Water Meter Idler Bar Alignment and Spacing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The alignment and spacing of inlet and outlet meter fittings in water meter setters are often compromised during manufacturing, shipping, and installation, leading to installation difficulties, damage to water meters, and delays in providing a fluid connection, which can result in ad hoc and potentially unreliable solutions.
Innovation Solution
A water meter idler bar, a substantially rigid PVC pipe with connectors and seals, is used to align and fluidly connect the meter fittings, ensuring proper positioning and spacing during manufacturing, shipping, and temporary fluid connection before the water meter is installed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex, bulky and expensive shipping containers and packing are used to protect meter setters during shipping, then the meter fittings are protected from damage, but the device complexity and shipping cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an idler bar as an intermediary component between the meter fittings. This idler bar serves as a protective element that maintains the correct spacing and alignment of the meter fittings during shipping and installation, eliminating the need for complex shipping containers and packing while preventing damage to the fittings.
2Productivity
If ad hoc solutions like hoses or manually threaded PVC pipe are installed between meter fittings to provide fluid connection, then water flow is enabled pending meter installation, but installation time and reliability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the idler bar with connectors at both ends that are designed to fit the meter fittings. This allows the temporary fluid connection to be quickly established without requiring installers to find or fashion ad hoc solutions, thereby improving both the speed and reliability of establishing water flow before the actual water meter is installed.
Data Source
AI summary
A water meter idler bar for use during manufacture, shipping and installation of a water meter setter to ensure and maintain proper alignment and spacing between water meter fittings of the water meter setter. Following installation, the idler bar also allows water to flow through the water meter setter prior to installation of a water meter. The idler bar is a rigid PVC pipe having threaded connectors with rubber O-rings at its ends.