Engine exhaust gas recirculation system

Abstract

An exhaust gas recirculation system for a multi-cylinder engine is provided, which includes an exhaust manifold connected to a cylinder head, a catalyst connected to a downstream end of the exhaust manifold in terms of an exhaust gas flow, an EGR gas outlet provided downstream of the catalyst, an in-head EGR passage penetrating the cylinder head, and an EGR pipe extending from the EGR gas outlet and directly connected to an inlet of the in-head EGR passage to lead EGR gas thereto. The catalyst is disposed so that the exhaust gas flows therein from a first side to a second side in an engine cylinder lined-up direction. The EGR gas outlet is located on the second side with respect to the center of the engine in the cylinder lined-up direction, and the inlet of the in-head EGR passage is located in the first side with respect to the engine center.

Claims

1. An exhaust gas recirculation system for a multi-cylinder engine, comprising: an exhaust manifold connected to a cylinder head of the engine and configured to collect exhaust gas discharged from each cylinder of the engine; a catalyst connected to a downstream end of the exhaust manifold with respect to an exhaust gas flow and configured to purify the exhaust gas; an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas outlet provided downstream of the catalyst and configured to take out part of the exhaust gas as EGR gas to be recirculated to an intake side of the engine; an in-head EGR passage penetrating the cylinder head and through which the EGR gas passes; and an EGR pipe extending from the EGR gas outlet and configured to lead the EGR gas to the in-head EGR passage, wherein the catalyst is disposed so that the exhaust gas flows inside the catalyst from a first side to a second side in a cylinder lined-up direction of the engine, wherein the EGR gas outlet is located on the second side with respect to the center of the engine in the cylinder lined-up direction, wherein an inlet of the in-head EGR passage is located in the first side with respect to the center of the engine in the cylinder lined-up direction, and wherein the EGR pipe extending from the EGR gas outlet is directly connected to the inlet of the in-head EGR passage.

2. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 1, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

3. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 1, further comprising a heat insulator covering the exhaust manifold and the catalyst, wherein the EGR pipe is disposed inside the heat insulator.

4. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 3, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

5. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 1, wherein the engine is an inline four-cylinder four-cycle engine, wherein the exhaust manifold is a 4-2-1 type provided with a first collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two center cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, a second collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two end cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, and a third collecting pipe where the first collecting pipe and the second collecting pipe are collected, wherein the engine is configured with an exhaust order of the four cylinders so that exhaust timings of the two center cylinders do not overlap with each other and exhaust timings of the two end cylinders do not overlap with each other, and wherein the catalyst is connected to the third collecting pipe.

6. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 5, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

7. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 1, wherein the EGR gas outlet opens toward the second side in the cylinder lined-up direction, and wherein the EGR pipe has a bend configured to change a flow direction of the EGR gas so that the EGR gas flowing from the EGR gas outlet to the second side flows to the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction where the inlet of the in-head EGR passage exists.

8. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 7, further comprising a heat insulator covering the exhaust manifold and the catalyst, wherein the EGR pipe is disposed inside the heat insulator.

9. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 8, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

10. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 7, wherein the engine is an inline four-cylinder four-cycle engine, wherein the exhaust manifold is a 4-2-1 type provided with a first collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two center cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, a second collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two end cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, and a third collecting pipe where the first collecting pipe and the second collecting pipe are collected, wherein the engine is configured with an exhaust order of the four cylinders so that exhaust timings of the two center cylinders do not overlap with each other and exhaust timings of the two end cylinders do not overlap with each other, and wherein the catalyst is connected to the third collecting pipe.

11. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 10, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

12. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 7, wherein the EGR pipe has a larger passage cross-sectional area at the bend than at a downstream part extending continuously from the bend to the inlet of the in-head EGR passage.

13. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 12, further comprising a heat insulator covering the exhaust manifold and the catalyst, wherein the EGR pipe is disposed inside the heat insulator.

14. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 12, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

15. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 12, wherein the engine is an inline four-cylinder four-cycle engine, wherein the exhaust manifold is a 4-2-1 type provided with a first collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two center cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, a second collecting pipe where independent exhaust pipes leading to two end cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine are collected, and a third collecting pipe where the first collecting pipe and the second collecting pipe are collected, wherein the engine is configured with an exhaust order of the four cylinders so that exhaust timings of the two center cylinders do not overlap with each other and exhaust timings of the two end cylinders do not overlap with each other, and wherein the catalyst is connected to the third collecting pipe.

16. The exhaust gas recirculation system of claim 15, further comprising an EGR cooler configured to cool the EGR gas, wherein the EGR cooler is disposed in the engine on the intake side opposite to an exhaust side where the exhaust manifold is disposed, and the EGR gas that passes through the in-head EGR passage is then introduced into the EGR cooler.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an engine when seen from obliquely rearward and upward.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the engine from which a heat insulator is removed, when seen from rearward and upward.

