Means for placing information/advertising on a fuel dispensing nozzle of a petrol dispensing apparatus

Abstract

 A device for placing information/advertising (1) on the filler gun (2) of a fuel pump, comprising a carrying body (3) having at least one display surface (4) for said information/advertising placed over the head of said gun. The carrying body (3) extends in the longitudinal direction of the gun head and comprises an attachment component (5) which grips around the whole of or part of said gun head and/or the barrel of the gun. The attachment component (5) comprises, in a simple embodiment, an attachment band (5a) fixed to the underside of the carrying body (3) by means of expedient means, e.g., an eye/groove (6). The display surface (4) of the carrying body (3) lies in a recess (11) for the accommodation of the information/advertising label (1), which can be protected by means of a transparent cover plate (12) having pins (13) which interact with securing apertures (14) in an upwardly projecting edge (10) which forms the recess (11).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for placing information/advertising on the filler gun of a fuel pump, comprising a carrying body placed on the head of the gun having at least one display surface for said information/advertising as is disclosed in the preamble in independent claim 1 hereinbelow.

[0002] The affixing of information on the head of a filler gun is known from, inter alia, US Patent No. 5.058.637 where a securing means in the form of an elastic stocking is fed onto the filler gun, said stocking being equipped with a display surface for information or advertising, which surface is covered by a transparent cover. The display surface in this known solution is circular and is limited to a small part only of the gun head and the space available for information and/or advertising is limited. The actual method of securing the display surface, which comprises a flexible dead mould cast sleeve, restricts the use of a device of this kind to filler guns which have a special form. This problem can, of course, be solved by manufacturing sleeves of different forms adapted to fit filler guns of different shapes.

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device for placing information/advertising on the head of a filler gun and which does not have the disadvantages of a limited display surface referred to hereinabove.

[0004] This is achieved according to the present invention by means of the characteristic features which are disclosed in the characterizing clause of claim 1 hereinbelow and the dependent claims also hereinbelow.

[0005] A larger display surface, with space for both information and advertising, is thus provided in that the display surface of the carrying body extends over a substantial part of the length of the head of the gun.

[0006] As disclosed in the subsequent description of the drawings, the securing component may consist of an attachment band fixed to the underside of the carrying body by means of suitable means such as adhesives, welding or mechanical fixing wherein the attachment band is fixed to the carrying body by means of an eye/groove provided on the underside of said carrying body. The attachment band may also be in the form of a hose clip.

[0007] The attachment band may also consist of two arms which form an integrated part of the carrying body, the ends of said arms being optionally furnished with a barb, and also a through-going screw with nuts being arranged between the carrying body and the gun head, which press said arms against the gun head.

[0008] Other features of the invention which are disclosed in the subsequent dependent claims will be described in more detail in the following description of the invention made with reference to the drawing.

[0009] In the drawing

figure 1 illustrates a carrying body with a display surface and an attachment band fixed to its underside,

figure 2 depicts a transparent cover for mounting on top of an information and advertising sticker positioned on the display surface,

figure 2a depicts said sticker,

figure 3 illustrates a carrying body with two display surfaces square to one another,

figure 4 depicts a transparent cover designed for contact with the whole of the display surface,

figure 4a shows an information and advertising sticker adapted to fit the extra long display surface,

figure 5 illustrates the carrying body with a downwardly projecting skirt for enveloping the sides of the gun head and with an opening for interaction with the gun barrel,

figure 6 shows the back of the display surface and the skirt in figure 5 which is pivotally attached to the front and can be secured in an angular position by means of securing organs,

figure 7 illustrates the front of the carrying body according to figure 5,

figure 8 shows an attachment band of the tension adjusting kind,

figure 9 shows a filler gun seen from the side, and

figure 10 shows a carrying body with two resilient clamps fixed to the underside thereof.

