GB2242219A - Surface boxes - Google Patents

Abstract

A surface box is designed to be mounted at the upper end of a bore or shaft such as may lead down to a water meter. The body (1) of the surface box has a cylindrical mouth (3) which receives an upper end part of a cylindrical liner in the shaft. A seal (7) on the liner seals against the mouth. Inwardly directed segmental portions (8) limit the entry of the liner into the mouth. An upper part of the body (1) is rectangular and has a rectangular lid (23) pivoted by pins which can be removed and replaced as desired. Both the body (1) and the lid (23) are made as plastic mouldings. A seal (28) on the lid prevents rain entering the body when the lid is closed. A peripheral gully (14) inside the body catches surface water leaking into the body through the holes (20, 22) for the pivot pins and has drain holes (15) leading to the outside of the body. The lid is held closed by a pair of catches (38) which are rotatable with a tool or by a pair of catches (51) which snap into engagement with the body. <IMAGE>

Description

SURFACE BOXES This invention relates to surface boxes.

The invention has been developed for use in connection with surface boxes controlling access to water-meters but is not restricted to that particular application.

It is normal practice for individual premises to be supplied with water through an underground supply pipe leading from a water main to the premises. It is expected that there will come into widespread use relatively small water-meters attached to such supply pipes and housed in the lower parts of shafts or bores extending downwards into the ground and topped by surface boxes. It is desirable that rain-water or surface water should not enter these shafts or bores (hereinafter referred to generically as shafts) and one aim of the invention is to provide an arrangement serving to resist the entry of surface water into the shafts.

Accordingly, the present invention consists in a surface box comprising a body adapted to be mounted above a shaft and provided with an opening through which access to the shaft can be obtained, and a lid for the opening movable between open and closed positions.

Preferably the lids is pivotable between its open and closed positions. The lid is preferably pivoted to the body by means cf pivot pins which can be withdrawn to free the lid from the box and can be replaced at will. This enables a surface box to be repaired, for example by the replacement of a damaged lid or a damaged pivot pin, without the need to remove the body from the position in which it has been installed. The pivot pins can preferably be inserted and withdrawn on resilient deformation of the body and/or the lid. The pivot pins are preferably made of a plastics material.

The box preferably includes a lid seal effective between the lid and the body to seal the opening when the lid is in its closed position. The lid seal may be mounted on the body but is preferably mounted on the lid.

Preferably the body comprises an outer wall extending around the opening, a flange extending inwards from the wall below the top of the wall and an upstanding rib spaced inwardly from the wall for engagement by the lid seal, whereby a gully is formed between the rib and wall, at least one drainage hole extending between the interior of the gully and the outside of the body, so that any water entering the gully can escape to the exterior oz the body through the drainage hole or drainage holes. The drainage hole or each drainage hole preferably extends through the wall.

The body is preferably adapted to engage an upper end portion of a tubular liner for the shaft, and to this end the body is preferably formed with a downwardly opening mouth, for receiving within it the upper end portion of the liner, and stop means to limit the extent to which the liner enters the mouth. The downwardly opening mouth is preferably of circular or substantially circular cross-section so that it can receive within it the upper end portion of a tubular liner which is also of circular or substantially circular cross-section. The lid, however, is preferably of rectangular or substantially rectangular shape. A liner seal is preferably provided to form a seal between the body and the liner.The liner seal is preferably such that in use it can be installed on the liner and, when the body is lowered onto the liner during installation of the surface box, seals against the body.

The surface box preferably includes securing means operative to secure the lid releasably in its closed position. The securing means is preferably mounted on the lid. The securing means is preferably assembled with the lid by snap engagement. The securing means may comprise at least one catch rotatable between a securing position and a release position, in which case it is preferably such that in use the catch or each catch can be rotated from its securing position to its release position only with aid of a suitable key or other tool. Alternatively the securing means may comprise at least one catch adapted for snap engagement and disengagement when the lid is moved to and from its closed position respectively.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a body of a surface box embodying the present invention, Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a view of the body from beneath, Figure 4 is a side view of the body as viewed from the left of Figure 1, Figure 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Figure 1, Figure 6 is a plan view, to a larger scale, of a lid of the surface box, Figure 7 is a section along the line 7-7 of Figure 6, Figure 8 is a view of the lid from beneath, Figure 9 is a side view of the lid as viewed from the top of Figure 8, Figure 10 is a section along the line 10-10 of Figure 8, Figure 11 is a plan view of a lid seal for the lid, Figure 12 is a section along the line 12-12 of Figure 11, Figure 13 is a diametral section through a liner seal, for use with the surface box, Figure 14 is a view from beneath, to a larger scale, of a catch for use in securing the lid in a closed position, Figure 15 is a section along the line 15-15 of Figure 14, Figure 16 is a side view of the catch as viewed from the top of Figure 14, and Figure 17 is a side view of an alternative form of catch.

