Frame for the mounting of interchangeable electrical units

Claim 1

As a novel article of manufacture for mounting interchangeable electrical units having oppositely directed first and second projections, a one-piece mounting frame consisting of electrically insulating synthetic plastic material and having a front surface, a rear surface, a row of openings extending between said surfaces, an abutment provided in each of said openings to limit the extent to which an electrical unit can be inserted into the respective opening in a direction from one toward the other of said surfaces, a first elongated frame-stiffening member projecting upwardly from and extending longitudinally of a substantial portion of said one surface along one side of said row of openings and having recesses which are located adjacent to the openings of said row and adapted to receive the first projections of electrical units which are being insertted into the adjoining openings, a second elongated frame-stiffening member projecting upwardly from and extending longitudinally of a substantial portion of said one surface along the other side of said row of openings and having elastic tongues which face said recesses and are deformable by the second projections of electrical units from first to second positions during insertion of such units into the adjacent openings while the first projections of the units extend into the corresponding recesses of said first member, to subsequently reassume said first positions and to thereby overlie the respective second projections so as to retain the units in their openings, and passages extending between said front and rear surfaces and each in line with a portion of one of said tongues in the first position of the respective tongue so that a tool which is inserted into a passage in a direction from said other toward said one surface can engage and move the corresponding tongue from the first to the second position thereof and to thus permit removal of an electrical unit from its opening.