GB2178415A - Sump oil drainer - Google Patents

Abstract

A sump oil drainer suitable for use with vehicles comprises a channel portion 2 through which oil may flow for disposal, a receiving portion 3 disposed in use between the channel portion and the sump 30 to be drained and permitting flow of sump oil into said channel portion, and means 6 disposed substantially within the receiving portion for removing the sump bolt 12. The device enables the drainage of sump oil wherein the operator is not required manually to remove the sump bolt, thereby avoiding physical contact with the oil. The portion 2 together with the means 6 is rotatable relative to the portion 3, thereby removing the bolt, which is caught on a mesh 20. The portion 3 is held to the sump by magnets 21. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sump oil drainer This invention relates to a device for draining oil from the sump of a vehicle.

It is general practice when draining the oil from the sump of a vehicle to remove the sump bolt from the sump using a spanner, and allow the oil to fall freely into a suitable receptacle, positioned below the sump.

A problem encountered with this method is that the sump bolt itself must be removed manually and as soon as this is done a sudden surge of oil flows out of the sump, some of which is invariably deposited on the hand of the person removing the bolt and not infrequently runs up his arm. For the average do-ityourself car mechanic this is messy and unpleasant.

Another problem is that the receptacle for the oil must have a wide opening in order to ensure that all of the oil is collected. Bowls may, for example, be used but such receptacles are generally not suitable for transporting the oil to a disposal site. The oil must thus be further transferred to a container such as a can. The transferral of the oil is naturally a time consuming operation and affords further opportunity for spillage.

The second problem has been overcome to some extent by the use of specialised receiving cans which are now commercially available. These cans have an indented surface which faces the sump in use and has an opening at the lowest point thereof. Thus, when the oil falls onto the surface it flows down to the opening, rather like water flowing down a plug hole in a sink.

The opening is made relatively small and provided with a suitable closure so that once in the can the oil is ready for transportation to a disposal site. However, some of the oil naturally clings to the outside of the indented surface and must be wiped off.

It would therefore be a great advantage if a device for facilitating the drainage of sump oil could be provided whereby the operator of the device is not required to manually remove the sump bolt, and would therefore avoid physical contact with the oil. It would also be of assistance if one could provide a device for facilitating the drainage of sump oil, which operates to channel the oil so that it may easily be transferred directly from the sump to a container suitable for transporting the oil to a disposal site.

I have now devised a sump oil drainer which fulfils to a great extent these requirements and thus, according to my invention, there is provided a sump oil drainer comprising a channel portion through which oil may flow for disposal, a receiving portion disposed in use between the channel portion and the sump to be drained and permitting flow of sump oil into said channel portion, and means disposed substantially within the receiving portion for removing the sump bolt.

Preferably the means for removing the sump bolt comprises a member having a substantially central bore adapted to receive the sump bolt in a spannerlike grip, so that when the head of said sump bolt is disposed within said bore, rotation of said member causes rotation of said sump bolt.

Preferably, the sump bolt removing member is rotatable relative to said receiving portion such that the receiving portion may be held stationary in contact with the sump whilst the sump bolt is removed.

Preferably the sump bolt removing member comprises an insert which is non-rotatably held in an end portion of a first elongate cylinder, said other end portion of said first elongate cylinder forms said channel portion, said first-mentioned end portion of said first elongate cylinder is slidably received in an end portion of a second elongate cylinder and said other end portion of said second elongate cylinder forms said receiving portion.

Thus, the sump bolt may be unscrewed by locating the bolt in the bore of the bolt removing member, holding the second cylinder and rotating the first cylinder by gripping the channel portion, thus unscrewing the bolt. Once the bolt is removed, oil may flow through the channel portion to a suitable receptacle for disposal.

Preferably, the edge of the receiving portion which contacts the sump in use is provided with an annular flexible sealing member made for example from rubber to provide sealing contact between the receiving portion and the sump.

The sealing member may be provided with a lip which operates to grip the edge of the receiving portion.

The sealing member may further be provided with means for holding it to the sump, such as a number of magnets. The magnets are disposed on the outside of the sealing member in use so that the attractive force between the magnets and the sump, acting through the material of the sealing member, substantially holds the sealing member to the surface of the sump.

Preferably, a mesh is situated within the first cylinder, disposed across the path of flow of the oil.

