Patent ID: 7191746

Claim:
An engine start control apparatus comprising: a crank angle sensor adapted to detect a crankangle of a crankshaft of an engine; a stroke discrimination device that discriminates which of engine cylinders is in either one of intake and compression strokes or in either one of expansion and exhaust strokes; and a controller configured to be electronically connected to at least the crank angle sensor and the stroke discrimination device for controlling rotary motion of the crankshaft during an engine start-up period; the controller comprising a processor programmed to perform the following, (a) setting a closure timing of an intake valve to a preset timing value before a piston bottom dead center (B.D.C.) position as preparation for engine startup; (b) temporarily rotating the crankshaft in a reverse-rotational direction by way of crankshaft reverse-rotation control until the intake valve becomes shifted from a valve closed state to a valve open state, when cranking the engine for startup under a specific condition where a crankangle of an engine cylinder whose piston stroke is in the intake stroke or in the compression stroke, is within a crankangle range substantially corresponding to the piston B.D.C. position; and (c) rotating the crankshaft in a normal-rotational direction by way of crankshaft normal-rotation control after the intake valve has been shifted to the valve open state.