JP2021148489A - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

To accurately measure the amount of lubricant or hydraulic oil stored in an oil pan while suppressing the discharge of harmful substance, such as a blow-by gas.SOLUTION: An oil level gauge 1 capable of inserting lubricant or hydraulic oil into the inside of a machine housing for storing the lubricant or hydraulic oil to check the amount of the lubricant or hydraulic oil in the housing comprises: a handle 3 including a plug part 31 fitted into a hole 41 for inserting the oil level gauge 1 punched into the housing; an air vent passage 33 for communicating the inside of the housing, which is formed in the plug part 31 to the outside; and a valve 34 for opening the air vent passage 33 in the state of partially fitting the plug part 31 into the hole 41 of the housing and closing the air vent passage 33 in the state of completely fitting the plug part 31 into the hole 41 of the housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for checking the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil currently stored in a machine.

An internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle or the like is a lubricating oil and a hydraulic oil that lubricates various parts thereof and operates a mechanism associated with the internal combustion engine, for example, a VVT (Variable Valve Timing) mechanism that changes the opening / closing timing of an intake / exhaust valve. The engine oil is stored in the oil pan below the crankcase. The amount of engine oil gradually decreases as the internal combustion engine is operated. If the amount of engine oil is insufficient, the normal operation of the internal combustion engine may be hindered. Therefore, the internal combustion engine is provided with an oil level gauge that is inserted into the internal combustion engine to measure the current amount of engine oil (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

The transmission fluid, which is both lubricating oil and hydraulic oil, is also stored in the oil pan in the transmission that is interposed between the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine and the axle to which the drive wheels are attached. An oil level gauge for measuring the amount of the transmission fluid is attached (see, for example, Patent Document 2 below).

JP-A-2019-173718 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-027008

A tubular gauge guide with a small inner diameter is often provided in the machine into which the oil level gauge is inserted. In the case of an internal combustion engine, a gauge guide extending vertically through the cylinder head, the cylinder block and the crankcase is included, and the upper end thereof opens to the cylinder head cover, while the lower end reaches the vicinity of the bottom of the oil pan. .. Therefore, the lubricating oil or hydraulic oil stored in the oil pan may enter the gauge guide, and the oil level may be located above the lower end of the gauge guide.

When the oil level gauge is inserted into the gauge guide in an attempt to measure the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil, a stopper integrated with the handle of the oil level gauge is fitted into the hole at the upper end of the gauge guide. At that time, the upper end of the gauge guide is sealed by the stopper and the lower end is sealed by the oil level. That is, air is trapped in the gauge guide, and the stopper acts just like a piston, pushing down the oil level together with the air in the gauge guide. Therefore, the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil adhering to the lower end of the oil level gauge is reduced, and it becomes difficult to accurately measure the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil stored in the oil pan.

To keep the oil level low so that air is not trapped inside the gauge guide, in other words, lubricating oil or hydraulic oil does not get inside the gauge guide, the volume of the oil pan should be horizontal. It must be expanded, which leads to an enlargement of the outer dimensions of the internal combustion engine.

It is also conceivable to form a concave groove for bleeding air on the outer peripheral surface of the plug portion so that the air in the gauge guide can escape to the outside. However, the oil level fluctuates greatly due to acceleration / deceleration and turning of the vehicle, running on slopes and uneven roads, etc., and the height of the oil level drops below the lower end of the gauge guide, and the inside of the oil pan and the gauge guide At the moment of communication with the inside, blow-by gas or the like flows from the crankcase into the gauge guide, and there is a concern that this will be released into the atmosphere through the concave groove of the plug portion.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above problems, and more accurately the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil stored in the oil pan while suppressing the release of harmful substances such as blow-by gas. The intended purpose is to be able to measure.

The present invention is an oil level gauge that is inserted into the housing of a machine that stores lubricating oil or hydraulic oil to check the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil in the housing, and is pierced in the housing. A handle having a plug portion to be fitted into a hole for inserting an oil level gauge, an air vent passage formed in the plug portion to communicate the inside of the housing to the outside, and the plug portion of the housing. An oil level gauge comprising a valve that opens the air vent passage while partially fitted in the hole and closes the air vent passage when the plug is completely fitted in the hole in the housing. Configured.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to more accurately measure the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil stored in an oil pan while suppressing the release of harmful substances such as blow-by gas.

The cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the oil level gauge of one Embodiment of this invention. The cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the oil level gauge of the same embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show the oil level gauge 1 of this embodiment. The oil level gauge 1 is attached to the internal combustion engine, which is a machine, and is used to check the amount of engine oil, which is a lubricating oil and hydraulic oil, stored in the housing of the internal combustion engine, that is, in the oil pan. be.

The main body 2 of the oil level gauge 1 is a flexible body having a long and thin strip shape. The gauge body 2 is inserted from above into a tubular gauge guide 4 that penetrates a cylinder head cover, a cylinder head, a cylinder block, and a crankcase that constitute a housing of an internal combustion engine. The lower end of the gauge guide 4 reaches the vicinity of the bottom of the oil pan, and the engine oil stored in the oil pan has entered there. The tip end portion, that is, the lower end portion of the gauge body 2 inserted into the gauge guide 4, is immersed below the oil level of the engine oil that has entered the gauge guide 4. By visually recognizing the amount of engine oil adhering to the lower end portion, that is, the width along the vertical direction, the amount of engine oil currently stored in the oil pan can be measured.

