Geometrical instruments
Patent
1981-10-06
1985-05-28
Desmond, Eugene F.
Geometrical instruments
174 38, 339 39, H01R 13639
Patent
active
045196575
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a multi-functional service unit for trailer parks, camping areas, marinas, jetties, wharves and like installations as well as building sites.
In such trailer parks, marinas, building sites and the like, essential services comprising water, electrical power and lighting are frequently provided as separate systems. The resultant combination of hoses, pipes, cable and supports is inconvenient in use, expensive to install and maintain and is usually unsightly in appearance. In order to alleviate such problems, it has previously been proposed to provide a service unit comprising a number of electrical power outlets and a power consumption meter in a single box or separate boxes on a support pole. Electrical wiring may be provided to the boxes via a conduit attached to the exterior of the pole or via the hollow space within a tubular pole. A water pipe with tap affixed may also be attached to the exterior of the support pole if required. In one type of prior art service unit, a power outlet box, a meter box, a water pipe and appropriate connecting conduits are integrally cast within a shaped concrete structure.
Of the prior art service units previously available most have been designed to suit a particular location in a campsite, trailer park, building site etc. and to provide a very limited number of services. Such service units are usually expensive to install and extremely difficult to maintain. Apart from the possibility of mounting additional boxes to the post-mounted service unit, none of the prior art units has contemplated a device which combines the features of ease of installation, ease of maintenance and the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of service functions within a simple, inexpensive and aesthetically acceptable structure.
A further difficulty associated with the prior art service unit installations is that normally only three power outlets are permitted on one power circuit, with the fuses located at a main switchboard centre remote from the service unit. This makes it very difficult to locate the correct fuse for a faulty power outlet. In addition, it is difficult to provide effective safety circuits for such outlets e.g. if the electrical insulation is damaged or water enters the outlet. Similarly, all the lights for a campsite, trailer park, marina, building site or the like normally share a common fuse, so that in the case of a single power circuit fault, or if the fuse blows, the whole area is blacked out until the faulty circuit or fuse is repaired.
A number of further difficulties appear to have been inherent in prior art service units in that they are prone to damage by vandals or by impact from vehicles or marine vessels. Many of the prior art devices have exposed power meters, switches, power distribution outlets and lights which may be easily damaged by vandals and many have exposed mounting bolts, screws and the like which permit unauthorized tampering. A particular disadvantage associated with prior art units is the manner in which they are mounted to a ground surface, jetty, marina pontoon or the like. Most devices are rigidly mounted to a base by bolting or by casting in a concrete base. In the event that a vehicle or marine vessel accidentally contacts such a rigidly mounted service unit, the unit itself may be severely damaged or if mounted on a jetty or marina pontoon, the jetty or pontoon may suffer damage of a most expensive nature. As in most prior art units, the power and water conduits are rigidly mounted to the service unit, impact damage by a vessel or vehicle may cause the power and water supply conduits to be severed thus creating a grossly unsafe condition.
The present invention has been conceived with the aim of alleviating the abovementioned problems and to provide a simple, inexpensive and aesthetically acceptable service unit, capable of providing a wide range of services and at the same time providing an easily maintainable unit suitable to any location requiring a service unit of this type. A particular advantage of service unit
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Common Sense Products Pty. Ltd.
Desmond Eugene F.
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