[0010] Figures 1 and 2 thus show in perspective a flat carrying body 3 with a display surface 4 surrounded by an upwardly projecting edge 10, whereby a recess 11 is formed for accommodating information/advertising 1 in the form of a sheet of paper or card of the kind illustrated in figure 2a. A transparent cover 12 having securing organs 13 in the form of projecting lugs can be placed in the recess 11 on top of the information/advertising label 1 and is secured by the lugs being brought into engagement with complementary securing organs 14 in the form of openings in said upwardly projecting edge 10. It is shown clearly on the drawing that the carrying body, and thus the sheet containing information/advertising, is elongate, which gives rise to a large display area 4 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the gun head 2a approximately from the rear edge 2b' of the gun barrel 2b at the foremost edge 2a' of the gun head 2a and backwards to the foremost edge 2c' of the handle 2c of the gun head 2a, cf. figure 9. This display surface 4 can contain clear information regarding, for example, the quality and brand of the fuel on one part, and an advertisment on the other part.

[0011] The attachment component 5 of the carrying body 3 comprises an attachment band 5a fixed to the underside of the carrying body 3 by means of an eye/groove 6. The eye/groove 6 may optionally be grooved on the side which faces down towards the filler gun. The attachment band 5a may, of course, optionally be attached to the underside of the carrying body 3 by any kind of means whatsoever such as adhesives or welding. The attachment band 5a may consist of a tension adjusting band where one end of said band comprises a leading-in means for securing the other end of the band when it is fed in and tightened. The attachment band 5a can also be made of a hose clip secured to the underside of the carrying body 3. These various forms of attachment bands are designed first and foremost to grip the foremost part of the gun head 2a or around the barrel 2b of the filler gun 2. On moderate tightening of the attachment band, the carrying body will be held secure in the correct position on the head 2a of the gun.

[0012] The attachment component 5 can, in a special design not shown in the drawing, consist of a sleeve attached to the underside of the carrying body 3 which is designed to be fed onto the gun barrel 2b thereby holding the carrying body in a fixed position on the gun head. The sleeve can be elastic thereby being provided with a clamp effect which reinforces the holding effect.

[0013] Said sleeve can be made in a special way as shown in figures 5, 6 and 7 where the carrying body 3 is made with a skirt 7 which projects downwardly from the display surface 4 in order to envelop the sides of the gun head 2a and having an opening 5b, the function of which corresponds to that of the aforementioned sleeve, which constitutes attachment component 5 in the skirt 7. The opening 5b is arranged at one end 3a of the carrying body 3 to enable said carrying body to be fed onto the gun barrel 2b and optionally onto the foremost end of the gun head 2a.

[0014] The back 3b of the carrying body 3 is attached to the forward part 3a thereof so as to be upwardly pivotal via a hinge 8 across the display surface 4. The skirt 7 is split at this point, the split extending from each end of the hinge 8 and out to the edge 7a of the skirt and releasable securing organs 9 are arranged in the facing splits in the skirt 7. In this way said back 3b can be pivoted downwards in the mounted position on the filler gun and interlock with the back of the gun head 2a. In this design of the carrying body 3, the display surface will be divided into two surfaces 4a,4b, each of which can carry appropriate information/advertising. This design of the carrying body 3 thus provides a display surface 4 which extends over a substantial part of the length of the gun head 2a.

[0015] A corresponding elongate display surface 4 consisting of two part surfaces 4a,4b square to one another is shown in figure 3 which illustrates a carrying body with a front part equivalent to the carrying body according to figure 1 and having an extension at it rear end, whereby the total display surface 4 comprises a front and a back part 4a,4b square to one another.

[0016] The attachment component 5 can, in an alternative design, consist of a resilient clamp 5c made of steel or any other expedient material, secured to the underside of the carrying body 3 with the clamp arms 5d projecting outwards from the underside. The carrying body 3 can hereby quite simply be pushed from above onto the filler gun 2 so that the resilient clamp 5c grips around the gun barrel 2b or gun head 2a.

