A dispensing nozzle is essentially a manually or semi-automatically operated shut-off device intended to be fitted to the end of a delivery hose connected to the delivery orifice of a fuel pump used for filling a tank, such as the tank of a vehicle.
In French Pat. No. 7,213,419, filed Apr. 17, 1972, for an "automatic shut-off device for fuel dispensing nozzles", it has been suggested to make the various constituent parts of the body of the nozzle of rigid plastic, which has numerous advantages, such as light weight, cleanliness, easy manufacture, low cost price, etc.
However, the property of electrical insulation inherent in the plastic used poses the problem of earthing i.e. grounding the electrical potential of the vehicle. The vehicle can actually have a potential very different from that of the delivery pump, which is itself generally earthed. Such a difference in potential can result in a discharge and a spark at the nozzle outlet spout during fuel delivery, which obviously is particularly dangerous.
The invention aims at overcoming this drawback by connecting the potential of the pump to the vehicle whose tank is to be filled.