JPS6328048Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an oil reservoir that is attached to a master cylinder of a vehicle such as an automobile and supplies oil to the master cylinder.

Conventionally, an oil reservoir is installed in the master cylinder of a vehicle's brake system, and the reservoir body of this oil reservoir, which supplies oil to the master cylinder, has a liquid level detection device that sends a detection signal to a liquid level warning device. When the amount of oil in the reservoir body falls below a certain level, a signal from the liquid level detector causes the liquid level alarm device to issue an alarm. In this case, a liquid level detector for detecting the liquid level is located inside the reservoir body,
The signal detected by this detector is extracted to the outside by a lead wire that extends through an opening formed in the ceiling of the reservoir body, but the connector provided at the end of the lead wire is free from being fixed to anything. condition, so I changed the connection to the mating connector.
It was difficult to do the work, as it had to be done with both hands in the confined space of the vehicle, and the lead wires had to be forcibly pulled, leading to accidents and damage. To deal with this, when fixing the connector at the end of the lead wire to the reservoir body, for example, if this fixing work is complicated, the same problems as mentioned above, especially breakage of the lead wire from the detector, are likely to occur, and the connector is semi-permanent. If the connector is fixed permanently, it is difficult to easily deal with a malfunction of the detector. In addition, in small automobiles and the like, the limited narrow space of the vehicle must be used effectively, so it is necessary to ensure that the fixed connector does not interfere with the effective use of the narrow space.

This invention was made in view of the above points,
The purpose of this is to be able to securely fix the connector at the end of the lead wire from the liquid level detector with simple work, to easily release the fixed state in the event of a failure of the liquid level detector, etc. To provide an oil reservoir that can maintain a fixed state without hindering the effective use of a limited narrow space in a vehicle and can be easily connected to a mating connector.

According to the present invention, the purpose is to electrically detect a reservoir body having a substantially rectangular horizontal cross section, an opening formed in a substantially rectangular ceiling of the reservoir body, and an amount of oil in the reservoir body. a liquid level detector disposed within the reservoir body and having a lead wire extending through the opening, the oil reservoir further comprising a cylindrical cap portion covering the opening. and a connector part extending integrally from the cap part in the radial direction of the cap part and supporting a terminal to which one end of the lead wire is connected; A cylindrical part having a flange and surrounding the opening protrudes, an abutting part is formed in the ceiling part on the outside of the cylindrical part, a notch is formed in the flange, and the cap A pawl that engages with the flange is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cap part, and a protruding part is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cap part, so that the protruding part of the cap part comes into contact with the abutting part of the ceiling part. The cap part can be attached to the cylindrical part so that the claw of the cap part faces the notch of the flange and covers the opening when the cap part is in contact with the flange, and the claw of the cap part is attached to the cylindrical part so that the cap part does not fall off from the cylindrical part. This is achieved by an oil reservoir configured such that the connector part is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the ceiling part when engaged with the flange of the part.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below using preferred specific examples.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reservoir body 1 has a substantially rectangular horizontal cross section and is for a tandem master cylinder, which is known per se. A cylindrical portion 3 is protruded from a ceiling portion 2 near one longitudinal end of the main body 1 to form an oil supply port, and this oil supply port is normally covered by a cap 4.

A cylindrical portion 6 having a flange 5 is provided upwardly projecting from approximately the center of the substantially rectangular ceiling portion 2, an opening 7 is formed from the inside of the cylindrical portion 6, and a liquid level detector 10 is attached to the opening 7. be done. Flange 5
As shown in FIG. 3, a notch 8 is provided in the holder. As will be described later, the notches 8 allow the pawls 28 of the cap portion 26 covering the opening 7 to pass through, and it is preferable that a plurality of the notches 8 are arranged symmetrically. When there are a plurality of notches 8, there are also a plurality of pawls 28 on the cap section 26, and the cap section 26 can be securely locked.
A contact portion 9 is integrally provided on the ceiling portion 2 of the main body 1 in a protruding manner.

