Meter Pit And Method Of Manufacturing The Same

Abstract

A pit defining an opening and having a footing. Cutouts are located in the footing and are created in mold to avoid secondary cutting operations. The wall of the pit above the footing is narrower than the footing and includes ribs extending from the wall for added compressive resistance. The ribs may vary in size both in length and extension into the center of the pit.

Claims

1. A pit for installation in the ground to house utility items, plumbing devices, valves, meters or the like, the pit comprising: a wall defining inner and outer surfaces and extending between top and bottom ends and defining an inner opening extending between the top and bottom ends; a footing having a height and located at the bottom end of the wall and further having a face, the face defining a surface transverse to an axis of the wall and the face further including inner and outer edges; wherein said wall and said footing are formed by injection molding; a top section of the wall having a width less than a distance between the inner and outer edges; a plurality of ribs positioned along the wall and extending inwardly, a rib thickness measured from the outer surface to an innermost section of the rib wherein the rib thickness is 1.25-4 times a wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces between two of said plurality of ribs.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of ribs include first and second groups of ribs which alternate around the inner surface of the pit wherein the first group of ribs has a different rib thickness than that of the second group of ribs.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of ribs include first and second groups of ribs which alternate around the inner surface of the pit wherein the first group of ribs has a different length than the second group of ribs as measured along the axis of the pit.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the first group of ribs have a first length which is at least 80% of the distance between the bottom and top ends and the second group of ribs have a second length which is at least 25% of the distance between the bottom and top ends.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality or ribs have a first length which is at least 80% of the distance between the bottom and top ends.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality or ribs have a first length which is at least 90% of the distance between the bottom and top ends.

7. A pit for installation in the ground to house utility items, plumbing devices, valves, meters or the like, the pit comprising: a wall defining inner and outer surfaces and extending between top and bottom ends and defining an inner opening extending between the top and bottom ends; a footing having a height and located at the bottom end of the wall and further having a face, the face defining a surface transverse to an axis of the wall and the face further including inner and outer edges; wherein said wall and said footing are formed by injection molding; a top section of the wall having a width less than a distance between the inner and outer edges; a crush force between the bottom and top ends of the pit in pounds force is at least 20 times a volume in cubic inches of material which makes up pit.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the wall includes a tapered section which tapers outwardly from the top towards the bottom.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the tapered section accounts for at least 5% of the height of the pit.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the wall is substantially parallel to a central axis of the pit below the tapered section.

11. A pit for installation in the ground to house utility items, plumbing devices, valves, meters or the like, the pit comprising: a wall defining inner and outer surfaces and extending between top and bottom ends and defining an inner opening extending between the top and bottom ends; a footing having a height and located at the bottom end of the wall and further having a face, the face defining a surface transverse to an axis of the wall and the face further including inner and outer edges; wherein said wall and said footing are formed by injection molding; a top section of the wall having a width less than a distance between the inner and outer edges; at least one side hole extending through the wall at the bottom end; a plurality of ribs positioned along the wall and extending inwardly, a rib thickness measured from the outer surface to an innermost section of the rib wherein the rib thickness is 1.25-4 times a wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces between two of said plurality of ribs; a crush force between the bottom and top ends of the pit in pounds force is at least 20 times a volume in cubic inches of material which makes up pit.

12. The pit of claim 11 wherein the at least one side hole includes two side holes which are positioned at opposite sides of the wall such that the two side holes align through a center of the wall.

13. The device of claim 10 wherein the plurality of ribs include first and second groups of ribs which alternate around the inner surface of the pit wherein the first group of ribs has a different rib thickness than that of the second group of ribs.

14. The device of claim 11 wherein the plurality of ribs include first and second groups of ribs which alternate around the inner surface of the pit wherein the first group of ribs has a different lengths than the second group of ribs as measured along the axis of the pit.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the first group of ribs have a first length which is at least 80% of the distance between the bottom and top ends and the second group of ribs have a second length which is at least 25% of the distance between the bottom and top ends.

16. The device of claim 11 further comprising a flange at the top end extending outwards of the outer surface of the wall and defining a second face parallel to the face.

17. The device of claim 11 wherein the plurality or ribs have a first length which is at least 90% of the distance between the bottom and top ends.

18. The device of claim 11 wherein the wall includes a tapered section which tapers outwardly from the top towards the bottom.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein the tapered section accounts for at least 5% of the height of the pit.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the wall is substantially parallel to the axis of the pit below the tapered section, the axis passing through a center of the pit.

