Valve actuating mechanism with mechanical means for self-adjustment

Claim 1

VALVE GEAR MECHANISMS FOR CONTROLLING THE UNSEATING AND SEATING OF A VALVE HAVING A STEM AND A VALVE SEATING SPRING, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING THE COMBINATION WITH THE VALVE STEM AND SPRING AND A PUSH ROD HAVING AN ACTUATOR, OF A ROCKER ARM BEARING ON THE PUSH ROD AND THE VALVE STEM, A ROCKER ARM POST INTERVENING BETWEEN THE PUSH ROD AND THE VALVE STEM AND ON WHICH THE ROCKER ARM IS MOUNTED FOR OSCILLATION, BEARING MEANS MOVABLE AXIALLY ON THE POST AND HAVING A DOWNWARDLY CONVEX SURFACE FOR WHICH THE ROCKER ARM HAS A COMPLEMENTARY CONCAVE BEARING SURFACE HELD TO THE CONVEX SURFACE OF THE BEARING MEANS BY THE BIAS OF THE VALVE SPRING, AN ABUTMENT FIXED ON THE POST ABOVE SAID BEARING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR THE AUTOMATIC SELF-ADJUSTMENT OF THE OVER-ALL LENGTH OF SAID MECHANISM BOTH IN A DIRECTION TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH THEREOF AND TO DECREASE THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH THEREOF AND COMPRISING RELATIVELY MOVABLE MEMBERS PROVIDING A PAIR OF RELATIVELY MOVABLE WEDGE SURFACES, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS BEING MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE POST, AND THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS BEING RELATIVELY FIXED, BOTH OF SAID MEMBERS BEING CONFINED BETWEEN THE BEARING MEANS AND THE SAID ABUTMENT, A WEDGE BIASING SPRING ACTING ON THE SAID MEMBER WHICH IS MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE POST, THE DIRECTION OF BIAS EXERTED THEREBY ON SAID MEMBER BEING SUCH AS TO EXERTED ON SAID ROCKER ARM A FORCE IN OPPOSITION TO THE BIAS OF THE VALVE SPRING ON THE ROCKER ARM, THE SAID WEDGING SURFACES HAVING AN ANGLE WITHIN NARROW CRITICAL LIMITS AND SO RELATED TO THE COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION AND TO THE BIAS OF THE VALVE SPRING AND TO THE BIAS OF THE WEDGE BIASING SPRING THAT DISPLACEMENT OF THE PUSH ROD BY ITS ACTUATOR IN A VALVE UNSEATING DIRECTION IS TRANSMITTED POSITIVELY TO EFFECT PREDETERMINED UNSEATING DISPLACEMENT OF THE VALVE, THE ENTIRE SEATING MOVEMENT OF THE VALVE SUBJECT TO THE BIAS OF THE VALVE SPRING BEING TRANSMITTED POSITIVELY THROUGH SAID MECHANISM TO THE PUSH ROD, WHEREBY THE PUSH ROD POSITIVELY CONTROLS VALVE SEATING MOVEMENT, THE SELF-ADJUSTMENT OCCURRING WHEN SAID MECHANISM IS RELATIVELY FREE OF LOAD CONSEQUENT UPON THE SEATING OF THE VALVE, TWO TENSION SPRINGS BEING CONNECTED BETWEEN THE MOVABLE WEDGE MEMBER AND THE ROCKER ARM TO CONSTITUTE THE WEDGE BIASING SPRING.