Patent ID: 7044342

Claim:
A hand held fuel storage container for pouring fuel into a receiving tank, the container comprising: a housing, said housing having a bottom end wall, an upper end wall, and a generally cylindrical sidewall extending between the endwalls, a fill tube for introducing fuel into said housing, said fill tube having opposite ends with one of said ends connected to said sidewall and communicating with the interior of said housing and the other of said ends spaced upwardly from said upper end wall and forming an inlet to receive and introduce fuel into said fill tube, a pour spout for dispensing fuel from said housing, said pour spout having opposite end portions with one of said end portions connected to the upper end wall and communicating with the interior of said housing and the other of said end portions spaced upwardly from the upper end wall, said other end portion being insertable into a receiving tank and forming an outlet to dispense fuel from said housing and into said receiving tank, an axially compressible sleeve disposed about the dispensing end portion of said pour tube, said sleeve including a rearward end fixedly secured to the pour tube and a forward end positioned proximate to the discharge end of the pour tube, wherein insertion of the pour spout into the receiving tank substantially simultaneously acts to bring the forward end of the sleeve into vapor sealing relation about the inlet to the receiving tank and the sleeve to axially compress and expose and permit a greater forward end portion of said pour tube to be inserted into the receiving tank, a removable closure cap for selectively closing the inlet end of said fill tube, said closure cap including a top wall and a sidewall, said top wall having an upper surface exposed to outside air and a lower surface, and said sidewall closing said cap sidewall and forming an annular recess below said lower surface, and vent means for allowing the passage of air through said closure cap and into said fill tube to promote fuel flow through said pour tube, said vent means comprising an interior chamber in said cap top wall, a bore extending between said interior chamber and the upper surface of said top wall, a passage extending between said chamber and the lower surface of said top wall, and a valve, said valve being disposed in said bore and movable between first and second positions, respectively, for permitting and preventing outside air to pass between the upper and lower surfaces of the cap.