Title of Invention

TAMPER PROOF METER BOX WITH PUSH FIT ARRANGEMENT AND ENCLOSED HINGES

Abstract

on one side of the box enclosed hinges are provided and other side is provided with female and male self locking arrangements. When the cover is closed and pressed on the base, the self locking male part gets pushed into the female portion and the cover gets locked onto the base. The box can not be opened except by means of force during which it will damage or break the locking system. The box cover will then become loose and openable. The damaged / broken locking studs will record the tampering. The enclosed hinges form part of meter box base & cover and are moulded as part and parcel of the base & cover. It does not require any fitting by screw /rivets or welding. Therefore, the Boxes are reusable but without push fit arrangement. U clamps for closing purposes are provided. Sealing provision is made. The box is not a total waste.

Full Text

FIELD OF INVENTION:- The Invention describes an improved Meter Box for Electrical Energy Meter (Kilowatt Hour Meters), Conventional Boxes are used for attaching lid/cover to the body of a box by hinges. The Box can be opened or closed by rotating the cover around the hinges. In this invention on one side of the Box enclosed hinges are provided and other side is provided with Female & Male self locking arrangements. When the cover is closed and pressed on the base the self locking male part gets pushed into the female portion & the cover gets locked onto the base. By this means the Box can not be opened except by means of force during which it will damage or break the locking system. The box cover will then become loose and openable. The damaged / broken locking studs will record the tampering. The enclosed hinges form part of Meter Box base & cover and are moulded as part and parcel of the base & cover. It does not require any fitting by screw /rivets or welding. Boxes are reusable but without push fit arrangement. U clamps for closing purposes are provided. Sealing provision is made. Box is not a total waste. PROBLEMS WITH PRIOR ART:- 1. Both attaching and detaching of cover/lid by means of conventional hinge is cumbersome and time consuming. 2. For conventional system, after long use of the hinge, the screw gets rusted and jammed. For replacement of the old hinge with a new one, the process is time consuming & cumbersome. 3. The conventional system involves fixing the panels of the hinge to the edge of the cover/lid and the edge of the base by means of screw/rivets or welding. 4. Existing arrangement of providing hinges on the box makes it vulnerable to opening of box & thereby tampering of the equipments inside. 5. In the existing arrangement the tampering of the box can not be detected as nothing gets broken or damaged. 6. The equipment inside is open for tampering. 7. In the existing arrangement the user is tempted to open the box as the same cannot be detected. The opening of the box does not leave any sign of tamper. 8. Since the box is openable it is open for pilferage. How this invention seeks to solve the problem The invention relates to providing Male and Female self locking studs / pillars inserts on one side of the base & cover of the box and on the other side an enclosed hinge is provided. This hinge forms part & parcel of the base & cover of the box and is moulded as an integral part. To describe the locking system refer to Exhibit No.I which shows a locking stud. It has two finger type locking male parts on both sides of the stud. These male parts are made of suitable materials to give flexibility that is it can be pressed slightly when pressed at the top of ocking surface. These are made in a design that when the pressure is released it comes back to its original position and gets locked in a female recess. One end of this locking stud is pushed in a built up lock fitting place provided in the cover -Exhibit 3 in one box -one or more such locking studs can be provided. In the exhibit -3 two such studs have been provided. These studs get locked when pushed into the lock fitting place and become rigid with the cover. The cover gets closed on the base. In another option, only one ended locking stud can be provided & the other part can form the integral part of the cover, that is, the cover and locking stud form one component only. In this case one end forms a part and parcel of the cover and the locking stud protrudes from the cover. To provide locking a female locking part is provided. The basic design is in Exhibit 2. In this it may be seen that female locking part consists of a hollow pipe type construction having hole from one end and a under cut is made in the hollow construction to provide female locking surface. In exhibit 3 shows locking studs are pushed in the locking place at two corners of the cover. In exhibit 4, female locking parts are provided at two places. Exhibit 5 - shows as to how the cover is moved on top of base and aligned as shown in exhibit 6. When pushed further from top the box gets locked up as shown in exhibit 7. To show the locking