21. A pit for installation in the ground to house utility items, plumbing devices, valves, meters or the like, the pit comprising: a wall defining inner and outer surfaces and extending between top and bottom ends and defining an inner opening extending between the top and bottom ends; a footing having a height and located at the bottom end of the wall and further having a face, the face defining a surface transverse to an axis of the wall and the face further including inner and outer edges; wherein said wall and said footing are formed by injection molding; a top section of the wall having a width less than a distance between the inner and outer edges; a plurality of ribs positioned along the wall and extending inwardly, a rib thickness measured from the outer surface to an innermost section of the rib, a rib width measured at a base of the rib at the inner surface of the wall, the rib width being greater than a wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces between two of said plurality of ribs by at least 5%.

22. The pit of claim 21 further comprising the rib width being greater than the wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces between two of said plurality of ribs by at least 10%.

23. The pit of claim 21 further comprising the rib width being greater than the wall thickness between the inner and outer surfaces between two of said plurality of ribs by at least 18%.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary pit.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a detail cross section view of FIG. 1 along line 4-4 shown in FIG. 2.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a cutaway view of FIG. 1 along line 4-4 shown in FIG. 2.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 1.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a cross section view of a mold for making the pit of FIG. 1.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a top detail view of part of the mold of FIG. 6

[0031] FIG. 8 is a detail side cross section view of the pit of FIG. 1 during molding.

[0032] FIG. 9 shows a top view of a pit according to the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 10 shows a side view of a pit according to FIG. 9.

[0034] FIG. 11 shows a bottom view of a pit according to FIG. 9

[0035] FIG. 12 shows a section along 12-12 in FIG. 9

[0036] FIG. 13 shows a section along 13-13 in FIG. 9

[0037] FIG. 14 shows a top perspective view of a pit according to FIG. 9.

[0038] FIG. 15 shows a bottom perspective view of a pit according to FIG. 9.

[0039] FIG. 16 shows a top view of a pit according to the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 17 shows a side view of a pit according to FIG. 16

[0041] FIG. 18 shows a bottom view of a pit according to FIG. 16.

[0042] FIG. 19 shows a section view along 19-19 as shown in FIG. 16.

[0043] FIG. 20 shows a section view along 20-20 as shown in FIG. 16

[0044] FIG. 21 shows a top perspective view of a pit according to FIG. 16.

[0045] FIG. 22 shows detail 22 of FIG. 18.

[0046] FIG. 23 shows a perspective view of part of a mold according to the present invention.

[0047] FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of another part of the mold of FIG. 23.

[0048] FIG. 25 shows a cross section view of another mold according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0049] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding structure throughout the views. The following examples are presented to further illustrate and explain the present invention and should not be taken as limiting in any regard.

[0050] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the pit includes a wall 2 defining inner 4 and outer 6 surfaces, the wall 2 extending between top 8 and bottom 10 ends. Ribs 24 may extend from the inner surface 4 and these ribs may provide increased compressive stiffness to the pit. In some cases, it is contemplated that the ribs could be located around and extend from the outer surface 6 in addition or instead or the ribs 24 shown extending inwardly. The bottom end of the pit includes a footing 12. This footing includes a face 14 that generally is in contact with the ground/soil. The width of the footing is designed to resist or prevent settling of the pit once installed. This is because some of the pits may be installed directly against soil, gravel or other loose pack type of material rather than being embedded in concrete. It is contemplated that the pits shown and described herein could also work when embedded in concrete.

[0051] The cutout 30 in the footing 12 extends between the inner and outer surfaces at the footing and generally perpendicular to the axis 16 of the pit. Although the pit is shown with two cutouts on opposite ends, it is contemplated that other locations and additional or even fewer cutouts 30 could be used, depending on the application. The pit shown has two cutouts 30, one could be for incoming and the other could be for outgoing, for example incoming water pipes and outgoing water pipes may be connected on either side of the valve/meter that is located within the pit. The bottom view of the cutout 30 is shown in FIG. 2 where the cutout extends into the page. The holes 22 also extend between the top of the cutout and the top of the footing. In certain embodiments the cutouts are of different sizes.

[0052] The face 14 of the footing defines an area between the inner 18 and outer edges 20 of the footing. The top of the footing is shown in dashed line 3. Holes 22, 22 etc in the footing reduce the amount of material used to make the footing. For example, the empty volume defined by the holes 22, 22 etc may be 10-70% of the volume between the inner 18 and outer edges 20 and up to the top of the footing 3. In some preferred embodiments, the empty volume may be 20-50% or 35-45% of the volume of the footing. In addition to reducing the material requirements of the pit, the holes allow for easier molding and shorter molding cycles. Since injection molding typically uses hot, molten plastic, significant contractions in dimensions can be expected during molding as thickness increases. In addition, increased thickness takes longer times to cool, which can increase cycle time in molding to be too long. The holes significantly reduce the thickness of the footing, while still providing sufficient remaining volume and width between the inner 18 and outer 20 edges to prevent/resist settling of the pit when installed.

