Device for controlling gas exchange valves

A device is described for controlling gas exchange valves of an internal combustion engine, which has hydraulic valve positioners ( 17, 18 ), each having a positioning piston ( 26 ) acting on the gas exchange valve ( 12, 13 ) and two hydraulic working chambers ( 27, 28 ), delimited by the positioning piston ( 26 ), of which the first working chamber ( 27 ), for closing the gas exchange valve ( 12, 13 ), is continuously under fluid pressure and the second working chamber ( 28 ), for opening the gas exchange valve ( 10 ), may be alternately filled and emptied with pressurized fluid via a first and second electrical control valve ( 34, 35 ). To reduce the number of control valves necessary, for a valve pair, the filling of the second working chamber ( 28 ) of the second valve positioner ( 18 ) is performed via the second working chamber ( 28 ) of the first valve positioner ( 17 ), which is connected to the first control valve ( 34 ), after a predetermined stroke of the positioning piston ( 26 ) of the first valve positioner ( 17 ) to open the assigned gas exchange valve ( 12 ).