An auto tensioner is supported on one side surface of a cylinder block 4-(the outer surface of a front wall part) via a bracket. The auto tensioner includes: a tension pulley that is pressed against a belt; an arm that rotatably supports the tension pulley and is swingably supported to the bracket; and a hydraulic actuator that is supported by the arm and bracket to adjust the pressing force of the tension pulley to the belt using a predetermined position of the arm as a supporting point. The hydraulic actuator is disposed outside the water pump 8-on the front wall part of the cylinder block.

Based on further ingenuity, it is possible to support a heavy and large electric motor on an engine body with sufficient strength while driving the electric motor with a belt without slipping, thereby providing a more streamlined industrial hybrid engine. The industrial hybrid engine is provided with an endless rotation band wound around a drive pulley of a crankshaft and a motor pulley of an electric motor for motive power. The electric motor is attached to an engine case in a position-fixed state using one support bracket. The support bracket includes first and second support portions for attaching the electric motor, and attachment portions positioned between the first and second support portions for attaching the electric motor to the engine case.

An endless band drive system having a variable center distance between the drive pulley and the driven pulley also has a rotatable control shaft and an endless band guide, where the guide is positioned by the rotatable control shaft for maintaining a slackless endless band with change of pulley center distance. Rotation of the control shaft pivots the endless band guide thereby maintaining a slackless endless band with change of the pulley center distance. Preferably, the rotatable control shaft also provides means for adjusting the center distance between the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The present invention provides a slackless endless band system for a variable compression ratio engine having a variable center distance between the drive pulley mounted on the crankshaft and the driven pulley mounted on the camshaft. The system provides slackless operation of the endless band at two or more compression ratio values.

A powertrain system is described, and includes an internal combustion engine including a crankshaft and an electric machine including a rotatable shaft, wherein the rotatable shaft is coupled to a motor pulley. A torque converter includes an impeller and a pump, wherein the pump is coupled to an outer sheave. An off-axis mechanical drive system includes the outer sheave of the torque converter rotatably coupled to the motor pulley of the electric machine. The electric machine is coupled to the pump of the torque converter via the off-axis mechanical drive system, and the crankshaft is coupled to the pump of the torque converter via a clutch.

A coupling system can include an energy transfer device and a load mitigation system. The energy transfer device can include a shaft, gear, chain or piston-cylinder arrangement to transfer the energy from a power supply to an object to be moved. The load mitigation system can be used to limit or prevent the transfer of forces from the object to the drive unit as a result of external loads being applied to the object. The load mitigation system can be pre-loaded such that external loads on the object having an excessive impulsive or resonant cyclic force greater than the pre-load force on the load mitigation system are reduced and only partially transferred to the energy transfer device and power supply. The load mitigation system can dampen both resonant loads and impulsive impact loads occurring at the object thereby preventing damage and extending life.

A motorcycle with a swing arm element pivotably coupled to a holding element of the motorcycle via a rotary bearing is provided with a tensioning element. The motorcycle also includes a pulling member which engages two gear elements which are each spaced from the rotary bearing in a torque-transmitting manner. The first gear element is rotatably mounted separately from the swing arm element, and the second gear element is rotatably mounted on the swing arm element. The tensioning device for tensioning the pulling member is mounted rotatably and/or in an axially displaceable manner relative to the two gear elements on the swing arm element or on a frame of the motorcycle. The tensioning device includes at least two levers pivotable relative to one another, and a tensioning element which biases the levers against the pulling member to maintain consistent tension in the pulling member.

In an aspect, a system is provided for controlling tension in an endless drive member, and including an isolation device and a tensioning system. The isolation device is positioned on an accessory drive shaft and has a pulley and a biasing member to transfer force from the pulley to the accessory drive shaft. The isolation device pulley is engaged with the endless drive member, such that a first span of the endless drive member is on a first side of the isolation device pulley and a second span of the endless drive member is on a second side of the isolation device pulley. The tensioning system has a first tensioner pulley engaged with the first span and a second tensioner pulley engaged with the second span. The first and second tensioner pulleys are urged by first and second tensioner pulley biasing forces towards the first and second spans respectively.

A method for determining belt wear in a belt drive, wherein the belt is loaded with a defined torque and the rotation angle of a pulley is determined.

A chain drive for an internal combustion engine comprises a driving sprocket and at least one driven sprocket, a drive chain coupling the sprockets to each other, and at least one guide rail and/or one tensioning rail for guiding and/or tensioning the drive chain. At least the guide rail and/or the tensioning rail comprises at least two slide elements, arranged at a non-guided distance from one another for contacting the drive chain, such that at least two slide elements are arranged in at least one span of the chain drive. In at least one span, the ratio of guided chain length to non-guided chain length is smaller than 1. Such a chain drive is to be improved with respect to its vibration characteristics. To this end, the sum of the two non-guided lengths of the drive chain between a slide element and the respective nearest sprocket is, in at least one span, which is in contact with a guide rail and/or a tensioning rail with at least two slide elements arranged at a non-guided distance from one another, smaller than 0.5 times the total length of the respective span.

Tensioner for an accessory drive of a motor vehicle each have a support element adapted to be fixed on an electric machine, an intermediate element carried by the support element and rotating with respect thereto about a first fixed axis, a rigid tensioner element rotating with respect to the intermediate element about a second axis parallel to the first axis, a pair of tensioner pulleys carried by the tensioner element and adapted to cooperate with respective branches of an endless drive element of the drive positioned on opposite sides with respect to the electric machine, and a spring acting between the support element and the intermediate element to push the tensioner pulleys into contact with the endless drive element.