[0053] The rib 24 is shown extending at a distance 26. The distance 26 may be half to twice as large or larger as the wall thickness 28 between ribs. As shown, the wall 2 tapers from top 8 towards the bottom 10 and the top wall thickness 32 may be 10-80% larger than the wall thickness 28 between the ribs. The taper distance between the top 8 and the point where the wall thickness 28 is reached may extend down the wall 10-50% of the height 36, preferably in the rage of 20-30%. Hole 22 is also shown in FIG. 3. It is contemplated that the hole 22 may be tapered and narrow from bottom 10 towards the top 38 of the hole. In preferred embodiments the width of the ribs measured at the base thereof (perpendicular to distance 26) is greater than the wall thickness, particularly greater by at least 7% or more preferably 15-25% more than the wall thickness.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 6, the mold 1000 for manufacturing the pit 1 is shown having first 100 and second 102 sections. The first section includes a male portion 104 which extends from face 106 to face 107 along axis 108. The male portion 104 extends a distance 110 that may be less than the height 36 of the pit 1. In some embodiments, the distance 110 is between 50-95% of the height 36. In some embodiments, the distance 110 is in the rage of 80-95% of the height 36. The second section 102 of the mold includes a male portion 122 that extends a distance 136. In some preferred embodiments, the sum of distance 136 and distance 110 is substantially equal to height 36 such that when the mold is face 107 and surface 123 are in contact and face 106 and face 114 are also in contact.

[0055] As shown, the female portion 112 of the second mold section 102 extends between faces 114 and 116 a distance 118 and distance 118 may be substantially equal to the height 36 of the pit. The female portion 112 defines a peripheral surface 120 that corresponds to the outer surface of the wall 2 of the pit 1. Channels 130 in the male portion 104 correspond to ribs 24 as well.

[0056] As seen in FIG. 7, the face 123 of mold portion 102 includes channels 139 therein. The channels 139 lead to flange 138 which narrows at 143. The channels/flange shown in the face 123 may also be located in face 107. As one example, channels 139 may be semi-circular such that when the mold halves are closed, a circular passage is created. Section 126 of the mold extends in the direction out of the page and corresponds to the cutout 30.

[0057] FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the resulting flange 138 that is made when plastic is injected into the mold. The flange 138 is shown increasing in width from section 140 to flange 138 which then narrows again to section 143. The flange 138 and sections 140/143 correspond to the channels shown in FIG. 7 and the channels in the opposite face 107 of the other mold half. This may smooth the flow of plastic into the flange. Cutting members 142/142 may be moved together after injection of the plastic but before the plastic has cooled. Injection port 141 receives molten plastic therein during injection molding which distributes molten plastic throughout the channels 139 etc.

[0058] A section 126 of the male portion 122 of the second mold section 102 extends generally perpendicular to axis 108 to create the cutout 30 during molding. Additional sections 126 may be positioned to create additional cutouts, depending on the application desired. A footing void 128 is located between the section 126 and the surface 120 in the area where the footing 12 is created during molding. Within the footing, pins 132/133 extend therein. The pins may be tapered and may also move separately within holes in the mold section 102 to allow for easier removal of the part from the pins 132/133. The pins 132/133 may also be hollow or include channels that allow for circulation of a coolant. Since the footing 30 may generally be the thickest volume on the part, additional cooling via the pins is helpful in reducing cycle time. The pins also reduce the total volume of material required to make the footing while keeping the inner 18 and outer 20 edges of the footing spaced apart sufficiently to resist/prevent settling when the pit is installed in the ground.

[0059] It is understood that cutting member 142/142 is in the shape of a ring. During molding, the plastic is injected into the pit 1 and before the pit 1 fully cools, the cutting member 142/142 is/are moved to cut the gate flange at the appropriate location. Since the pit is partially molten when cut, weld lines are avoided and a post mold processing is avoided. The cutting member may have a sharpened blade or may be merely a ring with a face at 90 degrees to the outer surface of the ring. It is contemplated that one or two cutting members 142/142 may be used, and these may move together during molding to perform the cutting operations.

