# US 11,111,886 B1 · EGR system of engine > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,111,886 B1 - Document ID: US11111886B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 17/177,464 - Filed: 2021-02-17 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2020-04-01 - Assignees: Mazda Motor Corporation - Applicants: Mazda Motor Corporation - Inventors: Shinji Fujihira; Hiroshi Kinoshita; Takashi Kariya; Takayuki Tominaga; Ken Yoshida - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11111886B1 ## CPC - F02M 26/23: Layout, e.g. schematics - F02D 41/0052: {Feedback control of engine parameters, e.g. for control of air/fuel ratio or intake air amount} - F02D 41/0077: {Control of the EGR valve or actuator, e.g. duty cycle, closed loop control of position (EGR valve position sensor F02M26/48)} - F02D 41/1454: {the characteristics being an oxygen content or concentration or the air-fuel ratio} - F02M 26/12: characterised by means for attaching parts of an EGR system to each other or to engine parts - F02M 26/21: with EGR valves located at or near the connection to the intake system - F02M 26/24: with two or more coolers - F02M 26/28: with liquid-cooled heat exchangers - F02M 26/30: Connections of coolers to other devices, e.g. to valves, heaters, compressors or filters; Coolers characterised by their location on the engine - F02M 26/32: Liquid-cooled heat exchangers - F02M 26/35: with means for cleaning or treating the recirculated gases, e.g. catalysts, condensate traps, particle filters or heaters - F02M 26/41: characterised by the arrangement of the recirculation passage in relation to the engine, e.g. to cylinder heads, liners, spark plugs or manifolds; characterised by the arrangement of the recirculation passage in relation to specially adapted combustion chambers - F02M: SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF - F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W) ## Abstract An engine EGR system is provided. An EGR passage includes an EGR cooler, an EGR internal passage passing through a cylinder head on an upstream side of the EGR cooler, and a relay passage extending outside the cylinder head and connecting the EGR internal passage to the EGR cooler. The EGR cooler formed in a columnar shape is arranged above an intake manifold so as to locate a gas inflow port on a first end surface side and a gas outflow port on a second end surface side, and the relay passage communicates with the EGR internal passage on an external side of the engine compared to a head EGR gas exit. The EGR cooler inclines downward from the gas outflow port toward the gas inflow port, and the relay passage is connected to the gas inflow port while being bent downward toward the upstream side. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system of an engine, comprising: an engine body including: a cylinder head provided in an upper part of the engine body and forming a plurality of combustion chambers in which combustion is performed, a first end surface, and a second end surface, the plurality of combustion chambers being lined up between the first end surface and the second end surface; an intake passage configured to introduce intake air into each of the plurality of combustion chambers via an intake manifold attached to the cylinder head; an exhaust passage connected to the cylinder head and through which exhaust gas is discharged from the combustion chambers; and an EGR passage connecting the exhaust passage to the intake passage and configured to recirculate the exhaust gas as EGR gas to the intake passage, the EGR passage including: an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas while the EGR gas flows from a gas inflow port to a gas outflow port; an EGR internal passage passing through the cylinder head, on an upstream side of the EGR cooler; and a relay passage extending outside the cylinder head and connecting the EGR internal passage to the EGR cooler, wherein the cylinder head is formed in the first end surface with a head EGR gas exit from which the EGR gas is discharged after passing through the cylinder head, wherein the EGR cooler is formed in a columnar shape having the gas inflow port at one end side in a longitudinal direction and the gas outflow port at the other end side in the longitudinal direction, and is arranged above the intake manifold so as to locate the gas inflow port on the first end surface side and the gas outflow port on the second end surface side, the relay passage communicating with the EGR internal passage, on an external side of the engine compared to the head EGR gas exit, and wherein the EGR cooler inclines downward from the gas outflow port toward the gas inflow port, and the relay passage is connected to the gas inflow port while being bent downward toward the upstream side. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The EGR system of claim 1, further comprising a first attachment member attached to the first end surface, the first attachment member including an extension passage located on the external side of the engine compared to the first end surface and constituting the EGR internal passage, wherein the relay passage is connected to the first attachment member to communicate with the extension passage. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The EGR system of claim 2, wherein the EGR passage further includes an EGR valve configured to adjust a flow rate of the EGR gas, wherein the EGR valve is disposed downstream of the EGR cooler via a connecting passage connected to the gas outflow port, and wherein the EGR valve is directly fixed to an upper part of the intake manifold, and the connecting passage passes the upper side of the EGR valve, extends toward the second end surface, and is connected to an upper part of the EGR valve. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The EGR system of claim 3, wherein the EGR cooler is arranged to incline in a lateral direction and the relay passage is arranged to incline in a vertical direction so that the gas outflow port is located away from the cylinder head compared to the gas inflow port. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The EGR system of claim 4, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The EGR system of claim 5, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The EGR system of claim 1, wherein the EGR passage further includes an EGR valve configured to adjust a flow rate of the EGR gas, wherein the EGR valve is disposed downstream of the EGR cooler via a connecting passage connected to the gas outflow port, and wherein the EGR valve is directly fixed to the upper part of the intake manifold, and the connecting passage passes the upper side of the EGR valve, extends toward the second end surface, and is connected to an upper part of the EGR valve. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The EGR system of claim 1, wherein the EGR cooler is arranged to incline in a lateral direction and the relay passage is arranged to incline in a vertical direction so that the gas outflow port is located away from the cylinder head compared to the gas inflow port. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The EGR system of claim 1, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The EGR system of claim 1, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The EGR system of claim 2, wherein the EGR cooler is arranged to incline in a lateral direction and the relay passage is arranged to incline in a vertical direction so that the gas outflow port is located away from the cylinder head compared to the gas inflow port. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The EGR system of claim 2, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 13 (depends on 2) The EGR system of claim 2, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value. ### Claim 14 (depends on 3) The EGR system of claim 3, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 15 (depends on 3) The EGR system of claim 3, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value. ### Claim 16 (depends on 4) The EGR system of claim 4, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value. ### Claim 17 (depends on 7) The EGR system of claim 7, wherein the EGR cooler is arranged to incline in a lateral direction and the relay passage is arranged to incline in a vertical direction so that the gas outflow port is located away from the cylinder head compared to the gas inflow port. ### Claim 18 (depends on 8) The EGR system of claim 8, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The EGR system of claim 11, further comprising a second attachment member disposed near the first end surface of the cylinder head, the second attachment member being disposed in a space formed below the EGR cooler and the relay passage. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) The EGR system of claim 12, wherein when the engine operates in a high load range including a full load, the engine performs combustion with a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as a target value.