Fuel Nozzle Jacket with Drop Channels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional protective and identification jackets for fuel dispenser nozzles fail to prevent fuel from soiling the gripping handle and control lever, and do not adequately protect identification elements from damage or loss due to lack of effective fuel droplet management and shock resistance.
Innovation Solution
A protective and identification jacket with an anti-splash collar, drip lug, upper and lower drop collection channels, and side fins to intercept and evacuate fuel droplets, combined with a protective border for the identification element to absorb shocks, ensuring clean gripping elements and enhanced durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a protective jacket is used to protect the gun body, then the gun body is protected from impact, but the gripping handle and control lever become contaminated with fuel droplets
Solution Approach 1:
The protective jacket is divided into functional zones: a protective collar at the nozzle base intercepts fuel droplets, while separate drop collection channels are positioned to receive and evacuate droplets away from the gripping elements. This segmentation allows the jacket to protect the gun body while systematically managing fuel contamination through dedicated evacuation pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
Drop collection channels act as intermediary structures between the protective collar and the gripping elements. These channels intercept fuel droplets before they reach the handle and control lever, serving as a mediator that prevents direct contact between fuel and the gripping elements while maintaining the protective function of the jacket.
2Loss of information
If identification elements are placed on the protective jacket, then fuel type information is displayed, but the identification elements wear out quickly and are subject to breakage or loss
Solution Approach 1:
A protective border is added around the identification element before it can be damaged by shocks or falls. This border acts as a cushioning structure that absorbs impact forces, protecting the identification element from wear, breakage, or loss while maintaining its visibility and information display function.
3Device complexity
If fuel drops are not evacuated, then the protective jacket remains simple in structure, but the fuel flows along the jacket to the grip handle and control lever
Solution Approach 1:
The protective jacket incorporates localized drop collection channels at specific positions where fuel droplets are most likely to accumulate. These channels are strategically positioned to intercept droplets before they can flow to the gripping elements, providing targeted protection without requiring complete coverage of the entire jacket structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively prevents fuel from reaching the gripping handle and control lever during and after fuel delivery, while providing enhanced resistance to shocks and improved durability for the identification elements, ensuring cleaner operations and reduced wear.
Implementation Method 1
a drip lug located at the lower part of the protective collar to enable the fuel drops intercepted by that to be eliminated by capillarity
Implementation Method 2
an upper drop collection channel, essentially in the shape of an arc of a circle, which is located directly upstream of the protective collar in the direction of circulation of fuel in the dispensing nozzle
Implementation Method 3
the geometry and orientation of the upper channel and of the lower channel are chosen so that when the gun is returned to the vertical position of attachment to the associated dispenser device, after a delivery, the fuel collected in the upper channel is transferred by gravity into the lower channel
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
The liner (7) has an elongated lower drop recovering channel (10) situated in downstream of an upper drop recovering channel (9). Geometry and orientation of the channels are chosen such that liquid fuel collected in the upper channel is transferred by gravity towards the lower channel when a liquid fuel dispensing nozzle (1) is returned to a vertical position after delivering the fuel. The geometry and orientation of the channels are chosen such that the transferred fuel is evacuated by capillarity towards the ground, during delivering of the fuel, when the nozzle is in horizontal position.