Method and Apparatus for Securing a Watthour Meter Box

Abstract

A locking bracket and a lock housing wherein the locking bracket generally comprises a clamping member and a fastening lever that attaches to a wall of a meter box base. The lock housing generally comprises a unitary member with a perpendicular flange. The meter box lid is secured to the meter box base when the locking bracket is secured to the side wall and used in combination with the lock housing and a locking shaft.

1 . An apparatus for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box being defined by a plurality of side walls, said apparatus comprising:
 a clamping member attachable to one of said plurality of side walls;   a fastening lever;   a pivotal connection between said clamping member and said fastening lever, said pivotal connection comprising an axis of rotation extending through said pivotal connection, said axis of rotation extending into at least one of said box cover or said one of said plurality of side walls when said box cover is secured to said meter box.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a portion of said fastening lever member adapted to bear against said one of said plurality of side walls of said meter box. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said portion of said fastening lever member adapted to bear against said one of said plurality of side walls of said meter box comprises a planar surface. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said planar surface is rotatable with respect to said one of said plurality of side walls. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said portion of said fastening lever member adapted to bear against said one of said plurality of side walls of said meter box is arcuate. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising a resilient compression member secured to said portion of said fastening lever member adapted to bear against said one of said plurality of side walls. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a biasing member secured to at least one of said clamping member or said fastening lever. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said clamping member comprises a first planar surface and said fastening lever comprises a second planar surface, said pivotal connection pivotally interconnecting said first planar surface to said second planar surface. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a lever end, said lever end surface being pivotally moveable between a mounting and a locked position without entering into an interior of said meter box. 
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said lever end is in functional cooperation with a portion of a lock housing mounted to a portion of the clamping member such that said lock prevents rotation of said lever to an open position. 
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said lever end is in functional cooperation with a portion of a meter box lid such that said lid prevents rotation of said lever to an open position. 
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said lever end being at least partially outside the interior of the meter box in a mounting position and at least partially inside the interior of the meter box in a locked position. 
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising said meter box. 
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising said a locking structure adapted for functional cooperation with said clamping member for securing a meter box lid to a meter box base. 
   
   
       15 . An apparatus for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box being defined by a plurality of side walls, said apparatus comprising:
 a clamping member attachable to one of said plurality of side walls;   a fastening lever with a planar engagement surface adapted to bear against said one of said plurality of side walls of said meter box; and   a pivotal connection between said clamping member and said fastening lever whereby said planar engagement surface rotates with respect to said one of said plurality of side walls.   
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising a compression member secured to said planar engagement surface. 
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising a biasing member secured to at least one of said clamping member or said fastening lever. 
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising an axis of rotation extending through said pivotal connection, said axis of rotation extending into said one of said plurality of side walls. 
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein said axis of rotation being at least approximately orthogonal to said one of said plurality of side walls. 
   
   
       20 . An apparatus for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box being defined by a plurality of side walls, said apparatus comprising:
 a clamping member attachable to one of said plurality of side walls, said clamping member comprising a first planar surface;   a fastening lever comprising a lever end, a second planar surface secured to said lever end, and a wall engagement surface secured to said second planar surface; and   a pivotal connection between said first planar surface and said second planar surface, said clamping member and said fastening lever being pivotally connected together for relative movement between a mounting position and a locked position in response to force applied to said lever end, and being configured such that in said locked position, said wall engagement surface engages said one of said plurality of side walls.   
   
   
       21 . The apparatus in  claim 20 , said pivotal connection comprising an axis of rotation extending through said pivotal connection, said axis of rotation extending into at least one of said box cover or said one of said plurality of side walls when said box cover is secured to said meter box. 
   
   
       22 . A locking device for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box comprising a side wall, comprising:
 a lock housing member;   a flange disposed on said lock housing member adapted to secure said box cover to said meter box;   a latch assembly adapted to affix to said side wall of said meter box, said latch assembly comprising a bracket member and a lever member, a first bracket portion disposed on said bracket member adapted to pivotably carry said lever member allowing rotational motion of said lever member about an axis located generally perpendicular to a planar face of said first bracket portion, a second bracket portion disposed on said bracket member, a third bracket portion disposed on said bracket member adapted to be received by and affixed to said lock housing member, a portion of said lever member adapted to bear against said side wall of said meter box thus trapping said side wall between said second bracket portion and said portion of said lever member adapted to bear against said side wall of said meter box.   
   
   
       23 . A locking device for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box comprising a side wall, comprising:
 a bracket mountable to said side wall; and   latching member for securing said bracket to the wall of the meter box without having to reach into the interior of the box.   
   
   
       24 . The locking device of  claim 23 , wherein said latching member is substantially manipulable without needing to place any portion of one's hand or an object into the interior of the meter box. 
   
   
       25 . A method for securing a lid to a watthour meter box having an interior defined by at least one wall, said at least one wall comprising a flange extending inwardly to said at least one wall such that a lower side of said flange faces away from said lid when said lid is secured to said watthour meter box, said method comprising:
 attaching a locking bracket to said at least one wall such that at least a portion of said locking assembly engages said lower side of said flange;   installing the lid over at least a portion of the locking bracket; and   and securing a locking housing to the locking bracket to prevent removal of the lid.   
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the step of attaching further comprises moving a lever such that said moving is performed from a position substantially outside the interior of the watthour meter box. 
   
   
       27 . An apparatus for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box being defined by at least one side wall, said apparatus comprising:
 a clamping member attachable to said at least one side wall;   a fastening lever; and   and a resilient compression member carried by said fastening lever, said resilient compression member being adapted to bear against said at least one side wall.   
   
   
       28 . A method for manufacturing an apparatus for securing a box cover to a meter box, said meter box being defined by a plurality of side walls, said apparatus comprising:
 providing a clamping member attachable to one of said plurality of side walls;   selectively securing a fastening lever to said clamping member in at least one of two different design configurations, said first design configuration requiring that said fastening lever is mounted for rotation in a first rotational direction to fasten said clamping member to said one of said plurality of side walls, and said second design configuration requiring that said fastening lever is mounted for rotation in a second rotational direction to fasten said clamping member to said one of said plurality of side walls.   
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein said first rotational direction is opposite to said second rotational direction.