Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Electric or magnetic imagery – e.g. – xerography,... – Post imaging process – finishing – or perfecting composition...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-05
2003-02-04
Field, Lynn (Department: 2839)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Electric or magnetic imagery, e.g., xerography,...
Post imaging process, finishing, or perfecting composition...
C439S650000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06514652
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in electrical receptacles for use in residential and commercial electrical wiring systems, and particularly to electrical receptacles formed of modular parts for use in electrical wiring systems. More particularly the invention also relates to improved systems and methods for controlling remotely operated electrical devices through electrical wiring of residential and commercial building structures. Finally the invention relates to modular electrical receptacles having capacity for embodying changeable functionality of electrical devices through external programming.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that for safety reasons state and federal building codes require that electrical wiring be fully contained between exterior and interior wall structures of buildings, between floors of buildings and the ceilings beneath the floors, and be otherwise fully contained within rigid enclosures of buildings. Normally the electrical wiring is installed after interior wall frames are erected in a building, but before interior walls are actually installed and secured against the sides of the frames. In modem construction, the frames may be made of either wood or steel.
For providing electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, wall switches, and the like, an electrical junction box is employed. The junction box is often made of plastic, or other nonconductive material, and is physically mounted to a frame structure to later be connected to previously installed wiring. After the wall surfaces, e.g., drywall or plaster, are in place, physical access to the junction boxes is achieved via appropriate openings that are typically formed by cutting into and through the wall surfaces.
Standard residential and commercial electrical systems incorporate a plurality of electrical junction boxes, each of which provides electrical connection for the wires of electrical receptacles, such as electrical outlets, switches, fixtures, and the like, to electrical wiring of the building. Although conventional electrical systems including such junction boxes function at least adequately, they suffer from a variety of limitations. Traditional electrical wiring convention requires a junction box to connect electrical wires of a building to a particular electrical receptacle. Such connectivity is achieved by terminating wires that are stripped at the receptacle in order to complete a proper, flush-mounted wall installation of any given electrical receptacle. However, the associated wires and connectors must first be connected electrically to the receptacle, and the receptacle with the attached wires must then be inserted back into the junction box.
In the event that power is not shut off while the electrical receptacle is connected to the electrical system, the installer is subject to receiving an electrical shock because the junction box contains a plurality of open wires and connections that are exposed. Indeed, novice installers, such as homeowners for example attempting to complete the installation of a simple light fixture or ceiling fan, often make such connections incorrectly. The wires are normally crammed into a junction box relatively tightly, and thus are subject to short-circuiting, with commensurate risks of initiating electrical fires.
Standard electrical practices create additional limitations. For example, current electrical systems permit only switched control of fixtures and/or outlets directly wired to same junction box as the switch. In an effort to circumvent this disadvantage, multiple gang junction boxes have been used for terminating several switches in a single location, thereby permitting convenient control of multiple fixtures or groups of fixtures. Further, since electrical circuits of a building cannot be tested fully until after walls of the building are erected, electrical connectivity errors or problems related to proper switch control of particular outlets and fixtures are frequent, especially in the case of multi-way switches where more than one switch controls a single fixture or group of fixtures. These errors are costly and time-consuming to correct, and require that associated portions of interior walls be removed and reconstructed after such electrical errors have been located and repaired.
In addition, current electrical practices provide no standard system or method to permit monitoring, controlling, reconfiguring, or otherwise changing functionality of a particular receptacle, without either directly modifying the receptacle or otherwise acting upon a control mechanism (i.e., a switch or other control device) dedicated to controlling or monitoring the particular receptacle(s), and that is directly wired to the receptacle(s).
It therefore would be advantageous to have an electrical junction box that facilitates convenient and simple installation and removal of electrical receptacles. It would also be advantageous to have an electrical junction box wherein electrical wires of an electrical system of a building terminate in a secure area of a junction box, rather than directly on an exposed electrical receptacle connected to the junction box. It would further be advantageous to have a junction box that provides a pair of plug-and-play terminals into which electrical receptacles could be readily and conveniently plugged for connection to the electrical system of a building. It would further be advantageous to have a method of communicating between the electrical receptacles within the electrical system, which method would not be affected by the opening or closing of a switch. It would also be advantageous to have an electrical system that provides devices to monitor, control, and/or reconfigure individual electrical receptacles connected to the system without regard to specific location of the receptacles within the system. It would also be advantageous to have a wiring system that would enable changes to the location of a particular receptacle without affecting the receptacle's function or its ability to monitor, be monitored, control, or be controlled. It would also be advantageous to be able to change functionality of a particular receptacle from locations in the system apart from the particular receptacle, without physically operating directly upon or replacing the particular receptacle.
It would also be advantageous to have a junction box that provides a low voltage connector block adapted to provide circuitry for an electrical communication path. It would also be advantageous to have an electrical circuitry system wherein electrical receptacles may be controlled via a built-in, internal logic system that can be connected in any location within the system, and subsequently moved to any other location within the system, without affecting ability to be controlled by any suitably configured switch or switch control in the building.
It would also be advantageous to have a system and method for remotely controlling a remotely located device through an electrical circuitry system such that both the controlling device and the controlled device may be connected to any of a multiplicity of receptacles in the electrical circuitry system. It would also be advantageous to have a circuit system and wiring method that permits a single gang electrical junction box to accommodate a switch that is capable of controlling multiple electrical receptacles or groups of such receptacles.
Finally, it would be advantageous to have a circuit system that provides improved electrical junction boxes having a single connection or contact that permits communication, and thereby the capacity to control, monitor, and/or reconfigure electrical receptacles connected to the system from any point within the system. It would also be advantageous to have a method for terminating and routing electrical wires so that full testing of associated circuitry is possible prior to completion of interior wall surfaces. It would also be advantageous to have a junction box that decreases the
Field Lynn
Hyeon Hae Moon
Meyer Lee G.
Meyer & Associates, PC
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