EP2330074B1 - Protection and information houd for fuel nozzle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a protective jacket and identification for a gun equipping a dispensing apparatus of a liquid fuel dispensing installation.

• un corps de pistolet renfermant des organes mécaniques de commande automatique de la livraison de carburant et de l'arrêt de celle-ci,
• un embout distributeur tubulaire destiné à être introduit dans le réservoir d'un véhicule automobile pour permettre son alimentation en carburant,
• une poignée destinée à être prise en main par l'utilisateur, et
• un levier de commande en règle générale monté dans une garde et dont l'activation entraîne la livraison de carburant.

Such a dispensing gun conventionally comprises:

• a gun body containing mechanical components for automatically controlling the delivery of fuel and stopping it,
• a tubular distributor end intended to be introduced into the tank of a motor vehicle to allow its fuel supply,
• a handle intended to be taken in hand by the user, and
• a control lever generally mounted in a guard and whose activation leads to the delivery of fuel.

This dispensing gun can be moved by a user between on the one hand a delivery position in which it is essentially horizontal, and on the other hand a hooking position on a dispensing apparatus in which it is essentially vertical, the nozzle distributor extending above the gun body.

The fuel dispensing guns are conventionally equipped with protective and identification shirts consisting of flexible or rigid plastic elements which cover the gun body to protect it in the event of a violent impact, particularly in the event of a fall.

These protective shirts are also generally equipped with identification elements such as macaroons whose function is to display the type of fuel dispensed, or where appropriate an advertisement.

The protective jackets equipping the fuel dispensing guns are however not without drawbacks, in particular because they do not prevent the handle and / or the control lever from being soiled with fuel, which is very inconvenient for the user, particularly in the case of diesel fuel which is distinguished by a very viscous, or that during a delivery, fuel is projected on the hand of the user who holds these elements.

Indeed, at the end of each delivery, there are still drops of fuel in and on the tip of the dispensing gun.

However, when the user extracts this nozzle from the tank of his vehicle to hang the gun vertically on the dispensing device, these drops fall on the ground and / or flow along it on the protective jacket, and up to the gripping handle and the control lever.

As a result, during the next delivery, the gripping elements seized by the user are contaminated with fuel.

Another disadvantage of the protection and identification shirts currently on the market is linked to the fact that they do not provide any protection for the identification elements that are placed on top of them.

As a result, these elements wear out very quickly and are subject to risks of rupture or even loss under the action of shocks or drops of the dispensing gun.

The present invention aims to provide a protective jacket and identification for a liquid fuel dispensing gun to overcome these disadvantages with a particular configuration allowing it in particular to evacuate the projected fuel droplets and giving it a greater resistance to shocks and aggression likely to alter it.

This protective and identification jacket is constituted by an element, preferably made of plastic material, covering the gun body and extending at the base of the dispensing nozzle and around this nozzle by an anti-splash and anti-splash protection collar. runoff of drops.

This protective jacket may advantageously be held on either side of the dispensing gun by clamping screws.

The primary function of such a protective collar is to intercept the drops projected during a delivery of fuel.

According to the invention, the protective and identification jacket is equipped at its lower part with a drip pin located at the lower part of the protective collar to allow capillary elimination of the fuel drops intercepted by that on delivery when the gun is in the horizontal position.

As part of this disclosure, the terms lower, upper ... refer to a dispensing gun in such a delivery position and the terms upstream and downstream refer to the direction of fuel flow in the dispensing gun.

According to the invention, the protective and identification jacket is also equipped with an upper drop recovery channel, essentially in the form of a circular arc, which is located directly upstream of the protective collar in the direction of circulation of fuel in the dispensing gun.

The primary function of such an upper channel which has a depth of a few millimeters is to intercept and collect drops of fuel projected or oozing during delivery and also to collect drops of fuel projected on the upper part of the shirt. protection and identification and sliding towards this channel by gravity.

