Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FTELD OF T~E INVENTIQN
The invention relates to the securing of fire hydrant valves and caps
against tampering ancl also to detection of unauthorized use of a fire hydrant.
DE$~RIPTIQN ()F THE PRIOR ART
To the knowledge of the invèntor, no satisfactory and cost-effective
means have been provided for securing the water valve and caps associated with aconventional fire hydrant. The valve nut associated with such a hydraslt is normally
exposed and can be rotated with an appropriate wrench to actuate water flow within the
hydrant. The caps which cover water outlets normally formed on either side of a fire
hydrant are also provided with exposed nuts and may also be removed with a wrench.
To prevent theft of the outlet caps, it is common practice to chain the
caps directly to the body of the hydrant. In U.S. patent no.489,329 to Rosse,
however, there is described an alternative mechanism for securing a hydrant cap. This
mechanism includes a bar with slots formed at either end, a lower end of the bar being
pivotally connected to the body of the hydrant with a threaded fastener, the upper end
of the bar being attached to a hydrant cap with ano~her threaded faster in a manner
which permits rotation of the cap itself. The Rosse device permits the cap to beopened and pivoted away ~om the associated water outl~t without en~rely disengaging
the cap frvm the hydrant. Such a mechanism does not, however, preclude
unauthorized use of the hydrant or even theft of the caps themselves.
A much more significant aspect of hydrant tarnpering is actuation of
the internal water valve associatecl with a hydrant without actual discharge of s~ater.
In environments subject to very cold winters, the flow valve actuated by the exposed
hydrant valve nut may normally be located several feet below ground level where
free~ing of hydrant components is unlikely to occur, and the interior of above-ground
hydrant housing portions may norrnally be kept dry. If only the valve nut is tampered
with, there may be no visual inclication that the hyclrant is water-fillecl and that the
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hydrant is apt to rupture in cold weather with freezing and expansion of the contained
water. A municipality or other authority may consequently be required to conduct a
very costly annual inspection of hydrants, one involving actual opening of each
hydrant for purposes of detecting the presence or absence of water.
In view of the number of fire hydrants located, for example, in a
major city, it would be desirable to provide an inexpensive mechanism by means of
which a hydrant may be conveniently secured against tampering, particularly
~ampering with a valve nut responsible for regulating water flow within the hydrant.
It would also be desirable that such a securmg mechanism be easily and quickly
removed in the event of a fire to permit quick access to the hydrant. If tampering with
the valve nut has occurred, it would be desirable that such a device visually indicate
such tampering so that inspection procedures are greatly simplified. Accordingly, it is
an object of this speci~ication to provide a hydrant securing device which in preferred
~orm meets such requirements.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DYVENTION
In one aspect, the invention provides a device for securing a hydrant
having at least three nuts which can be rotated to open hydrant valves or outlets. The
device includes means which seat on the hydrant to define a generally U-shaped
structure contacting each of the three nuts. The U-shaped structure has nut locking
means which locate about the three nuts to prevent rotation of the three nuts.
Accordingly, the nuts cannot be rotated for the purposes of initiating water flow or
rernoving outlet caps without removing the device. The U-shaped structure is
removed from the hydrant only by displacing portions of the generally U-shaped
structure relative to one another. Securing means are provided which prevent such
relative displacement of the structure portions, these securing means preferrably being
in the form of a metal strap clamp which cannot be casually released and whose
removal provides a visual indicator of hydrant tampering.
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In another aspe~t, the invention provides a device for use in securing
a hydrant of the type having an exposed valve nut and a pair of opposing side outlet
caps, each cap being threaded onto a hydrant outlet and having a cap nut by means of
which the cap can be rotated relative to the housing outlet. The device comprises a
one-piece yoke having a generally U-shaped configuration including a base portion
and a pair of opposing arm portions. The yoke has a passage forrned in the base
portion and dimensioned to locate about the valYe nut, another passage formed in one
arm portion and dimensioned to locate about one cap nut and yet another passage
formed in the other arrn portion and dimensioned to locate about the other cap nut.
The passages are positioned for simultaneous location about the valve and cap nuts,
each passage being shaped to prevent rotation of the associated nut relative to the yoke
when so located. The yoke is formed of a rnaterial sufficiently resilient that the arm
portions can be elastically separated to permit the simultaneous location of the passages
about the associated valve and cap nuts and to perrnit removal of the passages frorn the
associated valve and cap nuts. Securing means acting between the arrn portions
prevent separation of the arm portions and consequently casual removal of the dev;ce
from the hydrant.
Other ~nventive features and associated advantages will described
more fully below in connection with the description of a preferred embodiment of a
hydrant securing device and various inventive aspects will be more speci~lcally defined
in the attached claims.
