Improvements in and connected with Locking Devices for Street and other Boxes for Covering or Containing the Valves for Water and other Service Pipes.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th May, 1893-Accepted, 8th July, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Locking Devices for Street
and other Boxes for Covering or Containing the Valves for
Water and other Service Pipes.
We, REUBEN THOMAS PRESTON of the firm of J. Stone & Co., of Deptford,
in the County of Kent, Engineers and HENRY FILLMER RUTTER of No. 55
Westcroft Square, Hammersmith in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention refers to street and other similar boxes for covering or containing
The tops or
valves for the supply of water or other fluid to houses and the like.
covers of these boxes are generally made flush with the pavement or road and as
usually constructed the said covers are secured by a sort of bayonet joint being
turned and locked or unlocked by a small T key. As however children and other
persons have discovered that the cover is easily removed by the mere insertion of a
piece of wood or other article in the key slot in the same the covers are often
unlocked and removed. In order to prevent the unlocking and removing of these
covers by unauthorized persons we provide a cover with a frame underneath in
which is loosely mounted a ring-shaped piece having an outwardly projecting
locking lug. This locking piece is provided with grooves, notches or otherwise in
such manner that a key may be inserted through a hole in the top of the cover and
take into such notches below and thus serve to turn the locking piece round a
quarter of a turn or more which secures it under a shoulder which goes part of the
way round the interior of the box. In order to prevent the cover itself from being
turned round it is provided with a lug on its periphery below the top which lug
takes into a vertical groove in the interior of the box.
Dated this 17th der of Avgust 1892.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Looking Devices for Street
and other Boxes for Covering or Containing the Valves for
Water and other Service Pipes.
We REUBEN THOMAS PRESTON of the firm of J. Stone & Co. of Deptford, in
the County of Kent Engineers, and HENRY FILLMER RUTTER of No. 55
Westcroft Square, Hammersmith, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
Our invention refers to street and other similar boxes for covering or containing
valves for the supply of water or other fluid to houses and the like. The tops or
covers of these boxes are generally made flush with the pavement or road and as
usually constructed the said covers are secured by a sort of bayonet joint, being
turned and locked or unlocked by a small T key.
As however children and other persons have discovered that the cover is easily
removed by the mere insertion of a piece of wood or other article in the key slot in
same the covers are often unlocked and removed.
In order to prevent the unlocking and removing of these covers by unauthorized
persons we provide the cover with a frame underneath in which is loosely mounted
ΓΟ

page_text: a ring-shaped piece having an outwardly projecting locking lug. This locking
piece is provided with grooves, notches or otherwise in such manner that a key
may be inserted through a hole in the top of the cover and take into such notches
below and thus serve to turn the locking piece round a quarter of a turn or more
which secures it under a shoulder which goes part of the way round the interior of
the box. In order to prevent the cover itself from being turned round it is
provided with a lug on its periphery below the top which lug takes into a vertical
groove in the interior of the box.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing is a vertical section through a box with
cover provided with locking appliance, Figure 2 is a plan view, Figure 3 a section
on line A-B Figure 1 shewing the cover in the unlocked position and Figure 4
a similar view of cover in the locked position.
Figure 5 is a side view of the key and Figure 6 plan of underside of same.
The cover A rests with its upper flange upon the inner flange or shoulder B¹ of
the box B and has a feather A¹ which passes through a slot in the flange B₁ to
keep it from turning. The cover has a socket-shaped frame A' underneath in
which is loosely mounted a ring-shaped locking piece C having an outwardly
projecting locking lug C. It may also on its upper face have a projecting lug C
which when it is entered through a corresponding slot A' in the frame A and the
said slot plugged up as shewn in dotted section lines the locking piece C is kept
from dropping out.
The locking piece C has notches C³ for the flat end D¹ of the key D to enter and
engage with for turning it round, say about a quarter of a turn (the cover A having
a hole A³ for the said end D¹ to pass through) and thus securing it under the
flange or shoulder B' inside the box. No one will thus unless provided with the
key, be able to tamper with or unlock the cover.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A cover for street and other boxes having a frame or equivalent parts for
receiving a locking piece provided with a projection or tongue which by means of a
special key entered through a hole in the cover can be turned in under a shoulder
formed in the box so that the cover cannot be tampered with or abstracted
substantially as set forth.
2. The construction of cover locking piece and box described with reference to
the drawing.
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