JP7371523B2 - Occlusion detection mechanism for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicular occlusion detection mechanism that detects a occlusion state of a container that stores fluid such as engine oil used in a vehicle.

Vehicles use various fluids such as engine oil, gasoline, and window washer fluid. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, engine oil is supplied from a lubricating oil supply port 2 formed in a head cover 1 of an engine and stored in the engine. The lubricating oil supply port 2 is closed by an oil filler cap 3 to prevent engine oil from leaking from the lubricating oil supply port 2 while the vehicle is running (paragraph 0012 of Patent Document 1, FIG. 1(A)). (See B), etc.).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-168813

In the configuration shown in Patent Document 1, due to carelessness of a worker such as a driver, the oil filler cap 3 may be forgotten to be tightened to the lubricating oil supply port 2 or may be insufficiently tightened, and the lubricating oil supply port 2 may be closed while the vehicle is running. There is a risk of engine oil leaking from the Further, similar troubles may occur if the fuel cap provided at the fuel filler port of the fuel tank or the refill port cap provided at the refill port of the window washer tank are forgotten to be tightened.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reliably close the opening of a container for storing fluid used in a vehicle with a cap.

In order to solve the above problems, in this invention,
A container in which a fluid used in a vehicle is stored and an opening is formed to communicate the inside and the outside;
A main body made of a non-conductive material, a cap first electrode and a cap second electrode made of a conductive material exposed on the surface of the main body and separated from each other, and an electrically connected cap first electrode and cap second electrode. a cap that is capable of closing the opening, and a cap conductor buried inside the main body that is connected to the main body;
a blockage detection unit that detects a closed state in which the opening of the container is closed by the cap, based on an energized state due to the formation of an electrical closed circuit between the container and the cap; and,
A blockage detection mechanism for vehicles was constructed.

In the above configuration,
Preferably, the cap first electrode and the cap second electrode are formed at different positions in a closing direction when closing the opening with the cap.

In each of the above configurations,
The engine is an engine in which the container has a cylinder head cover made of a non-conductive material in which an oil supply port is formed as the opening, and a container threaded portion is formed in the oil supply port, and stores engine oil as the fluid;
The oil supply port connects a container first electrode made of a conductive material exposed at the opening tip thereof, a container second electrode made of a conductive material exposed to a part of the container screw portion, and the occlusion detection portion. a container conductor wire buried inside the cylinder head cover that electrically connects the container first electrode and the container second electrode;
The cap is an oil filler cap that is formed with a cap screw portion that is screwed into the container screw portion and can close the oil supply port;
The cap second electrode is provided on a part of the cap screw portion at a portion where the cap first electrode comes into contact with the opening tip when the oil filler cap closes the oil supply port, and
In the closed state, the closed circuit is formed by electrically connecting the cap first electrode to the container first electrode and electrically connecting the cap second electrode to the container second electrode. is preferred.

In each of the above configurations,
It is preferable that the blockage detection section detects the blockage state at the timing of the engine starting operation by the driver.

As described above, the present invention employs a configuration in which blockage of the cap is detected based on whether or not an electrical closed circuit is formed between the container and the cap. The opening can be reliably closed with a cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a vehicle blockage detection mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1; (a) is a sectional view of the container first electrode, (b) is a plan view of the container first electrode, and (c) is a perspective view of the container first electrode. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing a detection flow related to hydraulic pressure in a vehicle equipped with the vehicle blockage detection mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing main parts of a second embodiment of the vehicular occlusion detection mechanism according to the present invention.

A first embodiment of a vehicular occlusion detection mechanism 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a detection mechanism and given the same reference numerals as the vehicular occlusion detection mechanism 1) according to the present invention is shown in FIG. This detection mechanism 1 is mounted on a vehicle 2, and includes a container 10 in which a fluid used for the vehicle 2 is stored, and an opening 11 that communicates the inside and outside of the container 10, and an opening of the container 10. The main components are a cap 20 that closes the container 11, and a closure detection section 30 that detects that the opening of the container 10 is closed by the cap 20.

In this first embodiment, the container 10 is an engine 10a in which engine oil is stored as the fluid. This engine 10a has a cylinder head cover 12 made of resin that covers the upper part of a cylinder head (not shown). An oil supply port 11 a is formed in the cylinder head cover 12 as an opening 11 . The oil supply port 11a has a cylindrical shape that projects outward from the cylinder head cover 12, and a container threaded portion 13 is formed on the inner diameter surface of this cylinder.