(3) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the engine which is cut horizontally at a cylinder head part, when seen from above.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an EGR pipe extending from a catalyst.

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a half-split pipe which constitutes a bend part of the EGR pipe.

(6) FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the engine taken along a line VI-VI of FIG. 3.

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2, furnished with the heat insulator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

(8) Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of a desirable embodiment is merely illustration essentially, and it is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or its usage.

Basic Configuration of Engine

(9) An engine 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a multi-cylinder engine which drives a vehicle, and in this example, is an inline four-cylinder four-cycle engine. The engine 1 includes a cylinder block 2, a cylinder head 3 which is coupled to an upper surface of the cylinder block 2, an oil pan 4 coupled to a lower surface of the cylinder block 2, and a cylinder head cover 9 fixed onto the cylinder head 3. The engine 1 is mounted to a front part of the vehicle, which is a so-called “transverse engine” in which the cylinder lined-up direction is oriented in a vehicle width direction. An arrow F of FIG. 1 indicates front or forward of the vehicle, and an arrow R indicates rear or rearward of the vehicle. The same will be applied to other drawings.

(10) An intake manifold is disposed forward of the engine 1, and an exhaust manifold 5 is disposed rearward of the engine 1. Intake air is introduced from the intake manifold into an intake port of each cylinder which opens to a forward side surface of the cylinder head 3. Exhaust gas which is generated inside a combustion chamber of each cylinder is discharged to the exhaust manifold 5 from an exhaust port of each cylinder which opens to a rearward side surface of the cylinder head 3. Thus, the engine 1 is a front-intake rear-exhaust engine in which the front side is an intake side and the rear side is an exhaust side.

(11) In the following description of an exhaust recirculation system, an “upstream end” means an upstream end of an exhaust gas flow or an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas flow, and a “downstream end” means a downstream end of the exhaust gas flow or the EGR gas flow.

Exhaust Manifold

(12) The exhaust manifold 5 is provided with a first collecting pipe 6, a second collecting pipe 7, and a third collecting pipe 8. The first collecting pipe 6 is tubing which collects independent exhaust pipes 12 and 13 which lead to two center cylinders in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine 1. The second collecting pipe 7 is tubing which collects independent exhaust pipes 11 and 14 which lead to two cylinders at both ends in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine 1. The third collecting pipe 8 is tubing which collects the first collecting pipe 6 and the second collecting pipe 7. That is, the exhaust manifold 5 is a 4-2-1 type manifold.

(13) As for the engine 1, the exhaust order of the four cylinders is defined so that exhaust timings of the two center cylinders do not overlap with each other and exhaust timings of the two end cylinders do not overlap with each other. In detail, if the cylinder at the left end is called a first cylinder and other cylinders lined up to the right side are called a second cylinder, a third cylinder, and a fourth cylinder, respectively, exhaust gas flows in the order of the first cylinder, the third cylinder, the fourth cylinder, and the second cylinder. Exhaust interference is suppressed by increasing the distance from the exhaust port of each cylinder to the collected location of the first collecting pipe 6 and the second collecting pipe 7 to the third collecting pipe 8.

(14) As also illustrated in FIG. 2, the independent exhaust pipes 11-14 extend rearwardly from the rearward side surface of the cylinder head 3. The independent exhaust pipes 11 and 14 which lead to the respective two end cylinders are longer than the independent exhaust pipes 12 and 13 which lead to the respective two center cylinders. The end independent exhaust pipes 11 and 14 are collected below the first collecting pipe 6 which collects the center independent exhaust pipes 12 and 13, and continue to the second collecting pipe 7. The first collecting pipe 6 and the second collecting pipe 7 extend rearwardly so that the first pipe 6 is located above the second pipe 7, and are then bent while descending obliquely so that they extend toward one side of the vehicle width direction (the cylinder lined-up direction) and return toward the cylinder block 2, and are then collected and connected to the third collecting pipe 8. The third collecting pipe 8 extends toward the cylinder block 2.

Catalyst

(15) A catalyst 15 which purifies exhaust gas of the engine 1 is connected to a downstream end of the third collecting pipe 8 (i.e., a downstream end of the exhaust manifold 5). The catalyst 15 accommodates in a cylindrical case a honeycomb catalyst in which a honeycomb carrier supports a catalyst component. The catalyst 15 extends, below the first collecting pipe 6 and the second collecting pipe 7, toward the second side in the cylinder lined-up direction along a rearward side surface of the cylinder block 2. In other words, the catalyst 15 is disposed so that the catalyst center axis is oriented in the cylinder lined-up direction or in a direction close to the cylinder lined-up direction so that exhaust gas flows inside the catalyst from a first side to a second side in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine 1.

