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ABNORMALITY DETERMINATION APPARATUS AND ABNORMALITY DETERMINATION METHOD FOR VALVE CHARACTERISTICS CHANGE MECHANISM

  • US 20090288480A1
  • Filed: 05/26/2009
  • Published: 11/26/2009
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2008
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An abnormality determination apparatus that determines whether or not a valve characteristics change mechanism is operating normally, in an internal combustion engine that includes the valve characteristics change mechanism that changes a maximum lift amount and a lift duration of an engine valve continuously in correspondence with a position of a control shaft, an actuator that drives the control shaft, and a drive amount detector that detects a drive amount of the actuator, and that the valve characteristics change mechanism is configured to change the maximum lift amount and the lift duration of the engine valve by controlling the actuator such that the drive amount approaches a target drive amount, the abnormality determination apparatus comprising:

  • a shaft position detection sensor that outputs, as a shaft position detection value, a signal whose magnitude changes stepwise by a predetermined amount in correspondence with the position of the control shaft; and

    an abnormality determiner that stores in advance, as a determination reference value, the drive amount at the time when a magnitude of the shaft position detection value detected by the shaft position detection sensor changes,the abnormality determiner performing normality determination to indicate that the valve characteristics change mechanism is operating normally when the drive amount detected when the shaft position detection value changes along with driving of the actuator and the determination reference value correspond to each other, andthe abnormality determiner performing abnormality determination to indicate that an abnormality is occurring in the valve characteristics change mechanism when the drive amount and the determination reference value do not correspond to each other.

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