JP7307625B2 - drain plug - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drain plug that closes an oil outlet.

Oils such as engine oil, transmission oil, and differential oil are used to lubricate various parts in automobiles and the like.

Such oil needs to be replaced during maintenance or the like, and is discharged from a discharge port provided in an oil pan or the like. This outlet is provided with a drain plug such as a bolt as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, and when the oil is changed, the drain plug is removed and the oil is discharged from the outlet.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that enables oil to be drained simply by loosening the drain plug when removing it for oil replacement.

JP-A-1-154397

However, when removing the drain plug of Patent Document 1, it is difficult for the operator to specify the position of the notch, and the direction in which the oil is discharged cannot be defined depending on the rotational position of the notch about the axis. There was a problem. Therefore, there is a risk that the oil may scatter and touch the hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a drain plug that can regulate the direction of oil discharge when the plug is removed for draining oil and prevents the oil from splashing on the hand.

A drain plug according to one aspect of the present invention is a drain plug that closes a discharge port provided in a case body in which oil is stored, the shaft portion having a male thread that is screwed into a female thread of the discharge port. a slant portion formed at the tip of the shaft portion; and an index portion that defines an inclination direction of the slant portion at a rotational position of the shaft portion about the central axis , wherein the male screw is a screw for the index portion. A cutting start position is defined, and a predetermined rotational position at which the male thread and the female thread are unscrewed and the oil is discharged from the discharge port substantially vertically downward along the slope portion. position .

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when removing the plug at the time of oil draining, the drain plug which can regulate the discharge direction of oil, and can prevent oil from splashing on a hand can be provided.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view partially showing an oil pan and showing a drain plug that is screwed into and closes a drain port of the oil pan; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the drain plug screwed to the drain port of the oil pan; Perspective view of the drain plug viewed from the proximal side Perspective view of the drain plug seen from the tip side Top view of the drain plug viewed from the base end Top view of the drain plug viewed from the tip side FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drain plug is screwed to an outlet of an oil pan in which oil is stored; Partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the drain plug is being removed from the drain port of the oil pan Partial cross-sectional view showing the state immediately after the drain plug is removed from the drain port of the oil pan FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the oil stored in the oil pan is discharged from the discharge port; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified example of a drain plug having a convex indicator portion provided on a flange portion, viewed from the base end side; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a modified example of a drain plug having a concave index portion provided on a flange portion, viewed from the base end side; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified example of a drain plug having a projecting indicator portion provided on a flange portion, viewed from the base end side; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified example of a drain plug provided with an index portion on the head as viewed from the base end side; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified example of a drain plug in which an index portion such as a character is embossed on the flange portion as viewed from the base end side;

An embodiment of one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used for the following explanation, the scale of each component is changed in order to make each component recognizable on the drawing. It is not limited only to the number of components, the shape of the components, the size ratios of the components, and the relative positions of the components as described.

Motor vehicles and the like use oil to lubricate driving parts. Such oils include, for example, engine oil, transmission oil, differential oil, and the like. The engine oil is stored in the oil pan, the transmission oil is stored in the transmission case, and the differential oil is stored in the differential case. Each case body in which oil is stored is provided below the vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a case body 200 such as an oil pan in which oil 100 such as engine oil is stored is provided with a discharge port 210 for discharging the oil 100 (see FIGS. 7 to 10). It is The outlet 210 is provided on the bottom or side of the case body 200 .

In the case body 200 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the discharge port 210 is opened in an inclined direction on the lower side of the case body 200 as an example.

A female thread 220 is engraved on the inner periphery of the discharge port 210 . The drain port 210 is closed by screwing the drain plug 1 (also referred to as drain bolt) of the present embodiment, and the oil 100 is stored in the case body 200 .

When replacing the oil in the case body 200 , the drain plug 1 is removed from the case body 200 so that the oil 100 can be discharged from the discharge port 210 .

Here, the configuration of the drain plug 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

The drain plug 1 is made of metal such as stainless steel, for example. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the drain plug 1 includes a head portion 2 as a base end, a flange portion 3 integrally formed with the head portion 2, a shaft portion 4 under the neck, and the shaft portion 4. It is a so-called flange bolt having a slope portion 5 having a predetermined angle formed on the tip end surface of the portion 4 .

