JP2006234042A - Oil chamber structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil chamber structure which can improve workability and which enables a predetermined amount of oil to be infused into an oil chamber easily and accurately, and which can improve a degree of design flexibility in an oil pan and reduce manufacturing costs. <P>SOLUTION: The oil chamber 10 where oil 20 is stored has an oil chamber structure formed by being provided with the oil pan 9. Then the oil chamber structure is provided with a hole 9h, an overflow drain plug 40, and an oil drain plug 50. The hole 9h is provided to the oil pan 9, and the overflow drain plug 40 is inserted into the interior of the oil chamber 10 with flexible insertion and removal through the medium of the hole 9h. Then the oil drain plug 50 is attached to the overflow drain plug 40 with flexible removability. The overflow drain plug 40 regulates the oil surface of the oil 20 when the oil drain plug 50 is removed, and discharges a higher level of the oil 20 than a specified level from the oil chamber 10. When the overflow drain plug 40 is pulled out of the interior of the oil chamber 10, the oil 20 of the oil chamber 10 is discharged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil chamber structure having an overflow drain plug for discharging oil from an oil chamber having an oil pan and defining an oil level of the oil chamber.

  Conventionally, in an automatic transmission such as an automobile, for example, an automatic transmission is automatically performed for a torque converter, a planetary gear, a clutch, a brake, and a servo mechanism for the operation thereof, which are housed in the case of the automatic transmission for operation and lubrication. Transmission hydraulic oil (ATF, hereinafter simply referred to as oil) is supplied.

  This oil is stored in a space (hereinafter referred to as an oil chamber) formed by a lower part of the case of the automatic transmission and a so-called oil pan attached to the lower part of the case of the automatic transmission. It is common.

  If the amount of oil injected into the oil chamber is greater than the specified amount, it may overflow from the oil chamber when the temperature of the oil rises. In some cases, it may be difficult to supply the above-described units. Therefore, a predetermined amount of oil necessary for the operation and lubrication of the automatic transmission is injected and stored in the oil chamber.

  In order to inject a predetermined amount of oil into the oil chamber, first, oil is injected from the oil pan in the oil chamber through a filler tube that extends while avoiding an arrangement such as an exhaust pipe in the engine room.

  Next, the amount of oil injected into the oil chamber is a specified amount by inserting and extracting a level gauge with a scale for detecting the injection amount, that is, the oil level, into the oil pan through the filler tube. It is generally performed to detect the oil level whether or not, and a mechanism having such a configuration for detection is well known.

  As a result of the oil level detection using the level gauge, if the amount of oil is less than the specified amount, the oil is again injected through the filler tube. Thereafter, oil injection and detection using a level gauge are repeated until the specified amount is reached.

  As a result of detecting the oil level using the level gauge, if the amount of oil is greater than the specified amount, that is, if too much oil has been injected into the oil chamber, a separate tube should be installed in the filler tube. Insert and drain excess oil from the tube via pump. Then, until the specified amount is reached, oil is extracted and detection using a level gauge is repeated.

  However, oil level detection using a level gauge cannot be performed at the same time as oil injection, that is, oil injection and oil level detection cannot be performed in parallel. There is a problem that man-hours are required for work and workability is lowered.

  Further, since the oil level of the oil stored in the oil chamber changes as the oil temperature changes, it is difficult to accurately detect the amount of oil with an oil gauge.

  Furthermore, when oil is excessively injected into the oil chamber, a special device such as a pump has to be used to extract the oil, resulting in an increase in work cost.

  In view of such problems and circumstances, for example, in Patent Document 1, an oil injection line for injecting oil, one end of which opens into the oil pan of the oil chamber, and an oil discharge for discharging a specified amount of oil from the oil chamber Oil with two pipe lines connected to the pipe line fixed to the oil pan, with the oil inlet opening at the other end of the oil injection pipe set higher than the outlet opening at one end of the oil discharge pipe A chamber structure is disclosed.

  According to such an oil chamber structure, when the amount of oil injected from the oil injection port and stored in the oil chamber reaches a specified amount, excess oil overflows from the discharge port of the oil discharge conduit.

  Therefore, a specified amount of oil can be easily and accurately supplied to the oil chamber, and the oil can be injected into the oil chamber and the oil level can be detected at the same time, so that workability is improved.

