An electrically-actuated variable camshaft timing (VCT) phaser assembly, comprises a sun gear configured to receive input from an electric motor and one or more planet gears having radially-outwardly-extending gear teeth that engage the sun gear; a first ring gear, having radially-inwardly extending gear teeth that engage the radially-outwardly-extending gear teeth of the sun gear, configured to receive rotational output provided by a crankshaft; a second ring gear, having radially-inwardly extending gear teeth that engage the radially-outwardly-extending gear teeth of the sun gear, configured to couple to a camshaft; one or more planet gear pins that carry the planet gear(s) and engage a planetary gear set to prevent the relative rotation of the planet gear pin(s) relative to the planetary gear set; and one or more springs that bias the planet gear pin(s) and the planetary gear(s) toward the first ring gear and the second ring gear.

A valve with an opening is driven by an electric motor to rotate around the cylinder of an opposed piston engine such that the opening separately matches an intake and exhaust opening on the cylinder to allow fuel to enter the combustion chamber of the engine and allow exhaust to be expelled. The intake and exhaust cylinder openings may be separated from each other by approximately sixty degrees of the outside of the cylinder.

Travel of a brushless rotary actuator is limited by two stops, including a wound stator and a magnetic cylindrical rotor rigidly attached to a shaft having a first end rigidly attached to a control member. A second end of the shaft is rigidly attached to a travel limiting part acting as stops, and the travel limiting part has bending, resilient beam shapes. The actuator is electrically controlled in an open-loop. A control system controls a lift value of valves of an internal combustion engine by a lever driven by such an actuator.

An electric motor for an electric camshaft phaser, including: a housing; a nut fixed with respect to the housing and including a first plurality of threads; a drive shaft including a second plurality of threads, a portion of which is meshed with the first plurality of threads, and including a first segment; a rotor rotationally fixed to the drive shaft, and radially surrounding the drive shaft; a stator radially surrounding the rotor, and arranged to be energized to rotate the rotor and the drive shaft; and a first blocking element. The drive shaft is rotatable with respect to the nut, and the first segment is arranged to connect to the electric camshaft phaser to rotate an output gear of the electric camshaft phaser. A rotation of the drive shaft, in a first circumferential direction, is blocked by a contact of the first blocking element with the nut.

A housing of an exhaust valve is provided for an exhaust port communicating with a combustion chamber. The housing has a plate-shaped portion formed with a plurality of fixed slits radially extending from the central axis of the port. A valve element is provided adjacent to the plate-shaped section, is rotatable around a central axis, and has formed with a plurality of movable slits radially extending from the central axis. Due to the action of electromagnets and a permanent magnet attached to an annular member, the valve body is rotationally displaced around the central axis of the port, and the relative positional relationship between the fixed slits and the movable slits is changed to open and close the exhaust valve. The same is also true for an intake valve.

A housing of an exhaust valve is provided for an exhaust port communicating with a combustion chamber. The housing has a plate-shaped portion formed with a plurality of fixed slits radially extending from the central axis of the port. A valve element is provided adjacent to the plate-shaped section, is rotatable around a central axis, and has formed with a plurality of movable slits radially extending from the central axis. Due to the action of electromagnets and a permanent magnet attached to an annular member, the valve body is rotationally displaced around the central axis of the port, and the relative positional relationship between the fixed slits and the movable slits is changed to open and close the exhaust valve. The same is also true for an intake valve.

A valve with an opening is driven by an electric motor to rotate around the cylinder of an opposed piston engine such that the opening separately matches an intake and exhaust opening on the cylinder to allow fuel to enter the combustion chamber of the engine and allow exhaust to be expelled. The intake and exhaust cylinder openings may be separated from each other by approximately sixty degrees of the outside of the cylinder.

A rotary electromagnetic actuator includes a biasing assembly for applying a torque to its rotor. Such an actuator may be used to operate a poppet valve of an internal combustion engine. The biasing assembly is switchable between (a) a first configuration in which the biasing assembly exerts a torque on the rotor over at least part of the range of rotation of the rotor, wherein the torque exerted varies with the rotational position of the rotor according to a torque profile, and (b) a second configuration in which the biasing assembly exerts substantially no torque on the rotor over the range of the rotor.

An electrically-controlled camshaft phaser with a gearbox assembly, including a sun gear having outwardly-facing gear teeth; at least one planet gear, having outwardly-facing gear teeth, that moves radially relative to an axis of sun gear rotation; at least one pin that carries the planet gear; and a deformable outer ring, carried by the sun gear, that engages the planet gear and moves the planet gear radially toward a ring gear.

An electrically-controlled camshaft phaser with a gearbox assembly, including a sun gear having outwardly-facing gear teeth; at least one planet gear, having outwardly-facing gear teeth, that moves radially relative to an axis of sun gear rotation; at least one pin that carries the planet gear; and a deformable outer ring, carried by the sun gear, that engages the planet gear and moves the planet gear radially toward a ring gear.