Fuel hose breakaway unit

Abstract

A breakaway unit which is adapted for mounting in a fuel hose between a fuel dispenser and nozzle. The breakaway unit comprises male and female couplers which are normally locked in an assembled position, but which are releasable at a separation force produced when a vehicle drives away from the dispenser with the nozzle lodged in its fuel tank. The couplers include fuel passages which are adapted for connection to a fuel hose in series flow relation and valves disposed in the fuel passages and automatically shiftable from an open to a closed position when the couplers are separated. Fixed abutment lugs are formed on one of the couplers and are shaped to engage force fingers carried by the other coupler. Moveable lugs having ramped abutment surfaces are located on the fingers and engage ramped surfaces on the fixed abutment lugs to lock the couplers together. A sleeve is adjustably mounted on the force fingers to control the separation of the couplers. In the assembled position, the sleeve prevents separation of the force fingers and fixed lugs. A spring is disposed adjacent to the sleeve. When a separation force is applied to the unit, the spring compresses, displacing the sleeve away from the force fingers, allowing the fingers to flex outwardly away from the lugs to decouple the unit. The spring also absorbs line shock forces applied to the breakaway unit in order to limit the effects of these forces on the remaining components in the unit.