Electricity: conductors and insulators – Overhead – Towers – poles or posts
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-04
2003-12-16
Patel, Dhiru R (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Overhead
Towers, poles or posts
C174S0450TD, C174S068300, C052S220700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06664467
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains, in general, to surface raceway which is used to support wire or cable runs and more particularly to a snap-on mounting bracket used when mounting an electrical fixture, such as a duplex electrical outlet, a data communications jack or a phone jack, to the surface raceway.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Surface raceway is often used along the outside of walls when there is a need to extend or run electrical wires or cables. It is considerably cheaper and quicker to run the wires in this fashion than to try to run them within the walls of the structure after the structure has been built. Surface raceway also protects the wiring from unwanted or undesirable exposure yet it is designed so that additional wiring can be quickly added at some future date. Furthermore, surface raceway is designed so that the wiring therein can be easily accessed from almost any location along the run should the need arise. One common reason for accessing the wiring within a surface raceway is to install electrical fixtures, such as duplex outlets, data communication jacks or phone jacks, along the raceway. However, to do so, a special device called a mounting bracket is needed.
Mounting brackets provide a means of securing the electrical fixture to the surface raceway so that the fixture can be connected to the wires within. Mounting brackets also provide a means of covering the opening made in the surface raceway as well as conceal the cut edges of the raceway cover so that these sharp edges and the wiring therein will not be exposed. This covering function also aids in the installation of the surface raceway since the now covered cut edges or ends of the raceway cover will not be visible and hence need not be perfect. Thus, an installer's rough, angled, or slightly off cut of the raceway cover will not show which makes the installer's job easier since less attention is required for each such cut.
As can be imagined, mounting brackets for surface raceway are well known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,259,020, U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,420, U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,695, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,414 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,421. Each of these examples disclose a mounting bracket used to secure an electrical fixture to the surface raceway. While these various devices may be sufficient for their intended purpose, each such mounting bracket requires multiple components for installation in addition to the face plate surrounding the electrical fixture itself. Such a need for multiple components creates the opportunity that these components may become lost thus rendering the mounting bracket inoperable. Also, if the mounting bracket is installed with a part missing, a dangerous and unsafe situation may result.
A further issue with existing mounting brackets is the fact that once mounted, most cannot be easily removed should the need arise. For example, during the raceway cover trimming operation, it is desirable for the mounting bracket to be temporarily secured in place so that the cover can be properly marked as to where it is to be cut. This is more difficult to accomplish if the user, at the same time as marking the cover, also has to hold the mounting bracket in place. It is also desirable for the mounting bracket to be removable in the event there are visual issues with the installation or if it is determined that additional adjustment or trimming is required prior to final assembly.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a surface raceway mounting bracket that consists of a single component and not of multiple components as have hampered earlier such products. This single component feature eliminates the possibility that a missing part will render the bracket unusable.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel manner of attachment of the bracket to the surface raceway in order to allow the bracket to be removable during installation. This aids the installation of the bracket onto the surface raceway since the bracket can be removed should any additional trimming or cutting of the surface raceway cover be required.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a unique method of final securement of the mounting bracket to the raceway, one which does not require any tooling or screws, yet adequately secures the bracket to the raceway.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a mounting bracket that will cover any rough edges of the surface raceway covering that may occur when the raceway cover is trimmed to fit. Another object of this invention is to provide a means of securing a variety of different face plates to the mounting bracket depending on the electrical fixture installed.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become evident upon further investigation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to an assembly for mounting an electrical fixture to a surface raceway with this surface raceway having both base and cover components. The invention comprises a mounting bracket having front and back surfaces and which is also configured to support an electrical fixture therein. At least one latch extends from the back surface of the mounting bracket with each such latch being configured to engage and latch onto the base component of the surface raceway. This mounting bracket is also designed and configured to overlay or conceal a portion of the cover component.
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Barger G. Andrew
Hoelter Michael L.
Patel Dhiru R
Thomas & Betts INternational, Inc.
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