GB2194576A

GB2194576A - Base unit for underground stopcock housing

Info

Publication number: GB2194576A
Application number: GB08620916A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Charles Nunn
Original assignee: DANELAW IND Ltd
Current assignee: DANELAW IND Ltd
Priority date: 1986-08-29
Filing date: 1986-08-29
Publication date: 1988-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2006-08-29
Also published as: GB8620916D0; GB2194576B

Abstract

A base unit (16) for an underground water fitting assembly (10) comprises a ground engaging plate (15) having a tunnel (18) through which pipework (14) is to be received so that the pipework is disposed between an upper surface (22) of the plate and the ground, when installed. An opening (20) is provided in the tunnel roof through which a stopcock or the like (44) can extend. The opening is sized to hold the stopcock so as to restrain location of the stopcock about the axis of the pipework. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Underground housing and support assembly for water fittings This invention relates to an underground housing and support assembly for underground water fittings particularly of the type in which feed and return pipes entering and leaving the housing assembly are interconnected within the housing by selected fittings e.g. stopcocks, water meters and/or non-return valves.

Such housings, more usually called chambers which accommodate underground water fittings and which provide access to the fittings from a ground level entry cover are well known to the water supply industry.

One such assembly is disclosed in GB 2,148,997A in which an underground stopcock and related pipework is supported by a base unit from which extends upwardly a tubular shaft terminating in a ground level entry box by which access to the stopcock is facilitated. The base unit is constructed so as to provide an upwardly open cavity into which the stopcock and portions of the pipework connected thereto is received so that the stopcock is seated upon the base unit. Difficulty has been experienced in introducing such base units into existing stopcock installations because the unit necessarily must be brought into position beneath the stopcock assembly which involves the manipulation and thereby risk of damage to the appended pipework.A number of other similar units are unnecessarily complex and therefore expensive in construction and are susceptible to breakage or fracture from the load exerted by the tubular access shaft.

The present invention provides a base unit for an underground water fitting assembly which unit comprises a ground engaging member having a tunnel through which pipework is to be received so that the pipework is disposed between an upper surface of the ground engaging member and the ground, when installed; an opening in the tunnel roof through which a selected water control device can extend, said opening being adapted to restrain rotation of the water control device about the axis of the pipework.

Preferably, the ground engaging member comprises a plate and said tunnel is formed by a raised portion of the plate extending from one edge thereof to an opposite edge.

The plate may include an area surrounding the tunnel which is depressed relative to the peripheral areas of the plate, said depression being sized to receive one end of an upright shaft giving access to the water control device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the tunnel is provided by a portion of the ground engaging member which hinges together a pair of adjacent parts of the ground engaging member, the adjacent parts initially being upwardly flared in a shallow 'V' so that when pipework is inserted into the tunnel and the adjacent parts brought into coplannar relationship the pipework and/or fittings thereof within the tunnel is clamped by opposed faces of the tunnel.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of an underground housing and support assembly for a water meter and appended pipework; Figure 2 is an edge-on view in partial crosssection of a base unit comprising a ground engaging plate according to the invention with pipework, carrying a stopcock located in position with the plate tunnel but unclamped by the walls of the tunnel; and Figure 3 is a view similar to that in Fig. 2 but in which adjacent portions of the plate have been brought into coplannar relationship to clamp the stopcock fitting.

Referring first to Fig. 1, there is shown an underground housing and support assembly 10 for a water meter 12 and its related pipework 1 2a in connection with fluid conduit 14. The assembly 10 comprises a base unit 16 comprising a hinged plate 15 having a through tunnel 18 with a roof opening 20 and an upstand tube support surface 22. The base unit is described in more detail below. The conduit 14 passes through the tunnel 18 of the base unit and includes a coupling 24 from which a co-axial flow adapter 26 passes through the tunnel roof opening. The coupling 24 is clamped by opposed walls of the tunnel and the roof opening itself is shaped snugly to receive a part of the adaptor fitting. Both these features restrain rotation of the fittings about the axis of the conduit when torque is applied to the pipe fittings.

The co-axial adaptor is accommodated within a plastics upstand tube 28 which is formed to provide a series of co-axial circumferential ribs 30 and recesses 32 alternately along its length. The upstand tube 28 seats on the support surface of the base plate and has a pair of diametrically opposed recesses each to bridge portions of the tunnel 18. Adjacent the upper end of the upstand tube an internal partition 34 is fitted through which the pipework extends and is supported. The alternate ribs and recesses of the upstand tube provide the means by which the tube is anchored into the ground in that earth is consolidated into and about the 'corrugations' provided thereby.

