JP2013092421A - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil level gauge capable of accurately measuring a height of an oil level even when inserted from a direction inclined to the oil level.SOLUTION: An oil level gauge 100 includes a saber part 120 inserted into a guide pipe 40 formed projecting from an apparatus 1 as an object of measurement of oil level, a gauge part 130 coupled to a tip of the saber part and inserted at least partially into the oil level, and a rotation allowing part 140 connecting the saber part and guage part rotatably so that the gauge part can droop by its own weight, and arranged at a position outside an end of the guide pipe on the oil level side when measuring.

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for measuring the oil level height of oil in equipment such as an engine and a transmission, and in particular, even when inserted from a direction inclined with respect to the oil level, the oil level height is accurately measured. It relates to the thing which can measure the thickness.

For example, in an automobile engine, in order to measure the oil level height of oil stored in an oil pan, an oil level gauge having a metal saber portion is inserted into a guide pipe standing upward from the engine, It is known to read the oil level height from the state of oil adhesion to the gauge portion provided at the tip.
In order to avoid interference with the engine body and accessories, the guide pipe of such an oil level gauge may be disposed obliquely or may be provided with a bent portion in the middle, so the saber portion has flexibility. In general, it is formed in a strip shape with metal or the like.

  As a conventional technique related to the oil level gauge as described above, for example, in Patent Document 1, a flexible rod-like member is provided in an intermediate portion so that it can be easily advanced and retracted even in a three-dimensionally bent tube. Have been described.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-174528

However, for example, depending on the configuration of the engine or the like, the oil level gauge may have to be inserted with a relatively large inclination with respect to the oil level.
If the gauge part at the tip of the oil level gauge is inserted with an inclination relative to the oil level, the effect of the inclination on the oil adherence will be large, and the reading will differ depending on the front and back of the gauge part. It was difficult to detect the oil level.
The subject of this invention is providing the oil level gauge which can measure an oil level height correctly, even when it is a case where it inserts from the direction inclined with respect to the oil level.

The present invention solves the above-described problems by the following means.
The invention according to claim 1 is a saber part inserted into a guide pipe formed protruding from a device to be measured for oil level, and connected to the tip of the saber part and at least a part thereof is inserted into the oil level. The gauge portion, the saber portion, and the gauge portion are pivotally connected so that the gauge portion can be suspended by its own weight, and are protruded from the oil level end of the guide pipe at the time of measurement. It is an oil level gauge provided with the rotation permission part arrange | positioned in a position.
According to this, since the gauge portion hangs down by its own weight, it is disposed substantially perpendicular to the oil surface, so that the oil adhesion state is not affected by the inclination of the guide pipe, and the guide pipe is Even when it is necessary to be disposed with an inclination relative to the oil level, the oil level can be accurately measured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the gauge portion is formed by being pulled out from the guide pipe in a state where oil is adhered, and protruding from a part of the measurement portion used for reading the oil level height. The oil level gauge according to claim 1, further comprising a contact prevention unit that prevents contact between the measurement unit and the inner surface of the guide pipe.
According to this, it is possible to prevent oil adhering to the measurement unit from coming off in contact with the guide pipe, and to appropriately read the oil level height.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the measurement part is formed in a flat plate shape, and the contact prevention part is formed in a rib shape protruding from the measurement part and extending along the longitudinal direction of the gauge part. The oil level gauge according to claim 2.
According to this, the effect mentioned above can be acquired reliably.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an oil level gauge capable of accurately measuring the oil level height even when inserted from a direction inclined with respect to the oil level.

It is a typical sectional view of an engine which has an example of an oil level gauge to which the present invention is applied. It is the II-II part expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a typical sectional view of an engine which has an oil level gauge which is a comparative example of the present invention.

  The present invention addresses the problem of providing an oil level gauge that can accurately measure the oil level height even when inserted from a direction inclined with respect to the oil level. The saber portion is supported so as to be pivotable through a pivoting allowable portion such as a hinge disposed at a certain position, and the gauge portion is suspended by its own weight and inserted substantially perpendicular to the oil surface.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an oil level gauge to which the present invention is applied will be described.
The oil level gauge according to the embodiment measures the oil level of engine oil for lubrication in an engine such as a horizontally opposed engine mounted on an automobile such as a passenger car.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an engine having an oil level gauge according to an embodiment.
The engine 1 includes a crankcase 10, an oil pan 20, a chain cover 30, a guide pipe 40, an oil level gauge 100, and the like.

The crankcase 10 is a main body portion of the engine 1 that houses a crankshaft (not shown) that is an output shaft of the engine.
The crankcase 10 is formed by, for example, performing predetermined machining after casting an aluminum-based alloy, and the inside is hollow.
An opening 11 to which the oil pan 20 is attached is formed in the lower part of the crankcase 10.