As shown in FIG. 2, a container first electrode 14 made of a conductive material is provided at the opening tip (the tip of the cylinder) of the oil supply port 11a, and a portion of the thread of the container screw portion 13 is made of a conductive material. The container second electrodes 15 are each exposed. The container first electrode 14 projects slightly beyond the opening tip of the oil supply port 11a. The container first electrode 14 and the container second electrode 15 are electrically connected to container conductors 16a and 16b buried in the resin material of the cylinder head cover 12, and both container conductors 16a and 16b are connected to the occlusion detection section 30. electrically connected to.

As shown in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c), the surface of the container first electrode 14 is formed into an uneven shape in which peaks 17a and valleys 17b extending in one direction are arranged alternately. has been done. As shown in FIG. 3(b), the one direction is a predetermined direction with respect to the relative rotational direction (see arrow m in FIG. 3(b)) of the oil supply port 11a with respect to the oil filler cap 20a, which will be described in detail later. It is only tilted at an angle.

In this way, when the oil filler cap 20a is screwed into the oil supply port 11a, the engine oil attached to the back surface of the oil filler cap 20a (the surface on which the cap first electrode 22 described later is formed) is removed from the oil filler cap 20a. It is scraped off by the peak portion 17a of the rotating container first electrode 14. The scraped engine oil passes through the trough 17b (see arrow f in FIG. 3(b)) and is discharged to the outside of the back surface of the oil filler cap 20a.

One side of the mountain portion 17a formed on the container first electrode 14 is a vertically standing wall surface, and the other side is a sloped surface with a gentle inclination angle, and the engine oil is scraped off by this sloped surface. Therefore, it is difficult to get caught between the container first electrode 14 and the back surface of the oil filler cap 20a, and scraping can be performed smoothly. In this way, by removing the engine oil between the container first electrode 14 and the cap first electrode 22, the state of close contact between both electrodes 14 and 22 is increased, and the blockage detection section 30 can reliably detect the blockage state. can.

Note that when the engine oil is sufficiently removed from between the electrodes 14 and 22 by the pressure contact between the container first electrode 14 and the cap first electrode 22 when the oil filler cap 20a is screwed into the oil supply port 11a. In this case, the formation of the peak portions 17a and the valley portions 17b on the container first electrode 14 may be omitted.

The container second electrode 15 is formed along the container threaded portion 13 in a part of the oil supply port 11a extending from the opening end toward the inside of the oil supply port 11a. The shape and size of the container second electrode 15 are not particularly limited, but as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable to form the container second electrode 15 small so as not to straddle a plurality of screw threads. In this way, since the range in which the container second electrode 15 and the cap second electrode 23 (described later) can come into contact becomes small, both electrodes 15 can be contacted only when the oil filler cap 20a is screwed into the oil supply port 11a to a predetermined position. , 23 are in contact with each other, and the accuracy in detecting the blockage state by the blockage detection section 30 can be improved.

The cap 20 is an oil filler cap 20a that can close an oil supply port 11a formed in the cylinder head cover 12 of the engine 10a. The oil filler cap 20a includes a main body 21 made of resin, a first cap electrode 22 and a second cap electrode 23 made of a conductive material exposed on the surface of the main body 21 and separated from each other, the first cap electrode 22 and the cap. It has a cap conducting wire 24 embedded in the resin material of the main body portion 21 to electrically connect the second electrode 23 .

The main body portion 21 is a member in which a cap screw portion 25 that is screwed into the container screw portion 13 is formed. The cap first electrode 22 is in contact with the tip of the opening when the oil filler cap 20a closes the oil supply port 11a, that is, the base of the cap screw portion 25, and the cap second electrode 23 is in contact with the cap screw portion 25. are provided in each part. The surface of the cap first electrode 22 is arranged substantially flush with the main body part 21. The shape and size of the cap second electrode 23 are not particularly limited, but as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable to form the cap second electrode 23 to be small so as not to straddle a plurality of screw threads. In this way, as described above, the accuracy in detecting the blockage state by the blockage detection section 30 can be improved.

