US2330634A - Gasoline pump - Google Patents

Description

' p 1943. w. E. SHOEMAKER 2330,634

4 GASOLINE PUMP Filed Dec. 19, 1940 9 Sheefs-Sheet 1 P 4 w. E. SHOEMAKER 2,330,634

GASOLINE PUMP Filed Dec. 19, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 28, .1943. w. E3SHOEMAKER GASOLINE PUMP 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 19., 1940 FIG.

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Sept 28, 1943.

W. E. SHOEMAKER GASOLINE PUMP Filed Dec. 19, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTO/P/Vf VJ Sept. 28,- 1943; w. ESHOEMAKER GASOLINE. PUMP 2, m 3 r a k WMM HIM MU n 1 al HH HMU F a J a 3 INVENTOR WILLIAM E. JHOEI'MKER swim; 1.3.;

ATTORNEYS Sept. 28*, 1943. w. E. SHOEMAKER GASOLINE PUMP Fild Dec. 19, 1940 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 FIG/X iNVENTOR Lql WILLIAM E. .SHOENAKER BY A .5 aw.

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ATTORNEYS enclosing the pump mechanism.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE William E. Shoemaker, Freeport, N. Y., assignor to Sinclair Refining Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maine Application December 19, 1940, Serial No. 379,886 2 Claims. (01. 221-95) This invention relates to improvements in gasoline pumps of the dispensing type such as are used in service stations for pumping and metering gasoline from an underground tank for automobiles. The invention relates more particularly to gasoline pumps which will largely overcome or minimize the difllculties commonly met with in the upkeep and maintenance of such pumps under'service conditions.

Gasoline pumps are commonly located at the curb or in service stations where automobiles drive alongside the pump, close enough to permit the flexible hose from the pump to reach,

the filling opening of the gasoline tank of the automobile. These pumps are made up of a number of parts, including usually an electric motor for driving the pump, a pump driven by the motor and having its inlet connected with an underground gasoline tank through pipe connections, a separating chamber for separating entrained air from the gasoline, a meter for measuring the gasoline, indicating and computing mechanism connected with the meter for measuring the gasoline dispensed and computing the price, illumination for the pump, usually at the top, electrical connections and conduits for operating and illuminating the pump, pipe connections for connecting the various units through which the gasoline flows, supports for the various elements and members going into the complete pump construction, and an outer casing ,One of the common difliculties experienced in the operation of filling stations is injury to the pump mechanism by being 'bumped into or hit by automobiles with resulting wreckage or 1 injury to the pumpmechanism requiring repair of the pump before it can be again operated.

This involves high maintenance costs for repair or replacement, and putting the pump out of operation until repaired or replaced.

With the advent of the computer type of pump a'higher maintenance cost resulted than had previouslybeen experienced with other types of pumps. It was apparent that this was caused by the complicated mechanism and the manner of constructing the pump in a manner advantageo'us from the standpoint of the pump manufacturer, but withv the resulting diiiiculty of repair such that excessive time was required in the field on the part of repair men for removing and replacing one or more of the various units which go to make up the pump construction.

In addition to maintenance difficulties it was 7 found that a very considerable number ofthe dislocating of the parts or the pump mechanism so that the entire pump had to be replaced or rebuilt. In other cases the parts of the pump mechanism were jarred out of alignment without apparent serious injury but with resulting interference with the continued operation or with overloading and buming out of the motor and with necessity for shutting down and repair. The breaking of a pipe connection at the point where the pump would normally be hit by an automobile permits the gasoline to run down out of the pump onto the ground with resulting loss of gasoline and serious fire hazard if the gasoline is igni d- Gasoline pumps are commonly constructed with a frame-work of vertical pipes or elements rigidly supported on a metal base, and to which the outer v sheet metal casing is secured. One of the main disadvantages of pumps which I have investtgated was that they were all constructed of numerous units, somesupported directly from the comer posts of the pump frame itself, and the others usually supported on brackets whichin turn were supported by the corner posts. In order to remove any of the parts it was necessary in some cases to disassemble the whole pump and in others to disassemble up to the point of the unit upon which the work had to be done.

" Due to this type of construction, any bump of the pump by a car would usuallydamage one or two of the supports, with resulting breakage of the unit, or bending of the support or supports holding the unit, so that the pump would be im-. mediately injured or put out of operation, and usually had to be crated and shipped to the salvage shop. Even where breakage or bending of the support did not actually occur, or where the Another diiliculty which was met with was the 4 difliculty oi! disassembling the pump units which were so tied together within the pump casing as to be relatively inaccessible, and difllcult to dis- A assemble byremoving only one unit when that unit was the one requiring repair.