In addition, when oil is excessively injected into the oil chamber, it is not necessary to use a special device such as a pump in order to extract the oil, so that the operation cost is lower than when using a filler tube. There are also advantages.
JP-A-10-213210

  However, in the oil chamber structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the oil pan must be provided with two pipes, an oil injection pipe and an oil discharge pipe. In addition, since the position of the discharge port of the oil discharge pipe is defined, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in designing the oil pan is reduced.

  In addition, when fixing the two pipes of the oil injection pipe and the oil discharge pipe to the oil pan, two parts such as a fixing member and a liquid-tight member must be provided on the oil pan. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the oil pan becomes high.

  The object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily and accurately inject a specified amount of oil into an oil chamber with high workability and to have a degree of freedom in designing an oil pan. The present invention provides an oil chamber structure that can improve the manufacturing cost and reduce the manufacturing cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, an oil chamber structure according to the present invention is an oil chamber structure in which an oil chamber in which oil is stored has an oil pan, and a hole provided in the bottom of the oil pan. , A cylindrical overflow drain plug that is detachably inserted into the oil chamber from the outside of the oil pan through the hole, and an oil drain that is detachably attached to the overflow drain plug And the overflow drain plug defines an oil level of the oil stored in the oil chamber when the oil drain plug is detached, and the oil at a specified level or more is defined in the oil chamber. The oil is discharged from the chamber, and when the oil is extracted from the inside of the oil chamber, the oil in the oil chamber is discharged.

  According to the oil chamber structure of the present invention, it is possible to easily and accurately inject a specified amount of oil into the oil chamber with improved workability, and to improve the design freedom of the oil pan, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. Reduction can be achieved.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an engine with an automatic transmission having an oil chamber structure showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an engine 1 with an automatic transmission is provided with an engine body 3 and an automatic transmission (A / T) 4 connected to the output side of the engine body 3. On the output side of the automatic transmission 4, an extension unit is provided that includes a transfer clutch or the like that transmits the output from the automatic transmission 4 to a front drive shaft (not shown) and selectively distributes the output to the rear drive shaft 6. 4a is provided continuously.

  An engine oil pan 8 in which engine oil supplied to the engine body 3 is stored is attached to the lower part of the engine body 3, and an engine oil chamber (not shown) is provided.

  Further, below the automatic transmission 4, an oil pump 15 (see FIG. 2) is provided for a torque converter, a planetary gear, a clutch, a brake, a servo mechanism for operating these, and the like housed in a case of the automatic transmission 4. Is provided with an oil pan 9 attached to the lower part of the case of the automatic transmission 4. It has been.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the oil pan 9 is fixed to the lower portion of the case of the automatic transmission 4, and an edge portion 9 g formed on the opening edge of the oil pan 9 is fixed by a screw 17 or the like. Closely attached. As a result, the oil chamber 10 is formed by the space formed in the oil pan 9 and the lower portion of the automatic transmission 4.

  In the oil chamber 10, the oil 20 is stored in an amount required for the operation and lubrication of the automatic transmission 4 by an overflow drain plug 40 described later.

  A through hole (hereinafter simply referred to as a hole) 9h having a specific size is formed in the bottom 9t of the oil pan 9, and the outer peripheral edge of the hole 9h in the bottom 9t is along the outer peripheral edge. A drain sheet 30 as a fixing means having a specific height in the height direction of the oil pan 9 is provided substantially vertically on the bottom portion 9t so as to be liquid-tight.

  A screw 30 n is formed on the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30, and a screw 40 ng provided on the outer periphery on the base end side of the overflow drain plug 40 is screwed to the screw 30 n. Thus, the overflow drain plug 40 is attached to the drain sheet 30 so as to be substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion 9t.

  At this time, the upper half of the overflow drain plug 40 is inserted into the oil chamber 10. The drain sheet 30 and the overflow drain plug 40 are mounted in a liquid-tight manner. Specifically, the bottom of the drain sheet 30 and the outer periphery of the overflow drain plug 40 and the upper part of the outward flange 40f formed at the base end of the screw 40ng are liquid-tight such as an O-ring on the outward flange 40f. Contact is made through means 61.

  The overflow drain plug 40 can be attached to and detached from the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30 with screws 30n and 40ng. As a result, the upper half of the overflow drain plug 40 can be inserted into and removed from the oil chamber 10.

  The overflow drain plug 40 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and prevents the oil 20 from leaking outward from the oil chamber 10 when mounted on the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30, and also opens the front end portion. The amount of the oil 20 stored in the oil pan 9, that is, the liquid level of the oil 20 is defined by the height from the bottom 9t of the oil pan 9 of 40j.