(16) The third collecting pipe 8 is connected to an upstream end of the cylindrical case of the catalyst 15, and a downstream end of the case is connected to an exhaust gas outlet pipe 16 extending rearwardly. The exhaust gas outlet pipe 16 is connected to an exhaust pipe 18 extending rearwardly, via a flexible tube 17.

EGR Pipe

(17) An EGR gas outlet 21, which takes out part of the exhaust gas which has passed the catalyst 15 as EGR gas and is recirculated to the intake side of the engine 1, is provided at an upstream end of the exhaust gas outlet pipe 16 connected to the case of the catalyst 15. The EGR gas outlet 21 is located on the second side in the cylinder lined-up direction of the engine 1 with respect to the center in the cylinder lined-up direction (a flowing-out direction of the exhaust gas from the catalyst 15), and opens toward this side.

(18) As illustrated in FIG. 3, an in-head EGR passage 22 which penetrates the cylinder head 3 is formed in the cylinder head 3 so that the EGR gas passes through the in-head EGR passage 22. The in-head EGR passage 22 is a passage for sending EGR gas from the exhaust side to the intake side of the engine 1, and its inlet 23 opens in an exhaust-side side surface of the cylinder head 3, at an end of the cylinder head 3 on the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction (first cylinder side).

(19) Thus, a first EGR pipe 24 which leads EGR gas from the EGR gas outlet 21 to the in-head EGR passage 22 extends from the EGR gas outlet 21 to the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction, and is directly connected to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22. That is, an EGR cooler is not provided to the first EGR pipe 24 which extends from the EGR gas outlet 21 to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22. As it will be described later, as illustrated in FIG. 1 etc., an EGR cooler 25 is not disposed on the exhaust side of the engine 1, but is disposed on the intake side of the engine 1.

(20) As described previously, the EGR gas outlet 21 opens toward the second side in the cylinder lined-up direction. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the first EGR pipe 24 is provided with a U-shaped bend 24a which changes the flow direction of EGR gas so that the EGR gas which flows out of the EGR gas outlet 21 toward the second side goes to the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction where the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22 exists.

(21) Describing concretely, the first EGR pipe 24 is comprised of the upstream bend 24a connected at one end to the EGR gas outlet 21, and a downstream part 24b which continues from the other end of the bend 24a and extends to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22. The downstream part 24b extends to the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction while passing through below the exhaust manifold 5 between the cylinder head 3 and the catalyst 15, is bent forward at a position corresponding to the one end of the engine 1 in the cylinder lined-up direction, and is connected at a tip end to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22.

(22) The bend 24a is formed by uniting a pair of half-split pipes into a complete pipe. As one of the half-split pipe (24a1) of the bend 24a is illustrated in FIG. 5, an inner diameter D1 of the curved part of the bend 24a is larger than an inner diameter D2 of the connecting part to the downstream part 24b. That is, the first EGR pipe 24 has a larger passage cross-sectional area at the curved part of the bend 24a than at the downstream part 24b.

EGR Passage from In-Head EGR Passage to Intake Manifold

(23) As illustrated in FIG. 3, the in-head EGR passage 22 extends from the inlet 23 which opens in the exhaust-side side surface of the cylinder head 3, toward the intake side of the engine 1 at one end in the cylinder lined-up direction of the cylinder head 3. The in-head EGR passage 22 is bent to the first side in the cylinder lined-up direction at a position just before the intake-side side surface of the cylinder head 3, and an outlet 26 opens in one end surface of the cylinder head 3 in the cylinder lined-up direction.

(24) A pump mounting plate 28 which supports a fuel pump 27 to the cylinder head 3 is fixed to the one end surface of the cylinder head 3. An EGR passage 29 where EGR gas flows in from the outlet 26 of the in-head EGR passage 22 is formed in the pump mounting plate 28.

(25) As illustrated in FIG. 6, the EGR passage 29 extends upwardly, and an upstream end of a second EGR pipe 31 is connected to the EGR passage 29. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the second EGR pipe 31 extends to the intake side of the engine 1, and a downstream end thereof is connected at the intake side to an inlet of the EGR cooler 25 of which the longitudinal direction extends in the cylinder lined-up direction (or a direction close to the cylinder lined-up direction). As for the EGR cooler 25, one end in the cylinder lined-up direction becomes an inlet of EGR gas and the other end becomes an outlet. The second EGR pipe 31 is covered with a protector 32.

(26) An upstream end of a third EGR pipe 33 is connected to the outlet of the EGR cooler 25. The downstream end of the third EGR pipe 33 is connected to an EGR valve 34 which adjusts an EGR gas flow rate to a surge tank of the intake manifold.

