US1684983A - Box or casing cover with fastener - Google Patents

Description

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Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES HORACE 0F MVATTOON, ILLINOIS.

Box on cAsrNG covna `wrm FASTENEB.

Application filed November 26, 1927. Serial No. 235,931.

My invention relates to boxes orv casings for housing meters, valves or other appliances used in connection with water, gas, electric or other similar systems of distribution, such boxes or casings being generally embedded in the ground, and has for it-s object the provision of a lid equipped withlimproved means for fastening the same in place so as to prevent access to and tampering with whatever device is located within the casing and also to protect such devices from injury as for example such as might result from traffic above the casing.

The invention relates particularly to an improvement in the lid applied to the neck of the box cover. or top proper, and the means for fastening the same whereby the operation of fastening or releasing the lid will be facilitated, accidental detachment of the fastening bolt when in 'unlocked position prevented, and a cleaning action on the coacting surfaces effected, the last named feature being of benefit in removing any corrosion which might interfere with the movement of the parts.

Reference is had to my prior'Patent No. 989,695 granted to me on April 18th, 1911, the subject matter of the present application being a specific improvement on the general features disclosed therein.

Another important obj ect of the present invention is to provide a casing lidand securing means therefor so constructed that the securing element may be readily-placed in or removed from'assembled relation to the lid by proper manipulation, the securing element being furthermore of peculiar formation in several respects whereby -to avoid binding and shearing during insertion or removal and to'exert a pressure against the hinged side when in effective position sol that the lid will be held securely in place by the single fastener,

Another specific object is to iniprove the hinge-like connection of the lid Awith the casing so that movement of the lid to open or closed 'sition, as the case may be, 'may be effectecflgzithout'anygreatreifort and without binding of the parts'.

An additional object is to provide a struc` ture of'this character which. will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to in` stall-and operate, positive in action, efficient and durable in service, and a general im provem'ent in the art. v

Tothe attainment of the foregoing and other objects and advantages, theinvention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fullyk described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which: l

Figure l is a fragmentary vertical section through the top of a casing or box equipped with my lid and its securing means,

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section through the lid and a small portion of the upper end of the casing, this view showing the hinging means and the fastening means 1nv greater detail,

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the lid or cover, j v

Figure 4 isa plan viewof the upper end of the casing with the cover removed but with the bolt shown in section,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary edge elevation of the cover and bolt with the latter in partly turned position, and

Figure 6 is a detail vertical section taken on substantially the line 46--6 of Figure 2 showing the bolt in locked position. i

Referring more particularly to the drawing the letter A designates a casing which may be a meter box or the like and which may be constructed of brick, metal or other similar material andv designed to house a meter, valve .or other appliance (not/shown), there being no limitation as to what is located within the casing or box. This casing is provided with a top B which fits thereupon and which has an upwardly projecting neck C upon which vmy lid D is designed to be se-` cured. The top B may be centered'by a plurality of lugs E engaging the inner wall of the casing. The intention is that the casing A, the cover B and all of the neck'C, with theexception of its upper end, shall lie beneath the surface of the ground F. This last statement is of course true only when the jbox is installed in cert-ain localities, it being clear that if box is installed in a pavement thebo'x and parts mentioned would'be embedded in the pavement with topsurface of lid D level with surface of the pavement.

At one side of the inner surface of the upper end' ofthe neck C is provided an inwardly projecting lug 10 which has its underside 11 curved and preferably at least substantially arcuate in cross section. The

top surface of this lug isl preferably flush with the neck to provide additional bearing surface for supporting the 1id.` At a dlamet- -ly exten ing ledge 12 having an arcuate'notch 13 at its innermost point and having its unv and also to derside 14 beveled laterally as clearly shown in Figure 6 and beveled backwardly as indicated in Figure 2. By use of the word laterally it is meant that the inclination of the underside of the ledge is at substantially right angles to a radial line drawn from'the center of the neck through the notch 1 3. The

\ arcuate wall 13a of the notch 13 slopes upwardlyand outwardly, as indicated' 1n Figure 2, for the purpose ofv permitting full surface contact of the hook'29 with the ledge, provide a clearance for the bolt 24 when the lid D, which carries said bolt, is raised from closed position.

