HOUSING STRUCTURE FOR METERS

• US 3,731,534 A
• Filed: 11/18/1970
• Issued: 05/08/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: M&FC Holding, LLC
• Original Assignee: Bernard Last, Elmer F. Painley, Joseph B. Dym
• Inventors: Painley, Elmer F., Last, Bernard, Dym, Joseph B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Queisser, Richard C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Snee, III, C. E.
• Application Number:
  US05/090,684
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 73/194R,198,201,204,229-261,272,273,277 138/32,33,100,106 239/63,64,65,71,74 15/250.1,250.15,250.22
• US Class Current: 73/273
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/007 comprising means to prevent fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/14 Casings, e.g. of special material

Abstract

A structure for housing a meter and comprising a hollow body having an open end for receiving the meter and a housing top that is detachably screwed on the body to cover the open top and define an enclosure for the meter. The housing top has a window for viewing the reading on a register of the meter, and the housing top is rotatable on the housing to cooperate with a stationary wiper for wiping the interior face of the registerviewing window clear of condensation or moisture. A special tamperproof arrangement interlocking the body and housing top permits limited rotation of the housing top to wipe the registerviewing view, but requires the breaking of a wire and lead seal or other part to detach the housing top from the body.

Claims

1. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably mounted on said body and being detachable from said body upon predetermined rotation relative to said body, said housing top cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, and means permitting limited relative rotation of said housing top and said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means but preventing sufficient relative rotation of said housing top and said body for detaching said housing top from said body.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said housing top and said body are formed with cooperating threaded portions to thread said housing top onto said body and to provide for the relative rotation of said housing top and said body.

3. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably detachably mounted on said body and cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the reading on the meter register unit within said enclosure, a thermal insulation liner disposed around said meter in said enclosure, window wiper means, and means mounting said wiper means on said liner to engage the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 wherein said liner comprises a preformed annular part peripherally surrounding said meter and having an open end adjacent to said window portion, said wiper means being supported by said mounting means on said end adjacent to said window portion, and said annular part being sufficiently rigid to provide a firm support for said wiper means and said mounting means.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 wherein said mounting means comprises an annular member seated on said end of said annular part adjacent to said window portion, and means supporting said wiper means on said annular part.

6. The structure defined in claim 5 wherein said annular member is removably seated on said end of said annular part and has protrusions driven into said end of said annular member to retain said wiper means stationary relative to said annular part against the friction produced by engagement of said wiper means with said window portion and tending to cause said wiper means to rotate with said housing top.

7. The structure defined in claim 6 wherein said housing top is threaded onto said body, whereby said housing top is axially displaced upon rotation relative to said body and wherein said means supporting said wiper means on said annular member comprises a spring element biasing said wiper means into engagement with said interior face.

8. The structure defined in claim 4 wherein said liner further comprises a preformed base part formed separately of said annular part and being seated in the bottom of said body, said annular part and said meter being separably seated on said base part.

9. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably, detachably mounted on said body and cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, retention means providing for sufficient rotation of said housing top relative to said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means while releasibly preventing detachment of said housing top from said body, and tamperproof means comprising a wire and seal lock and cooperating with said retention means for preventing undetectable detachment of said housing top from said body.

10. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably, detachably mounted on said body and cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, means providing for sufficient rotation of said housing top relative to said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means while preventing detachment of said housing top from said body, said last-mentioned means comprising first and second portions respectively formed integrally with said body and said housing top, and a stop abutment part detachably mounted on one of said portions and being abuttable with the other of said portions to limit relative rotation between said body and said housing top to a predetermined angle, and means requiring destruction to provide for the detachment of said stop abutment part from said one portion.

11. The structure defined in claim 10 wherein said housing top is threaded onto said body and wherein said predetermined angle of relative rotation motion between said body and said housing top is insufficient to threadedly detach said housing top from said body when said housing top is threadedly engaged with said body by a predetermined magnitude.

12. The structure defined in claim 11 wherein said means providing for sufficient rotation of said housing top relative to said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means while preventing detachment of said housing top from said body further comprises a member removably secured to said one portion for detachably mounting said stop abutment part thereon, and wherein said means requiring destruction comprises a wire and metal seal assembly defining a closed loop passing through said stop abutment part and member and being destructible to provide for the removal of said member from said portion.

13. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing tOp rotatably mounted on said body and being detachable from said body upon predetermined rotation relative to said body, said housing top cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, and retention means releasibly preventing sufficient rotation of said housing top relative to said body for detaching said housing top from said body but permitting limited rotation of said housing top relative to said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means, and means cooperating with said retention means for preventing said housing top from being undetectably detached from said body.

14. The structure defined in claim 13 wherein said retention means comprises coacting stop abutment parts carried by said housing top and said body for limiting rotation of said housing top relative to said body to a predetermined angle.

15. The structure defined in claim 13 wherein said retention means comprises first and second parts respectively carried by said housing top and said body and being abuttable with each other upon relative rotation of said housing top and said body to limit rotation of said housing top relative to said body to a predetermined angle, said first and second parts being relatively displaceable to permit relative rotation of said housing top and said body beyond said predetermined angle for enabling said housing top to be detached from said body, said means cooperating said retention means including a part that requires destruction to effect the relative displacement of said first and second parts that permits relative rotation of said housing top and said body beyond said predetermined angle.

16. The structure defined in claim 13 wherein said body is of cup-shaped configuration having a peripheral skirt portion extending upwardly from a base portion to define an open end for receiving said meter, and wherein said housing top is of generally dome-shaped configuration and is secured to said skirt portion to cover said open top.

17. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably mounted on said body and being detachable from said body upon predetermined rotation relative to said body, said housing top cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, first and second parts respectively carried by said housing top and said body and being abuttable upon relative rotation of said housing top and said body for preventing sufficient relative rotation of said housing top and said body to detach said housing top from said body, but permitting enough relative rotation of said housing top and said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means, one of first and second parts being displaceable relative to the other of said first and second parts to enable said housing top and said body to be relatively rotated sufficiently for detaching said housing top from said body, and tamperproof means cooperating with said one of said parts for preventing sufficient undetectable displacement of said one part relative to said other part that permits said housing top and said body to be relatively rotated sufficiently far to effect the detachment of said housing top from said body.

18. The structure defined in claim 17 wherein said tamperproof means comprises a wire and seal lock.

19. A structure for housing a fluid flow meter having a register unit, said structure comprising a hollow body for receiving said meter, a housing top rotatably mounted on said body and being detachable from said body upon predetermined rotation relative to said body, said housing top cooperating with said body to define an enclosure for said meter, a transparent register unit-viewing window portion forming a part of said housing top for observing the meter reading on the register unit within said enclosure, window wiper means supported relatively stationary with respect to said body and engaging the interior face of said window portion for wiping said interior face upon rotation of said housing top relative to said body, and means permitting limited rotation of said housing top relative to said body to wipe said interior face with said wiper means but preventing sufficient undetectable rotation of said housing top relative to said body for detaching said housing top from said body.