The oil pan 20 is formed, for example, in a container shape in which a sheet metal is pressed and opened upward, and the engine oil O is stored therein.
The oil pan 20 is attached to the lower part of the crankcase 10 and communicates with the inside of the crankcase 10 through the opening 11.

  The chain cover 30 is a portion that is provided on the front surface of the crankcase 10 and accommodates a timing chain that drives the intake and exhaust valves.

The guide pipe 40 is a cylindrical member into which the oil level gauge 100 is inserted, and guides the gauge portion 130 of the oil level gauge 100 to the vicinity of the oil level.
The guide pipe 40 includes an upper part 41, a lower part 42, and a bent part 43 that are integrally formed by bending a metal round pipe.

The upper portion 41 is provided on the front side of the engine 1 and is an inlet side portion into which the oil level gauge 100 is inserted. The upper portion 41 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction so that the upper end portion is on the front side with respect to the lower end portion. A lower end portion of the upper portion 41 is disposed on the front side of the chain cover 30.
The lower portion 42 is formed to extend into the engine 1 via a bent portion 43 provided at the lower end portion of the upper portion 41.
The lower portion 42 is disposed so as to be inclined such that the upper end portion is on the front side with respect to the lower end portion, and this inclination is larger than the inclination of the upper portion 41.
The lower part 42 penetrates the chain cover 30, and the opening end part on the engine 1 side (oil surface side) is provided on substantially the same plane as the inner wall on the front side of the crankcase 10.

The oil level gauge 100 is inserted into the guide pipe 40 and then pulled out again, and measures the oil level height of the engine oil O from the state of oil attached to the gauge portion 130 provided at the tip.
The oil level gauge 100 has a handle part 110, a saber part 120, a gauge part 130, a hinge 140, and the like.

The handle portion 110 is a portion where the user holds the finger with fingers to perform insertion and extraction operations of the oil level gauge 100, and is formed by, for example, injection molding of a resin material.
The handle portion 110 also functions as a stopper that restricts the insertion depth of the saber portion 120 into the guide pipe 40 and a stopper that closes the end portion of the guide pipe 40 when the engine 1 is operating.

The saber portion 120 is a portion that is provided between the handle portion 110 and the gauge portion 130 and is disposed inside the guide pipe 40 when the oil level gauge 100 is inserted.
The saber part 120 includes an upper part 121, a lower part 122, and a bent part 123 that are integrally formed by bending a band-shaped metal plate.
The upper portion 121, the lower portion 122, and the bent portion 123 are portions that are respectively disposed inside the upper portion 41, the lower portion 42, and the bent portion 43 of the guide pipe 40 when the oil level gauge 100 is inserted.
The upper part 121 and the lower part 122 are disposed substantially parallel to the upper part 41 and the lower part 42 of the oil level gauge 40, respectively. The lower end portion of the lower portion 122 exits from the guide pipe 40 at the time of insertion and is disposed inside the crankcase 10.
Moreover, the saber part 120 has flexibility which can bend and stretch so that it can pass the bending part 43 of the guide pipe 40 at the time of insertion and extraction.

The gauge portion 130 is connected to the lower end portion of the lower portion 122 of the saber portion 120 via a hinge 140.
2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1 and shows a cross-sectional shape of the gauge part 130 as seen by cutting along a plane parallel to the oil level at the time of measurement.
The gauge portion 130 includes a flat plate portion 131 formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and a rib portion 132 formed so as to protrude from one surface portion of the flat plate portion 131.
The flat plate part 131 hangs down so that the longitudinal direction is substantially along the vertical direction during measurement, and the lower part is submerged in the engine oil O.
The rib portion 132 extends along the longitudinal direction of the oil level gauge 100 and is disposed at the center portion in the width direction (rectangular short side direction) of the flat plate portion 131.
An upper limit position, a lower limit position, and the like of the engine oil oil level are displayed by engraving or the like on a surface portion 131a arranged in a region sandwiching the rib portion 132 in the flat plate portion 131. Such a display may also be provided on the surface portion of the flat plate portion 131 opposite to the rib portion 132.
The rib portion 132 is provided on a surface portion on the lower side of the flat plate portion 131 when passing through the guide pipe 40 when the oil level gauge 100 is inserted or pulled out.

The hinge 140 is provided between the protruding end portion of the lower portion 122 of the saber portion 120 and the upper end portion of the gauge portion 130, and pivotally connects the gauge portion 130 to the saber portion 120. It is an allowable part.
The hinge 140 has one degree of freedom allowing rotation around the rotation axis arranged in parallel with the short side above the flat plate portion 131 of the gauge portion 130.
The rotation axis of the hinge 140 is disposed substantially perpendicular to a plane parallel to the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction of the lower portion 122 of the saber portion 120 at the time of measurement. Such an arrangement makes it possible to hang the gauge portion 130 substantially vertically even with one degree of freedom.

