WO2009041842A2

WO2009041842A2 - Gravity vapor recovery valve for fuel dispensing nozzle

Info

Publication number: WO2009041842A2
Application number: PCT/RS2008/000029
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vladimir Rajic; Rade Gogic
Original assignee: Vladimir Rajic; Rade Gogic
Priority date: 2007-09-26
Filing date: 2008-09-23
Publication date: 2009-04-02
Also published as: RS51513B; RS20070385A; WO2009041842A8; WO2009041842A3; EP2257492A2

Abstract

A vapor gravity valve for fuel dispensing nozzle is described and it consits of body (1) with the delivery pipe (2) and the vapor intaker (3) on the front side, and the connector (19) on the back side, wherein the passage for fuel vapor is provided with the gusset (8) in the covering (7) of the bail (10). The connector (19) is attached to the body (1) and integrally manufactured with a cylinder (23) where eccentric part of the cylinder (23) placed inside the body (1) is in the direct connection with the gusset (8) trough the opening (24), while that eccentric part is closed with the cap (13) from one side and with the bottom (21) from the other side, bottom (21) having canal (22) for passing of vapor. Between cap (13) and the bottom (21) there is a ball (16) which, when the nozzle is in the non-dispensing position, rests on the bottom (21) closing the canal (22) in that bottom. When the nozzle is in the position for fuel dispensing ball rests on the inner wall of the connector (19) and cap (13).

Description

VAPOR GRAVITY VALVE FOR FUEL DISPENSING NOZZLE

In general, this invention is in the line of fluids handling and transportation, and more precisely in the line of liquids dispensing or pouring. Also, this invention belongs to the field of fluids dispensing nozzles with automatic closing, with systems for liquids or vapors leaks prevention or recovery.

The goal of this invention is to provide efficient aspiration of vapors generated during the dispensing of liquids through a nozzle with a automatic closing device, especially evaporable liquid fuels like all types of petrol, leaded or unleaded.

During the dispensing of liquid fuels, and especially all types of petrol, an important quantity of vapors is generated due to the evaporability of the petrol, and the fuels vapors quantity rises with the temperature. The fuel vapors are harmful to the environment, they increase the fuel consumption without corresponding results and they create the possibility of explosion. This is why it is necessary to control the circulation of the vapors and to create the conditions to condensate them as much as possible and restore them back in the tank from which the fuel is dispensed.

Before the negative effects of the fuel vapors release were understood, fuel dispensing nozzles, also called "fuel guns", without vapor recovery system were commonly used. Such types of nozzles were described in Yugoslav patent registers number 42141 and 42142, issued to Mr. Nedeljko Rajic. These two inventions present an efficient and economic solution for a problem of nozzle safety stop when a fuel in the tank reaches a predefined level, but they do not allow the recovery of vapors generated during the tank filling process.

After considering all the negative effects of fuel vapors discharge in the environment, first vapors control valves were designed, and they were installed in the vapors line besides the pump housing. The purpose of the control valves was to close the vapors line once the nozzle spout is removed from the orifice of the tank being filled. The control valves activated, for example, an electromagnetic valve operating in concordance with the electric signal received from the pump control, and they were closing down once the inflow in the fuel line was stopped. Bad sides of these valves were a complicated installation and a high price. Beside electromagnetic valves, non electric control valves were also used. These valves were operating according to the pressure fall in the fuel line, in the way to close down the vapor line once the pressure reaches a predefined level. Such valves were pretty costly and functionally unreliable. If a mechanical connection was provided between the liquid detecting component and the vapor line closing device, it had to be very well sealed, and the joints are always subject to a leakage, so there is always a potential danger of fuel leaking into the vapor recovery line.

, Not so long ago, a prevailing opinion was that the most important thing was to stop the flow of the vapors at the same time as the flow of the liquid phase. The designs using this principle are described in the US patent register no. 4, 143, 689 issued to Conley, and no. 4, 286, 635 issued to McMath. These inventions refer to nozzles which are part of the vapors regeneration system, and are used for petrol and other fuels dispensing devices on gas stations. These nozzles feature a liquid line which brings the fuel to the vehicle fuel tank. They also feature a vapor line, intended to recover the fuel vapors generated in the tank. The vapors are carried off from the vehicle tank to the regeneration tank receiver. In order to keep the vapors in this tank receiver, it is necessary to close the vapors line with a corresponding valve, once the nozzle spout is removed from the vehicle tank. Besides a complicated design, these valves were expensive and unreliable.

