Patent US4587580A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3662085A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Mounting bracket for switch or receptacle
Assignee: General Cable Corp
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Filing: 1971-03-12
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Granted: 1972-05-09
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Expires: 1991-03-12
Abstract
Abstract This electrical fitting, such as a wall outlet or a switch, has a housing that extends through an opening in a wall and has flange means that extend beyond the sides of the opening across the front of the wall to prevent the housing from being pushed through the opening. A bracket fits around the housing and is adjustable along the housing from front to back; and the bracket has a flange that contacts with a back surface of the wall. Complimentary locking means on confronting surfaces of the housing and the bracket selectively engage with one another at different positions of the bracket or accommodating the bracket to walls of different thickness.
Inventors
- 👤 Daniel E Robinson
- 👤 Solomon Rubinstein
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 19:42
CPC Classifications
H; H02; H02G; H02G3/00; H02G3/02; H02G3/08; H02G3/12; H02G3/123
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
118 words
An electrical fitting for installations in an opening in a building wall including in combination a housing that fits into said opening, flange means fixed to the front of the housing in position to extend beyond the opening and across the front surface of the wall, a bracket that fits around the housing and that is adjustable along the housing from front to back of the housing, the bracket having a flange that projects beyond the housing and across a back surface of the wall, and complementary locking means on confronting surfaces of the housing and the bracket that selectively engage one another at different adjusted positions of the bracket for accommodating the bracket to different wall thicknesses.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
118 words
An electrical fitting for installations in an opening in a building wall including in combination a housing that fits into said opening, flange means fixed to the front of the housing in position to extend beyond the opening and across the front surface of the wall, a bracket that fits around the housing and that is adjustable along the housing from front to back of the housing, the bracket having a flange that projects beyond the housing and across a back surface of the wall, and complementary locking means on confronting surfaces of the housing and the bracket that selectively engage one another at different adjusted positions of the bracket for accommodating the bracket to different wall thicknesses.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
95 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by the bracket having portions that extend around different sides of the housing for holding the bracket on the housing, said surface of the bracket that confronts a surface of the housing extending from front to rear with respect to the housing and the opening through the wall, one of the confronting surfaces having a plurality of shoulders thereon and the other one of the confronting surfaces having an abutment that engages different shoulders to hold the bracket in different adjusted positions for walls of different thicknesses.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
129 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by the bracket comprising a flat outer portion that is a flange of the bracket, and the bracket having an opening through which the housing fits, the bracket also having side walls that confront side walls of the housing to provide said confronting surfaces and that connect with the bracket flange along the edges of the opening in the bracket through which the housing fits, said side walls of the bracket being adjacent to and substantially parallel with the side walls of the housing, the means on said confronting surfaces including shoulders along edges of the flanges of the side walls and projections on the side walls of the housing extending into spaces between the shoulders on the bracket side walls.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
73 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 3 characterized by the side walls of the bracket being integral with the flange of the bracket at their forward ends and being sufficiently flexible to bend away from the walls of the housing far enough to clear the projection on the wall of the housing to facilitate adjusting of the bracket along the housing and engagement of the projection with a different shoulder of the bracket.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
148 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 4 characterized by the bracket being a one piece metal stamping with the side walls struck from the material displaced from the opening through which the housing extends, there being substantially parallel side walls on both sides of the opening through the bracket and each side wall being supported only by its connection to the bracket flange at the forward end of the side walls, and each side wall having sawtooth upper and lower edges with one side of each tooth substantially vertical and constituting one of the shoulders, and the housing being a molding with projections on both sides thereof in position to engage between sawteeth along the edges of the side walls of the bracket, the projections being shaped to fit the space between the sawteeth and the vertical sides of the sawteeth facing toward the flange of the bracket.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
55 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by a detachable portion of the housing that holds the complementary locking means in engagement with one another, and fastening means for securing said detachable portion to the housing after the bracket has been adjusted for the thickness of the wall in which the housing is installed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
163 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 6 characterized by the bracket having side walls that extend along side walls of the housing adjacent thereto and substantially parallel therewith, the side walls of the bracket being movable toward and away from the housing to engage and disengage the complementary locking means to effect changes in adjustment for different thicknesses of the wall in which the housing is to be installed, the detachable portion of the housing being a back portion of the housing that fits between the side walls of the bracket at its mid-portion and that extends beyond the upper and lower ends of the side walls of the bracket, the extending part of the back portion of the housing being wider than the side walls of the housing and having channels into which the upper and lower ends of the side walls of the bracket extend to prevent said side walls of the bracket from moving apart and disengaging the locking means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
156 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by the housing having a forward portion of a depth from front to back equal to the thickest wall with which the fitting is intended to be used, a back portion of the housing wider than the front portion for at least a part of the vertical extend of the back portion, detachable fastening means by which the back portion of the housing is connected with the front portion, said back portion contacting with the back of the flange of the bracket to hold said flange against the back of the wall in which the housing is installed when that wall is of a thickness equal to the full depth of the forward portion of the housing, the range of adjustment of the complementary locking means being less than that necessary to accommodate a wall thickness equal to the full depth of the forward portion of the housing.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by the electrical fitting being an outlet receptacle with sockets in the front of the housing for receiving the prongs of a drop cord fitting.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The electrical fitting described in claim 1 characterized by the electrical fitting having a switch with a manually operated actuator projecting through the front face of the front portion of the housing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-05-09 | 1975-11-08 | 1976-05-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-05-09 | 1979-11-08 | 1980-05-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-05-09 | 1983-11-08 | 1984-05-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |