Patent Publication Number: US-3877498-A

Title: Nozzles of fluid dispensing valves of the automatic shutoff type

Description:
United States Patent Lancellin 1 NOZZLES OF FLUID DISPENSING VALVES OF THE AUTOMATIC SHUTOFF TYPE [75] Inventor: Jacques Lancellin, Suresnes, France [73] Assignee: Volucompteurs Aster-Boutillon,  
 Montrouge, France [22] Filed: Jan. 15, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 323,460  
 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Assistant Examiner-Frederick R. Schmidt Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William R. Sherman; Walter C. Farley [57] ABSTRACT An improved nozzle for a liquid dispensing valve of the automatic shutoff type placed at the end of a hose Apr. 15, 1975 for the filling of automobile tanks is euipped with an automatic pneumatic device which shuts off the valve when the tank is filled to a level near the edge of the tank filler hole, comprising venturi and passage means controlled by a manually-operated lever which, when the valve is open, generates a negative pressure in an associated conduit within the main liquid outlet tube, the associated conduit being closed off at its end and slightly shorter than the main tube in which it is incorporated, part of the external wall of the associated conduit corresponding, at least at its end, to part of the internal wall of the main tube. The control of the shutoff means is effected by a manually-operated lever and through a mechanical linkage which includes an element for breaking this mechanical linkage, thereby allowing the means to stop the dispensing of liquid without moving the lever, the element being controlled by the device sensitive to the negative pressure generated by the venturi means to which the said device is connected through the associated conduit and a calibrated lateral hole made in the end of this associted conduit leading out to the ambient free air. A second calibrated hole is provided at the end of the associated conduit and in its axis leading into the main tube and a third hole of larger diameter is located laterally in the main tube, downstream of the end of the associated conduit and in its immediate vicinity, leading out to the ambient air, so that when the liquid in the tank covers almost simultaneously the three orifices of the end of the valve, the simultaneous increase in the pressure drop in the two calibrated orifices produces the immediate operation of the automaticshutoff device of the valve.  
 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 51975 smug? NOZZLES OF FLUID DISPENSING VALVES OF THE AUTOMATIC Sll-IUTOFF TYPE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to liquid dispensing apparatus and more particularly to hydrocarbon fuel metering dispensers connected to a hose, comprising dispensing valves allowing the control of fluid flow into tanks to be filled, these tanks most often being those of motor vehicles.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various prior-art devices have been described which offer the convenient utilization and safety of an automatic shutoff of the valves when the tank is at the point of overflowing. These devices in general include, on the path of the fluid, a member of suitable form constitut-- ing a venturi or suction nozzle which generates a relative depression in an associated conduit when the valve allows the fluid to flow. A manually-operated lever controls a valve through mechanical means forming a control linkage, including an element of the lock type which breaks the said linkage between the lever and the valve, allowing the latter to close by itself without being accompanied by the lever. To achieve this, the lock is controlled by a diaphragm or piston device sensitive to the relative depression generated by the venturi. When the associated conduit is immersed in the fluid filling the tank, the depression increases considerably, thereby actuating the lock which stops the filling of the tank.  
  These different devices are relatively slow and do not act effectively, so that frequently fuel continues to flow to the filled tank making it overflow slightly. Moreover, the turbulence of the fluid stream at the often-narrow inlet of the tank produces occasional premature stopping of the fluid stream.  
  Accordingly, an object of this invention is to activate the action of the venturi and stop the flow of fluid in the valve more rapidly, thereby economizing a product of a certain value and making the tank filling operation cleaner.  
