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US 4,013,105 AGranted
Spilled fuel diverter for small engines
AssigneeBriggs & Stratton Corporation
InventorArvo Foster Uuskallio
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pan-like spilled fuel diverter overlies the fuel tank of a small engine and has the filler neck on the top of the tank projecting through a hole in the bottom wall of the diverter with a liquid-tight connection therebetween. A portion of the diverter projects laterally beyond a side of the tank remote from the engine cylinder and has a downwardly projecting discharge spout spaced from the tank. A downwardly and outwardly slanting deflector at the bottom end of the spout directs spilled liquid that is caught by the diverter away from the tank.
Claims3
In combination:
- A. an internal combustion engine having parts with exposed surfaces that become highly heated when the engine is in operation;
- B. a fuel tank mounted on the body of the engine adjacent to its said exposed surfaces, said fuel tank having an upstanding filler neck on its top wall;
- C. a collecting pan surrounding the filler neck and overlying the top of the fuel tank to catch fuel that spills alongside the filler neck during filling of the tank, said collecting pan
- 1. having a bottom wall with a hole therein through which the filler neck projects, said bottom wall having an upwardly projecting side wall extending entirely therearound,
- 2. having a portion which projects a substantial distance beyond a side of the tank that is remote from said exposed surfaces of said parts of the engine, and
- 3. having, in its said portion, an outlet spout which projects downwardly from its bottom wall and which is spaced outwardly from said side of the tank, said outlet spout having at its bottom a deflector wall that slants downwardly and away from said side of the tank, the edge of said deflector wall being the bottommost part of the spout, so that the spilled fuel that is caught in the collecting pan and that runs down the interior of said spout leaves the same in a stream that is directed outwardly away from said exposed surfaces of the engine or drips off of said edge of said deflector wall;
- and
- D. means coacting with the filler neck of the fuel tank to hold the collecting pan in place on the fuel tank, said last named means comprising an upstranding flange integral with the bottom wall of the collecting pan and rising from the edge of the hole therein, said flange tightly gripping the filler neck.
5 more elements
In combination:
- A. an internal combustion engine having parts with exposed surfaces that become highly heated when the engine is in operation;
- B. a fuel tank mounted on the body of the engine adjacent to its said exposed surfaces, said fuel tank having an upstanding filler neck on its top wall;
- C. a collecting pan surrounding the filler neck and overlying the top of the fuel tank to catch fuel that spills alongside the filler neck during filling of the tank, said collecting pan
- 1. having a bottom wall with a hole therein through which the filler neck projects, said bottom wall having an upwardly projecting side wall extending entirely therearound,
- 2. having a portion which projects a substantial distance beyond a side of the tank that is remote from said exposed surfaces of said parts of the engine, and
- 3. having, in its said portion, an outlet spout which projects downwardly from its bottom wall and which is spaced outwardly from said side of the tank, said outlet spout having at its bottom a deflector wall that slants downwardly and away from said side of the tank, the edge of said deflector wall being the bottommost part of the spout, so that the spilled fuel that is caught in the collecting pan and that runs down the interior of said spout leaves the same in a stream that is directed outwardly away from said exposed surfaces of the engine or drips off of said edge of said deflector wall;
- and
- D. means coacting with the filler neck of the fuel tank to hold the collecting pan in place on the fuel tank, said last named means comprising a stamped metal nut having threaded engagement with the filler neck and clamping the bottom wall of the collecting pan against the top of the fuel tank with a sealing gasket therebetween.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.