An internal combustion engine is provided with a DOHC-type valve train in a cylinder head. The valve train includes an intake side camshaft with an intake side driven gear, and an exhaust side camshaft with an exhaust side driven gear. The cylinder head supports therein a spindle with an idle gear with an idle chain sprocket fixed thereto. The idle gear is in meshing engagement with both the intake and exhaust side driven gears. Rotary power of a crankshaft is transmitted via a cam chain to the idle gear to rotate both the intake and exhaust side camshafts. These camshafts are supported by bearings of a bearing wall and a camshaft holder. These bearings and camshaft holder are located, for compact arrangement, at a position axially coinciding or overlapping with the idle chain sprocket.

An intake variable valve timing mechanism (VVT) that collectively changes an intake valve close timing as a close timing of a plurality of intake valves and a control device that controls an engine including a plurality of injectors and the intake VVT are provided. When a specified engine stop condition is satisfied, a fuel cut is performed to stop a fuel supply into a plurality of cylinders by the injector. After the fuel cut, the intake VVT is controlled such that a retarded amount of the intake valve close timing immediately before a stop of a stop-time compression stroke cylinder as a cylinder stopped in a compression stroke from intake bottom dead center is larger than a retarded amount of the intake valve close timing immediately before a stop of a stop-time expansion stroke cylinder as a cylinder stopped in an expansion stroke from the intake bottom dead center.

A control device for a vehicle including an engine, the engine including an electric VVT mechanism, the electric VVT mechanism that changes a valve timing of at least either one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve, the control device includes an ECU. The ECU is configured to: perform a crankshaft stop position control to control a rotation stop position of a crankshaft during a stop process of stopping the engine, such that a valve opening degree in which at least either one of a first gap between the intake valve and the corresponding valve seat and a second gap between the exhaust valve and the corresponding valve seat is fully closed or becomes a predetermined gap or more is set as a target valve opening degree; and operate the electric VVT mechanism until the valve opening degree reaches the target valve opening degree, when the engine stops.

A control device for a vehicle including an engine, the engine including an electric VVT mechanism, the electric VVT mechanism that changes a valve timing of at least either one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve, the control device includes an ECU. The ECU is configured to: perform a crankshaft stop position control to control a rotation stop position of a crankshaft during a stop process of stopping the engine, such that a valve opening degree in which at least either one of a first gap between the intake valve and the corresponding valve seat and a second gap between the exhaust valve and the corresponding valve seat is fully closed or becomes a predetermined gap or more is set as a target valve opening degree; and operate the electric VVT mechanism until the valve opening degree reaches the target valve opening degree, when the engine stops.

The disclosure relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder and a piston, which runs in the cylinder, together delimiting a working chamber. The working chamber is supplied with fresh air from an intake section via an inlet valve and is connected to an exhaust manifold via exhaust valves. The internal combustion engine includes a variable valve actuation system for the actuation of the inlet valves, controlling the opening time and/or the closing time and/or the lift. A strategy for shutting down the internal combustion engine includes controlling the inlet valves of individual or all working chambers in such a way that the transfer of fresh air from the intake section to the exhaust manifold is reduced or avoided and that the drag torque of the intake combustion engine is reduced.

An internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle includes a crankshaft, a camshaft, a cylinder, a piston movably disposed in the cylinder and coupled to the crankshaft for driving the crankshaft, a first gas exchange valve which is assigned to the cylinder, a first valve clearance compensation device, where via the first valve clearance compensation device the first gas exchange valve is displaceable between a first open position and a first closed position by a first cam of the camshaft, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to align the camshaft such that the first valve clearance compensation device is pressure-loaded in the idle state of the crankshaft by a plateau area assigned to the first cam to hold the first gas exchange valve in the first open position.

A controller and a method for a hybrid drive, which includes an internal combustion engine and an electrical machine are provided. The internal combustion engine includes adjustment devices that deactivate the intake and exhaust valve opening actuation. The controller is designed in such a way that, in the case of at least one specified condition (such as regeneration during unfired overrun or in the case of electric travel, in particular in the case of operation with high activation frequency of the internal combustion engine, e.g., in charge sustaining or HEV operation), the intake and exhaust valves are kept at least approximately (preferably completely) closed at least approximately simultaneously while the internal combustion engine is unfired. The internal combustion engine must be connected to the electrical machine. If there is a disconnect clutch, the disconnect clutch is brought into the closed state or remains closed.

A controller and a method for a hybrid drive, which includes an internal combustion engine and an electrical machine are provided. The internal combustion engine includes adjustment devices that deactivate the intake and exhaust valve opening actuation. The controller is designed in such a way that, in the case of at least one specified condition (such as regeneration during unfired overrun or in the case of electric travel, in particular in the case of operation with high activation frequency of the internal combustion engine, e.g., in charge sustaining or HEV operation), the intake and exhaust valves are kept at least approximately (preferably completely) closed at least approximately simultaneously while the internal combustion engine is unfired. The internal combustion engine must be connected to the electrical machine. If there is a disconnect clutch, the disconnect clutch is brought into the closed state or remains closed.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a controller device for a variable valve timing apparatus capable of controlling a phase to an arbitrary fixed valve timing from immediately before an internal combustion engine stops until after the internal combustion engine has stopped. The controller device for the variable valve timing apparatus according to the present invention performs, during engine stop processing of the internal combustion engine, normal control of changing the relative rotational phase of a camshaft to a most advanced position or a most retarded position when the rotational speed of a crankshaft is equal to or more than a first threshold, and low-speed control of fixing a current or a voltage supplied to the motor to be constant to maintain the relative rotational phase of the camshaft at the most advanced position or the most retarded position in a period from when the rotational speed of the crankshaft is lower than the first threshold until the rotational speed becomes zero.

A stop control device for an internal combustion engine is structured that stops the engine in a state suitable for starting and that does not cause a crank angle to change after the engine is stopped. A four-cycle internal combustion engine includes an electric valve opening and closing timing control device that sets an opening and closing timing of either or both of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. Stop control of stopping the internal combustion engine is performed when a stop signal for stopping the internal combustion engine is acquired, and post-stop phase control of displacing the opening and closing timing of the valve opening and closing timing control device in either an advancing direction or a retarding direction is performed after the internal combustion engine is stopped by the stop control.