JP4079860B2 - Oil level gauge and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil level gauge for checking the amount of oil in an oil tank such as an automobile engine and a method for manufacturing the same.

  An automobile engine is provided with an oil pan, an oil pump, an oil filter and the like as a lubrication device. An oil level gauge is inserted into the oil pan through a guide passage that opens to the outside. Then, with the engine stopped, pull out the oil level gauge, wipe the tip with a cloth, etc., insert it again into the guide passage, and pull up to observe the position of the oil attached to the tip. I check the amount of oil and the degree of dirt.

  As an oil level gauge, for example, a saber-shaped metal plate provided with a resin gripping part, or a wire made of metal strands connected to a resin gauge part, the base of the wire is used. What used the end part in the shape of a loop as a grip part is used. In this case, a method such as insert molding is employed for joining the resin member and the metal member.

Further, in Patent Document 1 below, the insertion portion of a metal gauge body having an oil level upper and lower limit mark on the front end side and an insertion portion on the rear end side is inserted and fixed to a handle member made of synthetic resin. In the oil level gauge, the narrow portion formed by reducing the distal end side of the insertion portion of the gauge body is disposed in the insertion hole formed in the handle member, and at least one of the insertion holes into which the narrow portion is inserted. An oil level gauge manufacturing method is disclosed in which a part is pushed in while being melted by heat of a narrow part, and is solidified and integrated at a predetermined position.
JP-A-10-153468

  However, in the conventional oil level gauge, the gripping part is made of resin and the handle part and the gauge part are formed of a metal plate, but the metal plate tends to bend in a direction perpendicular to the flat surface. Therefore, when the guide passage communicating with the oil pan has a three-dimensional bent shape, there is a problem that it is difficult to bend along the shape of the guide passage.

  In addition, in the case where the gauge part is formed of a resin plate and the handle part and the grip part are formed of metal strands, insert molding or the like is performed in order to ensure the bonding strength between the gauge part and metal strands, etc. This necessitates a problem that the molding operation is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high. In addition, since the grip portion is formed by bending a metal stranded wire in a loop shape, there is a problem that the feel when gripped is poor and the sealing performance when inserted into the guide passage is also poor.

  On the other hand, in the method described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to heat the insertion portion of the metal gauge body and insert it into the insertion hole formed in the handle member, and push it in while melting the handle member with the heat of the insertion portion. Therefore, there is a problem that a heating means is required and the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, when the insertion part of the gauge body is inserted into the handle member, in order to ensure that both are firmly fixed by heating and melting, the gauge body is attached to increase the contact area between the gauge body and the handle member. There is a problem that it is difficult to bend along the shape of the guide passage.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to easily follow even if the guide passage to the oil tank is three-dimensionally bent, and the manufacturing operation can be facilitated and the cost can be reduced without impairing the feel and sealing performance of the gripping portion. An oil level gauge and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention includes a resin grip portion, a resin gauge portion, and a metal wire, and the grip portion and the gauge portion include both ends of the wire. And a window portion that opens in the peripheral wall and communicates with the attachment hole, and the wire has a protrusion formed by caulking a portion exposed from the window portion. An object of the present invention is to provide an oil level gauge in which the protrusions bite into the resin of the gripping part and the gauge part, and the wire is fixed to prevent it from coming off.

  According to the above invention, since the gap between the grip portion and the gauge portion is made of a metal wire, it is easy to follow even if the guide passage to the oil tank is three-dimensionally bent, and the grip portion is made of resin. Therefore, the touch and sealing performance are not impaired, and it can be manufactured simply by inserting both ends of the wire into the mounting holes of the gripping part and the gauge part, and inserting and crimping a tool from the window part. Cost reduction can be achieved.

  The second aspect of the present invention is the oil level according to the first aspect, wherein the gripping portion and the gauge portion have a flat surface in the same direction, and the window portion is open to the flat surface side. A gauge is provided.

  According to the above invention, when both ends of the wire are inserted into the mounting holes of the gripping part and the gauge part and the tool is inserted and crimped from the window part, the gripping part and the window part of the gauge part are on the flat surface side of both. By opening, the window portion faces the upper surface in a state where the grip portion and the gauge portion are supported on a table such as a jig, so that the tool can be easily inserted and workability is improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, an oil level is formed on the outer periphery of the gauge portion on which an anti-sway projection that fits the inner periphery of the guide passage to the oil tank is formed. A gauge is provided.