The drawings illustrate components of a surface box intended for use in controlling access to a water meter. The meter is mounted on an underground water-supply pipe and is at the lower end of an upwardly-opening shaft lined with a cylindrical tube (not shown) which constitutes a liner and is disposed with its axis vertical. The surface box comprises a body 1 of the form shown in Figure 1 to 5. The body is made as a unitary moulding of a plastics material, a suitable material for the body being polypropylene.

The body 1 is formed with an opening 2 through which access to the interior of the liner can be obtained. A lower part of the body is formed with a cylindrical wall 3 which defines a downwardly opening mouth of a size such that an upper part of the cylindrical liner can be received within it. To assist entry of the liner the lowermost part of the mouth is flared or chamfered, as indicated at 4. A plate 5 of rectangular outline projects outwards from the lower end of the wall 3 and helps to stiffen the body. At the upper end of the wall 3 there are inwardly directed horizontal wall portions 6 constituting stop means. There are two such wall portions 6, each in the shape of a segment of a circle. In use, a resilient liner seal 7 of annular shape is fitted over the top of the shaft liner after the liner has been mounted in position. The liner seal 7, is illustrated in Figure 13 and has a downwardly opening groove 8, which receives an upper end portion of the liner, and an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt 9. In use when the body is lowered onto the liner the skirt seals resiliently against the inside surface of the wall 3, while the top of the seal abuts the horizontal wall portions 6. The seal is thus trapped securely in place.

An upper part of the body 1 comprises a peripheral wall 10 of generally rectangular outline in plan. A horizontal stiffening flange 11 extends outwards from the upper edge of the wall 10. A horizontal flange 12 extends inwards from the lower edge of the peripheral wall 10 and is provided at its inner edge with an upstanding rib 13 which is spaced from the wall 10 so as to leave a gully 14 between the wall and the rib, the flange 12 forming the bottom of the gully.

Drainage holes 15 are formed at the bottom edge of the peripheral wall, enabling any rain-water or surface water entering the gully to drain through the holes to the exterior of the body. The bottom of each drainage hole is inclined downwards and outwards from the bottom of the gully. Drainage holes 15 are provided in each of the four sides of the wall 10 but only those in one side are illustrated, these being shown in Figure 4.

The upstanding rib 13 defines a throat of the hole 2 and, as can be seen in Figure 1, when viewed in plan has an outline of generally rectangular shape but with rounded corners.

At each of the ends of the body the cylindrical wall 3 extends upwards to abut the underside of the flange 12, strengthening ribs 16 extending inwards frc:rr, the cylindrical wall to the flange 12. At each of the sides of the body, however, the cylindrical wall 3 extends upwards only as far as the horizontal wall portions 6, which are disposed at a lower level than the flange 12. The rectilinear inner edges of those wall portions 6 are connected to the underside of the rib 13 by upwardly and inwardly inclined connecting walls 17.

Outside the peripheral wall 10 there are outwardly extending strengthening fins, those fins 18 at the ends of the body joining the stiffening flange 11 at the top to the plate 5 at the bottom and extending inwards to the cylindrical wall 3, and those fins 19 at the sides of the body being similar but extending downwards only as far as the horizontal wall portions 6.

Two mutually aligned pivot holes 20 are formed in the peripheral wall 10 near one end of each of the longer sides of the wall. It will be seen from Figure 5 that the pivot holes are closer to the adjacent end of the peripheral wall than is the adjacent end of the upstanding rib 13. Between the pivot holes 20 the body is provided with a pair of spaced bearers 21 which are shaped to afford part-cylindrical bearing surfaces co-axial with the holes 20. The pivot holes 20 receive pivot pins (not shown) which also extend through aligned holes 22 in a lid 23 which is illustrated in Figures 6 to 10 inclusive and also constitutes part of the surface box. The pivot pins are preferably made of a plastics material.

