Patent 7213550 was granted and assigned to Toyota on May, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An internal combustion engine includes: a variable valve timing mechanism for changing a valve timing of at least one of an intake valve and an exhaust valve; a pressure for detecting an intake pressure and an exhaust pressure of the internal combustion engine that pulsate in association with the actions of the piston, the intake valve, and the exhaust valve; and controller for setting the valve timing based on a magnitude relationship between the intake pressure and the exhaust pressure detected by the pressure detector.