Electric meter security lock

Abstract

A known type of contractible sealing ring for an electric watt-hour meter has improved lock assemblies on the ends of the ring. The lock assemblies are designed to receive many different types of known security locking devices, such as snap lock fasteners, barrel lock fasteners and threaded fasteners with wire seals or plastic padlocks, using a universal multiple lock assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefits of prior filed, co-pending provisional patent application Serial No. 60/387,614 filed Jun. 11, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to sealing rings for electric watt-hour meters. More particularly, the invention relates to a sealing ring for an electric watt-hour meter with security means to prevent tampering.

[0003] Various types of security locking devices are known in the art for attaching together the ends of a contractible sealing ring placed around a cover for the watt-hour meter. A very simple and well-known type of sealing ring employs radial flanges on each of the terminating spaced ends of an annular member. Each of the flanges has an opening aligned with a similar opening on the other flange. The flanges are pulled together and a security locking member placed through the aligned holes and locked. Various types of security locking members, such as snap locks or barrel locks are known in the art and usually comprise a proprietary type lock requiring a special removal tool to prevent tampering.

[0004] Another type of well-known sealing ring made by several different manufacturers is shown in FIG. 1. In this sealing ring, two substantially identical U-shaped housings are riveted on opposite ends of an annular band. Aligned apertures or slots are formed in the sidewalls of each housing. An additional slot in each housing receives a floating nut insert having a threaded aperture formed centrally therein. A threaded screw with a screw head is captively mounted in one insert in one housing. The opposite threaded end of the fastener is threadingly engagable with the threaded aperture in the insert in the other housing. The inserts are loosely held, so that they can compensate for any misaligmnent of the housings. The end of the fastener opposite the screw head has an elongated slot which is rotatably alignable with the apertures in the sidewalls of one housing to receive a wire seal or plastic padlock after the sealing ring has been mounted about the mating mounting flange.

[0005] Still another type of prior art sealing ring is illustrated in FIG. 2. This sealing ring is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,038, issued Dec. 22, 1998 to Robinson et al., the description of which is incorporated herein by reference. In the Robinson et al. patent, a sealing ring for an electric watt-hour meter apparatus has first and second housings mounted on opposed ends of an annular band. A fastener extends through a threaded aperture in an end wall of one housing into threaded engagement with an aperture in an end wall of the opposed housing to fixedly engage the ends of the sealing ring. A plurality of radially intersecting slots in one end of the fastener are alignable with apertures in one of a plurality of sidewalls of one of the housings for receiving a security device. Screwdriver receiving slots are formed in each of the first and second ends of the fasteners. An axial slot is formed in the second end of the fastener and alignable with apertures in the sidewalls of the other housing for receiving a security device. An enlarged head end on the fastener enables finger rotation of the fastener. The end walls have an elongated upper end forming a finger grip surface to facilitate movement of the first and second housings toward each other.

[0006] While the aforementioned sealing rings are satisfactory in connection with the particular type of security lock that they are designed for, it would be desirable to have a universal sealing ring that would accommodate more than one type of security locking device.

[0007] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved sealing ring for electric meters having multiple means for receiving security locking members.

[0008] Another object of the invention is to provide an improved sealing ring which will receive either type of commonly used security locks, i.e., a snap lock fastener, a barrel lock fastener, or a threaded fastener adapted for a wire seal or plastic padlock.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Briefly stated, the invention is practiced by providing a sealing ring for electric meters having multiple means for receiving security locking members, said sealing ring comprising a substantially circular contractible ring member, having adjacent terminating ends, said ring member adapted to seal the electric meter against tampering when the adjacent ends are pulled toward one another, a first lock assembly attached to one terminating end having a first radially projecting flange member, a second lock assembly attached to the other terminating end having a second radially projecting flange member, a first security lock reception passage extending through the first and second flanges and adapted to receive a first security locking member, and a second security lock reception passage extending through the first and second flanges and adapted to receive a second security locking member, said first and second reception passages being spaced apart sufficiently so as to serve for either alternate or simultaneous usage. One reception passage is preferably equipped with floating nut inserts in each flange to accommodate threaded fasteners. Another reception passage is designed to receive either a snap lock or a barrel lock.

