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Phosphorescent valve coverPhosphorescent valve cover description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070034259, Phosphorescent valve cover. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/958,445, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention relates to valve covers in general and utility shut off valves covers in particular. [0004] 2. Prior Art [0005] Many valve covers exist in the prior art to prevent the unintentional or unauthorized opening or adjustment of valves. Examples include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,098 which discloses a valve cover which engages the external locking or bonnet nut of a valve assembly. While this valve cover works quite well in most applications, it falls short in valves that lack a locking nut. One common environment where external locking nuts are frequently absent are shut-off valves in utility lines. [0006] Most gas and water lines have a shut off valve located at the curb. These shut off valves allow the utility owners and/or building owners to turn off the gas and water in the building. Utility companies may turn off gas and water when bills go unpaid or the building become unoccupied. A problem commonly faced by the utility companies are building occupants who turn the gas or water service back on. These may be persons living in the building who are simply unwilling or unable to pay their bills. However, of perhaps greater concern are persons squatting in vacant buildings. Squatters will often seek to restore gas and/or water service to a building where they have taken up residence. However, they are often unaware of problems that may exist with the gas or water lines in portions of a building they are not occupying, and even if aware, squatters have little ability or incentive to report such problems. [0007] Thus, if there is a leak in a water line, the illicit restoration of water to an unoccupied building can result in very substantial damage to the building. Similarly, a leak in a gas line is a fire and explosion hazard in any building. Thus, an illicit restoration of gas service to a vacant building can lead to a particularly dangerous condition [0008] Of course, anytime a utility line is opened surreptitiously, there is little chance of the utility company receiving payment for the water or gas used. Thus, unauthorized opening of service lines also represent a substantial loss of revenue to utility companies. [0009] For all of the foregoing reasons, utility companies generally do more than simply close the shut off valves on their service lines. However, placing a lock on the shut off valve seems to invite occupants and squatters to attack the locking mechanism in an effort to overpower it. These efforts lead, not infrequently, to damage to the valve and/or utility line, such that a leak may then exist at the street level. Thus, most shut off valves are wholly contained units with no external locking nut that could serve as a point of leverage for someone attempting to overpower the locking mechanism. [0010] The configuration of many shut off valves leads to a dearth of valve covers that can be used to secure the shut off valve. The lack of effective shut off valve covers and the risks associated with unauthorized utility restoration leads some utilities to sever and plug utility lines when they are turned off. Such measures are undesirable because they cost more to implement and more to reverse if utility service is restored in the future. Therefore, a valve cover meeting the following objectives is desired OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION [0011] It is an object of the invention to provide a valve cover suitable for securing valves that lack an external bonnet nut. [0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a valve cover for shut off valves in water lines. [0013] It is still another object of the invention to provide a valve cover for shut off valves in gas lines. [0014] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a valve cover that precludes access to any portion of the valve while the cover is in place. [0015] It is still another object of the invention to provide a valve cover that may be locked securely over the valve. [0016] It is yet another object of the invention to prevent the unauthorized operation of valves. [0017] It is still another object of the invention prevent the unintentional operation of valves. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0018] The invention comprises a valve cover having a valve cover body, preferably made of two sections. The sections are configured to join together to form a body having line apertures in the sides. These sections will be placed on either side of a valve and brought together. When joined, the sections will enclose the valve, but form line apertures around the inflow and outflow lines leading to and from the valve. The sections may be provided with male and female members to facilitate their engagement. Once the sections are in place around the valve, a cap is placed over the sections to complete the valve cover. The cap is sized to fit the sections tightly and will prevent the sections from separating when the cap is in place. The cap may be provided with a tongue in groove mechanism to prevent the cap from being accidentally removed and to help secure the cap to the valve cover body. The cap and the valve cover body are also preferably provided with locking apertures. When these locking apertures are aligned, the cap may be secured to the valve cover body with a lock. With the valve cover locked in place around a valve, access to the valve is denied such that unauthorized and/or unintentional adjustment of the valve may be prevented. The valve cover, or at least a portion of it, may be configured to glow in the dark to facilitate location of the valve in dark conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0019] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a valve cover shown around an exemplary valve. Continue reading about Phosphorescent valve cover... Full patent description for Phosphorescent valve cover Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Phosphorescent valve cover patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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