Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Information cal ~ device for a fuel dispensing nozzle
The present invention relates to an information supporting device for the display of
information and/or advertising when the device is placed on a fuel pump filler gun,
5 where the device has a supporting member having an upper surface portion for the
support of an information and~or advertisement card, and where on the surface portion
there is placed a detachable top member through which the information and/or
advertisement provided on said card is visible.
10 A device ofthis kind is known inter alia from Norwegian Patent 175397.
In connection with the device of the type in question, the top member has in some cases
been known to have been l]nint~ontionally pulled off the supporting member and has thus
either disappeared or been damaged, or sometimes incorrect information and
15 adverti~ennent cards have been placed under said top member, or on occasion an error
has arisen in that the top members on all of the fuel filler guns at a petrol station have
been removed in order to replace the old cards with new, but two or more top members
together with new cards displaying both information and/or advertising and an
indication of the fuel type, have been switched accidentally or inadvertently before
20 being put in place on a fuel filler gun. This means that information with regard to fuel
type either disappears when the top member is pulled off and the card is thus lost, or
that through the wrong information card the information with regard to the fuel type is
incorrect vis-à-vis the actual fuel type the pump filler gun in question delivers. For
example, a situation is conceivable where the card contains information about a fuel,
25 e.g., llnle~cleA petrol, 95 octanes, whereas the pump and the gun in reality deliver leaded
petrol. It is easy to imagine the consequences this might have for the engine of a motor
vehicle if the vehicle is filled with the wrong type of fuel, and similarly the liability a
petrol station could have in this connection.
30 Even though such occurrences are rare, there is nevertheless an obvious need to improve
the aforementioned device in this area. According to the invention, the device is
characterised in that the top member is link-connected to the supporting member, and
that the top member is designed either as an all-covering cover of a transparent material,
or as a frame with an open space between opposite frame parts.
According to another embodiment of the device, the link connection between the cover
or frame and the supporting member is provided by means of a hinge pivot placed on
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the cover or frame, and which forms a snap engagement with a pivot-receiving part on
the supporting member.
It is an advantage if the pivot-receiving member has an oval cross-section which is
5 greater than the circular cross-section of the hinge pivot.
It is an advantage if the frame is of a transparent m~tPri~l, but it is also possible for the
frame to be of an opaque material, preferably in the same colour as that of the
supporting member.
In a special embodiment of the cover, a first minor portion of the cover, seen in the axial
direction of said cover, has a surface area provided with non~ t~rh~ble information
about the fuel type the filler gun delivers. The cover also has a second major portion,
seen in the axial direction of said cover, through which the information and/or
15 adverti~Pment provided on said card is visible.
In a special embodiment of the frame, a first minor portion of the frame, seen in the
axial direction of said frame, has a surface area provided with non-detachable
information about the fuel type the filler gun delivers. The frame also has a second
20 major and open portion, seen in the axial direction of said frarne, through which the
information and/or advertisement provided on said card is visible.
In the countries where there is perhaps a need for a narrower supporting member with
acco~ a~ ~ying top member, to enable the fuel filler gun to be parked in a relatively
25 small opening in a fuel pump housing when not in use, and without the device
pl~ve~ g such parking, it is proposed, according to the present invention, to make the
top member arcuate in cross-section. Consequently, the upper surface portion of the
supporting member will also be arcuate in cross-section.
30 In a special embodiment the non-detachable information may be provided as cut-
through parts in said surface area. In this embodiment, a part of the card on which no
printing has been applied will form a contrast to the rest of the surface area.
On the underside of the frame there are provided at least two studs designed to engage
35 with holes in the card. This will facilitate the fixing of the card and prevent it from
becoming loose or displaced as a result of externz~l influences on the card or the frame.
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In addition, the surface portion has recesses which, when the frame is placed on the
supporting member, form engagement with the studs.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the ~ . h~-l
S illustrations, wherein:
Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a device according to the prior art.
Fig. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Figs. 4-8 illustrate a second embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Figs. 9-11 show details of the device according to the invention.
15 Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate a third embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Figs. 18-21 illustrate a sixth embodiment according to the invention.
Fig. 22 illustrates a detail of an eighth embodiment of the device according to the
invention.
Fig. 23 shows a ninth embodiment of the invention according to the invention.
Fig. 24 shows the section XXIV-XXIV in Fig. 23.
