JPH0656731U - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] An oil level gauge that allows easy visual measurement and confirms temperature conditions even if oil drops due to contact during extraction. [Structure] An upper limit mark 3 and a lower limit mark 4 indicating the upper limit oil level and the lower limit oil level are engraved on the tip of the gauge body 2 of the elastic plate material. A plurality of strip-shaped thermosensors 5 are provided at equal intervals in a predetermined range above the maximum mark 3 and in a predetermined range below the minimum mark. The thermosensor changes color to red only between 50 and 80 ° C. At the optimum measurement temperature, the thermosensor 5A below the lowest mark with oil adhered turns red as shown in (b). As a result, even if the adhering oil is dropped when the oil is removed from the charging pipe, the oil level can be easily and accurately measured by the changed red color of the thermosensor.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for measuring the amount of oil in a vehicle transmission or engine.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 If the amount of oil used to lubricate a vehicle's transmission or engine is insufficient, sufficient lubrication may not be ensured and seizure may occur. On the other hand, too much oil may increase stirring resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain it at a predetermined appropriate amount. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, an oil level gauge 53 is used which is inserted from a charging pipe 51 provided in a transmission or an engine body block 50 or an oil pan to be immersed in the stored oil W, and the oil amount is visually measured from the adhered state. Has been.

A conventional oil level gauge 53 of this type is, for example, as shown in FIG. The oil level gauge 53A shown in (a) of the figure and its side view (a ') is composed of an elongated elastic plate member 55A, and marks 56, 57 indicating the maximum oil level and the minimum oil level at the tip thereof. Is provided, and knurling 58 is provided between these marks. A curved portion 59 is provided above the mark 56 of the maximum oil level. Further, the oil level gauge 53B shown in (b) and its side view (b ') is used especially when the charging pipe is bent, and the main part is provided so that it can be flexibly followed. It is composed of the wire 55B, and the gauge 60 is fixed to the tip thereof. Similar to (a), the gauge 60 is provided with marks 61 and 62 indicating the maximum upper limit oil level and the minimum lower limit oil level at the upper and lower ends thereof, and knurling 58 is provided between these marks.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the oil level gauge 53A of (a) and (a '), some measures are taken such as providing a curved portion 59 near the mark so that the mark portion does not contact the inner wall of the charging pipe. Even with these oil level gauges, however, the oil level gauge 53A often comes into contact with the inner wall of the charging pipe and other members when it is pulled out from the charging pipe, and the oil that has adhered to the oil level gauge 53A is dropped, causing a visual check. There is a problem that measurement becomes difficult.

As a countermeasure against this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-9220 discloses a plurality of holes 65 at predetermined intervals between portions of the plate material 55C corresponding to the maximum oil level and the minimum oil level, as shown in FIG. An oil level gauge 53C in which notches are arranged is proposed. The oil adheres to the hole 65 and the notch in the portion that was in the oil, and the hole and the notch are sized so that the adhered oil does not drop due to the surface tension. Note that (a) of the figure is a front view and (b) is a side view.

However, regarding the oil level gauge, not only the above problem but also the oil that has adhered to the inner wall of the charging pipe when it is pulled out from the charging pipe is picked up near the mark, contrary to the case where the oil falls. In some cases, measurement may be difficult. None of the above oil level gauges have yet solved these problems.

Further, the oil level to be measured by the oil level gauge fluctuates due to a change in volume of the oil due to temperature and a difference in fluidity due to temperature. Therefore, the marks of the maximum oil level and the minimum oil level in the conventional oil level gauge are accurate only under certain temperature conditions, and the reliability decreases if the temperature at the time of measurement is different. However, the conventional oil level gauge also had no means to confirm the temperature. Therefore, in view of the conventional problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an oil level gauge in which the temperature condition can be confirmed and the visual measurement is easy.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 For this reason, the present invention is an oil level gauge that measures the oil level by visually checking the oil adhesion state at the tip of the gauge body, and has a mark indicating the maximum oil level and the minimum oil level at the tip. It is assumed that a thermo sensor that changes the color in a predetermined temperature range is installed along with the mark shown.

[0009]

[Action]

 A thermo sensor that changes the color within the specified temperature range is installed along with the mark indicating the maximum oil level and the mark indicating the minimum oil level.Therefore, oil may drop when the oil level gauge is pulled out. Even so, the oil level can be easily measured visually because the color of the thermosensor in the oil-immersed part has changed. Moreover, since the color of the thermosensor changes only within a predetermined temperature range, measurement is always performed under stable temperature conditions.

