JP2005114415A - Oil level gage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil level gage for blocking all the intrusion routes of water into the oil level gage to prevent the water from intruding into an oil tank. <P>SOLUTION: This oil level gage comprises a tubular gage guide 12 with a lower end communication-connected to the oil tank, and with an opened upper end 12a; a level gage grip 13 with an upper part serving as a grasping part 13a, with the central part serving as a lid part 13b for opening and closing the upper end of the gage guide and with a lower part serving as a level gage support part 13e and attached to the upper end of the gage guide; and a level gage 14 inserted into the gage guide, with an upper end fixed to the lower end of the level gage support part, and with a lower part for measuring an oil level in the oil tank. A flange 12b is formed annularly over the whole circumference in an upper outer circumferential face, in the gage guide 12. In the level gage grip 13, the central part is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape opened downwards, and is fit around to partition an annular space part 16 with respect to the upper outer circumferential face of the gage guide, and a locking claw 13g engaged disengageably with the flange is formed annularly over the whole circumference on an opening end inner circumferential face. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for an oil tank of a vehicle, and more particularly to an oil level gauge for an oil tank for storing automatic transmission oil of an A / T vehicle.

  For example, an oil tank for storing an automatic transmission oil (hereinafter referred to as “oil”) used for an A / T (automatic transmission) vehicle transmission is provided with an oil level gauge for measuring the oil level in the oil tank. Yes. FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional oil level gauge, and an oil level gauge 2 is provided along the side wall 1 a of the oil tank 1. The oil level gauge 2 is arranged vertically along the side wall 1a of the oil tank 1, the lower end 3a is connected to the lower part of the side wall 1a, the pipe-shaped gauge guide 3 having an upper end 3b opened, and the gauge guide 3 The level gauge grip 4 is detachably attached to the upper end, and the level gauge 5 is inserted into the gauge guide 3 and the upper end is fixed to the lower end of the level gauge grip 4 to measure the oil level in the gauge guide 3.

  The level gauge grip 4 has an upper portion as a grip portion 4a, a center portion having a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the gauge guide 3, and a flange-like lid portion 4b that closes the upper end 3b of the gauge guide 3. Is inserted into an upper end 3b of the gauge guide 3 through an O-ring 6 fitted in an annular groove provided on the outer peripheral surface, and is a level gauge support 4c to which the upper end of the level gauge 5 is fixed. .

  The lid 4b of the level gauge grip 4 is locked to the upper outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 3 to prevent the deviation from the gauge guide 3, and the level gauge grip 4 is removed from the gauge guide 3 by expanding in the direction of the arrow. A gauge stopper 7 that can be pulled out is provided. H (High) and L (low) graduations are formed on the lower portion 5a of the level gauge 5 so that the oil level in the gauge guide 3, that is, the oil level in the oil tank 1 can be measured.

When measuring the oil level in the oil tank 1, the gripping part 4a of the level gauge grip 4 is gripped, the gauge stopper 7 is expanded in the direction of the arrow, the level gauge 5 is pulled out from the gauge guide 3, and the lower part 5a is The level of oil in the oil tank 1 is measured from the level of adhering oil. As such an oil level gauge, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 9-203 is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 9-203

By the way, the automatic transmission (A / T) has a problem that the automatic transmission (A / T) breaks when the water content of the automatic transmission oil (ATF) total oil exceeds 0.5%. It is necessary to prevent water from entering the aircraft. Incidentally, if the total oil amount of the automatic transmission oil of a small A / T car is 13 L, the water intrusion allowance of 0.5% is only 55 ml.
However, the oil level gauge 2 having the above structure has a poor sealing property of the O-ring 6 due to aging, etc., and the mating surface between the upper end (open end) 3b of the gauge guide 3 and the lower surface of the lid portion 4b of the level gauge grip 4 There is a problem that water infiltrates from the gauge guide 3 into the oil tank 1 due to the defect of the above.

