Patent ID: 8201529

Claim:
A valve timing adjusting apparatus for an internal combustion engine having a camshaft and a crankshaft, wherein the valve timing adjusting apparatus uses hydraulic oil supplied from a supply source to adjust valve timing of a valve that is opened and closed by the camshaft through torque transmission from the crankshaft, the valve timing adjusting apparatus comprising: a housing that is rotatable synchronously with the crankshaft; a vane rotor that is rotatable synchronously with the camshaft, wherein: the vane rotor has a vane that defines an advance fluid chamber and a retard fluid chamber that are arranged in the housing in a circumferential direction such that a rotational phase of the vane rotor relative to the housing is changed in an advance direction or in a retard direction when hydraulic oil supplied by the supply source is introduced into a corresponding one of the advance fluid chamber and the retard fluid chamber; regulation means for regulating change of the rotational phase within a start phase region that is defined between a full advance phase and a full retard phase, wherein when the rotational phase is within the start phase region, the internal combustion engine is allowed to start; a fluid path arrangement provided inside the housing, the fluid path arrangement communicating with a specific fluid chamber that is one of the advance fluid chamber and the retard fluid chamber into which hydraulic oil is introduced so that the specific chamber is opened to atmosphere through the housing when the rotational phase of the vane rotor is varied to a specific direction while a variable torque is applied to the vane rotor from the camshaft at a time of starting the internal combustion engine in which the rotational phase is out of the start phase region; and opening-closing control means for controlling the fluid path arrangement to be opened and closed, wherein: the opening-closing control means includes: an opening-closing member that is displaceable to an opening position, at which the opening-closing member opens the fluid path arrangement, and to a closed position, at which the opening-closing member closes the fluid path arrangement, and wherein: the fluid path arrangement includes: a first fluid passage that extends through the housing to communicate interior of the housing with exterior of the housing; and a second fluid passage that is defined in the vane rotor to communicate the specific fluid chamber with the first fluid passage; the opening-closing member is received in the vane rotor; the opening-closing member opens the second fluid passage when the opening-closing member is positioned at the opening position; and the opening-closing member closes the second fluid passage when the opening-closing member is positioned at the closed position.