VESCRI~ION OF~E DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood with reference to drawings
illustrating a preferred embodiment, in which:
fig. 1 is an elevational view of a conventional fire hydrant on which is
mounted a hydrant securing device;
fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hydrant secunng device.
DES~IPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODTMENT
Reference is made to fig. 1 which illustrates a hydrant securing device
10 mounted on a fire hydrant 12. The hydrant 12 is of a very common variety which
has an upper exposed valve nut 14 which can be rotated about a vertical axis to open
an internal water control valve. The hydrant 12 also has a pair of water outlets 16, 18
positioned on opposing sides of the hydrant housing 20. A pair of outlet caps 22, 24
are threaded onto the water outlets 16, 18 essentially closing the outlets 16, 18 against
the escape of water. The caps 22, 24 have cap nuts 26, 28 by means of which eachcap can be rotated relative to the housing outlets 16, 18 for removal. In this particular
hydrant 12, the cap nuts 26, 28 are rotated about substantially a cornrnon horizontal
axis with an appropriate wrench. Although the invention will be described in thecontext of such a hydrant, it should be understood that other hydrants can be
accorr~ odated with appropriate modification of the devices taugh~ in this disclosure
and that the invention should not be construed as limited to hydrant securing devices
appropriate solely for this particular type of hydrant.
The hydrant securing device 10 includes a one-piece yoke 30 formed
of an elongate steel plate bent to having a generally U-shaped configuration. The yoke
30 may be seen to comprise a generally horizontal base portion 32 and a pair of
opposing, downwardly-extending arm portions 34, 36. The yoke 30 has a passage 38die-cut in the base portion 32 (prior to bending) and dimensioned for location about the
valve nut 14. A similar passage 40 is formed in one arm portion 34 and dimensioned
to locate about the cap nut 26 while a registered passage 42 is formed in the other arm
portion 36 and dimensioned to locate about the other cap nut 28. These passages are
positioned on the yoke 30 such that they may be simultaneously located about thevalve and cap nuts as illustrated in fig. 1, in a manner described more fully below.
Each passage conforms roughly in shape and dimensions to the associated nut, andconsequently, when the yoke 30 is seated on the hydrant 12 with each passage located
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about the respective nut, the nuts cannot be rotated relative to the yoke 30 (and more
specifically relative to the hydrant housing 20) to actuate water flow or to permit
removal of the outlet caps 22, 24.
Although the passages in the yoke 10 are defined by simple punched
holes conforming to the shape of the nuts, other means may be used to lock the one or
more of the nuts against rotation. For example, suitable passages preventing relative
rotation of the nuts relative to the yoke 10 itself might be defined by tubular projections
which completely encircle each nut or by projections which define passages that are
largely open, but sufficient to physically obstruct rotation of the nuts. It is also within
the ambit of the present invention to lock the nuts against rotation by providing locking
means which simply obstruct tool access to the nuts, as for example, housings which
are positioned to conceal the nuts either partially or totally.
The steel material of the yoke 30 is sufficiently resilient that the arrn
portions 34, 36 can be elastically separated to permit simultaneous location of the
passages about the associated valve and cap nuts. To locate the yoke 30 Otl the
hydrant 12, the passage 40 of the arrn portion 34 may be located about the cap nut 26,
the other arm portion 36 may be deflected away from the ann portion 34 to permit the
passage 38 in the base portion 32 to be located about the valve nut 14, and thenreleased to locate the passage 42 associated ~;vith the arm portion 36 to locate about the
cap nut 28. The yoke 30 will then be seated solely on the valve and cap nu~s in much
the configuration illustrated in fig. 1. To remove the yoke 30 from the hydrant 12, as
to access the cap and valve nuts, the arm portion 36 may once again be displacedelastically away from the other arm portion 34, and the steps of the mounting
procedure reversed. It will be appreciated that this arrangement perrnits the device 10
to be quickly installed and, perhaps more critically, very quickly removed.
The yoke 30 can be removed from the hydrant 12 only by relative
displacement of the two arm portions 34, 36. The yoke 30 is secured against casual
removal by means of a circular metal strap clamp 44 of the type commoniy used tosecure large cargo boxes and the like. To that end, the arm portions 34, 36 are formed
with strap guides 46, 48 which serve to properly locate and retain the strap clamp 44.