30 Fig. 25 illustrates a tenth embodiment of the device according to the invention.
Fig. 1 shows a fuel filler gun 1 with a supporting member 2 which surrounds a part of
the gun 1 and has, at the upper side of the gun, an area 2' equipped with a detachable
top member 3 in the form of a cover having edges 4 which engage with beads 5 on said
35 supporting member. Information, in particular with respect to fuel type, and advertising
are intended to be placed on said area 2'. This information and advertising may be in
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the form of a card 6 bearing a printed advertieem~nt 7 and information 8 with regard to
the fuel type.
As shown in Fig. 2, a fuel pump filler gun 1 which initially is int~nt~eA to deliver petrol
5 may by mi~t~ke be provided with an information and advertisement card which
indicates that the gun delivers diesel fuel.
As a first step towards preventing the top member or cover from being switched with
one from an adjacent fuel pump filler gun in a filling station, it is proposed, according to
10 the invention, that the supporting member 2 be connected to the cover 3 via a link
connection 9.
This link connection 9 can be seen in more detail in Figs. 9-11. There, it will be seen
that the top member or cover 3 is provided with a hinge pivot 10 which at the end
15 thereof has an enlarged, preferably somewhat conical portion 10', so that when the
hinge pivot is inserted into a sleeve-like portion 11 on the supporting member 2, it
forms a preferably non-det~rh~ble, pivotal snap engagement with said supporting
member. By equipping the pivot 10 with an optional split 10'', the insertion andoptional release of the pivot 10 (e.g., when the top member is damaged) will be made
20 somewhat easier.
As an additional measure to avoid the problems described above, according to theinvention, non-~let~h~kle information 12 with regard to the fuel type that the fuel pump
filler gun 1 in question delivers can be provided on a portion 3' of the cover surface,
25 either on the inside or outside thereof.
The card 6, optionally 6', which is now to be placed on the supporting member area 2',
may in the case of the previously mentioned region 8 have no information whatsoever
as int1icz~tc~1 by means of reference numeral 8' in Fig. 6, where the
30 information/advertisement card 6' has been given a somewhat modified design in
comparison with the known cards 6. It will thus be understood that even if an
information/advertisement card contains incorrect information with regard to fuel type,
no harm will be done by placing a slip of this kind under the top member 3, as the non-
~let~ h~ble information with regard to the fuel type which has already been placed on
35 said cover will conceal any incorrect indication of fuel type on said card 6.Alternatively, as indicated, it is possible to modify the card 6 as is indicated by card 6',
i.e., that the card does not contain any information with regard to fuel type. The absence
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of any indication of fuel type on the card 6', or perhaps an incorrect indication of fuel
type on the card 6, will thus, according to the invention, be of no ~i~ni~c~nt~e as the
indication of fuel type is already found in non-detachable form on the said top member
3. The other information on the card is seen via the region 3 " on the top member 3.
s
~ Fig. 7 illu~LIdLes how the card 6 bearing an incorrect indication of the fuel type as diesel
has been placed on a fuel filler gun inten~lec~ for unleaded petrol. However, as before,
the top member 3 already has non-clet~ hle information 12 which clearly indicates
that the fuel type delivered from the filler gun 1 is lmle~ed petrol. As shown in Fig. 8,
10 the information panel of the card 6 inten~le(l for fuel type will at all times be hidden by
the non-detachable information 12 about the fuel type in question, and where this
information is affixed either to the outer surface of the cover or inside.
In Figs. 12 and 13 it is shown how the top member (cover) 3 can in fact be converted
15 into a frame 13 in that a large cut-out 13' is made through which the advertisement/
information 7 on the card 6 can be seen. This means that the advertisement/information
7 will be seen more clearly, as it is not covered by a transparent plastic m~teris~l which
after being in use for some time may be scratched or dirty. The fuel information 8" is
located perm~nently on the underside ofthe 11~IS~ 11l part 13'' ofthe top member.
In Figs. 14 and l S it is shown how the frame 13 is made of an opaque plastic material,
e.g., in the same colour as the supporting member 2, or in a m~tl~hing colour. It will
then be expedient to indicate the fuel type 8', e.g., "Unleaded 95" on the surface of the
portion 13' ' of the frame 13. The application of this indication can be done in a known
25 way per se, e.g., by means of silk-screen printing.
In Figs. 16 and 17 it is shown how the frame 13 has been further modified as frame 14
and where a larger cut-out 14' has been made through which the advertisement/
information 7 and fuel type 8 on the card 6 can be seen. This means that the
30 advertisement/information 7, 8 will be seen more clearly as it is not covered by
transparent plastic material. Consequently, this solution will mean that the repeated
cleaning which is n~cees~ry in the case of a cover will no longer be required.
