Pick hole guard for manhole covers

Abstract

Pick hole guards are provided for use in guarding pick holes on manhole covers. In some embodiments of the present invention, the pick hole guards can have a base, biasing member, and guard member. The biasing member can be attached to the base and guard member, and can bias the guard member toward a pick hole on the manhole cover to guard the pick hole. In other embodiments, the pick hole guards do not have movable guard members, but instead have retaining surfaces to serve as a receptacle for catching waste disposed through a pick hole.

1 . A manhole cover having a pick hole guard coupled to a bottom surface of the manhole cover, the pick hole guard comprising:
 a movable guard member; and   a base, wherein there is a biasing member attached to the base and attached to the movable guard member for biasing the movable guard member toward a pick hole of the manhole cover.   
   
   
       2 . The manhole cover of  claim 1  wherein the base comprises a curved holder. 
   
   
       3 . The manhole cover of  claim 2  wherein the biasing member is a torsion spring having an axis about which the torsion spring is wound, with the axis being disposed within the curved holder. 
   
   
       4 . The manhole cover of  claim 1  wherein the movable guard member has a protruding portion that can extend into the pick hole when the movable guard member is positioned proximate the pick hole. 
   
   
       5 . The manhole cover of  claim 1  wherein a plurality of pivot members are formed on the movable guard member, and wherein the pivot members rest on a surface of the base with a bottom surface of the manhole cover being disposed directly above the pivot members, the movable guard member being pivotable about an axis of the pivot members. 
   
   
       6 . The manhole cover of  claim 1  wherein the base comprises an aperture alignable with the pick hole. 
   
   
       7 . The manhole cover of  claim 1  wherein the movable guard member is formed with a plurality of inwardly extending pivot members that are each positionable within a downwardly dipping edge section of the base. 
   
   
       8 . A pick hole guard assembly comprising:
 a movable guard member;   a base;   a biasing member attached to the base and the movable guard member for biasing the movable guard member toward a pick hole on a manhole cover; and   a push rod insertable in the pick hole to press against a surface of the movable guard member to overcome a biasing force of the biasing member.   
   
   
       9 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 8  wherein the movable guard member has a surface positioned below the base when the base is coupled to the manhole cover, and wherein when the movable guard member is biased toward the pick hole, the movable guard member can abut against a downwardly facing surface of the base. 
   
   
       10 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 8  wherein the biasing member is a torsion spring having an arm portion extending forward from a rear section of the base toward a front section of the base. 
   
   
       11 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 8  wherein the base comprises a holder for retaining the biasing member and wherein the holder has a retaining gap formed on an edge of wall of the holder through which an end portion of the biasing member can extend to retain the biasing member in the holder. 
   
   
       12 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 8  wherein the movable guard member has at least one pivot member extending inward from each side of the movable guard member, the movable guard member being pivotable about an axis extending through the pivot members. 
   
   
       13 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 12  wherein each of the pivot members rests in a downwardly dipping edge section of the base. 
   
   
       14 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 8  wherein the push rod has an internal chamber extending through the length of the push rod with an opening on each end portion of the push rod. 
   
   
       15 . The pick hole guard assembly of  claim 14  wherein the push rod has a stop surface to prevent the push rod from being inserted past a location on the push rod. 
   
   
       16 . A method of guarding and accessing a pick hole for a manhole cover, the method comprising:
 applying a force against a guard member to bias the guard member toward a pick hole in a manhole cover; and   overcoming the force by exerting pressure against the guard member.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein applying a force against the guard member comprises pressing against the guard member with an arm of a torsion spring, with the torsion spring being attached to a base that is coupled to the manhole cover. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the base includes an aperture aligned with the pick hole, and wherein the guard member comprises a protruding member alignable with the aperture when the guard member is biased toward the pick hole. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 16  wherein when the guard member is biased toward the pick hole, the guard member can abut against a downward facing surface of a base, with a plug portion of the guard member extending through an aperture of the base. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16  wherein overcoming the force by exerting pressure against the guard member comprises pushing the end of a rod through the pick hole against a surface of the guard member to push the guard member away from the pick hole, wherein the rod comprises a hollow internal chamber. 
   
   
       21 . A manhole cover assembly comprising:
 a manhole cover having a plurality of pick holes; and   a receptacle having vent gaps, the receptacle being coupled to the manhole cover and positioned beneath a pick hole of the manhole cover, the receptacle also having at least one retaining surface spaced-apart from the pick hole with a vent gap on the retaining surface.