Patent Description:
Internal combustion engines are typically liquid-cooled. A conventional coolant system for an internal combustion engine may include a coolant pump that pumps coolant into a coolant jacket of an engine block of the engine. The coolant then flows longitudinally through a portion of the coolant jacket surrounding the cylinders of the engine. The engine cylinders are cooled by the passing coolant through passages located in or adjacent the cylinder walls. The coolant may then flow into a water jacket of one or more cylinder heads to cool the components of the cylinder heads, such as injectors and valves, and then exits the engine. The coolant system may also include a number of other components, such as for example, a radiator, a thermostat, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, an aftercooler, and an oil cooler.

<CIT> ("the '<NUM> patent") discloses an internal combustion engine with a cooling system and an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. The EGR system includes an EGR heat exchanger or cooler with a coolant inlet opening connected to a coolant outlet opening of the engine for receiving coolant therefrom. The engine further includes a coolant collecting rail mounted to the engine and having a coolant inlet opening connected to the EGR heat exchanger, and at least one other coolant inlet opening in communication directly with at least one other coolant outlet opening of the engine. The cooling system of the '<NUM> patent may have drawbacks both in one or more of manufacturing, assembly, cooling, and serviceability.

<CIT> describes an EGR cooler mount having an inlet port and an outlet port positioned downstream of the inlet port, and a leak passage. The inlet port is configured to receive fuel, and the outlet is configured to distribute the fuel to a fuel tank. The leak passage is positioned fluidly between the inlet port and the outlet port, and is positioned in the EGR cooler mount.

The system disclosed below may solve one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art. The scope of the current disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability to solve any specific problem.

In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided an internal combustion engine system including a cylinder block, a cylinder head attached to the cylinder block, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, and a coolant collector bracket configured to vertically support the EGR cooler is provided. The cylinder head includes a lateral surface including a plurality of fasteners positioned along a bottom edge of the lateral surface. The cylinder head also includes a plurality of coolant passages. The coolant collector bracket is horizontally coupled to the cylinder head and perpendicularly coupled to the EGR cooler. The coolant collector bracket includes a plurality of mounting legs directly coupled to the lateral surface of the cylinder head. The plurality of mounting legs include a plurality of slots. The plurality of mounting legs are slidably inserted onto the plurality of fasteners of the cylinder head via the plurality of slots. The lateral surface includes a plurality of bracket connection openings and the plurality of mounting legs include a plurality of fasteners that correspond with the plurality of bracket connection openings. The plurality of mounting legs of the coolant collector bracket include a plurality of coolant inlets.

Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the features, as claimed. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "having," including," or other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Moreover, in this disclosure, relative terms, such as, for example, "about," "substantially," "generally," and "approximately" are used to indicate a possible variation of ±<NUM>% in the stated value.

Referring to <FIG>, an exemplary embodiment of an internal combustion engine system <NUM>, such as a diesel engine, is shown. The engine system <NUM> may provide power to various types of applications and/or machines. For example, the engine system <NUM> may power marine and military engines and/or a machine such as an off-highway truck, a railway locomotive, or an earth-moving machine, such as a wheel loader, excavator, dump truck, backhoe, motor grader, material handler, or the like. The term "machine" can also refer to stationary equipment like a generator that is driven by the engine system <NUM> to generate electricity.

As shown in <FIG>, the engine system <NUM> includes a cylinder block <NUM>, a cylinder head <NUM> attached to the top of cylinder block <NUM>, an EGR cooler <NUM>, a coolant collector bracket <NUM>, and an exhaust manifold <NUM>, as is known in the art. The cylinder block <NUM>, cylinder head <NUM>, EGR cooler <NUM>, and exhaust manifold may be of any appropriate design, e.g. inline or V engine, any number of cylinders, and any fuel type - diesel, gasoline, and/or gaseous fuel. For ease of explanation, an inline, six cylinder diesel engine will be referenced hereinafter. <FIG> shows the engine system <NUM> with the exhaust manifold <NUM> removed, to better view the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. With the exhaust manifold <NUM> removed, individual cylinder exhaust passages <NUM> can be seen. The cylinder block <NUM> and cylinder head <NUM> may further include a plurality of internal coolant passages or sumps (not shown) as part of a coolant circuit to cool the engine system <NUM>. The coolant circuit can take any appropriate form, and may include, for example, a coolant sump, one or more coolant pumps, and a radiator or similar device (not shown).