[0017] Optionally, the carrying body can be equipped with two resilient clamps 5c which grip around each of two said parts of the filler gun 2.

[0018] The carrying body 3 and the attachment component 5, optionally in the form of said skirt 7 with opening 5b, can be manufactured in an elastic material, eg, in that all parts are dead mould cast in one piece.

[0019] Thus the carrying body 3 can be mounted on the filler gun 2 in that the gun barrel 2b, or the front part of the gun head 2b, is inserted into the attachment component 5 which has an opening 5b. Optionally, the attachment component can be made of said resilient clamp 5c, whereby the carrying body 3 quite simply is pressed into place from the top of the gun head.

[0020] Advertising/information labels can be attached to the display surface 4 of the carrying body 3 in any expedient manner whatsoever such as by using an adhesive. However, to facilitate changing the labels and at the same time achieve protection of the information/advertising label 1, the solution according to figures 1, 3 and 5 is desirable. The label can hereby be placed in the recess 11 and covered by means of the transparent cover or cover plate 12.

[0021] The device according to the invention will, on use, provide a petrol/fuel customer with clear and full information with regard to the brand and quality of the fuel. This should prevent a vehicle from being filled with the wrong fuel and thereby save the customer from the problems this would cause and save the petrol station/company from any liability for damages in that the filler gun carries clear information about the fuel quality which the customer could not possibly fail to see. During the actual process of filling his vehicle, the consumer will, at the same time, have ample opportunity to read the advertisement/message that has been affixed to the display surface.

Claims

1. A device for placing information/advertising (1) on a filler gun (2) of a fuel pump of the kind having in series a gun barrel (2b), a gun head (2a) and a gun handle (2c), a first junction at which a rear end (2b') of said gun barrel (2b) joins a front end (2a') of said gun head (2a) and a second junction at which a rear end of said gun head (2a) joins a front end (2c') of said gun handle (2c), said device providing:

a display surface (4) supported by a carrying body (3) being releasably attachable to said filler gun for displaying one or more said information/advertising readily viewable by a gun user,

characterized in that said display surface (4) has a first display surface portion (4a) being substantially parallel to the gun head (2a) and the gun handle (2c) and a second display surface portion (4b) being substantially parallel to the gun barrel (2b) when said carrying body is fitted onto said filler gun, the entire display surface being so configured that it extends longitudinally along and over a top region of said filler gun from approximately said first junction to approximately said second junction when said carrying body is attached to said filler gun.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the width of said display surface (4) is, at least over part of its entire length, greater than the width of said gun head (2a).

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said first and second display surface portions (4a, 4b) are generally planar.

4. The device according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that said carrying body (3) includes a downwardly projecting peripheral skirt portion (7) extending from at least that portion of said carrying body so as to envelop the sides of said gun head (2a) when said carrying body is fitted onto said filler gun.

5. The device according to any of claims 1 - 4, characterized in that said carrying body (3) is provided with an aperture (5b) in its one end portion to be disposed near said first junction to thereby secure said carrying body to said filler gun when said carrying body is fitted onto said filler gun.

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that said carrying body (3) defines the other end portion for interlocking with said filler gun near said second junction when said carrying body is fitted onto said filler gun.

7. The device according to any of claims 1 - 6, characterized in that it includes a transparent cover (12) adapted for removable attachment to said display surface (4) of said carrying body (3) to thereby facilitate changing of said information/advertising viewable by said user.

8. The device according to any of claims 1 - 7, characterized in that said carrying body (3) has a first carrying body portion (3a) and a second carrying body portion (3b) which are pivotally interconnected by a hinge portion (8), and that securing means (9) are provided for adjusting a mutual angle formed by said first and second carrying body portions.

9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said carrying body (3) is attached to said filler gun by an attachment band (5a).

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said carrying body (3) is attached to said filler gun by a resilient clamp (5c).

Drawing