener mounted in the first and second grooves and capable of engaging with inner surfaces of said grooves astride the grooves to limit an axial relative movement of said roller shaft and said one support wall, said switching pin being slidably fitted to inner peripheral surfaces of said roller shafts of said adjacent cam followers, wherein said one support wall in said another cam follower is located close to said one cam follower in which said switching pin is mounted.

A valve operating system for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least two rollered cam followers arranged adjacent each other and having rollers put in contact with a plurality of cams, at least one of the cam followers being operatively connected to an engine valve, so that the valve operating characteristic of said engine valve can be changed by moving a switching pin mounted in adjacent one of said cam followers for sliding movement astride the adjacent cam followers, thereby enabling connected and disconnected states of the cam followers to be switched over from one to another, wherein each of said cam followers comprises a cam follower body having a pair of support walls integrally provided thereon and arranged in parallel to sandwich the roller therebetween, one of said support walls being provided therein with a passage for feeding hydraulic pressure for a switch-over operation by the pin, and a hollow roller shaft which is fitted and supported at outer peripheries of opposite ends thereof in through-bores in said support walls, said roller shaft having the roller rotatably carried at an intermediate portion thereof;

• and said system further includes a first groove defined in an inner peripheral surface of the though-bore in the other of the support walls to extend in a circumferential direction of the through-bore, a second groove defined in an outer peripheral surface of the roller shaft at one end thereof corresponding to the first groove, and a C-shaped resilient fastener mounted in the first and second grooves and capable of engaging with inner surfaces of said grooves astride the grooves to limit an axial relative movement of said roller shaft and said other support wall, said switching pin being slidably fitted to inner peripheral surfaces of said roller shafts of said adjacent cam followers.

A valve operating system for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least two rollered cam followers arranged adjacent each other and having rollers put in contact with a plurality of cams, at least one of the cam followers being operatively connected to an engine valve, so that the valve operating characteristic of said engine valve can be changed by moving a switching pin mounted in adjacent one of said cam followers for sliding movement astride the adjacent cam followers, thereby enabling connected and disconnected states of the cam followers to be switched over from one to another, wherein each of said cam followers comprises a cam follower body having a pair of support walls integrally provided thereon and arranged in parallel to sandwich the roller therebetween, and a hollow roller shaft which is fitted and supported at outer peripheries of opposite ends thereof in a through-bore in one of said support walls and in a recessed portion in the other of said support walls, said roller shaft having the roller rotatably carried at an intermediate portion thereof;

• and said system further includes a first groove defined in an inner peripheral surface of the through-bore in said one support wall to extend in a circumferential direction of the through-bore, a second groove defined in an outer peripheral surface of the roller shaft at one end thereof corresponding to the first groove, and a C-shaped resilient fastener mounted in the first and second grooves and capable of engaging with inner surfaces of said grooves astride the grooves to limit an axial relative movement of said roller shaft and said one support wall, said switching pin being slidably fitted to inner peripheral surfaces of said roller shafts of said adjacent cam followers.