Chain or belt tensioner
AssigneeRenold PLC
InventorChristian Poiret
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A belt or chain tensioner comprises a plunger that is slidably received in a chamber of the tensioner housing. The plunger is biased by a spring to project out of the housing and into contact with a tensioning shoe by which tension is applied to the chain or belt. The chamber is supplied with hydraulic fluid to damp movement of the plunger within the housing. The spring is captively connected between the plunger and housing and located outside of the housing. The tensioner is simple to install and remove from an internal combustion engine as the plunger and housing are held together by the spring.
Claims10
A belt or chain tensioner comprising:
- a housing having a chamber,
- a plunger slideably displaceable within the chamber, said plunger having a main portion for receipt in said chamber, an enlarged head adapted to bear against a tensioning shoe, and a tapered surface adjacent to and integral with said head between said head and said main portion, the tapered surface being separated from said main portion by an inwardly directed step, and
- a spring disposed around the outside of the housing and plunger so as to bias the plunger to a position protruding from the housing, the spring being captively connected to the housing by means of at least one coil of the spring being located over a lip on an exterior surface of the housing and captively connected to said plunger by means of at least one coil of an end of the spring being disposed on said tapered surface and bearing against said head.
A belt or chain tensioner, comprising:
- a housing having the general shape of a bolt having a shank with first and second ends, the shank having a chamber open to the first end, the housing having a raised lip about its circumference;
- a plunger movably received in the chamber of the housing, the plunger having an enlarged head and an adjacent tapered surface integral with the enlarged head;
- and
- a coil spring surrounding the plunger and the housing, the coil spring having a first end engaged with the lip on the housing and a second end connected to the plunger, wherein the spring retains the plunger within the chamber, as a result of the second end of the coil spring being supported on the surface the second end being retained between the surface and the enlarged head of the plunger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.