Abstract:
A round wall-mounted housing is disclosed for use with freezeless wall hydrants. The present invention provides a housing of a round configuration. The round configuration allows for easy installation of the round wall hydrant housing in existing panels or walls. To install, an access hole may be drilled into the desired wall or wall panel without the need for chiseling or chipping. The present invention also provides a cover that can remain in an upright, open position. The cover pivots on a pin connection securing it to the housing. The cover has guides with extended slots that allow the cover to swing to and then lock in an open position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to wall hydrants and, more particularly, to wall-mounted enclosure boxes used with wall hydrants.  
           [0002]    Conventional wall hydrant housings or boxes are often of a square or rectangular configuration, but some have an arcuate configuration. Whether round or rectangular, the mounting hole in a concrete wall must be chiseled to form an opening to fit the hydrant housing. Not only is this labor and time intensive, but such a process often results in an imperfect opening without clean, sharp edges.  
           [0003]    In addition, the door or cover to a conventional wall hydrant housing oftentimes will not by itself remain in the upright, open position when the hydrant is in use. As such, access to the hydrant inside the housing is frustrated by the tendency of the cover to move to a closed position unless manually held in an open position.  
           [0004]    It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a wall hydrant housing that can be easily installed into an existing wall.  
           [0005]    A further object of this invention is to provide a wall hydrant housing that can be installed without the need for chiseling or chipping of the mounting wall.  
           [0006]    Still a further object of this invention is to provide a wall hydrant housing with a cover that does not hamper access to the hydrant inside.  
           [0007]    These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is directed towards round wall-mounted housings for use with freezeless wall hydrants.  
           [0009]    The present invention utilizes a housing of a round configuration. The round configuration allows for easy installation of the round wall hydrant housing in existing panels or walls. To install, an access hole is drilled into the desired wall or wall panel without the need for chiseling or chipping.  
           [0010]    The present invention also utilizes a cover that can remain by itself in an open position when the hydrant is operated. The cover pivots on a pin connection securing it to the housing. The cover has guides with extended slots that allow the cover to swing to and then lock in an open position.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the present invention with the cover installed;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof, as seen from the right-hand side of FIG. 2;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof opposite to FIG. 3;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a top plan view thereof;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view thereof;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view thereof;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is a frontal perspective view of the present invention with the cover removed;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 9 is a partial elevational view of the cover attachment shoulder inside the housing;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view through the housing with the cover shown in the open and locked position;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 9 but with the cover shown in the open and unlocked position;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 but with the cover shown in an intermittent position between being open or closed;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 but with the cover shown in the closed position;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a tilt-up wall assembly adapted for use with the present invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a poured concrete wall adapted for use with the present invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a concrete wall prior to being drilled for use with the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 17 is the side view of FIG. 16 adapted for use with the present invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17 but with the hydrant housing properly installed in the wall;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 19 is a front elevational view similar to the invention of FIG. 2 as installed in a concrete wall; and  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 20 is a rear elevational view of the housing opposite to FIG. 19 as installed in a concrete wall. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]    With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the numeral  10  designates a housing assembly  10  including a housing  12 , having a flat front surface  14 , a side surface  16 , a flat top surface  18 , and a rear surface  20 . The front surface  14  is larger in diameter than the rear surface  20 , and is the outer surface of flange  22  located around the front of housing interior  23  (FIG. 8). As also shown in FIG. 8, housing interior  23  has an interior side surface  24 , an interior top surface  26 , and an interior rear surface  28 . Housing  12  also has opposite shoulders  30  each having a pin bore  32 . Two cover stops  34  protrude from the interior side surface  24  of the housing  12  (FIG. 8). A lock bore  36  is located towards the bottom of interior side surface  24  to receive a conventional lock unit (not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, rear surface  20  of housing  12  has a rectangular-shaped opening  38 . Lugs  40  reside on opposite sides of rear opening  38 , and hydrant mounting holes  42  are located above and below rear opening  38 .  
         [0032]    Housing  12  is of a cast construction and may be made of any metal or alloy. In the preferred embodiment, housing  12  is made of cast aluminum. All of the features described above are integrated into the casting. Pin bores  32  may be drilled to achieve a specific tolerance, and lock bore  36 , lugs  40  and mounting holes  42  may be tapped to achieve specific threads.  
         [0033]    With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the housing assembly  10  also includes a cover  44 . Cover  44  may include a domed portion  46 , which helps to accommodate certain models of hydrants. Alternatively, cover  44  may be flat, without domed portion  46 , depending upon the specific hydrant used. Cover  44  has a lock bore  48  positioned to be in alignment with lock bore  36  on housing  12  when the cover  44  is affixed to the housing  12 . Cover  44  also includes a flat hinge portion  50 . As shown in FIGS. 10-13, hinge portion  50  has a side surface  52  with a slot  54 .  
