Dispenser for providing hygienic protection of hands when using a fuel pump
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users are exposed to contamination and health hazards when using fuel pumps due to the accumulation of fuel vapors, residue, bacteria, and dirt on the nozzle handles, which are difficult to clean and often lead to the transfer of contaminants to hands and vehicle interiors, and existing protective measures are not conveniently accessible or easily usable.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser for protective barrier sheets is integrated into the fuel gun, allowing users to easily retrieve and apply protective material directly on the nozzle handle or their hands before or after use, with a housing that secures to the fuel gun via couplings and an attachment mechanism, ensuring immediate availability and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If protective gloves are provided in service station forecourts, then hand protection is available, but users may not locate and use them quickly due to pressure to finish fuelling efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The protective barrier dispenser is merged with the fuel gun assembly, integrating the protection system directly into the fuelling equipment. This combination ensures that the dispenser is always present when the fuel gun is used, eliminating the need for users to search for separate protection stations and enabling immediate access to protective barriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective barriers are pre-loaded into the dispenser housing, ready for immediate dispensing. The system is prepared in advance with sufficient protective material, and the dispenser is pre-positioned on the fuel gun, so that when a user needs protection, the barriers are already available and can be dispensed without delay.
2Ease of operation
If protective material dispenser is placed away from the fuel gun, then it is accessible, but users must walk out of their fuel filling area into areas where other customers are present
Solution Approach 1:
The dispenser is merged with the fuel gun assembly, creating an integrated unit where protection and fuelling occur at the same location. This eliminates the need for users to move to separate protection stations and avoids intrusion into other customers' personal spaces, as the protection system travels with the fuel gun.
3Reliability
If the dispenser housing is permanently fixed to the fuel gun, then it is always available, but it cannot be removed or transferred to different fuel guns
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling mechanism transitions the dispenser from a static, permanently fixed state to a dynamic, reconfigurable state. The removable couplings allow the dispenser to be easily attached to and detached from different fuel guns, providing both availability during use and flexibility for repositioning or maintenance, adapting to various operational needs.
4Volume of moving object
If the dispenser is made compact to fit on the fuel gun, then it is space-efficient, but the opening for retrieving protective material may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The dispenser utilizes the longitudinal dimension of the fuel gun by extending along its length, rather than occupying only the横向 space. This allows the housing to maintain a compact cross-sectional profile that fits on the fuel gun while providing sufficient internal volume for protective material storage and an adequate opening for retrieval by extending in the longitudinal direction.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 1c~1d
Figure 1e
AI summary
When filling a vehicle with fuel, a person must touch and hold the dispenser nozzle by the handle 11, squeezing the trigger lever 13. This handle 11 is contaminated by fuel vapour, residue, bacteria, dirt and contaminants by previous usage of multiple persons touching and holding the handle 11 with contaminated hands. The present invention relates to a protective material dispenser 101 with protective material 103 therein, which is releasably couplable to such a fuel gun 2. In this way, a user may easily retrieve some of the protective material 103 from the dispenser 101 prior to touching the fuel pump hand grip 11, and then cover the hand grip 11 to protect his/her hands from making direct contact therewith.