The purpose of the mesh is to trap the sump bolt and prevent it from being carried to the receptacle with the flow of oil, or blocking the flow of oil. The mesh should be large holed so that it does not present any significant resistance to the flow of oil.

A length of flexible hose may be connected to the free end of the channel portion in order to lead oil from the drainer to a suitable receptacle.

Preferably the hose is attached to a sleeve which is rotatably mounted on the channel portion. Thus, rotation of the channel portion in order to remove the bolt does not cause rotation of the hose.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a sump oil drainer positioned on a vehicle sump in readiness for use.

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken along the line ll-ll in Figure 1, the mesh not being shown.

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken along the line Ill-Ill in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the sump oil drainer in use, additionally showing the vehicle sump and the receptacle.

Referring to the drawings, a sump oil drainer, generally designated 1, comprises two cylinders, a first cylinder 2 and a second cylinder 3. Both cylinders are preferably made of suitably inert, mouldable material such as PVC. The outer diameter of the first cylinder is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the second cylinder so that the first cylinder may slide upwardly into the second cylinder and rotate freely therewithin.

The first and second cylinders are hereinafter referred to as the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder respectively. The inner cylinder is provided with an outwardly directed flange 4 which may abut against the lower edge 5 of the outer cylinder to thereby limit the upward movement of the inner cylinder into the outer cylinders The end of the inner cylinder 2 which is uppermost in use (hereinafter referred to as the upper end of the inner cylinder) is provided with an insert 6, made of nylon or some plastics material, which fits snugly into the cylinder 2. The insert 6 is retained in the upper portion of the inner cylinder 2 by means of an inwardly directed flange 7 formed in the inner cylinder which limits any downward movement of the insert into the cylinder 2.In addition, in order to prevent the insert 6 from rotating relative to the inner cylinder 2, the inner cylinder 2 is provided with a number of inwardly directed ribs 8, which extended vertically in use and which mate with slots 9 provided on the outer surface of the insert 6. The ribs have a depth equal to that of the insert 6 and end at the flange 7.

As can be seen most clearly from Figure 2, the insert 6 is provided with a central bore 10 which is suitably shaped to receive the head 11 of a sump bolt 12 in a spanner-like grip. The shape and size of the bore will vary depending on the particular application for which the sump oil drainer 1 is designed. A sump oil drainer could be provided with a number of interchangeable inserts 6 to suit it to drain sumps of various vehicles.

In order to provide a good seal between the sump oil drainer 1 and the sump 30 whilst the sump oil is being drained, and to minimise spillage of sump oil, the edge of the outer cylinder 3 which is disposed uppermost in use (hereinafter referred to as the upper edge of the outer cylinder) has a pliable sealing member, made for example from rubber, press fitted thereto, by means of a lip 16 which is provided on the sealing member. The upper edge of the outer cylinder may be slightly turned outwardly, as shown in Figure 1, to form a rim which the lip 16 may grip firmly.The upper edge of the outer cylinder and the sealing member 15 are suitably shaped to fit the contours of the sump of the vehicle for which the sump oil drainer is to be used such that the outer circumferential lip 17 of the seal may completely contact the surface of the sump in use to provide an effective seal between the sealing member and the sump.

A number of powerful magnets 21, for example six, may be attached to the outer surface of the sealing member 15 close to its outer lip 17 which operate in use to hold the sealing member 15 to the sump by means of the attractive force between the magnets and the sump. Alternatively, if no such magnets are provided, the sealing member may be held in contact with the sump manually, or some other attachment means provided.

In order to provide an added seal between the outer cylinder 3 and the sealing member 15, a foam rubber strip 18 may be affixed to the inner surface of the outer cylinder 3 close to its upper edge, so that it contacts the sump 30.

The inside surface of the inner cylinder 2 is provided with a further inwardly directed flange 19 which supports a mesh 20 whose function will be described hereinafter. The mesh 20 is preferably fabricated from nylon.

The inner cylinder 2 has a narrowed, end portion 23 which has a rotatable sleeve 24 secured thereto, for example by means of an inwardly directed annular rib 22 in the sleeve 24 which mates with an annular channel in the end portion 23. The rotatable sleeve is joined to a length of flexible hose 25 by any suitable means. For example, the sleeve may receive the hose 25 as a push fit. The other end of the hose is push fitted onto a screw top 33 of a receiving can 31, shown in Figure 4.

