Patent ID: 7080612

Claim:
A cylinder block for an internal combustion engine having a top deck configured and arranged to be fixedly coupled to a cylinder head, comprising: a cylinder wall unit forming at least one cylinder bore configured and arranged to slideably retain a piston in the at least one cylinder bore, the cylinder wall unit forming an inner flange portion of the top deck; a jacket sidewall continuously surrounding an external periphery of the cylinder wall unit such that a water jacket is formed between the external periphery of the cylinder wall unit and an internal periphery of the jacket sidewall, the water jacket having a continuous open end in the top deck surrounding the cylinder wall unit, the jacket sidewall forming an intermediate flange portion of the top deck; and first and second external block walls extending substantially an entire longitudinal length of the cylinder block, the first and second external block walls being outwardly spaced apart from the jacket sidewall in a transverse direction of the cylinder block, the first and second external block walls forming an external flange portion of the top deck, the first and second external block walls including a plurality of connecting ribs connecting the first and second external block walls to the jacket sidewall.