US3360819A - Dipstick wiper - Google Patents

Description

United States fatent O 3,360,819 DIPTICK WKPER Arnold M. Bruins, 1057 Depot St., Manawa, Wis. 54949 Filed Dec. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 514,5fi7 8 Claims. (Cl. -410) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The device shown has to do with a casing containing an absorbent pad and a spring-biased rocker shaft carrying a dual-finger pop up wiper. A sliding lid forcibly folds and retracts the wiper into the casing when closed. When said lid is slid open, the wiper is freed and pops up for use. One transverse end of the lid acts (1) as a limit stop and (2) to engage and swing the wiper in and down. The lid has a body attaching chain.

The present invention relates to a simple, practical and novel device through the medium of which the lubricantcoated surfaces of a conventional graduated dipstick can be effectually swabbed clean and promptly and elfective- 1y readied for insertion into and measuring the quantity of fluid, a lubricant, for example, in a vehicle crankcase, reservoir or an equivalent fluid supply container and has to do, more particularly, with an improved handling and wiping device which will efiiciently serve the purposes and needs of service station attendants, or, for that'matter, automobile owners and users.

Any-one conversant with the state of the art to which the invention relates is aware that many and varied practices and devices are resorted to with a view toward fulfilling the needs and requirements of those persons who are called upon to swab and use gauge rods, commonly known as dipsticks. In fact, it is common knowledge that a number of gauge rod wipers and dipstick cleaners have been patented wherein, for example, opposed wiping elements are arranged in such a manner that the lubricant coated surfaces of the dipstick can be drawn therethrough for cleaning as a step preparatory to dipping the same into the reservoir to take a measurement. It will suifice, insofar as background information is needed here, to mention but one of these patents, namely, Nielsens dipstick cleaner 2,453,452. This reference patent has been chosen as exemplary because it shows, similar to the herein disclosed invention, a pair of resilient wiping fingers which are close together and which have sleeves or means thereon to facilitate wiping the dipstick therebetween. Then, too, in Nielsen the fingers or prongs are confined within the space or receptacle of an enclosing shield or housing.

An object of the present invention is to improve upon prior art cleaners and wipers and, to the ends desired, a simple box-like casing or enclosure is employed. More particularly the casing is open along the top and provided with a sliding lid or closing plate. A readily insertable and removable as well as replaceable sponge of absorbent pad is confined in the receptacle portion and serves to take care of the oil drippage from the dipstick as it is being swabbed and cleaned. Then, too, the pad can be replaced when it has been objectionably saturated and either cleaned and replaced or a new pad may be brought into use.

One of the features of the invention has to do with a spring biased Wiper unit, that is a unit which is mounted on a simple rod or shaft which is rotatable in bearings provided therefor in the receptacle portion of the casing. The arrangement is such that two sleeved fingers are joined at lower ends to a median portion of the rocker shaft or rod and spring means is attached thereto and also 3,366,819 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 to one end wall of the casing in such a manner that just as soon as the lid is slid open, the spring means comes into play and the wiper fingers .pop up to a ready-to-use position. When the lid is slid to a closed position it exerts pressure against the wiping fingers and folds the wiping unit to a down out-of-the-way and stored position within the confines of the receptacle portion.

Another feature resides in the fact that the lid is provided with stop pins which engage the wall of the box or casing so that the movement of the fingers is limited in one direction, that is wherein they assume an upstanding readyto-use wiping state.

In addition to the above it is desirable to provide a chain and to connect one end to the casing or box by way of the lid or cover and to attach the other end to the users belt whereby the device when it is closed can be stored in the users pocket and brought into play with a minimum of effort and time.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective on a small scale showing the dipstick wiper as constructed and with the wiper unit enclosed within the confines of the box or casing;

FIGURE 2 is a view also in perspective and enlarged (about full size), showing the invention and also showing, what is important, the lid which is slid to its complete uncovering position at which time the fingers of the wiping unit are spring biased into their ready-to-use position and relationship;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken approximately on the plane of the central longitudinal section line 33 of FIGURE 2 with parts in section and elevation;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken approximately on the plane of the line 44 of FlGURE 3.

