WO 97/49633 PCT/N097/00163
I
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING A FILLER GUN The present invention relates to protection devices, and more particularly to a protection apparatus having an energy absorbing inner layer, a harder outer layer surrounding the inner layer, and being attachable to filler gun for, a fuel pump, an oil pump, a windshield washer pump, an antifreeze pump, or the like. The protection apparatus absorbs and distributes impact forces otherwise received directly by the filler gun when dropped or hit against an object.
Related art devices are known to have the head of a filler gun covered by a thin boot of rubber or plastic material. The boot prevents a bare filler gun head from making scratches on a car's paint, and to a limited degree protects the head from damage. Even with a boot covering the head, however, impact forces caused by the filler guns being dropped upon the ground, or being hit against the pump, automobiles, and other objects, results in damaged filler guns. Repairing and replacing filler guns are one of the direct costs of such damage. The gas station operator also may lose business as a result of having certain pumps out of order while awaiting repair.
A need exists for a protection apparatus which may be readily attached to all configurations of filler guns, whether or not the filler gun has a boot covering the head.
The protection apparatus should be readily attachable to the head of a filler gun, or to a boot covering the head of a filler gun, to provide significant protection to the filler gun, thereby avoiding the costs associated with pump downtime, and filler gun repair and replacement.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to protection apparatus as well as methods that overcome the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An advantage of the present invention is its simple design that is nevertheless capable of providing protection apparatus that may be readily attached to all existing configurations of filler guns for protection from damage otherwise resulting from impact forces.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the protection apparatus particularly pointed out in the written description, as stated in the attached patent claims as well as shown in the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the following detailed description is exemplary only, and are not restrictive of the invention.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification. The drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional filler gun; Figs. 2-4 are perspective views of fitting of the lower member of the protective body onto the filler gun when the lower member at its front end region has its side panels integrally joined according to another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an upper portion of an outer shell having energyabsorbing pads on an inner surface thereof; Fig. 6 is a top view of the lower portion of the protective body, having a pair of o arcuate ribs projecting from an inner surface; Fig. 7 is a side view of one side of the lower portion of Fig. 6, depicting one arcuate rib; and Fig. 8 is a top view similar to Fig. 6, depicting the arcuate ribs bearing against the sides of a filler gun.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3 By way of background, a conventional filler gun for discharging, fuel, oil, windshield washer fluid, antifreeze, or the like, is illustrated in Fig. 1, designated generally by the reference numeral 1. As shown in Fig 1, the filler gun 1 includes a barrel 2, a gun head 3, and a handle 4. The head 3 has a front end 5 where it joins at a junction with the barrel 2, and a rear end 6. The handle 4 has a front end 7 which joins at a junction with the rear end 6 of the head 3. The handle 4 has a lever 8 which is operatively connected to an internally located valve to control the flow of fuel from a fuel hose 9. The head 3 may be unprotected, or it may be covered by a boot 10 of rubber or plastic material.
A protective apparatus attachable to a filler gun according to the present invention comprises a protective body having an outer layer surrounding an energy absorbing inner layer.
However, in an embodiment of the lower member 17, denoted by reference numeral 32 in Figs. 2-4, the two side panels 19, 20 may be integrally joined at a front region o thereof. Suitably, the front region of the two side panels lies above, as indicated by g reference number 32a, and below, as indicated by reference number 32b a front opening 33, in the lower member 32, through which the barrel 2 extends when the lower member 32 is brought into engagement with the gun head 3 on the filler gun 1, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
When the lower member 32 is to be fitted onto gun head 3 of filler gun 1, the rear portions of the side panels 19, 20 may be pushed slightly away from each other to more easily push and enter the lower member 32 onto the filler gun 1. The lower o member 32 is made of a substantially hard plastic material, the inner and outer layers S° 12, 13 of the lower member 32 may be designed such that the manipulation of the side panels is possible. Preferably, the lower member 32 is made of molded plastic or a substantially hard plastic. The preferred hard plastic is either polyamide or polycarbonate. Suitably, the polycarbonate could be e.g. of the make LEXAN®, MAKROLON®, GRILIAMID® or other suitable make.
AAs broadly embodied in Fig.5 and 6-8, protecting apparatus comprises an outer shell with a lower member 80 and an upper member 13. Upper member 13 is releasably engageable with lower member 80. A plurality of interlocking elements 23, 24, and 26 project from lower member 80 as male elements in the form of snap hooks. A plurality of interlocking elements 27, 28, 29 and 30 in the form of channels or female elements are provided in upper member 13. These channels preferably include ledges or set-offs. The upper member 13 and lower member 80 can be releasably engaged by insertion of the snap hooks into the channels.
As broadly shown in Fig. 5, a plurality of energy-absorbing pads 76 are provided on the outer surfaces of the interlocking elements or channels 27, 28, 29 and 30 in upper member 18. These energy-absorbing pads 76 preferably are made of a soft, resilient material, such as soft plastic or rubber.
The energy absorbing pads 76 and 77 provided on the shell 13 absorb energy applied to and distributed over the shell, thereby preventing damage to the filler gun.
Preferably, the energy-absorbing pads are strategically placed at the primary impact pints between the shell 13 and the filler gun head. Accordingly, the filler gun head can be protected without having an inner layer on the entire inside surface of the shell.
20 Another embodiment of the present invention is depicted in Figs. 6-8. In this embodiment a rib 79 projects from the inner surface of each respective lower side portion 80 of outer shell 13. Ribs 79 preferably are molded of the same material as the lower portion 46.
As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, each rib 79 projects away from the inner surface of lower portion 80, then curves, providing the rib with an arcuate cross-section, ending in a distal edge 81.
Referring to Fig. 8, the distal edges 81 of the arcuate ribs 79 bear against the side surfaces of filler gun 1. Depending on the size and design of the filler gun 1, distal edges 81 may simply contact the sides of the filler gun, or may press tightly against \the sides of the filler gun, compressing the arcuate ribs 79 inwardly toward the lower portion 81 of outer shell 13. For this reason, the ribs preferably are made to be sufficiently flexible, in order to compress and accommodate various sizes of filler guns, but still be capable of springing back into position upon removal of the outer shell 13 from the filler gun.
The arcuate ribs 79 serve two purposes. First, the arcuate ribs assist the outer shell in absorbing and distributing impact forces away from the filler gun. When the filler gun is large enough to compress the arcuate rib inwardly, the rib acts like a spring, and is capable of absorbing impact force applied directly to the outer shell. Secondly, the arcuate ribs serve to a position the outer shell correctly around the filler gun by acting as spacers between the filler gun and the outer shell.
While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the true scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed herein, but that the invention include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
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