DRAWING

[0010] The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art security locking device for a sealing ring,

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another type of prior art security locking device for a sealing ring,

[0013] FIG. 3 is a plan view of my improved sealing ring,

[0014] FIG. 4 is a side elevation view taken along lines IV-IV of FIG. 3,

[0015] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sealing ring with a threaded fastener in place,

[0016] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side elevation view taken along lines VI-VI of FIG. 5,

[0017] FIG. 7 is a plan view of the sealing ring as used with a snap lock or barrel lock type of security locking device,

[0018] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side elevation view taken along lines VIII-VIII of FIG. 7, and

[0019] FIG. 9 is a plan view of the sealing ring with the threaded fastener of FIG. 5 shown in a different position, and including protective finger caps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] FIGS. 1 and 2 have already been discussed as representative of the prior art. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a sealing ring 10 comprises a metal annular member with a web 12 and side flanges 14, 16. The sealing ring 10 has terminating ends 18, 20 adjacent but spaced from one another so as to be contractible about the cover for the watt-hour meter (not shown). A first lock assembly shown generally as 22 is attached to the end 18 and a second lock assembly 24 is attached to the other end 20. Lock assemblies 22, 24 are preferably die cast of zinc alloy, while ring member 10 is preferably of stainless steel. The construction of the two lock assemblies 22, 24 is substantially identical and will be better understood by reference to FIG. 4, in which lock assembly 24 is seen in elevation view.

[0021] Lock assembly 24 includes an arcuate upper web 26, which is attached to the web 12 of ring 10 by suitable means such as rivets 28. Depending from the arcuate web is a radially extending box-shaped flange structure as seen in FIG. 4 comprising sidewalls 29, 30 divided into two passages by a central web 32. By this means, each of the lock assemblies 22, 24 define aligned passages in the flange members extending through the first and second flanges. These comprise a radially inner security lock reception passage 34 and a radially outer security lock reception passage 36 (FIG. 4). The lock assembly 22 is substantially identical to lock assembly 24 discussed above.

[0022] The radially inner or first security lock reception passage 34 in each flange is adapted to receive a threaded member as follows. A floating nut insert 38 and a similar floating nut insert 40 are loosely retained in the sidewalls in order to correct for misalignment. Inserts 38, 40 are well known in the art, and are prevented from rotating by tabs such as 40a. The sidewalls of the flange members define apertures 42, 44 in order to pass security wires through the threaded member after it has been attached.

[0023] The radially outer or second security lock reception passage 36 is adapted to receive a snap lock or a barrel lock by providing appropriately dimensioned holes 46, 48, in each of the respective flanges. These holes are made slightly over-sized so as to accommodate some misalignment of the snap lock when it is put in place.

[0024] Referring now to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of the drawing, the reference numbers previously used in FIGS. 3 and 4 are applicable and are not repeated unless used in the description. In FIG. 5, a threaded security locking device is shown generally at reference number 50. The threaded member 50 comprises a knurled head 52, a cylindrical shank 54, a threaded section 56, and a terminating end 58. The terminating end defines an elongated slot 60.

[0025] The threaded member is applied first through alignment insert 40 and then the spaced ends 18, 20 of ring 10 are squeezed together. This may be facilitated by pinching together the projecting flange ends. The threaded member 50 is then threaded through both floating alignment nut 40 and floating alignment nut 38 until shank 54 abuts nut 40. The wire of a plastic lock 62 passes through the slot 60 and is attached to the lock, in order to detect whether the threaded member 50 has been removed.

[0026] Thus, the radially inner security lock reception passage 34 receives the threaded member as a first security locking member. Use of the second radially outer security lock reception passage 36 will be illustrated by reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawing. While a snap lock is illustrated in the drawing the explanation is equally applicable to a barrel lock.

[0027] As seen in FIG. 7, a snap lock shown generally at 64 has been secured in the aligned openings 46, 48 of the radial flanges of lock assemblies 22, 24 respectively. Snap lock 64, when disassembled comprises two members. The first member shown at 66 on the left is designed to be inserted into the second member shown at 68 on the right. Member 66 has a shank 70 that has a special end piece (not shown). The end piece is received inside a special receptacle on the right hand member 68, so as to lock the two members 66, 68 firmly together when shank 70 is inserted. These may only be disassembled using a special tool. Various types of proprietary snap locks and barrel locks are available in the prior art, and are well-known, commercially available items.

[0028] Referring back to FIG. 5, the plastic lock 62 is not intended to be a positive physical block to removal of the threaded member 50, but serves as an anti-tampering or detection device only. There are a number of similar anti-tamper detection devices on the market.

[0029] Reference to FIG. 9 of the drawing shows the threaded fastener 50 of FIG. 5 rotated 90° degrees to expose another elongated slot 61 near the knurled head 52 and hiding the elongated slot 60. A different type of commercially available anti-tamper detecting lock 63 is inserted through slot 61 and secured according to the proprietary method employed by the manufacturer of the device 63.