The lid D comprises a preferably circular body of late-like form provided at its underside wit a depending circumferential bead 15 which telescopes loosely within the neck and which serves Yas a reinforcement and guide `for bolt engagement, also providing a seal. Outwardly of'this bead the lid is represented as having a-notch 16 therein into which may be inserted theopoint of a suitable implement for prying it up after release of the' securing means to be hereinafter described. This is an unimportant detail as it is disclosedin the above mentioned patent. At one side the bead 15 is enlarged to form a thickened portion 17 merging thereinto, the thickened portion being formed with a recess 18 leading to its outer periphe and adapted to receive the lug 10 on the nec The recess of this portion has the effect' of denilw a hook memberl, at least when considere in cross-section and it will be so referred to hereinafter.V "The bottom4 wall -19 of this recess is curved, the crvature being preferably different from that of the undersurface lig is formed witha circ'llar hole 22 which 11 sof the lug sothat the edge of the hook` defined by recessing the thickened portion` willhave a bearing against the lug to exert a shearing or scraping action thereon-"When the lid is swung into o en 0r closed position, this being Vof materia advantage inasmuch "as any corrosion or accumulation of foreign matter Awill be removed,V The difference in curvature ofthe surfaces 11 and 19 provides a slif ht initial space between them and it will e apparent that wear is thus provided for as the shearing edge may wear down considerably before' thesurfaces 11 and 19 will come into engagement throughout.

' At a point diametrically opposite the thickened portion 17 the bead 15 merges into a V-shape iange 20 which has its under surface l21 inclined 'laterally in the same Arespect as the undersurface 14 of the ledge 12,

lbut having an additional incline in an opposdirection, and at the vertex of the V the is preferably drilled so Vas tov be true and smooth., At an area opposlte this flangel 20 the top of the lid is recessed The securing means is here disclosed as comprising a bolt designated as a vwhole by the numeral 24, this bolt havin a cylindrical shank 25 coaxial with its angu ar head 26 and fitting snugly within the hole 22. The anges? the top of the lid. It is immaterial whether: the head be square, hexagonal or of anyother sha e providedit be of such formas to be .rea ily engageable 'by a socket wrench for p Aetlectlng turnmg movement from one position to another. Such a wrench is illustrated in the above mentioned patent. Immediately adjacent the shank 25 the bolt is cut away to form a reduced port-ion 27 which is located principally at one side, and beyond this reduced portion there is provided a cam surface. 28 which is substantiallyV oval in shape as indicated in Figure 4, this cam portion being adaptedto'enter and cooperate, with a cleaning effect, with the notch 13 in the ledge'12.

vlar head 26 is located within the above de Ys'cribed recess 23 and is preferably flush with fiange 20 when in released position, 'it isapparent that when the bolt is turned to engage the hook with either of these surfaces the edge of the hook will scrape along them and re move any accumulation of dirt or other foreign matter as well as corrosionz thereby cleaning the surfaces and prventmg them from ever becoming caked. The engagement of the double inclined plane 30 of hook 29 with the corresponding double inclined plane of lid 21, maintains the bolt body perpendicular in its line of travel and prevents bolt from pushing away from the lug 20. The preferred material from which the'bolt is made is manganese-bronze which is comparatively soft and when the bolt is turned to force'the hook beneath the ledge vor the Hange a small amount of the bronze will be ground off and spread upon and over these inclinedv surfaces andlwill form an actual coating thereon of ma-` terial incapable (if-corrosion under ordinary influences. However, this abrading action would occur only initially and would not be of ledge or the fiange a movement through an are of 120 will be suflicient. Clearly, then, there is an adequate allowance for wear for the reason that when wear does occur the bolt is capable of being turned to av progressively greater extent up to an arc of 240.