The lid 23 comprises a unitary moulding of a plastics material, preferably the same material from which the body 1 is made. The lid has a top plate 24 of substantially rectangular outline which in use fits within the peripheral wall 10 of the body. If desired the top plate may incorporate a steel plate. It is a requirement of a British Standard that a surface box should incorporate a metal component such as to enable the position of the box to be detected with aid of a metal-detector even when the box is concealed, as for example by a layer of snow. Hitherto this requirement has usually been satisfied by securing a metal plate to the lid of a surface box. In the present design it is preferred to incorporate a metal plate in the lid, this preferably being done by moulding the lid around the plate. The plate then fulfils the additional function of strengthening the lid.The top surface of the lid is provided with anti-slip ridges as illustrated. A notch 25 in one end of the lid permits the insertion of a tool between the wall 10 and the lid to enable the user to raise that end of the lid when the lid is in its closed position as described below.

A peripheral wall 26 depends from the top plate 24, the holes 22 being formed in that wall. An inner wall 27 also depends from the top plate 24, the inner wall being of somewhat greater height than the peripheral wall. In plan the inner wall is shaped similarly to the rib 13 but is of such dimensions that when the lid is in place within the peripheral wall 10 a lower end part of the inner wall lies just inside the rib 13. A resilient lid seal 28 (Figures 11 and 12) is mounted on a lower edge part of the inner wall 27. The seal is formed with a groove 29 which receives that lower edge part of the inner wall and is also formed with an outwardly directed flange 30 which in use bears against the vertical inside face of the rib 13.In the design illustrated, the lower edge part of the inner wall 27 is formed with notches 31, while the seal 28 is formed with complementary webs 32 which span the groove 29. When the seal 28 is assembled with the inner wall 27, the webs 32 enter the notches 31 and so help to ensure the correct assembly of the seal and the lid and to secure the seal firmly to the lid.

Nevertheless, the provision of the notches 31 and webs 32 is not essential and if desired they may be omitted.

Stiffening ribs 33 extend between the peripheral wall 26 and the inner wall 27. At that end of the lid formed with the holes 22, two of the ribs are formed with part-cylindrical bearing surfaces 34 which are co-axial with the holes and, in use, engage the bearers 21 on the body. The adjacent end of the peripheral wall 26 is also shaped to provide a part-cylindrical outer surface, part of which engages the bearers 21 when the lid is open. Spaced outwards from those fins having the bearing surfaces 34 the lid is provided with retaining formations 35 which in use locate heads of the pivot pins and prevent axial movement of the pins. The retaining formations are so shaped as to enable the pins to be snapped into place and removed again as necessary.

In use, when the lid 23 is pivotally connected with the body 1 by means of the pivot pins, the lid can be pivoted between a closed position, in which the top of the lid is substantially flush with the flange 11 at the top of the body, and an open position in which it is inclined to the vertical, the total pivotal movement being through an angle of rather more than 900. When the lid is closed, it divides the interior of the body 1 into upper and lower parts which have no communication with each other owing to the presence of the lid seal 28. The lower or inner part of the interior is in direct communication with the interior of the cylindrical shaft liner and the liner seal 7 seals the connection between the body and the liner as described above. The interior of the shaft liner is therefore completely sealed at its upper end.The upper or outer part of the interior of the body is open to the elements but as also described above any water entering the gully around the seal 28 can drain through the holes 15. The pivot holes 20 communicate with the upper part of the interior of the body, so if water leaks through them into the body it can also drain through the holes 15.

The lid 23 can be secured in its closed position by releasable securing means comprising two catches, each similar to the catch 36 shown in Figures 14 to 16 inclusive. The catches are mounted for rotation in holes 37 in the lid and co-operate with anchorage formations 38 as part of the body 1.

Each catch 37 comprises a shank 39 of circular cross-section formed with a head 40 at its upper end and a radially projecting lug 41 at its lower end. At a location between its ends the shank is formed with a circumferential groove 42. The shank is formed with a through bore; end parts of the bore are of circular cross-section while an intermediate part 50 thereof is of square cross-section.

Each of the holes 37 is of substantially keyhole shape so that the shank 39 and lug 41 of the associated catch can be inserted into it. The head 40 of the catch enters a recess of complementary shape so that the top surface of the catch is flush with the top surface of the lid 22. A shell 43 extends below each hole 37 and is of generally cylindrical shape. Each shell is formed with two vertical slots: a broad slot 44 through which the lug can pass and a narrow slot 45 diametrically opposite to it. At its lower end each shell is formed with an inwardly directed rib 46.

When a catch 36 is inserted into its associated hole 37 during assembly, the lower end part of the shank 39 engages the rib 46. As axial force is applied to the catch the halves of the shell are resiliently urged apart until the rib 46 can snap into groove 42. The catch is then trapped in place but is capable of rotation.

