Patent ID: 8245675

Claim:
A variable valve apparatus comprising: a rotation phase variable control portion that includes a vane and changes relative rotation phase of at least one of an intake-side camshaft and an exhaust-side camshaft that rotate to open and close an intake valve and an exhaust valve, respectively, of an internal combustion engine, relative to rotation phase of a crankshaft, according to hydraulic pressure of a working fluid; a lock portion that includes a lock pin that is switchable between being fitted and not being fitted to a lock hole formed in the vane so that the lock pin assumes a lock state of fixing the relative rotation phase of at least one of the intake valve and the exhaust valve by mechanically fixing at least a portion of the rotation phase variable control portion when the internal combustion engine stops, and discontinues the lock state when the internal combustion engine starts; and a control device that includes: a first specific determination portion that sets a first overlap amount that is requested as an overlap amount of overlap between an intake valve opening timing during which the intake valve is open, and an exhaust valve opening timing during which the exhaust valve is open, based on rotation speed of the internal combustion engine, load on the internal combustion engine, and temperature of the working fluid; a second specific determination portion that sets a second overlap amount that is the overlap amount that is set so that the relative rotation phase is fixed when the internal combustion engine stops, based on the temperature of the working fluid; and a control portion that controls the rotation phase variable control portion so that the overlap amount becomes equal to the second overlap amount, if the first overlap amount is larger than the second overlap amount, and that controls the rotation phase variable control portion so that the overlap amount becomes equal to the first overlap amount, if the first overlap amount is less than or equal to the second overlap amount.