When Lthe lid is to be applied and secured, it is placed upon the neck in such position that- 10 will be received within the recess the lug 18, or 1n other words engage the hook 17. At such a time the bolt 24 must of course be in such position that its hook 29 will be in nonobstructing relation to the ledge 12. After the lid is in place the bolt is turned by suitable means to bring the hook beneath the ledge as shown in Figure 2 and when this is done it is apparent that the leverage occasioned by frietion of tcp surface of hook portion 29 against the lower backwardly inclined surface 14 of ledge 12 will force the lid bodily toward that side of the neck provided with the lug 10. This causes a very snug engagement between the lug and hook 17, these elements constituting the hinge connection upon which the lid may pivot when swung into open position after release of the securing bolt. Releasing of the lid is effected in the reverse manner to that described and it is preferable -thatfh'e bolt be turned sufficiently that the hookthereon will engage closely 'with the double in'- clined bottom surface 21 of-the flange 20 lso that the bolt will be held firmly in a vertical position with proper clearance space between portions 27 and 28 of bolt 24 and notch 13 in ledge 12, and prevented from dropping lout of the hole of the lid. There is, however probably very little danger 0f detchment of the bolt from the inasmuch as it has a snug fit therein and as the hook and other portions are of such shape as to require a positive manipulation to eect withdrawal of the bolt. When the bolt-is initially assembled with respect to the lid the hook is necessarily in,--

serted lirst while the bolt is in canted position,

`vsubsequently to which it is forced into place, a light tap with a hammer being generally suflicient. The reduced portion 27 above described is provided for the purpose of en-v abling the bolt to be inserted-without any excessive shearing action by the edges of the hole in the lid, the upper edge of enlarged portion 28 coming into slight contact with walls of hole 22 protects the hook 29 from damage and said upper edge is slightly sheared in its forcible entry thus insuring a secure fit. In

actual practice I have also discovered that the underside 0f the hook must be somewhat fiatl tened as at 31 as clearly indicated in Figure 2 to facilitate installation. In case the bolt ever becomes excessively worn it may be replaced and in such an event removal iseifected by turning it to bring the hook out of engagement with the ledge 2O and then pulling and pushin upwardly upon it while working it lateral y. If this be done with care it may be Vingress of dirt and also aga-inst injury -as well as tampering. The lid is easy to apply and remove and on account of `the automatic selfcleaning of the various surfaces as above mentioned there should be no ditliculty in moving the parts even though the lidhas been undisturbed for a long period of time. It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art without further explanation.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should 'be understood that the disclosure is merely an exemplifcation -of the principles involved as the right is reserved to make all such Changes in the details of construction as will widen the field of` utility and increase the afl-aptubility of the device provided such changes constitute. no departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims here-- lunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A cover for. a protective casing, the cover having an upstanding neck formed at one sidewith an inwardlyprojecti g lug and at its other side with a ledge` a lid fitting upon the neck and having a recessed portion deli-ning a hook engaging upon said lug and cooperating therewith to constitute a. hinge connection, and a bolt rotatably engaged through the lid and havinga hook at its lower en'd engageable beneath said ledge, an intermediate portion of the bolt being formed with a cam engageable with said ledge for the purpose of cleaning contact surfaces in its operation.

2. A protective casing element having an inwardly extending lug at one side., the lug having' a curved lowersurface, an inwardly extending ledge carried by the easing diavmetrically opposite the lug, vthe ledge having a notch therein, a lid having a. recessed portion defining a hook vreceiving said lug, and a bolt member rotatable through the lid and having a hook thereon engageable beneath the ledge and further havinga cam portion coacting with the notch for the purpose lof cleaning Contact surfaces in process ofoperation,the bottom wall of the recess defining thel hook being curved differently yfrom Y the curvature ofthe bottom of the lug and the material at the edge of the recess or hook?" being engageable with theurved surface of the lugito exert a scraping action thereon when the lid is swung with respect to the cas.- ing element.

3. A cover cover having an upstanding neck formed at one side wit an inwardly projecting lu and at its other side with a ledge, a 11d tting upon the neck and having a recessed portion engaging yupon said lug and cooperating therewith to'constitute a hinge connection, and a bolt rotatably engaged throught-he lid and having a hook at its lower end .engageable beneath said ledge, an intermediate portion ofthe bolt being formed with a cam engageable with said ledge for the purpose of cleaning contact surfaces in process of operation, the ledge -having an inclined bottom surface andthe top of the hook being correspondingly inclined whereby the surface thereof w1ll have scraping engagement with said inclined undersurface of the led e.