When the oil filler cap 20a is screwed into the oil supply port 11a formed in the cylinder head cover 12 of the engine 10a to a predetermined position, the cap first electrode 22 is connected to the container first electrode 14, and the cap second electrode 23 is connected to the container second electrode 15. are connected to each other to form an electrical closed circuit. Then, it becomes possible to conduct electricity between the oil supply port 11a (container 10) and the oil filler cap 20a (cap 20), and based on the energization state, the blockage detection section 30 detects the blockage state.

As the blockage detection unit 30, for example, a voltmeter that detects a voltage change due to energization of a closed circuit can be employed, but other detection means such as an ammeter can also be employed as appropriate.

The first cap electrode 22 and the second cap electrode 23 are formed at different positions in the closing direction when closing the oil supply port 11a with the oil filler cap 20a (i.e., the direction of movement as the oil filler cap 20a is screwed in). has been done. In this way, when the oil filler cap 20a is screwed in, there is an effect that conductive foreign matter is interposed between the cap first electrode 22 and the cap second electrode 23, making it difficult to get caught. 30 can be prevented from causing false detection.

The detection mechanism 1 according to the present invention can prevent problems such as engine oil leaking from the oil supply port 11a while the vehicle 2 is running by detecting forgetting to tighten the oil filler cap 20a or insufficient tightening after replacing the engine oil. This can be reliably prevented.

A detection flow related to hydraulic pressure when the engine starter is activated in a vehicle 2 equipped with this detection mechanism 1 will be described using FIG. 4 while referring to the reference numerals in FIG. 1. First, the driver performs an operation to activate the starter of the engine 10a (step S1). Next, the oil pressure sensor detects whether the oil pressure is within a normal value range (step S2). If the oil pressure is outside the normal value range (NO in step S2), the oil pressure warning light is turned on (step S3), and the series of detection flows is ended (step S4).

On the other hand, when the oil pressure is within the normal value range (YES side of step S2), the container 10 (oil supply port 11a formed in the cylinder head of the engine 10a) and the cap 20 (oil filler cap 20a) The detection mechanism 1 detects whether electricity can be applied to the closed circuit that is connected (step S5). When the detection mechanism 1 detects the energization state (YES in step S5), the warm-up operation of the engine 10a (or normal operation if warm-up is completed) is started (step S6), and then a series of detection flows is performed. (Step S4).

On the other hand, when the detection mechanism 1 cannot detect the energized state (NO side of step S5), the detection mechanism 1 notifies the driver of the abnormality of the blocked state (step S7), and then performs a series of detections. The flow ends (step S4). There are no particular limitations on how to notify the abnormality, but for example, an animation may be displayed on the instrument panel of the vehicle 2 showing a state in which the oil filler cap 20a provided at the oil supply port 11a is lifted and engine oil is blown up from the oil supply port 11a. By displaying the information, it is possible to notify the driver of an abnormality in the blockage state in an easy-to-understand manner.

It is sufficient to perform this series of detection flows once when the driver starts the engine 10a; for example, it is omitted when the engine is started without the driver's operation, such as when restarting the engine from idling stop. can do.

A second embodiment of the detection mechanism 1 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In this second embodiment, an oil level gauge 20b as a cap 20 is inserted into an oil level gauge insertion hole 11b as an opening 11 formed in a cylinder head cover 12 of an engine 10a.

An annular container first electrode 14 made of a conductive material is located at a position close to the opening end inside the oil level gauge insertion hole 11b, and an annular container made of a conductive material is located deeper than the container first electrode 14. A container second electrode 15 is formed to be exposed on the inner surface of the oil level gauge insertion hole 11b. The container first electrode 14 and the container second electrode 15 are electrically connected to container conductors 16a and 16b buried in the resin material of the cylinder head cover 12, and both container conductors 16a and 16b are connected to the occlusion detection section 30. (See Figure 1).

The oil level gauge 20b has a rod-shaped body 26 made of resin, a gauge part 27 connected to the lower end of the rod-shaped body 26, and an annular cap first electrode 22 made of a conductive material on the upper side of the rod-shaped body 26. However, an annular cap second electrode 23 made of a conductive material is formed on the lower side. The cap first electrode 22 and the cap second electrode 23 are electrically connected by a cap conductor 24 embedded in the resin material of the rod-shaped body 26 . An O-ring 28 is provided between the cap first electrode 22 and the cap second electrode 23 to ensure liquid tightness of the engine oil.

