JP3211794U - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

An oil level gauge that enables accurate oil level reading regardless of the depth of an oil pan. A gauge body 21 that is formed of a flexible strip material and that can be inserted into a guide tube 12 and an oil that is formed on the distal end side of the gauge body 21 and indicates an oil level upper limit position and an oil level lower limit position. In the oil level gauge 20 having the level measuring unit 24, the upper interference unit 31 formed by twisting two portions above the oil level measuring unit 24 in the gauge body 21, and the upper limit in the oil level measuring unit 24 The lower interference part 34 formed by twisting two places between the position and the lower limit position, and the plate surfaces of the upper interference part 31 and the lower interference part 34 between the upper interference part 31 and the lower interference part 34 And an upper measuring portion 37 which is formed so as to have plate surfaces with different angles and indicates the oil level upper limit position. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil level gauge.

  As a prior art of an oil level gauge, for example, an oil level gauge disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The oil level gauge disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an oil level gauge for measuring the oil level through a guide tube and inserted into an oil pan. To the oil level level confirmation range of the gauge portion at the time of pulling out In order to prevent the oil from adhering, an interference portion is formed in an upper portion of the gauge portion made of a flexible strip material that avoids the oil level confirmation range. The interference part is formed by twisting two places with a required interval in the longitudinal direction in the upper part, and by making this interference part interfere with the inner wall of the guide tube, the oil level level confirmation range of the gauge part Is separated from the inner wall of the guide tube.

JP 2008-216104 A

  By the way, the length of the oil level gauge confirmation range in the oil level gauge is set according to the oil depth when the oil is fully filled in the oil pan. The length of the level confirmation range becomes longer. Further, since the guide tube into which the oil level gauge is inserted is often formed in a two-dimensional bending or three-dimensional bending shape from the viewpoint of mountability, when an interference portion is provided on the upper portion as in Patent Document 1, The length of the interference portion is limited so as not to hinder the insertion of the oil level gauge. For this reason, in an oil level gauge having a long oil level check range, the oil level gauge can be used when the oil level gauge is pulled out simply by providing an interference portion at the top as in Patent Document 1. The plate surface contacts the inner wall of the guide tube. If the plate surface in the oil level confirmation range comes into contact with the inner wall of the guide tube, the oil may adhere to the inner wall of the guide tube and prevent accurate reading of the oil level by the oil level gauge.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil level gauge that enables accurate oil level reading regardless of the depth of the oil pan.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is formed of a flexible strip material, and is formed on a front end side of the gauge body that can be inserted into the guide tube, and an oil level upper limit position. And an oil level gauge having an oil level lower limit position, and an upper interference part formed by twisting two places above the oil level measurement part in the gauge body, Between the lower interference part formed by twisting two places between the oil level upper limit position and the oil level lower limit position in the oil level measurement part, and between the upper interference part and the lower interference part, An upper measurement unit that is formed to have a plate surface having a different angle from the plate surfaces of the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit, and that indicates the oil level upper limit position. And wherein the Rukoto.

  In the present invention, the plate surface of the upper measurement unit indicating the upper limit position of the oil level between the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit has a plate surface different from the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit. For this reason, when the oil gauge is pulled out, even if the upper interference portion and the lower interference portion interfere with the inner wall of the guide tube, the upper measurement portion is reliably separated from the inner wall of the guide tube. Therefore, the oil adhering to the inner wall of the guide tube does not adhere to the upper measurement unit, and the oil level can be accurately read when the oil level is near the upper limit position.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an oil level gauge that enables accurate oil level reading regardless of the depth of the oil pan.

It is a figure which shows an example of the installation state of the oil level gauge which concerns on this invention. (A) is a front view of the oil level gauge which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (b) is a side view of an oil level gauge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the oil level gauge before raising. It is explanatory drawing which shows the oil level gauge in the middle of raising.

