Emergency gas and electricity shutoff apparatus and control system

Abstract

A gas meter installation including gas supply plumbing and point of use plumbing will have a gas meter therebetween. A valve can be installed with the gas meter for shutting off the flow of gas to the point of use. This valve is preferably a gate valve mounted with the a gas meter, and can be retrofitted into existing installations, or installed with the new plumbing installation. The valve can be shut off by remote activation for example due to a seismic sensor causing a controller to send a signal to activate the valve. The control can also interact with electricity shut off apparatus, automatic meter reading apparatus and point of use security systems.

1 . A gas meter and valve installation comprising:
 gas supply plumbing for supplying gas to a point of use;   point of use plumbing for receiving gas from said gas supply plumbing;   a gas meter having a gas inlet connected to said gas supply plumbing and a gas outlet connected to said point of use plumbing for metering the quantity of gas used at said point of use such that a gas supply passage is established through said gas supply plumbing, said gas meter and said point of use plumbing; and   a gas flow shutoff valve positioned along said gas supply passage outside of said gas meter comprising a valve member movable between an open position in which said gas supply passage is open, allowing gas to flow through said gas meter and into said point of use plumbing, and a closed position in which said gas supply passage is substantially closed so that substantially no gas is allowed to flow into said point of use plumbing.   
   
   
       2 - 4 . (canceled) 
   
   
       5 . A method of installing a gas meter with a shut-off valve with gas supply plumbing for supplying gas to a point of use and point of use plumbing for receiving gas from the gas supply plumbing, comprising:
 connecting a gas inlet of a gas meter to the gas supply plumbing;   connecting a gas outlet of the gas meter to the point of use plumbing, whereby the gas meter can meter the quantity of gas used at the point of use, such that a gas supply passage is established through the gas supply plumbing, the gas meter and the point of use plumbing; and   positioning a gas flow shutoff valve along the gas supply passage outside of the gas meter, the meter comprising a valve member movable between an open position in which the gas supply passage is open, allowing gas to flow through the gas meter and into the point of use plumbing, and a closed position in which the gas supply passage is substantially closed so that substantially no gas is allowed to flow into the point of use plumbing.   
   
   
       6 - 8 . (canceled) 
   
   
       9 . A gas flow control system, comprising:
 a gas passage including gas supply plumbing for supplying gas to a point of use and point of use plumbing for receiving gas from said gas supply plumbing;   a gas flow shutoff valve positioned between said gas supply plumbing and said point of use plumbing, said gas flow shutoff valve being capable of closing in response to a gas flow shutoff signal;   a controller remote from said gas flow shutoff valve capable of generating the gas flow shutoff signal; and   a communication link between said controller and said gas flow shutoff valve for sending the gas flow shutoff signal to said gas flow shutoff valve.   
   
   
       10 - 27 . (canceled) 
   
   
       28 . A method of retrofitting a gas shutoff valve with a gas meter installation between gas supply plumbing and point of use plumbing, comprising:
 disconnecting a gas meter from a pipe that connects to a service tee of the point of use plumbing;   removing the pipe that connects to the service tee from the service tee; and   connecting a gas flow shutoff valve and a shorter pipe than the pipe that connected to the service tee between the gas meter and the service tee.   
   
   
       29 - 30 . (canceled) 
   
   
       31 . A method of fitting a gas shutoff valve with a gas meter installation between gas supply plumbing and point of use plumbing, comprising:
 providing a gas flow shutoff valve having a union nut on one of an inlet side and an outlet side thereof and a thread portion for connection to a union nut on the other of the inlet side and the outlet side thereof,   connecting the union nut to a gas meter fitting having corresponding threads thereon on one of an inlet side and an outlet side of the gas meter;   connecting the thread portion of the gas flow shutoff valve to one of the gas supply plumbing and the point of use plumbing; and   connecting the other of inlet side and the outlet side of the gas meter to the other of the gas supply plumbing and the point of use plumbing.   
   
   
       32 . (canceled) 
   
   
       33 . A valve, comprising:
 a housing having a gas inlet, a gas outlet and a gas passage therebetween;   a gate mounted in said housing so as to be movable in a direction across the gas passage between open and closed positions, said gate including a first portion having an opening therein that is positioned across said gas passage in said open position and a second portion that is positioned across said gas passage in said closed position;   an upstream seat mounted in said housing upstream of said gate, said upstream seat surrounding said gas passage and contacting said gate so as to form a seal between said housing and said gate on an upstream side of said gate; and   a downstream seat mounted in said housing downstream of said gate, said downstream seat surrounding said gas passage and contacting said gate so as to form a seal between said housing and said gate on a downstream side of said gate.   
   