When the oil level gauge 20b is inserted until the stopper 29 provided on the rod-shaped body 26 hits the open end of the oil level gauge insertion hole 11b, the cap first electrode 22 is connected to the container first electrode 14, and the cap second electrode 23 is connected to the container. An electrical closed circuit is formed by connecting to the second electrode 15, respectively. Then, it becomes possible to conduct electricity between the oil level gauge insertion hole 11b (container 10) and the oil level gauge 20b (cap 20), and based on the energization state, the blockage detection section 30 (see FIG. 1) detects that the blockage state is present. Detect.

In addition to the above, the detection mechanism 1 according to the present invention can also be applied to a fuel cap provided at a filler port of a fuel tank, a refill cap provided at a refill port of a window washer tank, and the like. Furthermore, the detection mechanism 1 according to the present invention can be applied to detecting a closed state of a cap 20 provided on a container 10 that stores not only liquid but also gas.

Furthermore, the detection mechanism 1 according to the present invention determines whether resin vehicle parts such as cylinder head covers can be continued to be used as they are when a large impact or load is applied to the vehicle 2 due to a collision, for example. It can be applied to the determination of availability.

In other words, when a large impact is applied to a vehicle, it may be better to replace or repair the vehicle part from a safety standpoint, even if there is no visible damage or other major problem on the vehicle part. be. At this time, if the detection mechanism 1 cannot confirm the closed state even though the cap 20 is securely attached to the container 10, the container conductors 16a, 16b and the cap conductor 24 may be disconnected inside the resin material. There is a possibility that damage has occurred, and a decision can be made to replace the vehicle part.

The detection mechanism 1 described in each of the above embodiments is merely an example for explaining the present invention, and the detection mechanism 1 is configured to reliably close the opening 11 of the container 10 for storing fluid used in the vehicle 2 with the cap 20. As long as the problems of this invention can be solved, changes can be made to each component as appropriate.

1 Vehicle blockage detection mechanism (detection mechanism)
2 Vehicle 10 Container 10a Engine 11 Opening 11a Oil supply port 11b Oil level gauge insertion hole 12 Cylinder head cover 13 Container screw portion 14 Container first electrode 15 Container second electrode 16a, 16b Container conductor 17a Peak portion 17b Valley portion 20 Cap 20a Oil filler cap 20b Oil level gauge 21 Main body part 22 Cap first electrode 23 Cap second electrode 24 Cap conductor 25 Cap screw part 26 Rod-shaped body 27 Gauge part 28 O-ring 29 Stopper 30 Blockage detection part

Claims (4)

A container in which a fluid used in a vehicle is stored and an opening is formed to communicate the inside and the outside;
A main body made of a non-conductive material, a cap first electrode and a cap second electrode made of a conductive material exposed on the surface of the main body and separated from each other, and an electrically connected cap first electrode and cap second electrode. a cap conductive wire buried inside the main body portion, the cap being capable of closing the opening portion;
a blockage detection unit that detects a closed state in which the opening of the container is closed by the cap, based on an energized state due to the formation of an electrical closed circuit between the container and the cap; and,
A blockage detection mechanism for vehicles equipped with The vehicle closure detection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cap first electrode and the cap second electrode are formed at different positions in a closing direction when the opening is closed by the cap. The engine is an engine in which the container has a cylinder head cover made of a non-conductive material in which an oil supply port is formed as the opening, and a container threaded portion is formed in the oil supply port, and stores engine oil as the fluid;
The oil supply port connects a container first electrode made of a conductive material exposed at the opening tip thereof, a container second electrode made of a conductive material exposed to a part of the container screw portion, and the occlusion detection portion. a container conductor wire buried inside the cylinder head cover that electrically connects the container first electrode and the container second electrode;
The cap is an oil filler cap that is formed with a cap screw portion that is screwed into the container screw portion and can close the oil supply port;
The cap second electrode is provided on a part of the cap screw portion at a portion where the cap first electrode contacts the tip of the opening when the oil filler cap closes the oil supply port,
2. The closed circuit is formed by electrically connecting the cap first electrode to the container first electrode and electrically connecting the cap second electrode to the container second electrode in the closed state, respectively. 2. The vehicle occlusion detection mechanism according to 2. The vehicular occlusion detection mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the occlusion detection section detects the occlusion state at the timing of an engine starting operation by a driver.

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