Patent ID: 9297293
Filing Date: 2016-03-29
CPC Classification: F01P,F02F

Claim Text:
1. A cooling structure of an internal combustion engine, the cooling structure comprising: a cylinder block including a block-side coolant passage which surrounds an entire circumference of cylinder bores which are arranged along a cylinder bank center line in the internal combustion engine, the block-side coolant passage having a block opening which is open through a first surface of the cylinder block; a cylinder head including a head-side coolant passage having a head opening which is open through a second surface of the cylinder head, the second surface facing toward the cylinder block, the first surface of the cylinder block facing toward the cylinder head; and a gasket provided between the cylinder block and the cylinder head, the gasket having a first communication hole and a second communication hole provided on an opposite side of the first communication hole with respect to the cylinder bank center line, each of the first communication hole and the second communication hole communicating with the block opening and the head opening in an inter-bore region which separates adjacent cylinder bores, the head opening including a first end and a second end provided on an opposite side of the first end with respect to the cylinder bank center line, the block opening including a third end and a fourth end provided on an opposite side of the third end with respect to the cylinder bank center line, wherein, in a cross-section defined through the inter-bore region and perpendicular to the cylinder bank center line, the first end and the second end which face toward the cylinder bank center line are disposed nearer to the cylinder bank center line than the third end and the fourth end which face toward the cylinder bank center line, respectively, wherein, in the cross-section, a fifth end of the first communication hole facing toward the cylinder bank center line is provided between the first end of the head opening and the third end of the block opening, and wherein, in the cross-section, a sixth end of the second communication hole facing toward the cylinder bank center line is provided between the second end of the head opening and the fourth end of the block opening, and wherein, in the cross-section, the fifth end and the sixth end are disposed nearer to the cylinder bank center line than the third end and the fourth end, respectively.