Meter ring

Meter ring for one-time use, consisting of a band having locking means at its free ends and a tear strip at an intermediate portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
It is the usual practice in the installation of an electric meter at the 
point of use to provide a box into which extend the incoming and out-going 
electrical cables and to apply to the face of this box the meter for 
reading the amount of consumption. The box is provided with an annular 
flange and the meter is provided with a similar flange, the two flanges 
being held together by a nut and bolt which allows the band to be clamped 
tightly around the flanges and hold the meter firmly in place. In recent 
years, however, it has been necessary to lock the band in place, so that 
it could not be removed. This has come about, because of the fact that 
many unauthorized persons have been entering the meter box and "bypassing" 
the meter, thus using electricity without it being recorded in the meter. 
Also, there has been some vandalism that takes the form of removing the 
meter and damaging it. Also, an important problem is encountered because 
of the fact that some customers remove the meter and replace it in 
inverted condition so that the meter operates in reverse and gives a low 
reading. In addition, there have been those who actually steal the meter 
itself for their own purposes. In order to counteract these tendencies, it 
has been necessary to provide a lock to hold the ends of the band together 
to prevent removal of the meter from the box. At one time it was only 
necessary to provide a lock having a seal, so that it would be evident 
that the lock has been tampered with, but it has been found that a simple 
seal is often not sufficient to discourage those who wish to gain entry to 
the meter and the meter box. One of the problems that has been encountered 
in attempting to design a practical lock for this purpose has been the 
fact that, if an edge of the band is available and accessible, it is 
possible to cut the band with a pair of strong tin snips or aircraft 
shears. Furthermore, while many ingenious locks have been conceived for 
this purpose, most of them are quite expensive and, because of a 
complexity of their mechanism, they have been relatively difficult to 
install or remove even by the legitimate meter technician. After all, part 
of the problem is the fact that, even though the would-be thief is not 
able to dismantle the lock and the band, nevertheless he can do so much 
damage to the lock that is difficult for the legitimate electrical 
installer to later obtain access to the meter. These and other 
difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in 
a novel manner by the present invention. 
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a meter 
lock which is relatively easy for an authorized person to install or 
remove. 
Another object of this invention is the provision of a meter lock which is 
simple in construction and which can withstand a considerable amount of 
abuse without being rendered inoperative. 
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a meter lock which 
is inexpensive to manufacture and which is capable of a long life of 
useful service with a minimum of maintenance. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a meter lock which 
shows the presence of tampering. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a meter 
lock which, from the nature of its design, is capable if being constructed 
of a small number of very strong, simple, and rugged parts. 
Another object of this invention is the provision of a meter lock 
consisting of a small number of readily-replaceable elements. 
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled 
in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in 
the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In general, the invention consists of a meter ring having a band in the 
form of a loop adapted to embrace an annular meter flange. The housing is 
permanently attached to one end of the band, the housing being formed with 
an inner chamber having a passage leading into it. The other end of the 
band is formed with an apertured tongue which is adapted to extend into 
the passage. A locking member resides in the chamber and has a finger 
extending laterally for engagement with the aperture in the tongue. The 
locking member includes a resilient means for biasing the finger laterally 
and preventing retraction of the finger from the aperture. 
More specifically, the band is in the form of a channel with legs that 
extend inwardly of the loop. This locking member is in the form of a 
resilient metal clip having two plate-like legs in spaced, parallel 
relationship and joined at one end by a bight and providing an opening at 
the other end to lie adjacent the passage in the housing to receive the 
tongue between them. The bight of the locking member acts as the resilient 
means to bias the legs toward one another to embrace the tongue. 
Each of the legs is provided with a series of integral fingers inclined 
away from the passage entering the housing and adapted to slide along the 
surface of the tongue as it passes between the legs. The band is formed of 
a thin sheet metal and includes in an intermediate portion a tear tab with 
a grasping finger for bringing about a tearing of the tab and a separation 
of the loop.

Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, wherein are best shown the general 
features of the invention, the meter ring, indicated generally by the 
reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a conventional meter 11, and 
the usual meter box 12. The meter box is mounted on the side of a building 
and an inlet cable 13 leads down from the weatherhead and enters the upper 
part of the box. An outlet cable 14 leads from the lower part of the box 
to the main switch in the interior of the building and to the fuse box 
serving the building. 
The meter 11 generally consists of a clear glass or plastic housing having 
an annular flange 16 which lies against and is connected to a similar 
flange on the meter box 12. The meter lock includes a band 15 of U-shaped 
cross-section which embraces the two flanges and holds them tightly 
together, one end of the band enters a housing 17 formed on the other end 
of the band. 