  A further object is to prevent the premature stopping of the fluid stream when the inlet of the tank is narrow.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the invention is directed to a device for dispensing liquids comprising a controllable valve having an output nozzle,  
 a tube associated with the nozzle and including a first hole for connecting the inner space of the tube to the space exterior to the nozzle,  
 means sensitive to a decrease in pressure associated with said tube and said valve for controlling the shutoff of said valve,  
 said tube including a second hole for connecting the inner space of the tube to the inner space of the nozzle. the nozzle also having a hole, near the second hole in the tube, for permitting air flow into the nozzle and the second hole.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description&#39;of an illustrative embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings in which:  
  FIG. 1 represents a longitudinal section of a dispensing valve with conventional control by lever and equipped, on the one hand, with a known flow control device and, on the other, with an associated conduit leading to the end of a main fluid outlet tube;  
  FIG. Ia illustrates in an enlarged view structural details of the end part of the valve of FIG. I and FIG. 2 represents a cross section of the same apparatus along the line IIII shown in FIG. 1.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT According to the illustrated embodiment, the valve has a monobloc body 1 connected by a flange to a pressurized fluid delivery hose. It includes a canal 2 in which is mounted a venturi composed of two parts, a convergent part 3 and a divergent part 4. The convergent part 3 forms a throat serving as a seat for a cylindro-conical movable valve 5. This movable valve is mounted slidingly on the end of a central rod 6 which carries, near its other end, a dished washer 7 acted upon by a spring 8 thrusting the said washer against a shoulder of the central rod. The spring 8 bears on a plug 9 screwed into the body 1. The canal 2 leads, downstream of the venturi, into a cavity 20 coaxial with the rod 6. This cavity 2a in turn leads to a second cavity 10 containing the spring 8 and opening out to the free air. The two cavities 2a and 10 are separated by a gland 13 which retains the liquid in the cavity 2a. This cavity 20 divides into two channels 2a and 212 (FIG. 2) which meet in a single canal 26 leading to the tank filling conduit consisting of a main outlet tube 11. This tube is fixed on the body 1 by a nut 12. The rod 6 goes through the gland 13 in a sealed manner and penetrates into the valve 5 with its undercut upstream end having a smaller diameter than the body of this rod so as to form a shoulder 6a allowing it to drive the said valve in the closing direction, while it slides in the opposite direction in the valve 5 without driving it. A relatively weak spring 14 bearing on the gland 13 drives the valve 5 in the closing direction even when the rod 6 when moving toward the left in FIG. 1, is no longer applying a direct closing force against valve 5.  
  In the cavity 10, a slide 15 is mounted on the rod 6 and includes, perpendicular to the axis of the rod 6, a notch 15a which can coincide with a notch 6b of the same width made in the rod 6. A light spring 16 bearing on the washer 7 drives the slide 15 toward the right in FIG. I and a manually-operated lever 17 swivelling around pin 18 on the body 1 makes it possible to drive the said slide toward the left in FIG. 1.  
  The slide is secured to the rod 6 by a retractable locking device which constitutes an element breaking the mechanical linkage between the lever 17 and the means described below which generate a relative depression, or negative air pressure in an associated conduit described in further detail below.  
  The above-mentioned device has two cylindrical rollers 19 and 20 permanently engaged in the notch 15a of the slide 15, capable of fitting in the notch 6b of the rod 6 when this notch 6b coincides with the said notch 15a. The ends of these two rollers are engaged in slots 21a (FIG. 2) which are parallel to the axis of the rod 6 and which are made in a yoke 21 (FIG. 2). A second yoke 22, having solid walls, without slots, envelops the first in order to hold the said rollers captively.  
  The two yokes 21 and 22 are fixed by a rivet, for example, at the center of a flexible and impermeable diaphragm 23 forming the upper part of the cavity and held in a sealed manner on the body 1 by a plug 24. A light spring 25 loads the diaphragm downward (FIGS. 1 and 2).  
  The throat of the venturi generating a relatively negative pressure communicates, via a narrow passage 3a which forms the beginning of the associated conduit and which is made in the convergent part 3, with an annular groove lb made in the body 1. The canal 1c pierced in the body 1, places the said groove in communication with the chamber 26 delimited by the upper face of the diaphragm 23 and the plug 24. A hole 1d, also pierced in the body 1, places this chamber in communication with an annular groove 12 cut in the said body 1 around the plug 9. Another canal 1f leads into the groove 1e and places it in communication with a blind hole lg in which is fitted, with a very small clearance, a tube 26a forming part of the associated conduit and extending up to the vicinity of the outlet end of tube 11 where the tube 26a fits in the same manner into a block 27 riveted on the tube 11 and in which is drilled a transverse calibrated hole 28 leading out to the free ambient air.  