The EGR cooler <NUM> forms a portion of the EGR flow path and includes a generally cylindrical-shaped heat exchanger having an EGR inlet end <NUM> and outlet end <NUM>. EGR cooler <NUM> may be of any appropriate type, such as a parallel tube or parallel flow heat exchanger having a coolant inlet at one end, and a coolant exit at an opposite end. In some embodiments, EGR cooler <NUM> may have a rectangular, oval, and/or asymmetrical shape. As will be explained in more detail below, EGR cooler <NUM> may include a plurality of mounting posts <NUM> for connecting the EGR cooler <NUM> to a top portion of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. The EGR cooler <NUM> may include four mounting posts <NUM>, only two of which can be seen in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> schematically depicts an end view of engine system <NUM>. As shown, coolant collector bracket <NUM> may be secured to a side of the cylinder head <NUM>, and the EGR cooler <NUM> is secured to a top of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. <FIG> also depicts the coolant path through coolant collector bracket <NUM> and EGR cooler <NUM>. For example, arrow <NUM> shows the flow of coolant from cylinder head <NUM> to cylinder block <NUM> to illustrate a top-down flow of coolant from cylinder head <NUM> to cylinder block <NUM>; arrows <NUM> depict coolant flow from the cylinder head <NUM> to the coolant collector bracket <NUM>; arrow <NUM> shows the coolant flow from the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the EGR cooler; arrow <NUM> shows the coolant flow from the EGR cooler <NUM> back into the coolant collector bracket <NUM>; and arrow <NUM> shows the coolant flowing from coolant collector bracket <NUM> back to cylinder block <NUM>. In the exemplary embodiment, the coolant in coolant collector bracket <NUM> flows to a casted-in collector rail (not shown) in cylinder block <NUM>. This collector rail is a cylinder block configured to receive coolant from coolant collector bracket <NUM>.

<FIG> depict the coolant collector bracket <NUM> alone, removed from the engine system <NUM>. Referring to <FIG>, coolant collector bracket <NUM> includes a longitudinally extending body portion <NUM>, a plurality of mounting members or mounting legs <NUM>, and an exit leg (e.g., an arm) <NUM>. Body portion <NUM> is mounted to cylinder head <NUM> to be orientated generally horizontal and includes a longitudinal length approximately the same as the longitudinal length of EGR cooler <NUM>. Body portion <NUM> may include a top portion <NUM> on which the EGR cooler <NUM> may be directly secured, and a bottom portion <NUM> from which mounting legs <NUM> extend. Referring to <FIG>, the top portion <NUM> of coolant collector bracket <NUM> is generally planar and may include a pair of EGR cooler mounts <NUM>, an EGR coolant outlet <NUM>, and an EGR coolant inlet <NUM>. Each mount <NUM> may be similarly configured and one mount <NUM> may be located at a front end portion <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>, and the other mount <NUM> may be located at a rear end portion <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>, but not as rear as the exit leg <NUM>. The mounts <NUM> may each extend from the front and rear sides of the body portion <NUM> generally normal to the longitudinal length of the body portion <NUM>. Mounts <NUM> may each protrude from sides of the body portion <NUM> to form a widest extent of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. Mounts <NUM> may further include a pair of fastener connectors <NUM> (e.g. threaded or non-threaded bolt receiving holes) at the longitudinal ends of the mounts <NUM>, and such fastener connectors <NUM> may be located to align and mate with the mounting posts <NUM> of the EGR cooler <NUM> (<FIG>). Mounting posts <NUM> allow for the use of standard coolant face seal(s) and provides a more robust attachment between EGR cooler <NUM> and coolant collector bracket <NUM>.

EGR coolant outlet <NUM> may be located along the longitudinal axis of front mount <NUM>, and generally centrally positioned between the fastener connectors <NUM> of front mount <NUM>. EGR coolant inlet <NUM> of coolant collector bracket <NUM> may similarly be located along the longitudinal axis of rear mount <NUM>, and generally centrally positioned between the fastener connectors <NUM> of the rear mount <NUM>. Further, EGR coolant outlet <NUM> and EGR coolant inlet <NUM> generally align with each other along the longitudinal direction of the body portion <NUM>. EGR coolant outlet <NUM> and EGR coolant inlet <NUM> are also located to align with a coolant inlet and coolant outlet, respectively, of EGR cooler <NUM> (not shown).

