Dipstick assembly with lock system

• US 8,881,421 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2012
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Center Manufacturing, Inc. (U.S. Fiduciary Services, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Center Manufacturing, Inc. (U.S. Fiduciary Services, Inc.)
• Inventors: Krishnamurthy, Ramnath Kaushik, Haigler, Ernest Scott, Skelton, Barry N., Skwor, Jeffery Donald, Beyer, Andrew David
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, G. Bradley
• Application Number:
  US13/475,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20130305552A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 33722-731
• US Class Current: 33/728
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/04 by dip members, e.g. dip-sticks

Abstract

A dipstick assembly includes a lock system. A cap has a blade, cable or extension for measuring fluid levels. The locking system has the ability to limit the assembly of a locking dipstick to one radial position. The cap has an engagement end. A cup has a receiving end. The engagement end of the cap is removably sealably disposable in the receiving end of the cup. The lock system may include a pair of slots on the cap and a pair of lugs on the cup, and a tab on the cap and a shoulder/recess on the cup that cooperate to limit the system to one way assembly. The tab and recess also provide a visible lock indicator to confirm that the slots and lugs, which are not visible, are fully engaged and locked.

Claims

1. A dipstick assembly, comprising:

a dipstick including a cap with an extension extending from the cap for measuring a fluid level, the cap having a gripping end and a distal engagement end; and

a cup for cooperatively engaging with the cap,

a slot and a tab on one of the cap and the cup and a lug and a recess on the other of the cap and the cup,

wherein the cap and the cup cooperatively engage in both an unlocked engagement position and a locked engagement position,

in the unlocked engagement position the tab is disposed in one end of the recess and a portion of the slot engages the lug;

in the locked engagement position the tab is disposed in another end of the recess and a remaining portion of the slot engages the lug creating a lock between the slot and the lug,

wherein the tab and recess limit assembly of the cap and cup to one locked position relative to each other.

2. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the slot and tab are on the cap and the lug and recess are on the cup and wherein the cup has a rim and the recess is separated longitudinally from the rim such that engagement of the tab and the rim does not allow the handle and the cup to be in either of the unlocked and locked engagement positions, but engagement of the tab and the recess does.

3. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cap and cup are rotatable about 90 degrees when the tab is positioned in the recess.

4. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the slot and tab are on the cap and the lug and recess are on the cup and wherein the cap has a wall and the slot is disposed in the wall.

5. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the slot and tab are on the cap and the lug and recess are on the cup and wherein the cup has an interior wall and the lug is disposed on the interior wall.

6. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the slot is a bayonet slot.

7. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cap is rotatable in only one direction.

8. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:

an unlocked indicator, wherein in the unlocked engagement position the tab of the dipstick is disposed in one end of the recess associated with the unlocked indicator and a portion of the slot engages the lug of the cup; and

a locked indicator, wherein in the locked engagement position the tab of the dipstick is disposed in another end of the recess associated with the locked indicator and a remaining portion of the slot engages the lug creating a lock between the slot and the lug.

9. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein in the locked engagement position, the slot and the lug are interior and are not visible from an exterior of the dipstick assembly and the tab and recess remain, at least in part, on an exterior of the dipstick assembly and capable of being visible to an operator.

10. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the lug is a pair of diametrically opposed lugs and the slot is a pair of diametrically opposed slots.

11. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the recess has a circumferential length and the slot has a portion with a circumferential length that is substantially equal to the recess circumferential length.

12. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:

a lock indication system comprising a tab on the cap and a recess on the cup, the tab having an unlocked position and a locked position different from the unlocked position, wherein the unlocked position corresponds with one arrangement of the slot and the lug and wherein the locked position corresponds with another arrangement of the slot and lug, which is different from the one arrangement in the unlocked position.

13. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the cap and the cup are capable of locking in either a clockwise or a counter clockwise manner, and the tab and recess limit the cap and cup to one locked radial position and uni-directional locking.

14. The dipstick assembly according to claim 1, wherein the slot and tab are on the cap and the lug and recess are on the cup.

15. A dipstick with a lock system, comprising:

a cap with an extension for measuring fluid levels, the cap having an engagement end;

a cup having a receiving end, wherein the engagement end of the cap is removably sealably disposable in the receiving end of the cup; and

a lock system comprising a pair of slots on the cap and a pair of lugs on the cup, the pair of slots being capable of engaging the pair of lugs in only one radial position every time the cap and cup are locked together.

16. The dipstick of claim 15, wherein the tab is positioned on the cap relative to the slot at a predetermined location.

17. The dipstick of claim 15, wherein each slot is an L-shaped slot and each lug is disposed in a first leg of the L-shaped slot in the unlocked position and in the first and a second leg of the L-shaped slot in the locked position.

18. The dipstick of claim 15, wherein the extension is a blade or a cable.

19. The dipstick of claim 15, further comprising a lock system comprising a tab on the cap and a recess on the cup, the tab having an unlocked position and a locked position different from the unlocked position, the unlocked position corresponds with one arrangement of the slot and the lug and the locked position corresponds with another arrangement of the slot and lug, which is different from the one arrangement in the unlocked position.

20. The dipstick of claim 17, wherein the recess has a length equal to a length of the second leg.

21. The dipstick of claim 15, wherein the tab and recess further comprise a lock indication system by associating a position of the tab in the recess with a locked position and an unlocked position.

22. The dipstick of claim 21, wherein the lock indication system has markings on one of the tab and the recess.