  It should be noted that the outer surface of the overflow drain plug 40 may be provided with means for allowing the user to visually recognize information related to the oil 20 such as the viscosity of the oil 20 and the amount of the oil 20 injected into the oil chamber 10.

  A screw 40ni is formed on the inner periphery of the base end portion of the overflow drain plug 40, and a screw 50n provided on the outer periphery of the oil drain plug 50 is screwed to the screw 40ni. As a result, the oil drain plug 50 is attached to the opening 40 k at the base end of the overflow drain plug 40. Therefore, the oil drain plug 50 is integrated with the overflow drain plug 40 by the screws 40ni and 50n.

  At this time, the oil drain plug 50 is inserted into the inside 40i of the overflow drain plug 40 and functions as a lid, thereby closing the base end opening 40k. The overflow drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 are mounted in a liquid-tight manner.

  Specifically, the overflow drain plug 40 is connected to the outer periphery of the oil drain plug 50 through a liquid-tight means 62 such as an O-ring provided on the outward flange 50f formed at the base end of the screw 50n. The bottom and the upper surface of the outward flange 50f are in close contact.

  The oil drain plug 50 can be attached to and detached from the overflow drain plug 40 by a screw 40ni and a screw 50n. As a result, the tip of the oil drain plug 50 can be inserted into and removed from the inside 40i of the overflow drain plug 40, and the opening 40k of the overflow drain plug 40 can be opened and closed.

  The oil drain plug 50 prevents the oil 20 from leaking outward from the oil chamber 10 when attached to the overflow drain plug 40, and is defined in the oil chamber 10 when the oil drain plug 50 is removed from the overflow drain plug 40. The oil 20 that has been injected in an amount or more is discharged to the outside of the oil chamber 10.

  Next, the operation of the oil chamber structure configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 described above. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the overflow drain plug and the oil drain plug are removed from the oil pan of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the oil drain plug is removed from the oil pan of FIG. These are figures which show the modification which connected the overflow drain plug and oil drain plug of FIG. 2 using the connection means.

  First, when oil 20 is extracted from the oil chamber 10 during oil exchange or the like, the overflow drain plug 40 is removed from the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the overflow drain plug 40 is detached from the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30 by releasing the screwing of the screw 30n of the drain sheet 30 and the screw 40ng of the overflow drain plug 40. As a result, the upper half of the overflow drain plug 40 is removed from the inside of the oil chamber 10.

  At this time, the oil drain plug 50 remains attached to the overflow drain plug 40 because the screw 50n and the screw 40ni of the overflow drain plug 40 are screwed together.

  Thereafter, the oil 20 is discharged from the hole 9 h of the bottom 9 t of the oil pan 9, whereby the oil 20 is extracted from the oil chamber 10.

  Next, when the new oil 20 is poured into the oil chamber 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the overflow drain plug 40 is drained from the outside of the oil pan 9 to the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30 of the oil pan 9. The screw 30n of the sheet 30 and the screw 40ng of the overflow drain plug 40 are screwed together so that the seat 30 is substantially perpendicular to the bottom 9t. As a result, the upper half of the overflow drain plug 40 is inserted into the oil chamber 10.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the oil drain plug 50 is detached from the overflow drain plug 40. Specifically, the screw 50n of the oil drain plug 50 and the screw 40ni of the overflow drain plug 40 are disengaged to release the oil drain plug 50 from the opening 40k at the base end of the overflow drain plug 40. To do. As a result, the tip of the oil drain plug 50 is removed from the inside 40 i of the overflow drain plug 40.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, if the overflow drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 are connected through a connecting means such as a string 70, the oil drain plug 50 is connected to the overflow drain plug. It is possible to prevent the oil drain plug 50 from being lost or the oil drain plug 50 from rolling when it is detached from 40.

  Next, a new amount of new oil 20 necessary for the operation and lubrication of the automatic transmission 4 is injected into the oil chamber 10 by known means. The prescribed amount of the new oil 20 required for the operation and lubrication of the automatic transmission 4 is the amount that the oil 20 does not overflow from the oil chamber 10 and stays in the oil chamber 10 when the temperature of the oil 20 rises. , And the amount of oil 20 that can be sufficiently supplied to the above-described parts of the automatic transmission 4.

  As a result of the injection, when the amount of the new oil 20 is more than the above-mentioned amount, the oil 20 enters the inside 40i of the overflow drain plug 40 from the opening 40j at the distal end portion of the overflow drain plug 40, and the proximal end portion It is discharged from the opening 40k.

