AU2008202163A1

AU2008202163A1 - Meter box support

Info

Publication number: AU2008202163A1
Application number: AU2008202163A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Darren James Coghlan; Neil Franks
Original assignee: DNN Pty Ltd
Current assignee: DNN PTY Ltd
Priority date: 2007-05-15
Filing date: 2008-05-15
Publication date: 2008-12-04

Description

0 00 -1I-

TITLE:

METER BOX SUPPORT FIELD OF THE INVENTION Ths invention concerns supports for meter boxes during the construction of a building.

~)Sandercock Cowie 2OO-O5-O6,H:\Specirications\dai comp.wpd, I 0 I 00 -2- O BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tradespeople such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters require electricity for the operation of power tools during the construction once the slab is poured and cured.

\0 The sooner power is available, the sooner the frame can be constructed and the roof put 0 on. Delays are common in that the electricity provider will not connect the site to power N until a box for housing the meter and a safe connection to a power socket can be made in the meter box. The ideal situation is for the meter box to be connectable as soon as the slab is cured so that the bottom plates of the frame can be anchored to the slab and framing can proceed. This in turn allows other tradesmen to begin work without delay.

In practice this is rarely achievable because the meter box mount is prone to displacement and damage by the site activity which precedes the casting of the slab notably the erection of the boxing for the slab.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus aspect of the invention provides a meter box support for supporting a meter box during and after construction of a building comprising a post and rail capable of supporting a meter box case, and removable post bracing means for attachment to the ground, wherein the post defines a pathway for the cables from the ground to the height of the case.

Sandercock Cowie 2008-05-06.H:\Specifcations\dnncomp.wpd,2 00 -3- The post may comprise a conduit which defines the pathway for the cables from the cground to the height of the case.

The support is a galvanised steel tube which projects through the edge margin of the slab \O 5 bringing the cables from below ground to a height about 1 2 00mm above the slab in order to reach the connectors for the building supply circuits.

00 SThe post may in turn be supported by a stake. The stake may be pointed to assist sinking.

The post may comprise a tube which is a slide fit over the stake. The stake may be a tube of smaller diameter than the post. Alternatively the stake may be a rod, angle or star picket.

The post may comprise a spine piece adapted for fastening to the conduit and the rail.

The spine piece may comprise a tube, angle iron piece, concave section piece or other variant, the aim being to clamp the conduit to the spine piece with fasteners, for example U-bolts.

The rail may comprise a bracket. The rail may be of channel section or angle section or flat bar with fastening sites at 90° for attachment to the bracing means. The bracing means may comprise a pair of stays, with respective feet. The bracing means may be a pair of tubes or angle iron pieces each welded to a foot. Each foot may be inclined so as to lie flat on the ground allowing the brace to be inclined at 45-600. Thus, each stay may be inclined at 45 60 degrees to the ground engaging surface of the respective foot. The feet may each have an eye which receives a large staple for sinking in the ground.

Sandercock Cowie 2008-05-06.H:\Specificklions\dnm comp. wpd,3

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SIL.

00 -4- SThe stake and the feet may form a triangle which stabilise the post and resist ground disturbance and accidental impact during the boxing phase in which the shuttering for the I concrete slab is erected. Thus the meter box support may have a triangular base of support. Preferably the braces are coated in a bright fluorescent colour to draw attention 5 to their position and presence. Otherwise it is probable that they would suffer impact by a vehicle or a box component which must be laid close to the support before the slab is 00 0 poured.

A supplementary rail may be carried by the post in order to support the meter box case.

The supplementary rail may be of channel section. The door is usually fitted during construction even though the tradespeople require constant access to the power socket afforded by the box. Power consumption during the building phase is metered. The box is thereafter permanent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an enlarged perspective of the meter box support.

Figure 2 is a diagram of a portion of a building site adjacent a mains electricity cable.

Figure 3 is a diagram of the site as shown in Figure 2 with a meter box support in situ.

)Sandercock Cowietionnn.comp 2008-05-06,H:\Specificationsydnn comp wpd,4 00 O Figure 4 is a diagram of the site as shown in Figure 3 with a meter box fixed to the c support and boxing for a concrete slab.

Figure 5 is a diagram of the site as shown in Figure 4 with the slab poured and the boxing removed ready to accept the frame of the building.

00 DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH RESPECT TO THE DRAWINGS In Figure 1 a stout steel stake 1,600mm long, is sunk into the ground over half its length.

The spine of the support is a round steel conduit (1400 x 50mm) 2 to which a short steel tube 3, 28mm in diameter is welded. Steel tube 3 is a slide fit over stake 1.