The sump oil drainer is operated as follows. Firstly, the sump bolt 12 is just loosened by turning it with a spanner through approximately half of a revolution.

The rubber sealing member 15 on the drainer 1 is turned back towards the outer cylinder 3 to expose the insert 6. The drainer is then offered up to the sump so that the head 11 of the sump bolt 12 enters the bore 10 in the insert 6. The drainer is pushed upwardly until the upper rim of the outer cylinder 3 contacts the surface of the sump 30. The rubber sealing member 15 is then pushed back to its original position so that it too contacts the sump 30. At this stage, the magnets should be attracted to the surface of the sump through the material of the sealing member 15 to secure the sealing member 15 in place.

Next, whilst holding the outer sleeve firmly, the inner sleeve is rotated so as to further loosen the sump bolt 12 until it is completely free, at which point it will fall downwardly and be caught by the nylon mesh 20.

The nylon mesh thus serves to prevent the sump bolt from falling down and blocking the narrowed portion 23 of the inner tube 2. The mesh should be large holed so that it does not present any significant resistance to the flow of oil through the inner cylinder 2. Once the sump bolt is completely free, a sudden surge of oil will flow out of the sump 30 through the inner cylinder 2 and down the hose 25 to the receiving can 31. The cross sectional flow area of the narrowed portion 23 should be larger than the cross sectional flow area of the bore 10 in the insert 6 to prevent a funnelling effect from occurring and allow the oil to flow freely through the drainer.

The receiving can should be provided with a further opening 34 in addition to that through which the oil enters, to prevent a pressure built up within the can 31 when oil is entering it. This opening is preferably provided with a screw cap 35 which may be used to close the opening after a draining operation.

Since the inner cylinder 2 is pushed upwardly against the edge 5 of the outer cylinder throughout the process of unscrewing the sump bolt, the sump bolt will move downwardly with respect to the insert 6 as it is unscrewed, and therefore the nylon insert must be made sufficiently deep for the head of the bolt to be gripped by the insert until the bolt is completely loosened. The depth of the insert should desirably be at least (2 X depth of head 11) + length of bolt shaft.

Clearly, various modifications may be made to the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein. For example, in order to avoid the need to first free the sump bolt with a spanner, the insert 6 and the inner cylinder 2 could be fabricated from metal making them sufficiently strong to effect the first half turn required to loosen the sump bolt.

It is clear from the foregoing description that the invention provides a device for facilitating the drainage of sump oil which is simple to operate and easy to manufacture. Such a device would be equally invaluable to the home handyman or garage mechanic, the only difference being that devices intended for use in commercial establishments might be provided with larger receiving cans adapted to receive large quantities ofoil.

Claims (8)

1. A sump oil drainer comprising a channel portion through which oil may flow for disposal, a receiving portion disposed in use between the channel portion and the sump to be drained and permitting flow of sump oil into said channel portion, and means disposed substantially within the receiving portion for removing the sump bolt.

2. A drainer as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for removing the sump bolt comprises a member having a substantially central bore adapted to receive the sump bolt in a spanner-like grip, so that when the head of said sump bolt is disposed within said bore, rotation of said member causes rotation of said sump bolt.

3. A drainer as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the sump bolt removing member is rotatable relative to said receiving portion such that the receiving portion may be held stationary in contact with the sump whilst the sump bolt is removed.

4. A drainer as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the sump bolt removing member comprises an insert which is non-rotatably held in an end portion of a first elongate cylinder, said other end portion of said first elongate cylinder forms said channel portion, said first-mentioned end portion of said first elongate cylinder is slidably received in an end portion of a second elongate cylinder and said other end portion of said second elongate cylinder forms said receiving portion.

5. A drainer as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the edge of the receiving portion which contacts the sump in use is provided with an annular flexible sealing member to provide sealing contact between the receiving portion and the sump.

6. A drainer as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5 wherein a mesh is situated within the first cylinder, disposed across the path of flow of the oil.

7. A drainer as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein a length of flexible hose is provided which is connectable to a sleeve rotatably mounted on the free end of the channel portions.

8. A sump oil drainer substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.