FILLING NOZZLE

Abstract

The invention relates to a filling nozzle, comprising an inlet (13) for the connection of a fluid supply line, an outlet (14) for dispensing the fluid, a fluid channel (15) connecting the inlet to the outlet, a main valve (16) which is situated in the fluid channel (15) and which is biased against a valve seat into a closed position, a hand lever (17) for actuating the main valve (16), and a coupling device (22) which is operatively connected to the hand lever (17) and which, in the coupled state, is designed to convert a movement of the hand lever (17) into an actuation of the main valve (16), wherein the main valve (16), in the uncoupled state, is urged into the closed position independently of the position of the hand lever (17). The filling nozzle also has a membrane (26) which separates a first membrane space (27) from a second membrane space (28) and which can be moved to actuate the coupling device (22) by means of a pressure difference existing between the first membrane space (27) and the second membrane space (28). A vacuum can be applied to the first membrane space (27), wherein a sensor line (19) opens into the first membrane space (27). According to the invention, the second membrane space (28) is sealed with respect to the fluid channel (15) and is fluidically connected via a ventilation channel (29) to the surroundings outside the filling nozzle, wherein the fluid flows around a part of the coupling device (22) situated outside the second membrane space (28) when the main valve (16) is opened. The reliability of the triggering of the coupling device can be considerably improved in this way.

Claims

1. A filling nozzle, comprising an inlet (13) for the connection of a fluid supply line, an outlet (14) for dispensing the fluid, a fluid duct (15) connecting the inlet to the outlet, a main valve (16) that is situated in the fluid duct (15) and is preloaded into a closed position against a valve seat, a hand lever (17) for actuating the main valve (16), and a coupling device (22) that is operatively connected to the hand lever (17) and is designed, in the coupled state, to convert a movement of the hand lever (17) into an actuation of the main valve (16), wherein the main valve (16), in the uncoupled state, is pushed into the closed position independently of the position of the hand lever (17), wherein the filling nozzle also has a diaphragm (26) that separates a first diaphragm space (27) from a second diaphragm space (28) and can be moved to actuate the coupling device (22) by means of a pressure difference existing between the first diaphragm space (27) and the second diaphragm space (28), wherein a vacuum can be applied to the first diaphragm space (27), and wherein a sensor line (19) opens into the first diaphragm space (27), characterized in that the second diaphragm space (28) is sealed off from the fluid duct (15) and is fluidically connected via at least one ventilation duct (29) to the surroundings outside the filling nozzle, wherein the fluid flows around a part of the coupling device (22) situated outside the second diaphragm space (28) when the main valve (16) is open.

2. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 1, in which the coupling device has a locking element (32) for locking the hand lever to a valve-actuating element, wherein the locking element can be moved into a locking position and out of a locking position by a movement of the diaphragm.

3. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 2, in which the locking element is positioned such that the fluid flows around it when the main valve is open.

4. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 1, in which the second diaphragm space (28) is sealed off from the fluid duct (15) by means of a cover.

5. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 4, in which at least one sealing element (41), is arranged between the connection element and the cover.

6. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 5, in which the connection element has an outwardly facing circumferential groove, into which the sealing element (41) is let.

7. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 5, in which the through-opening in the cover has an inwardly facing circumferential groove, into which the sealing element (41) is let.

8. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 1, in which the ventilation duct extends in a labyrinthine manner as far as an opening that leads to the surroundings.

9. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 1, which also has a shutoff device that moves the main valve into the closed position independently of a position of the hand lever when a liquid pressure at the inlet falls below a minimum value.

10. A filling pump having a filling hose and a filling nozzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filling hose is connected to the inlet (13) of the filling nozzle.

11. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the coupling device has a connection element that is connected to the diaphragm and runs slidingly through a through-opening in the cover.

12. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one sealing element is an O-ring, an X-ring, a lip seal, or a diaphragm seal.

13. The filling nozzle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the ventilation duct is covered by a flexible protective covering (44) such that pressure equalization is possible.

Description

[0018] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are explained below by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. In the figures,

[0019] FIG. 1: shows a filling nozzle according to the invention in a sectional side view;

[0020] FIG. 2: shows a detail of FIG. 1 in an enlarged view;

[0021] FIG. 3: shows the safety shutoff module shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged view;

[0022] FIG. 4: shows the safety shutoff module of FIG. 3 in a different state;

[0023] FIG. 5: shows the safety shutoff module of FIG. 4 in a cross-sectional view along a different sectional plane;

[0024] FIG. 5a: shows a sectional view along line A-A shown in FIG. 5;

[0025] FIG. 6: shows a safety shutoff module of an alternative embodiment of a filling nozzle according to the invention;

[0026] FIG. 7: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate an alternative embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 8: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate a further alternative embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 9: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate a further alternative embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 10: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate a further alternative embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 11: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate a further alternative embodiment;

[0031] FIG. 12: shows a detail view of a contact region between the connection element and the cover to illustrate a further alternative embodiment.

