JP4180013B2 - Variable valve operating device for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine that can vary the drive phase of an intake or exhaust valve.

  Engines (internal combustion engines) installed in automobiles are equipped with variable valve systems for reasons such as engine exhaust gas countermeasures and fuel efficiency reduction, and the intake and exhaust valve phases ( The opening / closing timing is changed.

Such a variable valve device has a reciprocating cam structure in which the phase of the cam formed on the camshaft is temporarily replaced with a reciprocating cam in which a base circle section and a lift section are continuous. Many of the same structures employ a rocker arm mechanism that changes the ratio of the base circle section and lift section replaced with a reciprocating cam, and the ratio is changed according to the driving state of the vehicle ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3245492

  Engines are required to reduce pumping loss in order to reduce fuel consumption.

  By the way, considering the reduction of pumping loss, when changing the phase of the intake valve, it is desirable to make the valve opening timing almost the same and to change the phase (open / close timing) (intake air is sucked into the cylinder without loss) By creating a situation to be).

  However, the variable valve device disclosed in Patent Document 1 simply replaces the cam phase of the camshaft with a reciprocating cam, so that the obtained cam phase can be varied while the maximum lift amount is almost uniform. The timing and valve closing timing change.

  Therefore, in an engine equipped with such a reciprocating variable valve device, a variable valve device having a different system is used. Specifically, the cam itself is displaced in the advance or retard direction by hydraulic pressure. In combination with the variable valve system of the system, the phase of the intake valve is varied so that the valve opening timings are substantially aligned, thereby reducing the pumping loss.

  However, if the phase of the valve is varied with the help of such a variable valve system, it is necessary to correctly control both variable systems simultaneously in order to use a plurality of variable valve systems. In addition, there is a problem that since the phase variable amount needs to be increased, the responsiveness and the variable amount are insufficient, and there is a possibility that sufficient fuel consumption cannot be improved.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to adjust the valve lift amount and the valve opening period with a relatively simple configuration, and to ensure a sufficient variable amount, and to make the valve closing timing variable more than the valve opening timing. An object of the present invention is to provide a variable valve operating apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the rocker arm mechanism that is driven by a cam formed on the camshaft to open and close the intake or exhaust valve is supported by the rocker shaft in a swingable manner. Alternatively, a first arm that can drive the exhaust valve, a second arm that is driven by a cam and swings about the rocker shaft side as a fulcrum, and a support shaft disposed in the vicinity of the rocker shaft is swingably provided. The position of contact between the cam and the third arm that drives the first arm by changing the phase of the cam by the posture change caused by the movement of the fulcrum of the second arm in response to the displacement of the two arms is displaced forward and backward in the moving direction of the cam. In addition to the structure having a variable mechanism for displacing the fulcrum of the second arm on the rocker shaft side, the second arm further has a drive surface for driving the third arm, In the swing direction of the third arm, a shaft member having a driven surface that is in surface contact with the driving surface is rotatably supported in the outer peripheral portion, and the displacement of the second arm is Adopted a structure that transmits to the third arm while sliding with the drive surface.

Further, in addition to the above purpose, the end of the arm portion extending from the second arm is inserted into the recess so as to position the second arm by using the surface contact between the driving surface and the driven surface. The configuration in which the inclined surface formed and the driven surface formed on the bottom surface of the recess are brought into surface contact with each other so that the posture of the second arm is regulated by the inner wall surface of the recess.

In addition to the above object, the invention according to claim 2 further includes a third arm in which the opening / closing timing of the valve and the amount of lift of the valve can be varied continuously at a timing at which the valve opening timing is substantially aligned. The transmission surface portion that contacts the first arm to drive the first arm is provided with a conversion portion that changes the distance from the center of the support shaft. By changing the posture of the two arms, the distance from the support shaft to the transmission surface is changed so that the phase of the cam transmitted to the first arm changes continuously with the valve lift amount of the intake or exhaust valve.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a simple single rocker arm mechanism that combines the first to third arms can ensure a sufficient variable amount and can vary the valve closing timing larger than the valve opening timing. it can.

  In addition, the displacement of the second arm is transmitted to the third arm while sliding between the driving surface formed on the second arm and the driven surface formed on the third arm, so that smooth The cam phase can be varied under the proper driving force transmission. In addition, since a large contact area is secured between the driving surface and the driven surface (due to surface contact), the driving force necessary to always drive the valve is stably from the second arm to the third arm. It is transmitted and good variable operation can be expected. In addition, the change in the posture of the third arm is performed over a wide range using the contact between the driving surface and the driven surface, and a sufficient variable amount can be ensured.

