Anti-alteration wellhead vault
OwnerPaul Varneyinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wellhead vault for preventing alteration of the wellhead of a water supply. The vault is a heavy bell-shaped structure, formed of concrete, and having a downwardly facing concavity, and the vault placed over, with the concavity around the wellhead. The vaults too heavy to be removed by human lifting. Lifting elements are provided to allow the vault to be installed and removed by heavy construction equipment. The vault has a vent that communicates between the concavity and the outside, allowing air, but not liquid, liquid or solid contaminants, or animals, to pass through.
Claims20
An anti-alteration well connection comprising:
- a) a wellhead protruding from the ground, and
- b) a wellhead vault enclosing the wellhead,
- i) the wellhead vault being made in such a manner so as to be difficult for a few individuals to gain access to the wellhead by penetrating the vault wall or by moving the vault, and
- ii) comprising a wall surrounding the wellhead, closed at the top and open at the bottom defining an inner chamber,
- Iii) the vault positioned to securely enclose the wellhead within the inner chamber,
- iii) thereby prohibiting alteration of the wellhead.
An anti-alteration well connection comprising:
- a. a wellhead protruding from the ground and
- b. a bell shaped wellhead vault enclosing the wellhead,
- i) the well vault constructed of pre-formed concrete in such a manner to be difficult for a few individuals to gain access to the wellhead by penetrating the vault wall or by moving the vault, comprising a surrounding wall defining an inner chamber, closed and rounded at the top and open at the bottom, positioned to securely enclose the wellhead within the inner chamber, thereby prohibiting malicious tampering of the wellhead, and
- ii) includes two steel rods, each rod having a first and second end portion, the end portions securely embedded opposite each other in the well vault wall, each rod having a bight portion midway between the end portions protruding from the top of the well vault, forming two overlapping diametrically opposed lifting points, centered over the well vault, for attaching heavy duty lifting equipment for moving and positioning the well vault, and
- iii) including a bore beginning at the outer surface of the well vault wall and opening to the inner chamber, providing air flow to the wellhead, the bore specifically oriented upward towards the inner chamber, thereby preventing liquid from being poured therein, and including a metal screen situated in the bore, filling the entire cross-section of the bore, and held in place by a plurality of rods which are secured to the bore wall, thereby preventing foreign particulate material from entering the inner chamber, and including a vented cap covering the outside opening of the bore, and including a rodent-resistant screen mesh laid at ground level, sealed around the wellhead, extending to the outer circumference of the well vault wall, and held in place by the well vault, forming a barrier to infiltration of the inner chamber by rodents.
An anti-alteration wellhead vault, comprising:
- a. a bell shaped concrete vault, including and a wall that defines an open-ended cavity the is shaped to enclosed a wellhead,
- b. an air vent system through the wall that lets air pass between the cavity and the outside of the vault,
- c. a lifting element that allows the vault to be lifted by heavy construction equipment.
A method of preventing alteration of a wellhead, comprising enveloping the wellhead by placing a bell-shaped vault over and around the wellhead, the vault being too heavy to be removed from the wellhead without heavy construction equipment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.