  That is, the amount of the oil 20 stored in the oil chamber 10, that is, the oil level is defined by the height of the opening 40j at the tip of the overflow drain plug 40 from the bottom 9t of the oil pan 9.

  Finally, after the new oil 20 is injected into the oil chamber 10 and stored in the oil chamber 10 in a specified amount, the oil drain plug 50 is attached to the overflow drain plug 40. Specifically, the screw 50n of the oil drain plug 50 and the screw 40ni of the overflow drain plug 40 are screwed together so that the oil drain plug 50 is attached to the overflow drain plug 40 and the tip of the oil drain plug 50 is attached. Is inserted into the inside 40 i of the overflow drain plug 40.

  As described above, in the oil chamber structure showing the present embodiment, the hole 9h having a specific size is formed in the bottom 9t of the oil pan 9 constituting the oil chamber 10, and the oil chamber 10 is formed through the hole. The overflow drain plug 40 can be inserted and removed freely. Further, the drain sheet 30 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the hole 9 h in the bottom 9 t of the oil pan 9, and the overflow drain plug 40 is detachable on the inner periphery of the drain sheet 30. Further, the oil drain plug 50 can be inserted into and removed from the opening 40k at the base end of the overflow drain plug 40.

  This eliminates the need to separately form a hole for discharging the oil 20 from the oil chamber 10 and a hole for inserting and removing the overflow drain plug 40 in the oil chamber 10 in the oil pan 9, that is, one hole is formed. Since it is only necessary to form two drain sheets 30, it is not necessary to form two drain sheets 30. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where holes are separately formed, and the oil pan 9 can be manufactured at low cost.

  Further, since the overflow drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 are integrated by screwing the screws 40ni and 50n, when the overflow drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 are attached to the oil pan 9, the overflow drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 are integrated. The drain plug 40 and the oil drain plug 50 hardly affect the space in the oil chamber 10. Therefore, the design freedom of the oil pan 9 can be improved.

  Further, it is stored in the oil chamber 10 only at the height from the bottom 9t of the oil pan 9 of the opening 40j at the tip of the overflow drain plug 40 inserted into the hole 9h formed in the oil pan 9 and attached to the drain sheet 30. Since the amount of the oil 20 to be controlled, that is, the oil level, can be defined, the workability is improved and the prescribed amount of the oil 20 can be injected into the oil chamber 10 easily and accurately.

Hereinafter, modifications will be described.
The oil chamber structure in the present embodiment has been described as being applied to the oil chamber 10 in which the ATF oil supplied to the automatic transmission 4 is stored. Even if it is applied to the oil chamber provided with the pan 8, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to a tank that stores oil, but may be any tank such as a tank that stores a predetermined amount of liquid, such as a tank that stores window washer liquid.

The figure which shows the engine with an automatic transmission which has the oil chamber structure which shows one embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an overflow drain plug and an oil drain plug are detached from the oil pan of FIG. 2. Sectional drawing which shows the state which removed the oil drain plug from the oil pan of FIG. The figure which shows the modification which connected the overflow drain plug and oil drain plug of FIG. 2 using the connection means.

Explanation of symbols

9 ... Oil pan 9t ... Bottom of oil pan 9h ... Hole 10 ... Oil chamber 20 ... Oil 30 ... Drain sheet 40 ... Overflow drain plug 50 ... Oil drain plug 70 ... String agent Patent attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (3)

The oil chamber in which oil is stored is an oil chamber structure formed with an oil pan,
A hole provided in the bottom of the oil pan;
A cylindrical overflow drain plug inserted in the oil chamber from the outside of the oil pan through the hole so as to be freely inserted and removed;
An oil drain plug removably attached to the overflow drain plug;
Comprising
When the oil drain plug is removed, the overflow drain plug defines the oil level of the oil stored in the oil chamber, discharges the oil above a defined level from the oil chamber, and An oil chamber structure, wherein the oil in the oil chamber is discharged when the oil chamber is removed from the inside of the oil chamber.   A circumferential fixing means is provided at the bottom of the oil pan along the outer peripheral edge of the hole, and the overflow drain plug is removable on the inner periphery of the fixing means. The oil chamber structure according to claim 1.   2. The oil chamber structure according to claim 1, wherein the overflow drain plug and the oil drain plug are connected to each other via connecting means.

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