The present invention provides an improved construction in which the difliculties and objections such as those above referred to are largely overcome or minimized.

The improvedpump of the present invention has an outer framework by which the top of the pump is supported and has the main units and elements of the pump mechanism supported within the pump casing inside the framework and casing and spaced apart from the framework and having no contact therewith. With all units mounted together and supported by the base without any connection to the pump case and frame,

for recording the gasoline pumped and usually for computing the price.

so that when the nozzle is detached the pump is the pump is protected frominjury by collision of a car with the frame. The provision of a clear space between the unit and outer frame and housing of the pump prevents wrecking of the pump when the outer housing and framework is hit. With this construction, collision may damage the housing and outer framework, but will not reach, except in a few cases, the mechanism or the units of the pump.

The pump is moreover constructed of units which can be readily disassembled so that each unit may be readily removed and a substitute unit inserted without dimclllty and with a mini-,

mum of labor. The servicing of the materially facilitated.

With the new pump construction, the main units of the pump are supported directly from the pump base, with certain units supporting each other, or with a plurality of units supported by a single unitary support from the pump base, and without any connection with the outer framepump is thus work and casin so that either the pump'mechanism as a whole, or different individual units of the pump mechanism can be readily removed from the casing and repaired or replaced.

The independent support for the pump units advantageously includ a layer of rubber for reducing vibration.

. With the complete pump, as well as its units or elements, independently supported by the pump base, and separate from the outer frame and cas- The individual units, such as electric motor, pump and separator, meter, and clock must all be connected up together and maintained in an operating condition.- Electric wiring leading to the motor and having switch mechanism for starting and stopping the motor is also provided,

the switch commonly being operated by the support for the nozzle of the flexible delivery pipe started.

In the operation of such pumps, the starting of the motor and pump, upon removal of the delivery hose nozzle from its support, may precede theactual delivery of gasoline from the hose to the automobile tank. The pump is provided with suitable control and by-pass valves to-maintain the gasoline supply at the. proper pressure for delivery, and to permit by-pass of the gasoline from the discharge side of the pump to the inlet side when the pumping operation develops excess pressure in the pump. The pump i also provided with screens for filtering the gasoline, while the separator is usually provided with a float control valve to p rmit. escape of separated air to the atmosphere without permitting escape of asoline.

In the newpump construction the pump with its valves and air eliminator'is advantageously arranged somewhat above the base member of the pump, and is supported therefrom in such a ing, the pump as a whole is readily accessible and the individual units are also readily accessible so that one unit only can be readily removed and replaced inafew minutes,

The new pump may be made up of standard units or the units may be specially designed to permit-the units to support each other. Where which is advantageously combined with a separator for separating entrained air from the gasoline. The pump'is commonly run by a belt drive from the motor and is connected with the supply of gasoline, usually an underground tank.

The pump unit discharges the gasoline into the separator, where entrained air is separated, and

.manner that the units can be readily removed and replaced. The meter unit, connected with the separator or air eliminator or with the combined pump-separator unit, and also having a connection with the outside flexible delivery hose,

is advantageously arranged above the pump-separatorunit and is so connected therewith as to be readily detached and removed. Where the meter is a. standard unit, it is advantageously supported from the base of the pump, or by the same supporting members which support the pump and eliminator, but in any case the supports are independent of the outer framework and casing of the pump. v

The meter is, however, advantageously supported directly by thepump and separator unit,

thus avoiding the need of supporting means for the meter, and utilizing the pump and separator unit as the supporting means for the meter. In this case the. only supporting element required for supporting the pump-eliminator and the meter is a framework, advantageously of inverted U-shape, supported by the base plate of the pump, and in turn supporting the pump and eliminator, which in turn supports the meter.

The clock mechanism is conveniently arranged at the top of the pump and may be supported by the main framework of the pump, with the usual small connecting rods connecting the meter with -the.clock mechanism. With such an arrangement, the clock is the only element supported by the outerpump casing and framework, while the from the separator the gasoline is delivered to a meter and then to a flexible hose, usually with a hand-control valve and nozzle at the end. The

meter is in turn connected to clock mechanism other elements of the pump, namely the electric motor, the pump and air eliminator, and the meter, are independently supported directly from the base-plate of the pump and without any connection to the outer framework and pump casing.