  The intrusion route of water into the gauge guide 3 includes intrusion from above due to rain, infiltration from below due to rolling up of the tire, intrusion from the side due to injection of the car wash at the time of car washing, etc. Water enters the gauge guide 3 from the three intrusion paths. In particular, the water sprayed from the car washer has a high pressure and is received in the gauge guide 3 because it is received from the side of the mating surface between the upper end 3b of the gauge guide 3 and the lower surface of the lid portion 4b of the level gauge grip 4. Easy to penetrate. Therefore, it is difficult to completely block the intrusion path of water entering the gauge guide 3.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an oil level gauge that blocks all the water intrusion paths into the oil level gauge to prevent water from entering the oil tank. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a pipe-shaped gauge guide whose lower end is connected to an oil tank, an upper end is opened, an upper portion is a gripping portion, and a central portion is the upper end of the gauge guide. A level gauge grip that is a lid body portion that is closed, a lower portion is a level gauge support portion, and is liquid-tightly inserted into the upper end of the gauge guide, and an upper end that is inserted into the gauge guide is the lower end of the level gauge support portion. In the oil level gauge, the lower part of which is fixed to the level gauge for measuring the oil level of the oil tank, the gauge guide is formed with an annular flange or locking claw on the entire outer periphery of the upper part. The level gauge grip has a bottomed cylindrical shape in which the central portion opens downward, and defines an annular space between the gauge guide and the upper outer peripheral surface. Is has a configuration locking pawl or the flange engages detachably on the flange or the locking claw into the open end inner peripheral surface is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumference.

  When the level gauge grip is attached to the gauge guide, the bottom of the bottomed cylindrical part is in close contact with the upper end of the gauge guide, the peripheral wall surrounds the upper part of the gauge guide, and the locking claw is placed around the lower edge of the flange. Abutting and engaging. An annular ring having a width corresponding to the height of the flange between the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall and the outer peripheral surface facing the gauge guide, the outer peripheral surface of the flange being in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall of the bottomed cylindrical portion over the entire circumference A space is defined. The oil level gauge has a bottomed cylindrical section that blocks the entrance path to the upper end of the gauge guide from the top and the water intrusion path to the upper end of the gauge guide from the side due to water rain, etc. With the pawls, the water entry path from the lower side to the upper end of the gauge guide due to the winding of the tire is blocked. When water enters the annular space through a very small gap between the flange and the locking claw and between the flange and the peripheral portion of the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall from below, the annular space is infiltrated. Prevents water from rising due to capillary action. Thereby, all the water intrusion paths to the oil level gauge are completely blocked, and the water intrusion to the oil tank is prevented.

According to the invention of claim 2, a cylindrical packing is fitted into the annular space portion to prevent water from entering the annular space portion, and further to prevent water from entering the oil tank.
The invention according to claim 3 is applied to an oil level gauge for measuring the oil level of an oil tank for storing automatic transmission oil of an A / T vehicle to prevent occurrence of problems such as breakage of the automatic transmission.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to completely block all the water intrusion paths to the oil level gauge, and to prevent water from entering the oil tank. In addition, a gauge stopper for fixing the level gauge grip to the gauge guide is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, the level gauge grip can be attached and detached at the time of oil level measurement with one touch, and the operability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent water from entering the annular space from below, and to further prevent water from entering the oil tank.
According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent water from entering the oil tank for storing the automatic transmission oil of the A / T vehicle, and to prevent the occurrence of problems such as breakage of the automatic transmission. can do.

  FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of an oil level gauge according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an oil level gauge 11 is an oil level gauge of an oil tank for storing automatic transmission oil (ATF) of an A / T vehicle, for example, and is detachably attached to a gauge guide 12 and an upper end 12a of the gauge guide 12. Level gauge grip 13 and a level gauge 14 which is inserted into the gauge guide 12 and whose upper end is fixed to the lower end of the level gauge grip 13 and measures the oil level in the gauge guide 12.

  The gauge guide 12 is a steel pipe having excellent durability, and is arranged vertically along a side wall of an oil tank (not shown). A lower end of the gauge guide 12 is connected to the lower part of the side wall in communication with the oil tank, and an upper end 12a. Is open. The gauge guide 12 is provided with a flange 12b as a locking portion on the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion in a concentric annular shape over the entire circumference along the circumferential direction. As will be described later, the flange 12b has a height (width) that forms a gap (0.15 mm or more) sufficient to prevent water that has entered between the gauge guide 12 and the level gauge grip 13 from rising due to capillary action. ).