The head 2 is formed, for example, in a hexagonal shape, and is positioned outside the case body 200 when the drain plug 1 is screwed into the discharge port 210 (see FIG. 2). The flange portion 3 is formed in a disk shape, has a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the head portion 2, and protrudes outward.

A male thread 6 is engraved on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 4 . The shaft portion 4 extends from the flange portion 3 along the axial direction with a predetermined length. The male thread 6 is screwed into the female thread 220 of the outlet 210 until the flange 3 contacts the surface of the outlet 210 . As a result, the discharge port 210 is closed, and the oil 100 can be stored without being discharged from the case body 200 .

The slope portion 5 is formed on the tip surface of the shaft portion 4 . The slope portion 5 forms a predetermined angle of, for example, 45° with respect to the central axis C of the drain plug 1 .

By the way, the flange portion 3 is provided with an index portion 10 such as a marking on one surface on which the head portion 2 is provided and/or part of the outer peripheral surface. The index portion 10 is a mark that defines the inclination direction of the slope portion 5 formed at the tip of the shaft portion 4 .

Specifically, the index portion 10 is configured to recognize the rotational position of the apex P of the slope portion 5 at which the shaft portion 4 is at the longest position along the central axis C. provided on the surface of the flange portion 3.

As a result, in the rotational position of the drain plug 1 with the index portion 10 facing upward, the slope portion 5 is inclined downward toward the hand side (base end side). On the other hand, in the rotational position of the drain plug 1 with the index portion 10 downward, the slope portion 5 is inclined upward toward the hand side (base end side).

Note that the index portion 10 may be positioned upside down and rotated 180° in the circumferential direction. Become.

The operation of removing the drain plug 1 configured as described above from the discharge port 210 of the case body 200 will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 7, the drain plug 1 is rotated in a predetermined direction from the state in which the drain plug 1 is screwed into the discharge port 210, as shown in FIG. At this time, since the drain plug 1 is tightly screwed to the discharge port 210, the operator rotates the drain plug 1 in a predetermined direction using a tool such as a spanner to loosen it.

The drain plug 1 can be easily turned by an operator's bare hands when the male thread 6 of the shaft portion 4 is loosened from the female thread 220 of the drain port 210 . Thereby, the operator can grasp the head 2 of the drain plug 1 and loosen the screwing to the discharge port 210 .

At this time, while confirming the index portion 10 provided on the flange portion 3, the operator continues to screw the drain plug 1 until the male thread 6 of the drain plug 1 and the female thread 220 of the discharge port 210 are unscrewed, as shown in FIG. Rotate the drain plug 1. Here, when the index portion 10 is on the upper side, the operator pulls out the drain plug 1 slightly from the outlet 210 .

Then, while the drain plug 1 is in contact with the discharge port 210 , the operator tilts the drain plug 1 slightly upward in this case so as to drain the oil 100 stored in the case body 200 from the discharge port 210 . Therefore, the oil 100 is discharged substantially vertically downward from the discharge port 210 along the slope portion 5 formed at the tip of the shaft portion 4 of the drain plug 1 .

By the way, in the drain plug 1, the threading start position A of the male thread 6 engraved on the shaft portion 4 with respect to the indicator portion 10 is defined, and the female thread 220 engraved on the inner surface of the drain port 210 is aligned with this. A cutting start position B is also defined. Specifically, the male thread 6 of the drain plug 1 is, for example, engraved from a position on the surface of the shaft portion 4 along the longitudinal direction (the central axis C) with respect to the apex P of the slope portion 5 . On the other hand, the internal thread 220 of the discharge port 210 is engraved from the upper end position of the opening of the discharge port 210, for example.

As a result, when the indicator portion 10 of the drain plug 1 is on the upper side, the cutting start position A of the male thread 6 coincides with the cutting start position B of the female thread, and the male thread 6 is engaged with the female thread 220. is released and can be removed from the discharge port 210 . That is, when the apex P of the slant portion 5 of the drain plug 1 faces upward, the male thread 6 and the female thread 220 are unscrewed, and the drain plug 1 can be removed from the outlet 210 .