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a filling nozzle according to the invention having an inlet 13 to which a filling hose can be attached to supply a liquid fuel. The filling nozzle has a housing 12, into which a spout 11 is inserted. There is an outlet 14 at the end of the spout 11. The inlet 13 is connected to the outlet 14 via a fluid duct 15. In the fluid duct 15 there is a main valve 16, which is preloaded in a closing direction against a valve seat. The main valve 16 can be actuated by means of the hand lever 17.

[0033] To this end, the hand lever 17 is coupled in a fundamentally known manner by means of an actuating pin 21 to an inner valve stem 30, which can in turn be coupled by means of a coupling device to an outer valve stem. The coupling takes place by means of a safety shutoff module 23, which is inserted into the housing 12. The operating principle of the safety shutoff module 23 is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

[0034] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged detail of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows only the safety shutoff module 23 in an enlarged view. It can be seen that the filling nozzle has a closing spring 34, which pushes the outer stem 31 in the closing direction (upstream).

[0035] In the state shown in FIG. 2, the upstream end of the outer stem 31 bears against the downstream end of the main valve 16, so that the main valve 16 is pressed against the valve seat 35 and is thus held in the closed position.

[0036] In the state shown, the inner valve stem 30 is coupled to the outer valve stem 31 by means of a coupling device 22. To this end, the coupling device 22 comprises a locking roller retainer 33 in which locking rollers 32 are mounted. Both in the outer valve stem 31 and in the inner valve stem 30 there are locking openings 37, which are oriented to align with one another in the state shown in FIG. 2, wherein the locking rollers 32 are inserted into the locking openings 37. By means of the locking rollers 32, an axial movement of the inner valve stem 30 is transferred to the outer valve stem 31. When the hand lever is actuated, the actuating pin 21 is moved downstream, and the inner valve stem 30 is carried along by the actuating pin 21. Owing to the above-described coupling brought about by the locking rollers 32, the outer valve stem 31 is carried along by the inner valve stem 30 and in this way is lifted off from the main valve 16 counter to the closing force of the closing spring 34. The main valve 16 can then be moved into the open position by means of a fluid pressure prevailing upstream.

[0037] The coupling device 22 is actuated with the aid of a diaphragm 26 that separates a first diaphragm space 27 from a second diaphragm space 28. The coupling device 22 also comprises a connection element 36 that connects the diaphragm 26 to the locking roller retainer 33 in which the locking rollers 32 are mounted. In this way, a movement of the diaphragm 26 can be transferred to the locking rollers 32. In particular, the locking rollers 32 can be lifted upward out of the locking openings 37 by means of a movement of the diaphragm 26 in order to uncouple the inner valve stem 30 from the outer valve stem 31.

[0038] The filling nozzle also has a vacuum line 38 that connects a Venturi nozzle (not shown in the figures), which is positioned downstream of the main valve 16, to the diaphragm space 27 in order to apply a vacuum to the first diaphragm space. Moreover, the sensor line 19 opens into the first diaphragm space 27 in the region 19. While the fuel is being dispensed, air and/or fuel vapors are sucked in from the surroundings via the vacuum line 38, the first diaphragm space 27 and the sensor line 19 at the downstream end of the sensor line 19. When the end of the sensor line 19 is covered by the fuel level at the end of a filling process, a negative pressure is produced in the first diaphragm space 27. This results in a movement of the diaphragm 26 upward in the direction of the first diaphragm space 27 (see FIG. 4), so that the locking rollers 32 are lifted out of the locking openings 37 in the manner explained above. The coupling between the inner valve stem 30 and the outer valve stem 31 is correspondingly released, and the outer valve stem 31 is pushed by the closing force of the closing spring 34 against the main valve 16, which is moved into the closed position thereby.

