초록 ▼

A system for accomplishing solenoid control of engine valves places a soldnoid valve between an oil gallery and the lost-motion actuator for each valve. Although the basic phasing for the valves is established by a camshaft, the actual phasing is accomplished by causing the valve actuators to execut

A system for accomplishing solenoid control of engine valves places a soldnoid valve between an oil gallery and the lost-motion actuator for each valve. Although the basic phasing for the valves is established by a camshaft, the actual phasing is accomplished by causing the valve actuators to execute lost-motion. The amount of lost-motion establishes the actual opening and closing phase angles for the valves. The amount of lost-motion of each actuator is established by the timing of the opening and closing of the corresponding solenoid valve. Oil that is pumped from the actuators can be stored in an accumulator that is connected to the gallery for subsequent use in replenishing the actuators.

대표청구항 ▼

In an internal combustion engine having multiple combustion chambers and for each combustion chamber a corresponding engine valve for opening and closing the corrresponding combustion chamber during operation of the engine, for each of said valves a corresponding biasing means that biases the valve

In an internal combustion engine having multiple combustion chambers and for each combustion chamber a corresponding engine valve for opening and closing the corrresponding combustion chamber during operation of the engine, for each of said valves a corresponding biasing means that biases the valve to close the corresponding combustion chamber, and means for operating each of said valves against the corresponding biasing means to repeatedly intermittently open the corresponding combustion chamber during engine operation, said means for operating each valve including for each valve a corresponding actuator that executes reciprocal motion along a corresponding linear axis, and means for varying the opening and closing phase angles of each valve comprising each of said actuators having means to vary the actuator\s effective length by the selective pumping of hydraulic fluid into and out of an expansible and contractible interior hydraulic chamber space of the actuator to respectively expand and contract the volume of the chamber space, the improvement comprising for each actuator a corresponding solenoid valve that is selectively operable to open and close the communication of the corresponding actuator\s interior hydraulic chamber space to a hydraulic gallery that commonly serves all solenoid valves, and means for selectively operating each solenoid valve such that both increases and decreases in the effective length of each actuator are controlled by the corresponding solenoid valve conducting hydraulic fluid supply and spill between the chamber space of the actuator and the hydraulic gallery through the solenoid valve.