         [0034]    Cover  44  is of a cast construction and may be made of any metal or alloy. To prevent potential galvanic corrosion, cover  44  should be made of the same material as the housing  12 . In the preferred embodiment, cover  44  is made of cast aluminum. All of the features described above are integrated into the casting. Slot  54  may be milled to achieve a specific tolerance.  
         [0035]    Cover  44  attaches to housing  12  and is retained by pins  56 . As shown in FIG. 9, pins  56  extend through pin bores  32  on housing  12 . Pins  56  also extend through slot  54  of cover  44  (FIGS. 10-13). In FIG. 10, cover  44  is locked in the upright or open position. Specifically, the hinge portion  50  of cover  44  cantilevers about pin  56  and pushes against interior top surface  26  of housing  12 . To close the cover  44 , the cover  44  must first be pulled away from housing  12 , as shown in FIG. 11. Pulling the cover  44  away from the housing  12  causes the slot  54  of cover  44  to slide with respect to the pin  56 . When the cover  44  is fully retracted from the housing  12 , it will pivot about pin  56 , as shown in FIG. 12. Interior top surface  26  is contoured such that the hinge portion  50  of cover  44  can freely pivot without interfering with the housing  12 . Cover  44  can then pivot about pin  56  until reaching the closed position, as shown in FIG. 13. Cover  44  will press against cover stops  34  inside the housing  12  when the cover  44  is in the closed position. A locking device (not shown) can then be inserted into lock bore  48  of cover  44  to engage with lock bore  36  of housing  12  to lock cover  44  in the closed position. Locking may be necessary to prevent unauthorized access to the hydrant mounted inside the housing assembly  10 .  
         [0036]    Housing assembly  10  can be used with tilt-up concrete wall construction, as shown in FIG. 14. In tilt-up construction, a pre-cast concrete panel  58  is inserted into a groove  60  in concrete base  62 . A cable  64  is secured to panel  58  and is used to raise panel  58  into position. After all panels  58  are raised, a cap (not shown) is secured to the top ends of the raised panels. A hole  66  is drilled into concrete panel  58  to allow for installation of the housing assembly  10 . Hole  66  typically is placed a specific height from the ground. As such, hole  66  can be drilled prior to the panel being installed or into an existing panel already installed. Housing assembly  10  may also be used with poured concrete walls, as shown in FIG. 15. Poured concrete wall  68  may be drilled to form hole  70 , which accommodates the housing assembly  10 .  
         [0037]    In either types of construction, the housing assembly  10  can be easily installed with a single drilling operation. As shown in FIGS. 16-18, drill  72  can be used to drill concrete wall  74  to create mounting hole  76 . Mounting hole  76  is slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of rear surface  20  of housing  12 , but smaller than the diameter of flange  22  of housing  12 . Because the housing assembly  10  is of a round configuration, the wall  74  only needs to be drilled to accommodate the housing assembly  10 . Unlike the prior art, no chiseling or chipping is required as there are no sharp corners to be made. After the hole  76  has been drilled in wall  74  (or the holes  66  in panels  58 ), the housing assembly  10  is inserted inside hole  76  such that the flange  22  is flush against the wall  74 , as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. With reference to FIG. 20, securing plates  78  may be attached to the rear surface  20  of the housing  12  such that the housing assembly  10  is securely mounted within wall  74 . Securing plates  78  are of a length substantially larger than the diameter of hole  76 . Threaded rods  80  screw into the mounting holes  42  in the rear surface  20  of housing  12 . Securing plates  78  have centrally located holes  82  that are sized to fit over threaded rods  80 . Nuts  84  secure to the ends of threaded rods  80  to tighten the securing plates  78  against wall  74 .  
         [0038]    Once installed into a wall, a hydrant  86  (FIG. 20) can then be mounted inside the housing assembly  10 . Specifically, the hydrant  86  is inserted through the front of the housing assembly  10  such that the hydrant mounts against the interior rear surface  28  of the housing  12 . The hydrant  86  is secured to the housing assembly  10  through attachment to lugs  40 , which may be tapped to facilitate bolts. The plumbing (not shown) associated with the hydrant  86  extends out the rear side  20  of the housing assembly  10  through rear opening  38 .  
         [0039]    Whereas the invention has been shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended broad scope of the following claims. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of the stated objectives.