FIG. 4 shows the general features of the meter lock 10 and, particularly, 
the manner in which one end of the band 15 is provided with a tongue 21 
which extends into the housing 17 formed on the other end. In the 
intermediate portion, one leg 26 of the band is provided with a notch 42 
and the other leg is similarly notched. The finger 36 associated with a 
tear tab portion of the band is located adjacent the notches. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show the manner in which the band 15 is formed of thin sheet 
metal and includes, at an immediate portion, a weakened tear tab 35 with 
the grasping finger 36 for bringing about a tearing of the tab and a 
separation of the loop. The tear tab includes a centrally-located aperture 
37 formed in the web of the band and two weakened tear lines 38 and 39 
extending at an angle to each other. These lines extend from the aperture 
to the notches 41 and 42, respectively, formed on the legs 25 and 26 of 
the band. The grasping finger 36 is integral with the band material 
between the tear lines and extends radially outwardly of the loop. 
FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 shows that the housing 17 is integrally formed in the end 
of the band 15. The housing is formed with an inner chamber 18 (FIG. 7) 
having a passage 19 leading into it. The tongue 21 is provided with 
apertures 22 and extends through the passage 19 into the chamber 18. A 
locking member 23 resides in the chamber 18 and has a series of fingers 33 
extending laterally for engagement with the apertures 22 in the tongue. 
The locking member 23 includes resilient means 24 for biasing the fingers 
33 toward the tongue to prevent retraction of the finger from the 
aperture. 
As has been stated, the band has a U-shaped cross-section with legs 25 and 
26 directed inwardly of the loop. The locking member 23 is in the form of 
a resilient metal clip 27 having two plate-like legs 28 and 29 which lie 
in spaced, parallel relationship and are joined at one end by a bight 31. 
This provides an opening at the other end lying adjacent the passage 19 in 
the housing to receive the tongue 21 between them. The bight of the 
locking members acts as the resilient means 24 to bias the legs toward one 
another to embrace the tongue. One of the legs is formed with a lip 32 
extending away from the other leg to assist entry of the tongue between 
the legs. Each of the legs 28 and 29 is provided with a series of integral 
fingers 33 and 34, respectively, which are inclined away from the passage 
entering the housing and are adapted to slide along the surface of the 
tongue as it passes between the legs, one of the fingers entering and 
residing in the apertures in the tongue. The housing 17 is provided with 
opposed integral pins 43 and 44 which lie in the bight 31 of the locking 
member to locate it in the housing and to give it a limited pivotal 
action. The housing 17 is formed with a bottom wall 45, two side walls 46 
and 47, an end wall 48 which carries the passage 19, and another end wall 
49 which is adjacent the pins 43 and 44. 
The operation and advantages of the present invention will now be readily 
understood in view of the above description. When it is desired to 
assemble the meter and the meter box, a power company employee places the 
flange 16 of the meter 11 against the corresponding flange on the front 
face of the meter box 12. This, of course, is done after all the wiring 
associated with the cable 13 and 14 has been completed. With the two 
flanges in juxtaposition, the band 15 is placed around the flanges with 
the end carrying the housing 17 located in the lower position. The band is 
tightened around the flanges and the tongue 21 is introduced into the 
passage 19 and into the interior chamber 18 of the housing 17. The tongue 
almost immediately enters the passage between the two legs 28 and 29 of 
the locking member 23 assisted by the lip 32. As the leading end of the 
tongue engages and cams along each of the pairs of fingers 33 and 34, it 
forces the plates apart against the resilient resistance of the bight 31. 
When the band has been completely tightened, the fingers 33 and 34 will 
remain in the apertures 22 in which they have fallen. It is then 
impossible to reverse the process without destroying the meter ring and 
rendering it no longer useful. If a vandal or thief wishes to gain access 
to the meter, he cannot do so without destroying the band and making his 
access evident. If an electric company employee desires to open the meter 
ring to remove the meter, etc., it is only necessary for him to grasp the 
finger 36 with a pair of pliers and pull it in the direction of the lines 
38 and 39. The material will tear, since the lines 38 and 39 have been 
weakened, usually by scoring. The ring is, therefore, totally destroyed 
and incapable of being reassembled. Obviously, any tampering with the 
meter will be evident and suitable action can be taken. 
It can be seen, then, that the present device is not only simple and 
rugged, but it consists of a few simple parts which are easily replaced if 
damaged. The band is inexpensive and expandable, so that it is 
economically feasible to throw it away after it has been removed from the 
meter and a new ring substituted in its place. 
It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction 
of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is 
not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein 
shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly 
come within the scope claimed.