Device
Prevents Gas Pump Fires
Inventors
seek manufacturing and distribution assistance for patented device.
From: NACS ONLINE
August 31, 2009
CHARLESTON,
WV – “Necessity,” as they say, “is the mother of invention.”
After attending
a seminar several years ago addressing oil company liability issues
related to static fires (a consumer filling up his vehicle touches the
metal fuel pump nozzle, whereby a spark of static electricity ignites
and an explosion ensues), two Charleston, West Virginia, brothers and
their retired oil industry friend have received a patent on a device
that prevents such incidents from occurring, the Charleston Daily Mail
reports.
Kent and
Keith George and Duane Gilliam are now looking for ways to produce and
market their invention that mounts beside a gas pump.
The unit
is the size of a small overnight bag and includes a motion sensor that
emits oppositely charged particles when a person pulls alongside it
and exits his vehicle. The person is thus “showered” with static-clearing
particles that prevent sparks when touching the fuel pump.
Static charges
have become increasingly likely with lower-octane fuels and their lower
“lubricities,” according to Gilliam.
Gilliam estimates
that the cost to produce each unit would be roughly $4,000 to $7,000,
and possibly higher if other extras were included, such as a digital
camera that would allow station employees to monitor the pumps.
The
inventors claim that the investment justifies the legal risk, no matter
how uncommon static fires might be.
Comment
from the ESD Journal:
"I
guess the patent department has never heard of Static Ionizers:
Static
Control Blowers from Simco
