Protective Collar for Fill Pipe Adaptor

The present invention relates to a protective collar for a gasoline fill pipe adaptor, and more particularly to a collar for preventing loosening of the fill pipe adaptor during filing of an underground gasoline tank with gasoline.

In a gasoline station, there is an underground gasoline storage tank for supplying gasoline dispensers ("pumps"). The storage tank is periodically refilled from a gasoline tanker. This refilling process is accomplished by means of a hose connected to the tanker at one end and having a nozzle inserted into a nozzle adaptor at the top of a fill pipe or riser leading to the underground storage tank. Typical adaptors, as made by Emco Wheaton and other companies, are threaded to the top of the fill pipe.

Periodically, these adaptors are found to be lose, e.g., by an environmental official or inspector who can fine the station owner for this hazardous condition. It has been discovered that this loosening of the adaptor sometimes occurs as a result of the refilling process. That is, when the tanker finishes pumping gasoline into the fill pipe, there is still a substantial amount of gasoline in the hose connected to the tanker. The operator typically picks up the hose at the tanker, holds the hose up, and walks towards the fill pipe causing the excess gasoline in the hose to flow into the fill pipe, This works well to avoid spilling or wasting gasoline, but the hose acts as a lever and often rotates and/or loosens the threaded adaptor.

What is needed is a way of preventing loosening of the adaptor to avoid such a hazardous condition and the costs of spilled gasoline creating a fire hazard and causing contamination.

In accordance with the invention, a protective collar which overlaps part of the fill pipe and part of the adaptor is provided. The collar has a plurality of threaded rods which contact the fill pipe, and set screws for tightening against the adaptor to prevent rotation of the adaptor.

In one embodiment, the collar is provided with a bracing mechanism to brace the collar against the interior of the spill bucket in which the fill pipe is provided to prevent transference of the torque from the hose to the bottom of the fill pipe where it connects to the underground storage tank or piping leading to the tank. The bracing mechanism includes a T-shaped element with a hollow stem that fits over a threaded rod. The rod has an inner nut fixed to it, which nut may be used to tighten the rod until it meets the fill pipe. The rod also has an outer nut threaded to it, which outer nut may be used to move the T-shaped element out against walls of the spill bucket. Inward movement of the outer nut allows the collar to fit into the spill bucket in which the standpipe is located and outward movement creates a pressure or friction fit between the T-shaped bracing elements and the walls, thereby bracing the fill pipe against the transference of the lever action from the hose through the adaptor and collar to the fill pipe, as well as preventing rotation of the adaptor.

The preferred embodiment of the invention will become more evident upon reading the detailed description below, in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a protective collar, according to a first embodiment of the invention, in place on a fill pipe and adaptor for access to an underground gasoline storage tank;

FIG. 2 is a top sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing bracing for the collar in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional and partial exploded view of the collar and bracing;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a one-piece adaptor and collar in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a collar in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a collar, adaptor and fill pipe assembly in accordance with the third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the assembly of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of a one-piece collar and adaptor assembly in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a service station where a tanker 2 having a flexible hose 4 with a nozzle 6 is filling an underground storage tank 18. The nozzle is inserted into a nozzle adaptor 14 threaded to the top of a fill pipe 16 or riser which is, in turn, connected to the storage tank 18. The nozzle adaptor 14 is located within a manhole 20 or spill bucket having a cover 22. In order to prevent the adaptor 14 from becoming loose on the fill pipe 16, a protective collar 30 in accordance with the invention is provided. Collar 30 has upper threaded holes 32 for upper set screws or bolts and lower threaded holes 34 formed in a collar body 36. The upper portion of the collar body has an indentation 38 for receiving the bottom of the adaptor. In a typical adaptor made, for example, by Emco Wheaton, the bottom of the adaptor has an octagonal shape and so the indentation 38 would have a matching octagonal shape. In practice, the collar is placed over the fill pipe before the adaptor is connected to the fill pipe, and lower bolts (shown and described later), preferably four in number at 90.degree., are tightened softly against the fill pipe just below its threads to hold the collar in place. Then, the adaptor is threaded onto the top of the fill pipe, and the upper set screws or bolts 60 (FIG. 3), also preferably four in number at 90.degree., are then tightened against the adaptor sufficiently to prevent relative rotation. This assembly thus provides a positive force against loosening of the adaptor.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the collar 30 on the fill pipe and adaptor. The collar has bracing assemblies 40. In particular, each bracing assembly has a means, such as a threaded rod 44, a fixed nut 46 for tightening rod 44, preferably softly but directly against fill pipe 16, and a movable nut 48, for telescopically mounting the assembly. The bracing assembly further includes a T-member 50 having a tubular stem for fitting over the threaded rod 44. The cross member 52 of the T-member is formed, preferably integrally or unitarily with the tube portion of the T-member and in a substantially planar shape. A friction pad 54 is then fitted to the cross member 52 and affixed thereto by screws or other appropriate means. The friction pad 54 then is pressed against the sidewalls 20 of the spill bucket by threading the movable nut 48 outward along rod 44 sufficiently to brace the fill pipe against lever action from the hose being transferred to the base of the fill pipe and to frictionally engage the walls of the spill bucket to prevent rotation of the adaptor.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of an adaptor 61 similar to that of FIGS. 1-3, but the collar is formed unitarily or integrally with the adaptor. With this structure, the upper set screws or bolts are eliminated. Moreover, the combined adaptor and protective collar has internal threads 66 and a ridge 68 for threading to and sitting on top of the fill pipe. Indentations or knobs 70 are provided at the top of the combined structure to enable use of a spanner wrench, or the like, to tighten the structure onto the fill pipe or loosen it.

If such a collar is used without a bracing assembly, lever action of the hose on the adaptor, collar, and fill pipe can loosen or break the fill pipe at its base.

In FIGS. 5-7, another version of the invention is shown in which a protective collar 92, similar to the collar of FIGS. 1-3, is used. This collar, however, instead of having an octagonal internal shape at the upper throughholes, has a round shape for supporting a side seal nozzle adaptor. The upper and lower screw holes 80, 82 function in the same way as the screw holes of the collar of FIGS. 1-3. The bolts are not shown in FIG. 5 for the sake of simplicity.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, a side seal nozzle adaptor 90 is shown with the protective collar 92 and the same bracing structure 40 as in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, a protective collar similar to that of FIGS. 5-7 is integrally or unitarily formed with a nozzle adaptor to form a combined structure 96, similar to the way FIG. 4 shows an integral or unitary structure for the nozzle adaptor and collar of FIGS. 2 and 3.

The invention may be used with any fill or vapor adaptor. Preferably, the collar is aluminum, and where the collar and adaptor assembly are formed together, they are made of aluminum or brass. The T-shaped sliding members are formed of stainless steel. The padding on the T-shaped members is preferably a rubber which would have good resistance to gasoline. Of course, other suitable materials may be used.

The invention has been shown with four upper screw holes and four lower screw holes or four bracing assemblies, however, these numbers can vary as desired or needed. For example, in a round spill bucket, three bracing assemblies placed at 120.degree. would be quite suitable.

The collars in the side seal assemblies have U-shaped cutouts to provide room for a clamping nozzle from a typical hose.

The one-piece structure is particularly useful for top seal adaptors because such adaptors have certain structure including a nut which is difficult for a collar to fit over without a special design.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are merely exemplary and numerous versions will be evident to those of ordinary skill of the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims as interrupted in law and equity, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments.