Patent ID: 8695548

Claim:
A valve timing control apparatus comprising: a housing that is rotatable synchronously with a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine; a vane rotor that is rotatable synchronously with a camshaft of the internal combustion engine, wherein the vane rotor partitions between an advancing chamber and a retarding chamber in a rotational direction in an inside of the housing, and a rotational phase of the vane rotor relative to the housing is changeable in one of an advancing side and a retarding side by feeding hydraulic fluid, which is supplied from a supply source, into a corresponding one of the advancing chamber and the retarding chamber; and a control valve that controls input and output of the hydraulic fluid relative to the advancing chamber and the retarding chamber, wherein: valve timing of a valve, which is opened or closed by the camshaft, is adjusted by transmission of a torque from the crankshaft; the control valve includes: a supply port, to which the hydraulic fluid is supplied from the supply source during an operation in a phase change mode, which changes the rotational phase; a feed port, through which the hydraulic fluid is fed to the one of the advancing chamber and the retarding chamber during the operation in the phase change mode; a connection passage, which is connected to the supply port and the feed port during the operation in the phase change mode; and a springless check valve that enables flow of the hydraulic fluid from the supply port toward the feed port in the connection passage upon lifting of a valve member from a valve seat at the springless check valve during the operation in the phase change mode and limits flow of the hydraulic fluid from the feed port toward the supply port in the connection passage upon seating of the valve member against the valve seat during the operation in the phase change mode; and the valve member includes: a spherical plate portion that includes a convex plate surface and a concave plate surface, which are opposed to each other and are configured into partial spherical surfaces, respectively, each having a circular outer peripheral edge, wherein the convex plate surface is seatable and liftable relative the valve seat; an annular ring portion that includes: an inner peripheral surface, which has a diameter larger than that of the spherical plate portion; and an outer peripheral surface, which is guided by a wall surface of the connection passage; and a plurality of bridge portions that are spaced from each other in a circumferential direction, wherein the plurality of bridge portions coaxially connects the annular ring portion to the spherical plate portion.