Problems
- A semi fuel nozzle can literally thrust itself out of the fuel tank, spraying 55 gallons per minute onto the ground.
- Truckers must watch the nozzle while the tanks are being filled to ensure that the nozzle will stay in the fuel tank and shut-off properly.
- Current solutions require the user to stick their hands down into the fuel to disengage lock in the tank.
- Current solutions have the ability to fall into the tank as well if not installed properly.
Solution
A patent-pending heavy truck interlocking fuel nozzle has been developed to provide an enhanced latching mechanism to a great majority of the semis on the road today. The unique locking mechanism and spout ring assist with the prevention of a fuel spill due to the spout coming loose from the fuel tank.
Nozzle Operation
The heavy truck interlocking fuel nozzle (HTIFN) has been designed to prevent diesel fuel spillage when a large truck; Peter built, International, Freightliner, and etc, is refueling. These spills occur when the trust produced by the 55 gallons per minute of fuel flowing from the nozzle is able to twist the nozzle out of the fill neck in the trucks large fuel tanks. This coupled with the large volume that the nozzles are able to dispense can cause serious environmental concerns as well as unwanted and unnecessary lose of fuel. There are several issues that must be overcome with our design.
The first of which is due to the extended amounts of time that the nozzle operator will spend away from their semi-truck while it is refilling the high volume tanks. During this time the nozzles have been known to thrust themselves out of the trucks tank to spray fuel everywhere until the operator returns after filling out paper work or what ever. This can pose a danger and liability to the operator, anyone around the loose nozzle, and the station’s owner or employees. By being able to lock in to the tank this problem can be almost totally eliminated.
Another problem that can arise is in the event of a drive-off the locking mechanism doesn’t release from the fill neck in the tank. This has the potential to cause damage to the nozzles pump as well as other property owned by the station and truck operator. To prevent any damage due to our mechanism being installed we have designed it to break away from the nozzle.Prototyping
Development of the heavy truck interlocking nozzle has progressed very quickly due to the tremendous help from Morehead State University’s Industrial Technology Department and the assistance of Sam Mason.
