Patent ID: 7665493

Claim:
A nozzle inhibitor apparatus comprising a housing adapted to be coupled to a fuel tank filler neck of a motor vehicle having a diesel engine, the housing being formed to include an outer nozzle-receiving aperture, a wall formed to include an inner nozzle-receiving aperture, and a nozzle-receiving passageway formed between the outer nozzle-receiving aperture and the wall, a closure including a flapper door and a retainer, the flapper door being mounted for movement relative to the wall between a closed position closing the inner nozzle-receiving aperture formed in the wall and an opened position allowing movement of a fuel-dispensing pump nozzle through the inner nozzle-receiving aperture in response to engagement of the flapper door with a fuel-dispensing pump nozzle moving downwardly through the inner and outer nozzle-receiving apertures toward the fuel tank filler neck, the retainer being coupled to the flapper door to move therewith relative to the housing, and a nozzle inhibitor including a retainer anchor arranged to move between an extended door-locking position engaging the retainer on the flapper door to hold the flapper door in the closed position and a retracted door-releasing position disengaging the retainer on the flapper door to free the flapper door to be moved from the closed position to the opened position and access means for moving the retainer anchor from the extended position to the retracted position in response to movement of a large-diameter diesel fuel-dispensing pump nozzle in the housing in a downward direction toward the flapper door and for blocking movement of the retainer anchor from the extended position to the retracted position in response to movement of a relatively smaller small-diameter unleaded fuel-dispensing pump nozzle in the housing in the downward direction toward the flapper door, wherein the retainer anchor includes a door latch mounted for lateral movement in the housing between the extended door-locking position wherein the door latch mates with the retainer to lock the flapper door in the closed position and the retracted door-releasing position wherein the door latch unmates from the retainer to allow movement of the flapper door away from the closed position to the opened position and the retainer anchor further includes a door-latch return spring acting between the door latch and the housing normally to yieldably urge the door latch from the retracted door-releasing position toward the extended door-locking position and the access means includes a latch actuator mounted for up-and-down movement in the housing between a raised position allowing the door latch to remain in the extended door-locking position and a lowered position urging the door latch against a spring force generated by the door-latch return spring to move to assume the retracted door-releasing position.