JPH0155360B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Claim 1: An assembly 10 for adding liquid to a closed interior chamber 12 defined by a case 14 and having a top portion 16 and a bottom portion 18, comprising: an outlet portion 24 in communication with the top portion 16; an inlet tube structure 20 having an inlet section 22 disposed generally above the outlet section 24, an upper end section 36 and a lower end section 38 disposed generally parallel to the inlet section 22; a dipstab tubing structure 30 having an internal passageway 32; a tubular fitting 40 having a first end portion 42 and a second end portion 44 sealed around the upper end portion 36 and the inlet portion 22; a cap 58 removably attached to the end portion 44 to seal and cover it; one end 64 communicating with the top portion 16 and the other end communicating with the internal passageway 32 outside the case 14; a vent structure 60 having a vent passageway 62 having a portion 66; and a dipstick 34 that fits within the interior passageway 32, the dipstab 34 having a support portion and an upper end portion 56 and It has an adjacently mounted handle 52 which fits within the fitting 40 and which is attached to the cap 58.
An assembly with dimensions and structure that does not interfere with the

2. The assembly (10) of claim 1, wherein the upper end portion (36) is located generally above the inlet portion (22).

3. In the assembly 10 of claim 1, the cases 14, 1 on the opposite side of the top portions 16, 16'
4' and having an injection passage 26, 26' connecting the top portion 16, 16' to the injection tube structure 20, 20';62' is the top portion 16,1
6' to the blocks 70, 70'; and a second portion 74, connecting the first portion 68, 68' to the internal passageway 32, 32'.
74'.

4. In the assembly 10 of claim 4, the dipstick tube structure 30 includes a first tube 76 including the upper end portion 36, a second tube 78 including the lower end portion 38, and the case 14. An assembly comprising a first passageway 80 passing through the block 70 and a second passageway 82 through the block 70, the first passageway 80 and the second passageway 82 coupling the first tube 76 to the second tube 78.

5. The assembly 10 of claim 4 further comprising a boss 90 attached to the block 70' and having a central bore 92, the dipstick tube structure 30' being coupled to the bore 92; and the second portion 74' communicates with the bore 92 through the boss 90.

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates generally to an assembly for injecting fluid into a closed internal chamber, and more particularly to an assembly for injecting lubricating fluid into a transmission.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Civil engineering machinery and other vehicles often have several chambers that must be periodically filled with fluid to the required level, for example, one chamber holds the engine lubricating oil and another chamber holds the transformer. A further chamber may contain transmission fluid, a further chamber may contain brake fluid, and so on. A dipstick is typically used to conveniently determine when fluid is added to a particular chamber.

Since there are a number of chambers that require injection, there must be a corresponding number of dipsticks. Therefore, the operator must select which dipstacks belong to the room in question. The dipstick and fluid addition ports are usually labeled accordingly. However, such labels become obscured by dust and wear. Therefore, labels alone are not an adequate solution to the problem.

It is well known that when injecting into a chamber such as a gasoline or water tank, ventilation is required to remove air from the chamber, but in a closed pressure system such as a transmission, There is still no suitable assembly for performing such ventilation, and in particular it is not known to perform ventilation through an injection assembly with the cap removed during injection. However, systems such as those described above must be properly vented to ensure that the trans- It is especially important to maintain normal transmission pressure.

The present invention seeks to solve one or more such problems.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one object of the invention, an assembly is provided for adding oil to a closed interior chamber defined by a case. An inlet tube structure having an inlet portion and an outlet portion has its outlet portion connected to the top portion of the chamber. The dipstick guide tube structure has an internal passageway within which the dipstick is typically received. The upper end portion of the guide tube structure is disposed generally parallel adjacent to the inlet portion of the injection tube structure. A first end portion of the tubular fitting having a first end portion and a second end portion is sealed around the upper portion of the guide tube structure and the inlet portion of the injection tube structure. The second part of the tubular fitting
A cap is removably attached to cover the end.

With such an assembly, it is impossible for an unskilled person to mistake the dipstab when measuring the level of lubricant in a particular system, such as a transmission. Also, when using the preferred embodiment of the present invention, fluid locking that occurs when injecting into the interior chamber is reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 2, and FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged view of a modified embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an assembly 1 for adding liquid to a closed interior chamber 12 defined by a case 14.
Indicates 0. Chamber 12 has a top portion 16 and a bottom portion 18. Case 14 could be the case of a transmission (not shown), according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, the present invention provides an assembly 10 for injecting only the transmission.
It should be recognized that this is not limited to.

The injection tube structure 20 has an inlet section 22 and an outlet section 2.
It has 4. The outlet section 24 is located at the top section 16 of the chamber 12.
is in contact with. The inlet section 22 is generally higher than the outlet section 24 to allow gravity flow. As seen in Figure 3,
A bore 26 is formed in a flange 28 that extends generally upwardly from the case 14. The outlet portion 24 of the injection tube structure 20 is connected to its bore 26, which communicates with the top portion 16 of the chamber 12.