  Hereinafter, an oil level gauge according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The oil level gauge of this embodiment is for reading the oil level (oil level height) of engine oil of a diesel engine mounted on an industrial vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an oil level gauge 20 is used to read the remaining amount of engine oil in an oil pan 11 formed in a lower part of a diesel engine (hereinafter referred to as “engine”) 10. The tube 12 is inserted. The guide tube 12 is a tube having a circular cross section into which the oil level gauge 20 can be inserted, and is fixed to the side surface of the engine 10. In the guide tube 12, two curved portions 15 and 16 are formed between the inlet 13 of the guide tube 12 and the outlet 14 facing the oil pan 11. The bending portions 15 and 16 are curved in the same plane, and form a so-called “two-dimensional bending” guide tube 12. Engine oil is stored in the oil pan 11. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, an upper limit position (Full) and a lower limit position (Low) of the oil level (oil level height) in the oil pan 11 are shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the oil level gauge 20 includes a gauge body 21 and a gripping body 22. The gauge body 21 is a flexible strip material formed of stainless steel. The width of the gauge body 21 is about 5 times the thickness of the gauge body 21 and is set sufficiently small with respect to the hole diameter of the guide tube 12 so that the gauge body 21 can be inserted into the guide tube 12. Yes.

  An oil level measurement unit 24 is provided on the distal end side of the gauge body 21. The oil level measuring unit 24 is a part immersed in the engine oil stored in the oil pan 11, and includes an upper limit mark 25 indicating an oil level upper limit position (Full) and a lower limit mark 26 indicating an oil level lower limit position (Low). Is provided. The upper limit mark 25 is set at a position corresponding to the upper limit position (Full) of the oil level in the oil pan 11, and the lower limit mark 26 is set at a position corresponding to the lower limit position (Low) of the oil level in the oil pan 11. Yes. The tip of the oil level measuring unit 24 is formed in an arc shape so that it can be easily inserted into the guide tube 12. Normally, the engine oil is stored in the oil pan 11 so that the oil level of the engine oil stored in the oil pan 11 is between the upper limit mark 25 and the lower limit mark 26.

  The holding body 22 includes an annular portion 27 formed in an annular shape, and a support portion 28 that is integrally formed with the annular portion 27 and connected to the proximal end of the gauge body 21. The grip body 22 is made of resin. The support portion 28 has an outer diameter that can be inserted into the guide tube 12. The annular portion 27 is provided with a stopper 29. When the oil level gauge 20 is inserted into the guide tube 12, the stopper 29 abuts on the end surface of the guide tube 12 on the inlet 13 side and has a function of positioning the oil level gauge 20 in the insertion direction. An O-ring 30 as a seal member is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the support portion 28. The O-ring 30 seals the vicinity of the inlet 13 of the guide tube 12 to prevent foreign matter and the like from entering the inside of the guide tube 12 and also prevents leakage of engine oil to the outside of the guide tube 12.

  By the way, the gauge main body 21 of this embodiment has the upper interference part 31 formed by twisting two places (twisting parts 32 and 33) above the oil level measuring part 24 in the gauge main body 21. ing. The plate surface of the upper interference portion 31 is substantially orthogonal to the plate surface of the portion of the gauge body 21 that is above the upper interference portion 31. In the present specification, the term “substantially orthogonal” means that the twist angle of the plate surface is 90 ° ± 10 ° (80 ° to 100 °). The length of the upper interference portion 31 is set to a length that allows the upper interference portion 31 to pass through the curved portions 15 and 16 of the guide tube 12 without substantially deforming.

  The gauge main body 21 has a lower interference part 34 formed by twisting two places (twisted parts 35 and 36) between the upper limit mark 25 and the lower limit mark 26 in the oil level measuring part 24. . Accordingly, an upper measurement unit 37 provided with an upper limit mark 25 is formed between the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34, and a lower measurement unit provided with a lower limit mark 26 below the lower interference unit 34. 38 is formed.

  The lower interference unit 34 formed between the upper measurement unit 37 and the lower measurement unit 38 also functions as an intermediate measurement unit. The plate surface of the lower interference unit 34 is substantially orthogonal to the plate surface of the portion above the upper interference unit 31 in the gauge body 21, the plate surface of the upper measurement unit 37, and the plate surface of the lower measurement unit 38, and the upper measurement unit 37. Is substantially parallel to the plate surface. The length of the lower interference part 34 is longer than the length of the upper interference part 31, but is set to a length that allows the lower interference part 34 to pass through the curved parts 15 and 16 of the guide tube 12 without deformation. Note that a mark indicating that the amount of engine oil stored in the oil pan 11 is an intermediate amount may be provided in the lower interference portion 34.