Referring now to the views of the drawing the casing (container or housing) comprises a substantially rectangular elongated sheet material (either metal or suitable plastic material) open-top box which is denoted at 6 and is provided with a bottom wall 8, longitudinal side walls 10 and end walls 12 and 13. This box or casing is normally provided with an open top and the side walls are provided with longitudinal outstanding attaching and keying flanges 14. These flanges serve to accommodate the' channeled edge portions 16 of the substantially flat slidingly mounted closing lid or cover 18. One end portion of the lid is denoted at 20 and is provided with a struckout eye 22 to which a link 24 on a carrying chain 26 is connected. The other end of the chain is provided with a belt-hook 28 which serves in a manner to be hereinafter described. The other transverse end portion 30 of the lid or cover is provided with headed studs or stop limit pins 32 which perform in the manner suggested in FIG. 2 but better shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, that is, wherein the movement of the lid or cover in a direction from a fully closed position to a fully open position is limited when the stop pins 32 engage the upper edge of the end wall 13. The edge 30 is also a limit stop member for the wiper unit, that is, the unit denoted generally by the numeral 34. This unit is characterized primarily by a pair of resilient but suitably stiff wires or rods 36 which constitute gripping and wiping fingers for the blade portion 38 of the dipstick 4!) appearing in phantom lines in FIG. 2. The lower end portions of the two fingers are close together and are joined with a hub member 42 which in turn is fixedly mounted on the median portion of a rocker shaft 44 which is rotatable in opposed bearings 46 provided therefor intermediate the side walls of the box or casing. Each finger is preferably covered with a firm rubber or an equivalent sleeve 48. As a matter of fact, the two fingers with the rubber sleeves thereon provide a squeegeetype wiper unit. As shown better in FIG. 3 a coil spring 50 is provided and one end 52 is connected with the rocker shaft by way of the hub or connector means 42. The other end of the coil spring is anchored at 54 on the upper portion of the end wall 13 as shown in FIG. 3. The tension of the spring is such that when the fingers 36 of the Wiper unit are in the down or enclosed state (as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3) the spring is extended. At this time the lid or cover is slid to its closed position and consequently stores the wiping fingers in the receptacle portion above the plane of the insertable and removable sponge or absorbent pad 56. As soon as the lid is opened, that is, slid in a direction from left to right considering FIGS. 1 and 2, in succession, it will be seen that the spring 50 exerts a pull on and lifts the fingers 36 with their sleeves 48 to an upstanding ready-to-use position. Consequently, when one desires to use the device all that is necessary is to slide the lid gradually to an open position and to allow the fingers to pop up under the tension of the coil spring. When the lid is slid in the opposite direction from right to left the edge 30 engages the fingers and forces the fingers to the down stored or out of the way position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3.

It is within the purview of the invention to use the chain means or to omit it as desired. It is preferably employed and the chain is clipped to the users belt so that the user (the attendant) can by holding the box part in one hand and pulling against the chain, pull back the cover. This will then actuate the enclosed spring and raise the wiper unit to its upstanding ready-to-use position. The dipstick is then handled in the other hand, that is inserted between the wiper fingers and the box or casing canbe closed by pushing the cover against the body. This one hand operation is quite useful and time-saving and novel. It allows this otherwise messy job to be handled without touching the oil or any part of the mechanism. The interior of the box with its pad serves to take up the excess oil as is obvious.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A device through the medium of which a surfacecoated dipstick can be swabbed and quickly readied for manual dipping and measuring use comprising a retractable and projectable wiping unit embodying a pair of opposed side-by-side resilient wiping fingers between which the dipstick can be swished and its surfaces swabbed clean, said fingers being normally closed together and yieldingly urged into wiping contact with each other and the dipstick surfaces, an open top casing in which said wiping unit is wholly retracted and protectively encased when it is not readied for projected wiping use, spring-biased means hingedly anchoring and operatively mounting said wiping unit in said casing, said means permitting said unit to swing automatically in an arcuate path from said retracted position through said open top to an outstanding projected ready-to-use position and cover means normally overlying, engaging and retaining said wiping unit in a retracted out-of-use state in said casing.

