Patent ID: 7134408

Claim:
A device for controlling gas-exchange valves in combustion cylinders of an internal combustion engine, comprising: at least two hydraulic valve actuators, each valve actuator being allocated to a corresponding gas-exchange valve; an actuating piston assigned to each valve actuator and acting on the corresponding gas-exchange valve; a first electric control valve; a second electric control valve; and a switch-over valve adapted to be switched between a blocking position and a pass-through position; wherein two hydraulic working chambers are defined by the actuating piston and the interior of the corresponding valve actuator, a first working chamber acting on the corresponding gas-exchange valve in the closing direction being constantly filled with a fluid under pressure by connection to a fluid-pressure source, and a second working chamber acting on the corresponding gas-exchange valve in the opening direction, the second working chamber being adapted to be filled with the fluid under pressure with the aid of a first electric control valve connected on its intake side to the fluid-pressure source and adapted to be relieved of fluid to a low-pressure level with the aid of a second electric control valve connected on an outlet side of the first electric control valve; wherein, for the two valve actuators, the first electric control valve is connected on its outlet side to the second working chamber of a first one of the two valve actuators, and the second working chamber of a second one of the two valve actuators is filled with fluid with the aid of the switch-over valve and with the aid of the fluid pressure in the second working chamber of the first one of the two valve actuators, whereby the second working chamber of the second one of the two valve actuators is connected to the first electric control valve.