In addition to the above effects , the position of the camshaft axial direction between the second arm and the third arm is determined by utilizing the fact that the driving surface and the driven surface are in surface contact without the need for a positioning mechanism. Can do.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, there is an effect that the cam phase can be continuously changed and the valve lift amount can be continuously changed while the valve opening timings are substantially aligned.

[One Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a cylinder head 1 of an internal combustion engine, for example, a reciprocating gasoline engine in which a plurality of cylinders are arranged in series. A combustion chamber 2 is formed on the lower surface of the cylinder head 1 along the longitudinal direction according to the arrangement of the cylinders. For example, two (a pair) of intake ports 3 and exhaust ports 4 (only one side is shown) are provided for each combustion chamber 2. Further, an intake valve 5 (configured by a reciprocating valve) for opening and closing the intake port 3 and an exhaust valve 6 (configured by a reciprocating valve) for opening and closing the exhaust port 4 are assembled to the upper portion of the cylinder head 1. ing. Note that the plurality of intake valves 5 and the plurality of exhaust valves 6 are each of a normally closed type that is urged by a valve spring 7 in the closing direction. Further, a valve operating system for driving a plurality of intake valves 5 and a plurality of exhaust valves 6, for example, an SOHC valve operating system 8 is mounted on the cylinder head 1.

  The valve system 8 will be described. Reference numeral 10 denotes a camshaft disposed on the head of the combustion chamber 2 so as to be rotatable in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder head 1, and 11 denotes an upper side (cylinder head width) sandwiching the camshaft 10. The pivotable intake-side rocker shaft 12, which is disposed substantially parallel to the camshaft 10 on one side in the direction), and the exhaust side which is disposed (fixed) substantially parallel to the camshaft 10 on the opposite side. The rocker shaft 13 is a support shaft (support shaft of the present application) disposed (fixed) in the vicinity of the rocker shaft 10, for example, at an upper point between the rocker shaft 11 and the rocker shaft 12, substantially parallel to the camshaft 10. Equivalent). The camshaft 10 is a component that is rotationally driven along the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by the crank output of the engine. The camshaft 10 is formed with an intake cam 15 (one) and an exhaust cam 16 (two) for each combustion chamber 2. Specifically, the intake cam 15 is formed in a shaft portion that is the center of the top of the combustion chamber 2, and the exhaust cam 16 is formed on both sides of the intake cam 15 (shown in FIG. 2). ).

  Among them, the rocker shaft 12 on the exhaust side is provided with a rocker arm 18 (FIG. 1; only one side is shown) for driving the exhaust valve 6 for each exhaust cam 16 (for each exhaust valve 6). ing. Further, the rocker shaft 11 on the intake side is provided with a rocker arm mechanism 19 that drives a plurality of (a pair of) intake valves 5 together for each intake cam 15, and a predetermined combustion cycle is caused by the rotation of the camshaft 10. The intake valve 5 and the exhaust valve 6 are opened and closed according to (for example, four cycles of an intake stroke, a compression stroke, an explosion stroke, and an exhaust stroke).

  A variable valve gear 20 is employed in the rocker arm mechanism 19 on the intake side. 2 is a plan view of a rocker arm mechanism 19 constituting the variable valve operating apparatus 20, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the rocker arm mechanism 19. As shown in FIG.

  The variable valve device 20 will be described. A rocker arm mechanism 19 constituting the device 20 includes a rocker arm 25 (supporting the first arm) supported on the rocker shaft 11 so as to be swingable as shown in FIGS. And a center rocker arm 35 (corresponding to the second arm) driven by the intake cam 15 and a swing cam 45 (corresponding to the third arm) supported swingably on the support shaft 13. Is used.