2. The device according to claim 1, and wherein said casing defines and provides a receptacle, and an absorbent pad confined in a bottom portion only of said receptacle, said pad being proportional with said receptacle, readily insertable, removable and replaceable and underlying said wiping unit when it is in its out-of-use retracted state.

3. The device according to claim 1, and wherein said cover means comprises a lid which is slidingly mounted on said casing, one end of said lid adjacent said springbiased hinging means having limit stops which are adapted to abut a coacting part of said casing when the lid is open, and said one end providing a stop shoulder against which said fingers swing and are held when said lid is open.

4. The device according to claim 1 and wherein said casing is characterized by an elongated generally rectangular box having a bottom wall, side walls and interconnecting end walls, said side walls being provided along upper lengthwise edges with outstanding cover means assembling and retaining flanges, and said cover means comprising a lid having edge portions slidingly mounted on said flanges.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 and wherein said casing provides a receptacle and, in combination, a readily insertable and removable as well as replaceable absorbent pad confined in said receptacle, said pad being proportional with said receptacle and confined to the lower half-portion of said receptacle, said wiping unit being interposed between a top surface of said pad and an underneath surface of said lid when retracted and being freed to automatically assume its projected position as soon as the lid is slid to a fully open position.

6. The structure according to claim 4 and wherein said wiping unit comprises not only a pair of fingers, but fingers whose lower ends are joined to a rocker shaft, said rocker shaft being mounted for oscillation in the receptacle portion of said casing, there being a coil spring, said coil spring being anchored at one end on an adjacent end Wall of the casing and having its opposite end attached to the lower end portions of said fingers, the adjacent end portion of said lid being provided with limit stops which are engageable with said end wall, the end of the lid provided with said limit stops being engageable with said fingers in a manner that the lid constitutes the ways and means for not only opening and closing the receptacle of the casing but also serves to fold the wiper unit to a down, out-ofthe-way stored position in said receptacle and allows the fingers to pop up to a ready-to-use position when the lid is moved to an open, or substantially open position.

7. The device according to claim 1 and, in combination, a chain having one end fixedly connected to said cover means, the other end of said chain being free and being adapted to be connected to the person of the user.

8. A dipstick wiper comprising an elongated open top box-like casing embodying a bottom wall, side walls and end walls, said side walls being provided along upper lengthwise edges with coplanar outstanding cover means assembling and retaining flanges, an insertable and removable absorbent pad confined in a lower half-portion of the receptacle portion of said casing, a rocker shaft spanning the space between said side walls and mounted for oscillation between said side walls above the plane of said pad and below the plane of said upper lengthwise edges and located close to but inwardly of one of said end walls, a projectable and retractable automatic pop-up-type Wiping unit embodying a pair of resilient side-by-side wiping fingers in a plane at right angles to said shaft and having lower ends fixed to said shaft, a normally tensioned coil spring having one end connected with said shaft and its other end anchored on said one end wall to rotatably bias said shaft, cover means embodying a lid having marginal guides slidable on said flanges, and limit stops fixed on and depending from said lid adjacent but spaced from one end of said lid, said stops bein adapted to abut said one end wall when said lid is slid to assume an open position, and said one end of said lid constituting a limit stop (References on foliowing page) 6 against which said fingers are adapted to rest when assum- 2,439,171 4/ 1948 Kreider 15210.2 ing a projected ready-to-use position. 2,675,574 4/ 1954 Davis 15-210.2

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS UN T STATES PATENTS 5 743,589 1/ 1956 Great Britain.

315,195 4/1885 Weiss 15257.05

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner. 1,719,037 7/1929 Wolf 15-2102

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