JP2015161277A - Valve timing control device of engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of noise due to collision of a vane body and housing in start-up of an engine and execute valve timing control as early as possible, in a valve timing control device of an engine including a hydraulic actuation type variable valve timing mechanism having a lock mechanism.SOLUTION: In start-up of an engine, when a detection oil pressure detected by an oil pressure sensor is equal to or more than a predetermined oil pressure value or more (YES; determination of a step S21), the oil discharge amount of a variable oil pump is calculated (step S22); on the basis of the calculated oil discharge amount, an oil filling time to the advance actuation chamber and delay actuation chamber of a variable valve timing mechanism is predicted (step S23); and on the basis of the predication valve of the oil filling time, a hydraulic control valve is controlled to perform lock lease of the lock pin of the variable valve timing mechanism (steps S24, S25).

Description

  The present invention belongs to a technical field related to an engine valve timing control device that controls opening / closing timings of intake / exhaust valves (particularly, intake valves) in an engine according to an engine operating state by a hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism.

  BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism is well known, and this is an advance angle defined by a housing that rotates in conjunction with a crankshaft of an engine and a vane body that rotates integrally with a camshaft. It has a working chamber and a retarded working chamber. The phase angle of the camshaft with respect to the crankshaft is changed by supplying hydraulic pressure to the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber, thereby changing the valve opening / closing timing.

  In Patent Document 1, a lock mechanism that locks the operation of the variable valve timing mechanism is provided in the hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism, and the lock mechanism fixes the vane body to the housing at a predetermined rotation angle ( That is, it has a lock pin (which fixes the phase angle of the camshaft relative to the crankshaft). Then, when the engine is stopped, the variable valve timing mechanism is locked by the lock pin of the lock mechanism, and when the engine starts, when the hydraulic pressure rises to a certain extent, the lock pin is activated by the hydraulic pressure, and the variable valve timing mechanism is locked. Is released. Further, the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber which are in an empty state due to the stop of the engine are filled with oil.

  In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the operation of the variable valve timing mechanism immediately after the engine is started is prohibited, and the prohibition of the operation is released after waiting for sufficient oil filling in the retarded operation chamber. Generation of hitting sound due to collision with the housing is prevented. Further, in Patent Document 1, the rising characteristic of hydraulic pressure is detected, and the operation inhibition time of the variable valve timing mechanism is increased as the rising speed becomes slower, so that the impact caused by the collision between the vane body and the housing after the engine starts. Valve timing control is performed as early as possible within a range that does not cause problems such as noise.

Japanese Patent No. 5278465

  However, when the operation prohibition time is set from the rising characteristic of the hydraulic pressure as in Patent Document 1, the operation prohibition is performed with a margin so that the oil filling into the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber can be performed reliably. Time needs to be set, and there is room for improvement in early implementation of valve timing control.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object of the present invention is to perform valve timing control while preventing the generation of noise due to the collision between the vane body and the housing when the engine is started. The goal is to be able to implement as soon as possible.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the housing is partitioned by a housing that rotates in conjunction with the crankshaft of the engine and a vane body that rotates integrally with the camshaft, and the camshaft with respect to the crankshaft is supplied with hydraulic pressure. Hydraulic operation having an advance working chamber and a retard working chamber for changing the phase angle, and a lock mechanism for unlocking the lock member for fixing the phase angle of the cam shaft with respect to the crank shaft by supplying hydraulic pressure. Variable valve timing mechanism, a variable oil pump that supplies oil to a hydraulic actuator including the variable valve timing mechanism in the engine via a hydraulic path, and the lock mechanism, the advance working chamber, and the retard working chamber The above-mentioned variable valve timing is intended for an engine valve timing control device having a hydraulic control valve for controlling the supply hydraulic pressure of the engine. A hydraulic pressure sensor for detecting a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic path for supplying oil to the hydraulic mechanism, a discharge amount calculating means for calculating an oil discharge amount of the variable oil pump, and a detected hydraulic pressure by the hydraulic sensor at the start of the engine Oil filling time for predicting oil filling time into the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber based on the oil discharge amount calculated by the discharge amount calculating means when the oil pressure exceeds a predetermined hydraulic pressure value A prediction unit; and a lock release control unit that controls the hydraulic control valve to unlock the lock member of the lock mechanism based on a predicted value of the oil filling time by the oil filling time prediction unit. The configuration is as follows.

  With the above-described configuration, when the oil pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined oil pressure value when the engine is started by the oil filling time predicting unit, the advance angle working chamber and The oil filling time in the retarded working chamber is predicted. That is, the fact that the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor has become equal to or greater than the predetermined hydraulic pressure value means that the oil has reached the installation location of the hydraulic sensor by starting the engine. Here, the hydraulic path from the location where the hydraulic sensor is installed to the variable valve timing mechanism and the volume to be filled with oil in the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber are known in advance. The oil discharge amount of the variable oil pump varies depending on the pump rotation speed, but a control value for controlling the discharge amount related to the pump rotation speed (for example, a control valve for controlling the oil discharge amount of the variable displacement oil pump). The control signal can be accurately and easily calculated from the duty ratio of the control signal. If the oil supply amount is configured so that the oil supply amount actually supplied to the variable valve timing mechanism is known, the volume is divided by the oil supply amount supplied to the variable valve timing mechanism, The oil filling time to the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber from the time when the detected oil pressure by the oil pressure sensor exceeds the predetermined oil pressure value can be predicted, and the predicted value of such oil filling time is quite accurate. It will be expensive. In order to unlock the lock member, a large volume such as the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber is not required. Therefore, if the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber are filled with oil, the lock member is hydraulically operated. Can be activated and unlocked immediately. Accordingly, the lock member can be unlocked when the predicted value of the oil filling time by the oil filling time prediction means elapses from the time when the oil pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor exceeds a predetermined oil pressure value. Valve timing control can be performed immediately after release.

  Therefore, it is possible to appropriately predict the oil filling timing in the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber, and thus, at the time of starting the engine, while preventing the generation of noise due to the collision between the vane body and the housing, the valve Timing control can be performed as early as possible.

  The engine valve timing control device further includes an oil temperature sensor for detecting an oil temperature in a hydraulic path for supplying oil to the variable valve timing mechanism, and the oil filling time predicting means is controlled by the oil temperature sensor. It is preferable that the prediction value of the oil filling time is corrected according to the detected oil temperature.

  This makes it possible to predict the oil filling time more appropriately in consideration of the viscosity of the oil.

  In the valve timing control device for the engine, a pump control device for controlling the discharge amount of the variable oil pump so that the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor becomes a target hydraulic pressure set in advance according to the operating state of the engine. Furthermore, it is preferable to provide.

  As a result, oil can be discharged from the variable oil pump with an appropriate discharge amount according to the engine operating state. As a result, the driving load of the variable oil pump applied to the engine can be reduced, and fuel consumption can be reduced. Improvement can be achieved. Further, the hydraulic pressure sensor necessary for the control by the pump control device can be shared with the hydraulic pressure sensor necessary for the prediction of the oil filling time, and the cost can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the valve timing control device for an engine of the present invention, when the engine is started, the oil discharge calculated by the discharge amount calculating means when the detected hydraulic pressure by the hydraulic sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value. Based on the amount, the oil filling time to the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber of the variable valve timing mechanism is predicted, and the hydraulic control valve is controlled based on the predicted oil filling time to lock the lock mechanism. Since the members are unlocked, the valve timing control can be performed as early as possible while preventing the generation of noise due to the collision between the vane body and the housing when the engine is started.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an engine provided with a hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism in a valve timing control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the cam shaft, showing a state in which the vane body (cam shaft) is locked by the lock pin of the lock mechanism in the intake side variable valve timing mechanism. FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a state in which the lock pin of the lock mechanism is unlocked and the vane body is rotated forward with respect to the housing. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the cam shaft, showing a state in which the vane body (cam shaft) is locked by the lock pin of the lock mechanism in the exhaust side variable valve timing mechanism. FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 illustrating a state in which the lock pin of the lock mechanism is unlocked and the vane body is rotated to the retard side with respect to the housing. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of an oil supply apparatus. It is a figure which shows the characteristic of a variable displacement type oil pump. It is a figure which shows the reduced-cylinder operation area | region of an engine. It is a figure for demonstrating the setting of the target hydraulic pressure of a pump. It is a hydraulic control map which shows the target oil pressure with respect to the operating state of an engine. It is a duty ratio map which shows the duty ratio with respect to the driving | running state of an engine. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the flow volume (discharge amount) control of an oil pump by a controller. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the cylinder number control of an engine by a controller. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a simplified hydraulic pressure supply path to an intake side variable valve timing mechanism in the oil supply apparatus of FIG. 8. It is a flowchart which shows the control action of the variable valve timing mechanism by the side of the intake by the controller at the time of engine starting.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an engine 2 provided with a hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism in a valve timing control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The engine 2 is an in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine in which first to fourth cylinders are sequentially arranged in series in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. In the engine 2, a cam cap 3, a cylinder head 4, a cylinder block 5, a crankcase (not shown), and an oil pan 6 (see FIG. 8) are connected to each other in the four cylinder bores 7 formed in the cylinder block 5. Are connected to each other by a connecting rod 10, and a combustion chamber 11 is connected by a cylinder bore 7, a piston 8, and a cylinder head 4 of the cylinder block 5. Is formed for each cylinder.

