Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With guard or screen for operator
Utility Patent
1999-05-05
2001-01-02
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With guard or screen for operator
C141S086000, C141S098000, C222S108000, C222S111000, C312S229000
Utility Patent
active
06167922
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water deflection system for preventing water from entering the hazardous waste collection area of a fuel dispenser cabinet, and, more particularly, to a multi-piece shroud assembly removably attached to the chassis cabinet and arranged to prevent water from entering the cabinet interior and also to redirect water present within the cabinet head area into a fluid channel that deposits the channeled water beyond the cabinet boundaries.
2. Description of the Related Art
Refueling service stations employ a cabinet assembly to house the various components used to dispense fuel such as the fuel pump, valve assembly, and metering equipment. The cabinet assembly typically includes a chassis or other such frame structure that is divided into an upper end and a lower end by an intervening barrier plate that extends through the interior of the chassis in the form of a vapor-impenetrable shelf. The upper end of the chassis defines a compartment space that would contain, for example, an array of electronics components used to facilitate the initiation and processing of customer requests for refueling transactions. An input device in the form of a customer-interactive keypad could be configured in this compartment space.
The lower end of the chassis contains various conventional support structures for integrally housing the fuel dispensing apparatus. The fuel lines connected to the fuel dispensing apparatus typically enter the chassis at its upper end or head area and traverse the end column areas of the chassis before entering the lower end of the chassis for attachment to the proper devices. The vapor lines are configured within the chassis in a similar manner. The fuel dispensing apparatus is conventionally coupled to a fuel conveying hose attached to a maneuverable manually-activatable nozzle assembly that is positioned within a holding receptacle integrally arranged with the fuel dispensing cabinet.
Environmental regulations and safety provisions require the placement of a sump facility immediately beneath the cabinet to facilitate the collection of any fuel that has escaped from the fuel dispensing system in the form of vapor condensate or due to a break or leak in the fuel line, for example. The contents of the sump facility are subsequently removed for appropriate disposal, reconditioning, or other suitable processing. One key aspect of this disposal operation involves the lack of any type of content discrimination in regards to the types of fluid present within the sump facility. For purposes of handling and treatment, the entire contents of the sump facility are considered hazardous waste material and therefore subject to the applicable hazardous waste disposal regimen irrespective of the amount of non-volatile fluid such as water that enters the sump facility and becomes commingled with any liquid fuel. The costs associated with such sump disposal operation depend directly upon the volume of fluid (i.e., fuel and water) retrieved from the sump facility. Accordingly, it is imperative to develop construction safeguards and other such strategies that aim to eliminate the migration of water into the sump facility lying underneath the fuel dispensing cabinet.
The outermost shell or “skin” of a typical fuel dispensing cabinet includes a metal enclosure having various sections in the form of doors or discrete panels that are attached to the chassis to generally define a barrier separating the interior space of the chassis from its external surroundings. This barrier or inner skin would lie behind the nozzle boot, for example. However, enclosures of this type clearly do not provide any significant measure of waterproofing and in fact provide an inferior level of water repellency due to the various seams that run along the edges of the enclosure panels. These enclosure arrangements could be considered suitable for intermittent or light downfalls of rain but would offer barely any protection under the sustained exposure to even a moderate rainfall or a simple maintenance washing of the cabinet. Since the metal enclosure arrangement exists as the innermost “skin” or barrier layer surrounding the interior space of the chassis, any water penetrating past such barrier may enter the sump facility directly or simply migrate over time under the influence of gravity until it reaches the bottom of the chassis where the sump area exists.
Of additional concern is the passage of water into the head area of the chassis where any buildup of fluid could easily compromise the integrity of the electronics enclosure area and impair the functionality of the various devices. Even if the electronics devices are adequately protected from fluid penetration, the presence of such fluid still remains a problem because of the very real possibility that the foreign fluid will eventually find a path to migrate along with the assistance of gravity until it reaches the underlying sump facility.
One approach to enhancing the level of hydraulic protection afforded by current metal enclosure arrangements involves the use of a system of gaskets and other such sealing elements that are adapted in form and shape to the geometries of the individual devices needing protection and to the particular seam configurations created by the set of metal enclosure pieces installed within the cabinet. This type of customized solution has several drawbacks including the complexity of design due to the irregular sealing geometries needed to accommodate the various device structures and seam contours, the high parts count arising from the array of gasket elements that are employed, and the lack of ready serviceability due to the intricate placement of the gaskets. The sensitivity of this gasketing strategy to the particular configuration of devices, the shape of the metal enclosure arrangement, and the chassis frame characteristics effectively eliminates this approach from any kind of universal application to other cabinet systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a water deflection system for use in preventing water from entering the fuel dispensing cabinet area and in diverting water present within the cabinet head area into a fluid passageway that transports the rerouted water to a point beyond the cabinet boundaries away from the sump facility. The water deflection system includes a pair of cover assemblies each integrally arranged with the cabinet chassis at a respective one of the chassis side areas that correspond to the working sides of the cabinet. Preferably, the cover assemblies are placed within the lower end of the chassis and extend upwardly from the chassis base where the sump facility is located. Each cover assembly is removably attached to the chassis frame and includes an upper shroud member and a lower shroud member each extending between the chassis end areas, wherein the lower shroud member is provided in subjacent relationship relative to the upper shroud member. The upper shroud member and lower shroud member are further arranged in a shingle-type configuration in which the upper shroud member at its lower edge portion overlaps with the lower shroud member at its upper edge portion.
The water deflection system further comprises an assembly of elongate column channel members each removably attached to a respective column corner post of the chassis and respectively including a fluid channel portion extending substantially in a vertical direction along the longitudinal dimension of the associated corner post. This assembly of column channel members is organized into two pairs of such channel members, wherein each such pair is associated with a respective cover assembly, i.e., an arrangement comprising an upper shroud member and a lower shroud member. The channel portion for each elongate column channel member is arranged to receive the associated upper shroud member at a respective shroud side edge portion thereof and to receive the associated lower shroud member at a respective shroud sid
Graham Adam T.
Seitz Gary L.
Knuth Randall J.
Maust Timothy L.
Tokheim Corporation
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