Patent ID: 7080506

Claim:
An exhaust gas recirculation system for an internal combustion engine comprising: an exhaust passage equipped with a catalytic converter; a first recirculation path extending from an upstream section of the exhaust passage positioned upstream of the catalytic converter to an intake passage; a second recirculation path extending from a downstream section of the exhaust passage positioned downstream of the catalytic converter to the intake passage; a switching mechanism configured and arranged to selectively switch between a first recirculation state in which exhaust gas recirculation occurs via the first recirculation path and a second recirculation state in which exhaust gas recirculation occurs via the second recirculation path; and a control unit configured to control switching between the first recirculation state and the second recirculation state by the switching mechanism based on at least one parameter that correlates with exhaust gas temperature of the exhaust gas to be recirculated back to the intake passage, the control unit being configured to control the switching mechanism to fluidly connect the first recirculation path between the upstream section of the exhaust passage and the intake passage, and disconnect the second recirculation path when the exhaust gas temperature of the recirculated exhaust gas is determined to exceed a prescribed value.