[0010]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the oil level gauge 1, a gauge main body 2 made of an elongated elastic plate material is engraved with a highest limit mark 3 and a lowest limit mark 4 respectively indicating the highest limit oil level and the lowest limit oil level. A plurality of strip-shaped thermosensors 5 are provided at equal intervals in a predetermined range above the uppermost mark 3 and in a predetermined range below the lowermost mark 4. The thermosensor reacts only in a predetermined temperature range, here 50 to 80 ° C, and changes its color to red, and in other temperature ranges, it is white as shown in FIG. .

When this oil level gauge 1 is inserted through a predetermined insertion port such as a charging pipe similar to the conventional example, when the oil amount is within the set appropriate amount range, the oil level is the maximum of the oil level gauge. The area located between the upper limit mark 3 and the lower limit mark 4 and below the lower limit mark 4 is immersed in the oil. As a result, the optimum temperature for measuring the oil is usually between 50 and 80 ° C., so that the thermosensor 5A below the lowest mark to which the oil adheres turns red, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the thermosensor 5B above the oil level does not change color.

With this, it is possible to easily know from the color of the thermosensor that the oil level is within an appropriate amount range between the maximum mark and the minimum mark. This can be seen when the oil level is below the proper amount, because some of the thermosensors below the minimum mark are not soaked in oil and have not turned red. On the other hand, when the oil level is too high, the thermosensor above the upper limit mark will be immersed in the oil and will turn red.

Further, even if the adhering oil is dropped when the oil is removed from the charging pipe, the changed red color of the thermosensor remains, so that the oil level can be easily and accurately measured. On the other hand, when the oil that has adhered to the inner wall of the charging pipe may adhere to the oil level gauge when it is pulled out from the charging pipe, the oil that has adhered to the charging pipe does not remain inside the transmission or inside the transmission. Since it is much closer to the outside air temperature than the oil in the oil pan, it does not cause a color change in the thermosensor. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between the oil for measurement and the oil that has adhered in the middle of the process, and it is possible to make accurate assumptions without being affected by excess oil.

At the same time, the red color of the thermosensor confirms that the measured temperature is within a temperature range suitable for measurement. From this, it can be seen that the measurement results show the correct oil level state. If the thermosensor does not turn red, the oil temperature is either low or high, which is out of the measurement conditions, and accurate measurement results can be obtained by taking a new measurement after a while. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the thermosensor is assumed to turn red within a predetermined temperature range, but the thermosensor is not limited to this, and any color change can be recognized.

In addition to the above, the thermosensor may be installed in various forms, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 2A shows a circular thermosensor 15 arranged at equal intervals above the uppermost mark 13 and below the lowermost mark 14 in place of the strip-shaped thermosensor shown in FIG. Is. Further, knurling 18 is applied between the uppermost mark 13 and the lowermost mark 14. With this, the same effect can be obtained.

Further, in FIG. 2B, a single continuous thermosensor 25 is provided above the uppermost mark 23 and below the lowermost mark 24, instead of a plurality of thermosensors at equal intervals. It is a thing. For example, the color of each thermosensor 25 changes only in the portion immersed in oil at 50 to 80 ° C. This also allows you to see the oil level at a glance and check the measured temperature at the same time. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the thermosensor is provided outside the range sandwiched by the upper limit mark and the lower limit mark, but not only this but the thermosensor may be provided between the upper limit mark and the lower limit mark.

[0017]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, the present invention is an oil level gauge in which a thermosensor that changes its color in a predetermined temperature range is installed together with a mark indicating the maximum oil level and the minimum oil level. When the measurement is performed at a predetermined measurement temperature condition, the oil-immersed portion and the other portion are distinguished by the color of the thermosensor. Therefore, even if the oil drops when the oil level gauge is pulled out, the oil level can be easily measured visually by the color of the thermosensor. Also, by measuring when the color of the thermosensor changes, it is possible to know the oil level accurately because it is always measured under stable temperature conditions.

[Brief description of drawings]

 ]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an oil level gauge.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Oil level gauge 2 Gauge body 3, 13, 23 Maximum upper limit mark 4, 14, 24 Minimum lower limit mark 5, 15, 25 Thermo sensor 18 Knurling 50 Main body block 51 Charging pipe 53, 53A, 53B, 53C Oil level gauge 55A Elastic plate material 55B Wire 56, 57, 61, 62 Mark 58 Knurling 59 Curved part 60 Gauge 65 hole

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An oil level gauge for measuring an oil level by visually checking an adhered state of oil on a tip portion of a gauge body, wherein the tip portion shows a mark indicating a maximum oil level and a minimum oil level. An oil level gauge, which is provided with a mark and a thermosensor that changes color in a predetermined temperature range.