초록 ▼

A fuel nozzle guard, in some embodiments, comprises a static control material. When a consumer grabs the fuel nozzle, his or her hand will touch the static control material, thereby, safely dissipating any electrostatic charges at a controlled rate of discharge without a spark. The fuel nozzle guar

A fuel nozzle guard, in some embodiments, comprises a static control material. When a consumer grabs the fuel nozzle, his or her hand will touch the static control material, thereby, safely dissipating any electrostatic charges at a controlled rate of discharge without a spark. The fuel nozzle guard, in some embodiments, slides onto the nozzle interfacing with the nozzle so that retaining edges secure the fuel nozzle guard to the nozzle, without removing the nozzle from its hose. The material, in some embodiments, lacks plastisol and allows labels to adhere directly to it.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A fuel nozzle guard comprising: a unitary guard member having a handle portion and a body portion shaped to conform to a fuel nozzle, retaining edges that secure the guard to the fuel nozzle in a snap-fit manner, and stress notches sized to provide flexibility and stres

The invention claimed is: 1. A fuel nozzle guard comprising: a unitary guard member having a handle portion and a body portion shaped to conform to a fuel nozzle, retaining edges that secure the guard to the fuel nozzle in a snap-fit manner, and stress notches sized to provide flexibility and stress-relief between the handle portion and the body portion. 2. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 1 further comprising a display surface for information and advertising. 3. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 1 further comprising a static control material associated with the handle portion of the unitary guard member and electrically connected to a ground. 4. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 3 wherein the static control material is selected from the group consisting of static dissipative, anti-static, static shielding, and combinations thereof. 5. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 4 wherein the static control material comprises a static dissipative material with a surface resistivity between about 105 and 1012. 6. A fuel nozzle guard comprising: a guard shaped to conform to a fuel nozzle, the guard being a unitary construction comprising a handle portion and a body portion shaped to conform to a fuel nozzle, retaining edges that secure the guard to the fuel nozzle in a snap-fit manner, and stress notches sized to provide flexibility and stress-relief between the handle portion and the body portion; and a static control material associated with at least a part of the guard. 7. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 6 wherein the static control material is selected from the group consisting of static dissipative, anti-static, static shielding, and combinations thereof. 8. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 6 wherein the static control material comprises a static dissipative material with a surface resistivity between 105 and 1012. 9. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 6 wherein the guard is formed from the static dissipative material. 10. A fuel nozzle guard comprising a unitary guard member having a handle portion shaped to conform to a handgrip of a fuel nozzle and a body portion shaped to conform to a forward valve body of a fuel nozzle, the handle portion and body portion being formed of a self-supporting, rigid, resilient material, the guard member being formed to be snapped onto a fuel nozzle while the nozzle is attached to a fuel hose, the handle portion snapping onto the handgrip and the body portion snapping onto the forward valve body. 11. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 10 further comprising a depressed area sized for receipt of adhesive labels, the self-supporting resilient material being substantially free of plastisol. 12. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 10 further comprising stress notches sized to provide flexibility and stress-relief between the handle portion and the body portion. 13. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 10 wherein at least a portion of the guard is made of a static control material selected from the group consisting of static dissipative, anti-static, static shielding, and combinations thereof. 14. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 13 wherein the material comprises a static dissipative material with a surface resistivity between 105 to 1012. 15. A fuel nozzle guard as in claim 14 wherein the static dissipative material has a surface resistivity between about 106 and 1010. 16. A method of protecting a fuel nozzle with a plastic guard, the method comprising forming a guard member having a handle portion shaped to conform to a handgrip of a fuel nozzle and a body portion shaped to conform to a forward valve body of a fuel nozzle, the handle portion and body portion being formed of a self-supporting, rigid, resilient material, the guard member being formed to be snapped onto a fuel nozzle while the nozzle is attached to a fuel hose, and thereafter snapping the handle portion onto the handgrip and the body portion onto the forward valve body. 17. The method of claim 16 comprising providing first retaining edges on the handle portion and causing the retaining edges to engage the handgrip. 18. The method of claim 17 comprising providing at least second retaining edges on the body portion and causing the retaining edges to engage the forward valve body.