JP2906885B2 - Oil level gauge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil level gauge suitable for use in vehicles such as automobiles, and in particular, to confirm the amount of transmission oil (ATF) in automatic transmission vehicles (hereinafter referred to as A / T vehicles). The present invention relates to an oil level gauge capable of easily performing the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Automobiles are equipped with various gauges for maintenance and inspection. An oil level gauge for checking the amount of oil is one of them. For example, in recent years, A / T (automatic transmission) vehicles have become widespread in automobiles, and for checking the amount of operating oil (hereinafter, this operating oil is referred to as ATF) used in such automatic transmissions. Also has an oil level gauge.

[0003] The oil amount (level) of the ATF is normally checked from the engine room, and an ATF oil level gauge is also taken in and out of the engine room. As the oil level gauge for ATF, generally, an elongated plate-shaped oil level gauge (leaf spring type oil level gauge) as shown in FIG. 3 is often used.

[0004] At the tip of the oil level gauge 1, an oil inspection unit 2 is provided, and a scale for checking the level of the ATF is stamped. The ATF is:
The ATF itself by acting as a means of power transmission
Thermal expansion and ATF contain air during circulation
Oil level when the engine is cold and when the engine is warmed up.
different. For this reason, the scale for checking the ATF level is:
As shown in FIG. 3, when the engine (not shown) is cold (A /
Scale (COLD) and warm air (A)
/ T operation), the scale (HOT) to be used is stamped, and these scales are properly used depending on the state of the engine.

[0005] The oil level gauge 1 is
F into the filler tube 5 (shown in FIG. 5)
The level of TF can be confirmed. By the way, the above-mentioned filler tube 5 is often complicatedly bent due to A / T mounting conditions and various restrictions in the engine room, and it is difficult for the plate-shaped oil level gauge 1 to move in and out of the filler tube 5. It is thought that it becomes.

That is, the plate-shaped oil level gauge 1 can tolerate bending in one direction (two-dimensionally), but cannot easily advance and retreat in the filler tube 5 bent three-dimensionally. In order to easily advance and retreat in the filler tube 5 bent three-dimensionally in this manner, FIG.
The oil level gauge 1 as shown in FIG.

The oil level gauge 1 is provided with an oil detecting section 2 at the tip of a flexible member such as a wire 4, for example. It is possible to move back and forth in the tube 5. The oil detecting section 2 is made of, for example, a resin that is separate from the wire 4 and is integrally fixed to the outer periphery of the wire 4. In this way, the oil inspection unit 2 is formed of a different material because the oil inspection unit 2 cannot be formed by engraving a scale on the wire 4 itself, unlike the oil level gauge 1 of a leaf spring type. It is.

[0008]

As described above, since the oil level of the ATF differs between when the engine is cold and when the engine is warm, as shown in FIG. 4, the oil level gauge 1 for the ATF is used. The oil inspection unit 2 needs to secure a predetermined length length. For this reason, if the filler tube 5 is bent in a complicated manner or the bend R is small, as shown in FIG. You will not be able to retreat. In particular, when the oil level gauge 1 is inserted, there is a problem that it is difficult to smoothly enter the oil detecting unit 2.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil level gauge that can easily advance and retreat even in a three-dimensionally bent pipe.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided an oil level gauge according to the present invention, wherein an oil detecting section is provided at a distal end of a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending.
A first oil detecting section used when the oil detecting section is cold and a warm-up operation
And a second oil inspection unit used at the time of completion .
And the second oil detecting section are connected in series via a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending , and furthermore,
In addition, both ends of the first and second oil detecting portions are formed in a spherical shape.
It is characterized in that it is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil level gauge, wherein an oil detecting portion is provided on a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending, and when the oil detecting portion is cold.
Is divided <br/> and a second dipstick part used in the first dipstick portion and warm-up operation completion used, dipstick portion of the first is provided at the tip portion of the flexible rod-like member And the second oil detecting portion is provided at an intermediate portion of the flexible rod-shaped member separated by a predetermined distance from the first oil detecting portion, and further, the first and second oil detecting portions are provided .
Is characterized in that both ends are formed in a spherical shape .