The level gauge grip 13 is formed with a gripping portion 13a at an upper portion, and a bottomed cylindrical portion 13b as a lid portion that is externally fitted to the flange 12b of the gauge guide 12 and opens downward at the center portion. A cylindrical level gauge support portion 13e is formed concentrically so as to protrude from the center of the lower surface 13d of the bottom portion 13c of the portion 13b.
The peripheral wall 13f of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13b is fitted on the flange 12b of the gauge guide 12, the inner peripheral surface thereof is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the flange 12b, and the lower surface 13d is in contact with the upper end 12a of the gauge guide 12. The length is slightly lower than the lower surface of the flange 12b. A locking claw 13g that engages with the lower surface of the flange 12b bulges inward over the entire circumference on the inner peripheral surface of the opening end. Is formed. The tip of the locking claw 13g is chamfered over the entire circumference to form a curved surface, and the engagement / disengagement operation with the flange 12b is easy. The tip of the flange 12b may also be chamfered over the entire circumference.

  The level gauge support portion 13e has a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the gauge guide 12, and an O-ring 15 is fitted and mounted in an annular groove formed in the circumferential direction on the upper outer peripheral surface, and the lower portion is substantially tapered. The upper end of the level gauge 14 is fitted and fixed in a hole 13h provided in the center of the lower surface. The level gauge grip 13 is integrally formed of a resin member. As a result, the locking claw 13g can be enlarged in diameter and can be engaged / released with the flange 12b of the gauge guide 12. The upper part of the level gauge 14 may be insert-molded in the level gauge support part 13e of the level gauge clip 13.

The operation will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the level gauge 14 is inserted into the gauge guide 12 and the level gauge grip 13 is attached, the level gauge support portion 13 e of the level gauge grip 13 is connected to the gauge guide 12 via the O-ring 15. The bottom 13d of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13b is in close contact with the upper end 12a of the gauge guide 12, the peripheral wall 13f surrounds the upper portion of the gauge guide 12, and the locking claw 13g is the gauge guide. The 12 flanges 12b are in contact with and engaged with the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the flange 12b. The outer peripheral surface of the flange 12b is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13f of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13b over the entire circumference, and the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13f, the outer peripheral surface facing the gauge guide 12, the bottom surface 13d, and the flange 12b. An annular space portion 16 having a width (gap) corresponding to the height of the flange 12b is defined between them. The annular space 16 is for preventing water that has entered between the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13f and the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 12 from rising due to capillary action. In this way, the level gauge grip 13 is attached to the gauge guide 12 without deviation.

  The oil level gauge 11 has a bottomed cylindrical portion 13b that enters the upper end 12a of the gauge guide 12 from above due to water rain and the like, and the upper end of the gauge guide 12 from the side caused by injection of the car wash machine, etc. The water intrusion path to 12 a is blocked, and the water ingress path to the upper end 12 a of the gauge guide 12 from below due to the winding of the tire or the like is blocked by the flange 12 b and the locking claw 13 g.

  Furthermore, when water enters the annular space 16 through the extremely small gap between the flange 12b and the locking claw 13g and the peripheral contact portion between the flange 12b and the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13f from below, The space portion 16 prevents the intruded water from rising along the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 12 due to capillary action. Further, as described above, the bottom surface 13 d of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13 b is in close contact with the upper end 12 a of the gauge guide 12, and the level gauge support portion 13 e of the level gauge grip 13 is liquid-tight in the gauge guide 12 through the O-ring 15. By being inserted, water intrusion into the gauge guide 12 is prevented. As a result, all the water intrusion paths to the gauge guide 12 are completely blocked, and water intrusion to the oil tank is prevented.

  In addition, in the annular space portion 16, the outer peripheral surface is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 13f, the inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 12, the upper end surface is in close contact with the lower surface 13d of the bottom portion 13c, and the lower end surface is in close contact with the upper surface of the flange 12b. A rubber cylindrical packing may be inserted. Alternatively, a disc-shaped packing may be interposed between the lower surface 13 d of the bottom portion 13 c and the upper end 12 a of the gauge guide 12. This makes it possible to prevent water from entering the oil tank even better. As a result, problems such as breakage of the automatic transmission can be prevented in advance, and the reliability of the automatic transmission can be improved.

  When measuring the oil level in the oil tank, when the gripping portion 13a of the level gauge grip 13 is gripped and pulled up, the locking claw 13g of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13b expands accordingly, and the flange of the gauge guide 12 is expanded. Overcoming 12b, the engagement between the flange 12b and the locking claw 13g is released. At this time, since the tip of the locking claw 13g is chamfered over the entire circumference to form a curved surface, the engagement release operation with the flange 12b is facilitated. Therefore, the level gauge 14 can be easily pulled out from the gauge guide 12 with one touch.

