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US 8,910,835 B2Granted
Fuel container and methods
OwnerBrad C. Ouderkirkinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel container includes a container, a spout, an outlet valve, an air intake valve, and an actuator. The spout is coupled to the container at a bottom end portion of the container. The outlet valve is positioned at the bottom end portion and operable to control fluid flow into the spout. The air intake valve is positioned at a top end portion of the container. The actuator is operable to open both the outlet valve and the air intake valve concurrently.
Claims9
A fuel storage device, comprising:
- a container;
- an enclosed intermediate outlet housing extending from the container, the intermediate outlet housing comprising a housing and a cavity formed within the housing;
- an air intake valve coupled in fluid communication with a source of air and operable to control airflow into the container;
- an outlet valve in fluid communication with a volume of fluid carried in the container and operable to control fluid flow into the cavity of the intermediate outlet housing;
- a flow valve rod connected to the air intake valve and the outlet valve, wherein operating the flow valve rod concurrently operates the air intake valve and outlet valve;
- a spout;
- and
- a spout valve operatively positioned between the outlet valve and the spout, wherein the spout valve is operable between open and closed positions as the spout is moved between a dispense position and a stowed position, the spout valve operable to control fluid flow between the cavity of the intermediate outlet housing and the spout.
5 more elements
A method of operating a fuel container assembly, the method comprising;
- providing an air intake valve, an outlet valve, a valve actuator, a container configured to hold a volume of fuel, a spout, a spout valve, and an enclosed intermediate outlet housing extending from the container, the intermediate outlet housing comprising a housing and a cavity formed within the housing;
- opening the air intake valve with the valve actuator to provide a supply of air into the container;
- opening the outlet valve with the valve actuator to permit flow of the volume of fuel from the container to the cavity of the housing;
- opening the spout valve by rotating the spout between an upward-pointing stowed position and a downward-pointing dispense position to permit flow of the volume of fuel from the cavity of the housing through the spout.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.