The liquid level detector 10 includes a case member 11 having a cylindrical shape with a blank bottom end, and a reed switch 1 fixed to the inside of the case member 11 with epoxy resin or the like.
2, a float 13 located outside the case member 11 and moving up and down along the case member, and lead wires 14 and 15 connected to the reed switch 12.
The lead wires 14 and 15 are connected to the case member 1.
1 to the outside. The float 13 has a built-in magnet 16, and when the liquid level in the main body 1 drops to a certain level, the magnet 1
6 activates the reed switch 12 and issues a signal.

This signal is taken out to the outside via lead wires 14 and 15.

The upper end of the case member 11 is formed into a large diameter portion 17,
A side portion 19 projects upward from the large diameter portion 17 so as to provide a seal space 18, and the upper end of the side portion 19 forms a flange 20 extending outward. The flange 20 abuts against the flange 5 of the cylindrical portion 6 protruding from the ceiling portion 2. In the case of this example, the flange 20 has a circular shape that is the same size as the outer diameter of the small diameter portion 5a of the flange 5, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 5b without the notch 8.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connector 25 is engaged with the large diameter portion 5b of the flange 5 to cover the opening 7, and has a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 5b of the flange 5. It consists of a cylindrical cap part 26 having an inner diameter and a connector part 27 that integrally protrudes from the cap part 26 in the lateral direction. 8, and the same number of pawls 28 as the notches 8 are provided protruding inward from the cap portion 26. When the connector 25 is attached to the main body 1 as shown in FIG.
The pawl 28 is in contact with the upper side of the flange 20 of the
The height is such that the upper side of the flange 5 contacts the lower side of the large diameter portion 5b of the flange 5. In this case, it is preferable that the height of each contact surface is such that a slight frictional engagement occurs to improve the sealing performance and to prevent the cap portion 26 from coming off.

Terminals 29 and 30 are arranged in the connector part 27, and among the terminals 29 and 30, the cap part 2
Lead wires 14 and 15 are connected to the ends protruding into the inside of the switch 6, and signals from the reed switch 12 are sent to the liquid through a mating connector inserted into a space 31 formed by the terminals 29 and 30 and the connector part 27. taken out to the surface alarm system. The space 31 can also be formed such that the terminals 29, 30 are located vertically and horizontally, as shown in FIG.

The cap portion 26 is provided with a protrusion 32 that protrudes radially outward, and when the protrusion 32 is brought into contact with the contact portion 9, the pawl 28 is positioned above the notch 8. The positional relationship between the abutting part 9 and the protruding part 32 is determined in advance so that the abutting part 9 and the protruding part 32 can be inserted into each other. In each of the above examples, the protrusion 3
2 are provided in two places, but this is because the pawl 28 and the notch 8 are positioned symmetrically, so that no matter which protrusion 32 comes into contact with the abutment part 9, the pawl 2
8 is based on the fact that it is located above the notch 8. There may be only one protrusion 32, and its attachment position can be selected arbitrarily.

Before assembling the liquid level detector 10 to the main body 1, the lead wires 14 and 15 from the reed switch 12 are connected to the terminals 29 and 30, and a sealing member such as an O-ring 33 is placed in the sealing space 18. Opening 7 of case member 11
The flange 5 and the flange 20 are brought into contact with each other. Next, the reed switch 12 and the lead wires 14 and 15 are inserted into the case member 11, and the protrusion 32 is brought into contact with the abutting part 9. In this state, the pawl 28 is located above the notch 8, so
When the cap part 26 is lowered while the protruding part 32 is slid onto the abutting part 9, the pawl 28 passes through the notch part 8 and reaches the lower side of the flange 5. When the connector 25 is then rotated, the upper surface of the pawl 28 engages with the lower surface of the large diameter portion 5b of the flange 5, and the connector 25 is attached to the flange 5 so that the longitudinal direction of the connector portion 27 matches the longitudinal direction of the main body 1. It will be fixed at When removing the connector 25, the operation described above can be reversed.