The invention will be further described in con- 'nection with the following more detailed description-and the embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

In said drawings:

Fig. I is a perspective view of a unitary structhe means for separating 'the lighter fluids from I the liquid and separately discharging them are included; the flow meter being rigidly connected with that unitary casing; and all entirely independent of the outer casing and its supporting frame which are not shown in Fig. I.

Fig. II is-a front elevation of the integrated structure shown in Fig. I, showing two of the four vertical angle bar columns of the frame for supporting the outer casing, which isomitted from Fig. I.

Fig. III is a plan sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. I; including in section the four ver tical angle bar columns, of which two are shown in Fig. II, and also showing in section the outer sheet metal casing supported by those columns and showing in section the unitary casing which contains the pump and the means for separating the lighter fluids.

Fig. IV is a vertical sectional view of saidunitary casing taken on the lin IV-IV in Fig. III in the direction of the arrows on said line, but on a larger scale.

Fig. V is a sectional view to the same scale as Fig. IV taken on the line V-V in Fig. III in the direction of the arrows on said lines.

Fig. VI is a vertical sectional view taken on the lines VI-VI in Figs. II and V in the direction of the arrows on said lines, but on a larger scale than Fig. V.

Fig. VII is a vertical sectional view taken on the line VII'VII in Figs. II and V in the direction of the arrows on said line, but on the same scale as Fig. VI.

Fig. VIII is an elevation of a modified structure in which the various units of the pump structure are supported directly from the base and independently of the outer framework and casing but with the meter shown as a separate unit connected by piping with the pump-separator units; and

Fig. IX is an elevation of the apparatus of Fig. VIII, taken at right angles thereto, and with the casing partly removed, as in Fig. VIII to show the independent support of the pumpmechanism within and apart from the outer framework and casing.

Referring to Figs. I and II; the base member I is conveniently formed as a single iron casting rigidly connected by four bolts I with the bridge frame 2 which is of inverted U-shape. The sin vgle unitary casing 3 is rigidly mounted upon the top of said bridge frame, conveniently by four bolts 3 at the respective corners'thereof, and contains the pump and the several valves leading to and from the same and the means for separating the lighter fluids from the liquid and separately' discharging them as hereinafter described. The head 3* which covers said'casing 3 is rigidly connected with the flow meter 4, conveniently by several bolts 3*.

Said flow meter includes four cylinders 4' having respective heads 4?, three of which are indicated in Fig. I. Four pistons are respectively mounted to reciprocate in said cylinders and are operatively connected with the crankshaft 5. Said shaft 5 is provided with the coupling 5 at the top thereof for flexible connection with a computing registering mechanism or other indicating means, not shown.

As shown in Figs..I and 11; said bridge frame 2 has mounted within it the electric motor I rigidly wardly through said base I in engagementwith the junction box I0 which has the removable screw cover Ill. The left-hand end of said junction box, as shown in Fig. II, communicates with the conduit l0 through which the electrical conductors extend within the casing of said motor 1. The clamp Ill which is rigidly connected with said frame 2 by the bolt Ill supports the junction of said box In with said conduit Ill. The righthand end of said junction box I0 is connected with the conduit Hi through which electrical conductors may be extended to switching means controlling the lights illuminating the ordinary and well-known volume indicating means connected to the meter.

Said motor 1 has the armature shaft I provided with the pulley I connectedby the belt II with the pulley H on the pump shaft l3 whereby said shaft I3 is rotated whenever said motor I is energized.

Referring to Fig. II; the liquid supply pipe l5 leads from an underground tank to said casing 3 with which it is conveniently connected by the inlet coupling l5. Said coupling connects with the liquid inlet l5 shown at the bottom of said casing 3 in Figs. V and VI. Liquid rising through said inlet I5 is received in the inlet screen chamber l6 which, as shown in Figs. V and VI, contains the removable cylindrical perforated screen ll carried by the hollow screen frame I! which is slidably fitted on the bolt I! which; at its inner end, is screwed into rigid connection. with said casing 3. Said screen chamber l6 is-open at its left-hand end shown in Fig. VI, which is provided with the removable cover I! normally held in closed position by the nut ll engaging the outer latter into fluid-tight relation with the'inner end of said chamber 16. 7 The liquid passes through said screen frame and the port I6 at the inner end of said chamber Hi, into the passageway l8 shown in Fig. VI leading to the pump chamber l9 shown in Figs. IV and V.