  The cylinder head 4 is provided with an intake port 12 and an exhaust port 13 that open to the combustion chamber 11, and an intake valve 14 and an exhaust valve 15 that open and close the intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13, respectively. Equipped. The intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15 are urged in the closing direction (upward in FIG. 1) by return springs 16 and 17, respectively, and cam portions 18a and 19a provided on the outer periphery of the rotating cam shafts 18 and 19, respectively. Cam followers 20a and 21a, which are rotatably provided at substantially central portions of the swing arms 20 and 21, are pushed downward, and the swing is supported with the top of a pivot mechanism 25a provided on one end side of the swing arms 20 and 21 as a fulcrum. As the arms 20 and 21 swing, the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15 are pushed downward at the other end of the swing arms 20 and 21 against the urging force of the return springs 16 and 17 so as to open. It is configured.

  As the pivot mechanism of the swing arms 20 and 21 of the second and third cylinders located at the center of the engine 2 in the cylinder row direction (same configuration as the pivot mechanism 25a of the HLA 25 described later), the valve clearance is automatically zeroed by hydraulic pressure. A well-known hydraulic lash adjuster 24 (hereinafter referred to as an HLA 24 using an abbreviation of “Hydraulic Lash Adjuster”) is provided. The HLA 24 is shown only in FIG.

  Further, HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism including a pivot mechanism 25a is provided for the swing arms 20 and 21 of the first and fourth cylinders located at both ends of the engine 2 in the cylinder row direction. The HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism is configured so that the valve clearance can be automatically adjusted to zero similarly to the HLA 24, and in addition, the operations of the first and fourth cylinders that are a part of all the cylinders in the engine 2 are operated. In the reduced-cylinder operation in which the first and fourth cylinders are deactivated, the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the first and fourth cylinders are stopped (open / close operation is stopped), while in the all-cylinder operation in which all the cylinders (four cylinders) are operated, The intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the fourth cylinder are operated (open / close operation). The intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the second and third cylinders are operated during both the reduced cylinder operation and the all cylinder operation. Therefore, during the reduced cylinder operation, the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of only the first and fourth cylinders of all the cylinders of the engine 2 are deactivated. During the full cylinder operation, the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of all the cylinders are activated. Will do. Note that the reduced cylinder operation and the all cylinder operation are switched according to the operating state of the engine 2 as described later.

  Mounting holes 26 and 27 for inserting and mounting the lower end portion of the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism are provided in portions on the intake side and exhaust side corresponding to the first and fourth cylinders in the cylinder head 4, respectively. Yes. In addition, mounting holes similar to the mounting holes 26 and 27 for inserting and mounting the lower end portion of the HLA 24 are provided in portions on the intake side and the exhaust side corresponding to the second and third cylinders in the cylinder head 4. Is provided. Further, the cylinder head 4 is provided with two oil passages 61, 63; 62, 64 communicating with the mounting holes 26, 27 for the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism, respectively. The oil passages 61 and 62 supply hydraulic pressure (operating pressure) for operating a valve stop mechanism (not shown) in the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism in a state where the oil passages 63 and 64 are fitted. The pivot mechanism 25a of the HLA 25 with a stop mechanism is configured to supply hydraulic pressure for automatically adjusting the valve clearance to zero. Note that only the oil passages 63 and 64 communicate with the mounting holes for the HLA 24. The oil passages 61 to 64 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  The cylinder block 5 is provided with a main gallery 54 that extends in the cylinder row direction in the side wall on the exhaust side of the cylinder bore 7. An oil jet 28 (oil injection valve) for cooling the piston communicating with the main gallery 54 is provided for each piston 8 in the vicinity of the lower side of the main gallery 54. The oil jet 28 has a nozzle portion 28a disposed on the lower side of the piston 8 and injects engine oil (hereinafter simply referred to as oil) from the nozzle portion 28a toward the back surface of the top portion of the piston 8. It is configured as follows.

  Oil showers 29 and 30 formed of pipes are provided above the cam shafts 18 and 19, and lubricating oil is supplied from the oil showers 29 and 30 below the cam shafts 18 and 19. The cam portions 18a and 19a, and the contact portions between the swing arms 20 and 21 and the cam followers 20a and 21a, which are located further below, are configured to drop.

  Here, the valve stop mechanism which is one of the hydraulic actuators will be described. The valve stop mechanism operates at least one of the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the first and fourth cylinders (both valves in the present embodiment) of the engine 2 as a part of all cylinders in the engine 2. The operation is stopped by hydraulic operation according to the state. As a result, when the engine 2 is switched to the reduced cylinder operation according to the operating state, the opening / closing operation of the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the first and fourth cylinders is stopped by the valve stop mechanism, and the operation is switched to the all cylinder operation. When this is done, the valve operation is not stopped by the valve stop mechanism, and the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 of the first and fourth cylinders are opened and closed.

  The valve stop mechanism is provided in the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism. Thus, the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism includes a pivot mechanism 25a and a valve stop mechanism. The pivot mechanism 25a has substantially the same configuration as the pivot mechanism of the known HLA 24 that automatically adjusts the valve clearance to zero by hydraulic pressure.

  Although not shown in the drawings, the valve stop mechanism is formed with respect to through-holes formed at two locations facing each other in the radial direction on the side peripheral surface of the bottomed outer cylinder that houses the pivot mechanism 25a slidably in the axial direction. Each is provided with a pair of lock pins provided so as to be accessible. The pair of lock pins is urged radially outward by a spring. A lost motion spring is provided between the inner bottom portion of the outer cylinder and the bottom portion of the pivot mechanism 25a to press and urge the pivot mechanism 25a above the outer cylinder.

  When the both lock pins are fitted in the through holes of the outer cylinder, the pivot mechanism 25a located above the lock pins is fixed in a state of protruding upward. At this time, since the top portion of the pivot mechanism 25a serves as a fulcrum for swinging the swing arms 20, 21, when the cam portions 18a, 19a push the cam followers 20a, 21a downward by the rotation of the cam shafts 18, 19, the intake / exhaust valves 14 and 15 are pushed downward against the urging force of the return springs 16 and 17 to open. Therefore, the full cylinder operation can be performed by setting the valve stop mechanism of the first and fourth cylinders so that the lock pins are fitted in the through holes.