[0060] Referring to FIGS. 9-15 an alternate embodiment of the pit is shown. In this embodiment, the ribs 26 and 26 vary in thickness. Particularly, the embodiment shown has 48 ribs, 24 of which are short (26) and 24 of which are long (26). As can be seen, the ribs alternate between long and short. Particularly, the long ribs have a thickness of 0.47 inches as measured from the outer wall whereas the short ribs are 0.36 inches. The typical wall thickness is 0.2 inches. The ribs also include a squared off inner face 29 with corner fillets. Furthermore, the footing 12 is provided by an inward radial projection which creates surface 14 to contact the ground. Two holes 30 are provided such that utility lines can enter the pitfor example a water line. Holes 22 which extend into the surface 14 reduce the volume at the holes 30.

[0061] Referring to FIGS. 16-22 a further embodiment is shown having a tapered section 9 adjacent to the top 8. This tapered section accounts for less than 40% of the height 36 of the pit. Furthermore, ribs 27 and 31 alternate around the inner surface of the pit. Rib 27 extends to about 50% of the height 36 and rib 31 extends substantially the entire height 36. The rib thickness in the embodiment shown is 0.44 inches whereas the wall thickness is 0.2 inches. In this embodiment the footing 12 is defined by a flange that extends outwardly from the outer surface 6 at the bottom of the pit. In this embodiment, the wall thickness is about 0.2 inches with the rib thickness of about 0.44 inches (including the wall thickness). The difference between the inner and outer diameters at the footing 12 is about 3 inchesthus the footing extends about 1.5 inches outwardly. The ribs also include a flat face 29. Furthermore, below the top 8 of the part in this embodiment, there is a void 33 between the inner flange 35 and the inner wall 4. As can be seen, inner flange 35 extends downwardly from the top 8 and terminates at an end 37. The end 37 is where the molten plastic is fed into during molding and where the mold gate is cut from the part. The shorter set of ribs start at the top and end about 14.66 inches from the bottom. The longer ribs extend substantially the entire length of the pit which is 30 inches in one embodiment.

[0062] FIGS. 23-25 show various features of the mold used to create certain embodiments of the pit shown and described herein. Particularly, the pit of FIGS. 9-15 is made in accordance with the mold of FIGS. 23-24 and the mold of FIGS. 16-22 with the mold of FIG. 25.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 25, the mold is shown having first 1000 and second 1020 sections. The first section includes a male portion which extends a distance that may be less than the height of the pit. Channels 1300 and 1300 are provided in the male section and channels 1300 extend about half the height of the pit whereas channels 1300 extend about the full length of the pit. The second section 1020 of the mold surrounds the male portion such that the space therebetween can be filled with molten plastics to create the pit. The first and second sections have a tapered section which creates the tapered upper section of the pit.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 23, the channels 261 and 260 may be of different depths and may alternate around the circumference of the male section such that the ribs of the pit extend different distances into the center of the pit. Recess 300 creates the opening or mouse hole for the pit that is designed to receive plumbing or other entering utility lines that feed/exit the valve/meter that is positioned in the pit.

[0065] In particular aspects, the embodiments of the pits described herein are to have a crush force of approximately 20,000 lbf for a 30 inch high pit. In many cases, the 20,000 lbf is required regardless of the height or diameter of the pit if the pit is for municipal use and rated for incidental traffic. The volume of the part ranges from 450-800 cubic inches or more particularly between 500 and 650 cubic inches which is a substantial reduction vs an equivalently sized roto-molded meter pit. Thus the crush force/volume ratio is greater than 20 lbf/cubic inch or more specifically in the range of 20-50 lbf/cubic inch or more particularly 25-45 lbf/cubic inch. Thus, the pits are provided with high crush forces in relation to their volume (and likewise weight). In certain cases, a small meter pit such as an 18 diameter and 24 tall pit may weigh only 13 pounds but is still required to withstand the 20,000 lbf load. This part would be about 400 cubic inches.

[0066] In certain cases, the ribs are in two groups because engineering work found that using primary ribs supported by secondary ribs was a much more efficient use of material than making all of the ribs the same size. The secondary ribs are designed to feed load/stress to the primary ribs. The dimension of the primary ribs helps prevent buckling under load. The ribs are designed to economize materials while having sufficient anti-buckling resistance. The mode of failure under the 20,000 lbf load described herein is typically buckling. In certain embodiments, the pits described herein are made of a polyolefin material, or more particularly polypropylene copolymer or high density polyethylene.

[0067] Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many other modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art. It is further contemplated that various features of each of the embodiments disclosed herein may be incorporated into other embodiments.

[0068] It should be noted that the various parameters, dimensions and relationships between structural parts described as to particular embodiments may be employed in others, thus just because a particular dimension, characteristic or feature is described as to one embodiment, this disclosure expressly contemplates such features and relationships being employed in other embodiments.