As shown in Fig. IV, said pump shaft [3 is journaled at its inner end in the bearing l3 in said casing 3, and at its outer end in the cover I3 which latter is rigidly held on said unitary casing 3 by the ring 13 secured by the bolts l3 shown in-Fig. I. As shown in Fig. IV, said bearing in cover l3 is sealed at its opposite ends by spring pressed rings l3 and l3.

Said pump shaft l3 carries the pump rotor 20 conveniently of the type which is mounted eccentrically in said pump chamber I9 and provided with a circumferential series of blades 20 which are free to reciprocate so as to continually bear upon the inner cylindrical surface of said chamber l9 and sweep the liquid from said passageway l8 through said pump chamber I9 and- 'drain said-chamber 30.

As indicated lnFigs. III and VII, said separating chamber 23 has the port 24 leading into the control valve chamber 25. As shown in Fig. VII,

' said controlvalve chamber has-the discharge port 25" leading into the liquid discharge chamber 26. Said port 25' is normally closed by the control valve 25. The spring 21 in said liquid discharge chamber continually tends to close said control valve and prevent it from opening until it is subjected to a predetermined pressure desired for dispensing liquid. The outer end of saidspring 21 bears upon the cover 28 which is resaid valve 36 against the pressure of said spring 38', and relieves the pressure by thus establishing communication between the inlet and outlet sides of the pump rotor 20.

Referring to Figs. III: and VI inclusive; the lighter fluid discharge chamber 38 receives not only the small amount of liquid which passes through the continually open restricted passageway 30 but also air and gasoline vapor which may be entrained in the liquid drawn up, through the supply pipe l5, by the operation of the pump movably fixed upon said casing 3 by a plurality of bolts 28, one of which is shown in Fig. VII and others in Fig. II. I find it convenient to provide said cover 28 with the removable plug 28 shown in Figs. II and VII normally closing an opening through which the meter 4 may be drained, by'- way of saidiliquid discharge chamber 28. I also find it convenient to provide the separating chamber 23 with the removable drain plug 23 As shown inFigs. V and VII, saidliquid dis- I charge chamber 28 leads to the dispensing outlet 28 in said head 3 on said casing 3.

., Referring to Figs. .111 and IV, said liquid and lighter fluid separating chamber 23 is continu ally in restricted communication with thelighter fluid discharge chamber 38 through the port 38*? which is normally'closed by the'float valve 3| which is mounted to reciprocate in the bracket rotor 20. Said chamber 38 is made of such large dimensions as shown for the purpose of permit ting such gasoline vapor to condense and precipitate therein before the discharge of the separated to the atmosphere through the vent 30' which is at the upper end of said chamber 38 and conveniently formed in the head 3 -of said casing 3.

32 rigidly connected with the inner wall of said chamber 23; said valve 3| having the duct 3i extending'axially and laterally through its upper end and continually open for restricted communication between said separating chamber 23 and said lighter fluid discharge chamber 38. Said float valve 3| is operatively connected by the j cross pin 3! with the lever 33 which is fulcrumed on the pin 32' in said bracket 32 and carries the float 33 conveniently formed of a pieceof cork which is cylindrical as shown in Fig. III. I find it convenient to provide said chamber 30 with a removable plug 38 whichmaybe removed to Referring to Figs. V and VI, the by-pass valve chamber 35 in theunitarycasing 3, in com-' munication with the suction side of the pump chamber l9 through the passageway I8, and includes the port-22 communicating with the pump discharge port 22; Said port 22 isnormally closed by the by-pass valve 36-under pressure p of thespring 36. in said chamber 35. The pressure of said spring 38' may be varied by axial adjustment of the screw 36'whieh is carried in the cover 35 which'is rigidly secured over the outerend of "said chamber 35 by the five bolts 35 shown, in Fig. II, one of which is shown in Fig. VI. Said screw 38 is locked in adjusted position by the nut 36 shown in Fig. VI, which nut is sealed in normal position by the screw plug 36, the latter being removable when it is desired to eifect adjustmentof said screw 36. a

- l I find it convenient to provide said cover 35 with the liquid inlet 35' through which liquid.

may be poured into said by-pass valve chamber 35 and thence into the pump chamber to prime the latter. That priming inlet 35' is normally closed by the-screw plug.35".

The purpose and eifect of said bypass valve 36 is that when an abnormal pressure is created'on the discharge side of the pump in the pump discharge chamber 2| "a'nd'the other chambers in communication therewith, the abnormal pressure upon the right hand side of the port 22, shown in Fig. VI. opens In order to return to the suction side of the pump chamber l9 any gasoline which may accumulate insaid chamber 38, I provide the latter with theport 30 at the bottom thereof, as shown in Fig. V, leading directly into said by-pass valve chamber 35 from which it may overflow into the pump chamber, ,as indicated by the arrow in Fig.