The threading start position A of the male thread 6 and the threading start position B of the female thread 220 are determined when the apex P of the slope portion 5 of the drain plug 1 faces upward. is solved for.

As described above, when draining the oil 100 stored in the case body 200 such as an oil pan, the slope portion 5 is formed in the drain plug 1 that is screwed into and closes the discharge port 210 . An index portion 10 is provided so that the operator can easily recognize the inclination direction of 5 .

As a result, the operator can adjust the direction in which the oil 100 flows from the discharge port 210 to the vertically downward direction along the slope portion 5 of the drain plug 1 by adjusting the rotation position of the drain plug 1 so that the indicator portion 10 is in the upper position here. The discharge direction can be controlled so as to be on the side. As a result, it is possible to prevent the oil 100 from splashing onto the operator's hands.

Furthermore, the operator can release the hand holding the drain plug 1 from the discharge port 210 by tilting the drain plug 1 slightly upward while the drain plug 1 is in contact with the discharge port 210, thereby preventing the oil 100 from getting on the hand. Become. In addition, the operator can confirm the working position where the oil 100 is not splashed according to the position of the index portion 10 .

As described above, according to the drain plug 1 of the present embodiment, when the drain plug 1 is removed from the drain port 210 when the oil 100 is drained, the drain direction of the oil 100 can be defined, and the oil can be prevented from splashing on the hand. . Furthermore, since the drain plug 1 can drain the oil 100 substantially vertically downward by defining the direction of the slope portion 5, the drain plug 1 can be reliably placed in an oil disposal container such as an oil pan for drainage or an oil disposal box. It is possible to flow the oil 100, and it is possible to prevent the oil 100 from scattering to places other than the oil disposal container.
(Modification)
The indicator portion 10 provided on the flange portion 3 of the drain plug 1 is not limited to the marking described above, and may be, for example, a convex portion as shown in FIG. A projection or the like may be provided on the surface of the flange portion 3 .

Furthermore, the index part 10 may be provided on the surface of the head 2 as shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 15, the index portion 10 may be embossed with letters or the like on the surface of the flange portion 3 . Also, the embossed indicator portion 10 may be a company name, logo, or the like, and may be formed on the surface of the head portion 2 .

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the index portion 10 is provided on the upper side when viewed toward the paper surface of the drawing so as to be positioned along the vertex P side of the slope portion 5. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any position of the flange portion 3 or the head portion 2 may be used as long as the operator can recognize the direction of inclination of the slope portion 5 .

Furthermore, the drain plug 1 of the present embodiment is an example of a so-called flange bolt in which the head 2 and the flange 3 are integrated. may be

The invention described in the above embodiments is not limited to those forms, and various modifications can be made at the stage of implementation without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, each of the above forms includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the disclosed multiple constituent elements.

For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in each form, if the stated problem can be solved and the stated effect can be obtained, this constituent element is deleted A configuration can be extracted as an invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a drain plug screwed into a drain port provided in a case body or the like for draining oil.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Drain plug 2... Head 3... Flange part 4... Shaft part 5... Slant part 6... Male screw 10... Indicator part 100... Oil 200... Case body 210... Discharge port 220... Female threads A, B... Position to start threading C... Central axis P... Vertex

Claims (3)

A drain plug that closes a discharge port provided in a case body in which oil is stored,
a shaft portion having a male thread that is screwed into the female thread of the discharge port;
a sloped portion formed at the tip of the shaft;
an index portion that defines an inclination direction of the slope portion at a rotational position about the central axis of the shaft portion;
with
The male screw has a threading start position defined with respect to the index portion, and a predetermined rotational position at which the male screw and the female screw are disengaged and removed from the discharge port is a predetermined rotational position where the oil flows from the discharge port to the slope portion. A drain plug characterized in that it is positioned to be discharged substantially vertically downward along the drain plug . Having a flange portion provided at the proximal end of the shaft portion,
2. The drain plug according to claim 1, wherein the indicator portion is provided on the flange portion. having a head provided at the proximal end of the shaft,
2. The drain plug according to claim 1, wherein said indicator is provided on said head.

Images