According to the invention, the protective and identification jacket is furthermore equipped with a lower drop recovery channel in the form of an elongated curve which is situated upstream of the upper drop recovery channel in the direction of circulation of fuel in the dispensing gun.

Such a lower channel which also has a depth of a few millimeters and circumscribes the lower part of the protective and identification jacket delimits, at its upstream part, a bead in the shape of a tongue extending by a pin of draining at its lower part.

During a delivery, this lower channel can also intercept and collect drops of fuel projected on the protective and identification jacket.

In addition, the geometry and orientation of the upper channel and the lower channel are chosen so that when the gun is returned to the vertical position of attachment on the associated dispensing device, after delivery, the fuel collected in the upper channel is transferred by gravity into the lower channel, and that during the next delivery when the gun is again in the horizontal position the fuel thus transferred into the lower channel is removed by capillarity to the ground.

The presence of the tongue-shaped bead more precisely allows a better collection of the fuel thus transferred and also the drops remaining on the dispensing tip at the end of a delivery, which thus flow by gravity along this tip and the front part of the protective and identification jacket to the lower channel.

The drip pin located at the bottom of the tongue-shaped bead furthermore makes it possible to eliminate the fuel collected by the principle of the "water droplet" and thus prevent this fuel can reach the gripping portion of the dispensing gun, that is to say the handle and the control lever.

Moreover, when, during the next delivery, a user transfers the dispensing gun from the hooking position to the delivery position, that is from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position, the fuel collected in the lower channel is removed by capillarity to the ground via the drip pin of the bead in the form of tongue and therefore can not come soil the handle and the control lever.

It should be noted that it had already been proposed, in accordance with FR 2 611 688 A1 to equip a fuel dispensing gun with a protective jacket covering the pistol body and extending at the base and around the dispensing nozzle by an anti-splash and anti-droplet protection collar which defines around this nozzle a recovery gutter extending rearward by a groove equipped at its end with a drip pin allowing the evacuation of the intercepted fuel drops.

However, there is an essential difference between the protective jacket disclosed in this document and the protective and identification jacket which is the subject of the invention to the extent that according to this prior publication, the drops are intercepted when the dispensing gun is in the delivery position, that is to say horizontal and some drops are thus hooked by capillarity to the protective jacket in the recovery gutter, while others fall on the ground without any control.

Then, when the dispensing gun is returned to the upright position on its support, the drops remaining in the recovery gutter flow on the dispenser and fall in the immediate vicinity of this device.

On the contrary, according to the invention, given the particular geometry of the protective jacket, the recovered drops are always discharged when the dispensing gun is in a horizontal position, so that these drops fall on the ground away from the device distributor.

Indeed, in normal operating mode, the drops can not in any way flow when the dispensing gun is in vertical position and all the collected drops are in all circumstances channelized on the protective sleeve and in particular guided the upper drops recovery channel to the lower drops recovery channel during a transfer of the dispensing gun in the vertical position.

Consequently, according to the invention, the particular geometry of the protective and identification jacket and in particular the presence and orientation of the upper and lower drops recovery channels, allows a more complete recovery of the fuel drops projected onto this jacket, the middle part, the upper part and the lower part thereof, and a control of the evacuation to the ground of the recovered fuel, which is performed when the dispensing gun is in position horizontal.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the protective and identification jacket is extended at its upstream portion by two substantially identical lateral wings directly adjacent to the gripping handle and the control lever so as to protect the hand of the user in case of projection of liquid fuel.

These two fins, which are arranged systematically on both sides of the protective and identification jacket at the rear part of this jacket, have the function of making "screen" to protect the hand of the user holding the dispensing gun. during a delivery by avoiding that drops of fuel possibly projected laterally can reach until this one.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, the protective and identification jacket is equipped at its upper part with a flat surface on which is fixed an identification element and which is surrounded by a protective edge.