   
       34 - 35 . (canceled) 
   
   
       36 . A fitting adapter for adapting a valve to fit with a standard union nut, said fitting adapter comprising an adapter body having a first end formed with external threads that are sized and adapted to engage with internal threads of the standard union nut and a second end that has internal threads that are sized and adapted to engage with external threads of a valve inlet or outlet connection of the valve. 
   
   
       37 . (canceled) 
   
   
       38 . A fitting adapter for adapting a valve to fit with a standard union nut, said fitting adapter comprising an adapter body having a first end formed with external threads that are sized and adapted to engage with internal threads of the standard union nut and a second end that has external threads that are sized and adapted to engage with internal threads of a valve inlet or outlet connection of the valve. 
   
   
       39 . (canceled) 
   
   
       40 . A valve comprising:
 a housing having a gas inlet, a gas outlet and a gas passage therebetween;   a gate mounted in said housing so as to be movable in a direction across the gas passage between open and closed positions, said gate including a first portion having an opening therein that is positioned across said gas passage in said open position and a second portion that is positioned across said gas passage in said closed position;   a spring positioned so as to bias said gate toward said closed position; and   a release pin movable between one position in which said release pin prevents said spring from moving said gate toward said closed position and another position in which said release pin releases said spring and said gate so that said gate moves to said closed position under the biasing force of said spring.   
   
   
       41 - 61 . (canceled) 
   
   
       62 . A valve comprising:
 a housing having a gas inlet, a gas outlet and a gas passage therebetween;   a gate mounted in said housing so as to be movable in a direction across the gas passage between open and closed positions, said gate including a first portion having an opening therein that is positioned across said gas passage in said open position and a second portion that is positioned across said gas passage in said closed position;   a magnet mounted with said gate; and   a solenoid actuator for moving said magnet so that said gate is movable between said open and closed positions.   
   
   
       63 - 68 . (canceled) 
   
   
       69 . An electricity shut-off arrangement, comprising:
 an electric meter box mounting an electric meter;   a circuit breaker on said electric meter box for shutting off electricity;   a pull chain on said circuit breaker; and   a shut-off device connected with said pull chain for actuating said circuit breaker by pulling said pull chain, said shut-off device having a communication link for communicating with a remote controller for activating said shut-off device.   
   
   
       70 . (canceled) 
   
   
       71 . An electricity shut-off arrangement, comprising:
 a spring-loaded rotatable arm having a detention portion thereon;   a pull chain of a circuit breaker connected to another portion of said spring loaded arm; and   a release member movable between a detention position in which said release member engages said detention portion of said spring-loaded rotatable arm to detain said spring-loaded rotatable arm in a spring-loaded position and a release position in which said release member releases said detention portion so that said spring-loaded rotatable arm can rotate and pull said pull chain.   
   
   
       72 - 75 . (canceled) 
   
   
       76 . An electric interface device for placement between an electric meter and a meter box, said electric interface device comprising:
 a pair of interface plugs for connection to receptacles of a meter box;   a pair of interface receptacles for connection to a pair of electric meter plugs, wherein said pair of interface plugs are electrically connected with said pair of interface receptacles, respectively; and   an electricity shut-off for shutting off the electrical connection between at least one of said pair of interface plugs with a respective one of said pair of interface receptacles.   
   
   
       77 - 80 . (canceled) 
   
   
       81 . An electric interface shut-off arrangement comprising:
 a meter box having a pair of receptacles;   an electric meter having a pair of electric meter plugs;   an interface between said meter box and said electric meter comprising:
 a pair of interface plugs connected to said receptacles of said meter box; 
 a pair of interface receptacles connected to said pair of electric meter plugs, wherein said pair of interface plugs are electrically connected with said pair of interface receptacles, respectively; and 
   an electricity shut-off for shutting off the electrical connection between at least one of said pair of interface plugs with a respective one of said pair of interface receptacles.   
   
   
       82 - 85 . (canceled) 
   
   
       86 . An electric interface arrangement, comprising:
 a meter box;   an electric meter for connection to said meter box;   an interface disposed between said meter box and said electric meter, said interface comprising an electric power supply for supplying electric power therefrom.