Each anchorage formation 38 comprises a hole 47 in the flange 12, the hole being of a keyhole shape to receive lower end portion of the shank 39 and the lug 41. A protective wall 48 depends from the flange 12 around each hole 47, its ends joining the cylindrical wall 3.

In use, when the lid is closed, the lower end portions of the shank and the lugs pass through the holes 47. The catches can then be rotated to securing positions in which the lugs are out of register with the holes so that they retain the lid closed. The catches can then be rotated back to release positions such that they permit the lid to be opened. Rotation of the catches can be effected by means of a suitable tool (not shown) having a shaft with an end portion of square cross-section. Although this is not illustrated, the underside of the flange 12 may be formed with a ramp so that on rotation of the associated catch the lid is drawn downwards and tightened into its closed position.Alternatively, or in addition, the underside is formed with radial serrations which co-operate with a ridge 49 on the upper face of the lug to reduce the likelihood of the catch inadvertently rotating to free the lid. It will be observed that the holes 49 do not communicate with the lower or inner part of the interior of the body 1.

In a modified form of catch (not illustrated) the top of the head 40 is formed with a transverse slot or other formation for engagement by a screwdriver.. An arrow or the like symbol on the head may co-operate with a complementary symbol on the lid to indicate when the catch is in its release position.

A modified form of catch, 51, is shown in Figure 17. Parts of the catch 51 similar to corresponding parts of the catch 36 are given the same reference numerals. The catch 51 differs from the catch 36 in that it includes a radially projecting lug 52 which enters the broad slot 44 when the catch is assembled with lid. In consequence the catch 51 is not rotatable. A transverse diaphragm 53 extends across the axial bore in the shank and prevents water entering the body by way of the bore. A lower end part of the shank is formed with two radial openings 54 which are diametrically opposed to each other; the walls of each opening subtend an angle 900 at the axis of the catch.

The lower end part of the shank is thus divided into two portions 55. An arcuate rib 56 projects radially outwards from each portion 55 and is tapered both upwards and downwards to form a double wedge. In use the ribs 56 of each catch snap through the corresponding hole 44 in the body and releasably secure the lid in its closed position. The lid can then be prised open again, causing the ribs 56 to snap out of the holes 44.

Claims (16)

1. A surface box comprising a body adapted to be mounted above a shaft and provided with an opening through which access to the shaft can be obtained, and a lid for the opening movable between open and closed positions.

2. A surface box according to claim 1 in which the lid is pivotable between its open and closed positions and is pivoted to the body by means of pivot pins which can be withdrawn to free the lid from the box and can be replaced at will.

3. A surface box according to claim 2 in which the pins can be inserted and withdrawn on resilient deformation of the body and/or the lid.

4. A surface box according to any one of the preceding claims which includes a lid seal effective between the lid and the body to seal the opening when the lid is in its closed position.

5. A surface box according to any one of the preceding claims in which the body comprises an outer wall extending around the opening, a flange extending inwards from the wall below the top of the wall and an upstanding rib spaced inwardly from the wall for engagement by the lid seal, whereby a gully is formed between the rib and wall, at least one drainage hole extending between the interior of the gully and the outside of the body, so that any water entering the gully can escape to the exterior of the body through the drainage hole or drainage holes.

6. A surface box according to any one of the preceding claims in which the body is adapted to engage an upper end portion of a tubular liner for the shaft, the body being formed with a downwardly opening mouth, for receiving the upper end portion of the liner, and stop means to limit the extent to which the liner enters the mouth.

7. A surface box according to claim 6 in which the downwardly opening mouth is of circular or substantially circular cross-section but the lid is of rectangular or substantially rectangular shape.

8. A surface box according to either of claims 6 and 7 in which a liner seal is provided to form a seal between the body and the liner.

9. A surface box according to claim 8 in which the liner seal is such that in use it can be installed on the liner and, when the body is lowered onto the liner during installation of the surface box, seals against the body.

10. A surface box according to any one of the preceding claims and including securing means operative to secure the lid releasably in its closed position.

11. A surface box according to claim 10 in which the securing means is assembled with the lid by snap engagement.

12. A surface box according to either of claims 10 and 11 in which the securing means comprises at least one catch rotatable between a securing position and a release position.

13. A surface box according to claim 12 in which the catch or each catch is such that it can be rotated from its securing position to its release position only. with the aid of a suitable key or other tool.

14. A surface box according to either of claims 10 and 11 in which the securing means comprises at least one catch adapted for snap engagement and disengagement when the lid is moved to and from its closed position respectively.

15. A surface box substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 13 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A surface box according to claim 15 including at least one catch substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 14 to 16 of the accompanying drawings.