[0039] The second diaphragm space 28 is separated fluid-tightly from the fluid duct 15 by a cover 40. The fuel flowing through the fluid duct thus has no influence on the pressure within the second diaphragm space 28. The second diaphragm space 28 is also connected to the surroundings outside the filling nozzle via a ventilation duct 29. In the sectional view of FIG. 3, only the mouth 42 of the ventilation duct 29 can be seen. The labyrinthine profile of the ventilation duct 29 is shown in FIG. 5, which shows the elements shown in FIG. 3 along a different sectional plane. In particular, it can be seen in FIG. 5 and in FIG. 5a, which shows a sectional view along line A-A shown in FIG. 5, that several changes of direction take place along the ventilation duct 29, which prevents the penetration of dirt. The profile of the ventilation duct 29 is illustrated partially in FIGS. 5 and 5a by double arrows. It can in particular be seen in FIG. 5 that the ventilation duct, starting from the diaphragm space 28, runs initially radially outward (in relation to the axis of the connection element 36) and then upward, inward, upward, inward, and finally branches off downward. In FIG. 5a, it can be seen that the ventilation duct then branches off (in the view of FIG. 5a upward and downward) in the circumferential direction (in relation to the axis of the connection element 36) and thus opens into a free space 43, which can in principle be open toward the surroundings. In the present case, however, the free space 43 is covered by a protective covering 44 shown in FIG. 2 such that pressure equalization between the free space 43 and the surroundings is possible. To this end, it can be provided for gaps or ducts to remain between the protective covering 44 and the outer wall of the housing 12 of the filling nozzle in order to ensure pressure equalization. At the same time, the protective covering 44 prevents dirt being able to enter the free space 43 (or the ventilation duct 29). The connection of the second diaphragm space 28 to the surroundings means that a pressure corresponding to the ambient pressure is always produced in the second diaphragm space 28. In this way, the movement of the diaphragm 26 caused by the pressure difference prevailing between the diaphragm spaces 27, 28 and thus the actuation of the coupling device 22 can be implemented particularly safely and reliably.

[0040] The connection element 36 has a cylindrical portion, which runs through a corresponding through-opening in the cover 40. In the region of the through-opening there is an inwardly facing groove, into which a lip seal 41 is inserted. The lip seal 41 seals against the outer face of the cylindrical portion so that the pressure inside the diaphragm space 28 is not adversely affected by the pressure conditions in the fluid duct. At the same time, the lip seal 41 allows a sliding movement of the connection element 36 relative to the cover 40.

[0041] The region under the cover 40 is connected to the fluid duct 15. A fuel therefore flows around the locking roller retainer 33 and the locking rollers 32 while it is being dispensed. As a result, the locking rollers 32 are continuously lubricated, and impurities are prevented from being deposited.

[0042] The embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 also comprises a shutoff device that is integrated into the safety shutoff module 23 and is designed to move the main valve 16 into the closed position, independently of a position of the hand lever 17, when a liquid pressure at the inlet 13 falls below a minimum value. The shutoff device is designed in a manner known in principle and therefore shall not be described in detail here. In the states shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a sufficient pressure prevails at the inlet 13 of the filling nozzle, so that the shutoff device is activated and the main valve can be opened with the aid of the hand lever. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the pressure prevailing at the inlet is lower than the minimum pressure. The coupling device is correspondingly in the uncoupled state and the main valve cannot be actuated.

[0043] FIG. 6 shows the safety shutoff module 23 of an alternative embodiment of a filling nozzle according to the invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 only by the omission of the above-described shutoff device.

[0044] FIGS. 7 to 12 each show partial views of alternative embodiments, in which in each case an enlarged cross-sectional view of the contact region between the connection element 36 and the cover 40 is illustrated. In the embodiments of FIGS. 7-9, the cover 40 has, in the region of the through-opening, an inwardly facing groove into which different types of sealing elements 41 are inserted in each case, namely an O-ring (FIG. 9), an X-ring (FIG. 8) and a lip seal (FIG. 7). In the region viewed, the connection element 36 is cylindrical, wherein the respective sealing element 41 bears against the cylindrical region in a ring shape.

[0045] In the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11, an outwardly open groove is let into the cylindrical region of the connection element 36. An O-ring is laid in this groove in the embodiment of FIG. 10, and a lip seal is laid in this groove in the embodiment of FIG. 11. In these embodiments, the through-opening in the cover 40 has a cylindrical inner face, which bears against the respective sealing element around its full circumference. In the embodiment of FIG. 12, an outwardly open groove is let into the cylindrical region of the connection element 36, and an inwardly open groove is let into the cylindrical region of the cover 40. A diaphragm-like sealing element (diaphragm seal) 41 is laid into these two grooves and ensures sealing by means of a flexible diaphragm without surfaces rubbing against one another.

[0046] Thanks to the seal types mentioned, good sealing can be achieved without excessively affecting the sliding ability between the cover 40 and the connection element 36.