AU657335B2

AU657335B2 - Electrical power supply connection

Info

Publication number: AU657335B2
Application number: AU19610/92A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Maurice Bayfield
Original assignee: UNDERGROUND POWER SPECIALISTS
Current assignee: Underground Power Specialists Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1991-07-12
Filing date: 1992-07-13
Publication date: 1995-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2012-07-13
Also published as: AU1961092A

Description

5733

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1.990 COMNPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): Invention Title: UNDERGROUND POWER SPECIALISTS PTY. LTD.

"EECRIA POWER SUPPLY CONNECTION"' 2 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: ELECTRICAL POWER SUPPLY CONNECTION This invention relates to the connection of electrical power supplies to buiidings. The invention has particular, but not exclusive application to power supply connections to residential buildings from underground supply mains.

0 At the present time it is common during erection of a building to establish a builder's temporary supply, usually by a connection to a temporary meter box mounted on a pole adjacent the building area. A permanent connection is not made until building has progressed to the stage where a 15 permanent meter box can be installed into the building structure. At that stage it is generally necessary to run an electrical supply lead up through the building structure to make the connection to the meter box.

Australian Patent Application 83196/87 discloses an 20 apparatus which endeavours to overcome this problem by allowing a meter box to be installed temporarily on a pole which is detachably secured to a support structure to be embedded in a footing of the building. The building structure is then erected around the meter box. When the building structure progresses tB he stage where it can support the meter box, the pole is detached from the support structure embedded in the footing of the building.

The apparatus disclosed in this patent application is quite complex and of significant cost. Th. present invention provides an alternative system which is cheaper to produce and install and moreover provides for permanent protection of the incoming electrical supply lead to the meter box.

According to the present invention there is provided, a method of connecting an electrical supply during erection of a building comprising: anchoring part of a length of pipe in a floor slab or wall footing of the building such that the pipe extends through the slab or footing and projects upwardly therefrom as a post positioned inside the building line; attaching a meter box support bracket to an upper end of the post; mounting a meter box to the meter box support bracket so that the meter box is adjustable both vertically and horizontally relative to the post; 15 and extending an electrical supply lead from a mains supply through the pipe and coupling it to the meter box to provide electrical supply.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the r accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of apparatus in •situ for the connection of electrical power supply, Figure 2 is a perspective view of part of a meter box .support bracket, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the rear of an upper part of the meter box support bracket and the adjacent portion of the rear of the meter box, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a lower part of the meter box support bracket, Figure 5 is a cross section view of the side of the base of the meter box and support bracket, and Figure 6 is a forward perspective view of the lower part of the meter box when attached to the meter box support bracket.

As shown in Figure 1 the base of apparatus for use in the connection of electrical supply to a building during erection of the building comprises a galvanised steel pipe that is embedded in a concrete footing 11 just inside the brick coarse 12. The galvanised pipe 10 terminates below the undersurface of the slab and projects upwardly to a height of approximately 630 mm to form a fixed post through which the electrical wires can be fed to provide a source of electricity. As shown in Figures 1 to 6 the apparatus for connecting a source of electrical power supply comprises a meter box support bracket 20 that is in two major parts 21 and 22 and a meter box 30 shown in .Figures 1, 3, 5 and 6. The lower part 21 of the meter box i"1 :support bracket 20 comprises a length of angle-iron 23 that 15 is secured to extend downwardly from a rectangular platform 0* *o 24. As shown in Figure 4, the angle-iron 23 is secured to the platform 24 with its sides forming the apex of a triangle. In this manner the space defined between the interior of the sides of the angle-iron can accommodate the curved exterior of the galvanised post 10 and thus by use of two bolts 26 and 27 the angle-iron 23 can be clamped to the rear of the projecting end of the post 10 and held firmly in this position by the tightening of the bolts 26 and 27. A piece of conduit pipe 28 is arranged to extend from the end of the post 10 and terminate within an "to. aperture 29 that is positioned in the base of the platform 24.

