Patent ID: 7610887

Claim:
A valve-deactivating hydraulic lifter for selectively coupling the rotary motion of a cam lobe to the reciprocal motion of a valve pushrod in an internal combustion engine, comprising: a) a lifter body having a roller for following an eccentric surface of said cam lobe, said roller having a central region for contacting said cam lobe, said lifter body having a first axial bore and an axial locking surface formed in a wall of said first axial bore; b) a pin housing slidably disposed in said first axial bore and having a transverse bore therethrough and having a second axial bore; c) at least one locking pin slidably disposed in said pin housing transverse bore, said at least one locking pin having an outer end for selectively engaging said axial locking surface to lock said pin housing to said lifter body wherein said pin housing has an axial surface facing the central region of said roller, wherein said axial surface of said pin housing has radius of curvature less than infinity, and wherein said axial surface of said pin housing is configured to avoid contacting said central region.