Patent ID: 9470120
Filing Date: 2016-10-18
CPC Classification: F01L

Claim Text:
1. A valve timing control apparatus disposed in a power train from a driving shaft of an internal combustion engine to a driven shaft opening and closing at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve so as to control opening-and-closing timing of the intake valve or the exhaust valve by changing a rotation phase between the driving shaft and the driven shaft, the valve timing control apparatus comprising: a housing that integrally rotates with one of the driving shaft and the driven shaft; a vane rotor that integrally rotates with the other of the driving shaft and the driven shaft, the vane rotor defining an oil pressure chamber in the housing, the vane rotor being rotated relative to the housing by operation oil supplied to the oil pressure chamber; a sleeve having a cylindrical shape extending in an axial direction at a central part of the vane rotor, the sleeve having a spool that moves in the sleeve in the axial direction, the spool having a connection passage that connects the supply port and the discharge port with each other according to a position of the spool in the axial direction; a valve seat arranged in the connection passage; a valve object that is seated on or separated from the valve seat, the valve object being seated on the valve seat to restrict the operation oil from flowing from the discharge port to the supply port; and a spring that biases the valve object toward the valve seat, the valve object being located between the spring and the valve seat, wherein the connection passage has the spool has an inner surface that defines the second axial direction hole, and the inner surface of the spool has a guide surface that guides the valve object to move in the axial direction while restricting a position of the valve object in the radial direction, the discharge hole is opened on the guide surface, the spool has a stopper part that regulates the valve object from moving in a valve-open direction at a position opposite from the valve seat through the valve object, the valve object is located at a fully closed position when the valve object is seated on the valve seat, the valve object is located at a fully opened position where the valve object is in contact with the stopper part of the spool when the valve object is separated from the valve seat, the valve object has a stroke range defined between a slide-contact position at which the guide surface and the valve object located at the fully closed position are in contact with each other and a slide-contact position at which the guide surface and the valve object located at the fully opened position are in contact with each other, the discharge hole is positioned such that a part of the discharge hole overlaps with the stroke range, and when the valve object moves between the fully closed position and the fully opened position, the discharge hole continues to communicate with a space receiving the stopper part and the spring.