JP2007010592A - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil level gauge which can perform easily pulling out and insertion to the oil level gauge guide, when a clearance with a periphery article is small. <P>SOLUTION: A holding part 17 has a shape of a sphere, and forms a pair of concave parts 21, 22 at the side face. These concave parts 21, 22 form a circular cross section hole which has an axial center C at the slightly lower (sword guard part 15 approach) than a center O of the holding part 17 in the form partitioned by a central partition 23. Therefore, the holding part 17 has a 180 degrees symmetry of a revolution geometry for its central axis CL. Moreover, at a connection axial part 16 of the holding part 17, an annular groove 24 is formed nearly at the center part in the vertical direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for checking the engine oil amount of an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a technique for improving operability.

  2. Description of the Related Art An internal combustion engine for an automobile (hereinafter referred to as an engine) is provided with a lubrication system that supplies engine oil to various parts so as to lubricate a valve mechanism and cool a piston. In the case of a wet sump type lubrication system, engine oil is stored in an oil pan installed at the lower part of the crankcase, and is pumped to the oil line by a crank-driven oil pump. Since engine oil adhering to the cylinder wall or mixed with blow-by gas is combusted in the combustion chamber, it is gradually consumed as the engine is operated. Therefore, a user of an automobile needs to check the amount of engine oil as appropriate by using an oil level gauge.

The oil level gauge consists of a rod-shaped level gauge body with an oil level detection part formed in the lower part of the oil level gauge, and a handle formed on the upper part of the level gauge body. The engine oil adheres to the oil level detection part. Can check the oil level (ie, the amount of engine oil). The handle of the oil level gauge has an annular ring part for inserting and pulling out a finger (see Patent Documents 1 and 2), and a wing-shaped overhanging part for inserting and pulling up the finger from below. And the like (see Patent Document 3), and those having a spherical gripping part that is picked up by a finger and pulled upward (see Patent Document 4). Normally, the lower part of these knobs and overhangs is fitted with an oil level gauge guide to prevent the engine oil from leaking, and the oil level gauge guide is locked to the upper end of the oil level gauge guide. A restricting collar is formed.
JP-A-9-273411 JP 2002-161724 A JP 2001-115816 A Utility Model Registration No. 2578919

  In recent automobiles, the clearance between the handle of the oil level gauge and peripheral parts is often very small due to the downsizing of the engine room and the increase in engine accessories. Therefore, when the oil level gauges of Patent Documents 1 to 3 are adopted, it becomes difficult to insert a finger into the ring part or to insert a finger under the overhanging part. There was a risk of contact with engine parts. In addition, in the thing provided with the ring part, the finger inserted into the ring part may not come off depending on the relationship between the thickness of the finger and the inner diameter of the ring part. On the other hand, when the oil level gauge of Patent Document 4 is adopted, it is relatively easy to pick a spherical gripping part with a finger, but it is difficult to hold the knob stably because the finger is slippery with a spherical surface, and it is extracted. The oil level gauge could be dropped.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil level gauge that can be easily inserted into and removed from an oil level gauge guide even when the clearance with peripheral components is small.

  The invention according to claim 1 comprises a level gauge body having an oil level detecting part immersed in an oil reservoir of an internal combustion engine, and a handle formed on the upper part of the level gauge body, and is detachable from an oil level gauge guide. An oil level gauge held on the upper surface of the oil level gauge guide, and the handle is formed on the upper part of the oil level gauge guide, and is formed on the upper end of the oil level gauge guide. It is characterized by comprising a collar part to be stopped and a substantially spherical grip part formed above the collar part and having at least one concave part on its side surface.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the oil level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that a pair of the recesses are formed in the grip part, and the grip part has a substantially 180 ° rotationally symmetric shape. .

  According to the oil level gauge of claim 1, since the grip portion is spherical, the handle can be easily and reliably held, and the tip of the hand holding the grip portion is squeezed by inserting the fingertip into the recess. Thus, even when engine parts are present around the gripping part, the hand does not easily interfere with them. According to the oil level gauge of claim 2, the grip portion can be held more reliably, and the interference between the engine component and the hand is less likely to occur.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an oil level gauge according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a perspective view of an engine equipped with an oil level gauge according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of the oil level gauge. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the embodiment.

<< Configuration of Embodiment >>
An engine (internal combustion engine) 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a four-cycle in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine for automobiles, and includes a crankcase 2, a cylinder head 3, a head cover 4, an oil pan (oil sump) 5, and the like. . In the engine 1, a recess 6 is formed on the upper side of the head cover 4, and an oil level gauge 10 is inserted into the oil pan 5 from the recess 6. The oil level gauge 10 is an injection-molded product made of a resin such as polyamide, and is formed on a level gauge main body 12 having an oil level detecting portion 11 immersed in the oil pan 5 at the lower end, and an upper portion of the level gauge main body 12. The handle 13 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the oil level gauge 10 is detachably held by a cylindrical oil level gauge guide 7 that rises in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the head cover 4. In the case of this embodiment, the head cover 4 is an injection molded product of resin, and the oil level gauge guide 7 is formed integrally with the head cover 4.

