Angle meter stop guard
AssigneeLas Vegas Valley Water District
InventorsMark Mikaelsen, Joel Murphy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An exemplary safety device can comprise a guard coupled to a lower end of a support shaft and two arms coupled to the support shaft configured to engage with the inner walls of the meter box. The arms can be adjustable to change the distance they extend from the support shaft, such as by rotating the arms about a central bolt that is fixed relative to the shaft. The arms can have end caps that are configured to contact the inner walls of the meter box to create a frictional resistance holding the device securely within the meter box. The arms can be coupled to the support shaft with an adapter ring that is adjustable along the support shaft to change the vertical position of the arms. The guard can partially surround the angle meter stop and can contain it if it blows off the pipe below it.
Claims20
A safety device for use with a water meter assembly, the water meter assembly comprising plumbing positioned within a meter box, the plumbing comprising an angle meter stop coupled to a water meter, the safety device comprising:
- a support shaft having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending from the first end to the second end;
- a guard coupled to the first end of the support shaft and comprising a wall structure configured to partially surround the angle meter stop;
- and
- two arms coupled to the support shaft between the first end and the second end, the arms configured to adjustably engage walls of the meter box to secure the safety device within the meter box with the guard partially surrounding the angle meter stop such that motion of the guard relative to the arms is prevented in both directions along the longitudinal axis of the support shaft and the guard is retained partially surrounding the angle meter stop.
A method of installing a safety device in a water meter assembly, the water meter assembly comprising an angle meter stop positioned within a meter box, the method comprising:
- positioning a guard portion of the safety device over the angle meter stop;
- engaging arms of the safety device with walls of the meter box to secure the safety device relative to the water meter assembly and prevent the guard portion from uncovering the angle meter stop;
- and
- adjusting a position of the arms relative to the guard portion between a plurality of different fixed positions along a shaft axis that is perpendicular to longitudinal axes of the arms.
A safety device for use with a water meter assembly, the water meter assembly comprising plumbing positioned within a meter box, the plumbing comprising an angle meter stop coupled to a water meter, the safety device comprising:
- a guard configured to partially surround the angle meter stop;
- a support shaft having a longitudinal axis extending between a first end and a second end of the support shaft, wherein the first end of the support shaft is coupled to the guard;
- and
- two arms coupled to the support shaft and configured to engage with the meter box to secure the safety device within the water meter box with the guard partially surrounding the angle meter stop, wherein the guard, the support shaft, and the two arms are coupled in such a manner so that rotational motion of the guard relative to the arms about the longitudinal axis of the support shaft is restricted.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.