GB2242964A - Cover assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A cover assembly comprises a body 10 and a captive lid 12 which may move axially of the body to allow venting of air, gas or liquid. The lid 12 includes a conical projection 15 with flutes 20 which, when venting is not occurring sits on the upper rim of the bore 14 in the body 10. The body and lid may be made of reinforced, moulded plastics material, and a metal bush 16 is provided with an internal screw-thread for attachment of the cover assembly to a vent pipe. <IMAGE>

Description

COVER ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a cover assembly and in particular, but not exclusively, to a cover assembly for a gas or fluid vent-pipe.

An existing cover assembly of this latter type consists of a body to which is pivoted a lid for limited hinging movement. Both the body and the lid are made of cast aluminium. To fit this assembly to a vent pipe, a threaded adaptor sleeve is first screwed onto the vent pipe and then the cover assembly fitted over the adaptor and secured thereto by grub screws. It is an aim of this invention to mitigate at least some of the drawbacks of this known assembly.

Accordingly, in one aspect this invention provides a cover assembly for covering an outlet such as a pipe outlet or a vent outlet, said assembly comprising a body for attachment to or around said outlet, said body having a bore for receiving gas, air or fluid discharged from said outlet, a lid element moveable generally axially of said bore, and means for limiting movement of said lid element.

In this arrangement the assembly provides cover protection from adverse weather conditions. The body preferably has an outer periphery of regular polygonal form, for example hexagonal, to allow it to be easily engaged by a wrench or spanner.

The body preferably includes an internally threaded portion for engaging said outlet or an associated structure in use. The threaded portion may be an internally threaded insert or bush secured within the body.

The body and lid element are preferably principally of a plastics material such as Nylon or other polymeric material. The plastics material may include a suitable reinforcing material such as glass fibre.

Said limiting means preferably comprise a plurality of limit members, secured to one of said body and said lid element and movably mounted with respect to the other thereof. The limit members may comprise a plurality of fixing screws or bolts equispaced about said bore with the threaded ends thereof secured in said lid member and the heads thereof capable of limited sliding movement in associated bores in the body. The threaded ends may be received in metal, e.g. stainless steel, inserts moulded into the lid member.

In another aspect of this invention, there is provided a cover assembly comprising a body having a bore, a lid element for covering said bore, said lid element having a generally conical or frusto-conical projection facing the bore and being movable to allow venting of gas or liquid discharged into the bore.

Although the invention has been described above, it is to be understood that it includes any inventive combination of features set out above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways and an embodiment will now be described by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through a cover assembly in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a top plan view of the assembly shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of the cover assembly showing the cap fit position, and Figure 4 is an external view of the cover assembly.

The assembly comprises a body 10 and a lid 12 each of hexagonal external shape and each is moulded from a Nylon plastics material. The body includes a central bore 14 with a chamfered upper end which is sealingly engageable at one point only with a downwardly projecting conical portion 15 on the under side of the lid 12, incorporating scalloped cut-outs 20. The lower part of the bore includes a brass, or galvanised internally threaded bush 16 around which the remainder of the body is moulded. In an alternative arrangement, the body can be produced without the internally threaded bush, and with countersunk holes for securing direct to pipework by means of grubscrews. The body includes three or more parallel smaller countersunk bores 18 equispaced about the central bore 14.Stainless steel fixing screws 17 pass through the bores 18 and are screwed into brass or stainless steel threaded inserts 19 which are moulded into the lid 12. The distance between the heads of the fixing screws 16 and the shoulders of the countersunk bores determines the maximum lift distance of the lid to allow venting of gases, air or fluids. This distance may be varied between 3 and 50mm.

In use, the cover assembly is threaded onto the upper end of the vent-pipe or other outlet and then tightened using a wrench or similar.

Compared with previous assemblies, the illustrated cover assembly may be fitted without requiring any other sleeves or components. The assembly does not have any protruding parts and thus the unit is highly vandal resistant. The special design of the lid ensures any lighter than air gases pass through the scallop cut-outs 20, and vented to the air, preventing gas build-ups within the unit or pipework. When in its lowermost position, the outer part of the conical portion 15 sits on the upper rim of the bore with the outer periphery of the lid 21 spaced slightly from the upper surface of the body 10, as seen in Figure 3.

The bore 14 may also include a metal gauze (not shown) extending across it to act as a flame guard or flame trap.

Claims (18)

1. A cover assembly for covering an outlet such as a pipe outlet or a vent outlet, said assembly comprising a body for attachment to or around said outlet, said body having a bore for receiving a gas or liquid discharged from said outlet, a lid element moveable generally axially of said bore, and means for limiting movement of said lid element.

2. A cover assembly according to Claim 1, wherein said body has externally accessible drive means engageable in use by a spanner or other tool.

3. A cover assembly according to Claim 2, wherein said body has an external periphery of polygonal form.

4. A cover assembly according to any previous claim, wherein said body includes an internally threaded portion for engaging in use said outlet or an associated structure.

5. A cover assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said internally threaded portion is provided on a bush or insert secured inside the body.

6. A cover assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the body and lid element are formed principally of a plastics material.

7. A cover assembly according to Claim 6, wherein said plastics material includes reinforcing material.

8. A cover assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said limiting means comprises a plurality of limit members secured to one of the body and the lid element.

9. A cover assembly according to Claim 8, wherein said limiting means comprises a plurality of fixings disposed around said bore.

10. A cover assembly according to Claim 9, wherein said limiting means comprises a plurality of fixing screws or bolts equispaced about said bore with the threaded ends thereof secured in said lid member and the heads thereof capable of limited sliding movement in associated bores in said body.

11. A cover assembly according to Claim 10, wherein said lid member includes a plurality of threaded inserts, each for receiving one of said screws or bolts.

12. A cover assembly according to any preceding Claim, wherein the upper end of said bore tapers outwardly.

13. A cover assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid element includes a conical or frusto-conical projection facing said bore.

14. A cover assembly according to Claim 13, wherein said projection includes at least one flute or passage which allows venting of gas or air when the lid element is adjacent said body.

15. A cover assembly according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein a peripheral portion of said projection sits on the upper rim of said bore when the lid element is adjacent said body.

16. A cover assembly comprising a body having a bore, a lid element for covering said bore, said lid element having a generally conical or frusto-conical projection facing the bore and being movable to allow venting of gas or liquid discharged into the bore.

17. A cover assembly according to any preceding Claim, wherein said bore includes flame trap or flame guard.

18. A cover assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.