  The handle 13 includes a seal shaft portion 14 that is inserted into the oil level gauge guide 7, a flange portion 15 that is locked to the upper end of the oil level gauge guide 7, and a relatively small diameter that extends above the flange portion 15. The connecting shaft portion 16 and a gripping portion 17 formed on the upper portion of the connecting shaft portion 16 are included. The seal shaft portion 14 is provided with two upper and lower O-rings 18 made of fluorine rubber. The O-rings 18 are pressed against the inner wall of the oil level gauge guide 7 to seal the shaft.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the gripping portion 17 has a substantially spherical outer shape, and a pair of concave portions 21 and 22 are formed on the side surfaces. As shown in FIG. 3, the gripping part 17 has a substantially circular outer shape when viewed from the opening direction of the recess 21, and as shown in FIG. The lower part is a concentric arc centered on the center O.

  The recesses 21 and 22 are formed in such a manner that a hole having a circular cross section having an axis C slightly below the center O of the gripping portion 17 is partitioned by a central partition wall 23. As a result, the upper dimension Lu of the gripping part 17 is larger than the lower dimension Ll, and it is easy to pick from above, and the visibility during maintenance is improved as shown in FIG. 1 (the position of the oil level gauge 10 is immediately Understand). The gripping part 17 has a 180 ° rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the central axis CL. In addition, an annular groove 24 is formed in the connecting shaft portion 16 below the grip portion 17 at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction.

<< Operation of Embodiment >>
At the time of automobile maintenance, etc., a maintenance worker or the like pulls out the oil level gauge 10 and then checks the oil level of the engine 1 according to the state of engine oil adhering to the oil level detection unit 11. When pulling out the oil level gauge 10, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the maintenance operator puts the fingertips of the hands 31 (in the illustrated example, the fingertips of the thumb 32 and the index finger 33) into the recesses 21 and 22, Try to pick 17.

  In the present embodiment, since the grip portion 17 is spherical, the handle 13 can be easily and reliably held, and the tip of the hand 31 that grips the grip portion 17 is narrowed by inserting a fingertip into the recesses 21 and 22. Even when engine parts (in the illustrated example, the vertical wall of the head cover 4) are present around the grip portion 17, the hand 31 is less likely to interfere with them. Further, since the partition wall 23 exists between the concave portions 21 and 22, unlike the case having the conventional ring portion, there is no possibility that the fingers 32 and 33 cannot be removed from the concave portions 21 and 22.

  Although the description of the specific embodiment is finished as described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be widely modified. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to an oil level gauge of an automobile engine. However, the present invention may be applied to an oil level gauge of a marine engine or a general machine. Further, in the above embodiment, the oil level gauge is an integrated product by injection molding of resin, but the present invention is one in which a resin handle is molded on the upper part of the level gauge body of a steel plate press-molded product, or made of aluminum alloy. It can also be applied to the one using the handle.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the concave portions 21 and 22 formed in the gripping portion 17 are concave spherical surfaces, and the flange portion 15 and the gripping portion 17 are directly connected by the annular groove 24 (without the connecting shaft portion). You can do it. In the above embodiment, the oil level gauge guide is integrally formed on the head cover. However, the oil level gauge guide may be a steel pipe disposed on the crankcase side, and the installation angle thereof may be set in the vertical direction. It is not limited. Furthermore, the positions, the number, and the like of the recesses are not limited to those illustrated in the above embodiment, and the specific shapes and the like of each part of the oil level gauge can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of an engine provided with an oil level gauge of an embodiment. It is the II section enlarged view in FIG. It is a front view which shows the principal part of an oil level gauge. It is IV-IV sectional drawing in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of embodiment. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the partial modification of embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Engine 4 Head cover 5 Oil pan (Oil sump)
7 Oil Level Gauge Guide 10 Oil Level Gauge 11 Oil Level Detection Unit 12 Level Gauge Body 13 Handle 14 Seal Shaft Part 15 Gutter Part 16 Connection Shaft Part 17 Grip Part 18 O-Ring 21, 22 Concave Part 23 Bulkhead 24 Annular Groove

Claims (2)

An oil level gauge comprising: a level gauge body having an oil level detection part immersed in an oil reservoir of an internal combustion engine; and a handle formed at an upper part of the level gauge body, and is detachably held in an oil level gauge guide Because
The handle is
A seal shaft portion fitted into the oil level gauge guide;
A hook portion formed above the seal shaft portion and locked to the upper end of the oil level gauge guide;
An oil level gauge, comprising: a substantially spherical gripping portion formed above the flange portion and having at least one concave portion on a side surface thereof.   2. The oil level gauge according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the concave portions are formed in the gripping portion, and the gripping portion has a substantially 180 ° rotationally symmetric shape.

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