MXPA99006006A - Apila plastic cover - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stackable plastic cover constructed for electric meters to allow stacking a series of covers in a column comprising a conical tapered side wall having a central axis, a closed circular upper part and a circular lower part, a annular flange projecting outwardly from such conical side wall adjacent said open circular bottom portion, a plurality of stop members projecting outwardly from and arranged around the periphery of such tapered conical side wall at a predetermined distance above said annular flange, a plurality of tapered flanges corresponding to such a plurality of stop members aligned with said para-members and extending upwards along the surface and axially of the conical tapered side wall, wherein said members of to provide a stop that the annular flange of an adjacent deck in the column des The said first annular flange is spaced apart from said predetermined distance, and said guides the adjacent cover in engagement with said limbs to prevent scratching the walls of said cover.

Description

STACKABLE PLASTIC COVER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to stackable plastic covers that allow a series of covers to be stacked on a column and particularly to a stackable plastic cover for electrical meter bases. - For many years, electric meters have used glass covers in the form of a dome with a weldable stainless steel edge to secure them to the base of the meter. The use of a plastic cover began about fifteen years ago and its design has remained basically unchanged since its inception. The prior art cover is molded of a high strength transparent polycarbonate material and is designed to be a one piece construction. This is in contrast to the glass covers with its bord, e of weldable stainless steel. The shape of the plastic cover was modeled from the glass cover and the stainless steel edge where the interior space was dimensioned to fit into the internal components of the meter and the outside height and the diameter of the flange were forced to fit with the seal ring that married with it. In the original design of the plastic cover of the prior art, very little attention was paid to (1) the volume or envelope of the cover and the related cost associated with the handling and shipping of the part, (2) the exchange capacity with all competitive meter bases; and (3) minimize manufacturing cost through a shorter molding cycle time and a reduced weight of polycarbonate material. It was also a problem with the prior art covers to store a supply of the covers while waiting to assemble them with the bases of the meters since the covers were not designed to fit for a long time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cover that is stackable, has a wide range of applicability for tire replacement and has a lower manufacturing cost.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a stackable plastic cover constructed to allow a series of covers to be stacked in a column. The stackable plastic cover includes a tapered tapered side wall having a central axis, a "closed circular upper part and an open circular lower part and an annular flange projecting outwardly from the conical side wall adjacent to the open circular bottom part. A plurality of stop members project outwardly from, and are arranged around, the periphery of the tapered tapered side wall at a predetermined distance above the annular flange A plurality of tapered flanges corresponding to the plurality of stop members it is aligned with the stop members and extends up along the surface and axially of the conical side wall where the stop members provide a stop for the annular flange of an adjacent cover in the column to rest and separate from the first annular flange called at a distance determined by the predetermined distance, where the flanges guide the adjacent cover in engagement with the stop members to prevent the side walls of the covers from being scratched. According to a further aspect of the invention each of the plurality of stop members has the configuration of a longitudinal segment of an inverted conical projection, the inverted conical projection has a flat base portion projecting towards outside the periphery of the conical tapered side wall and substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the conical side wall. According to a further aspect of the invention, each of the plurality of tapered flanges has a configuration of a longitudinal segment of a conical projection and smaller than the inverted conical projection. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stackable plastic cover showing one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2, is a side elevational view of the stackable plastic cover shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a top plan view of the stackable plastic cover shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the stackable plastic cover shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing two covers showing embodiments of the present invention in a stacked position. Figure 6 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 6-6 in Figure 1. Figure 7 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 7-7 in Figure 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Figures 1-5, a stackable plastic cover 10 is illustrated which shows the present invention and is constructed to allow a series of covers to be stacked in a column. Two of these covers 10 and 10 'in stacked position are illustrated in Figure 5. The lower cover 10' and its parts are identical with the reference characters corresponding to those used in relation to the cover 10. The stackable plastic cover 10 it includes a tapered tapered lateral ared 12 having a central axis, a closed circular upper portion 14 and an open circular lower portion 16. An annular flange 18 projects outwardly from the conical side wall 12 adjacent to the open circular lower portion 16. A plurality of stop members 20, Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6 are projecting outwardly and are arranged around the periphery of the tapered conical side wall 12 at a predetermined distance above the annular flange 18. A plurality of tapered flanges 22 corresponding to the plurality of stop members 20 are aligned with the stop members and extend up and along the surface and axially of the side wall tapered conical 12. The stop members 20 'on the cover 10' provide a