  According to the above invention, since the protrusion formed on the outer periphery of the gauge portion is adapted to the inner periphery of the guide passage, the gauge portion is supported without wobbling, and the gauge portion is inserted into the oil tank in the correct posture. It also prevents vibration of the gauge itself and can check the oil level more accurately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a resin gripping part, a resin gauge part, and a metal wire are used, and an attachment hole into which both ends of the wire are press-fitted into the gripping part and the gauge part, A window portion that opens in the peripheral wall and communicates with the attachment hole, presses both ends of the wire into the attachment holes of the grip portion and the gauge portion, and inserts a tool into the window portion to caulk the wire. Then, a protrusion is formed on the wire, and both ends of the wire are secured to the gripping part and the gauge part by fixing the protrusion into the gripping part and the resin of the gauge part. An oil level gauge manufacturing method is provided.

  According to the above invention, since both ends of the wire can be manufactured simply by inserting the both ends of the wire into the attachment holes of the gripping portion and the gauge portion and inserting the tool from the window portion, the manufacturing operation is easy and the cost can be reduced. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, when the both ends of the wire are press-fitted into the attachment holes of the grip portion and the gauge portion, the length of the oil level gauge becomes a predetermined length. The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an oil level gauge that adjusts the insertion depth of a wire into the mounting hole.

  According to the above invention, by adjusting the insertion depth of the wire into the mounting hole, the length of the oil level gauge can be accurately obtained, and the dimensional accuracy of each individual part of the wire, gripping part, and gauge part can be increased. Since it is not necessary to put out accurately, it becomes easy to mold and process a single part.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the gauge portion is provided with an upper limit mark and a lower limit mark, and a texture or the like is applied between these marks.

  According to the above aspect, since the embossing or the like is performed between the upper limit mark and the lower limit mark, the oil attached when the oil level gauge is pulled out is difficult to flow, and the boundary part where the oil is attached is visually recognized. It becomes easy and it can prevent that a gauge part becomes thin partially and intensity falls.

  According to the present invention, since the gap between the gripping portion and the gauge portion is made of a metal wire, it is easy to follow even if the guide passage to the oil tank is three-dimensionally bent, and the gripping portion is made of resin. Therefore, the touch and sealing performance are not impaired, and it can be manufactured simply by inserting both ends of the wire into the mounting holes of the gripping part and the gauge part, and inserting and crimping a tool from the window part. Cost reduction can be achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 7 show an embodiment of an oil level gauge according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the oil level gauge 10 is attached to a metal wire 11, a resin grip 12 attached to one end of the wire 11, and the other end of the wire 11. And a resin gauge 13.

  The gripping part 12 has a loop part 14 having a hole into which a finger can be inserted, and a shaft part 15 connected to the loop part 14. An annular groove 17 in which an O-ring 16 is mounted is formed in the shaft portion 15. Further, the shaft portion 15 is formed with a mounting hole 18 for the wire 11 along the shaft center. Further, a window portion 20 that opens to the flat surface side of the loop portion 14 is formed on the peripheral surface of the shaft portion 15.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (B), each of the window portions 20 is formed from opposed peripheral walls of the shaft portion 15, and they communicate with the mounting hole 18 at the back. The window portions 20 formed on the respective surfaces have tapered portions 20a on the inner walls on both sides thereof, and communicate with the mounting holes 18 at the lower ends thereof. Furthermore, an arcuate contact portion 20 b with the wire 11 is formed on the inner periphery of the mounting hole 18.

  The gauge portion 13 has a cylindrical portion 22 having a mounting hole 21 into which the other end of the wire 11 is inserted, and a plate-like portion 23 further extended from the cylindrical portion 22. The cylindrical portion 22 is formed with a window portion 24 that opens toward the flat surface of the plate-like portion 23. The window portion 24 has substantially the same shape as the window portion 20 of the grip portion 12. Moreover, the window part 20 of the holding part 12 and the window part 24 of the gauge part 13 are opened in the same direction.

  The plate-like portion 23 has an oil level lower limit mark 25 and an upper limit mark 26. A textured surface 27 is formed between the lower limit mark 25 and the upper limit mark 26. Here, “texturing” means a process of forming fine irregularities on the surface by roughening the inner surface of the mold. The embossing may be performed on the entire surface of the gauge portion 13, but it is preferably formed between the lower limit mark 25 and the upper limit mark 26 in order to make the inspection portion easier to understand when inspecting the oil level.