  On the other hand, when the outer end surfaces of both the lock pins are pressed by the operating hydraulic pressure, the lock pins are retracted radially inward so that the lock pins approach each other against the compressive force of the spring, and the outer cylinder penetrates. As a result, the pivot mechanism 25a located above the lock pin moves downward together with the lock pin in the axial direction of the outer cylinder. Thereby, it will be in a valve stop state. That is, the return springs 16 and 17 that bias the intake and exhaust valves 14 and 15 upward are configured to have a stronger biasing force than the lost motion spring that biases the pivot mechanism 25a upward. When the cam portions 18a, 19a push the cam followers 20a, 21a downward by the rotation of the shafts 18, 19, the top portions of the intake / exhaust valves 14, 15 become fulcrums for swinging of the swing arms 20, 21, and the intake / exhaust valves 14, 15 While the valve is closed, the pivot mechanism 25a is pushed downward against the urging force of the lost motion spring. Therefore, the cylinder reduction operation can be performed by bringing the lock pin into a non-fitted state with respect to the through hole by the hydraulic pressure.

  Next, an intake side variable valve timing mechanism 32 (hereinafter referred to as VVT 32), which is one of hydraulic actuators, will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The VVT 32 has a substantially annular housing 201 and a vane body 202 accommodated in the housing 201. The housing 201 is connected to a cam pulley 203 that rotates in synchronization with the crankshaft 9 so as to be integrally rotatable, and rotates in conjunction with the crankshaft 9. The vane body 202 is coupled to a cam shaft 18 that opens and closes the intake valve 14 by a bolt 205 (see FIG. 4) so as to be integrally rotatable.

  A plurality of advance working chambers 207 and retard working chambers 208 defined by an inner peripheral surface of the housing 201 and a vane 202 a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the vane body 202 are formed inside the housing 201. The advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 are connected to the intake side first direction switching valve 34 as a hydraulic control valve via an advance side oil passage 211 and a retard side oil passage 212, respectively ( (See FIG. 8). The cam shaft 18 and the vane body 202 are formed with an advance side passage 215 and a retard side passage 216 that constitute a part of the advance side oil passage 211 and the retard side oil passage 212.

  The advance side passage 215 extends radially from the vicinity of the central portion of the vane body 202 and is connected to each advance working chamber 207, and the retard side passage 216 extends radially from the vicinity of the central portion of the vane body 202 to each delay. Connected to the corner working chamber 208. One of the plurality of advance side passages 215 extending radially from the vicinity of the center of the vane body 202 is formed in a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the vane body 202 where the vane 202a is not formed, and a lock pin 231 (described later) The locking member is connected to the bottom surface of the fitting recess 202b, and is connected to one of the plurality of advance working chambers 207 via the fitting recess 202b.

  The VVT 32 is provided with a lock mechanism 230 that locks the operation of the VVT 32. The lock mechanism 230 has a lock pin 231 for fixing the phase angle of the camshaft 18 with respect to the crankshaft 9 at a specific phase angle. In the present embodiment, the specific phase angle is the most retarded phase angle, but is not limited to this and may be any phase angle.

  The lock pin 231 is disposed so as to be slidable in the radial direction of the housing 201. A spring holder 232 is fixed to a radially outer portion of the housing 201 with respect to the lock pin 231 in the housing 201, and the lock pin 231 is urged radially inward of the housing 201 between the spring holder 232 and the lock pin 231. A lock pin urging spring 233 is provided. When the fitting recess 202b is located at a position facing the lock pin 231, the lock pin urging spring 233 causes the lock pin 231 to be fitted into the fitting recess 202b to be in a locked state. Is fixed to the housing 201, and the phase angle of the camshaft 18 with respect to the crankshaft 9 is fixed.

  The advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 are connected to the intake side first direction switching valve 34 via the advance side oil passage 211 and the retard side oil passage 212, respectively, and the intake side first direction. The switching valve 34 is connected to a variable displacement oil pump 36 (see FIG. 8) described later as a variable oil pump that supplies oil. The amount of oil supplied to the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 can be controlled by controlling the intake side first direction switching valve 34. When the intake side first direction switching valve 34 is controlled to supply oil to the retarded working chamber 208 with a larger supply amount (higher hydraulic pressure) than the advanced working chamber 207, the camshaft 18 (vane body 202) is housing. 201 (crankshaft 9) rotates in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation thereof (the direction of the arrow in FIGS. 2 and 3), so that the opening timing of intake valve 14 is delayed, and the most retarded angle of camshaft 18 In the position, the lock pin 231 is fitted into the fitting recess 202b (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, when oil is supplied to the advance working chamber 207 with a larger supply amount (higher hydraulic pressure) than the retard working chamber 208 by the control of the intake side first direction switching valve 34, the camshaft 18 moves in its rotational direction. By rotating, the opening timing of the intake valve 14 is advanced (see FIG. 3). When the cam shaft 18 is advanced from the most retarded position, the lock pin 231 is pushed against the lock pin urging spring 233 against the lock pin urging spring 233 by hydraulic pressure to release the lock. At this time, the advance working chamber 207 other than the advance working chamber 207 communicating with the fitting recess 202b is already filled with oil, and immediately after this unlocking, the control of the intake side first direction switching valve 34 By rotating the cam shaft 18 in the rotation direction, the opening timing of the intake valve 14 can be advanced. In order to unlock the lock pin 231, it is necessary to supply a hydraulic pressure that overcomes the biasing force of the lock pin biasing spring 233 to the advance working chamber 207, and this hydraulic pressure is used to control the intake side first direction switching valve 34. Is obtained. Further, by supplying this hydraulic pressure to the advance working chamber 207 and supplying a lower hydraulic pressure (basically, a hydraulic pressure close to 0) to the retard working chamber 208, the lock pin 231 is unlocked. Immediately thereafter, the camshaft 18 rotates in the direction of rotation, and comes out of the locked position. Thereafter, the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14 is controlled by the control of the intake side first direction switching valve 34.

  5 to 7 show a variable valve timing 33 (hereinafter referred to as VVT 33) on the exhaust side, which is one of the hydraulic actuators. The configuration of the VVT 33 is the same as the configuration of the VVT 32, and the same components as those of the VVT 32 are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The lock mechanism 230 of the VVT 33 also has a lock pin 231 for fixing the phase angle of the camshaft 19 with respect to the crankshaft 9 at a specific phase angle as in the case of the VVT 32. Unlike the VVT 32, the phase angle is the most advanced phase angle. However, the phase angle is not limited to this, and any phase angle may be used. One of the plurality of retarded-side passages 216 extending radially from the vicinity of the center of the vane body 202 is connected to the bottom surface of the fitting recess 202b into which the lock pin 231 is fitted, and the fitting recess 202b is To one of the plurality of retarding working chambers 208.

  The advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 33 are connected to an exhaust side first direction switching valve 35 as a hydraulic control valve via an advance side oil passage 211 and a retard side oil passage 212, respectively. The exhaust side first direction switching valve 35 is connected to a variable displacement oil pump 36 (see FIG. 8). The amount of oil supplied to the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 33 can be controlled by controlling the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35. When oil is supplied to the advance working chamber 207 with a larger supply amount (higher hydraulic pressure) than the retard working chamber 208 by the control of the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35, the camshaft 19 rotates in the direction of rotation (FIG. 5). And the opening timing of the exhaust valve 15 is advanced, and the lock pin 231 is fitted into the fitting recess 202b at the most advanced position of the cam shaft 19 (see FIG. 5). . On the other hand, when oil is supplied to the retarded working chamber 208 with a larger supply amount (higher hydraulic pressure) than the advanced working chamber 208 by the control of the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35, the camshaft 19 changes its rotational direction. Rotates in the opposite direction, and the opening timing of the exhaust valve 15 is delayed (see FIG. 6). When the camshaft 19 is retarded from the most advanced position, the lock pin 231 is pushed against the lock pin urging spring 233 by the hydraulic pressure to release the lock in the radial direction of the housing 201. At this time, the retarded working chamber 208 other than the retarded working chamber 208 communicating with the fitting recess 202b is already filled with oil, and immediately after this lock is released, the exhaust-side first direction switching valve 35 causes the camshaft to rotate. The opening timing of the exhaust valve 15 can be delayed by rotating 19 in the direction opposite to the rotation direction. In order to unlock the lock pin 231 of the VVT 33, it is necessary to supply a hydraulic pressure that overcomes the urging force of the lock pin urging spring 233 to the retarded working chamber 208. This hydraulic pressure is supplied to the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35. It is obtained by controlling. In addition, by supplying this hydraulic pressure to the retarded working chamber 208 and supplying a lower hydraulic pressure (basically, a hydraulic pressure close to 0) to the advanced working chamber 207, the lock pin 231 is unlocked. Immediately thereafter, the camshaft 18 rotates in the direction opposite to its rotational direction, and comes out of the locked position. Thereafter, the valve opening phase of the exhaust valve 15 is controlled by the control of the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35.