  Of these, the rocker arm 25 has a bifurcated structure for transmitting displacement to a plurality (a pair) of intake valves 5 as shown in FIG. For example, the rocker arm 25 has a cylindrical rocker shaft support boss 26 in the center, and a pair of rocker arms having a drive portion that drives the intake valve 5, for example, an adjustment screw portion 27, on one end side of the boss 26. A structure is used in which the pieces 29 are arranged in parallel, and a roller member 30 serving as an abutting member is rotatably sandwiched between the other end portions of the rocker arm pieces 29. Reference numeral 32 denotes a short shaft for pivotally supporting the roller member 30. Each rocker shaft support boss 26 of the assembled rocker arm 25 is inserted into the rocker shaft 11 so as to be swingable, the roller member 30 is directed toward the center of the cylinder head 1, and the remaining adjustment screw portions 27 are respectively connected to the cylinder head. 1 is disposed at the upper end (valve stem end) of the intake valve 5 protruding from the upper portion of 1.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the center rocker arm 35 includes a rolling contact that rolls in contact with the cam surface of the intake cam 15, for example, a cam follower 36, and a frame-shaped holder portion that rotatably supports the cam follower 36. An approximately L-shaped member with 37 is used. Specifically, the center rocker arm 35 has a cam follower 36 as a center, and a relay arm portion 38 (an arm portion of the present application) extending upward from the holder portion 37, specifically, between the rocker shaft 11 and the support shaft 13 in a column shape. And a flat fulcrum arm portion 39 extending from the side portion of the holder portion 37 to the lower side of the rocker shaft portion 11a (shown in FIGS. 4 to 7) exposed between the pair of rocker arm pieces 39. Have an L shape. The tip (upper end surface) of the relay arm 38 is inclined so that, for example, the rocker shaft 11 side is low and the support shaft 13 side is high as a relay surface (corresponding to the drive surface of the present application) that transmits displacement to the swing cam 45. A flat inclined surface 40 is formed. The remaining tip of the fulcrum arm 39 is supported by, for example, the rocker shaft portion 11a. For this support, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, a pin member 41 having a spherical portion 41 a formed at the lower end portion is provided on the rocker shaft portion 11 a toward the distal end portion of the fulcrum arm portion 39. The rocker shaft portion 11a is screwed and fixed so as to penetrate from the upper side to the lower side (radial direction) (for example, fixed by a nut 41b), and the pin end protruding from the rocker shaft portion 11a is supported by the fulcrum arm portion 39. Structure is used. That is, a hemispherical receiving portion 42 is formed on the upper surface of the distal end portion of the fulcrum arm portion 39 so as to be rotatably fitted to the spherical portion 41a protruding from the rocker shaft portion 11a. As a result, when the cam follower 36 is driven by the intake cam 15, the center rocker arm 35 moves in the vertical direction with the rocker shaft 11 side as a fulcrum, that is, with the pivot portion where the spherical portion 41a and the receiving portion 42 are fitted as a fulcrum. Oscillate to.

  Further, for example, a control motor 43 (shown only in FIG. 3) is connected to the end of the rocker shaft 11 as a control actuator. 4 and FIG. 5 is rotationally displaced in a range from a posture in which the pin member 41 is arranged in the vertical direction to a posture inclined at an angle of approximately 45 ° in the camshaft rotation direction shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. I can do it. That is, the fulcrum moving mechanism 44 (corresponding to the variable mechanism of the present application) constituted by the control motor 43 and the pivot support structure causes the fulcrum on the rocker shaft 11 side of the center rocker arm 35 to be in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the shaft 11. It can be moved (displaced). Then, using the position shift of the center rocker arm 35 caused by this movement, the rolling contact position (contact position) of the cam follower 36 with respect to the intake cam 15 is variable, that is, the intake cam as shown in FIGS. 15 can be displaced back and forth in the rotational direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the swing cam 45 has a cylindrical boss portion 46 that is rotatably inserted into the support shaft 13, and the boss portion 46 faces the roller member 30 (the rocker arm 25). And an arm portion 47 extending in the direction and a displacement receiving portion 48 formed in the lower portion of the arm portion 47. Among these, a cam surface 49 extending in the vertical direction, for example, is formed at the tip of the arm portion 47 as a transmission surface portion that transmits displacement to the rocker arm 25. The cam surface 49 is in rolling contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller member 30 of the rocker arm 25. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the displacement receiving portion 48 is formed with a recessed portion 51 in a lower surface portion of the lower portion of the arm portion 47 that is directly above the camshaft 10, and the shaft 10 is placed in the recessed portion 51. , 11 and a structure in which a short shaft 52 (corresponding to the shaft member of the present application) is rotatably accommodated. That is, the short shaft 52 is provided so as to be rotatable in the swing direction of the swing cam 45. In addition, for example, a groove-shaped concave portion 53 is formed as a concave portion in the lower portion of the short shaft 52 exposed from the open portion of the concave portion 51. Specifically, the recess 53 is formed in a groove shape extending in a direction intersecting with the axis of the short shaft 52. And the front-end | tip part of the relay arm part 38 (center rocker arm 35) is inserted in this recessed part 53 so that sliding is possible. A flat receiving surface 53a (corresponding to the driven surface of the present application) is formed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 53 so as to come into surface contact with the inclined surface 40 and slidably receive the inclined surface 40.

