JP4435403B2 - Oil level gauge guide, manufacturing and mounting method thereof, and oil level measuring device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an oil level gauge guide that holds an oil level gauge for measuring engine oil, and an oil level measuring device that uses the oil level gauge guide.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an engine mounted on a vehicle or the like, an oil level measuring device is provided to measure the amount of engine oil filled in the oil pan and the degree of contamination. The oil level measuring device is to insert the tip of the oil level gauge into the oil pan through a tubular guide (oil level gauge guide) attached to the engine body, and visually observe the engine oil adhering to the tip. Then, the amount of engine oil and the degree of dirt are measured.
[0003]
Conventionally, an oil level gauge guide that holds the oil level gauge so that it can be freely inserted and removed has been formed by bending a metal tube, with its lower end inserted into a drilled communication hole in the engine body. It was screwed to the engine body.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional oil level gauge guide formed by a metal tube expands due to heat transmitted from the engine body, and acts on a fixed portion to the engine body to which a load due to the thermal deformation is screwed. When the load action accompanying this type of thermal expansion is repeated over a long period of time, the screws may loosen and the oil level gauge guide may fall off or be damaged.
[0005]
Moreover, oil level gauge guides made of metal pipes are inflexible, and even if there are slight dimensional errors or processing errors in the engine body to be mounted, screwing will be hindered and mounting work will be complicated. There was a problem.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
[Oil level gauge guide]
The present invention was developed in order to effectively solve the problems of the conventional oil level gauge guide, and the invention of claim 1 is an oil level gauge formed of a resin tube having flexibility. A gauge guide pipe that is detachably held and a mounting means for mounting the gauge guide pipe to the engine body are provided.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first aspect, the gauge guide pipe is linear in a free state, and is suitably bent and attached to the engine body.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first or second aspect, the mounting means includes a short tubular connector protruding from a communication hole to an oil pan formed in the engine body, and the gauge is attached to the connector. The lower end of the guide pipe is fitted and fixed.
[0009]
[Oil level measuring device]
The oil level measuring device according to the present invention is configured as follows using the oil level gauge guide described above.
That is, the invention of claim 4 is an oil level measuring apparatus comprising the oil level gauge guide according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and an oil level gauge held by the oil level gauge guide. The oil level gauge includes a main body formed by cutting an elastic flexible cylindrical resin material into an appropriate length, and a pre-molded resin handle member. The handle member is assembled to the base end portion of the main body, the main body is liquid-tightly sealed at the front end portion, and an oil measuring portion is formed at the front end portion of the main body.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oil level measuring device comprising the oil level gauge guide according to any one of the first to third aspects and an oil level gauge held by the oil level gauge guide. The oil level gauge includes a main body formed by cutting an elastic flexible cylindrical resin material into an appropriate length, a pre-formed resin handle member, And a molded resin oil measuring member, the handle member is assembled to the base end of the main body, the oil measuring member is assembled to the front end of the main body, and the oil measuring member seals the front end of the main body in a liquid-tight manner. It is characterized by having stopped.
[0011]
Therefore, in the invention of claim 1, even if heat is transmitted from the engine body, the gauge guide pipe formed by the resin tube having flexibility is deformed flexibly, so that a load is applied to the mounting location. Without concentrating, it is possible to avoid problems such as dropout and damage.
[0012]
In the invention of claim 2, even if there is a slight dimensional error or processing error in the engine body to be mounted, it can be mounted on the engine body without difficulty by flexing the gauge guide pipe appropriately. Improves.
[0013]
In the invention of claim 3, even if it is a gauge guide pipe having flexibility, the lower end of the gauge guide pipe is externally fixed to the connector so that the connection state between the communication guide hole formed in the engine body is established. It can be maintained firmly.
[0014]
Further, in the inventions of claims 4 and 5, since the oil level gauge body to be inserted into and removed from the gauge guide pipe is formed of a resin material, the inner and outer surfaces of the gauge guide pipe are gently and repeatedly inserted and removed. Is less likely to damage the inner peripheral surface. Moreover, since the oil level gauge is formed by cutting the cylindrical resin material having a flexible body 10 into an appropriate length, various molds can be used depending on the length of the product. Compared to the required injection molding, the equipment cost for manufacturing can be kept low, and since there is no need to adjust the length of the main body after that, there is no generation of chips and waste of materials. The material cost is also low.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The oil level gauge guide of the present embodiment is attached to the engine body 100 as shown in FIG. 1 and holds a rod-like oil level gauge 200 as shown in FIG. The mounting tool 2 is mounted on the engine body 100 (see FIG. 2).