  Unlike the VVT 32, a compression coil spring is provided between each vane 202a of the VVT 33 and a portion of the housing 201 that faces the vane 202a opposite to the rotation direction of the cam shaft 19 (that is, the advance working chamber 207). 240 is arranged. The compression coil spring 240 urges the vane body 202 toward the advance side and assists the movement of the vane body 202 toward the advance side. This is because a load of a fuel pump 81 and a vacuum pump 82 (see FIG. 8), which will be described later, is applied to the camshaft 19, so that the vane body 202 is reliably moved to the most advanced position by overcoming the load (locking). This is to ensure that the pin 231 is fitted into the fitting recess 202b.

  When the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14 is changed to the advance direction (and / or the valve opening phase of the exhaust valve 15 is changed to the retard direction) by the VVT 32 (and / or VVT 33), the opening of the exhaust valve 15 is started. The valve period and the valve opening period of the intake valve 14 overlap. In particular, the internal EGR amount during engine combustion can be increased by overlapping the valve opening periods of the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15 by changing the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14 in the advance direction. Pumping loss can be reduced and fuel efficiency can be improved. Further, since the combustion temperature can be suppressed, NOx generation can be suppressed and exhaust purification can be achieved. On the other hand, when the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14 is changed to the retarded direction (and / or the valve opening phase of the exhaust valve 15 is changed to the advanced direction) by the VVT 32 (and / or VVT 33), the intake valve 14 Since the valve overlap amount between the valve opening period and the valve opening period of the exhaust valve 15 decreases, stable combustibility can be ensured when the engine load is low, such as during idling. In the present embodiment, in order to increase the valve overlap amount as much as possible when the load is high, the valve opening periods of the intake valve 14 and the exhaust valve 15 are overlapped even when the load is low.

  Next, the oil supply apparatus 1 for supplying oil to the engine 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the oil supply device 1 is connected to a variable displacement oil pump 36 (hereinafter referred to as an oil pump 36) driven by the rotation of the crankshaft 9, and is boosted by the oil pump 36. The oil supply passage 50 (hydraulic passage) for guiding the oil to the lubricating portion of the engine 2 and the hydraulic actuator is provided. The oil pump 36 is an auxiliary machine that is driven by the engine 2.

  The oil supply passage 50 includes a pipe, a passage formed in the cylinder head 4, the cylinder block 5, and the like. The oil supply passage 50 communicates with the oil pump 36, and a first communication path 51 extending from the oil pump 36 (details will be described later as a discharge port 361 b) to a branch point 54 a in the cylinder block 5, and a cylinder in the cylinder block 5. The main gallery 54 extending in the column direction, the second communication passage 52 extending from the branch point 54b on the main gallery 54 to the cylinder head 4, and the space between the intake side and the exhaust side in the cylinder head 4 are substantially horizontal. A third communication passage 53 that extends and a plurality of oil passages 61 to 69 that branch from the third communication passage 53 in the cylinder head 4 are provided.

  The oil pump 36 is a known variable capacity oil pump that changes the capacity of the oil pump 36 to vary the oil discharge amount of the oil pump 36, and is formed so that one end side is open and the inside is a cross section. A housing 361 including a pump body having a pump housing chamber formed of a circular space, and a cover member that closes the one end opening of the pump body; and a substantially center of the pump housing chamber supported rotatably by the housing 361 A drive shaft 362 that passes through the shaft and is rotationally driven by the crankshaft 9, a rotor 363 that is rotatably accommodated in the pump housing chamber and has a central portion coupled to the drive shaft 362, and a radially outer portion of the rotor 363. A pump element comprising a vane 364, which is housed in a plurality of slits formed in a notch in each of the slits. A cam ring 366 that is arranged eccentrically with respect to the rotation center of the rotor 363 and defines a pump chamber 365 as a plurality of hydraulic oil chambers together with the rotor 363 and adjacent vanes 364, and the pump body And a spring 367 that is a biasing member that constantly biases the cam ring 366 toward the side where the eccentric amount of the cam ring 366 increases with respect to the rotation center of the rotor 363, and is slidable on both sides on the inner peripheral side of the rotor 363. And a pair of ring members 368 having a diameter smaller than that of the rotor 363. The housing 361 includes a suction port 361 a that supplies oil to the internal pump chamber 365 and a discharge port 361 b that discharges oil from the pump chamber 365. A pressure chamber 369 defined by the inner peripheral surface of the housing 361 and the outer peripheral surface of the cam ring 366 is formed in the housing 361, and an introduction hole 369 a that opens to the pressure chamber 369 is provided. The oil pump 36 introduces oil into the pressure chamber 369 from the introduction hole 369a, so that the cam ring 366 swings with respect to the fulcrum 361c, and the rotor 363 is eccentric relative to the cam ring 366. The discharge capacity is changed.

  An oil strainer 39 facing the oil pan 6 is connected to the suction port 361 a of the oil pump 36. In the first communication path 51 communicating with the discharge port 361b of the oil pump 36, an oil filter 37 and an oil cooler 38 are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the oil stored in the oil pan 6 is After being pumped up by an oil pump 36 through an oil strainer 39, it is filtered by an oil filter 37 and cooled by an oil cooler 38 before being introduced into a main gallery 54 in the cylinder block 5.

  The main gallery 54 supplies oil to metal bearings arranged in the oil jet 28 for injecting cooling oil to the back side of the four pistons 8 and five main journals for rotatably supporting the crankshaft 9. Is connected to the oil supply part 42 of the metal bearing disposed on the crank pin of the crankshaft 9 that rotatably connects the four connecting rods, and oil is constantly supplied to the main gallery 54. The

  On the downstream side of the branch point 54 c on the main gallery 54, oil is supplied from the introduction hole 369 a to the oil supply portion 43 that supplies oil to the hydraulic chain tensioner and the pressure chamber 369 of the oil pump 36 via the linear solenoid valve 49. An oil passage 40 to be supplied is connected.

  The oil passage 68 branched from the branch point 53a of the third communication passage 53 is connected to the exhaust-side first direction switching valve 35, and the advance side oil passage 211 is controlled by the exhaust-side first direction switching valve 35. The oil is supplied to the advance hydraulic chamber 207 and the retard hydraulic chamber 208 of the exhaust VVT 33 via the retard angle oil passage 212, respectively. The oil passage 64 branched from the branch point 53a includes a metal bearing oil supply portion 45 (see a white triangle Δ in FIG. 8) disposed in the cam journal of the exhaust-side cam shaft 19 and an HLA 24 (see FIG. 8). High pressure fuel is supplied to the fuel injection valve which is driven by the camshaft 19 and supplies fuel to the combustion chamber 11 by the HLA 25 with valve stop mechanism (see the white oval in FIG. 8) and the valve stop mechanism. The fuel pump 81 is driven by the cam shaft 19 and is connected to a vacuum pump 82 for securing the pressure of the brake master cylinder. Oil is always supplied to the oil passage 64. Further, the oil passage 66 that branches from the branch point 64 a of the oil passage 64 is connected to an oil shower 30 that supplies lubricating oil to the swing arm 21 on the exhaust side, and oil is constantly supplied to the oil passage 66. The

  The intake side is the same as the exhaust side, and the oil passage 67 branched from the branch point 53c of the third communication passage 53 is connected to the intake side first direction switching valve 34, and this intake side first direction switching is performed. Under the control of the valve 34, oil is supplied to the advance hydraulic chamber 207 and the retard hydraulic chamber 208 of the intake VVT 32 via the advance side oil passage 211 and the retard side oil passage 212, respectively. The oil passage 67 is provided with a hydraulic sensor 70 that detects the oil pressure of the oil passage 67 (a hydraulic passage for supplying oil only to the VVT 32 on the intake side). The oil path 63 branched from the branch point 53d includes a metal bearing oil supply unit 44 (see a white triangle Δ in FIG. 8) disposed in the cam journal of the intake side camshaft 18 and an HLA 24 (see FIG. 8). And an HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism (see a white oval in FIG. 8). Further, the oil passage 65 branched from the branch point 63a of the oil passage 63 is connected to an oil shower 29 that supplies lubricating oil to the swing arm 20 on the intake side.