[0012]

In the oil level gauge according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first oil detecting section is used when the oil detecting section is cold.
A flexible rod-shaped member that is divided into a second oil inspection unit used when the warm-up operation is completed , and the first oil inspection unit and the second oil inspection unit can allow three-dimensional bending. Connected by
In addition, both ends of the first and second oil detecting portions are formed in spherical shapes.
Since it is, it can be three-dimensional bending between the first dipstick portion and the second dipstick portion is allowed to smoothly enter a bent tube.

In the oil level gauge according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first oil detecting portion used at the time of cold is provided at the tip of the flexible rod-shaped member, and the warm-up operation is completed.
The second oil inspection unit used at the time is provided at a predetermined distance from the first oil inspection unit , and further, the first and the second oil inspection units are further provided .
Since both ends of the portion are formed in a spherical shape, it is possible to smoothly enter the inside of the bent pipe similarly to the oil level gauge of the first aspect.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body of the oil level gauge 1 is constituted by a wire 4 as a flexible rod-shaped member. Is provided with a knob (handle) 3.

The oil detecting section 2 includes a first oil detecting section 2A.
And the second oil inspection unit 2B. The first oil inspection unit 2A and the second oil inspection unit 2B are connected in series via the wire 4. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the first oil detecting section 2A is fixed to the tip of the wire 4 and is located at a position separated by a predetermined amount in the direction of the knob 3 from the first oil detecting section 2A. , The second oil detecting section 2B is fixed.

The first oil detecting section 2A is provided with a scale (COLD) used when the engine is cold.
A scale (HO) used at the time of warm air is provided on the second oil detecting section 2B.
T) is provided. Each of these oil inspection sections 2A, 2B
Is formed of, for example, resin, and each of the oil detecting sections 2A,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, both ends of 2B are formed in a spherical shape so that they can smoothly advance and retreat in the filler tube 5.

Since the oil level gauge according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, when inspecting the level of the ATF, the operator grasps the above-mentioned knob 3 and reads the oil level gauge 1. Pull out from inside the filler tube 5 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the oil detecting section 2 is divided into two parts, as shown in FIG.
The wire 4 between the oil detecting units 2A and 2B is bent along
The oil level gauge 1 can be pulled out smoothly.

That is, since these two oil detecting portions 2A and 2B are connected by the wire 4, they can be bent three-dimensionally, and the oil level gauge 1 can be easily pulled out even with the bent filler tube 5. You can do it. At this time, if the engine is cold (cold), the AT
It is confirmed whether or not the level of F is near the graduation of COLD of the first oil detecting unit 2A.

Further, when the engine is warmed (at the time of warm air), it is confirmed whether or not the ATF level is between two scales of the HOT provided in the second oil detecting section 2B. After checking the amount of ATF, the oil level gauge 1
Is inserted into the filler tube 5 again, but also at this time, the wire 4 between the respective oil detectors 2A and 2B advances inside the filler tube 5 while appropriately bending, so that the oil detector 2 bends three-dimensionally and smoothly. The inside of the filler tube 5 can be entered.

Further , both ends 21, 22 of the oil detecting section 2A and
Since both end portions 23 and 24 of the oil detecting portion 2B are formed in a spherical shape, the inside and outside of the filler tube 5 can be more smoothly moved. Therefore, even when the filler tube 5 is bent, the level of the ATF can be checked quickly and easily. Further, by using such a highly flexible oil level gauge 1, restrictions such as a minimum bending R at the time of forming the filler tube 5 can be reduced, and the degree of freedom of design increases.