Such an identification element which must be visible to the user, both when the dispensing gun is in the delivery position and when it is in the hooking position, is generally constituted by a macaroon made of a plastic material. tough.

Such a badge can optionally be replaced by a sticker, which has the advantage of allowing to limit the risk of deterioration or loss of this element.

According to the invention, the protective edge is preferably subdivided into a front edge section and a rear edge section constituted by beads projecting from the identification element.

As a result, these beads receive and absorb the shocks acting on the upper part of the dispensing gun and can thus effectively protect the identification element and the gun body by damping and mitigating the effects of these shocks on the organs. Mechanical automatic control mounted to the inner part of the body of this gun.

The rear edge section may advantageously be shaped so as to partially cover the hand of a user when he holds the handle to intercept drops of fuel projected on the top of the dispensing gun and the protective jacket and d identification and thus contribute to the protection against spraying and anti-dripping drops.

According to the invention, the protective fins and the rear edge section are preferably ergonomically shaped to fit the shape of the hand of a user holding the handle and actuating the control lever, so as to improve its comfort of use.

• la figure 1 est une vue de côté de la chemise montée sur un pistolet distributeur,
• la figure 2 est une vue de dessous en perspective d'une telle chemise,
• la figure 3 est une vue de dessus d'une telle chemise,
• la figure 4 est une vue de face d'une telle chemise, et
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe de la bordure de protection entourant un élément d'identification.

The characteristics of the protective and identification jacket which is the subject of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the appended nonlimiting drawings in which:

• the figure 1 is a side view of the jacket mounted on a dispensing gun,
• the figure 2 is a perspective bottom view of such a shirt,
• the figure 3 is a top view of such a shirt,
• the figure 4 is a front view of such a shirt, and
• the figure 5 is a sectional view of the protective border surrounding an identification element.

According to Figures 1 to 4 , the dispensing gun 1 is equipped with a gun body 15 covered by a protective and identification jacket 7, a tubular dispensing nozzle 5 of slightly curved shape, a gripping handle 2 and a lever 4 mounted in a guard 3.

The guard 3 is equipped with a hook 6 for locking the gun 1 on a dispensing device.

The gun body 15 contains mechanical components for automatic control of the delivery of fuel and the stop thereof which are not shown in the figures.

The gun 1 can be moved by a user between a hooking position not shown in the figures in which it is blocked on a dispenser device with the hook 6 in a substantially vertical position in which the nozzle 5 s distributor extends above the gun body 15, and on the other hand a delivery position shown on the figure 1 wherein it extends substantially horizontally to allow the introduction of the dispensing nozzle 5 in the tank of a motor vehicle and its fuel supply.

According to Figures 1 to 4 , the liner 7 extends at the base of the dispensing nozzle 5 and around this endpiece by an anti-splash and anti-droplet protection collar 8 which is equipped at its lower part with a drip pin 16 shown in FIG. the figure 2 .

This drip pin 16 makes it possible to eliminate by capillarity the drops of fuel intercepted by the collar 8 during delivery, when the gun 1 is in a horizontal position.

The liner 7 is also equipped with an upper drip recovery channel 9 and a lower drip recovery channel 10.

The upper channel 9, which is essentially in the form of a circular arc, is situated directly upstream of the protective collar 8 and extends around the upper part of the jacket 7.

As represented more precisely on the figure 2 , the lower channel 10 which is located upstream of the upper channel 9 has the shape of an elongated curve extending around the lower part of the sleeve 7 and defines at its upstream portion a bead 17 in the form of a tongue which extends by a drip pin 11 at its lower part.

The upper channel 9 which has a depth of a few millimeters has the function of intercepting and collecting drops of fuel projected on the liner 7 during a delivery of fuel.

The lower channel 10 which also has a depth of a few millimeters also makes it possible to intercept and collect drops of fuel projected on the liner 7 during a fuel delivery.