Appropriate fluid sealing systems may be provided at one or both of EGR coolant outlet <NUM> and EGR coolant inlet <NUM> of coolant collector bracket <NUM> to sealingly connect to the coolant inlet and exit of the EGR cooler <NUM>. For example, EGR coolant outlet <NUM> and EGR coolant inlet <NUM> may include O-ring and/or other appropriate seals. In one arrangement, such as that shown in <FIG>, the seals may be different between the EGR coolant outlet <NUM> and EGR coolant inlet <NUM>, such as a radial O-ring seal at EGR coolant outlet <NUM>, and a face seal <NUM> at EGR coolant inlet <NUM>. Such different seals may facilitate possible misalignment between flow connections between the EGR cooler <NUM> and the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. Further, the coolant inlet of the EGR cooler <NUM> may include a short tube configured to be inserted into a recess <NUM> formed in EGR coolant outlet <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>, and such a short tube may be omitted from the coolant outlet of the EGR cooler <NUM>.

As best shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, coolant collector bracket <NUM> may include three mounting legs <NUM>. For example, coolant collector bracket <NUM> may include a front mounting leg <NUM>, a middle mounting leg <NUM>, and a rear mounting leg <NUM>. The middle mounting leg <NUM> may be positioned closer to the rear end portion <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> such that a distance or gap between the front mounting leg <NUM> and the middle mounting leg <NUM> is greater than a distance or gap between the middle mounting leg <NUM> and the rear mounting leg <NUM>. Further, rear mounting leg <NUM> may be located forward of exit leg <NUM>. It is understood that coolant collector bracket <NUM> may include more or less mounting legs <NUM>, and the mounting legs <NUM> may be located at different positions than depicted in the figures.

Mounting legs <NUM> may each include a plurality of fastener connectors for connecting the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the cylinder head <NUM>. The fastener connectors may be similarly arranged on each of the mounting legs <NUM>. Referring to <FIG> and front mounting leg <NUM>, the fastener connectors may include a top fastener connector <NUM>, and a bottom fastener connector <NUM>. The top fastener connector <NUM> may be located adjacent a junction or transition between body portion <NUM> and front mounting leg <NUM>. Top fastener connector <NUM> may include a generally round, threaded or non-threaded opening extending transversely through front mounting leg <NUM> from a front surface to a back surface of thereof. It is understood that the top fastener connector <NUM> may take different shapes than round. Bottom fastener connector <NUM> may be located at a distal-most end of the front mounting leg <NUM>, and may include a round opening that includes a bottom gap or slot <NUM> extending the opening through a bottom most surface of front mounting leg <NUM>. With such a bottom slot <NUM>, bottom fastener connector <NUM> may form a generally C-shape. As will be discussed in more detail below, bottom fastener connector <NUM> (and corresponding bottom fastener connectors of the other mounting legs <NUM>) facilitates mounting the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to cylinder head <NUM>. Both top and bottom fastener connectors <NUM> and <NUM> are sized and configured for receiving appropriate fasteners, such as cylinder head fasteners (e.g., cylinder head bolts) <NUM> (included in middle and rear mounting legs <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> and <FIG>. As noted above, each of the mounting legs <NUM> may be provided with the same mounting connector arrangement as front mounting leg <NUM> discussed above. However, it is understood that different arrangements are contemplated for front mounting leg <NUM> or any of the other mounting legs <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and front mounting leg <NUM>, the back side of mounting legs <NUM> may be generally similarly arranged and include a generally planar mounting surface <NUM>, and a coolant inlet <NUM>. The mounting surfaces <NUM> of each of the mounting legs <NUM> are generally coplanar and form the back-most extent of coolant collector bracket <NUM>. Coolant inlets <NUM> may be located between top and bottom fastener connectors <NUM> and <NUM>, generally above a longitudinal midpoint of mounting legs <NUM>. Coolant inlets <NUM> are located to align with coolant outlets <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM> (<FIG>). The distance between each coolant inlet <NUM> may be substantially different based on the position of and distance between mounting legs <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the distance between coolant inlet <NUM> of front mounting leg <NUM> and coolant inlet <NUM> of each of the other mounting legs <NUM> may be different.