The dipstab guide tube structure 30 has an internal passageway 32 for receiving a dipstab 34 therein. The dipstab guide tube structure 30 has an upper end portion 36 and a lower end portion 38.
The upper end portion 36 is connected to the inlet portion 22 of the injection tube structure 20.
installed adjacent to and generally parallel to. Generally, the upper end portion 36 of the guide tube structure 30 is located generally above the inlet portion 22 of the injection tube structure 20.
This arrangement prevents fluid from flowing into the upper end portion 36 of the guide tube structure 30 when fluid is added to the inlet portion 22 of the injection tube structure 20.

The first end portion 42 of the tubular fitting 40, which has a first end portion 42 and a second end portion 44, is connected to the upper end portion 36 of the guide tube structure 30 and the inlet tube structure 2.
The area around the entrance portion 22 of 0 is sealed. In the particular embodiment shown, the tubular fitting 40
A wall 46 is formed across the first end 42 of the injection tube structure 20 and has a first aperture 48 into which the inlet portion 22 of the injection tube structure 20 is sealed. The wall 46 also has a second hole 50 into which the upper end portion 36 of the guide tube structure 30 is sealed.

The dipstick 34 fits within the interior passageway 32 of the guide tube structure 30 as previously described. The dip stick 34 has a lower end 54 and an upper end 56, and a handle 52 adjacent the upper end 56.
is installed. The handle 52 is sized and configured to fit within the tubular fitting 40. Cap 58, which is typically of a well-known type and has well-known pressure relief threads to allow internal pressure to be released prior to removal of the cap to prevent fluid splash-out. However, the cap 58 is connected to the tubular fitting 40.
It is removably attached to the second end portion 44 of the second end portion 44 so as to completely cover the second end portion 44 in a sealed state. The handle 52 of the dipstick 34 is also sized and constructed so that it does not interfere with the cap 58. With the above configuration, when it is desired to inject fluid into the chamber 12, the handle 52 of the dipstick 34 can be found immediately after the cap 58 is removed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the venting structure 60, clearly shown in FIG.
When fluid is added to chamber 12 through
Ventilate to release trapped air.
Essentially, the ventilation structure 60 includes a ventilation passageway 62;
One end 64 of this passageway 62 connects to the top portion 16 of the chamber 12, and the other end 66 connects to the case 1.
It connects with the internal passage 32 at a point outside of 4.

The ventilation passage 62 includes a first portion 68 , the first portion 68 .
Portion 68 connects top portion 16 of chamber 16 to block 70. Block 70 is attached to case 14, particularly to flange 28 adjacent top portion 16 of chamber 12, for example by bolts 72 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The ventilation passageway 62 also includes a second portion 74 that is connected to the first portion 68.
is connected to the internal passageway 32 of the guide tube structure 30.
Essentially, first portion 68 is a bore formed within flange 28 and second portion 74 is a passage formed within block 70.

As seen in FIG. 3, the guide tube structure 30 of the illustrated embodiment includes a first tube 76 including an upper end portion 36.
and a second tube 78 including a lower end portion 38. The guide tube structure 30 also includes a first passage 80 through the case 14, in particular the flange 28, and a second passage 82 through the block 70, and the first passage 80 through the block 70.
0 and a second passage 82 connect the first tube 76 and the second tube 78.

It will be appreciated that when fluid is flowed into the injection tube structure 20, air can flow through portions 68 and 74 of the vent passageway 62 into the interior passageway 32 of the guide tube structure 30. Air then exits from the upper end portion 36 of the guide tube structure 30. Air is therefore not trapped within chamber 12 and liquid locking is avoided.

Embodiment of FIG. 4 FIG. 4 shows a variant embodiment of the invention. In this drawing, parts that are substantially similar to those in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 above are designated by the same numerals with a dash. Block 70' of this variant embodiment differs somewhat from block 70 of the previous embodiment. Block 70' has a second passageway section 74' that connects passageway first section 68' to interior 32' of guide tube structure 30'. The block 70' has a boss 9 integrally formed therewith.
0, and this boss 90 has a central bore 92'. A guide tube structure 30' connects to the bore 92;
A second passageway portion 74' is connected to this bore 92, and the bore 92 continues into the interior 32'.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 is particularly useful in gauging the oil level in a pan (not shown) located below chamber 12 at the lower end of guide tube structure 30'. In such a structure, the dipstick guide tube structure 3
0' directly through the transmission case is not easy. In this variation as well, the end of the injection tube structure 20' and the guide tube structure 3
The 0' end is located similarly to the end of the inlet tube structure 20 and the end of the dipstab guide tube structure 30' of FIG. Liquid locking during injection is thus prevented.

Industrial Applicability The apparatus described herein is particularly useful for adding fluid to closed transmission systems of earth-moving vehicles.

The application of this device allows the operator to quickly locate the appropriate dipstick for testing the fluid level in the room.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, venting is provided through the interior of the dipstab guide tube to allow air to escape while the closed chamber is being filled. This ventilation eliminates the chance of liquid locking occurring.

Still other features, objects, and advantages of the invention include:
What can be learned from the drawings, description, and appended claims herein.