system a cross section of one locking system as shown in exhibit 8 is taken and a detailed push fit locking system section is shown in exhibit 9. The locking studs get locked at Point A and B and if pulled up forcibly, then the studs will get broken. Once the studs get broken, it, therefore, registers the tampering. The male locking stud can either be provided on cover or on base and similarly stud on either base or cover, as it may be convenient. The broken lock studs become evidence for tampering of the meter box. Having the locks broken the meter box becomes unusable as the cover cannot be pushed back on the base. The broken stud locks provide a clear indication of tampering of the meter box. The boxes are reusable but without push fit arrangement. U clamps for closing purposes are provided. Sealing provision is made. Box is not a total waste. Features to achieve existing problem solving The basic construction of tamper proof meter box with push fit arrangement, as explained above is simple and practical as shown in the exhibit 1 to 9. the fixing of the self push fit boxes does not require any screw, rivet or welding. The installation is easy and the invention is, therefore, much suitable and convenient for meter boxes for kilowatt hour meters or similar type of usages where detection of tampering is important. Statement of Invention There is an improved male & female self locking stud/pillar/insert arrangement on the base and cover of the meter box. Male or female studs /pillar/inserts can either be fixed on base or cover and which get locked when the cover is pressed on the base. The shape, size and configuration of the male female studs can vary. The female & male studs can be provided in single or multiple numbers depending on the size of the meter box. The male studs get locked in female part and the Meter Box gets closed. On pulling apart by force, the lock part gets broken. By this broken studs register the tampering. The cover simultaneously can rotate on one edge around hinges and lock at the other end. Boxes are reusable but without push n't arrangement. U clamps for closing purposes are provided. Sealing provision is made. Box is not a total waste. Claim A tamper proof Meter box with push fit arrangement for kilowatt hour meters Claim No.l The said tamper proof meter box comprises of a box with a base and cover / lid, The cover lid can rotate on hinges provided at one side of the tamper proof box and on the other side male and female studs are provided on base / cover at suitable places and suitable numbers, depending on size of the box. The cover for closing & locking is pressed on the base or pushed on the base. The male and female studs locked in the box and the box cannot be easily opened. If opened by force then the self locking studs get broken. The cover becomes unusable because of broken locks. With broken studs the tampering of the box is registered. 2. The Shape, size and configuration of the locking studs for push fit arrangement can be different and may vary in numbers. 3. An improved enclosed hinge provided on base & cover where no screw / rivets or welding is required. And the hinges are moulded along with base and cover as integral parts. 4. An improved push fit arrangement as claimed in 1 and 3 where the said locking arrangement is hidden inside the box. 5. An improved push fit arrangement as claimed 1 and 4 above which discourages the tampering because of its locking studs design which get broken during tampering. 6. An improved design, as claimed in 1 and 5 above, ensures that the boxes are reusable with U clamps and sealing arrangement, but without push fit arrangement. 7. An improved U clamps arrangement, as claimed in 1 and 6 above, is provided for closing purposes with sealing arrangement. 8. An improved Sealing arrangement, as claimed in 1 and 7, is provided. 9. An improved design, as claimed in 1 and 8 above, ensures that the box is not a total waste. 10. An improved design, as claimed in 1 and 9 above, can be used not only for Kilo Watt Hour meter but also for other electrical accessory and fitting like copper/aluminium bus bar/distribution systems, circuit breaker, MCCM's, isolators, switching system, latching relays, contactors/GSM-CDMA modem, control systems, PLCC and similar other equipments. 11. An improved push fit arrangement as claimed in 1 to 11 above as claimed in any of the preceding claims. 12. An improved push fit arrangement and enclosed hinge for Meter Box substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing & claims above.

Documents:

1183-del-2006-abstract.pdf

1183-del-2006-claims.pdf

1183-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

1183-del-2006-correspondence-po.pdf

1183-del-2006-description (complete).pdf

1183-del-2006-drawings.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-1.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-18.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-2.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-3.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-5.pdf

1183-del-2006-form-9.pdf