Expanded – threaded – driven – headed – tool-deformed – or locked-thr – Threaded fastener locked to a discreet structure – Member preassembled with substructure at through-passage or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-16
2001-09-04
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Expanded, threaded, driven, headed, tool-deformed, or locked-thr
Threaded fastener locked to a discreet structure
Member preassembled with substructure at through-passage or...
C174S063000, C174S050000, C174S058000, C220S004020, C411S480000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283690
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to items used by tradespeople, and, particularly, professional drywall and electricians, in the building construction trades. More specifically, it relates to a device which is used to mark and locate electrical boxes which are mounted within walls prior to sheets of drywall being applied over such boxes during the building construction process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has long been recognized that the construction of buildings and the like require that many of the basic utilities supplied throughout the building be contained within walls of the building. Such is done for aesthetic purposes as well as for functional reasons. It is imperative for the electrician and the plumber, as well as other tradespeople, to run and mount wires, fixtures, conduits and plumbing through the walls of a building while those walls are still in their rough stages of construction. Once these various wires, fixtures and other items of such utility construction have been mounted and installed, a safety inspection of them can be made. After the safety inspection has cleared the way for covering the walls and sealing their contents, the drywallers can attend to the task of finishing the walls by attaching the drywall panels to the wall studs.
One problem which is inherent to this process is that, with the drywall attached and in place, it is then necessary to uncover electrical fixtures previously mounted within the walls so that the electrical finish work can be accomplished. In the experience of this inventor, conventional measures which are taken to mark the location of such buried electrical fixtures, such as marking the floor at or just below fixture, often result in fixtures being located slightly off from where they actually are mounted. That is, an electrical receptacle box which is thought to exist in one location, when uncovered, often ends up being slightly off from where it was expected to be. Without precise locating of such electrical receptacle boxes, extensive additional drywall work can result where holes or gaps must be patched adjacent the electrical box and, in extreme cases, whole sections of drywall must be extensively repaired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a new, useful and uncomplicated device for accurately locating an electrical receptacle box which has been mounted within a wall over which drywall has been applied. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device which requires only a minimal number of elements and which requires only a minimal number of steps to utilize. It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a device which can be readily used by professional electricians and drywallers in-the field. It is still another object of this invention to provide such a device which is readily and quickly usable with existing to electrical boxes which are commercially available and used in the field. It is still another object of this invention to provide such a device which may be used and reused over and over again.
The present invention has obtained these objects. It provides for an electrical box locating device which is formed, in the preferred embodiment, from a single piece of metallic material. The locating device has a forwardly extending fastening portion which is functionally adapted to be received within a threaded receptacle mounting hole of a typical electrical box. Rearwardly of the fastening portion is a drive portion which allows the device to be driven into the mounting hole and securely held within it. Rearwardly of the drive portion of the device is a drywall penetrating portion which extends outwardly of the electrical box and which is functionally adapted to penetrate and extend through a sheet of drywall when such is placed over the electrical box. The fastening portion, the drive portion and the penetrating portion of the device are made from a single piece of material and integrally formed in the preferred embodiment of the invention. The foregoing and other features of the device of the present invention will be further apparent from the description which follows.
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Heino, Esq. Joseph S.
Patel Dhiru R
Reichard Dean A.
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