Patent ID: 6899240

Claim:
A subgrade vault for providing an enclosed region to house utility connections, said vault comprising: a body having a peripheral wall with an upper end and a lower end, an upturned skirt around the lower end extending peripherally around the body; a plurality of buttresses interconnecting the peripheral wall to the skirt; an upwardly-facing rim extending around the upper end; a seat in said region depending from said rim, said seat comprising a re-entrant wall from said rim and an inwardly-extending flange, and a plurality of buttresses interconnecting said re-entrant wall and the inside of said peripheral wall; and a lid for closing said upper end, said lid comprising a top plate with an upper surface, and a plug depending from the lower surface of said top plate whereby to form an overhanging shoulder; said lid and body being formed of a moldable organic plastic material, said lid fitting in said seat with its shoulder bearing on the rim; locking means for releasably holding said lid to said body, said locking means comprising a lip on said flange, a fastener with a head, a shank and a thread on said shank, said shank being passed through an opening in said lid with its head against the lid; a U shaped clip with two arms pressed onto said lip with the said arms on opposite sides of it, aligned with said fastener, said clip being made of metal and forming a thread adapted to engage the thread on the fastener, thereby to hold the lid to the body.