The support reinforcement is an angle iron 4 about 1800mm long. Angle iron brackets 6, 8 clamp the angle iron 4 to the conduit with U bolts 10. A channel section rail 12 is welded to the top of the angle iron 4 in order to brace the sheet metal case of the meter box (not shown in Figure Bracket 14 is made of 3mm plate and has a 90° lug 16 at both ends. Bolt 18 clamps the bracket to the spine. The lugs are anchor sites for a pair of stays 20. The stays are galvanised pipes with an inclined foot 22 welded to the pipes lower end and a flattened upper end which is secured to lug 16 by bolt 24. The stays are inclined at 450 to the feet 22. The feet have an eye 40 to take a staple 26 which can be sunk in the ground.

Sandercock Cowie 2008-05-06,H:\Specifications\dnn:comp.wpd,5 0 -6- 3m from the site of the garage 32 of a dwelling. The site has been at least partially levelled to receive the waterproof membrane 34 upon which slab 8 is to be cast.

Connection site X is determined by measurement. The broken line represents the garage IND 5 perimeter adjacent X. The stake 1 is sunk at the riser of the step in the slab. The stake is attached to the short tube 3 and the stays are adjacent before the staples 26 are sunk.

00 0The meter box is then fixed to the rail 12 and bracket 14. The door is supplied with the cmeter box. A portion of the fuse panel is replaced by a three pin socket.

The staff of the electricity authority dig a trench from X to the cables 30 and bring the cables up through the conduit 2 into the meter box where they are connected to the three pin plug. The Authority Staff install a meter and if they are satisfied that the support is stable, they connect the meter. The stays are coated with a fluorescent paint in order to be clearly visible when the boxing 36 is erected on the perimeter. The boxing is fitted to surround the conduit 2 and when the slab 38 is poured, the conduit is partly embedded.

The stays are removed and when the frame (not shown) is erected, the box projects away from the frame into the plane of the brick veneer. Parts of components 2, 3 and 4 become embedded in the slab.

We have found the advantages of the above embodiment to be: 1. The support withstands wind force, ground disturbance and accidental impacts suffered in the course of building operations.

Sandercock Cowie 2 0085-06.H:Specificationsudnt comp. wpd,6 00 -7- 2. The availability of power is earlier than on a site with an unsupported box.

The illustrations, photographs and drawings, if any, form part of the disclosure of this specification as does the description, illustrations, photographs and drawings of any associated provisional or parent specification or of any priority document, if any, all of which are imported hereinto as part of the record hereof.

Finally it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated into the various constructions and arrangements or parts without departing from the spirit and ambit of the invention.

Sandercock Cowie 200 8 -05-06,H:\Specifications\dnn comp.wpd,7

Claims

1. A meter box support for supporting a meter box during and after construction of a building comprising a post and rail capable of supporting a meter box case, and removable post bracing means for attachment to the ground, wherein the post defines a pathway for the cables from the ground to the height of the case. 0 0

2. The meter box support according to claim I wherein the post comprises a conduit N which defines the pathway for the cables from the ground to the height of the case.

3. The meter box support according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the post is supportable by a stake.

4. The meter box according to claim 3 wherein the post comprises a tube which is a slide fit over the stake.

The meter box support according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the post comprises a spine member adapted for fastening to the conduit and the rail.

6. The meter box support according to claim 5 wherein the spine member comprises an angle iron piece.

2008-5-06,H:\Specifications\dnn.comp.wpd,8 I 00-9- Sclamped to the conduit by U-bolts.

8. The meter box support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rail comprises a bracket with fastening sites for attachment to the post bracing 5 means. 00

9. The meter box support according to claim 8 wherein the bracket comprises a flat bar with fastening sites for the post bracing means at 90 degrees.

10. The meter box support according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the bracing means comprises a pair of stays with respective feet.

11. The meter box support according to claim 10 wherein each stay comprises a tube welded to the respective foot.

12. The meter box support according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein each stay is inclined at 45 60 degrees to the ground engaging surface of the respective foot.

13. The meter box support according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein each foot has an eye adapted to receive a large staple for sinking in the ground.

14. The meter box support according to any one of the claims preceding claims having a triangular base of support for stabilising the post. Copyright. All rights reserved. S) Sandercock Cowie -05-06.Sp 200-O5-6 Specifi cationn. omp w l,9 00 O 0 0t' The meter box support according to any one of claims 10 to 14 wherein the posts or stays are coated in a bright fluorescent colour to draw attention to their position and presence. 16. The meter box support according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a supplementary rail adapted to be carried by the post in order to support the meter box case. 17. The meter box support according to claim 16 wherein the supplementary rail is of channel section. 18. A meter box support substantially as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Copyright. All rights reserved. Sdercock Cowie 2 008 -05-D6.H:\Specificationsdnn. comp. wpd. 0