In this way, the main body 1 has a substantially rectangular horizontal cross section, the opening 7 formed in the substantially rectangular ceiling 2 of the main body 1, and the opening 7 for electrically detecting the amount of oil in the main body 1. a lead wire 14 extending through the
Liquid level detector 1 having 15 and disposed within main body 1
0, this oil reservoir has a cylindrical cap part 2 that covers the opening 7.
6 and the cap part 26 integrally.
The ceiling part 2 has a flange 5 and an opening. A cylindrical part 6 surrounding the cylindrical part 7 is provided protrudingly, a contact part 9 is formed in the ceiling part 2 on the outside of the cylindrical part 6, a notch part 8 is formed in the flange 5, and a cap part 26
A pawl 28 that engages with the flange 5 is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cap portion 26, and a protruding portion 32 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cap portion 26. The cap part 26 can be attached to the cylindrical part 6 so that the cap part 28 faces the notch part 8 and covers the opening 7, and the claw 28 is engaged with the flange 5 so that the cap part 26 does not fall off from the cylindrical part 6. In the case of an oil reservoir configured such that the connector portion 27 is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the ceiling portion 2, when fixing the connector 25 to the main body 1, the contact portion 9 and the protrusion portion 32 must be brought into contact with each other. By bringing them into contact with each other, the positional relationship between the notch 8 and the pawl 28 can be easily seen from above, and the cap 26 can be easily attached to a predetermined position on the cylindrical part 6. In addition, since the connector 25 can be fixed to the main body 1 by the engagement between the pawl 28 and the flange 5, the connector 25 can be reliably fixed to the main body 1 even with a simple operation. In this case, the fixation of the connector 25 to the main body 1 can be released by simply rotating the connector 25, and in addition, when the connector 25 is fixed to the main body 1, the connector part 27 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the ceiling part 2. Since the connector 25 can be arranged along the longitudinal direction of the main body 1, the mating connector can be contained within the range of the ceiling part 2, and the mating connector can protrude from the main body 1. It is possible to avoid a situation in which the connector is placed in the vehicle, and it is possible to easily connect to the mating connector without further narrowing the narrow space of the vehicle.

In the above example, the main body 1 is for a so-called tandem master cylinder that supplies oil at two locations in the axial direction of the master cylinder 40, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It is sufficient to supply oil from only one location. It may be for a so-called single master cylinder.

According to the present invention, as described above, the connector at the end of the lead wire can be securely fixed with a simple operation, and as a result, it is possible to eliminate the accident of disconnection of the lead wire from the liquid level detector during the fixing operation, and at the same time, it is possible to Connection with the connector can be easily made with one hand, and situations such as forcibly pulling the lead wire or the cable connected to the mating connector can be avoided, and breakage of the lead wire or cable can be prevented. Moreover, with the reservoir of the present invention, the connector can be easily removed from the reservoir body, so failures of the liquid level detector can be quickly dealt with.In addition, the connector can be compactly placed on the ceiling of the reservoir body, and the connector can be easily removed from the reservoir body. As a result, the side connector can also be placed along the ceiling of the reservoir body.
To reliably fix a lead wire from a liquid level detector and a mating connector without hindering the effective use of a narrow engine room or the like of a vehicle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the flange seen from the - line direction in FIG. 1, FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the connector shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 shows a state seen from below the bottom surface, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of the connector. 1... Reservoir body, 5... Flange, 7...
Opening, 8... Notch, 9... Contact part, 25... Connector, 28... Pawl, 32... Projection.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A reservoir body whose horizontal cross section is approximately rectangular,
The reservoir body has an opening formed in a substantially rectangular ceiling, and a lead wire extending through the opening to electrically detect the amount of oil in the reservoir body, and is disposed within the reservoir body. In the oil reservoir, the oil reservoir further includes a cylindrical cap portion that covers the opening, and a cylindrical cap portion that extends integrally from the cap portion in the radial direction of the cap portion, and the lead wire. The connector has a connector part that supports a terminal connected to one end thereof, and a cylindrical part having a flange and surrounding the opening is protruded from the ceiling part, and the outside of the cylindrical part A contact part is formed in the ceiling part of the cap part, a notch part is formed in the flange part, and a pawl that engages with the flange part is formed in the inner peripheral surface of the cap part. A protrusion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cap, and when the protrusion of the cap is in contact with the abutment part of the ceiling, the claw of the cap faces the notch of the flange and covers the opening. The cap portion can be attached to the cylindrical portion at the same time, and the connector portion is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the ceiling portion when the claw of the cap portion is engaged with the flange of the cylindrical portion so that the cap portion does not fall off from the cylindrical portion. An oil reservoir configured to