  A check valve 48 that restricts the direction of oil flow in only one direction from the upstream side to the downstream side is disposed in the oil passage 69 that branches from the branch point 53 c of the third communication passage 53. The oil passage 69 branches at the branch point 69a on the downstream side of the check valve 48 into the two oil passages 61 and 62 communicating with the mounting holes 26 and 27 for the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism. The oil passages 61 and 62 are connected to the valve stop mechanism of the HLA 25 with a valve stop mechanism on the intake side and the exhaust side via the intake side second direction switching valve 46 and the exhaust side second direction switching valve 47, respectively. By controlling these intake side and exhaust side second direction switching valves 46 and 47, oil is supplied to each valve stop mechanism.

  The metal bearing for rotatably supporting the crankshaft 9 and the camshafts 18 and 19 and the lubricating and cooling oil supplied to the piston 8 and the camshafts 18 and 19 are shown after being cooled and lubricated. The oil is dropped into the oil pan 6 through the drain oil passage and is recirculated by the oil pump 36.

  The operation of the engine 2 is controlled by the controller 100. Detection information from various sensors that detect the operating state of the engine 2 is input to the controller 100. For example, the controller 100 detects the rotation angle of the crankshaft 9 by the crank angle sensor 71 and detects the engine rotation speed based on this detection signal. The throttle position sensor 72 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal (accelerator opening) by the occupant of the vehicle on which the engine 2 is mounted, and the engine load is detected based on this. Further, the pressure of the oil passage 67 is detected by the hydraulic sensor 70. Further, the oil temperature sensor 73 provided at substantially the same position as the oil pressure sensor 70 detects the oil temperature in the oil passage 67. The oil temperature sensor 73 may be disposed anywhere in the oil supply passage 50. However, when the detected value is used for correcting a predicted value t described later, the oil passage 67 or the advance working chamber of the VVT 32 is particularly used. 207 or the retarded angle working chamber 208 and the intake side first direction switching valve 34 are preferably disposed in the advance angle side oil passage 211 or the retard angle side oil passage 212. Further, the rotation angle of the cam shafts 18 and 19 is detected by a cam angle sensor 74 provided in the vicinity of the cam shafts 18 and 19, and the phase angles of the VVTs 32 and 33 are detected based on the cam angles. Further, the water temperature sensor 75 detects the temperature of cooling water that cools the engine 2 (hereinafter referred to as water temperature).

  The controller 100 is a control device based on a known microcomputer, and includes various sensors (hydraulic sensor 70, crank position sensor 71, throttle position sensor 72, oil temperature sensor 73, cam angle sensor 74, water temperature sensor 75, etc.). A signal input unit for inputting a detection signal from the control unit, a calculation unit for performing calculation processing related to control, and devices to be controlled (intake side and exhaust side first direction switching valves 34, 35, intake side and exhaust side second A signal output unit that outputs a control signal to the direction switching valves 46 and 47, the linear solenoid valve 49, and the like, and a storage unit that stores programs and data (such as a hydraulic control map and a duty ratio map described later) necessary for control. I have.

  The linear solenoid valve 49 is a flow rate (discharge amount) control valve for controlling the discharge amount of the oil pump 36 in accordance with the operating state of the engine 2. The oil is supplied to the pressure chamber 369 of the oil pump 36 when the linear solenoid valve 49 is opened. However, the configuration of the linear solenoid valve 49 itself is well known, and a description thereof will be omitted. The flow rate (discharge amount) control valve is not limited to the linear solenoid valve 49, and for example, an electromagnetic control valve may be used.

  The controller 100 transmits a control signal having a duty ratio according to the operating state of the engine 2 to the linear solenoid valve 49 to control the hydraulic pressure supplied to the pressure chamber 369 of the oil pump 36 via the linear solenoid valve 49. To do. The flow rate (discharge amount) of the oil pump 36 is controlled by controlling the amount of eccentricity of the cam ring 366 and the amount of change in the internal volume of the pump chamber 365 by the hydraulic pressure of the pressure chamber 369. That is, the capacity of the oil pump 36 is controlled by the duty ratio. Here, since the oil pump 36 is driven by the crankshaft 9 of the engine 2, as shown in FIG. 9, the flow rate (discharge amount) of the oil pump 36 is proportional to the engine rotational speed (that is, the pump rotational speed). When the duty ratio represents the ratio of the energization time to the linear solenoid valve 49 relative to the time of one cycle, as shown in the figure, the hydraulic pressure to the pressure chamber 369 of the oil pump 36 increases as the duty ratio increases. The gradient of the flow rate of the oil pump 36 with respect to the rotation speed is reduced.

  Next, the reduced cylinder operation of the engine 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The reduced-cylinder operation or all-cylinder operation of the engine 2 is switched according to the operating state of the engine 2. That is, when the operating state of the engine 2 that is grasped from the engine speed, the engine load, and the water temperature of the engine 2 is within the illustrated reduced cylinder operating region, the reduced cylinder operation is executed. In addition, as shown in the figure, a reduced cylinder operation preparation area is provided adjacent to the reduced cylinder operation area, and when the engine is in the reduced cylinder operation preparation area, the reduced cylinder operation is executed. As a preparation for this, the hydraulic pressure is increased in advance toward the required hydraulic pressure of the valve stop mechanism. When the operating state of the engine 2 is outside the reduced cylinder operation region and the reduced cylinder operation preparation region, the all cylinder operation is executed.

  Referring to FIG. 10 (a), when the engine speed increases by accelerating at a predetermined engine load (L0 or less), all cylinder operation is performed when the engine speed is less than the predetermined speed V1, and the engine speed is increased. When V becomes greater than or equal to V1 and less than V2 (> V1), preparation for reduced cylinder operation starts, and when the engine speed becomes equal to or greater than V2, reduced cylinder operation is performed. Further, for example, when the engine speed is decreased by decelerating at a predetermined engine load (L0 or less), all cylinder operation is performed when the engine speed is V4 or more, and the engine speed is V3 (<V4) or more. When it becomes less than V4, preparation for reduced cylinder operation is performed, and when the engine speed becomes V3 or less, reduced cylinder operation is performed.

  Referring to FIG. 10 (b), when the vehicle runs at a predetermined engine speed (V2 or higher and V3 or lower) and a predetermined engine load (L0 or lower) and the engine 2 warms up and the water temperature rises, the water temperature is less than T0. Then, all-cylinder operation is performed, and when the water temperature is equal to or higher than T0 and lower than T1, preparation for reduced cylinder operation is performed, and when the water temperature is equal to or higher than T1, reduced-cylinder operation is performed.

  If the reduced-cylinder operation preparation region is not provided, when switching from all-cylinder operation to reduced-cylinder operation, the hydraulic pressure is increased to the required hydraulic pressure of the valve stop mechanism after the operating state of the engine 2 enters the reduced-cylinder operation region. However, since the time for performing the reduced cylinder operation is shortened by the time until the hydraulic pressure reaches the required oil pressure, the fuel efficiency of the engine 2 is reduced by the amount of time for performing the reduced cylinder operation.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to maximize the fuel efficiency of the engine 2, a reduced cylinder operation preparation region is provided adjacent to the reduced cylinder operation region, and the hydraulic pressure is increased in advance in the reduced cylinder operation preparation region, The target hydraulic pressure (see FIG. 11A) is set so as to eliminate the loss of time until the hydraulic pressure reaches the required hydraulic pressure.

