Patent ID: 8166937
Filing Date: 2012-05-01
Classification: F01L

Abstract:
1. A valve timing control apparatus for controlling a valve timing of a valve configured to be opened and closed by a camshaft in accordance with a torque transmitted from a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine, the valve timing control apparatus configured to control the valve timing by utilizing a hydraulic fluid supplied from a supply source with a driving operation of the internal combustion engine, the valve timing control apparatus comprising: a housing rotatable with the crankshaft, the housing having a recess dented from an inner surface of the housing; a vane rotor rotatable with the camshaft, the vane rotor having a vane partitioning an interior of the housing into an advance chamber and a retard chamber in a rotative direction, the vane rotor configured to change a rotation phase relative to the housing to an advance side or a retard side correspondingly when a hydraulic fluid is supplied into the advance chamber or the retard chamber; a lock unit having a lock chamber, the lock unit configured to lock the vane rotor relative to the housing when a hydraulic fluid is discharged from the lock chamber, the lock unit configured to release the lock when a hydraulic fluid is supplied into the lock chamber; a valve body having an operation port, which is communicable with the advance chamber and the retard chamber, a lock port, which is communicable with the lock chamber, a supply port, which is configured to be supplied with a hydraulic fluid from the supply source, and an exhaust port configured to discharge a hydraulic fluid; a valve element linearly movable in opposite directions including a first direction and a second direction, the valve element configured to communicate the operation port and the lock port respectively with the supply port and the exhaust port when moving in a first region, which is a stroke range including an end of a movable range of the valve element in the first direction, the valve element configured to communicate both the operation port and the lock port with the supply port when moving in a second region, which is a stroke range shifted from the first region in the second direction; a bias unit configured to cause a biasing force to bias the valve element in the first direction when being elastically deformed; and a driving source configured to cause a driving force to move the valve element in the second direction, wherein the lock unit includes: a regulating member accommodated in the vane rotor and movable back and forth, the regulating member configured to lock the rotation phase in a regulation phase between a maximum advanced phase and a maximum retard phase when moving in a thrust direction to thrust into the recess, the regulating member configured to release the lock of the rotation phase when moving in a retract direction to be retracted from the recess; and a resilient member configured to bias the regulating member in the thrust direction to thrust the regulating member into the recess when being in the regulation phase, the resilient member configured to bias the regulating member to be in contact with an inner surface of the housing when being in a rotation phase other than the regulation phase, the first region is a lock region in which the regulating member locks the rotation phase in the regulation phase, and the first region includes a throttle region in which the operation port, which is communicated with the advance chamber, is further communicated with the supply port such that an advance supply flow supplied to the advance chamber is throttled to be less than an advance supply flow when the valve element is in the end of the movable range in the first direction.