The US patent no. 4, 649, 970 delivered to A.M. Bower describes a vapors valve activated by a magnetic force. This vapor valve was installed inside the fuel pump housing, and the valve is connected from one side with the fuel inlet from the tank and the vapors outlet towards the same tank, and from the other side with a hose leading the fuel and the vapors towards and from the fuel dispensing nozzle. This valve stops the vapors flow in the regeneration line once the fuel flow is interrupted. The default of this type of design is that the vapors, in the part of the line between the valve and the nozzle spout, can escape freely in the atmosphere, because the vapor line is completely opened on that side.

The patent EP 0 703 186 B1, issued to K. Ehiers, also describes the fuel vapors valve located in the fuel dispensing nozzle itself. This valve also operates on the basis of steady magnets, opening or closing down the fuel vapors flow, where the vapors from the vehicle tank being filled pass through the nozzle body. In this way, the amount of vapors remaining after the flow stop is much smaller than in the case of the valve previously considered. Although the valve described in this patent is characterized by a simple design and a small production price, it requires a special tool for installation and dismantling. Also, the nozzle construction is more expensive, because special vapor lines must be made inside it. The Yugoslav patent application number P-788/03, submitted by Mr. V. Rajic and his assistants, also describes the fuel vapors valve which operates with the use of magnetic forces, but it is installed on the nozzle where the vapor line doesn't pass through the nozzle body, but instead from the inlet through the guard cover and goes until the very end of the nozzle. At this end of the nozzle, a swivel is installed, as an integral component described in this vapor valve patent application. The difference between this valve and the one described before is an easy installation and the fact that the body carrying the magnet has openings allowing this bigger magnet to collect in these openings the ferromagnetic impurities carried by the fuel.

The patent application published under the register number WO0216253 and submitted by Mr. Persson Osborn, describes the vapors valve which allows the quantity of absorbed vapors, which will be regenerated and recovered through the valve, to be in proportion to the amount of the liquid fuel dispensed, and its operation is based on the force of a spring. This valve is located in the line between the pump and the nozzle, which can be a huge imperfection if it is positioned far away from the nozzle. The other imperfection is that even if the liquid fuel flow is small, the amount of fuel evaporations at higher temperatures can be important, so there is a danger that only a smaller quantity of generated vapors will be sucked in and recovered back in the tank from which the fuel is dispensed.

In distinction from the vapor valves described above, the invention described in the unpublished patent application P-193/06, submitted in Serbia and Montenegro by Mr. Vladimir Rajic and Mr. Rade Gogic, provides a completely new vapor valve design operating on the hydraulic impact effect which occurs during the interruption of the liquid fuel flow through the dispensing nozzle, regardless of the manual or automatic mode of interruption. According to this invention, the valve is installed in the nozzle as an integral component of the swivel at the end of the nozzle, connecting the nozzle with a coaxial hose for supply of fuel and discharge of vapors, where the vapors absorbed at the inlet are carried to the end of the nozzle through a vapor line passing through a lever guard, used for opening and closing of a liquid fuel supply. According to this invention, the vapor valve allows the transport of. vapors generated in the tank which is filled with fuel back to the tank from which the fuel is supplied from, where the valve is located at the front end of the swivel fixed at the back of the nozzle and connecting it with the coaxial hose; the valve itself consists of a bush connected over a circlip to a cage with a steel ball. When activated by the lever, the fuel under pressure flows through a nozzle and moves the bush in the direction of the fuel flow, and the bush pulls the cage with the steel ball, thus driving the ball to the front part of the cage and opening the line for fuel vapors intake. Once the fuel flow is stopped, the hydraulic impact acts on the bush body connected to the ball cage, pushing the bush and the ball cage in the direction opposite to the fuel supply, and the hydraulic impact makes the ball roll inside the cage towards the vapor suction channel, closing it down and preventing the intake of the air while the nozzle is not dispensing fuel, but the vacuum pump, or the vapors suction pump is still operating. The operating mode and the position of this vapor valve allow a certain amount of petrol vapors to escape in the atmosphere, during the moving of the dispensing nozzle from the tank filling pipe to the pump housing, and pollute it.