  In addition, as shown to Fig.10 (a), it is good also considering the area | region shown with the dashed-dotted line adjacent to the high engine load side of a reduced cylinder operation area | region as a reduced cylinder operation preparation area | region. Thus, for example, when the engine load decreases at a predetermined engine speed (V2 or more and V3 or less), all cylinder operation is performed when the engine load is L1 (> L0) or more, and the engine load is L0 or more and less than L1. Then, the reduced cylinder operation may be started, and when the engine load becomes L0 or less, the reduced cylinder operation may be performed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 11, each hydraulic actuator (here, in addition to the valve stop mechanism and the VVTs 32 and 33, metal bearings such as the oil jet 28 and the journal of the crankshaft 9 are also included in the hydraulic actuator. The required oil pressure and the target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 will be described. The oil supply device 1 in the present embodiment supplies oil to a plurality of hydraulic actuators by one oil pump 36, and the required hydraulic pressure required by each hydraulic actuator changes according to the operating state of the engine 2. To do. Therefore, in order to obtain a hydraulic pressure that is required for all hydraulic operating devices in all operating states of the engine 2, the oil pump 36 has the highest required hydraulic pressure of each hydraulic operating device for each operating state of the engine 2. It is necessary to set a hydraulic pressure higher than the required hydraulic pressure to a target hydraulic pressure corresponding to the operating state of the engine 2. For this purpose, in this embodiment, the required hydraulic pressure of the valve stop mechanism, the oil jet 28, the journal of the crankshaft 9 and the VVTs 32 and 33 are relatively high among all hydraulic actuators. The target hydraulic pressure may be set as follows. This is because, if the target oil pressure is set in this way, other hydraulic actuators having a relatively low required oil pressure naturally satisfy the required oil pressure.

  Referring to FIG. 11A, the hydraulic actuators having a relatively high required oil pressure during the low load operation of the engine 2 are the VVTs 32, 33, metal bearings, and a valve stop mechanism. The required oil pressure of each of these hydraulic actuators changes according to the operating state of the engine 2. For example, the required oil pressure of VVTs 32 and 33 (described as “VVT required oil pressure” in FIG. 11) is substantially constant when the engine speed is equal to or higher than V0 (<V1). The required hydraulic pressure of the metal bearing (described as “metal required hydraulic pressure” in FIG. 11) increases as the engine speed increases. The required oil pressure of the valve stop mechanism (described as “valve stop required oil pressure” in FIG. 11) is substantially constant at a predetermined range of engine speed (V2 to V3). Then, comparing these required oil pressures for each engine speed, when the engine speed is lower than V0, there is only metal demand oil pressure, and when the engine speed is V0 to V2, the VVT required oil pressure is the highest, and the engine speed When the speed is V2 to V3, the valve stop required oil pressure is the highest, when the engine speed is V3 to V6, the VVT required oil pressure is the highest, and when the engine speed is V6 or higher, the metal required oil pressure is the highest. Therefore, it is necessary to set the above-mentioned highest required oil pressure as the reference target oil pressure as the target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 for each engine speed.

  Here, at the engine rotational speeds (V1 to V2, V3 to V4) before and after the engine rotational speed (V2 to V3) at which the reduced cylinder operation is performed, the target hydraulic pressure becomes the valve stop request hydraulic pressure in preparation for the reduced cylinder operation. It is set by correcting from the reference target hydraulic pressure so as to increase the pressure in advance. According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 10, when the engine rotational speed reaches the engine rotational speed for performing the reduced cylinder operation, the loss of time until the hydraulic pressure reaches the valve stop required hydraulic pressure is eliminated, and the fuel consumption of the engine is reduced. Efficiency can be improved. An example of the target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 set by this correction (described as “oil pump target oil pressure” in FIG. 11) is indicated by bold lines (V1 to V2, V3 to V4) in FIG. Yes.

  Further, considering the response delay of the oil pump 36, the overload of the oil pump 36, etc., the required oil pressure changes rapidly with respect to the engine speed with respect to the reference target oil pressure after the correction of the above-described reduction cylinder operation preparation. The target oil pressure is set by correcting so that the change in the oil pressure at the engine rotation speed (for example, V0, V1, V4) to be reduced is gradually increased or decreased according to the engine rotation speed at a hydraulic pressure higher than the required oil pressure. It is good. An example of the target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 set by performing this correction is shown by a thick line (V0 or less, V0 to V1, V4 to V5) in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 11 (b), the hydraulic actuators having a relatively high required hydraulic pressure during the high load operation of the engine 2 are the VVTs 32 and 33, the metal bearing and the oil jet 28. As in the case of low load operation, the required oil pressure of each of these hydraulic actuators changes according to the operating state of the engine 2. For example, the VVT required oil pressure is substantially constant when the engine speed is V0 'or higher, and the metal The required oil pressure increases as the engine speed increases. Further, the required oil pressure of the oil jet 28 is 0 when the engine rotational speed is less than V2 ′, and increases from that to a certain rotational speed according to the engine rotational speed, and is constant above the rotational speed.

  In the case of high load operation as well as in the case of low load operation, the target target oil pressure is corrected by correcting the reference target oil pressure at the engine speed (for example, V0 ′, V2 ′) at which the required oil pressure changes rapidly with respect to the engine speed. An example of the target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 that is set by performing appropriate correction (particularly, V0 ′ or less, correction by V1 ′ to V2 ′) is shown by a thick line in FIG. ing.

  The target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 shown in the figure changes in a polygonal line, but may change smoothly in a curved line. In the present embodiment, the target hydraulic pressure is set based on the required hydraulic pressures of the valve stop mechanism, the oil jet 28, the metal bearing, and the VVTs 32, 33 having a relatively high required hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic actuator is not limited to these. What is necessary is just to set the target hydraulic pressure in consideration of the required hydraulic pressure, whatever the hydraulic actuator having a relatively high required hydraulic pressure.

  Next, the hydraulic control map will be described with reference to FIG. The target oil pressure of the oil pump 36 shown in FIG. 11 is obtained by using the engine rotational speed as a parameter. Further, the target oil pressure is expressed in a three-dimensional graph using the engine load and the oil temperature as parameters, as shown in FIG. It is the shown hydraulic control map. In other words, this hydraulic pressure control map is based on the highest required hydraulic pressure among the required hydraulic pressures of each hydraulic operating device for each operating state of the engine 2 (here, the oil temperature is included in addition to the engine speed and the engine load). Thus, the target hydraulic pressure corresponding to the operating state is set in advance.

  12 (a), 12 (b) and 12 (c) show hydraulic control maps when the engine 2 (oil temperature) is hot, warm and cold, respectively. The controller 100 uses these hydraulic control maps properly according to the oil temperature. That is, when the engine 2 is started and the engine 2 is in a cold state (oil temperature is lower than T1), the controller 100 determines the engine 2 based on the cold hydraulic control map shown in FIG. Read the target oil pressure according to the operating condition (engine speed, engine load). When the engine 2 is warmed up and the oil reaches a predetermined oil temperature T1 or higher, the target hydraulic pressure is read based on the warm hydraulic control map shown in FIG. Is equal to or higher than a predetermined oil temperature T2 (> T1), the target oil pressure is read based on the high-temperature oil pressure control map shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the target oil pressure is read using a hydraulic control map set in advance for each temperature range by dividing the oil temperature into three temperature ranges of high temperature, warm time, and cold time. The target hydraulic pressure may be read using only one hydraulic control map without considering the oil temperature. Conversely, more hydraulic control maps may be prepared by dividing the temperature range more finely. Furthermore, the oil pressure t within the temperature range (T1 ≦ t <T2) targeted by one oil pressure control map (for example, the oil pressure control map at the time of warming) has read the target oil pressure P1 having the same value. In consideration of the target oil pressure (P2) within the temperature range before and after (T2 ≦ t), the target oil pressure p is proportionally converted according to the oil temperature t (p = (t−T1) × (P2−P1) / ( It may be calculated according to T2-T1)). As described above, the target hydraulic pressure corresponding to the temperature can be read and calculated with higher accuracy, so that the pump displacement can be controlled with higher accuracy.