  As a result, when the swing cam 45 receives the swinging displacement of the center rocker arm 35, the support shaft 13 serves as a fulcrum, the recess 53 serves as a point of application of a load from the center rocker arm 35, and the cam surface 49 drives the rocker arm 25. As a force point to be made, it swings periodically. Further, when the cam follower 36 is displaced from a predetermined position of the intake cam 15 in the advance angle direction or the retard angle direction (the center rocker arm 35 is displaced back and forth in the movement direction of the intake cam 15), the swing cam 45 takes a posture corresponding to the displacement. From the change, the phase of the intake cam 15 is shifted in the advance direction (or the retard direction).

  The cam surface 49 is, for example, a curved surface (conversion unit of the present application) whose distance from the center of the support shaft 13 changes. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper side of the cam surface 49 is formed by a base circle section α, that is, an arc surface centered on the axis of the support shaft 13 as shown in FIG. The lower part is formed by a lift section β, that is, an arc surface opposite to the arc and the arc surface opposite to the arc, for example, an arc surface similar to the cam shape of the lift area of the intake cam 15. A curved surface as an interval is used. When the cam follower 36 is displaced from the predetermined position of the intake cam 15 in the advance direction by the cam surface 49 (the fulcrum position of the center rocker arm 35 is displaced), the region of the cam surface 49 that the roller member 30 contacts changes. The ratio of the base circle section α and the lift section β where the member 30 passes is changed. Due to the change in the ratio of the sections α and β performed with the phase change in the advance direction, the opening / closing timing of the intake valve 5 is continuously varied while aligning the valve opening timing, and at the same time, the valve lift amount of the intake valve 5 Is continuously variable.

  In FIG. 1, 54 is a pusher for energizing the intake cam 15 and the center rocker arm 35 and the swing arm 45 in close contact with each other, and 55 is an ignition plug for igniting the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber 2. Indicates.

  Next, the operation of the variable valve operating apparatus 20 configured as described above will be described.

  First, the movement of the rocker arm mechanism 19 accompanying opening and closing of the intake valve 5 will be described. It is assumed that the camshaft 10 is now rotating (in the direction of the arrow).

  At this time, the cam follower 36 of the center rocker arm 35 receives the intake cam 15 disposed between the rocker arm pieces 29 and is driven in accordance with the cam profile of the cam 15. Then, the center rocker arm 35 is swung in the vertical direction with the pivot portion on the rocker shaft 11 side as a fulcrum. Then, this swinging displacement is transmitted to the swing cam 45 directly above the center rocker arm 35.

  Here, one end portion of the swing cam 45 is swingably supported by the support shaft 13, and the other end portion is in rolling contact with the roller member 30 of the rocker arm 25. From this state, the inclined surface 40 at the tip of the relay arm portion 38 is received by the receiving surface 53a formed on the rotatable short shaft 52 at the bottom. Thus, the swing cam 45 repeats the behavior of being pushed up or lowered by the inclined surface 40 while sliding (sliding) the inclined surface 40. The center rocker arm is moved between the center rocker arm 35 and the swing cam 45 by the slip generated between the inclined surface 40 and the receiving surface 53a at this time, and further by the rotational displacement of the short shaft 52 caused by the slip. The displacement from 35 is smoothly transmitted to the swing cam 45. The cam surface 49 is driven in the vertical direction by the swing of the swing cam 45 caused by this transmission.

  At this time, since the roller member 30 is in rolling contact with the cam surface 49, the roller member 30 is periodically pressed by the cam surface 49. In response to this pressing, the rocker arm 25 is driven (swinged) with the rocker shaft 11 as a fulcrum, and opens and closes a plurality (a pair) of intake valves 5 at a time.