A handle 3 for the user to insert and remove the oil level gauge 1 is fixed to the base end portion, that is, the upper end portion of the gauge body 2. A stopper 31 is integrally provided at the lower part of the handle 3. The plug portion 31 is fitted into a hole 41 opened in the cylinder head cover, which is an inlet at the upper end of the gauge guide 4, and airtightly closes the hole 41. An O-ring 32, which is a sealing material that adheres to the inner circumference of the gauge guide 4, is attached to the outer circumference of the stopper portion 31.

A passage 33 for bleeding air is formed inside the handle 3 including the plug portion 31. The lower end of the passage 33 is opened below the O-ring 32 in the plug portion 31 and at a portion deeper into the gauge guide 4. The upper end of the passage 33 is open to a portion inside the annular handle 3 that does not enter the gauge guide 4.

On top of that, the oil level gauge 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a valve 34 that opens and closes the above-mentioned air bleeding passage 33. The valve 34 includes a valve body 341 for opening or closing the passage 33, and an operating mechanism for switching the opening / closing of the passage 33 by the valve body 341. The operating mechanism is, for example, an elastic member 342 such as a coil spring or a torsion spring that urges the valve body 341 toward a position that closes the passage 33, and the valve body 341 against the elastic urging force exerted by the elastic member 342. The element is an operating body 343 that displaces the passage 33 toward a position where the passage 33 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the plug 31 is partially fitted into the hole 41 at the upper end of the gauge guide 4, but is not completely fitted, the elastically urged valve body 341 opens the passage 33. Take a position to make it. Therefore, in the process of inserting the oil level gauge 1 into the gauge guide 4 from above, the air in the gauge guide 4 can be released to the outside through the passage 33. As a result, the oil level of the engine oil in the gauge guide 4 is prevented from being pushed down by the air, and the amount of oil corresponding to the amount of engine oil currently stored in the oil pan is properly applied to the lower end of the gauge body 2. It becomes possible to attach.

After that, as shown in FIG. 2, when the plug portion 31 is completely fitted into the hole 41 at the upper end of the gauge guide 4 to the inner depth, the operating body 343, which is an element of the interlocking mechanism, hits the peripheral edge portion of the hole 41. The contacted and pushed actuating body 343 displaces the valve body 341 to a position where it closes the passage 33. As a result, the inside of the gauge guide 4 can be airtightly shielded from the outside. Therefore, even if a harmful substance such as blow-by gas generated in the crankcase invades the gauge guide 4, it is suppressed that the harmful substance is released through the passage 33.

In the present embodiment, the lubricating oil or hydraulic oil (engine oil) is stored inside the housing (cylinder head cover, cylinder head, cylinder block and crank case) of the machine (internal engine) to lubricate the inside of the housing. A handle 3 which is an oil level gauge 1 for checking the amount of oil or hydraulic oil and has a plug portion 31 which is fitted into a hole 41 for inserting the oil level gauge 1 drilled in the housing, and the handle 3. The air vent passage 33 formed in the plug portion 31 and communicating the inside of the housing to the outside and the air vent passage 33 in a state where the plug portion 31 is partially fitted into the hole 41 of the housing are opened. The oil level gauge 1 is configured to include a valve 34 that closes the air vent passage 33 with the plug portion 31 completely fitted into the hole 41 of the housing.

According to the present embodiment, the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil stored in the oil pan is increased while suppressing the release of harmful substances such as blow-by gas through the passage 33 in the gauge guide 4 and the handle 3. It is possible to measure accurately.

In addition, the oil level gauge 1 itself has been devised and modified, so that there is no need to make any special changes on the side of the internal combustion engine, which is a machine, and it is not necessary to increase the size of the internal combustion engine, the number of parts, and the assembly man-hours. ..

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above. In the above embodiment, an internal combustion engine is assumed as a machine, and the oil level gauge 1 measures the amount of engine oil stored in the oil pan. However, the subject of the present invention is the oil level gauge 1 of the internal combustion engine. Not limited to. For example, assuming an automatic transmission or the like as a machine, the oil level gauge may measure the amount of transmission fluid or the like stored in the oil pan.

In addition, the specific configuration of each part can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 ... Oil level gauge 3 ... Handle 31 ... Plug 33 ... Air bleeding passage 34 ... Valve 41 ... Hole for inserting the oil level gauge

Claims (1)

An oil level gauge that is inserted inside the housing of a machine that stores lubricating oil or hydraulic oil to check the amount of lubricating oil or hydraulic oil in the housing.
A handle having a plug that fits into a hole for inserting an oil level gauge drilled in the housing, and a handle.
An air bleeding passage formed in the plug portion to communicate the inside of the housing to the outside,
A valve that opens the air vent passage in a state where the plug portion is partially fitted in the hole of the housing, and closes the air vent passage in a state where the plug portion is completely fitted in the hole of the housing. An oil level gauge equipped with.

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