Patent ID: 9701194
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: B60K

Claim:
1. A filler neck closure assembly associated with a vehicle fuel tank filler neck, the assembly comprising a nozzle inhibitor configured to provide means for preventing insertion of a small-diameter unleaded fuel-dispensing pump nozzle into a fuel-conducting passageway formed in a filler neck included in the fuel tank fill tube and coupled to a vehicle fuel tank while allowing insertion of a medium-diameter or large-diameter diesel fuel-dispensing pump nozzle into the fuel-conducting passageway formed in the filler neck, the nozzle inhibitor including a door-support ring, a first door coupled to the door-support ring to pivot relative to the door-support ring about a door-pivot axis, and a second door coupled to the door-support ring to pivot relative to the door-support ring about a door-pivot axis, the first door and the second door movable relative to the door-support ring from a closed position blocking access through the fuel-conducting passageway to an opened position allowing access through the fuel-conducting passageway, a door opener including a flexible band and a plurality of band movers, the flexible band movable from a normally contracted position to a partly-expanded position and to a fully-expanded position, the plurality of band movers being arranged to lie in locations around the fuel-conducting passageway to push the flexible band to the partly-expanded position in response to being engaged by a medium-diameter diesel fuel-dispensing nozzle inserted into the fuel-conducting passageway and to push the flexible band to the fully-expanded position in response to being engaged by a large-diameter diesel fuel-dispensing nozzle inserted into the fuel-conducting passageway, and overtravel means for establishing a lost-motion driving connection between the flexible band and the first door to convert movement of the flexible band from the contracted position to the partly-expanded position into movement of the first door relative to the door-support ring and without converting further movement of the flexible band from the partly-expanded position to the fully-expanded position into movement of the first door relative to the door-support ring and for establishing a lost-motion driving connection between the flexible band and the second door to convert movement of the flexible band from the contracted position to the partly-expanded position into movement of the second door relative to the door-support ring and without converting further movement of the flexible band from the partly-expanded position to the fully-expanded position into movement of the second door relative to the door-support ring so that the first door and the second door do not overtravel past the opened position when a large-diameter diesel fuel-dispensing nozzle is inserted into the fuel-conducting passageway to actuate the door opener to pivot the first and second doors about the door-pivot axis.