Gas pumps are nearly ubiquitous throughout our society and the hazards of static electricity around gas pumps are well known. For example, a single spark may ignite flammable gas fumes causing a fire and/or explosion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,068,488 (“'488 patent”) discloses a static discharging system having an electrically conductive plate attached to the upper end of a post. The lower end of the post is mounted in the ground adjacent a gas pumping station. The '488 patent teaches to secure one end of an electrical conduit to the eclectically conductive plate and to insert the other end into the ground. The '488 patent then teaches to discharge a static build-up by making physical contact with the electrically conductive plate.
However, the static discharging system has several disadvantages. First, the static discharging system is not configured for the placement of advertisements thereon. As a result, the opportunity to advertise to the user of the static discharging system is lost. Second, the conductive plate may not be suitable for discharging static electrical build-up if it is covered by advertisements which insulate the plate.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds