Wall plate structure

Claim 1

In combination with a wall mounted receptacle that includes first and second spaced, prong receiving outlets, each of said outlets capable of removably receiving a pair of electrical conducting prongs that project from an insulated plug mounted on a free end of an electrical conducting cord, a wall plate assembly, said assembly including: a. a cover plate molded from a polymerized resin, said cover plate at least as great in transverse cross-section as that of said receptacle and adapted to conceal the latter when said cover plate overlies said receptacle, said cover plate having first and second openings that are aligned with said first and second outlets, said cover plate including first and second pairs of spaced tabs extending outwardly from said plate adjacent said first and second openings, said cover plate having a slot formed between each of said pair of tabs; b. first and second release plates that in first positions overlie said openings and are conformed in plan form to the dimensions of said openings, said first and second plates each having a pair of spaced openings therein through which said pair of prongs of one of said plugs may extend to removably engage one of said prong receiving outlets; first and second handles that extend outwardly in opposite directions from said first and second plates; and first and second cylindrical fulcrums that extend outwardly from said first and second plates adjacent said first and second handles, said first and second cylindrical fulcrums pivotally and removably engaging said first and second pairs of tabs, said fulcrums being conformed for receipt between said tabs, said tabs having parallel surfaces extending vertically from said cover plate, each of said surfaces terminating at a free edge thereof in a turned extension, the respective extensions being directed toward each other to form a gap less than the sectional dimension of a respective fulcrum for insert of said fulcrums between said tabs and adjacent a respective slot; and, c. first means for removably securing said cover plate to said receptacle for said cover plate and first and second release plates to conceal said receptacle and first and second outlets when said first and second cover plates are in said first position, with said first and second plates when manually moved from said first position to a second position displacing the one of said plugs most adjacent thereto from engagement with one of said outlets, and said release plates being removable from said cover plate without removing the latter from said receptacle.