  Since the upper interference part 31 is provided on the upper side of the upper measurement part 37 and the lower interference part 34 is provided on the lower side of the upper measurement part 37, when the oil level gauge 20 is pulled out from the guide tube 12, the upper interference part Each edge of 31 and the lower interference part 34 is easy to contact the inner wall of the guide tube 12. Then, the upper measurement unit 37 is separated from the inner wall of the guide tube 12 by the respective edges of the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34 coming into contact with the inner wall of the guide tube 12. The length of the upper measurement unit 37 is set according to the degree of curvature of the bending unit 16 so that the upper measurement unit 37 does not contact the inner wall of the guide tube 12 when passing through the bending unit 16 of the guide tube 12. Yes.

  The upper limit mark 25 is provided in the middle of the length direction of the upper measurement unit 37. By providing the upper limit mark 25 in the middle of the length direction of the upper measuring part 37, it is possible to read the oil level when the oil level is higher than the upper limit mark 25 within a certain range. The lower measurement unit 38 is formed longer than the upper measurement unit 37. The lower limit mark 26 is provided on the distal end side of the lower measurement unit 38.

  The upper limit mark 25 and the lower limit mark 26 are formed by punching. A concave portion is formed on one plate surface of the upper measuring portion 37 and the lower measuring portion 38, and a convex portion corresponding to the concave portion is formed on the other plate surface which is the back surface of the one plate surface. By forming the concave portion on one plate surface, the visibility as the upper limit mark 25 and the lower limit mark 26 is improved.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper interference portion 31 interferes with the outlet 14 of the guide tube 12 in a state where the oil level gauge 20 is inserted deep into the guide tube 12. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the oil level in the oil pan 11 is close to the upper limit mark 25 where the entire lower interference portion 34 is buried in the engine oil.

  Next, the procedure for reading the oil level by the oil level gauge 20 according to the present invention will be described. First, the operator grips the grip 22 of the oil level gauge 20 and pulls out the oil level gauge 20 from the guide tube 12. When the oil level gauge 20 shown in FIG. 3 is pulled out, the curved surfaces 15 and 16 of the guide tube 12 are curved at the plate surface of the portion of the gauge body 21 above the upper interference portion 31 so that the oil level gauge 20 is upward. Pulled up.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the oil level gauge 20 is pulled upward, the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 sequentially contact the inner wall of the guide tube 12 when passing through the guide tube 12. The edge portions of the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 are in contact with the inner wall of the guide tube 12, and the plate surfaces of the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 are not in contact with the inner wall of the guide tube 12. For this reason, the amount of engine oil that adheres to the inner wall of the guide tube 12 when the oil level gauge 20 is pulled up is the engine oil when the plate surface of the oil level gauge contacts the inner wall of the guide tube 12 and pulls up the engine oil. Less than the amount of.

  Since the respective edges of the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 abut against the inner wall of the guide tube 12, the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 do not bend in the same direction as the bending direction of the bending portion 15. . The upper measurement unit 37 positioned between the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34 is always separated from the inner wall of the guide tube 12 due to the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34 contacting the inner wall of the guide tube 12. . For this reason, even if the oil level gauge 20 pulls up and attaches the engine oil to the inner wall of the guide tube 12, the engine oil attached to the inner wall of the guide tube 12 does not adhere to the upper measuring portion 37.

  After pulling out the oil level gauge 20 from the guide tube 12, the operator wipes off the engine oil adhering to the oil level gauge 20. After wiping off the engine oil, the oil level gauge 20 is inserted into the guide tube 12 again until the stopper 29 contacts the guide tube 12. Even when the oil level gauge 20 is inserted, the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 are not bent in the same direction as the bending direction of the bending portion 15. The upper measurement unit 37 is always separated from the inner wall of the guide tube 12 by the contact of the respective edges of the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34 with the inner wall of the guide tube 12. For this reason, the upper measurement part 37 is inserted into the oil pan 11 from the outlet 14 without contacting the inner wall of the guide tube 12.

  By inserting the oil level gauge 20 into the oil pan 11, the engine oil adheres to a position corresponding to the oil level in the oil level measuring unit 24. The operator can read the oil level by pulling out the oil level gauge 20 from the guide tube 12 again and visually confirming the position where the engine oil is adhered. Although the example in which the oil level is close to the upper limit position (Full) has been described, when the oil level is close to the lower limit position (Low), the amount of engine oil that is lifted to the guide pipe 12 when the oil level gauge 20 is pulled up is The oil level is further reduced compared to the case where the oil level is close to the upper limit position. For this reason, the engine oil adhering to the lower measurement part 38 is very little, and there is almost no influence on reading.