Heat Insulator

(27) As illustrated in FIG. 7, a heat insulator (exhaust insulator) 35 which covers the exhaust manifold 5 and the catalyst 15 is provided on the exhaust side of the engine 1. The heat insulator 35 is formed by uniting an upper insulator which covers the exhaust manifold 5 and the catalyst 15 from above, and a lower insulator which covers them from below. The first EGR pipe 24 is disposed inside the heat insulator 35. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, a water pump 36 is provided to the other end of the engine 1 in the cylinder lined-up direction. A coolant pipe 37 which sends engine coolant from the water pump 36 to the fuel pump 27 also passes through the inside of the heat insulator 35. The first EGR pipe 24 and the coolant pipe 37 intersect with each other while being close to each other inside the heat insulator 35.

Advantages, Etc. of Exhaust Recirculation System

(28) According to the engine 1, by disposing the catalyst 15 on the exhaust side so that exhaust gas flows from a first side toward a second side in the cylinder lined-up direction, the EGR gas outlet 21 is disposed on the second side with respect to the center of the engine 1 in the cylinder lined-up direction. On the other hand, the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22 is arranged at one end of the cylinder head 3 in the cylinder lined-up direction. Thus, the first EGR pipe 24 extending from the EGR gas outlet 21 is directly connected to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22, without having the intervening EGR cooler 25.

(29) Therefore, the first EGR pipe 24 has a longer pipe length extending from the EGR gas outlet 21 than the case where it is connected to the EGR cooler 25, and it becomes further longer by being provided with the bend 24a. Therefore, even if hot exhaust gas is introduced from the EGR gas outlet 21 into the first EGR pipe 24, a heat release amount in the middle of the first EGR pipe 24 reaching to the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22 becomes larger. In addition, in this embodiment, since a flow velocity of EGR gas becomes slower in the bend 24a where the passage cross-sectional area is large, heat is easy to be radiated from the first EGR pipe 24.

(30) Therefore, an elongation of the first EGR pipe 24 due to the heat of exhaust gas is suppressed, and a great increase in the temperature near the inlet 23 of the in-head EGR passage 22 is also avoided. For this reason, large heat stress at the connecting part of the first EGR pipe 24 to the in-head EGR passage 22 will not be produced, and thermal fatigue of the connecting part is suppressed. In addition, since the cylinder head 3 intervenes between the first EGR pipe 24 and the EGR cooler 25, vibration of the EGR cooler 25 will not directly propagate to the connecting part of the first EGR pipe 24. Therefore, an early-stage damage of the first EGR pipe 24 at the connecting part will not be caused, and the durability improves.

(31) According to this embodiment, by covering the exhaust manifold 5 and the catalyst 15 with the heat insulator 35, it is advantageous to promptly raise the temperature of the catalyst 15 to activate the catalyst 15 at a cold start of the engine 1 and to prevent a fall of the catalyst temperature (catalytic activity) in a cold climate. Thus, by disposing the first EGR pipe 24 inside the heat insulator 35, EGR gas which stagnates in the first EGR pipe 24 is prevented from being rapidly cooled by low-temperature open air when the engine 1 is stopped. Therefore, even when the first EGR pipe 24 is long and there is a lot of stagnated EGR gas, moisture contained in the EGR gas condensing is suppressed.

(32) Further, in this embodiment, since the 4-2-1 type exhaust manifold 5 is adopted, exhaust interference is suppressed and exhaust gas becomes more easily discharged from each cylinder. Therefore, it is advantageous to stabilize and optimize the exhaust gas recirculation.

(33) Note that in this embodiment, although the 4-2-1 type exhaust manifold 5 is adopted, the exhaust manifold may be a 4-1 type.

(34) Further, the engine 1 may not only be the four-cylinder engine but may be a six-cylinder engine, or may be a longitudinal engine in which the cylinder lined-up direction is oriented in a vehicle front-and-rear direction.

(35) It should be understood that the embodiments herein are illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof, are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

(36) 1 Engine

(37) 2 Cylinder Block

(38) 3 Cylinder Head

(39) 5 Exhaust Manifold

(40) 6 First Collecting Pipe

(41) 7 Second Collecting Pipe

(42) 8 Third Collecting Pipe

(43) 9 Cylinder Head Cover

(44) 11-14 Independent Exhaust Pipe

(45) 15 Catalyst

(46) 16 Exhaust Gas Outlet Pipe

(47) 21 EGR Gas Outlet

(48) 22 In-head EGR Passage

(49) 23 Inlet of In-head EGR Passage

(50) 24 First EGR Pipe

(51) 24a Bend

(52) 24b Downstream Part

(53) 25 EGR Cooler

(54) 35 Heat Insulator