The upper part 22 of the meter box support bracket also comprises a length of angle-iron 38 one end of which 15 is secured to a rectangular support arm 31 via a linking member 32. The piece of angle-iron 38 is placed in the same orientation as the angle-iron 23 of the lower part of S° the bracket so that the sides of the angle-iron define a V S' shaped space behind the arm 31. A location piece 33 of V0 20 square cross-section is secured inside and adjacent the lower end of the angle-iron 38. The location piece 33 is a sliding fit within the V shaped space defined by the angle iron 23 of the lower part 21 so that the upper part 22 can 'slide over the rear of the lower part 21 with the location piece 33 determining the vertical displacement. As shown in Figures 1 and 5 the platform 24 fits under the base of the meter box 30 with the rearward wall 24a of the bracket abutting the rear of the meter box 30. The rectangular arm 31 on the upper part of the bracket assembly is arranged to clip behind a location flange 40 that is formed on the rear of the meter box to hold the meter box firmly in position on the support bracket. The upper rearward mounting if the support bracket is shown with reference to Figure 3. The location flange 40 comprises a plate that is welded or otherwise secured to the rear surface of the box and an outwardly extending flange 41 that defines a small gap 42 between the flange and the rear of the box. This gap 42 accommodates the arm 31 of the upper component 22 of the support bracket. It is thus a simple matter to place a meter box on the platform 24 and then lower the upper portion 22 of the support bracket in engagement with the angle-iron 23 of the support bracket until the arm 31 is in firm contact in the gap 42 defined between the location flange 41 and the rear of the meter box. In the assembled position as shown in Figures 1 and 5 the meter box 30 is adequately supported by the post which is embedded in the concrete slab to serve as a suitable source for mains power on a building site.

15 It is also envisaged that the course of bricks 12 would be built around the meter box 30 so that the brick work would be in close proximity to the edge of the meter box.

To ensure that the meter box can accommodate the spacing of bricks the assembly is provided with a capacity for transverse movement of the meter box relative to the support bracket in a manner that would accommodate the brick spacing. Transverse movement of the box rr. Vwe to the upper end of the support bracket is not a prob-, since S: the support arm of the support bracket 22 is a sliding fit within the gap 42 defined by the location flange 41 on the meter box 30. To provide transverse manoeuvrability at the base of the box the base panel of the box is provided with an elongate slot 50 or cutout into which the upper end of the conduit pipe 28 may project. This feature is illustrated with reference to Figure 6. It is however understood that .he slot could assume other profiles such as an elongate oval like shape. Thus it is possible to position the meter box so that it exactly accommodates the brick work so that when the brick wall is complete the bricks are in close proximity to the peripheral edges of the box. Once the wall surrounds the box, it is then possible to remove the upper part of the meter box support bracket which can then be taken from the site for use elsewhere.

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Claims

1. A method of connecting an electrical supply during erection of a building comprising: anchoring part of a length of pipe in a floor slab or wall footing of the building such that the pipe extends through the slab or footing and projects upwardly therefrom as a post positioned inside the building line; attaching a meter box support bracket to an upper end of the post; mounting a meter box to the meter box support bracket e so that the meter box is adjustable both vertically and horizontally relative to the post; and extending an electrical supply lead from a mains supply through the pipe and coupling it to the meter box to provide electrical supply.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising adjusting the height and/or transverse location of the meter box relative to the post and erecting a wall around the meter box so that the meter box is supported by the wall. S•

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising removing the meter box support bracket for re-use.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 comprising feeding the electrical supply lead from the top of the post to the meter box via a hole in the base of the meter box.

Apparatus when used to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 4 comprising: a length of pipe inside the building line; a meter box support bracket adapted to support a meter box and releasably connectable to an upper end of the pipe; and a meter box adapted to be attached to the meter box support bracket to allow vertical and horizontal adjustability of the box relative to the pipe. 8

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the base of the meter box is provided with an elongate slot which in use, is positioned directly over the end of an electrical conduit that projects from the upper end of the pipe.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the meter box support bracket includes an elongate member that is longitudinally displaceable relative to the remainder of the support bracket, the elongate member having an upper location bracket that is arranged to clip behind a similarly profiled flange on the rear of the meter box.

8. A method of connecting an electrical supply to a building during erection of the building substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9. Apparatus when used in the connection of an electrical supply to a building during erection of the building substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. *9* DATED THIS 12 th day of December 1994 UNDERGROUND POWER SPECIALISTS PTY LTD By Its Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO. :Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Astralia ABSTRACT A method of connecting an electrical supply to a building during erection of the building comprising: anchoring part of a length of a tubular conduit in a floor slab or a wall footing of the building such that the conduit extends to the slab or footing and projects upwardly therefrom as a post; mounting a meter box to the post; extending an electrical supply lead from a main supply through the conduit and coupling it to the meter box; and building a wall of the building about the meter box *oo e 0.. S. e