Devices and methods for heating fuel hoses and nozzles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11964864-B2
Application number	US-202217896591-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2022
Priority date	Apr 18, 2014
Publication date	Apr 23, 2024
Grant date	Apr 23, 2024

Abstract

Various exemplary devices and methods for heating fuel hoses and nozzles are provided. In general, the devices and methods for heating fuel hoses and nozzles can be configured to heat fluid dispensable by a user into a fuel tank or other type of container. In some embodiments, a fuel dispensing device can include a first passageway configured to pass fluid therethrough and can include a second passageway configured to pass heated air therethrough. The heated air passing through the second passageway can be configured to heat the fluid passing through the first passageway. In some embodiments, a fuel dispensing device can include a single hose configured to pass fluid and heated air through separate passageways therein, and the device can include a manifold configured to facilitate passage of the fluid and the heated air from separate sources into the single hose.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
forcing unheated air into a flexible hose in a proximal to distal direction, the flexible hose having a nozzle at a distal end thereof;
heating, using a heating element, the unheated air within the flexible hose; and
forcing a fuel into the flexible hose in a proximal to distal direction, the fuel and the heated air not mixing within the flexible hose or within the nozzle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating element comprises a heat cable or a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fuel is forced from first rigid tube, and the unheated air is forced from second rigid tube.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein ambient air enters an air intake opening of an air supply before passing from the air supply into the second rigid tube.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein a first passageway in a flexible hose is in fluid communication with a first inner lumen of the first rigid tube such that fluid in the first inner lumen flows therefrom into the first passageway;
a second passageway in the flexible hose is in fluid communication with a second inner lumen of the second rigid tube such that air in the second inner lumen flows therefrom into the second passageway; and
the second passageway is separate from the first passageway such that the air within the second passageway cannot mix with the fluid within the first passageway.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein a nozzle is configured to receive the fluid from the first passageway of the flexible hose and to dispense the received fluid out of an opening of the nozzle and into a vehicle; and
the nozzle is configured to receive the air from the second passageway of the flexible hose and release the air out of an opening of the nozzle.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the heat element heats the air in the second passageway such that the heated air heats fluid within the first passageway; and
the heat element heats the air in the second passageway after the air has passed into the second passageway from the second inner lumen of the second rigid tube.

9. A system comprising:
a flexible hose including a first lumen and a second lumen that is coaxial with the first lumen along an entire length of the flexible hose, the first lumen being configured to pass a fuel therein, and the second lumen is configured to receive unheated air and to pass the unheated air therein without the unheated air in the second lumen mixing with the fuel in the first lumen; and
a heater configured to heat the unheated air within the second lumen and thereby heat the fuel within the first passageway.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the heater comprises a heat cable or a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the fuel comprises diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).

12. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a pump configured to pump the unheated air into the second lumen.

13. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a pump in fluid communication with a dedicated air source configured to provide air to the pump, the pump being configured to pump the unheated air into the second lumen.

14. The system of claim 9 , further comprising an air source;
wherein the air source has an air intake opening configured to receive ambient air therethrough; and
the second lumen is configured to receive the unheated air from the air source.

15. The system of claim 14 , further comprising a pump in fluid communication with the air intake opening and configured to pump the unheated air into the second lumen.

16. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a nozzle into which the fuel is configured to enter from the first lumen of the flexible hose, the nozzle being configured to deliver the fuel into a vehicle.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the nozzle includes a first passageway that is in fluid communication with the first lumen;
the nozzle includes a second passageway that is in fluid communication with the second lumen; and
the second passageway is configured to receive the heated air from the second lumen and to pass the heated air therein without the heated air in the second passageway mixing with the fuel in the first passageway.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first passageway is coaxial with the second passageway along only a partial length of the nozzle.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein, with the nozzle seated in a nozzle boot configured to removably and replaceably seat the nozzle, the heated air in the second passageway is configured to exit the second passageway into the nozzle boot so as to allow the heated air to heat the nozzle seated in the nozzle boot.

Assignees

• Wayne Fueling Systems Llc

Inventors

• Shelton Artemus A
• Kretzler Randal S
• Reiter Jeffrey
• Holmes Daniel
• Larsson Bengt I

Classifications

• B67D7/82 Primary

  Heating only · CPC title

• B67D7/42

  Filling nozzles · CPC title

• B67D7/84

  Casings, cabinets or frameworks; Trolleys or like movable supports · CPC title

• F16L53/38

  using elongate electric heating elements, e.g. wires or ribbons · CPC title

• Y02T10/12

  Improving ICE efficiencies · CPC title