Sealing system for fill pipe head

Abstract

Sealing system for fuel tank fill head which comprises: a shutter ( 1 ) that can be moved between an open position, in which fuel may be introduced into the fill pipe, and a closed position in which the fill pipe is closed, the shutter ( 1 ) passing from one position to another under the effect of the thrust exerted by a filling nozzle ( 62, 64 ); a shield ( 7 ) that is placed upstream of the shutter ( 1 ) and that can be moved between an open position, in which the shutter ( 1 ) is accessible, and a closed position in which the shutter ( 1 ) is protected from the atmosphere by the shield ( 7 ); and a nozzle inhibitor designed so as to only allow opening of the shutter ( 1 ) when a filling nozzle head of predefined diameter ( 62, 64 ) comes into contact with the nozzle inhibitor. The nozzle inhibitor is integrated into the shield ( 7 ).

1 . A sealing system for fuel tank fill head comprising
 a shutter ( 1 ) that can be moved between an open position, in which fuel may be introduced into a fill pipe, and a closed position in which the fill pipe is closed, the shutter ( 1 ) passing from the closed position to the open position under the effect of a thrust exerted by a filling nozzle head;   a shield ( 7 ) placed upstream of the shutter ( 1 ) and that can be moved between an open position, in which the shutter ( 1 ) is accessible, and a closed position in which the shutter ( 1 ) is protected from the atmosphere by the shield ( 7 ); and   a nozzle inhibitor designed so as to only allow movement of the shutter ( 1 ) from its closed position to its open position when the nozzle inhibitor has come into contact with a filling nozzle head ( 62 , 64 ) having a predefined diameter, when this is introduced into the fill head,   
     wherein the nozzle inhibitor is integrated into the shield ( 7 ). 
   
   
       2 . The sealing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the shield ( 7 ) is prestressed in its open position by elastic return means. 
   
   
       3 . The sealing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the shield ( 7 ) is kept in its closed position by the nozzle inhibitor and is capable of being moved from its closed position to its open position when the nozzle inhibitor has come into contact with the filling nozzle head ( 62 , 64 ). 
   
   
       4 . The sealing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle inhibitor is placed upstream of the shield ( 7 ) and comprises a release ( 20 ) equipped with a profiled part ( 24 ) and one, or even two, foolproof fingers ( 26 ) positioned between the shield ( 7 ) and the release ( 20 ) so as to enable movement of the shield ( 7 ) from its closed position to its open position when the release ( 20 ) and the foolproof finger ( 26 ) are moved under the effect of the thrust exerted by the filling nozzle head ( 62 ,  64 ) when it is engaged with the profiled part ( 24 ) and is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fill head. 
   
   
       5 . The sealing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle inhibitor comprises a foolproofing pin ( 50 ) that can be moved into the path of the filling nozzle head ( 62 , 64 ) when the nozzle is introduced into the fill head. 
   
   
       6 . The sealing system according to  claim 5 , wherein the nozzle inhibitor comprises a plurality of foolproofing pins ( 50 ) arranged such that the shield ( 7 ) is capable of being moved from its closed position to its open position when all the pins ( 50 ) have come into contact with and are moved by the filling nozzle head ( 62 ,  64 ). 
   
   
       7 . The sealing system according to  claim 6 , wherein each pin ( 50 ) comprises an inclined face ( 56 ) and is designed so as to be rotated around an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fill head under the effect of a force exerted by the filling nozzle head ( 62 , 64 ) when it comes into contact with all the inclined faces, the pins ( 50 ) being arranged so that the surfaces projected from the inclined faces ( 56 ) over a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fill head are contained between two imaginary circles ( 58 ,  58 ′), the respective diameters of which define a range that includes a diameter approximately corresponding to the predefined diameter of the filling nozzle head ( 62 ,  64 ). 
   
   
       8 . The sealing system according to  claim 1 , wherein the shield ( 7 ) comprises a plate ( 34 ,  52 ) that can be rotated about an axis ( 36 ,  54 ) substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fill head. 
   
   
       9 . The sealing system according to  claim 8 , wherein the shield ( 7 ) comprises two plates ( 34 ,  34 ′) that can each be rotated respectively about an axis ( 36 ,  36 ′), the axes ( 36 ,  36 ′) being merged or being arranged at a short distance from one another so that the plates ( 34 ,  34 ′) cooperate and prevent access to the shutter ( 1 ) when the shield ( 7 ) is in the closed position and that the plates ( 34 ,  34 ′) allow access to the shutter ( 1 ) when the shield ( 7 ) is in its open position. 
   
   
       10 . The sealing system according to  claim 8 , wherein the shield ( 7 ) is formed by a plurality of plates ( 52 ), each plate ( 52 ) being able to be rotated about an axis ( 54 ), the axes ( 54 ) being arranged equidistantly over a perimeter around the fill pipe opening. 
   
   
       11 . The sealing system according to  claim 5 , wherein each pin ( 50 ) is firmly attached to one plate ( 52 ) of the shield ( 7 ).