  Next, the duty ratio map will be described with reference to FIG. The duty ratio map here reads the target oil pressure for each operating state (engine rotation speed, engine load and oil temperature) of the engine 2 from the above-described oil pressure control map, and based on the read target oil pressure, the flow path of the oil path A target discharge amount of oil supplied from the oil pump 36 is set in consideration of resistance and the like, and the operation calculated in consideration of the engine rotation speed (oil pump rotation speed) and the like based on the set target discharge amount A target duty ratio corresponding to the state is set in advance.

  FIGS. 13 (a), 13 (b), and 13 (c) show duty ratio maps when the engine 2 (oil temperature) is hot, warm, and cold, respectively. The controller 100 uses these duty ratio maps depending on the oil temperature. That is, since the engine is in a cold state when the engine 2 is started, the controller 100 determines the operation state of the engine 2 (engine rotational speed, engine speed, etc.) based on the cold duty ratio map shown in FIG. Read the duty ratio according to the engine load. When the engine 2 warms up and the oil reaches a predetermined oil temperature T1 or more, the target duty ratio is read based on the duty ratio map during warming shown in FIG. 13B, and the engine 2 is completely warmed up. When the engine reaches a predetermined oil temperature T2 (> T1) or higher, the target duty ratio is read based on the high-temperature duty ratio map shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the oil temperature is divided into three temperature ranges of high temperature, warm time, and cold time, and the duty ratio is read using a duty ratio map set in advance for each temperature range. As with the hydraulic control map described above, only one duty ratio map is prepared, more temperature range is divided into more duty ratio maps, or the target duty ratio is proportionally converted according to the oil temperature. It may be calculated.

  Next, the flow rate (discharge amount) control operation of the oil pump 36 by the controller 100 will be described according to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S1, in order to grasp the operating state of the engine 2, detection information is read from various sensors, and engine load, engine rotation speed, oil temperature, and the like are detected.

  Subsequently, in step S2, a duty ratio map stored in advance in the controller 100 is read, and a target duty ratio corresponding to the engine load, engine rotation speed, and oil temperature read in step S1 is read.

  In the next step S3, it is determined whether or not the current duty ratio matches the target duty ratio read in step S2. When the determination in step S3 is YES, the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, when the determination in step S3 is NO, the process proceeds to step S4 to output a signal indicating the target duty ratio to the linear solenoid valve 49 (described as “flow rate control valve” in the flowchart of FIG. 14), and then to step Proceed to S5.

  In step S5, the current oil pressure is read from the oil pressure sensor 70. In the next step S6, a pre-stored oil pressure control map is read, and the target oil pressure corresponding to the current engine operating state is read from the oil pressure control map.

  In the next step S7, it is determined whether or not the current oil pressure matches the target oil pressure read in step S6. When the determination in step S7 is NO, the process proceeds to step S8, an output signal in which the target duty ratio is changed by a predetermined ratio is output to the linear solenoid valve 49, and then the process returns to step S5. That is, the discharge amount of the oil pump 36 is controlled so that the oil pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor 70 becomes the target oil pressure.

  On the other hand, when the determination in step S7 is YES, the process proceeds to step S9 to detect the engine load, the engine speed and the oil temperature, and whether or not the engine load, the engine speed and the oil temperature have changed in the next step S10. Determine whether.

  When the determination in step S10 is YES, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, when the determination in step S10 is NO, the process returns to step S5. The above flow rate control is continued until the engine 2 is stopped.

  The flow rate control of the oil pump 36 described above is a combination of the feedforward control of the duty ratio and the feedback control of the hydraulic pressure. According to this flow rate control, the responsiveness is improved by the feedforward control and the accuracy by the feedback control is improved. Improvement and realization.

  Subsequently, an operation of controlling the number of cylinders by the controller 100 will be described according to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S11, in order to grasp the operating state of the engine 2, detection information is read from various sensors, and engine load, engine rotation speed, water temperature, and the like are detected.

  In the next step S12, based on the read engine load, engine speed and water temperature, whether or not the current operation state of the engine 2 satisfies the valve stop operation condition (is in the reduced cylinder operation region) or not. judge.

  When the determination in step S12 is NO, the process proceeds to step S13 to perform a four cylinder operation (all cylinder operation). At this time, in each cylinder, the same operation as in steps S14 to S16 described later is performed, and the current phase angle of the VVTs 32 and 33 corresponding to the current cam angle read from the cam angle sensor 74 is determined as the operating state of the engine 2. The intake-side and exhaust-side first direction switching valves 34, 35 are operated so that the target phase angle set according to the above is reached.

  On the other hand, when the determination in step S12 is YES, the process proceeds to step S14 to operate the intake-side and exhaust-side first direction switching valves 34, 35, and in the next step S15, the cam angle sensor 74 detects the current cam. Read a corner.

  In the next step S16, it is determined whether or not the current phase angle of the VVTs 32 and 33 corresponding to the read current cam angle is a target phase angle.

  When the determination in step S16 is NO, the process returns to step S15. That is, the operation of the intake side and exhaust side second direction switching valves 46 and 47 is prohibited until the current phase angle reaches the target phase angle.

  When the determination in step S16 is YES, the process proceeds to step S17 to operate the intake side and exhaust side second direction switching valves 46 and 47 to perform the two-cylinder operation (reduced cylinder operation).

  Here, when the engine 2 is stopped, the oil escapes from the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVTs 32 and 33 and becomes empty. At this time, if the lock pin 231 is not fitted in the fitting recess 202b, the next time the engine 2 is started, the vane body 202 flutters and a hitting sound is generated due to the collision between the vane body 202 and the housing 201. To do.

  Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of this hitting sound, the controller 100 receives the engine stop signal from the ignition switch when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off, and stops the engine 2 when the cam shafts 18 and 19 are stopped. When the phase angle with respect to the crankshaft 9 is not the specific phase angle (the most retarded phase angle in the case of VVT32 and the most advanced phase angle in the case of VVT33), it is locked immediately before the engine 2 is stopped. The phase angle of the cam shafts 18 and 19 with respect to the crankshaft 9 is set to the specific phase angle so that the pin 231 is locked and returned by the elastic biasing force of the lock pin biasing spring 233, and then the engine 2 is stopped.

  Due to such a configuration, when the engine 2 is started, the lock pin 231 is first unlocked, and then the VVTs 32 and 33 are operated. However, before the lock pin 231 is unlocked, the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVTs 32 and 33 need to be filled with oil.

  On the other hand, it is preferable to advance the intake side VVT 32 at an early stage in order to improve the emission immediately after starting the engine 2 and to activate the catalyst early by ignition retard with an excessive air intake amount. For this purpose, it is desirable that the lock pin 231 of the VVT 32 is unlocked as soon as possible after the oil is filled into the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the engine 2 is started, the oil filling time to the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32 is accurately predicted, and the lock is performed based on the predicted value of the oil filling time. The pin 231 is unlocked.

  Hereinafter, the prediction method of the oil filling time will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a simplified hydraulic pressure supply path to the VVT 32 in the oil supply apparatus of FIG. The oil discharged from the oil pump 36 is filled in the engine 2 except for the VVT 32, and finally flows into the oil passage 67. From there, the intake side first direction switching valve 34, the advance side oil passage It flows into the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32 through 211 and the retard side oil passage 212. Therefore, the oil supply amount Qvvt to the VVT 32 is a value obtained by subtracting the oil amount Q0 flowing out from the engine 2 like the oil flowing out from the oil jet 28, the oil shower 29, 30 or the like from the oil discharge amount Qp of the oil pump 36. become. Strictly speaking, it is necessary to consider the pump pressure loss α (0 <α <1) of the oil pump 36. Therefore, the oil supply amount Qvvt to the VVT 32 is
Qvvt = (Qp−Q0) × (1−α) (1)
It becomes.

  The oil discharge amount Qp of the oil pump 36 is known from the engine rotation speed (that is, the pump rotation speed) and the duty ratio with respect to the linear solenoid valve 49 from FIG. Further, the amount of oil Q0 flowing out from the engine 2 and the pump pressure loss α can also be understood by examining in advance. Therefore, the oil supply amount Qvvt to the VVT 32 can be obtained from the above equation (1).