stop for the portion 18a of the annular flange 18 of the adjacent cover 10 in the column as shown in Figure 7, to rest and be separated from the annular flange 18 in the lower cover 10 'a distance determined by the predetermined distance of the stops 20'. The flanges 22 'guide the adjacent cover 10 to engagement with the stop members 20' on the cover 10 'to avoid scratching the side walls of the adjacent covers. In the preferred form of the invention the plurality of stop members 20 has the configuration of a longitudinal segment of an inverted conical projection 24. The inverted conical projection 24 has a flat base portion that forms the stop 20 and is projects outwardly from the periphery of the tapered conical side wall 12 and substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the conical side wall. In one embodiment of the invention, the base portion forming the stop 20 projects from the surface approximately 0.172 cm. The surface indicated at 24 in Figure 6 was inclined towards the central axis of the conical side wall 12 at an angle of approximately 1.5 ° from the vertical to allow the cover to be pulled out of the mold. Each of the plurality of tapered ridges 22 preferably has a configuration of a longitudinal segment of a conical projection and is smaller than the inverted conical projection 24. The stackable plastic covers 10 and 10 'are preferably molded of a transparent material of high resistance To achieve the stackability of the covers 10 and 10 ', the taper of the outer and inner walls 12, 12' was increased with respect to the prior art covers. The existing dimensional restrictions limited the outer diameter of the cover where the taper of the wall starts near the flange 18a as well as the inside diameter at the top of the cover. A change in the taper was possible by reducing the wall thickness thus allowing the covers to be fitted. On the outer wall of the roof six conical projections 24 were added to the outside of the tapered wall 12 so as to form a projection or stop 20 so that the next deck could rest thereon when the covers were stacked. Six additional projections 22 were added to the exterior of the cover above the stops 20 to avoid scratching the covers when they are being stacked. An almost uniform wall section thickness is incorporated into the cover walls and the flange areas to improve the flow of the molding material at the ends of the part. How the thickness of the wall section was reduced, a corresponding reduction in weight occurred along with a shortening in the time cycle of the molding process. - The stackable plastic cover 10, 10 'of the present invention has the following advantages over the covers of the prior art. The increased taper of the side walls of the cover 12, 12 'allows a cover 10 to slide over the top of an adjacent cover 10' until the flange 18a of the top cover 10 rests against the stop 20 'of the cover 10 'under it. The covers can be stacked in columns thus increasing the density of the packaging up to four times. Estp is in contrast to the existing method of placing covers in simple layers, separated by dividers when placed on pallets. The covers can be handled more easily and removed from the skids on the production line because the covers are in convenient piles. The need to change pallets is less frequent due to the higher packing density. The covers are less scratched, Figure 7, because the taper tapered segments 22 'above the stops 20' prevent the inside of a cover 10 from contacting the outside of the adjacent cover 10 '. The wall thickness of the flange was reduced, increasing the inside diameter of the cover flange. This larger inner diameter allows the flange of the cover to fit into all the bases of competitive meters allowing them to be interchangeable with them. Currently, existing covers are not interchangeable with all competitive meter bases. The thicknesses of the wall section through the cover were reduced from its face, the side walls and the flange and these thinner wall sections reduced the overall weight of the cover and the time of the molding cycle. Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be understood that further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. CLAIMS I. A stackable plastic cover constructed to allow a stack of covers to be stacked in a column comprising a tapered tapered side wall having a central axis, a closed circular upper part and an open circular lower part, an annular flange projecting outwardly from such conical side wall adjacent said open circular bottom portion, a plurality of stop members projecting outwardly from and disposed about the periphery of said tapered tapered side wall at a predetermined distance above said annular flange, a plurality of flanges tapering corresponding to such plurality of stop members aligned with said stop members and extending upwards along the surface and axially of the tapered conical side wall, wherein such stop members provide a stop for the flange annular of an adjacent roof in the column rests and is separated from the first annular flange a distance determined by said predetermined distance, and wherein said flanges guide the adjacent cover in engagement with such stop members to avoid scratching the side walls of said covers.
2. 2. A stackable plastic cover according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of stop members has the configuration of a longitudinal segment of an inverted conical projection, such an inverted conical projection has a base portion. flat projecting outwardly from the periphery of such conical tapered side wall and substantially perpendicular to the central axis of such conical side wall.
3. 3. A stackable plastic cover according to claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of tapered flanges has a configuration of a longitudinal segment of a conical projection and less than such an inverted conical projection.
4. 4. A stackable plastic cover according to claim 1, molded of a transparent material of high strength polycarbonate. RESU MEN The stackable plastic cover allows you to stack a series of covers on a column. This is achieved by increasing the taper of the side wall to allow the inside of a cover to fit on the outside of the adjacent cover. The conical projections on the outside of the tapered wall surface provide a stop for the adjacent cover to rest and additional conical projections are placed above the stops to prevent scratching of the covers and wall sections.