The upper end of the assembly 10 comprises a 'top-hat' section, glass reinforced plastics cover 36. Cover 36 is a generally frusto-conical. hollow body and includes a downwardly flared wall 36a which terminates at its lowermost end in a radially outward ex tending bottom support flange 36b. The cover 36 is not engaged with the upstand tube 28 but is self-supporting within the earth by virtue of its support flange 36b. The so-called reinstatement load is borne by the cover so that surface load is not transmitted to the upstand tube. The cover is adjustable relative to the upstand tube in order to allow for different depths and sloping ground. In this embodiment a water-meter M is housed within cover 36.

At its upper end, the cover has an outwardly and upwardly directed top support flange 36c which, in use, receives the frame 38 and lid 40 of an access cover, this assembly constituting the so-called surface box 42.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the base plate 15 is shown in a different application in providing a base support for an underground stopcock assembly 44.

In Fig. 2, stopcock 44 is fitted to and upstanding from fluid conduit 14. The conduit extends along tunnel 18 of the plate and the stopcock assembly 44 extends through tunnel roof opening 20. A retaining skirt 20a which defines opening 20 simply receives parts of the stopcock fitting. The components are shown prior to installation in which the peak 18a of the tunnel provides a hinge between adjacent portions 15a, 15b of the base plate 15. When the base plate is unloaded the hinge is unstrained and the portions are upwardly divergent in a shallow 'V' so that the pipe fitting 14a is clamped During installation, the upstand tube 28a is seated on the support surface 22 and the load exerted by the tube flexes the hinge 1 8a and puts the plate portions into coplannar relationship as shown in Fig. 3.This action results in the pipe fitting being clamped by opposed side walls 18b, 18c of the tunnel. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, the upstand tube is smooth and carries the surface load transmitted through the cover box 42a. This load, in turn, is transmitted to the ground beneath the base plate. In Fig. 1, the reinstatement load likewise is transmitted to the ground through the upstand tube 28 and base plate 15.

The upper end of the assembly comprises a cover box 42a bedded into the ground and which is furnished with a lid 46 providing access to the stopcock from the surface of the ground. Usually the cover box is bedded into the surface covering material 'm' of a road so that the lid is substantially flush with the road surface. The lower end of the cover box is formed with a radially outward extending flange 48 which- is seated on a locating element 50 provided intermediate the upstand tube 28a and the cover box. The locating element includes an annular shoulder 52 adjacent its upper end on which the flange 48 of the cover box is mounted, and a downwardly extending axial rim 54 sized for insertion into the top portion of tube 28a. The locating element is maintained in position relative to the tube 28a either by abutment of the underside of the shoulder 52 with the top of the tube or by means of a shim collar 56 as shown. The vertical position of the locating element is adjustable relative to the tube by an amount equivalent to the vertical length of the axial rim 54. Thus, correct location of the cover box so that its lid lies flush with the road surface can be readiliy achieved by vertical adjustment of the locating element by incorporating a suitably sized shim collar where necessary.

Claims

1. A base unit for an underground water fitting assembly which unit comprises a ground engaging member having a tunnel through which pipework is to be received so that the pipework is disposed between an upper surface of the ground engaging member and the ground, when installed; an opening in the tunnel roof through which a selected water control device can extend, said opening being adapted to restrain rotation of the water control device about the axis of the pipework.

2. A base unit according to claim 1, wherein the ground engaging member comprises a plate and said tunnel is formed by a raised portion of the plate extending from one edge thereof to an opposite edge.

3. A base unit according to claim 2, wherein the plate includes an area surrounding the tunnel which is depressed relative to the peripheral areas of the plate, said depression being sized to receive one end of an upright shaft giving access to the water control device.

4. A base unit according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tunnel is provided by a portion of the ground engaging member which hinges together a pair of adjacent parts initially being upwardly flared in a shallow 'V' so that when pipework is inserted into the tunnel and the adjacent parts brought into coplannar relationship the pipework and/or fitting thereof with the tunnel is clamped by opposed faces of the tunnel.

5. A base unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

6. An underground water fitting assembly comprising a base unit according to any of the preceding claims, a ground level entry box and an upright shaft interconnecting the base unit and the ground level entry box.

7. An underground water fitting assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

8. In an underground water fitting assembly, comprising a ground level entry box and a base unit for receiving underground pipe fittings and fixtures, an upright pipe interconnecting the base unit and the ground level entry box, said upright pipe comprising a series of coaxial circumferential ribs and recesses alternately along its length thereby providing the means by which said pipe is anchored into the ground.