In a number of countries, there may be a need for a narrower supporting member 2 with
35 accolllpanyillg top member 3, to enable the fuel filler gun 1 to be parked in a relatively
narrow opening in the fuel pump housing ~not shown) when not in use, and without the
device according to the invention preventing such parking. In such a case, the gun type
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may possibly be the same as shown in the rem~ining figures, e.g., the ZVA type.
Accordingly, in Figs. 18-21 it is shown how the supporting member 2 can be modified
in that the upper portion 2' thereof in cross-section is given an arcuate form 2", as can
be seen most clearly in Fig. 19. In a sirnilar manner, the top member 3 is given an
5 arcuate form 3''' which is adapted to the arcuate form 2", so that the top member 3 can
thus extend down in an arch on either side of the supporting member 2 (see Fig. 21).
Even though the upper area 2' of the supporting member 2 has a smaller transverse
~limen~ion than that which is shown for the other emborliment~, the effective supporting
surface of the area 2' can nevertheless be as large as is the case in the other
10 embodiments, and so that the same size of card 6 per se can be used. Even though it is
not shown in the figures, it will immediately be understood that the top member 3, when
it is in the form of a cover, can be provided either internally or extern~lly with a
pe~n~nent fuel labelling 8'; 12. Furthermore, it will be possible to modify the top
member 3 in the form of a cover to give it the form of a frame 13, 14 instead by making
lS a cut-out 13'; 14' whilst still m~ g the general arcuate form ofthe top member 3
and the area 2''. Moreover, the top member 3 is hinged to the supporting member 2 via
a hinge connection 9, as previously shown and described.
The supporting member 2 has a front opening 2' " (see Fig. 5) so that it can be fed onto
20 the filler gun 1 as shown in Fig. 18.
In Fig. 22 it is shown how the sleeve-like portion 11 alternatively may be designed to
have a front opening so that it has an approximately U-shaped cross-section as indicated
with the reference numeral 11'. The thus formed hinge pivot receiving part 11' will
25 thus be a~plo~illlately oval in shape 11'', so that there is a clearance d between the
snap-in end 1 "' and the provided pivot 10. The purpose of the clearance is to be able to
compensate for any longit~l-lin~l movements between the top member 3; 13; 14 and the
supporting member 2 due to the influence of ~ell~el~lure (expansion or contraction).
30 The pivot can be de~ ned and attached as shown, e.g., in Fig. 11, but may alternatively
be attached between two lugs 14, 15 on the top member 3; 14; 14 as shown in Fig. 25.
As shown in Fig. 23, the non-det~h~hle information 8" can be provided in the form of
cut-through parts 16 in the information surface area. Thus, a card with no printing will
35 at its rearmost part form a contrast with the rest of the surface area. In this way, it is
made possible for information about fuel type to be put in a simple manner into the
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moulding e~ ;pl "ent for the top member, thereby avoiding an extra operation to apply
the fuel type on the outside of the frame.
In Fig. 25 it is shown how the frame 13 on the 1m-l~r.sic1e thereof can be provided with a
5 number of studs, e.g., two or three, as are indicated with the reference numerals 17, 18,
19. The studs 17, 18 ,19 are designed to engage with respective mounting holes 20, 21,
22 in the inf-rrn~tion and advertising card 6'. This f~cilit~tes the fixing of the card
relative to the top member, here in the form of the frame 13. Furthermore, the
interaction between the studs 17-19 and the mounting holes 20-22 will counter any
10 extern~l influences such as r.~ hlg the card or the frame in an attempt to pull the card
out through the opening 13 ' in the frame or cause the card to loosen easily if the frame
is raised. The studs 17, 18, 19 are ~lesi~n~rl to engage with respective recesses 23, 24,
25 in the surface portion of the supporting member 2.
15 Even though a special type of link connection between the cover or lid and said
supporting member has been described in the description and illustrations, it will be
understood that any suitable link connection, including plastic hinges, binding wire
connections or similar could be used.
20 The invention is of particular use in the case of the embo-liments where the surface
portion extends from approximately the area between the rear portion of the delivery
pipe of the filler gun and the front portion of its valve housing to approximately the area
between the rear portion of the valve housing and a front portion of the filler gun
handle, but the invention is of course not int~n-le~l to be restricted to one such extent of
25 the surface portion. Moreover, it will be understood that both the ~U~pOl Lillg member 2
and the top member 3; 13, 14 could be made in any al,~lupliate manner whatsoeverwithin the scope of the ~tt~che~l patent claims.
