Patent Application
20100319416
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tamper prevention devices, and more particularly to a water meter lock that prevents unauthorized access to the water meter or valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Public utilities such as water and sewage provide a much needed resource to the population at large. The costs for such provisions and upkeep are reflected in the water bill of a typical household. In order to reliably operate and maintain services, the commercial or governmental entity must rely on revenue from the public. If the household cannot meet the financial obligations, then they incur a loss of service, which usually results in shutting off the water supply by turning off the water meter. The same occurs when the domicile does not require service. However, the water meter is typically not secured in a manner that prevents an unscrupulous individual from turning the water back on. This unauthorized use results in loss of revenue and increased costs to the provider, which ultimately has a negative economic impact on the rest of the consumers.
Some solutions have been proposed in which a lockable cover is placed over a valve and locked by a padlock. However, these devices tend to be too specific with regard to the valve and not configured for wider application. Thus, it would be beneficial in the art to provide a locking device for a greater range of valves that will prevent unauthorized access and tampering of the same.
Thus, a water meter lock solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The water meter lock includes a hollow housing adapted to be placed over a valve and/or piping. The housing includes a closed side and an open side, the open side for insertion over the valve. A locking tab having a through bore extends laterally from adjacent the open side. Lateral sides of the valve include shaped cutouts or slots adapted to seat the housing on associated piping and/or accommodate extended portions of the valve. At least two of the lateral sides have aligned bores through which a locking pin is insertably mounted. The locking pin includes an enlarged head having through bore, which aligns with the bore of the locking tab. Once properly mounted and the bores aligned, a padlock locks the water meter lock.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention relates to a water meter lock, generally referred to by reference number 10 that accommodates a wide variety of water meters or valves and prevents unauthorized access and tampering of the same. It is noted that although the following makes specific reference to water meters, it should be understood that the water meter lock 10 may also be used in other types of valve and piping configurations, e.g. gas lines.
As shown in
To lock the housing 12 onto the water meter V, the water meter lock 10 includes a locking pin 20. As shown in
It is noted that the water meter lock 10 encompasses a variety of alternatives. For example, the water meter lock 10 may be made in various shapes, e.g. sphere or cylinder, to more easily accommodate certain valve designs. The water meter lock 10 is preferably made from steel, but other durable materials such as wood, hard plastic or combination thereof may also be used. The water meter lock 10 may also include a variety of distinguishing colors and/or indicia. Moreover, the padlock 30 may be replaced with similar locks that may be threaded through the bores in the locking pin and the locking tab.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