<FIG> shows middle mounting leg <NUM> and rear mounting leg <NUM> with a gasket <NUM> mounted to the planar mounting surface <NUM> of the mounting legs <NUM>. The particulars of the mounting gaskets <NUM> are further shown in <FIG>. In particular, <FIG> illustrates a front view and <FIG> illustrates a rear view of a gasket <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, gaskets <NUM> are securely fastened to the mounting legs <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, each gasket <NUM> is sized and shaped to snap onto a surface of a corresponding mounting leg <NUM>. The gaskets <NUM> are configured to directly couple to the first side <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, each gasket <NUM> includes an inlet opening <NUM> corresponding to a respective coolant inlet <NUM> (<FIG>).

As shown in <FIG>, each gasket <NUM> includes a pair of flanges <NUM> that extend laterally to engage surface edges of a corresponding mounting leg <NUM>. In the exemplary embodiment, the gaskets <NUM> are of a metal material. As shown in <FIG>, the cylinder head <NUM> includes a plurality of bottom fasteners <NUM> (e.g., bolts) positioned along a bottom edge of the first side <NUM>. The cylinder head <NUM> also includes a plurality of bracket connection openings <NUM> configured to receive the cylinder head fasteners <NUM> associated with corresponding mounting legs <NUM>.

Referring back to <FIG>, exit leg (e.g., arm) <NUM> forms a generally L-shape extending from the rear end portion <NUM> of coolant collector bracket <NUM>. The exit leg <NUM> includes a protrusion forming a seat (e.g., a flap) <NUM> that extends upwards from the exit leg <NUM> such that the seat <NUM> laterally protrudes from the top side <NUM>. The exit leg <NUM> includes a distal end <NUM> that is coupled to a jumper tube <NUM>. The distal end <NUM> of exit leg <NUM> extends generally orthogonally from the body portion <NUM> and seat <NUM> is vertically aligned with the jumper tube <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the jumper tube <NUM> includes an O-ring seal member <NUM>. <FIG> shows the connection between the coolant collector bracket <NUM> and the cylinder block <NUM>. Specifically, during assembly of the engine system <NUM>, the jumper tube <NUM>, which connects the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the cylinder block <NUM>, provides flexibility to allow for angular misalignment between the coolant collector bracket <NUM> and the cylinder block <NUM>.

Coolant collector bracket <NUM> includes a plurality of internal flow passages or conduits. The dashed arrows of <FIG> depict the flow of coolant through coolant collector bracket <NUM>. In particular, as shown in <FIG>, distal end <NUM> of exit leg <NUM> is fluidly coupled to the EGR coolant inlet <NUM> of coolant collector bracket <NUM>. Further, <FIG> and <FIG> provide longitudinal cross-sections of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> showing the internal flow passages or conduits of coolant collector bracket. As show, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> includes two separate internal coolant channels <NUM>, <NUM>. The EGR cooler <NUM> (<FIG>) is in fluid communication with the two separate internal coolant channels <NUM>, <NUM>. The first internal coolant channel <NUM> is in fluid communication with the coolant passages of the cylinder head <NUM>. In particular, the first internal coolant channel <NUM> directly receives coolant from the outlets <NUM> of the coolant passages of the cylinder head <NUM> and sends the coolant to the EGR cooler <NUM>. The second internal coolant channel <NUM> is in fluid communication with the cylinder block <NUM>. In particular, the second internal coolant channel <NUM> directs coolant received from the EGR cooler <NUM> into the cylinder block <NUM>.

The disclosed features and systems may be used in any appropriate engine system having a liquid cooling system, and may facilitate coolant flow within such engine systems.

Referring back to <FIG> and <FIG>, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> is mounted to a generally perpendicular surface of the cylinder head <NUM>. In particular, as best shown in <FIG>, the cylinder head <NUM> includes a first end <NUM>, a second end <NUM> opposite the first end <NUM>, a first side <NUM> extending between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM>, and a second side <NUM> opposite the first side <NUM> and extending between the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM>. The first side <NUM> and the second side <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM> each have a length that is substantially longer than a corresponding length of the first end <NUM> and the second end <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> is positioned generally parallel to the first side <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM> and generally orthogonal to EGR cooler <NUM> (<FIG>). As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, and schematically shown in <FIG>, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> is coupled to and between the cylinder head <NUM> and the EGR cooler <NUM>. The coolant collector bracket <NUM> vertically supports the EGR cooler <NUM>. The coolant collector bracket <NUM> has a generally parallel and vertical mounting interface with cylinder head <NUM>, and a generally parallel and horizontal mounting interface with EGR cooler <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, when the exhaust manifold <NUM> is coupled to the cylinder head <NUM>, the mounting legs <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> are located between the exhaust manifold <NUM> and the cylinder head <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, during assembly, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> is positioned near the first side <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM> such that slots <NUM> of the mounting legs <NUM> are slidably inserted onto the bottom fasteners <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM>. This assembly process allows the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to be easily secured to the cylinder head <NUM>, and the weight of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to be supported by cylinder head fasteners <NUM>. In some embodiments, slots <NUM> may have a width that is substantially similar to the width of corresponding bottom fasteners <NUM>.

After positioning the coolant collector bracket <NUM> near the cylinder head <NUM>, force is vertically applied onto the seat <NUM> to securely couple the jumper tube <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the cylinder block <NUM>. For example, a hammer may be used to apply force to the seat <NUM> to secure the jumper tube <NUM> to the cylinder block <NUM>. The jumper tube <NUM> assists in the alignment of the distal end <NUM> of the exit leg. After securing the jumper tube <NUM> to the cylinder block <NUM>, the cylinder head fasteners <NUM> associated with the top fastener connector <NUM> of the mounting legs <NUM> can be received by the bracket connection openings <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM> to securely fasten the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the cylinder head <NUM>.

Thus, the coolant collector bracket <NUM> described herein provides a number of features for facilitating assembly to the engine system <NUM>. For example, the jumper tube <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> facilitates alignment of the distal end <NUM> of the exit leg <NUM>. The slots <NUM> (and corresponding slot openings <NUM>) as described above, allow for the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to be slidably inserted onto the corresponding bottom fasteners <NUM> of the cylinder head <NUM>. Further, the gaskets <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> facilitate assembly by securely snapping in place on the mounting legs <NUM>. Additionally, the vertical orientation of the EGR cooler <NUM> coupling to the coolant collector bracket <NUM> allows for the EGR cooler <NUM> to rest on top of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> during coupling. Specifically, as opposed to horizontally mounting the coolant collector bracket <NUM> from the side (which would require holding the EGR cooler <NUM> during coupling), the vertical orientation of the fastener connectors <NUM> of mounts <NUM> (<FIG>) allows for ease of vertical assembly since the EGR cooler <NUM> need only be placed on the top side <NUM> of the coolant collector bracket <NUM>. Thus, the features described herein facilitate the vertical assembly of the coolant collector bracket <NUM> to the engine system <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An internal combustion engine system (<NUM>), comprising:
a cylinder block (<NUM>);
a cylinder head (<NUM>) attached to the cylinder block (<NUM>), the cylinder head (<NUM>) including:
a lateral surface (<NUM>) including a plurality of fasteners (<NUM>) positioned along a bottom edge of the lateral surface (<NUM>); and
a plurality of coolant passages;
an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler (<NUM>); and
a coolant collector bracket (<NUM>) configured to vertically support the EGR cooler (<NUM>), the coolant collector bracket (<NUM>) horizontally coupled to the cylinder head (<NUM>) and perpendicularly coupled to the EGR cooler (<NUM>), the coolant collector bracket (<NUM>) including:
a plurality of mounting legs (<NUM>) directly coupled to the lateral surface (<NUM>) of the cylinder head (<NUM>), the plurality of mounting legs (<NUM>) including a plurality of slots (<NUM>),
wherein the plurality of mounting legs (<NUM>) are slidably inserted onto the plurality of fasteners (<NUM>) of the cylinder head (<NUM>) via the plurality of slots (<NUM>),
wherein the lateral surface (<NUM>) includes a plurality of bracket connection openings (<NUM>), and wherein the plurality of mounting legs (<NUM>) include a plurality of fasteners (<NUM>) that correspond with the plurality of bracket connection openings (<NUM>);
characterised in that the plurality of mounting legs (<NUM>) of the coolant collector bracket (<NUM>) include a plurality of coolant inlets (<NUM>).