V. However, that port 38 is normally closed by the float valve 38 which is mounted to reciprocate in the valve casing 38' flxed in registry with said port 38*, as shown in Fig. V. Said valve is operatively conneotedbythe cross pin 38 with the the construction and arrangement of the unitary casing 3 and the chambers therein are such as to afford the maximum freedom of movement for the operation of the floats 33 and 38 in a minimum space.

Gasoline" is readily expansible by increment of temperature and consequently it the apparatus above described stands idle when initially charged with cold gasoline from a subjacent reservoir'and.

-' exposed-to the summer sun, such expansion will increase the pressure in the liquid discharge chamber 26 and beyond it above the desired pressure for'dispensation. Therefore, I provide the control valve 25 with the relief 'duct 25 extending therethrough' from the discharge side thereof to the pressure side thereof, and, as shown in Fig. VII provide the inner end of said duct with the'relief'valve 25 which is continually stressed by the sprin 25 to close it. Said spring is carried by said control valve, in its stem 25,

and abuts at its inner end against the screw plug,

25; Said stem 25 hasthe port 25 opening from the spring chamber laterally, into the control pump chamber valve chamber 25 in communicationwith the IS. Said spring is of such strength that upon being subjected to the excess back pressure from-the chamber 28, upon the relief valve 25, it permits that valve to open and the expanded gasoline to pass through said duct .25 and port 25 back into the control valve chamber 25 in communication with the pump chamber I9, and thus relieves any such abnormal pressure of the liquid on the discharge side of said control valve .25. 3

Said liquid supply pipe I! is provided with the usual so-called foot valve at the lower end thereof, submerged in a subjacent reservoir of gasoline; said valve ismerely a check valve which opens upward to permit the passage of gasoline to the pump when subjected to the partial vacuum created by the pump but which closes. to prevent the gasoline from passing downward through said pipe I 5 when the pump is not operating. when it is desired to eifect dispensation of the liquid; the operator closes the electric switch to energize the motor I and the consequent operation of the pump creates a partial vacuum on the-inlet side thereof and compresses the liquid in the pump discharge chamber 2| until such pressure is suflicient to open the control valve whereupon, the liquid under the desired pressure for dispensation passes through the dispensing outlet 26 which is conveniently connected with a flexible dispensing hose having at the end of it the usual nozzle containing a check valve which normally closes it but which may be manually opened to effect dispensation.

when, as is usually the case, the operator permits that nozzle valve to close'beiore he manipulates apparatus from the pump'chamber l9 to the dispensing nozzle, so that dispensation may be instantly effected when the motor is started by the operator and the nozzle valve opened. Such apparatus is usually located at a curb or elsewhere accessible to motor vehicles, and consequently exposed to sunlight. The heat of the summer sun will expand the gasoline in the apparatus thus exposed. Therefore, if dispensation is not effected at short intervals to relieve Within this outer casing and spaced apart from the framework pipes 42 of the casing is an inner framework shown as four vertical pipes 44 independently supported by the base plate 4| and having a series of cross plates 45, 46 and 41 for supporting the motor 48, the pump and separator unit 49, and the meter 50. These cross supports are shown as clamped to the supporting pipes by clamps 5|.

The motor 4!! is connected to the pump 49 through abelt drive 52. A pipe 53 with couplin 54 therein leads from the pump to the underground storage tank for the gasoline.

The pump-separator unit 49 and the meter are connected through a connecting pipe 55 with coupling 56 therein.

In these figures the electric wiring and connec tions to the motor are omitted as are also the clock at the top of the pump and the driving spindle connecting it with the meter, and the outside gasoline discharge hose is also omitted. The individual units of the modified structure of Figs. VIII and IX may be of standard construction, but they are so connected as to. permit ready disconnection and removal of individual units with a minimum of time and effort, thus permitting ready displacement.

The electric motor 48 may be of usual construction and mode of operation. The pumpseparator unit 49 may be a standard unit, for

example, such as has been used used in a commercial Tokheim pump, Model 36-3; The meter 50 mayalso be of standard construction.

But instead of supporting and connecting these units in a manner which makes it difficult to remove and replace them, and instead of connecting these units directly to the outer framework, orto cross supports carried by the outer framework, they are independently supported within the outer framework and spaced apart therefrom, except for the clock at the top of the pump.