[0016]
Among these, the gauge guide pipe 1 is formed of a flexible resin tube and can be easily bent and deformed. As a resin material forming the gauge guide pipe 1, for example, nylon 12 (PA12) is available. Nylon 12 has heat resistance enough to withstand the heat received from engine body 100, and can be provided with appropriate flexibility to bend flexibly by being formed into a tubular shape (tube shape). It is suitable as a resin material for forming the gauge guide pipe 1. Examples of resin materials having similar characteristics include various nylons such as nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 612, nylon 11, and nylon 610.
[0017]
The gauge guide pipe 1 is easily manufactured by forming the above-described resin material into a continuous resin tube by extrusion molding, and then cutting it to an appropriate length according to the dimensions of the engine body 100 to be mounted. Can do. Further, if necessary, it may be molded into a curved shape that matches the shape of the engine body 100 to be mounted. The gauge guide pipe 1 shown in FIG. 2 is molded in a shape with a curved middle part.
[0018]
The fixture 2 only needs to have a structure that allows the gauge guide pipe 1 to be attached to the engine body 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a cylindrical portion 2a that is externally fitted to the gauge guide pipe 1 and the cylindrical portion 2a. The fixture 2 can be formed of a fitting that is formed of an extending attachment piece 2b and has a screw hole formed in the attachment piece 2b.
[0019]
This fixture 2 is fitted in advance to the mounting portion of the gauge guide pipe 1, and then bulged portions 1a and 1a are formed on both sides of the mounting portion of the fixture guide 1 on the gauge guide pipe 1, respectively. If the fitting 2 is held on the mounting portion by the protruding portion 1a, it is not necessary to prepare and combine the gauge guide pipe 1 and the mounting tool 2 every time when mounting the engine body 100, so that the mounting work is easy. It becomes. The gauge guide pipe 1 made of a resin material can easily form the bulging portions 1a and 1a by molding with heating.
[0020]
The lower end of the gauge guide pipe 1 is connected to a communication hole 102 with an oil pan 101 provided in the engine body 100. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a connection structure with the communication hole. The connection structure shown in the figure has a structure in which a connection groove 103 is formed around the communication hole 102 and the lower end of the gauge guide pipe 1 is inserted into the groove 103. When such a connection structure is employed, a plurality of bulged portions 1b are provided at the lower end portion of the gauge guide pipe 1, and a relatively concave circumferential groove 1c is formed between the plurality of bulged portions 1b. Then, an elastic member 3 such as an O-ring is fitted on the circumferential groove 1c, and the elastic force of the member 3 prevents the engine oil filled in the oil pan 101 from leaking from the communication hole 102. To do.
[0021]
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the connection structure with the communication hole. The structure shown in the figure uses a short tubular connector 4 as a connecting member. That is, the base portion of the connector 4 is press-fitted into a communication hole 102 provided in the engine main body 100, and the head portion is disposed so as to protrude from the communication hole 102. The lower end of the gauge guide pipe 1 is pushed into the protruding portion of the connector 4 and is fitted and fixed. The head portion 4a of the connector 4 has a wedge shape, and the hollow portion inner peripheral surface of the externally fitted gauge guide pipe 1 is engaged with the head portion 4a to prevent the connector 4 from coming off.
[0022]
The inner diameter of the connector 4 and the inner diameter of the gauge guide pipe 1 are set to substantially the same dimensions. Further, the head 4a of the connector 4 is formed such that the outer peripheral surface in the shape of a wedge reaches the inner peripheral edge at the tip, so that no step is generated from the inner peripheral surface of the externally fitted gauge guide pipe 1. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the oil level gauge 200 that is inserted into and removed from the oil pan 101 through the gauge guide pipe 1 is caught at the connection portion with the connector 4.
