Patent 7556004 was granted and assigned to Caterpillar Inc. on July, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An engine that includes two intake and two exhaust valves for each cylinder is equipped for single valve constant lift engine braking. The exhaust valves may be actuated in a conventional manner via a rotating cam and a rocker arm coupled to a bridge that spans between the pair of exhaust valves. Engine braking is accomplished by actuating a brake actuator to hold one of the exhaust valves partially open, while the other of the two exhaust valves is allowed to close. Seating velocity of the non-braking valve is limited by including a second actuator button, namely a valve seating actuator, on the rocker arm that engages the valve bridge above the non-braking valve as it moves toward its closed position when the brake actuator is actuated.