Patent 7360515 was granted and assigned to Denso on April, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A variable valve mechanism performs a valve lift switching operation for an intake valve. ECU defines valve lift switching characteristics corresponding to the engine operating region and executes the valve lift switching operation based on the switching characteristics. ECU calculates a parameter fluctuation amount of an engine occurring in response to the valve lift switching operation, and corrects the valve lift switching characteristics when the calculated parameter fluctuation amount exceeds a predetermined judgment value.