Next, a method for manufacturing the oil level gauge 10 will be described.
As described above, one end of the wire 11 is inserted into the mounting hole 18 of the grip portion 12, and the other end of the wire 11 is inserted into the mounting hole 21 of the gauge portion 13. At this time, the grip part 12 and the gauge part 13 are set on a jig (not shown) in such a direction that the window part 20 of the grip part 12 and the window part 24 of the gauge part 13 are opened in the vertical direction.

  Further, when the wire 11 is inserted into the grip portion 12 and the gauge portion 13, the overall length of the oil level gauge 10 can be adjusted to a preset correct length by a jig (not shown). . As an adjustment method, for example, one end of the wire 11 is inserted into the attachment hole 18 of the grip portion 12 and the depth at which the other end of the wire 11 is inserted into the attachment hole 21 of the gauge portion 13 is adjusted. Can be used. According to such a length adjusting method, the length of the gauge part can be accurately adjusted by adjusting at the time of assembling without accurately obtaining the dimensional accuracy of the individual parts, that is, the wire 11, the gripping part 12, and the gauge part 13. Therefore, it is easy to mold a part.

  And the tools 30 and 31 shown in FIG. 4 are inserted from the up-down direction of the window parts 20 and 24. As shown in FIG. The tip portions of the tools 30, 31 are tapered at both sides 30a, 31a, and notched recesses 30b, 31b are formed at the center of the tip portions, and both sides of the recesses 30b, 31b are protruding end portions 30c. , 31c. Further, the wire 11 is inserted into the mounting hole 18 of the shaft portion 15 of the grip portion 12, and is in contact with the arcuate portion 20 b in the window portion 20. In this state, a pair of tools 30 and 31 are inserted through the upper and lower window parts 20 and 24, and the wire 11 exposed from the window parts 20 and 24 is caulked.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the wire 11 is sandwiched between the protrusions 31c of the respective tools 30, 31 to form a recess 11a, and a protrusion 11b is formed between these recesses 11a. And this protrusion 11b bites into the resin member of the axial part 15, and fixes the wire 11 to the holding part 12 firmly. FIG. 6A shows the state of the protrusion 11b formed by caulking and the recessed portion 11a of the wire 11 when the wire 11 is fixed to the grip portion 12 as described above.

  Further, an annular groove 33 along the circumferential direction is formed in advance on the entire circumference in the axial position where the window portion 20 of the wire 11 is located, for example, by knurling or the like. By crimping, as shown in FIG. 6B, an annular groove 33 can be formed at the tip of the protrusion 11b. According to the projection 11b having the annular groove 33 at the tip, a stronger retaining effect can be obtained when the grip portion 12 is bitten.

  The gauge portion 13 and the wire 11 are also fixed by inserting the tools 30 and 31 into the window portion 24 of the gauge portion 13 and caulking the wire 11.

  In this embodiment, a round wire such as a metal such as a spring steel wire is used as the material of the wire 11 as described above, but a square wire may be used.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the oil level gauge 10 thus obtained is inserted into a guide passage 36 provided in the oil tank 35. In this example, the guide passage 36 is made of a tubular member, and has a passage through which the oil level gauge 10 is inserted. In the oil level gauge 10, the wire 11 as a constituent member thereof is formed by a round wire, so that even when the guide passage 36 has a three-dimensionally bent shape, the guide 11 is relatively free to follow the guide passage 36. Therefore, the gauge portion 13 can be smoothly inserted into the oil tank 35.

  In addition, even when the wire 11 of the oil level gauge 10 is formed with a square line, it can be made to follow the guide passage 36 in the same manner, but the round line is more preferable because it has a higher degree of freedom in the bending direction.

  Thus, the oil level gauge 10 is inserted into the oil tank 35 through the guide passage 36. In this state, the base portion of the loop portion 14 of the grip portion 12 is engaged with the opening portion of the guide passage 36, and the oil level gauge 10 is inserted into the oil tank 36 with a predetermined length. At this time, since the O-ring 16 is formed in the grip portion 12, the guide passage 36 can be sealed airtightly in close contact with the inner periphery of the guide passage 36.