The strap guide 48 associated with the arrn portion 36 is typical. The strap guide 48 is
formed by displacing a portion 50 of metal (as during a die-cutting opera~ion before
bending of the metal plate constituting the yoke 30) from the associated arm portion 36
to define a passage (illustrated but not indicated) between the metal portion 50 and the
associated arm portion 36. Once the yoke 30 is installed on the three hydrant nuts, the
strap clamp 44 can be extended through the strap guides 46, 48, tightened with aconventional apparatus appropriate for such purposes and the ends of the strap clamp
44 crimp-fastened with a conventional fastener 52. The ~astener 52 may be sprayed
with an appropriate paint to give a visual indication whether someone has
surreptitiously tampered with the strap clamp 44, as by loosening and then re-engaging
the fastener 52.
To remove the yoke 30, it is first necessary to break the strap clamp
44. This can be done by inserting the handle of the wrench commonly used to operate
the valve and cap nuts between one of the housing outlets 16, 18 and the strap clamp
44 itself. The wrench may then be pivoted downwardly using the hydrant housing 20
as a fulcrum point to snap the strap clamp 44.
A major problem with hydrants, as mentioned above, is undetected
actuation of the internal water flow valve. If the hydrant caps have not been removed,
the tampering may not be apparent, and there is no indication that the hydrant housing
is in fact full of water. In most instances, vandals may be expected to remove the strap
clamp 44 or yoke 30 of the device 10 in its entirety so that tampering will be readily
apparent. An inspector can be reasonably satisfied that if the securing device 10 is
properly seated on the hydrant 12, the valve nut 14 has not be n rotated. If thesecuring device 10 has been removed, or the strap clamp ~ interfered with, there is a
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visual indication of tampering. This very significantly simpli~les the inspection of
hydrants and significantly reduces associated labour costs. In this aspect of the
invention, it will be apparent that securing of the outlet caps 22, 24 themselves is not
essential, and that the advantages described could be obtained even if the passages 40,
42 were not dimensioned or shaped to prevent rotation of the sap nuts 2~, 28.
It will be appreciated that a particular hydrant securing device has
been described for purposes of illustrating the principles and features of the invention
and that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the
invention or the scope of the appended clairns.
In particular, it should be noted that the one-piece, die-cut and bent
yoke 30 represents a particularly inexpensive way of constructing the generally
U-shapçd structure required to simultaneously lock the thuee nuts associated with a
hydrant such as the hydrant 12. The elasticity of the constituent metal is re]ied upon to
permit the relative separation of the portion of the U-shaped structure necessary to
perrnit installation and removal. However, it is fully within the ambit of the invention
to form the U-shaped structure by providing a hinge joint for example at the base
portion of the U-shape which perrnits one ann portion to pivot relative to the other
thereby permitting the required relative separation. In fact, the U-shaped structure may
be formed by a plurality of components: for example, one arm portion can be
terminated at an upper end with a perpendicular tab which inserts into a slot formed in
the base portion, thereby de~ming a separable hinge joint that permits the required
simultaneous location about the valve and cap nuts. Such a device would comprisetwo completely separate elements prior to installation and subsequent to removal but
would define a U-shaped structure when seated on the hydrant itsel~. The parts of the
IJ-shaped structure may alternatively be adapted to interlock when seated on thehydrant. These are only particular examples of alternative arrangernents and other
arrangements within the ambit of the present invention are possible.
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In hydrants having more than two hydrant outlets, a somewhat rarer
form of hydrant, additional downwardly-extending arm portions may be attached tothe U-shaped stlucture to accommodate the additional outlets. If forrned of an
appropriate resilient material or hinged, these may be conveniently located about the
additional cap or valve nuts to be secured. The strap clamp securing means described
herein may be extended around all such arm portions to prevent removal of the hydrant
secunng device. Such arrangements and equivalents thereof are regarded as corning
within the ambit of the present invention as claimed.
Strap clamps have been described as appropriate means for securing
the portions of the U-shaped structure against relative separation. These are pre-ferred
for reasons of low-cost and simplicity of manufacture and use, and are regarded as
suitable for most applications. How~ver, the securing means may be made more
complex and more difficult to overcome if this is deemed advisable. For example, one
might attach hinged hori~ontal arms to the arrn portion 34 which can be pivoted into
contact with the arm portion 36 and which carry transverse hinged plates that locate
against the outer surface of the ann portion 36. One transverse plate n~ght comprise
an eye-loop and the other, a slot which receives the eye-loop. Accordingly, ~ padloclc
may be inserted into the eye-loop to lock the two horizontal arms and to provide a
more positive mechanism against separation of the arm portions of the yoke and
removal of the hydrant securing device. Such measures are more costly and also do
not lend themselves to as rapid removal of the hydrant securing device in the event of a
fire. These might be considered in neighbourhoods where vandals would be expected
to go to greater lengths to tamper with a hydrant. Once again, the use of such hinged
arms and a padlock represents only one possible alternative to the strap clamp securing
means suggested herein, and other alternatives may be used which come within theambit of the invention.