The gauge part 130 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the guide pipe 40 so as not to obstruct the passage when passing through the guide pipe 40 as the hinge 140 rotates.
When the oil level gauge 100 is inserted to a measurement position (a position where the handle portion 110 engages with the opening end of the upper portion 41 of the guide pipe 40), the hinge 140 comes out of the guide pipe 40 and is disposed inside the crankcase 10.
At this time, the gauge part 130 hangs down by its own weight, and the lower part is immersed in the engine oil O in a state where the longitudinal direction of the flat plate part 131 is substantially along the vertical direction.
In order to reliably perform such an operation, the gauge unit 130 is sufficiently made to be able to hang down against the friction of the hinge 140 and the viscosity of the engine oil O by a material having a sufficiently large specific gravity with respect to the engine oil O. It is desirable to form with a large weight.

Hereinafter, the effect of the above-described embodiment will be described in comparison with a comparative example of the present invention described below.
In the comparative example, portions that are substantially the same as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and differences are mainly described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an engine having an oil level gauge of a comparative example.
In the oil level gauge 100A of the comparative example, instead of the gauge part 130 and the hinge 140 of the oil level gauge 100 of the example, the lower part 122 of the saber part 120 is straightly extended to the oil level height or less, and the gauge part is attached to the tip part. A portion 124 is provided.

In the comparative example, since the gauge portion 124 is inserted into the oil surface in a state of being inclined to the same extent as the lower portion 42 of the guide pipe 40, the influence of subtle changes in the inclination of the gauge portion 124 on the measurement of the oil surface height. Is big.
In addition, the upper limit position where the oil adheres is different between the back side and the front side of the gauge portion 124, and it may be difficult to read the oil level.

On the other hand, in the embodiment, the gauge portion 130 rotates around the hinge 140 and enters the engine oil O in a state where the longitudinal direction of the flat plate portion 131 is suspended by its own weight so as to be substantially vertical. Regardless of the inclination of the pipe 40, the oil level can be accurately read.
Further, by projecting the rib portion 132 from the flat plate portion 131 of the gauge portion 130, when the oil level gauge 100 is pulled out, the engine oil adhering to the surface portion 131a which is the measurement surface is scraped by contact with the inner surface of the guide pipe 40. It is possible to prevent the oil level from being hindered in reading the oil level.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The shape, structure, material, arrangement, and the like of each component constituting the oil level gauge are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, in the embodiment, the rotation allowing portion is a hinge having one degree of freedom, but two hinges having rotation center axes in different directions may be combined to have two degrees of freedom.
Further, instead of the hinge, a ball joint or the like may be used as the rotation allowing portion.
Further, in the embodiment, the gauge portion has a T-shaped cross-sectional shape in which a rib is formed at the center in the width direction, but the oil is prevented from being scraped off by another cross-sectional shape such as an L-shape or a U-shape. May be.
(2) The oil level gauge of the present invention can be used not only for measuring the oil level of engine oil but also for measuring the oil level of transmission oil, AT fluid, differential gear oil and the like.
(3) The shape, inclination, etc. of the guide pipe are not limited to those of the embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, a part or all of the guide pipe is arranged substantially horizontally, or the end on the oil level side is higher than the end on the inlet side (inserted upward). You may incline in the reverse direction to an example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engine 10 Crankcase 11 Opening 20 Oil pan 30 Chain cover 40 Guide pipe 41 Upper part 42 Lower part 43 Bending part 100 Oil level gauge (Example)
100A oil level gauge (comparative example)
110 Handle part 120 Saber part 121 Upper part 122 Lower part 123 Bending part 130 Gauge part 131 Flat part 131a Surface part 132 Rib part 140 Hinge O Engine oil

Claims (3)

A saber part inserted into a guide pipe formed by protruding from the device to be measured for oil level,
A gauge part connected to the tip of the saber part and at least a part of which is inserted into the oil surface;
The saber portion and the gauge portion are rotatably connected so that the gauge portion can be suspended by its own weight, and are arranged at a position protruding from the oil level end of the guide pipe at the time of measurement. An oil level gauge comprising: a rotation allowing portion. The gauge part is pulled out from the guide pipe in a state where oil is adhered, and is formed to protrude from a part of the measuring part, a measuring part used for reading the oil level height, and the measuring part and the guide pipe The oil level gauge according to claim 1, further comprising a contact preventing portion that prevents contact with an inner surface of the oil level gauge. The measuring part is formed in a flat plate shape,
The oil level gauge according to claim 2, wherein the contact prevention part is formed in a rib shape protruding from the measurement part and extending along a longitudinal direction of the gauge part.

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