  When inspecting the oil level inside the oil tank 35, the oil level gauge 10 is pulled out at one end, and the gauge portion 13 is wiped with a cloth or the like to wipe off the adhering oil. Then, the oil level gauge 10 is inserted into the guide passage 36 again until the loop 14 of the gripping portion 12 comes into contact with the opening of the guide passage 36. Thereafter, the oil level gauge 10 is pulled out again, and in this state, the boundary portion of the oil adhering to the plate-like portion 23 of the gauge portion 13 is observed. If this boundary is between the lower limit mark 25 and the upper limit mark 26, the oil amount is normal.

  At that time, since the embossed surface 27 is formed between the lower limit mark 25 and the upper limit mark 26 of the oil level gauge 10 of the present invention, the oil remains attached and the oil level can be easily increased. It can be visually recognized. Further, the grip portion 12 of the oil level gauge 10 is made of plastic, and the loop portion 14 is formed wide so that it can be easily held by a finger.

  In addition, as described above, the gripping portion 12 and the gauge portion 13 squeeze the wire 11 with the tools 30 and 31 inserted from the window portions 20 and 24 and bite the protrusions 11b into the respective resin materials. It is firmly fixed to the wire 11. Therefore, even if the temperature in the oil tank reaches 80 to 100 ° C. or higher, the bonding strength between the wire 11 and the gauge portion 13 and the grip portion 12 is maintained. It can be reliably prevented from falling off. Furthermore, since complicated work such as press-fitting by heating is not required, the manufacturing process is simplified, the production efficiency is good, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the oil level gauge 10a according to the present invention. In the oil level gauge 10 a, an annular protrusion 38 is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 22 of the gauge portion 13. Therefore, when the oil level gauge 10a is inserted into the guide passage 36, the protrusion 38 serves as a guide, so that the oil level gauge 10a can be inserted into the guide passage 36 more smoothly. Further, if the protrusion 38 remains in the guide passage 36 when the gauge portion 13 is inserted into the oil tank 35, the gauge portion 13 is prevented from swinging, the posture is corrected, and the oil depth is reduced. The thickness can be measured more accurately.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an oil level gauge for checking the amount of oil in an oil tank such as an automobile engine and a method for manufacturing the same.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the oil level gauge by this invention. It is a perspective view of the oil level gauge. The grip part of the oil level gauge is shown, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line II in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state when a tool is inserted through a window part and a wire is crimped. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state after inserting a tool through a window part and crimping a wire. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the protrusion of the crimped wire, (A) is a perspective view of this embodiment, (B) is a perspective view of other embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which inserted the oil level gauge into the guide channel | path connected to an oil tank. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of the oil level gauge by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Oil level gauge 11 Wire 11b, 38 Protrusion 12 Grip part 13 Gauge part 18, 21 Mounting hole 20, 24 Window part 25 Lower limit mark 26 Upper limit mark 36 Guide path

Claims (5)

  A resin gripping portion, a resin gauge portion, and a metal wire are provided, and the gripping portion and the gauge portion are provided with mounting holes into which both ends of the wire are press-fitted, and open to a peripheral wall. A window portion communicating with the mounting hole, and the wire has a protrusion formed by caulking a portion exposed from the window portion, and the protrusion bites into the resin of the grip portion and the gauge portion. The oil level gauge is characterized in that the wire is fixed to prevent it from coming off.   2. The oil level gauge according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion and the gauge portion have flat surfaces facing in the same direction, and the window portion is open to the flat surface side.   The oil level gauge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a projection for steadying is formed on the outer periphery of the gauge portion, which fits the inner periphery of the guide passage to the oil tank.   Using a resin gripping part, a resin gauge part, and a metal wire, the gripping part and the gauge part have an attachment hole into which both ends of the wire are press-fitted, an opening in a peripheral wall, and the A window portion that communicates with the attachment hole, presses both ends of the wire into the attachment holes of the grip portion and the gauge portion, inserts a tool into the window portion, and caulks the wire, thereby projecting the wire. Forming both ends of the wire to the gripping part and the gauge part to prevent the protrusions from biting into the resin of the gripping part and the gauge part, thereby producing an oil level gauge. .   The insertion depth of the wire into the attachment hole is adjusted so that the length of the oil level gauge becomes a predetermined length when both ends of the wire are press-fitted into the attachment holes of the grip portion and the gauge portion. Item 5. A method for producing an oil level gauge according to Item 4.

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