Oil passage switching valve and valve timing changing apparatus

An oil passage switching valve, suitable for a valve timing changing apparatus to switch an oil passage for supplying or discharging operating oil with respect to a retard chamber and an advance chamber to change a valve timing of an engine to a first angle position or a second angle position, wherein the oil passage switching valve comprises:

• a valve body, opening or closing an oil passage of the operating oil;
• an urging spring, urging to position the valve body to a position corresponding to the first angle position in a pause state;
• and
• a switching element, switching a position of the valve body in response to a state quantity of the operating oil while resisting an urging force of the urging spring to position the valve body to the position corresponding to the first angle position when the state quantity of the operating oil is in a first range, and to position the valve body to a position corresponding to the second angle position when the state quantity of the operating oil is in a second range greater than the first range,
• wherein the oil passage switching valve comprises a sleeve that defines a supply port that supplies the operating oil, a discharge port that discharges the operating oil, a retard port that communicates with the retard chamber, and an advance port that communicates with the advance chamber,
• the valve body is slidably inserted into the sleeve to open or close oil passages between the supply port and each of the retard port and the advance port, and
• the urging spring is disposed in the sleeve to urge the valve body in a direction
• wherein the state quantity of the operating oil is pressure, the first range is a first pressure range, the second range is a second pressure range, and the switching element is a pressure receiving part disposed in the valve body to receive a pressure of the operating oil,
• wherein in the valve body, an auxiliary pressure receiving part is disposed to receive an engine cold condition pressure greater than the second pressure range to position the valve body to a position deviated from the position corresponding to the second angle position, so as to select the first angle position when the pressure of the operating oil is the engine cold condition pressure.

An oil passage switching valve, suitable for a valve timing changing apparatus to switch an oil passage for supplying or discharging operating oil with respect to a retard chamber and an advance chamber to change a valve timing of an engine to a first angle position or a second angle position, wherein the oil passage switching valve comprises:

• a valve body, opening or closing an oil passage of the operating oil;
• an urging spring, urging to position the valve body to a position corresponding to the first angle position in a pause state;
• and
• a switching element, switching a position of the valve body in response to a state quantity of the operating oil while resisting an urging force of the urging spring to position the valve body to the position corresponding to the first angle position when the state quantity of the operating oil is in a first range, and to position the valve body to a position corresponding to the second angle position when the state quantity of the operating oil is in a second range greater than the first range,
• wherein the oil passage switching valve comprises a sleeve that defines a supply port that supplies the operating oil, a discharge port that discharges the operating oil, a retard port that communicates with the retard chamber, and an advance port that communicates with the advance chamber,
• the valve body is slidably inserted into the sleeve to open or close oil passages between the supply port and each of the retard port and the advance port, and
• the urging spring is disposed in the sleeve to urge the valve body in a direction,
• wherein the state quantity of the operating oil is temperature, the first range is a first temperature range, the second range is a second temperature range, and the switching element is an urging member whose urging force that urges the valve body changes in response to a temperature of the operating oil.