PROTECTION FOR A FUEL VALVE

PROTECTION D'UNE VANNE DE CARBURANT

English Abstract

The invention relates to a protection for a fuel valve of a fuel delivery
column, which fuel valve, which can be mounted on said
protection, is built up of a valve housing provided with a bore and a valve
body which is movably accommodated in said bore, wherein the
position of said valve body and thus the fuel supply through said valve can be
adjusted by means of at least one electromagnetic solenoid
to be shielded from the valve, which solenoid extends through said protection
into an opening formed in said valve housing and being in
communication with said bore. The protection according to the invention is
characterized in that it is arranged for several fuel valves and
in that the required electromagnetic solenoids can be shielded by means of one
cover to be mounted on said protection.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne une protection d'une vanne de carburant d'une colonne d'alimentation en carburant, la vanne de carburant, qui peut être montée sur la protection, étant formée d'un logement de vanne doté d'un trou et d'un corps de vanne logé amovible dans ce trou. On peut régler la position du corps de vanne et donc l'alimentation en carburant par cette vanne au moyen d'au moins un solénoïde électromagnétique qui doit être protégé de la vanne, le solénoïde s'étendant à travers la protection dans une ouverture formée dans le logement de vanne pour être en communication avec le trou. La protection selon l'invention se caractérise par le fait qu'elle est destinée à plusieurs vannes de carburant et que les solénoïdes électromagnétiques nécessaires peuvent être protégés par un couvercle à monter sur la protection.

Claims

6
CLAIMS
1. A protection for protecting multiple fuel valves of a fuel delivery column,
said
fuel valves each comprising a valve housing provided with a bore and a valve
body
which is movably accommodated in said bore, wherein the position of said valve
body
and thus the fuel supply through said valve can be adjusted by means of at
least one
electromagnetic solenoid to be shielded from the valve, said solenoid
extending through
said protection into an opening formed in said valve housing and being in
communication
with said bore, characterized in that said protection is adapted for mounting
on the
housing of each of said fuel valves and said protection comprises a cover
mountable on
the protection for shielding the electromagnetic solenoid of each of said fuel
valves.
2. A protection according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover is
provided with
only one passage for a common supply cable for all electromagnetic solenoids.

Description

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Title: Protection for a fuel valve.
The invention relates to a protection for a fuel valve
of a fuel delivery column, which fuel valve, which can be
mounted on said protection, is built up of a valve housing
provided with a bore and a valve body which is movably
accommodated in said bore, wherein the position of said valve
body and thus the fuel supply through said valve can be
adjusted by means of at least one electromagnetic solenoid to
be shielded from the valve, which solenoid extends through
said protection into an opening formed in said valve housing
and being in communication with said bore.
Such a protection is generally known, it is used with a
fuel valve in a fuel delivery column for delivering fuels at
filling stations. When fuel is to be delivered, a selected
type of fuel (petrol or diesel, etc.) is carried from storage
tanks disposed some distance away, via a system of pumps and
pipes and via the fuel valve, to the fuel delivery column in
question. During operation, the supply or the delivery of the
fuel is controlled for each fuel valve individually by means
of one or two electromagnetic solenoids. One solenoid thereby
functions to control the passage and the delivery of fuel,
whilst the optional second solenoid functions as a reducing
valve.
Since such a fuel valve is used in an environment where
there is a risk of fire and explosion, it is subjected to
various strict European and international construction
regulations. In spite of the fact that the current
constructions comply with said regulations, the mounting and
the protection of the solenoids on the fuel valve remain an
uncertain and unsafe factor. Usually, extensive, complicated
and expensive provisions are required in order to obtain a
construction yet which is spark-proof, fire-proof and
explosion-proof and which furthermore requires little
3 5 ... maintenance .
The object of the invention is to overcome the above
drawbacks and to provide a protection wherein a spark-proof,
fire-proof and explosion-proof, low-maintenance construction

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for mounting and shielding the solenoids on such fuel valves
is obtained.
According to the invention, said protection is
characterized in that it is arranged for several fuel valves
and in that the required electromagnetic solenoids can be
shielded by means of one cover to be mounted on said _
protection. Thus, a strongly simplified and cheaper
construction is obtained, wherein the protection enhances the
resistance to fire and explosion of several fuel valves. In
to case of calamities, the damage caused by fire or explosions
will be limited to the space shielded by said cover. Said
space is moreover readily accessible, which greatly
facilitates the carrying out of maintenance and repairs.
The advantage of this construction is furthermore the
fact that the assembly consisting of the protection and the
shielding cover, including the damaged solenoids present
therein, can be removed from the various valves and be
exchanged for a new assembly with new solenoids in one
mounting operation. A construction of this type has appeared
to be advantageous when used with a construction comprising
several valves and, accordingly, a double number of
solenoids. In case of a calamity it is not necessary to check
all solenoids, but the whole assembly is exchanged, thus
eliminating the risk of omitting to exchange a defective
solenoid.
Preferably, the cover is provided with only one passage
for a common supply cable for all electromagnetic solenoids.
As a result of this, not only the construction is greatly
simplified, but the risk of cable fracture and of an
explosion triggered by a spark is considerably reduced, since
only one supply cable is used rather than several supply
cables for each fuel valve, as is the case with the current
constructions.
The invention will now be explained in more detail with
reference to a drawing. The drawing successively shows in:
Figure la an embodiment of a protection for a fuel valve
according to the invention;