  A second calibrated hole 29, whose diameter is not very different from that of the hole 28, is pierced in the block 27 approximately in the axis of the tube 26a, bringing the inside of the associated conduit which terminates in the elements 27 and 26a into communication with the inside of the tube 11 in a zone near the end of the said tube 11. A third calibrated hole 30, whose diameter is much larger than those of the holes 28 and 29, is pierced transversely in the wall of the tube 11 downstream of the end of the block 27 and in the vicinity of the hole 29, on the line passing through the hole 28.  
  The following description refers to the role of the hole 28, in the cases of defective operation of the known device, and to the role played, in these cases, by the two additional holes 29 and 30 on the mechanism used as an example.  
  In the absence of these holes 29 and 30, during the flow of liquid in the valve, the operation of the venturi produces a flow of air which enters through the hole 28, passes through the diaphragm device, and is mixed with the liquid by the venturi. In this configuration where air goes through the hole 28, the vacuum in the diaphragm device reaches only a relatively small value. On the other hand, when liquid goes through the hole 28, for example when the level of the liquid in the tank reaches the hole 28, the magnitude of the negative air pressure at the location of the diaphragm device increases greatly because the calibrated hole 28 offers to the liquid a much higher passage resistance or pressure drop than in the case of air. In this new configuration, the rollers 19 and 20, acted upon by the diaphragm device, break the mechanical linkage between the lever 17 and the valve 5, thereby causing the closing of the valve and stopping the flow of liquid.  
  For safety reasons, the operating time of the automatic shutoff of the valve has been made as small as possible in order to minimize the risk of overflowing.  
  This simple arrangement of the valve nozzle has a serious drawback when applied practically. It is often noted that owing to the shape of tank filler holes, the flow of liquid exhibits significant disturbances resulting in the projection of drops of liquid with random trajectories often passing in the immediate vicinity of the calibrated hole 28. This causes the premature shutoff of the valve before the tank has been filled. There is thus a conflict between the two conditions for stopping the valve. Firstly, it must be very sensitive to respond promptly to a full tank condition but also designed so that the drops projected during the dispensing do not cause premature shutoff.  
  The presence of the two additional holes 29 and 30 makes these two conditions compatible.  
  When the level of liquid in the tank reaches the holes 28 and 29, the almost simultaneous increase in the pressure drop in theseholes causes the operation of the automatic shutoff device mentioned above.  
  When the required level of liquid has not yet been reached and the turbulent flow in the tank opening produces the projection of liquid drops, it is very rare for two drops to simultaneously reach the calibrated holes 28 and 29. The risk of premature shutoff is thus very small.  
  The possibility of using the calibrated hole 29 for detecting the presence of liquid requires the surroundings of this hole 29 to be in air during the filling operation. The hole 30 makes this possible. In fact, the flow of fluid in the nozzle creates a violent surge of air through the hole 30 owing to a suction effect, thereby clearing the hole 29 from any presence of liquid. This violent passage of air moreover offers the advantage of preventing the drops of liquid projected from inside the nozzle from reaching the hole 29 since the air flow drawn through the hole 30 is much greater than the flow necessary for the hole 29. The result is that a drop of liquid projected toward the hole 30 has a tendency to be sucked through this hole and driven toward the end of the tube 1 I, carried by the air and liquid, instead of entering the hole 29.  
  These arrangements have made it possible to endow the valve with the maximum sensitivity compatible with full operating safety, while preventing premature shutoff before the tank has been completely filled.  
  While an illustrative embodiment has been described, it will be understood that this improvement is applicable to any valve equipped with an associated conduit in which a relative depression prevails when fluid flows through the valve. For example, the diaphragm device described can be replaced by a piston device, and any other part of the described mechanism can be replaced by a different arrangement filling the same function.  
