Patent ID: 7421989

Claim:
A camshaft phaser for advancing and retarding the timing of valves in an internal combustion engine, comprising: a) a stator having a plurality of lobes; b) a rotor disposed within said stator and having a plurality of vanes interspersed with said plurality of lobes, wherein said rotor has a range of rotational authority of about 70 angular degrees; c) a locking pin slidably disposed in one of said rotor and said stator, said locking pin having first and second ends; d) a seat formed in the other of said rotor and said stator for selectively receiving said second end of said locking pin to secure said rotor against rotation within said stator in a locking position; e) a spring disposed adjacent said locking pin for urging said locking pin in a predetermined spring-urging direction with respect to said seat; f) an oil supply passage in communication with said locking pin for selectively urging said locking pin in an oil-urging direction opposite to said spring-urging direction; and g) a first vent passage in communication with said first end of said locking pin and an engine sump when said camshaft phaser is in said locking position, wherein said first vent passage communicates with said seat when said camshaft phaser is in said locking position.