Meter housing
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorDonald K. Warren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A housing for containing a meter such as a water meter or the like, with the housing being adapted to be buried in the ground. The housing is comprised of a generally cylindrical member having a hollow interior with a cover mounted on the upper end thereof. A lid is provided for closing an opening through the cover. A brace which is sized and shaped to fit within the cylindrical member is removably retained in the interior thereof. The brace can remain within the housing or can be removed therefrom and provides support for the cylindrical member during installation of same in the ground when the hole is being filled with dirt or other filler material. The brace, if desired, is removed through an opening through the cover which is smaller than the open end of the cylindrical member.
Claims7
A housing adapted to be used to house a meter or the like underground, said housing including:
- a. a member having opposite ends and a hollow interior defined at least partially by a side wall, said member having a first opening in one of said ends;
- b. a cover engaging portions of said member adjacent said one end and is at least partially supported by said member, said cover overlies at least a portion of said first opening partially closing same and has a second opening communicating with said interior, said second opening has a size smaller than said first opening;
- and
- c. a brace sized and shaped to fit within the interior of member and is removably retained therein, said brace is generally normal to said side wall and has at least one notch extending partially inwardly from the periphery of the brace and is defined by an edge, said edge is spaced from the opposite side of the brace a distance less than the distance across said second opening.
A housing adapted to be used to house a meter or the like underground, said housing including:
- a. a generally cylindrical member having a side wall and first and second ends with said second end having a first opening;
- b. a cover having a pair of flanges extending from a surface thereof with said flanges being spaced apart defining a groove therebetween, said cover is in engagement with said cylindrical member and has an end portion of same received within said groove, said cover overlies a portion of said second end partially closing said first opening and has a through second opening sized smaller than said first opening;
- c. a brace sized and shaped to fit within the cylindrical member and is removably retained therein normally in a position generally normal to said side wall, said brace has at least one notch which extends inwardly from the periphery of the brace whereby one width dimension of the brace is smaller than the largest dimension of the second opening whereby said brace is removable through said second opening;
- and
- d. a lid removably mounted on said cover for selectively closing said second opening.
A method of installing an underground meter housing comprising:
- a. positioning a housing member in a hole in the ground with one end engaging the ground;
- b. inserting a removable brace in said housing member and positioning same for supporting a side wall of the housing member;
- c. mounting a cover on said housing member;
- d. filling said hole around said housing member;
- and
- e. removing said brace through an opening in said cover.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.