 What is claimed is:  
  1. An apparatus for dispensing liquids into a receiver and responsive to the rising liquid level in the receiver to terminate dispensing, the apparatus comprising a hollow body;  
 an input conduit connected to said body and connectable to a fluid source for conducting fluid into said body; I  
 valve means in said body for controlling the flow of liquid therethrough;  
 manually operable means connected to said body for opening said valve means;  
 An outlet tube connected to said body to convey and dispense liquid flowing from said valve means, said outlet tube having an open discharge end;  
 an air tube extending from a point near said discharge end to said body along said outlet tube and including means defining a first opening near said discharge end for connecting the inner space of the air tube to the space outside of said outlet tube;  
 means in said air tube defining a second opening near said discharge end for connecting the inner space of the air tube with the inner space of the outlet tube;  
 means in said outlet tube defining a third opening for permitting air flow into said outlet tube adjacent said second opening; and  
 means in said body sensitive to a sudden decrease in air pressure in said air tube, caused by the arrival of the rising liquid level in said receiver at said openings in said air tube for controlling the shutoff of said valve means.  
 2. An improved liquid dispensing nozzle for filling a container comprising a body;  
 a valve in said body;  
 an outlet tube connected to said body; means for connecting said body to a source of liquid to be dispensed;  
 said body defining conduit means for conducting liquid from said source of said outlet tube when said valve is open;  
 latch means manually movable to a position in which said valve is maintained in an open position to permit liquid flow therethrough;  
 pressure responsive means for releasing said latch means to permit said valve to close, said pressure responsive means including a conduit extending between said valve means and a point near the discharge end of said outlet tube, means at said valve means for creating a negative pressure to draw air through said conduit toward said valve means,  
 said conduit terminating in a closed end having a relatively small first opening therethrough in a direction parallel with the axis of said outlet tube,  
 a second opening laterally through said conduit and said outlet tube to permit restricted communication and air flow between the interior of said conduit and ambient atmosphere, said first and second openings being approximately equal to each other in cross sectional area,  
 and a third opening extending through the wall of said outlet tube at a point between the distal end of said tube and the end of said conduit, said third opening being significantly larger than either of said first and second openings,  
 whereby the rising liquid level in the container, upon covering said openings and said discharge end, causes a pressure drop in said conduit to cause said pressure responsive means to release said latch and close said valve. 3. An improved liquid dispensing nozzle for filling a container comprising a body; a valve in said body,  
 said valve having a valve seat and a portion movable between an open position and a closed position adjacent said seat.  
 said valve seat being formed to create a partial vacuum adjacent thereto when liquid is flowing through said valve;  
 fluid conduit means for supplying liquid to said valve;  
 an outlet tube connected to said body and said valve therein for dispensing liquid when said valve is open, said outlet tube having an open discharge end having an axis;  
 a pivotable lever;  
 linkage means connected between said movable portion of said valve and said lever for opening said valve when said lever is moved in one direction;  
 means defining an air fiow passage between a point near said discharge end of said outlet tube and a point adjacent said valve seat, including an air tube extending along said outlet tube between said body and said point near said discharge end, and a passage in said body between said air tube and said valve seat,  
 said air tube having a first opening of predetermined small size extending through the wall thereof between the air tube interior and ambient atmosphere,  
 a second opening through the wall of said air tube in the direction of the opening in said discharge end, said second opening being of the same size as said first opening;  
 said outlet tube having a third opening extending laterally through the wall thereof between said discharge end and said air tube adjacent said second opening,  
 said third opening being significantly larger than either of said first and second openings; and  
 means in said body responsive to a drop in pressure in said air flow passage caused by the rising liquid level in the container covering said discharge end and said openings for disrupting said linkage means and closing said valve.  
  UNITED STATES PATEIM (:EETZQFIQATE QQHRHQTEQN Patent No. 3877JLL98 Dated April 5 r 975 inventor) Jacques Lancelin It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:  
 The inventor s name should read as follows:  
 Jacques Lancelin Signed and sealed this 15th day of July 1975.  
  (SEAL) Attest:  
  C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Y Commissioner of Patents Attesting&#39; Officer and Trademarks