Watthour meter socket adapter with tamper resistant ring
AssigneeEkstrom Industries, Inc.
InventorsDarrell Robinson, John T. Shincovich, Michael E. Lewis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hardened metallic ring is mounted over the exterior sidewall of the shell portion of a watthour meter socket adapter. The ring has overlapped ends which are welded together to form a circular ring with a diameter approximate the diameter of the shell. In another embodiment, a radially outward flange is formed on one annular edge of the ring to cover a peripheral edge flange of the base of the socket adapter.
Claims19
An electric watthour meter socket adapter comprising:
- a base and a hollow shell having an annular sidewall;
- the shell having first and second opposed ends, an annular mounting flange formed on the second end of the shell and extending radially outward from the sidewall of the shell, the base having a peripheral edge flange extending outward from a central portion of the base, the peripheral edge flange having a larger diameter than the diameter of the first end of the shell, the shell unitarily joined at the first end to the base and extending axially from the base;
- a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in the base and disposed within the shell for receiving an electrical device therein in a plug-in connection;
- and
- a metallic ring mounted between the peripheral edge flange of the base and the annular mounting flange of the shell and enclosing substantially all of the exterior surface of the sidewall of the shell.
The socket adapter of claim 3 wherein the metallic ring is hardened.
A method of manufacturing a tamper resistant electric watthour meter socket adapter comprising the steps of:
- forming a base with a bottom wall, a peripheral flange formed about and extending outward from the periphery of the bottom wall, and a plurality of apertures formed in and extending through the bottom wall;
- forming a shell having an exterior sidewall terminating in a radially outward extending exterior end mounting flange having a larger diameter than the diameter of the sidewall;
- mounting electrical contacts in the bottom wall of the base with the contacts extending into the shell;
- forming an annular ring of a hardened metallic material;
- and
- mounting the annular ring over the sidewall of the shell between the peripheral flange of the base and the exterior end mounting flange of the shell such that the annular ring extends over and substantially encloses all of the sidewall of the shell extending between the peripheral flange on the base and the exterior end mounting flange on the shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.