In addition, the hydraulic path from the installation location of the hydraulic sensor 70 to the VVT 32 and the volume V to be filled with the oil in the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32 are known in advance. Therefore, when the engine 100 starts, when the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor 70 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value, the controller 100 supplies the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 based on the oil discharge amount. Predict oil filling time. When the oil pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor 70 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined oil pressure value, the oil has reached the installation location of the oil pressure sensor 70 by starting the engine 2, and the oil filling time from this time point is reached. The predicted value t of
t = V / Qvvt (2)
It becomes.

  The predicted value t is preferably corrected according to the oil temperature detected by the oil temperature sensor 73. That is, when the temperature of the oil decreases, the viscosity of the oil increases and the oil filling time becomes longer. Therefore, it is preferable to perform correction in consideration of viscosity.

  The controller 100 controls the intake side first direction switching valve 34 to unlock the lock pin 231 when the predicted value t has elapsed from when the detected hydraulic pressure by the hydraulic sensor 70 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value. . Thereafter, the controller 100 controls the intake side first direction switching valve 34 according to the operating state of the engine 2 to change the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14 to the advance direction. Note that the lock pin 231 of the exhaust-side VVT 33 is unlocked after the engine 2 has been started after a sufficient time for oil to fill the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 33 has elapsed.

  The control operation of the VVT 32 at the time of engine start by the controller 100 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S21, it is determined whether or not a hydraulic pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value is detected by the hydraulic sensor 70. If the determination in step S21 is NO, the operation in step S21 is repeated. On the other hand, when the determination in step S21 is YES, the process proceeds to step S22, and the oil discharge amount of the oil pump 36 is calculated.

  In the next step S23, the predicted value t of the oil filling time in the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 is calculated from the above formulas (1) and (2), and in the next step S24, the hydraulic sensor It is determined whether or not the predicted value t has elapsed since the detected hydraulic pressure at 70 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value.

  When the determination in step S24 is NO, the operation of step S24 is repeated. On the other hand, when the determination in step S24 is YES, the process proceeds to step S25, and the intake side first direction switching valve 34 is controlled to lock. The pin 231 is unlocked.

  In the next step S26, the intake side first direction switching valve 34 is controlled in accordance with the operating state of the engine 2 to change the valve opening phase of the intake valve 14, and then this control operation is terminated.

  In the present embodiment, the controller 100 configures a pump control device that controls the discharge amount of the oil pump 36 so that the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor 70 becomes a target hydraulic pressure that is set in advance according to the operating state of the engine 2. In addition, the discharge amount calculating means for calculating the oil discharge amount of the oil pump 36 and the discharge amount calculating means when the oil pressure detected by the oil pressure sensor 70 exceeds a predetermined oil pressure value when the engine 2 is started. Oil filling time predicting means for predicting oil filling time in the advance working chamber 208 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32 based on the oil discharge amount, and prediction of oil filling time by the oil filling time predicting means Unlock control means for controlling the intake side first direction switching valve 34 based on the value to unlock the lock pin 231; It will be constructed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the engine 2 starts, when the detected hydraulic pressure by the hydraulic sensor 70 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value, the oil discharge amount of the oil pump 36 is calculated, and based on the calculated oil discharge amount. Thus, the oil filling time in the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 32 is predicted, and the intake side first direction switching valve 34 is controlled based on the predicted value t of the oil filling time to control the VVT 32. Since the lock pin 231 is unlocked, when the engine 2 is started, the oil filling timing can be appropriately predicted based on the predicted value t with high accuracy, and therefore, the vane body 202 of the VVT 32 and the housing 201 The valve timing control by the VVT 32 can be performed as early as possible while preventing the generation of abnormal noise due to a collision.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be substituted without departing from the spirit of the claims.

  For example, in the above embodiment, when the engine 2 is started, the oil filling time to the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the intake side VVT 32 is predicted, and based on the predicted value of the oil filling time, The intake side first direction switching valve 34 is controlled to unlock the lock pin 231 of the VVT 32, but the oil filling time for the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the exhaust VVT 33 is predicted. Then, based on the predicted value of the oil filling time, the exhaust side first direction switching valve 35 may be controlled to unlock the lock pin 231 of the VVT 33. In this case, an oil passage 68, which is a hydraulic passage for supplying oil only to the VVT 33, is provided so as to flow in after the oil has been filled into the engine 2 as in the oil passage 67 (oil discharge of the oil pump 36). Any configuration can be used as long as the oil supply amount actually supplied to the VVT 33 is known (the same applies to the oil passage 67), and the oil passage 68 includes the oil passage 68. A hydraulic pressure sensor for detecting the hydraulic pressure of the intake side is provided, and when the engine 2 starts, when the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic pressure sensor exceeds a predetermined hydraulic pressure value, the advance operation chamber 207 and the retard operation of the VVT 32 on the intake side are provided. Similar to the prediction of the oil filling time to the chamber 208, the oil filling time to the advance working chamber 207 and the retard working chamber 208 of the VVT 33 is predicted based on the oil discharge amount of the oil pump 36. It should be so.

  In the above embodiment, a variable displacement oil pump driven by the engine 2 is used as the variable oil pump. Instead, a motor-driven electric oil pump is used, and the rotational speed of the electric oil pump is changed. It is also possible to provide a pump control device that controls the oil discharge amount so as to achieve the target hydraulic pressure. In this case, the oil discharge amount can be calculated from the number of rotations of the electric oil pump that discharges a predetermined capacity.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted in a limited manner. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the claims, and all modifications and changes belonging to the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for an engine valve timing control device that controls the opening / closing timing of intake / exhaust valves (particularly, intake valves) in an engine according to the engine operating state by a hydraulically operated variable valve timing mechanism.

2 Engine 9 Crankshaft 14 Intake valve 15 Exhaust valve 18 Intake side camshaft 19 Exhaust side camshaft 32 Intake side variable valve timing mechanism (hydraulic actuator)
33 Exhaust variable valve timing mechanism (hydraulic actuator)
34 Intake side first direction switching valve (hydraulic control valve)
35 Exhaust side first direction switching valve (hydraulic control valve)
36 Variable displacement oil pump (variable oil pump)
70 Oil pressure sensor 73 Oil temperature sensor 100 Controller (discharge amount calculation means) (oil filling time prediction means)
(Lock release control means) (Pump control device)
230 Lock mechanism 231 Lock pin (lock member)

Claims (3)

The chamber is divided by a housing that rotates in conjunction with the crankshaft of the engine and a vane body that rotates integrally with the camshaft. A hydraulically actuated variable valve timing mechanism having a corner working chamber, a lock mechanism for unlocking a lock member for fixing a phase angle of the camshaft with respect to the crankshaft by supplying hydraulic pressure, and the variable in the engine A variable oil pump that supplies oil to a hydraulic actuator including a valve timing mechanism via a hydraulic path, and a hydraulic control valve that controls the hydraulic pressure supplied to the lock mechanism, the advance working chamber and the retard working chamber. An engine valve timing control device,
A hydraulic pressure sensor for detecting a hydraulic pressure of a hydraulic pressure path for supplying oil to the variable valve timing mechanism;
A discharge amount calculating means for calculating the oil discharge amount of the variable oil pump;
When the engine is started, when the hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined hydraulic pressure value, the advance working chamber and the retard angle are calculated based on the oil discharge amount calculated by the discharge amount calculation means. Oil filling time predicting means for predicting oil filling time in the working chamber;
And a lock release control means for controlling the hydraulic control valve to release the lock member of the lock mechanism based on a predicted value of the oil fill time by the oil filling time predicting means. Engine valve timing control device. The valve timing control device for an engine according to claim 1,
An oil temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of oil in a hydraulic path for supplying oil to the variable valve timing mechanism;
The valve timing control device for an engine according to claim 1, wherein the oil filling time prediction means is configured to correct the predicted value of the oil filling time according to the temperature of the oil detected by the oil temperature sensor. . The valve timing control device for an engine according to claim 1 or 2,
The apparatus further comprises a pump control device that controls a discharge amount of the variable oil pump so that a hydraulic pressure detected by the hydraulic sensor becomes a target hydraulic pressure set in advance according to an operating state of the engine. Engine valve timing control device.

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