4. A cover for a protective casing, t 1e cover having anvvupstanding neck formed at one'side with an mwardly projecting lug and at its other'side with -a ledge, alid fitting' upon the. neck and having a recessed portion engaging upon said lug and cooperating therewith to constitute a hinge connect1on, and a bolt rotatably'engaged through the lid and having a hook at its lower end engage- 30 ablebeneath said ledge, an intermediate portion of the bolt being formed with a camen- .gageable with said ledge for the purpose of cleaning contact. surfaces in process of operation; the ledge having an inclined bottom' surface and the top of the hook being correspondingly inclined vwhereby the surface thereof will have scraping engagement with .4o. Y a portion of the material of the bolt will be said inclined undersnrface of the ledo'e, the

`bolt being of non-corrodible mater1alof s' ofternature than that of the-ledge whereby abraded off and onto the undersurface of the lug to form a non-corrodible coating thereon.

5. In a protective structure, a casing element having an inwardly extending lug. and

l having an inwardly extending ledge diamet Y `notch thereinQa lid having a recess at one edge' portion receiving said lug, the lid having its lunderside provided with a flangeppposite the I.ledge and formed with a hole at t rically jopposite the lug, the ledge having a e edge of `the flange', and a bolt rotatably mounted with- .in said hole and having a hook engageable selectively beneath the ledge or the flange, and a cam portion on lsaid bolt co'acting with the wall of the notch.

6. In a protective structure, a casing' element hzliving an inwardly extending lug and having an inwardly extending ledge diametrically opposite the lug, the ledge havin/gr a notch therein, a lid having a recess at one edge I 'portionreceiving said lug, the' lid having its underside provided with a flange opposite the ledge and :formed with a holeatthe edge of for a protectivecasing, the

flange, and a bolt rotatably mounted within` said'hole .and having a hook engageable selectively beneath the ledge or-the flange, and a cam ortion on said bolt coactino' with the wall oV the notchf'said hole in the 11d and the notch therein, a lid having a hook at one edge portion receiving said lug, the lidv having its underside provided with a flange opposite the ledge and formed with a hole fat the edgefof the flange, and a bolt rotatablymounted within said hole and having a hook engageable selectively beneath the ledge or'the flangefand a camportion on said bolt coacting withithe wall of the notch, the bottom 'surfaces of the ledge and flange being inclined wherebythe bolt may be held frictionally vand vertically 1n selectively operativeor ineffective position.

8. In a protective structure, a casing ele- 'ment having an inwardly extending lug and an inwardly extending ledge diametricall oppositethe lug, the ledge having 'a notci therein, a lid having a hook at one edge port-ion engaging said lug, the lid having its underside provided with a flange opposite the ledge and formed with a hole at the edge of the flange, and a bolt rotatably mounted with- 'in said hole and having a hook engageable'- selectively beneath the ledge or the flange, the construction of the upper'contact surface ot hook comprising one or more inclined s urfaces to properly engage oncorres onding inclined surface of the ledge or ange, thus holding the bolt in a rigid and vertical posi-w tion and free from the notch in the ledge when in a released or unlocked position.l A

los

9. A cover. for a. protective 4casing, the

cover having an upstanding neck provided with an inwardly projecting circumferential flange provided with an arcuate notch having its wall sloping upwardly and outwardly, and a beveled portion beneath said flange ,surrounding the loweropening offsaid notch, a lid fitting upon the neck and having a depending portion defining al hoo-k engageable with said flange and cooperating therewith to constitute a hmged connection, and a bolt rotatably engaged through said lid and having a hook at its lower'end engageable with the b'evf .eled portion beneath said flange, an intermedia-te portion of the bolt being. formed with a cam engageable with said fla-nge to miiitain .'saidbolt in proper position whereby to cleanse contact surfaces in its operation. l

In testimony'whereof I aflix my signatureg HORACE W. CLARK.

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