Patent ID: 6386164
Filing Date: 2002-05-14
Classification: F01L

Abstract:
A valve timing control apparatus for an internal combustion engine including valves and an output shaft, comprising:a rotational body drivingly coupled to the output shaft of the internal combustion engine; a cam shaft configured to drivingly open and drivingly close the valves of the internal combustion engine; a hydraulic chamber configured to change a rotational phase between the output shaft and the cam shaft through supply of a hydraulic pressure, the hydraulic chamber being formed between the rotational body and the cam shaft; a first hydraulic pressure control system configured to control the hydraulic pressure supplied to the hydraulic chamber; a lock mechanism configured to maintain the rotational phase between the output shaft and the cam shaft in a predetermined intermediate phase through a force other than the hydraulic pressure; a lock mechanism control system configured to drivingly control the lock mechanism; and a second hydraulic pressure control system provided separately from the first hydraulic pressure control system, wherein the lock mechanism control system is configured to drive-control the lock mechanism through the second hydraulic pressure control system such that rotational movement between the output shaft and the cam shaft in a predetermined intermediate phase can be prevented with a second supply of hydraulic pressure supplied through the second hydraulic pressure control system.