GB2134882A - Latching device in hose nozzles - Google Patents

Abstract

A latching device in hose nozzles for dispensing fluids, particularly engine fluid, is adapted to lock the trigger (6) of the hose nozzle in a position in which nozzle is kept open, said locking action being realized by a portion (6c) of the trigger engaging a catch means (9) which is disposed on the body (1) of the hose nozzle and has an entrance for the trigger portion. The latching device has a safety device (10) which is under a bias such that it occupies a position blocking said entrance. As the trigger (6) rises, the end (6c) lifts the spring-loaded device (10) to the Fig. 2 position, thus leaving a gap (9) into which end (6c) falls, thus locking the trigger, which may be freed again by finger pressure on member (6d), which lifts end (6c) from gap (9). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Latching device in hose nozzles This invention relates to a latching device in hose nozzles for dispensing fluids, particularly engine fuel, which device is adapted to lock the trigger of the hose nozzle in a position in which the nozzle is kept open, said locking action being realized by a portion of the trigger engaging a catch means which is disposed on the body of the hose nozzle and has an entrance for said trigger portion.

Prior art devices of this type, in which the trigger for latching purposes is caused to engage a simple notch in the body of the hose nozzle, suffer from the drawback that when the trigger is pulled back and released for desired interruption of the dispensing operation or, in other words, for closing the hose nozzle, the engaging portion of the trigger may happen to come too readily into renewed engagement with the notch, resulting in that the desired interruption of the dispensing operation is not realized. The object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback which is inherent in prior art latching devices.

This is realized according to the invention by providing the latching device with a safety device which is under a preload such that it occupies a position blocking the entrance of the hook-up means.

The invention will be described more in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows part of a hose nozzle equipped with an embodiment of the latching device according to the invention in entrance blocking position; Fig. 2 shows the same embodiment in latching position; Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention, in which the entrance blocking state is shown by full lines and the latched state by broken lines.

Fig. 1 shows a hose nozzle for engine fuel having a body 1, a dispensing pipe 2, a supply pipe 3 and a valve mechanism 4 arranged between these two pipes 2, 3. The mechanism is biased such that it will occupy a closed position. The bias can be relieved by means of a trigger 6 which is pivotally mounted on the body of the hose nozzle at 5 and arranged to engage a valve stem 7, the valve being opened by pulling the trigger from a forward position (shown by full lines in Fig. 1) to a rearward position (shown by broken lines in Fig. 1) or to a catch position (Fig. 2). The trigger has a mounting member 6a and a finger-receiving Ushaped member 6b which at its basis is pivotally mounted on the mounting member 6a by means of a pivot 8 for pivotment in the plane of movement of the trigger.The U-shaped member 6b thus forms a two-armed lever, one lower arm 6c of which is an engaging arm adapted to pivot or be pivoted into engagement with catch means on the body, while the other upper arm 6d of said lever is an operating arm which is adapted when actuated by means of a finger in the U-shaped member, to pivot the engaging arm 6c out of engagement with the catch means. This engagement defines an open position of the hose nozzle.

The design described in the foregoing is conventional and need not be described in more detail.

In the first embodiment of the invention the front end of the engaging arm 6c is bent downwardly and arranged to engage a catch means shoulder 9 which is defined between a thick front portion 9a and a narrow rear portion 9b of a circular pin 9c fixed in the body 1.

A cylindrical sleeve 10 is slidably disposed on the narrow portion 9b of the pin 9c. Said sleeve 10 is under the load spring 11 such that it occupies a position in which an inner portion of the front edge surface 1 Oa of the sleeve is urged against the shoulder 9. In the embodiment shown, the spring is a coil spring which surrounding the narrow portion 9b, is supported with its one end on a shoulder on the inner wall of the sleeve and with its other end on the hose nozzle body. The outer diameter of the sleeve, at least at the front edge thereof, is larger than that of the thick portion 9a so that an outer portion of the front edge surface of the sleeve constitutes a stop means for the downwardly bent end of the engaging arm 6c when said arm is in a downwardly swung state.

