Fuel Nozzle Trigger Clip With Spring-Biased Jaws for Hands-Free Pumping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel nozzles lack a reliable mechanism to maintain the activated position without user intervention, necessitating hand use when the locking mechanism is absent or broken, leading to discomfort and inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A device with pivotably associated jaw portions, biased to maintain the fuel nozzle trigger in the activated position, utilizing teeth and a spring-loaded hinge or arced crossbar to secure the nozzle, enabling hands-free operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a locking mechanism is provided in the fuel nozzle, then hands-free pumping is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the locking mechanism from the fuel nozzle itself and places it in a separate wearable device (bracelet/wristband). This separates the complexity of the locking mechanism from the fuel nozzle, allowing the nozzle to remain simple while still enabling hands-free operation through the external device that clips onto the user's wrist and mechanically locks the nozzle trigger.
Solution Approach 2:
The wearable device acts as an intermediary between the user and the fuel nozzle. Instead of the user directly holding the nozzle trigger, the device on their wrist provides a mechanical locking mechanism that maintains the trigger in the activated position, mediating the connection between the user's wrist and the nozzle operation.
2Device complexity
If the locking mechanism is removed or broken, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation deteriorates requiring hand use
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is extracted from the fuel nozzle and placed in a separate wearable device. This allows the fuel nozzle to be simple without requiring complex internal locking mechanisms, while the external device provides the necessary hands-free operation capability through a separate, removable component.
3Ease of operation
If the user stands in the cold to operate the fuel nozzle manually, then the ease of operation is maintained, but the user comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable device on the user's wrist provides automatic mechanical locking without requiring the user to manually hold or manipulate the nozzle trigger. The device self-maintains the activated position through its spring-loaded mechanism, freeing the user's hands from the cold environment while still enabling fuel pumping operation.
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
Enables hands-free fuel pumping by maintaining the nozzle in the activated state, reducing user discomfort and exposure to gasoline fumes.
Implementation Method 1
the pivot point is a spring-loaded hinge
Implementation Method 2
a first jaw portion (12) and an opposing second jaw portion (18) pivotably associated to each other by way of a pivot point (20)
Data Source
AI summary
A device separable from a gasoline pump, wherein the device is configured to engage the trigger mechanism of the gasoline pump's fuel nozzle to hold the fuel nozzle in the activated position, thereby enabling hands-free pumping from the fuel nozzle. The device has a set of jaws biased in a closed position yet movable to an open position through manipulation of its lever arms. Teeth provided with the set of jaws facilitate the maintaining of the fuel nozzle in the activated position.