[0023]
The connector 4 press-fitted and fixed in the communication hole 102 also functions as a mounting means for mounting the lower end portion of the gauge guide pipe 1 to the engine body 100. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower end of the gauge guide pipe 1 only needs to be externally fixed to the connector 4, and only the upper end portion of the gauge guide pipe 1 can be fixed to the engine body 100 via the fixture 2. . Of course, the fixture 2 can be attached to the vicinity of the lower end or the middle part of the gauge guide pipe 1, and the structure can be more firmly attached to the engine body 100 at a plurality of locations.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 6, the gauge guide pipe 1 can be provided in a linear form in a free state without being molded into a curved shape. The gauge guide pipe 1 having such a shape can be manufactured by a simple manufacturing process that is cut after extrusion. In addition, even if there is some error in the dimensional shape of the engine body 100, it can be bent and mounted as appropriate, so that the mounting operation can be performed very easily.
[0026]
Now, in the oil level gauge guide described above, the inner peripheral surface is easily damaged because the gauge guide pipe 1 is formed of a resin tube. For this reason, it is preferable to constitute an oil level measuring device with a combination with a resin oil level gauge 200.
[0027]
FIG. 7 is a view showing a configuration example of an oil level gauge suitable for combination with the oil level gauge guide according to the present invention.
An oil level gauge 200 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body 10 formed by cutting an elastic flexible cylindrical resin material into an appropriate length, a pre-molded resin handle member 20, and the like. The handle member 20 is assembled to the proximal end portion of the main body 10, the main body 10 is liquid-tightly sealed at the distal end portion, and the oil measuring portion 11 is formed at the distal end portion of the main body. .
[0028]
The main body 10 is formed of a cylindrical resin material. For example, nylon 6 (PA6) is used as the resin material forming the main body 10. Nylon 6 is heat resistant enough to withstand the heat received from lubricating oil from automobile engines and the like, and has appropriate flexibility to bend flexibly by being formed into a cylindrical shape (tube shape). Therefore, it is suitable as a resin material for forming the main body 10. Examples of resin materials having similar characteristics include various nylons such as nylon 66, nylon 612, nylon 12, nylon 11, and nylon 610. The main body 10 formed in a cylindrical shape with this kind of resin material has no restriction in the direction of bending, and can be bent three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally).
[0029]
The tip of the main body 10 is heat-sealed to seal the hollow part in a liquid-tight manner, and further, a flat oil measuring part 11 is formed over a certain length region. The oil measuring unit 11 is formed with scales 12a and 12b indicating the lower limit and the upper limit of the oil amount, and a linear protrusion 13 is provided between the scales 12a and 12b in order to improve oil adhesion. It is formed in a mesh shape.
[0030]
The handle member 20 is a resin molded product formed by injection molding, and includes a ring-shaped knob 21, a flange-shaped lid 22, an insertion portion 23 into a guide tube 103 described later, and the insertion portion 23. And a press-fit portion 24 extending from the tip. Among these, the press-fit portion 24 is formed by continuously forming a plurality of wedge-shaped portions along the central axis, and the outer diameter of the thickest portion is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the hollow portion of the main body 10. The handle member 20 is assembled to the base end portion of the main body 10 by press-fitting the press-fit portion 24 from the base end portion of the main body 10 into the hollow portion. An O-ring 25 is attached to the insertion portion 23.
[0031]
The oil level gauge 200 having such a structure is formed of a resin material on the main body to be inserted into and removed from the gauge guide pipe 1 described above. Little damage to the peripheral surface. In particular, if the main body is formed in a cylindrical shape, there are no corners, and scratches are more effectively prevented.
[0032]
FIG. 8 is a view showing another configuration example of an oil level gauge suitable for combination with the oil level gauge guide according to the present invention.
An oil level gauge 200 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body 10 formed by cutting an elastic flexible cylindrical resin material into an appropriate length, a pre-molded resin handle member 20, and the like. And a pre-molded resin-made oil measurement member 30, and the handle member 20 is assembled to the proximal end portion of the main body 10, and the oil measurement member 30 is assembled to the distal end portion of the main body 10, and the oil measurement member 30 The tip end portion of 10 is liquid-tightly sealed.