In addition, when the pistol 1 is returned to the vertical latching position by a user after delivery, the fuel collected in the upper channel 9 and the remaining drops on the distributor end 5 are transferred by gravity into the lower channel 10 without being able to reach the handle 2 and the control lever 4.

Moreover, and according to figures 1 and 2 , the liner 7 is symmetrically extended at its upstream portion by two identical lateral fins 12 directly adjacent to the gripping handle 2 and the control lever 4 so as to protect the hand of the user in the event of lateral projection of fuel during operation. 'a delivery.

According to figures 1 , 3 and 5 , the liner 7 is equipped at its upper part with a flat surface on which is fixed a circular identification element 13 and which is surrounded by a protective edge including a front edge section 14a more specifically shown in FIG. figure 5 and a rear edge portion 14b projecting from the member 13.

According to figures 1 and 3 , the rear edge portion 14b has a shape allowing it to partially cover the hand of a user holding the handle 2 to contribute to its anti drop protection during delivery.

In addition, the fins 12 and the rear edge portion 14b are ergonomically sized to match the shape of the hand of a user holding the handle 2 and operating the control lever 4.

NOMENCLATURE

1

Gun

2

Handle grip

3

Keep

4

Control lever

5

Dispensing tip

6

Hook

7

Protective and identification shirt

8

Collar

9

Upper drops recovery channel

10

Lower drops recovery channel

11

Drain plug

12

Lateral fins

13

Identification element

14a

Front section

14b

Rear section

15

Gun body

16

Drain plug

17

bead

Claims (3)

1. A protection and identification jacket (7) for a liquid fuel dispensing nozzle (1), said nozzle comprising:

   - a nozzle body (15) containing mechanical members designed automatically to deliver the fuel and to shut it off,

   - a tubular dispensing tip (5) designed to be introduced into the tank of the automobile vehicle so that it can be supplied with fuel,

   - a handle (2) designed to be held by the user,

   - a control lever (4) mounted as a general rule in a guard (3), whose actuation entails the delivery of the fuel,

   - wherein said dispensing nozzle (1) may be displaced by the user between a dispensing position in which it is substantially horizontal and a position hooked on a dispensing apparatus in which it is substantially vertical, the dispensing tip (5) extending above the nozzle body (15),
   said protection and identification jacket (7) being formed by a member, preferably of plastics material, covering the nozzle body (15) and being prolonged at the base of the dispensing tip (5) and about said tip by an anti-spray and anti-drip protection collar (8),
   characterized in that it is equipped with:

   - a drainage lug (16) located at the lower portion of the protective collar (8) so that the drops of fuel intercepted by said collar during a delivery in which the nozzle (1) is in a horizontal position may be discharged by capillary action,

   - an upper droplet recovery channel (9), shaped substantially as a circular arc, disposed directly upstream of the protective collar (8) in the direction of circulation of the fuel in the dispensing nozzle (1),

   - a lower droplet recovery channel (10), shaped as an elongate curve, disposed upstream of the upper droplet recovery channel (9) in the direction of circulation of the fuel in the dispensing nozzle (1), and bounding, at its upstream portion, a bead (17) in the form of a tongue prolonged by a drainage lug (11) in its lower portion,

   - the geometry and the orientation of the upper channel (9) and the lower channel (10) being selected such that, when the nozzle is returned to the vertical position after a delivery, the fuel collected in the upper channel (9) is transferred under the effect of gravity to the lower channel (10) and in that, during a following delivery, when the nozzle (1) is again in a horizontal position, the fuel transferred to the lower channel (10) is discharged to the ground by capillary action.
2. A protection and identification jacket according to claim 1, characterized in that it is prolonged in its upstream portion by two lateral flanges (12) directly adjacent to the gripping handle (2) and the control lever (4) so as to protect the user's hand from any lateral spray of liquid fuel.
3. A protection and identification jacket according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is provided in its upper portion with a planar surface on which an identification member (13) is secured and which is surrounded by a protective edge (14a, 14b).

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