  After measuring the oil level, the level gauge 14 is inserted into the gauge guide 12, and when the level gauge support 13e of the level gauge grip 13 is pushed into the upper end 12a, the locking claw 13g of the bottomed cylindrical portion 13b expands accordingly. After getting over the flange 12b and engaging the peripheral edge of the lower surface, the diameter is reduced and brought into close contact. At this time, the engagement operation with the flange 12b is facilitated by chamfering the tip of the locking claw 13g over the entire circumference to form a curved surface.

  FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the oil level gauge according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, the members and parts corresponding to the oil level gauge 11 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the oil level gauge 21 has a gauge guide 22 formed with a locking claw 22b instead of a flange, and a level gauge grip 23 formed with a flange 23g instead of a locking claw. That is, the gauge guide 22 is formed with an annular locking claw 22b bulging all over the upper outer peripheral surface, and its peripheral edge is chamfered into a curved surface. On the other hand, the level gauge grip 23 protrudes inward over the entire inner periphery of the lower end of the peripheral wall 23f to form a flange 23g. The flange 23g is circumferentially in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 22 facing the inner peripheral surface over the entire circumference, and can be engaged and closely contacted with the lower surface of the locking claw 22b over the entire circumference. The peripheral edge of the flange 23g may be chamfered to be a curved surface.

  In the state where the level gauge grip 23 is attached to the gauge guide 22, the level gauge support portion 23 e of the level gauge grip 23 is liquid-tightly inserted into the upper end 12 a of the gauge guide 22 via the O-ring 25. The bottom surface 23d of the bottom cylindrical portion 23b is in close contact with the upper end 22a of the gauge guide 22, the peripheral wall 23f surrounds the upper portion of the gauge guide 22, and the flange 23g contacts the lower surface of the locking claw 22b of the gauge guide 22 over the entire circumference. Touching and engaging. The flange 23g has an inner peripheral surface that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 22 on the lower side of the locking claw 22b over the entire periphery, and the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 23f, the outer peripheral surface facing the gauge guide 22 and the bottom surface 23d. An annular space 26 having a width corresponding to the height of the flange 23g is defined between the flange 23g and the flange 23g. The annular space portion 26 prevents water that has entered between the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 23f and the outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide 22 from rising due to capillary action. In this way, the level gauge grip 23 is attached to the gauge guide 22.

  In addition, although the oil level gauge shown in the said Example 1 and Example 2 demonstrated the case where it applied to the oil level gauge of the oil tank of the automatic transmission oil of A / T car, it is not restricted to this, Engine oil Of course, the present invention may be applied to other level gauges. Further, the level gauge grips 13 and 23 can be made of thin sheet metal.

It is principal part sectional drawing of the oil level gauge which concerns on this invention. (Example 1) It is principal part sectional drawing of the oil level gauge which concerns on this invention. (Example 2) It is sectional drawing of the conventional oil level gauge.

Explanation of symbols

11, 21 Oil level gauge 12, 22 Gauge guide 12b, 23g Flange 13, 23 Level gauge grip 13b, 23b Bottomed cylindrical part 13f, 23f Perimeter wall 13g, 22b Locking claws 14, 24 Level gauge 15, 25 O-ring 16, 26 Annular space

Claims (3)

A pipe-shaped gauge guide whose lower end is connected to an oil tank, an upper end is opened, an upper portion is a gripping portion, a central portion is a lid portion closing the upper end of the gauge guide, and a lower portion is a level gauge support portion Level gauge grip that is liquid-tightly inserted into the upper end of the gauge guide, and inserted into the gauge guide, the upper end is fixed to the lower end of the level gauge support, and the lower part measures the oil level of the oil tank In the oil level gauge consisting of the level gauge to
The gauge guide is formed with a flange or a locking claw in an annular shape over the entire circumference on the upper outer peripheral surface,
The level gauge grip has a bottomed cylindrical shape in which the central portion opens downward, and is externally fitted to define an annular space between the upper outer peripheral surface of the gauge guide and is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening end. An oil level gauge, wherein a locking claw or a flange that is detachably engaged with the flange or the locking claw is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumference.   The oil level gauge according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical packing is fitted into the annular space.   3. The oil level gauge according to claim 1, wherein the oil level gauge is an oil level gauge that measures an oil level of an oil tank that stores automatic transmission oil of an A / T vehicle.

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