[0033]
That is, the oil level gauge 200 shown in FIG. 8 has an oil measuring member 30 formed separately from the main body 10, and the oil measuring member 30 is assembled to the base end portion of the main body 10. The oil measuring member 30 is a resin molded product formed by injection molding, and has a flat oil measuring portion 31 and a press-fit portion 32 to the main body 10. Scales 33a and 33b indicating the lower limit and upper limit of the oil amount are formed in the oil measuring unit 31, and the linear protrusions 34 are meshed between the scales 33a and 33b in order to improve oil adhesion. It is formed in a shape. The press-fit portion 32 is formed by continuously forming a plurality of wedge-shaped portions along the central axis, and the outer diameter of the thickest portion is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the hollow portion of the main body 10. By press-fitting the press-fit portion 32 from the tip end portion of the main body 10 into the hollow portion, the tip end portion of the main body 10 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner.
[0034]
Also with the oil level gauge 200 having such a configuration, since the main body and the oil measuring member to be inserted into and removed from the gauge guide pipe 1 described above are formed of a resin material, the insertion and removal of the gauge guide pipe 1 is gently and repeatedly performed on the inner peripheral surface. The operation hardly damages the inner peripheral surface.
[0035]
In addition, the oil level gauge 200 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is formed by cutting the cylindrical resin material having a flexible main body 10 into an appropriate length. There is no need to prepare various molds as in the conventional product to be formed, the equipment cost can be kept low, and there is no need to adjust the length of the main body 10 after that, so there is no generation of chips. The material cost is reduced by eliminating the waste of the material.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if heat is transmitted from the engine body, the gauge guide pipe formed of the resin tube having flexibility is deformed flexibly, so that the load is concentrated on the mounting location. The problem of dropout and breakage can be avoided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a state where an oil level gauge guide according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on an engine body.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration of an oil level gauge guide according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a connection structure between a lower end of a gauge guide pipe and a communication hole.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the connection structure between the lower end of the gauge guide pipe and the communication hole.
FIG. 5 is a front view for explaining a mounting example of the oil level gauge guide according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a front view for explaining another mounting example of the oil level gauge guide according to the embodiment of the present invention.
7A and 7B are diagrams showing a configuration example of an oil level gauge suitable for combination with the oil level gauge guide according to the present invention, in which FIG. 7A is a side cross-sectional view, and FIG. (C) is an exploded perspective view.
8A and 8B are views showing another configuration example of an oil level gauge suitable for combination with the oil level gauge guide according to the present invention, in which FIG. 8A is a partially cutaway front view, and FIG. 8B is an exploded perspective view. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Gauge guide pipes 1a, 1b: bulging portion 1c: circumferential groove 2: mounting tool 2b: mounting piece 2a: cylindrical portion 3: elastic member 4: connector

Claims (3)

In an oil level gauge guide comprising a gauge guide pipe that holds an oil level gauge so that it can be inserted and removed, and a mounting tool for mounting the gauge guide pipe to the engine body.
The gauge guide pipe is
After forming a nylon material having heat resistance to heat received from the engine body and having flexibility to be bent flexibly by forming it into a tubular shape,
Cut to a predetermined length according to the engine body dimensions, manufactured to be linear in a free state without being molded into a curved shape,
When installing to the engine body,
In the free state over almost the entire length, the lower end of the gauge guide pipe formed in a straight line is connected to a communication hole with an oil pan provided in the engine body, the gauge guide pipe is bent, and the gauge guide An oil level gauge guide characterized in that an upper end portion of a pipe is fixed to the engine body via the mounting tool. An oil level measuring device comprising the oil level gauge guide according to claim 1 and an oil level gauge held by the oil level gauge guide,
The oil level gauge is
A heat-resistant to the heat received from the engine body, and a cylindrical body made of a nylon material having flexibility that flexes elastically by being formed into a tubular shape, and a pre-molded resin-made body A handle member, the handle member is assembled to the base end portion of the main body, the main body is liquid-tightly sealed at the tip portion, and the main body tip portion is formed as a flat oil measuring portion. Oil level measuring device. An oil level measuring device comprising the oil level gauge guide according to claim 1 and an oil level gauge held by the oil level gauge guide,
The oil level gauge is
A main body formed in a cylindrical shape with a nylon material having heat resistance to heat received from the engine main body and having flexibility to be bent flexibly by being formed into a tubular shape;
A pre-molded resin handle member and a pre-molded resin oil measuring member; the handle member is assembled to the base end portion of the main body; and the oil measuring member is assembled to the front end portion of the main body and the oil An oil level measuring device characterized in that the tip of the main body is liquid-tightly sealed by a measuring member.

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