In distinction of all vapor valves previously described, this invention presents a completely new design, operating on the basis of gravity and vacuum created by the vapor suction pump. According to this invention, the valve is installed in the nozzle as an integral component of the swivel at the end of the nozzle, which connects the nozzle to a coaxial hose for supply of fuel and discharge of vapor, where the vapors absorbed at the inlet are carried off to the end of the nozzle through a vapor line passing through a lever guard, used for opening and closing of a liquid fuel supply. According to this invention, the vapor valve allows the transport of vapors generated in the filling tank back to the tank from which the fuel is taken from, where the valve is located at the front end of the swivel fixed at the back of the nozzle and connecting it with the coaxial hose, and the valve itself consists of a ball located in a cylinder with a vapor channel near the coaxial hose side, and a lateral opening for vapors intake, while on the opposite side of the coaxial hose the cylinder is closed, so the ball can move along only inside this closed cylinder, because the ball diameter is bigger than the channels and the vapor inlet. When the dispensing nozzle is put in a tank filling position, the gravity force makes the ball set free the inlet channel for fuel vapors absorption, which means that the ball rolls to the front part, allowing an instantaneous suction of vapors from the tank even before the fuel supply lever is activated. The advantage of this design solution is that it allows the absorption of fuel vapors before, during and after dispensing liquid fuel in a tank, or until the nozzle is pulled out from the tank filling pipe, when the gravitation force and the vacuum created by the pump make the ball close the vapors inlet channel, thus preventing the absorption of air.

The facts quoted above emphasize the advantages of the fuel dispensing nozzle, or as it is often called the fuel gun or the gun valve, featuring a gravity valve for the fuel vapors suction. One of the advantages is that, once the nozzle is positioned in a tank filling pipe and the vacuum pump automatically activated, the vapors are being sucked in through the line inside the nozzle instantaneously and even without activating the fuel flow, and transported back from the filling tank to the supply tank. The vapors are also being sucked in during the fuel dispensing and after dispensing, all the way until the moment the nozzle spout is pulled out from the tank filling pipe. This helps achieve a greater level of living and working environment protection. The repairs and installation of new parts in the nozzle are possible from the outside, which is cheaper and more reliable, because this valve is an integral part of the coaxial hose connection to the nozzle.

This invention is described in detail in the text further, with reference to the drawings enclosed:

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a nozzle, with a swivel and a valve this invention refers to;

Fig. 2 shows a transversal section, with a magnified detail "A" from the Fig. 1 , of the valve in closed position;

Fig. 3 shows the same detail as in Fig. 2, only the valve is seen in its opened position, and marked as detail "A1".

The design and the operating mode of the dispensing nozzle, as shown on Fig. 1 , are described in detail in the Yugoslav patent application no. P-778/03. For this reason, only some of the nozzle main construction elements will be mentioned further, in order to explain and understand the location and the operating mode of the vapor valve the patent is referring to.

The fuel dispensing nozzle, as shown on Fig. 1 , featuring an automatic liquid fuel supply switching off and the fuel vapors suction, consists of the following components: the nozzle body (1) with a system of the main spring force resistance overpowering and a diaphragm assembly for activating and deactivating the nozzle; the nozzle spout (2); the guard (7); the lever (10); the nut (18) and the connection (19) with a valve seat and, as an integral component, the valve this patent is referring to. The spout (2) is fixed on the front side of the nozzle body (1). Around the spout (2), there is a suction spout (3) with, on the interior side, the O-rings (4 and 5) providing the sealing of the assembly, so that the vapors entering the suction spout (3), under the effect of the under pressure created by the vacuum pump (not shown on the drawing), continue through the gusset (8) which goes from the suction spout (3), through the lever (10) guard (7), all the way to the back of the nozzle body (1), towards the connection (19) where the valve is located. The suction spout (3) is attached with two bolts (6) to the spout (2). The front end of the line gusset (8) is connected to the suction spout (3), while the back end is opened towards the connection (19).