In this embodiment, the first oil detecting section 2A and the second oil detecting section 2B are provided at the tip of one wire 4 as the main body of the oil level gauge 1. 4, only the second oil detecting section 2B is provided at the tip of the first oil detecting section 2B, and the first oil detecting section is provided at a tip of the second oil detecting section 2B via a flexible rod member separate from the wire 4. 2A may be provided. In other words, any member that can allow three-dimensional bending between the oil detecting sections 2A and 2B may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, the main body of the oil level gauge 1 is constituted by using the wire 4. However, the main body of the oil level gauge 1 is not limited to the wire 4, but is three-dimensional. Any member other than the wire 4 may be used as long as it is a flexible rod-shaped member that can tolerate any bending. Further, although each of the oil detecting sections 2A and 2B is formed of a resin, these oil detecting sections 2A and 2B are not limited to the resin, but may be made to withstand the environment in which the oil level gauge 1 is used. If so, other members may of course be used.

Further, such an oil level gauge 1
Is not limited to the ATF, but can be used as a level gauge for various oils.

[0024]

As described above in detail, according to the oil level gauge of the first aspect of the present invention, the oil detecting section is provided at the tip of the flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending. A first oil detecting section used when the oil detecting section is cold and a warm-up
Divided into the second oil inspection unit used when the operation is completed ,
The first oil detecting section and the second oil detecting section are connected in series via a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending , and
In addition, both ends of the first and second oil detecting portions are formed in spherical shapes.
The configuration in which Ru is, there is an advantage that it is possible to easily realize the oil level gauge acceptable three-dimensional bending.

Therefore, the inside of the bent pipe can be smoothly advanced and retreated, and the inspection work of the oil level can be performed quickly and easily. Further, by using such a highly flexible oil level gauge, the restriction on the bending R (radius of curvature) when molding the filler tube can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in design increases.

According to the oil level gauge of the present invention, the oil detecting section is provided on the flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending, and the oil detecting section is cooled.
Used for the first dipstick portion and when the warm-up operation completion used during between
And a second oil detecting section, wherein the first oil detecting section is provided at a tip end of the flexible rod-shaped member, and the second oil detecting section is divided into the first oil detecting section. Provided at an intermediate portion of the flexible rod-like member separated by a predetermined distance from the first and second flexible rod-shaped members .
The configuration of each opposite ends of Ken'yu portions Ru is formed into a spherical shape, in addition to the advantages according to claim 1, easier, and, being able to realize the oil level gauge that allows the complex bending at low cost There are advantages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of an oil level gauge as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of an oil level gauge as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the entire configuration of a conventional oil level gauge.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the entire configuration of a conventional oil level gauge.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of a conventional oil level gauge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 oil level gauge 2 oil detecting section 2A first oil detecting section 2B second oil detecting section 3 knob (handle) 4 wire as flexible rod-shaped member 5 filler tube

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-58-187814 (JP, A) JP-A-62-113817 (JP, A) JP-A-57-137026 (JP, U) JP-A-2-67227 (JP) (U, U) Shokai 59-152113 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01F 23/04

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An oil detecting section is provided at a tip end of a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending, and when the oil detecting section is cold,
First dipstick portion and used during the warm-up operation completion <br/> is divided into a second dipstick portion, a dipstick of the first and the second dipstick portion 3D to be used Are connected in series via a flexible rod-like member capable of permitting a flexible bending , and the first and the second
An oil level gauge, wherein both ends of the oil detecting section are formed in a spherical shape . 2. An oil inspection unit is provided on a flexible rod-shaped member capable of allowing three-dimensional bending, and when the oil inspection is cold,
Used in the first dipstick portion and warm-up operation completion used in
And a second oil detecting section, the first oil detecting section is provided at a distal end portion of the flexible rod-shaped member, and the second oil detecting section is divided into the first oil detecting section. Provided at an intermediate portion of the flexible rod-like member separated by a predetermined distance from the first and second oil testers.
An oil level gauge, wherein both ends of the portion are formed in a spherical shape .