[0030] In order to facilitate squeezing the ends of the contractible ring 10 together, protective rubber or plastic finger caps 72, 73 may be slipped over the radial extensions of the flanges to protect the fingers and cover up the radially outer passage 36 when only the radially inner passage 56 is being employed.

[0031] In operation, the two ends 18, 20 are pulled together and snap lock 64 is assembled to hold them in place. Passages 34, 36 are spaced from one another so that, if desired, two types of security locks may be simultaneously employed. The threaded member may be employed passing through passage 34 as described previously in FIGS. 5 and 6, while the snap lock remains in place as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. This gives an extra degree of security against tampering.

[0032] Thus there has been described a sealing ring with multiple means for receiving security locking members by providing lock assemblies through radially projecting flange members with at least two security lock reception passages extending through the first and second flanges. The first and second reception passages are spaced apart sufficiently so as to serve for either alternate or simultaneous usage. While the reception passages in the present preferred embodiment are radially disposed with respect to one another, it is within the purview of the present invention to locate the passages at the same radial location, but axially spaced from one another.

[0033] It should be apparent that power utility companies will enjoy considerable savings with the invention, since one sealing ring will serve for use with three different types of security locking devices. Hence it will not be necessary to carry inventories of different kinds of sealing rings for different applications.

[0034] While there is described what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, other modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to secure all such modifications within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A sealing ring for electric meters having multiple means for receiving security locking members, said sealing ring comprising:

a substantially circular contractible ring member having adjacent terminating ends, said ring member adapted to seal the electric meter against tampering when said adjacent terminating ends are pulled toward one another,

a first lock assembly attached to one terminating end having a first radially projecting flange member,

a second lock assembly attached to the other terminating end having a second radially projecting flange member,

a first security lock reception passage defined by and extending through the first and second flange members and adapted to receive a first security locking member, and

a second security lock reception passage defined by and extending through the first and second flanges and adapted to receive a second security locking member, said first and second reception passages being spaced from one another so as to serve for either alternate or simultaneous usage of said first and second security locking members.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second flange members defines a pair of spaced nut retaining slots therein, and a floating nut insert having opposed tabs extending into said nut retaining slots to prevent rotation of the insert, said insert being disposed in said first security lock reception passage and having an internal thread adapted to receive a said first security locking member.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said first and second radially projecting flange members each define a radially inner security lock reception passage and a radially outer security lock reception passage, said radially inner security lock reception passages being aligned to provide said first security lock reception passage, and said radially outer security lock reception passages being aligned to provide said second security lock reception passage.

4. The combination according to claim 1, said first and second first and second radially projecting flange members further including spaced sidewalls defining spaced apertures therein on either side of the first security lock reception passage, adapted for passage of an anti-tamper locking device therethrough.

5. The combination according to claim 1, and further including a pair of protective caps arranged to fit over portions of said first and second radially extending flange members so as to cover said second security lock reception passage in said first and second flange members to facilitate manual contraction of said contractible ring member by squeezing the first and second flange members together.

6. A sealing ring for electric meters having multiple means for receiving security locking members, said sealing ring comprising:

a substantially circular contractible ring member having adjacent terminating ends, said ring member adapted to seal the electric meter against tampering when said adjacent terminating ends are pulled toward one another,

a first lock assembly attached to one terminating end having a first radially projecting flange member and a first pair of spaced sidewalls extending substantially perpendicular thereto,

a second lock assembly attached to the other terminating end having a second radially projecting flange member and a second pair of spaced sidewalls extending substantially perpendicular thereto,

a first security lock reception passage defined by and extending through the first and second flange members and between said first and second pair of spaced sidewalls and adapted to receive a first security locking member, and

a second security lock reception passage defined by and extending through the first and second flanges and adapted to receive a second security locking member, said first and second reception passages being radially spaced from one another so as to serve for either alternate or simultaneous usage of said first and second security locking members.

7. The combination according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said first and second flange members defines a pair of spaced nut retaining slots therein, and a floating nut insert having opposed tabs extending into said nut retaining slots to prevent rotation of the insert, said insert being disposed in said first security lock reception passage and having an internal thread adapted to receive a said first security locking member.

8. The combination according to claim 6, wherein at least one pair of said first and second pairs of spaced sidewalls define spaced apertures therein on either side of the first security lock reception passage, and are aligned for passage of an anti-tamper locking device therethrough.

9. The combination according to claim 6, wherein the second security lock reception passage is radially outward of the first security lock reception passage and further including a pair of protective caps arranged to fit over portions of said first and second radially extending flange members so as to cover said second security lock reception passage in said first and second flange members to facilitate manual contraction of said contractible ring member by squeezing the first and second flange members together.