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Figure lb is a right-hand side view of Figure la;
Figure is is a top plan view of Figure 1a.
Figure la shows an embodiment of a protection for a fuel
valve according to the invention. Such a fuel valve is used
in a fuel delivery column used for delivering fuels in _
filling stations. The figure shows a.fuel valve consisting of
a valve housing 1, in which a bore 2 built up of bore
sections 2a and 2b is formed.~Bore sections 2a and 2b
terminate on the outside of valve housing 1, at which
location the valve housing includes a connection 3a for
connecting a fuel supply pipe (not shown) from a fuel storage
tank (not shown) and a connection 3b for connecting a fuel
delivery pipe to a fuel delivery column (not shown).
Accommodated in bore 2 is a valve body 4. Said valve body is
capable of movement over a particular distance in said bore,
which makes it possible to control the passage 2c of the bore
and thus the fuel supply from 2a to 2b. The position of valve
body 4 in bore 2 can be controlled by means of at least one
electromagnetic solenoid 5a, which solenoid 5a extends into
an opening 6a formed in valve housing 1. Said opening 6a is
in communication with bore sections 2a and 2b via a number of
bores lla, llb, etc. Said bores lla, 11b, etc. have a
considerably smaller diameter than bore sections 2a and 2b.
Solenoid 5a is driven by electric signals via a control unit
(not shown) of the fuel delivery column, wherein the
electromagnetic valve body of the solenoid moves inside the
solenoid.
Said movement results in hydraulic pressure changes and
volume changes of the fuel present in bores lla, llb, etc.
Valve body 4 will take up a different position inside bore 2
as a result of these changes, until the two sides of valve
body 4 are in hydraulic equilibrium again. As a result of
this, the passage 2a and the fuel supply will become larger
or smaller, depending on the control signal to solenoid 5a.
In this embodiment, the fuel valve as shown includes a
second, optional solenoid 5b, which extends into a
corresponding opening 6b formed in valve housing 1. Said

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solenoid is likewise driven via electric control signals by
the control unit and functions as a reducing valve.
Since such fuel valves are used in an environment where
there is a risk of fire and explosion, the electromagnetic
solenoids must be properly shielded. This in order to-prevent
a situation where the tiniest spark, which may for example be
released when the electromagnetic solenoids 5a or 5b are
being electrically driven, will directly result in a serious
calamity (fire, explosion). To this end, the solenoids are
usually shielded by a protection which must comply with
strict European and other international regulations. In spite
of these regulations, the mounting and protection of the
solenoids on the fuel valves remain an uncertain and
dangerous factor, and usually extensive, complicated and
costly provisions are required in order to obtain a
construction which is spark-proof, fire-proof and explosion-
proof and which furthermore requires little maintenance.
In Figure la, the solenoids 5a and 5b extend through a
protection 7 into openings 6a and 6b, with protection 7 being
mounted on valve housing 1. Protection 7 is thereby arranged
for several fuel valves and the associated electromagnetic
solenoids at the same time, which are all shielded by means
of a cover 8 to be mounted on protection 7 by means of bolts
9a and 9b.
Such a combined protection not only results in a
simplified construction and thus a simplified mounting and/or
dismounting procedure during maintenance, but in addition a
calamity that may occur at one fuel valve is prevented from
spreading to another fuel valve. The prevention of such a
chain reaction enhances the fire and explosion safety of such
fuel valves in a filling station, which is usually visited by
a great number of people and which is usually situated beside
busy traffic routes.
Protection 7 and cover 8 form one assembly, which can be
removed from the various valves, including the damaged
solenoids present therein, and be exchanged for a new
assembly with new solenoids in one mounting operation in case
of a calamity. This obviates the need to check all solenoids

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in case of a calamity, thus eliminating the risk of omitting
to exchange a defective solenoid.
Figure lb is a side view, and Figure is is a top plan
view of Figure la. Protection 7 is mounted on several fuel
5 valves la, lb, lc and ld. Each fuel valve can serve to supply
a particular type of fuel. All solenoids 5a - 5h required fog
the control of said four valves are shielded by cover 8,
which cover 8 is mounted on protection 7 by means of several
bolts 9a and 9b.
Cover 8 is provided with only central passage 10 for a
common supply cable (not shown) for all electromagnetic
solenoids. Passage 10 is centrally disposed. This leads to a
considerably simplified construction. In addition, the risk
of cable fracture and a possible explosion triggered by a
spark is considerably reduced as a result of the used of only
one supply cable rather than several supply cables per fuel
valve.
It will be apparent that the invention is not restricted
to the illustrated embodiments, and that many variants and
combinations of variants are possible without departing from
the scope of the invention.

Representative Drawing