Dip stick

Abstract

A dip stick assembly has a dip stick and a housing that receives the dip stick. A wiper is selectively engageable with the dip stick. The wiper has an engaged position and a disengaged position. In the engaged position, the wiper is in contact with the dip stick. In the disengaged position, the wiper is out of contact with the dip stick. The wiper is resiliently biased into the engaged position with dip stick. A block maintains the wiper in the disengaged position when in a blocking position and permits the wiper to be in the engaged position when in the unblocking position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to a dip stick assembly for a vehicle.[0002]A dip stick is used to measure oil in an oil pan or, more broadly, an oil reservoir of a vehicle. Typically, the dip stick remains inserted in a housing that is connected to the oil reservoir. The dip stick will typically have some markings, which serve to reflect the level of oil in the reservoir. During normal operation of the vehicle, oil will splash onto the dip stick at points that do not accurately reflect the oil level. When the oil level is checked, the dip stick is removed from the housing and is typically wiped clean with a cloth. The dip stick is then reinserted into the housing and then removed again to read the oil level, which then provides an accurate reflection of the oil level in the reservoir.[0003]This technique for checking the oil level in a vehicle has its drawbacks. Specifically, the technique is messy. One must have ready some way to wipe the dip stick clean, w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a dip stick assembly and technique for cleaning and reading the oil level of a vehicle's oil reservoir. The dip stick is received in a housing with wipers attached to it. The wipers have an engaged position where they are in contact with the dip stick and a disengaged position where they are out of contact with the dip stick. The wipers are resiliently biased into the engaged position so that the dip stick is automatically wiped when removed from the housing. A block is provided to prevent the wiper from moving into the engaged position. The block is moveable between a blocking position and an unblocking position. The invention provides an automatic technique for cleaning the dip stick assembly, allowing for easy and inexpensive removal and replacement of the dip stick."

Problems solved by technology

Specifically, the technique is messy.

Also, the cloth or such used to wipe the dip stick must be thrown away because it is difficult or impractical to clean, both wasting the cloth and causing the inconvenience of its disposal.

Oil is also wasted because oil on the dip stick is left on the cloth rather than returned to the oil reservoir.

However, these systems are often unreliable or expensive.

Although preferable to wiping the dip stick with a rag, these assemblies may be complicated, awkward to use or expensive.

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