  During such operation, the rocker shaft 11 is rotated by the operation of the control motor 43, and the fulcrum position of the center rocker arm 35 is positioned at a point where the maximum valve lift amount is secured, for example. Then, the cam follower 36 of the center rocker arm 35 is displaced on the intake cam 15 so that the cam surface 49 of the swing cam 45 is positioned in an attitude that is close to vertical (when in the base circle section α).

  As a result, the cam surface 49 has a region (ratio) where the roller members 30 come and go to provide the maximum valve lift amount, that is, the shortest base circle section α shown in FIG. 4 and the longest lift section shown in FIG. set to β. Then, the intake valve 5 follows the rocker arm 25 driven by the cam surface portion formed by the narrow base circle section α and the longest lift section β, and the maximum valve lift amount as shown in the diagram of A1 in FIG. Furthermore, it is opened / closed at a desired opening / closing timing.

  On the other hand, when the phase of the intake cam 15 is varied, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operation of the control motor 43 causes the rocker shaft 11 to be secured at a position where the maximum valve lift amount is secured (FIGS. 4 and 5). The pin member 41 is rotated clockwise from the inner pin member 41 position. Thereby, the pivot part (fulcrum position) of the center rocker arm 35 is shifted to the camshaft 10 side.

  Here, the center rocker arm 35 is formed by the inclined surface 40 of the relay arm portion 38 and the receiving surface 53a of the short shaft 52 that is in surface contact with the inclined surface 40, and transmits the displacement to the swing arm 45. Since the portion that receives the cam 15 is formed by the cam follower 36 that is in rolling contact with the intake cam 15, when the displacement (displacement) is received, the center rocker arm 35 as a whole has the rolling contact position of the cam follower 36 of the intake cam 15. Displace (shift) to advance in the advance direction. Due to the change in the rolling position, the valve opening timing of the cam phase to be varied is advanced according to the variable amount of the pivot portion (fulcrum position).

  The inclined surface 40 also receives the movement of the fulcrum and displaces (slides) the receiving surface 53a in the advance direction from the initial position. As a result, the center rocker arm 35 changes to a posture in which the cam surface 45 of the swing cam 45 is inclined downward as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As this inclination increases, the region of the cam surface 49 where the roller members 30 come and go changes to a region where the base circle section α is gradually longer and the lift section β is gradually shorter. Then, the cam profile of the variable cam surface 49 is transmitted to the roller member 30, and the rocker arm 25 is driven to swing while the valve opening timing is advanced. Thereby, the opening / closing timing of the intake valve 5 is the minimum valve lift amount obtained by tilting the pin member 41 from the maximum valve lift amount A1 as shown in FIG. 8 according to the movement of the fulcrum position of the center rocker arm 35. Until A7, variable control is continuously performed while maintaining the valve opening timing from substantially the same valve opening timing as at the time of maximum valve lift. 6 and 7 show a state when the minimum valve lift amount A7 is set in the variable control.

  Therefore, only the single rocker arm mechanism 19 that combines the rocker arm 25, the center rocker arm 35, and the swing cam 45 can vary the cam phase with the valve opening timing substantially aligned.

  Moreover, the displacement of the center rocker arm 35 is neutralized by the slip that occurs between the inclined surface 40 and the receiving surface 53a, and also by the rotational displacement of the short shaft 52 (the swinging direction of the swing cam 45) caused by the slip. Since it is transmitted to the swing cam 45, the cam phase can be varied by smoothly transmitting the driving force. In addition, since the inclined surface 40 and the receiving surface 53a are in contact with each other over a wide area (by surface contact), the driving force and displacement necessary for driving the valve can be stably transmitted from the center rocker arm 35 to the swing cam 45. Can always promise good variable operation. In addition, since the posture change of the swing cam 45 is performed over a wide range using the surface contact between the inclined surface 40 and the receiving surface 53a, a sufficient amount of cam phase can be secured and sufficient variable performance can be obtained. Can do.

  Further, the surface contact between the inclined surface 40 and the receiving surface 53 a is realized by inserting and abutting the end of the relay arm portion 38 into the recess 53 of the short shaft 52, so that the inner wall surfaces 53 b and 53 b on both sides of the recess 53 are used. The posture of the center rocker arm 35 is regulated, and the center rocker arm 35 can be positioned without requiring a separate mechanism for positioning in the camshaft axial direction.

