Gasketless weatherproof housing

Claim 1

A water-excluding housing for electrical wires and devices comprising the combination of a box having side and rear walls forming an enclosure with an open front, said side walls having front edges terminating in substantially the same plane and defining the front opening of said enclosure; means in at least one of said walls forming an access passageway for wires to the interior of said enclosure; wall means including a substantially continuous outer wall defining with said side walls a substantially continuous elongated channel extending entirely around said front opening outwardly of said side walls, said channel being generally U-shaped in cross section with the opening of the U facing in the same direction as said enclosure, said outer wall terminating in a front edge lying rearwardly of said plane containing said front edges of said side walls; a cover for said box, said cover having a generally planar body shaped and dimensioned to contemporaneously close said front opening and said channel, when said planar body is placed against said open side of said enclosure, and a plurality of side cover walls extending rearwardly perpendicular to said body so that when said cover is placed on the front of said enclosure said side cover walls are outwardly of and surround said wall means; and means for holding said cover on said box, said cover being dimensioned to loosely fit over said enclosure and wall means so that a gap is formed for drainage of water, whereby water tending to enter said box is conducted by said channel to and out of said gap.