With this arrangement the hitting or bumping of the outside casing and frame by an automobile will not, in most cases, interfere with the pump units or their support or with their continued such pressure of expansion by discharge of the gasoline through the hose, the pressure of such expansion will open the relief valve 25 to permit the expanded gasoline to pass through the duct 26' and thus relieve such abnormal pressure in the chamber 26 as abovev described. As above indicated, the pump may be primed, initially or at any time found necessary, by removing the plug 36" and pouring gasoline through the priming inlet 35' and valve chamber 35 in the casing 3 into the passageway I8 shown in Figs. V and VI, which is in communication with said supply pipe ii.

In the modified structure of Figs. VIII and IX the pump-separator and the meter casings are not specially designed so that the meter is supported directlyby the casing of the pump and separator, but the meter and pump-separator may be standard units connected through outside pipe connections. These units are, however, as in the structure previously described, supported directly by the base plate through supports which are independent of the outer framework and easing of the pump.

In this modified structure the base plate 4i has corner pipes or uprights 42 forsupporting the top of the pump and'with a sheet metal casing 43 enclosing the pump.

operation. The pump casing itself can be readily removed and replaced, and one or more of the upright supports of the pump casing may likewise be renewed without the necessity of removing or interfering in any way with the main units of the pump. The pump mechanism is thus, so to speak, insulated against injury of the kind which has commonly wrecked pumps where the units have been attached to and supported by the pump framework or cross supports integrally secured thereto.

The units are moreover mounted and supported so as to facilitate the removal and replacement of individual units. For example, the pumpseparator unit can be disconnected from the underground supply pipe and from the pipe connecting it with the meter and can then be readily detached and removed from the pump and replaced with another unit. Similarly, the meter may be readily disconnected by disconnecting its pipe connections and readily removed and replaced. The electric motor is also readily removable and replaceable.

It is one advantage of the above construction that it permits the use of standard parts which can be readily removed'and replaced. The motor and meter, as well as the-pump-separator, may vary in their construction.

The pump-separator unit of Figs. VIII and amount,-a control valve for maintaining the proper pressure for insuring discharge of the gasoline, a separating chamber to permit separation of entrained air, with a float controlled vent valve for permitting escape of excess air to the atmosphere while permitting escape of gasoline, and connections for the inlet gasoline pipe and for the'discharge of gasoline to the meter. Such combined pump-separator units may vary in construction, and units of different internal construction can be used for-accomplishing the-combined pumping and separating function.

When standard units are not to be used, the pump is advantageously redesigned to permit the meter to be directlysupported by the pump-separator casing, thus obviating the need of an outside pipe connection and utilizing the pump-separator unit as a support for the meter. This gives a more compact structure while the units are nevertheless readily separable. In this case also a simpler supporting framework can be used such as the inverted U-shaped frame shown in Figs. I and II.

In the modified structure of Figs. VIII and IX. as well as in the structure shown in Figs. I to VII, the repair, upkeep and maintenance of the pumps are greatly facilitated as compared with pump structures where the units are directly tied to the framework or to cross brackets connected thereto. The units are in both cases readily removable and replaceable when this is necessary so that there is no need of disassembling and shipping the entire pump mechanism to the salvage shop.

2,330,634 1x is not'shown in its detailed construction but Moreover, the independent support of the main pump units without any connection with the outer framework and casing, and the provision of a space or clearance betweenthe pump 5 units and the outer framework and casing obviates or minimizes the danger or injury to the pump when the pump, framework, and casing are bumped or hit by an automobile, since, in

' case of collision the damage would in most cases be confined to the outer framework and casing and would not reach the pump mechanism and its independent supports; and the needed repair to the pump casing and outer framework would not in most cases involve any repair of the pump mechanism such as has heretofore been one of the commonest difllculties met with in the field 'in servicing and. repairing service station pumps.

I claim: 1: A gasoline dispensing apparatus adapted to be installed-in a gasoline filling station or the like, comprising a base plate, an outer framework and casing supported by the base plate, and a pump mechanism including a pump, an air separator and a. meter support supported from the base plate and spaced from the outer framework and casing. v 2. In liquid dispensing apparatus which includes a frame member support for an outer housing; a rigidly integrated structure including a single base member, an electric motor, a single unitary casing including a pump and the several valves leading to and from the same, and means for separating lighter fluids from the,liquid and separately discharging them; a flow meter rigidly connected with said single unitary casing and operatively connected with said pump;

WILLIAM E. sHoE'MAKER.

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