초록 ▼

To start an internal combustion engine at appropriate intake valve close timing. A valve timing regulation system 10 regulates oil pressure supplied to advance chambers and retard chambers formed by a vane 29 and a housing 28 to advance or retard the vane 29 and change the open/close timing of the i

To start an internal combustion engine at appropriate intake valve close timing. A valve timing regulation system 10 regulates oil pressure supplied to advance chambers and retard chambers formed by a vane 29 and a housing 28 to advance or retard the vane 29 and change the open/close timing of the intake valve. The position of the vane 29 is fixed by inserting a lock pin 43 into an advance-side engagement hole 49A at the most advanced position. Engine stopping is effected so as to set the vane 29 at the middle position, while starting when the coolant temperature is low is effected after rotating the crankshaft backward by a prescribed angle to fix the vane 29 at the most advanced position and is effected when the temperature is high merely by cranking to fix the vane 29 at the most retarded position. Cold starting is easy when effected at the most advanced position because the compression pressure is high, while vibration at warm starting is reduced when starting is effected at the most retarded position because the compression pressure is reduced.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A valve timing regulation system for regulating at least close timing of an intake valve for opening/closing an intake port of an internal combustion engine, said valve timing regulation system comprising:said intake valve operating in response to a rotation angle of a cr

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A valve timing regulation system for regulating at least close timing of an intake valve for opening/closing an intake port of an internal combustion engine, said valve timing regulation system comprising:said intake valve operating in response to a rotation angle of a crankshaft for closing said intake port when said rotation angle of said crankshaft is in a prescribed range,timing changing means for changing said intake valve close timing by changing a response relationship of said intake valve with respect to said rotation angle of said crankshaft,condition detecting means for detecting a state of a condition affecting engine starting difficulty,timing setting means responsive to an engine start request for setting said intake valve close timing based on said state of said engine condition detected by said condition detecting means, andtiming control means for controlling said timing changing means to cause said intake valve to be in a closed state at times defined by said set intake valve close timing at engine starting. [13.] A valve timing regulation system for regulating at least close timing of an intake valve for opening/closing an intake port of said internal combustion engine, said system comprising:said intake valve operating in response to a rotation angle of a crankshaft for closing said intake port when said rotation angle of said crankshaft is in a prescribed range,timing changing means for changing said intake valve close timing by changing a response relationship of said intake valve with respect to said rotation angle of said crankshaft,condition predicting means responsive to an engine stop request for predicting based on said engine stop request a state of a condition affecting engine starting difficulty at a next engine starting,timing setting means for setting said intake valve close timing at said next engine starting based on said state of said engine condition predicted by said condition predicting means, andtiming control means for controlling said timing changing means when said engine is stopped to cause said intake valve to be in a closed state at times defined by said set intake valve close timing. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 13, wherein said timing setting means is means for setting said intake valve close timing to advance said intake valve closing times by a prescribed angle when said condition of said engine predicted by said condition detecting means is in a prescribed state. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 14, wherein:said timing changing means is an advance angle fixing means for fixing said response relationship of said intake valve with respect to said rotation angle of said crankshaft so that said intake valve close timing advances said intake valve closing times by said prescribed angle andsaid timing control means is means for controlling said advance angle fixing means based on said setting made by said timing setting means. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 13, wherein said timing setting means is means for setting said intake valve close timing to retard said intake valve closing times by a prescribed angle when said condition of said engine predicted by said condition predicting means is in a prescribed state making said engine easy to start. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 16, wherein:said timing changing means is retard angle fixing means for fixing said response relationship of said intake valve with respect to said rotation angle of said crankshaft so that said intake valve close timing retards said intake valve closing times by said prescribed angle andsaid timing control means is means for controlling said retard angle fixing means based on said setting made by said timing setting means. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 13, wherein said condition predicting means is means for predicting a warm-up state of said internal combustion engine as said condition. A valve timing regulation system in accordance with claim 13, wherein said condition predicting means is means for predicting elapsed time since shutdown of said internal combustion engine as said condition.