  In particular, the swing cam 45 has a structure in which the cam phase transmitted to the rocker arm pieces 29 and 29 is continuously varied together with the valve lift amount by changing the distance from the support shaft 13 to the cam surface 49. The opening / closing timing of the intake valve 5 and the lift amount of the valve can be varied simultaneously by changing the valve closing timing more greatly than the timing. Continuously changing the valve lift amount and opening / closing timing by greatly changing the valve closing timing allows intake air to be sucked into the cylinder while suppressing loss, and is particularly effective in reducing pumping loss. To do. Even if the phase varying device is used in combination with the present invention, the amount of phase change can be small, so that a variable response delay does not occur, and sufficient fuel consumption can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the rocker arm mechanism of the intake valve. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to the rocker arm mechanism of the exhaust valve. In one embodiment, the present invention is applied to an engine of an SOHC valve system (a structure in which an intake valve and an exhaust valve are driven by a single camshaft). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a DOHC valve system (cam The present invention may be applied to an engine having a structure in which the shaft is dedicated to the intake side and the exhaust side.

Sectional drawing which shows the variable valve apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention with the cylinder head which mounts the apparatus. The top view of the variable valve apparatus. The disassembled perspective view of the variable valve operating apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows a state when the contact part of a rocker arm exists in the base circle area of the cam surface at the time of the maximum valve lift control of the variable valve apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows a state when the contact part of a rocker arm exists in the lift area of a cam surface similarly. Sectional drawing which shows a state when the contact part of a rocker arm exists in the lift area of the cam surface at the time of the minimum valve lift control of the variable valve apparatus. Sectional drawing which shows a state when the contact part of a rocker arm exists in the lift area of a cam surface similarly. The diagram which shows the performance of the variable valve operating apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Intake valve, 6 ... Exhaust valve, 10 ... Cam shaft, 11 ... Intake side rocker shaft, 13 ... Support shaft (support shaft), 19 ... Rocker arm mechanism, 20 ... Variable valve gear, 25 ... Rocker arm (first Arm ..., 30 ... roller member (contact), 35 ... center rocker arm (second arm), 38 ... relay arm part (arm part), 40 ... inclined surface (drive surface), 44 ... fulcrum moving mechanism (variable) Mechanism), 45 ... swing cam (third arm), 49 ... cam surface (transmission surface portion), 52 ... short shaft (shaft member), 53 ... recess, 53a ... receiving surface (driven surface), 53b ... inner wall surface, α, β: Base circle section, lift section (conversion unit).

Claims (2)

A camshaft rotatably provided in the internal combustion engine;
A rocker shaft disposed in parallel with the camshaft and provided in the internal combustion engine;
A variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine having a rocker arm mechanism that is driven by a cam formed on the camshaft to open and close an intake or exhaust valve;
The rocker arm mechanism is
A first arm supported swingably on the rocker shaft and capable of driving an intake or exhaust valve;
A second arm that abuts on the cam and is driven by the cam and swings about the rocker shaft side;
The cam is provided on a support shaft disposed in the vicinity of the rocker shaft so as to be swingable. The displacement of the second arm causes a change in the posture of the second arm caused by movement of the fulcrum of the second arm. A third arm that drives the first arm with a variable phase;
A variable mechanism for displacing the fulcrum of the second arm on the rocker shaft side in order to displace the abutting position with the cam in the longitudinal direction of the cam;
The second arm has a drive surface for driving the third arm;
The third arm has a shaft member that is rotatably supported in the swinging direction of the third arm and has a driven surface that is in surface contact with the driving surface on the outer periphery.
The displacement of the second arm, wherein accompanied by sliding between the driven surface and the drive surface, Ri Citea as transmitted to said third arm,
The drive surface comprises an inclined surface inclined in the swing direction of the third arm at the tip of an arm portion extending from the second arm to the driven surface,
The driven surface is formed in a planar shape on the bottom surface of a recess in which a part of the outer peripheral portion of the shaft member is recessed,
The variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine, wherein the inclined surface and the driven surface are in surface contact with each other by inserting the end of the arm portion into the recess . The third arm has a transmission surface portion in contact with the first arm to drive the first arm,
The transmission surface portion includes a conversion portion whose distance from the center of the support shaft changes,
The phase of the cam transmitted to the first arm by changing the distance from the support shaft to the transmission surface portion from the change in posture of the second arm caused by the displacement of the contact position is the valve of the intake or exhaust valve. 2. The variable valve operating apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein the variable valve operating apparatus is continuously variable together with the lift amount .

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