The oil level gauge 20 according to the present embodiment has the following operational effects.
(1) The plate surface of the upper measurement unit 37 showing the upper limit position (Full) of the oil level between the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34 is a plate surface having a different angle between the upper interference unit 31 and the lower interference unit 34. Have For this reason, even when the upper interference part 31 and the lower interference part 34 interfere with the inner wall of the guide pipe 12 when the oil level gauge 20 is pulled out, the upper measurement part 37 is reliably separated from the inner wall of the guide pipe 12. Therefore, the engine oil adhering to the inner wall of the guide tube 12 does not adhere to the upper measuring unit 37, and the oil level can be accurately read when the oil level is near the upper limit position. Therefore, an accurate oil level can be read regardless of the depth of the oil pan 11.

(2) The lengths of the upper interference part 31 and the lower interference part 34 are set to lengths that can pass through the bending parts 15 and 16, respectively, so that the oil level gauge 20 can be easily inserted into the guide tube 12. Will not be damaged. Further, since the length of the upper measurement unit 37 is set in accordance with the degree of curvature of the bending portion 16, the upper measurement unit 37 contacts the inner wall of the guide tube 12 when passing through the bending portion 16 of the guide tube 12. There is no contact.

(3) When the oil level gauge 20 is pulled up, the edge portions of the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 abut against the inner wall of the guide tube 12, and the plate surfaces of the upper interference portion 31 and the lower interference portion 34 are , It does not contact the inner wall of the guide tube 12. For this reason, by raising the oil level gauge 20, the amount of engine oil adhering to the inner wall of the guide tube 12 can be reduced as compared with the case where the plate surface abuts against the inner wall of the guide tube 12. By reducing the amount of engine oil adhering to the inner wall of the guide tube 12, the oil level gauge 20 can read the oil level more accurately.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the spirit of the invention. For example, the following modifications may be made.

In the above embodiment, the lower measurement unit is formed longer than the upper measurement unit, but this is not a limitation. The upper measurement unit and the lower measurement unit may have the same length, or the upper measurement unit may be formed longer than the lower measurement unit.
The guide tube of the above embodiment has two bending portions, but the number of bending portions may be one or more. When the guide tube is provided with a plurality of bending portions, the bending direction of the bending portion may be a so-called “two-dimensional bending” guide tube included in the same plane.
In the above-described embodiment, the plate surfaces of the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit and the plate surfaces of the upper measurement unit and the lower measurement unit are substantially orthogonal to each other. The plate surfaces of the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit and the plate surfaces of the upper measurement unit and the lower measurement unit need not be parallel to each other.
In the above embodiment, the gauge main body is formed of stainless steel, but this is not restrictive. The gauge body may be made of spring steel, for example. Further, the gauge body is not limited to metal and may be formed of resin.
In the above embodiment, the upper limit mark and the lower limit mark are recessed by punching, but the present invention is not limited to this. The upper limit mark and the lower limit mark may be formed by grooves formed by marking or through-holes formed by punching, and furthermore, letters such as “F” and “L” may be stamped together with the upper limit mark and the lower limit mark.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Engine 11 Oil pan 12 Guide pipes 15 and 16 Bending part 20 Oil level gauge 21 Gauge body 24 Oil level measurement part 25 Upper limit mark 26 Lower limit mark 31 Upper interference part 32, 33, 35, 36 Torsion part 34 Lower interference part 37 Upper measurement unit 38 Lower measurement unit

Claims (1)

A gauge body formed of a flexible strip material, which can be inserted into the guide tube;
In an oil level gauge formed on the distal end side of the gauge body, and having an oil level measuring unit that indicates an oil level upper limit position and an oil level lower limit position,
An upper interference part formed by twisting two places above the oil level measurement part in the gauge body;
A lower interference part formed by twisting two places between the oil level upper limit position and the oil level lower limit position in the oil level measurement part;
An upper measuring unit formed between the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit so as to have a plate surface having a different angle from the plate surfaces of the upper interference unit and the lower interference unit; An oil level gauge characterized by having an oil level gauge.

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