To open the hose nozzle for dispensing of fuel, the trigger 6 is pulled rearwardly by means of a finger in conventional manner. If the trigger is to be brought into the catching position the engaging arm 6c is swung downwardly and when its downwardly bent end has been applied against the stop means on the front edge surface of the sleeve 10, the rearward pull is continued, now against the action of the spring 11, and the engaging arm 6c is swung by means of the finger about the pivot 8 further downwardly and into the entrance of the catch means shoulder 9, which is formed between said shoulder and the front edge surface 1 Oa of the sleeve. The trigger is now released in a forward direction so that its downwardly bent end will engage the shoulder 9.

The trigger can now be entirely released and, when so released, it remains in said catch position.

When the attendant wants to stop the dispensing operation he grasps the trigger 6 again and pivots the engaging arm 6c out of its engagement with the shoulder 9 with the aid of the operating arm 6d. The spring 11 urges the sleeve in a forward direction until the inner front edge surface portion thereof is applied against the shoulder 9, the sleeve 10 blocking said entrance against renewed, unintentional entry of the downwardly bent end thereinto.

It will be realized that said blocking of the entrance also prevails in case the trigger has not been engaged with the catch means but has been pulled directly from its forward position, without the above-mentioned downward pivotment of the engagement arm 6c, to the rear position shown in Fis. 1 by broken lines and has been released for the desired interruption of the dispensing operation. The trigger can thus return to its forward position without any risk that it will unintentionally be engaged in the catch position.

To avoid the rare eventuality that the attendant, having grasped the trigger for interruption of the dispensing operation, continues to actuate the engaging arm 6c unnaturally with a downwardly directed force while pulling the trigger rearwardly to release it from the catch position, the narrow portion 9b can be provided with a cam surface 9d that guides the sleeve 10 in an upward direction.

The sleeve 10 need not necessarily be springloaded; with the oblique location illustrated of the sleeve, gravity can serve as a preload on said sleeve so that it occupies a blocking position over the entrance of the shoulder 9.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, a housing 12 for a leaf spring 13 is fixed on the body 1 of the hose nozzle. The front end of the leaf spring 13 is secured in the housing, for example by rivets. at some distance from a housing roof portion 1 2a, while the rear end of the leaf spring freely bears against the inner side of another housing roof portion 1 2b. The spring 13 has a bulge 1 3a which between said ends protrudes from the housing past the roof portions and which is adapted to engage the engaging arm 6c of the U-shaped trigger member. An entrance 14 for the front end of the engaging arm 6c is defined between the spring 13 and the housing roof portion 1 2a.

To latch the trigger in the position in which it keeps the hose nozzle open, the spring is depressed at the bulge 1 3a with the aid of the engaging arm 6c and said arm is released or moved in a forward direction into said entrance, the spring maintaining the arm in engagement with the roof portion 1 2b. When the dispensing operation is to be discontinued the trigger is pulled rearwardly, which results in the spring 13 moving in an upward direction due to its resiliency, thus blocking the entrance 14.

Claims (4)

1. A latching device in hose nozzles for dispensing fluids, particularly engine fuel, adapted to lock. the trigger (6) of the hose nozzle in a position in which the nozzle is kept open, said locking action being realized by a portion (6c) of the trigger engaging a catch means (9) which is disposed on the body (1) of the hose nozzle and has an entrance for said trigger portion, wherein a safety device (10; 13) is provided, which is under a bias such that it occupies a position blocking said entrance.

2. A latching device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entrance is defined by a shoulder (9) between a high-lying surface (9a) and a low-lying surface (9b) on said body (1), and by the front edge surface (1 0a) of a slide arranged for sliding movement on the low-lying surface (9b), said slide constituting said safety device and said front edge surface having a stop means for said trigger portion at a level above said high-lying surface (9b).

3. A latching device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the bias is provided by a spring (1 1, 13).

4. A latching device as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, wherein said trigger portion (6c) is formed by a U-shaped member (6b) which is pivotally mounted on the trigger for pivotment in the plane of motion of the trigger.