Meter reading apparatus

A cylindrical viewing tube for reading submerged water meters, comprising a clear, high strength polycarbonate viewing tube, a closed bottom end for engaging a submerged meter face, the bottom end being replacable and being threaded onto the viewing tube.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a viewing tube for reading water meters which may 
be submerged in water below the surface of the ground. 
Water meters are typically installed below ground in meter boxes to prevent 
freezing. Frequently because of poor drainage etc. water is trapped in the 
meter box, making it difficult to obtain a correct reading, particularly 
when the water is muddy. One approach has been to bail water out of the 
box, a costly and time consumming procedure. 
Various viewing devices have been proposed to solve the problem. For 
example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,916 to Bell relates to a meter reading tube 
that may be compressed to force a jet of water out of the tube to flush 
the face of the meter. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,437 to Story discloses a meter reading tube that 
includes an internal light assembly. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,871 to Creech discloses a viewing tube that has a 
flexible, transparent closure to conform to the face of the meter. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Various prior art devices of this type suffer from complexity and/or a lack 
of durability in use. 
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel meter viewing 
tube that is simple in construction and has increased durability. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel meter viewing tube 
with a readily replacable bottom end lens closure. 
Applicant has found that meter viewing tubes currently in use lack 
durability and/or the surface of the bottom viewing lens easily becomes so 
scratched that it is difficult to read numbers through the tube. The 
present invention proposes to make the viewing tubes out of clear, high 
strength polycarbonate, which has been found to better withstand the 
elements than materials currently in use such as polyvinyl chloride 
tubing. Also, the bottom end lens closure, which is also made of 
polycarbonate, is threaded onto the tube, and is readily replacable when 
the lens inevitably becomes too scratched for further use. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
The sole figure is an exploded view partly in cross-section of the viewing 
tube of the invention and a typical meter face.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawing, the invention comprises a viewing tube 10 made of 
clear, annealed polycarbonate. Viewing tube 10 has-an upper open sight end 
12 and a bottom end which is closed and sealed by a rigid polycarbonate 
lens section 14 that has a circular configuration. The lens section has an 
integral annular threaded section 16 that mates with internal threads 18 
at the bottom end of viewing tube 10. A water tight seal is obtained by 
using a Buna silicone rubber 0 ring 20 that is seated between a 45 degree 
machined ring seat 22 at the end of viewing tube 10 and a ring seal 
shoulder 24 on the inside of lens section 14. 
The outside diameter of lens section 14 is slightly smaller than the inside 
diameter of the face of a meter 26. In use, if the meter 26 in a 
conventional meter box, not shown, is submerged in water; the viewing tube 
will be pushed through the water into engagement with the submerged face 
of meter 26. This displaces the water and enables the meter to be read by 
looking through the open sight end 12 of the viewing tube 10. 
A handle assembly comprises, a tubular band 28 secured around and engaging 
the outside of viewing tube 10, and a handle portion 30 that is attached 
to band 28 by a wing nut 32. By loosening the wing nut 32, the position of 
the handle assembly along the length of viewing tube 10 may be adjusted to 
suit the user. As shown, the handle portion 30 is spaced from the viewing 
tube 10 and extends generally parallel thereto to provide an elongated 
slot 34. Slot 34, in addition to allowing gripping of the handle portion 
30, provides spacing so that when not in use the handle portion 30 may be 
slipped onto the belt of a user. This frees the user to more easily carry 
a hand-held computer, etc. 
It is important to use annealed polycarbonate tubing in constructing the 
viewing tube 10. Polycarbonate has superior strength and durability 
compared to various plastics currently used. The annealing of the tube is 
important in obtaining threads 18 at the bottom end of the tube of 
sufficient durability. In the absence of annealing, the threads 18 
deteriorated, and were not suitable for extended use and for replacement 
of the lens section 14 after it becomes too scratched for clear viewing of 
the meter face. 
Polycarbonate tubing may be annealed by heating in an oven at about 250 
degrees F. for 30 minutes, for 1/8 inch thickness, and then cooling the 
tube to room temperature before machining to form threads 18. 
Silicone rubber was used to make 0 ring 20 because several seal materials 
were found unsatisfactory and appeared to interact and become attached to 
the polycarbonate members.