Patent ID: 7540267

Claim:
An engine comprising: a crankshaft; a crankshaft pulley attached to the crankshaft and configured to rotate about a crankshaft axis; a piston cylinder; a piston attached to the crankshaft and disposed at least partially within the piston cylinder; a valve configured for selectively facilitating passage of fluid with respect to the piston cylinder; a camshaft comprising: an outer elongate member comprising an outer surface and a lobe, the lobe configured for actuating the valve, the outer elongate member axially defining a passageway and defining an aperture extending from the outer surface to the passageway, wherein the outer elongate member is configured to rotate about a first axis; an inner elongate member axially disposed within the passageway and configured to move within the passageway; a tab attached to the inner elongate member and extending into the aperture defined by the outer elongate member; and a camshaft actuator configured to selectively move the inner elongate member relative to the outer elongate member; a camshaft pulley attached to the camshaft and configured to rotate about the first axis; a first deflection member; a second deflection member; a flexible transmitter routed sequentially over the camshaft pulley, the first deflection member, the crankshaft pulley and the second deflection member such that rotation of the crankshaft correspondingly rotates the camshaft pulley to facilitate a phase relationship between the camshaft pulley and the crankshaft pulley; and a first deflection actuator engaged with the first deflection member and configured to selectively adjust the relative distance between the first deflection member and the crankshaft axis to facilitate variation in the phase relationship.