FOUR STROKE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING VARIABLE VALVE TIMING AND METHOD

摘要

A four stroke internal combustion engine (100) includes at least one cylinder (104) and at least one intake valve (208) associated with the cylinder (104). The intake valve (208) is configured to open and close over a predetermined range of crankshaft rotation in accordance with a Miller thermodynamic cycle. An electronic controller (254) receives at least one input signal indicative of an amount of air and/or an amount of air/fuel mixture in cylinder (104). The electronic controller is configured to provide a timing phase signal (416) that operates to adjust a timing of operation of the intake valve (208) based on the input signal(s) such that a torque output of the engine (100) is maintained substantially constant over a predetermined range of engine speed (402) by shifting the predetermined range of crankshaft rotation.