Although the figures do not show it, the experts know that the free end of the connection (19) is linked to the coaxial hose for fuel supply and fuel vapors carrying away.

As it can be seen best on fig. 2 and fig. 3, the connection (19), together with the nut (18), is attached to the rear part of the nozzle body (1). The connection (19) integrates a cylinder (23) which is partially eccentric, and one side of the cylinder is closed with a bottom (21) with a channel (22) for the vapors, which are coming from the suction spout (3) and through the gusset (8). The sealing between the cylinder (23) and the bottom (21) is secured by the O-ring (20). On the opposite side of the bottom (21) of the cylinder (23), a cap is (13) is located, and the sealing of the assembly is provided by the O-ring (14). Between the bottom (21) and the cap (13), on the wall of the cylinder (23), there is an opening (24) for the inlet of the fuel vapors in the space with the ball (16); the opening (24) is made in such a way that the ball (16) cannot close it in any position, and it is located near the rear end of the gusset (8). The necessary sealing between the nozzle body (1) and the connection (19) is provided by the O-ring (15), located between the connection (19) and the diffuser (12), the O-ring (17) inserted between the connection (19) and the nozzle body (1), and the O-ring (11) inserted between the nozzle body (1) and the rear part of the lever guard (7). A separable connection between the connection (19) on the nozzle body (1) and the opening of the other end of the gusset (8) in the lever guard (7) is secured by the circlip (9) in the guard (7). As previously described and as it is shown on the fig. 2 and the fig. 3, the valve is an integral part of the connection (19), and it is located on its inner side, inside the nozzle body (1). The valve consists of a ball (16) located in the cylinder (23), which opens and closes the channel (22) in the bottom (21) depending on whether the dispensing nozzle is set in the filling position or not, and a cover (13) with a sealing (14).

The dispensing nozzle and the valve are operating in the following way: once the dispensing nozzle is inserted in the tank opening in the filling position, the gravitation forces the ball (16) from the closed valve position, as shown on fig. 2, in an opened position, as shown on fig. 3. The rolling of the ball sets the channel (22) free and allows the vacuum pump to suck in the vapors. The vacuum pump begins with vapors sucking from the tank even before the fuel filling is activated, and continues during and after the fuel filling, as long as the dispensing nozzle remains in the filling position in the tank opening. Once the fuel filling in the tank is finished, the dispensing nozzle should be lifted backwards, and in this position the gravity force makes the ball (16) close the channel (22), so the vacuum pump continues to operate in idle mode and the under pressure created by the vacuum pump keeps the channel (22) closed by the ball (16). In this way, the beginning and the end of the fuel vapors sucking is in direct relation with the dispensing nozzle position.

The experts are well aware that it is possible to import different modifications to this invention, but they will all remain in the scope of the invention and, according to this, they can be considered only as different realizations of the same invention.

Claims

1. The vapor gravity valve for fuel dispensing nozzle, which consists of the nozzle body (1), with the nozzle spout (2) attached to its front end and the fuel vapors suction spout (3) connected to a gusset (8) in the guard (7), which leads the fuel vapors flow towards the inner side of the connection (19) in the nozzle body (1), while the external part of the connection (19) is connected to a coaxial hose for fuel supply and fuel vapors lead off; the connection (19) is made as an integral part with a cylinder (23), which eccentric part holds a ball (16), and which is closed from one part with a bottom (21) with a channel (22) for fuel vapors suction, and from the other side a cap (13), where the sealing of the bottom (21) and the cap (13) is provided by the O-rings (12, 14), and the cylinder (23), all along to the bottom (21), is manufactured with an opening (24) for the fuel vapors passage through the gusset (8) and the channel (22) towards the vacuum pump.

2. The gravity valve, according to the point 1 of the request, is characterized by the fact that when the dispensing nozzle is in resting (non dispensing) position, the ball (16) leans against the bottom (21), closing the channel (22).

3. The gravity valve, according to the point 1 of the request, is characterized by the fact that when the dispensing nozzle is in dispensing position, the ball (16) leans against the inner side of the eccentric part of the cylinder (23), opening the channel (22) and without closing the opening (24).