Patent ID: 6318315
Filing Date: 2001-11-20
Classification: F01L

Abstract:
A valve operating system for an internal combustion engine, comprising at least two rollered cam followers arranged adjacent each other and having a 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, whereineach 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 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 support walls, said switching pin being slidably fitted to Inner peripheral surfaces of said roller shafts of sa id adjacent cam followers.