U.S. patent number 3,646,244 [Application Number 05/065,778] was granted by the patent office on 1972-02-29 for adjustable floor receptacle mount.
This patent grant is currently assigned to C. W. Cole & Co., Inc.. Invention is credited to Stephen W. Cole.
United States Patent |
3,646,244 |
Cole |
February 29, 1972 |
ADJUSTABLE FLOOR RECEPTACLE MOUNT
Abstract
An adjustable floor receptacle mount is provided that includes a
housing movable within a stationary casing fitted into a circular
opening in a concrete floor. The housing and the casing are each
formed of a pair of interlocking extruded channel structures whose
walls are shaped to facilitate the installation and operation of
the floor receptacle mount. In order to simplify the withdrawing of
the housing from a recessed position within the casing, a cap
provided on a cover plate for the housing and operating in
conjunction with a latching mechanism pops up when the housing is
unlatched. The cap thus provides a convenient handle by which the
housing can be quickly pulled out of the casing in the floor when
it is desired to use the electrical service provided by the
receptacles on the sides of the housing.
Inventors: |
Cole; Stephen W. (Altadena,
CA) |
Assignee: |
C. W. Cole & Co., Inc. (El
Monte, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
22065035 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/065,778 |
Filed: |
August 21, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
174/57; 174/483;
220/3.3; 220/3.7; 220/3.5; 439/131 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02G
3/185 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H02G
3/18 (20060101); H01h 009/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/3.3,3.4,3.5,3.7
;174/57,58 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Dixson, Jr.; William T.
Assistant Examiner: Garrett; James R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An adjustable floor receptacle mount comprising a casing adapted
to be stationarily positioned in a circular opening in the floor of
a building, a trim ring having an inner flange with depending
shoulders and being attached to the upper end of said casing, a
housing mated for sliding movement within said casing, said housing
being provided with receptacles on the vertical sidewalls thereof,
a circular cover plate attached to the upper end of said housing, a
bolt having a cap on the upper end thereof and a threaded body
extending downwardly through an opening in the center of said cover
plate, a spring beneath the cap of said bolt for urging said bolt
in an upward direction, and a latching means threadably engaged to
the body of said bolt, whereby when said bolt is depressed down
against the action of said spring and is rotated in one direction
the latching means bears upwardly against the shoulders on the
flange of said trim ring so as to latch said housing within said
casing in a recessed position in which said cover plate is flush
with the floor, and whereby when said bolt is rotated in the other
direction the latching means is freed of said trim ring shoulders
and the bolt is lifted up by the action of said spring such that
the cap on the upper end thereof can be used as a handle to raise
the housing out of the casing to a withdrawn position in which the
receptacles on the said sidewalls thereof are exposed for use above
the floor.
2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said housing
and said casing are each formed of a pair of identically shaped
lengths of extrusions which are interlocked at the side edges
thereof.
3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein the housing
formed by said interlocked identically shaped lengths of extrusions
has a generally square cross section with rounded corners, and the
casing formed by said interlocked identically shaped lengths of
extrusions has a generally circular cross section with flat
portions on diametrically opposite inside surfaces thereof, and
wherein said housing is mated to slide within said casing with the
rounded corners thereof engaging the circular inside wall of said
casing and with the flat sides thereof engaging the flat portions
on the inside wall of said casing.
4. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said circular
cover plate is provided with a peripheral gasket on the underside
thereof which bears against the flange of said trim ring when said
housing is latched to said casing by said latching means.
5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein said latching
means comprises a transverse latching member with a threaded
opening in the center thereof for receiving the threaded body of
said bolt, and wherein said housing is provided with transverse
slots on opposite sidewalls thereof into which the ends of said
transverse latching member can be rotated so as to engage the lower
end of the flange shoulders of said trim ring for latching said
housing to said casing.
6. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the outer
circular wall of said casing is provided with a plurality of spaced
longitudinally extending ribs to facilitate the installation of
said casing in the circular opening of the floor.
7. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the housing is
provided with a pair of spring-supported stops extending through
openings in the opposite sidewalls thereof, and wherein said stops
project out of said housing onto the upper surface of the flange of
said trim ring to hold said housing when in its withdrawn position
above the floor.
8. The invention in accordance with claim 5 including an additional
spring on the body of said bolt urging said latching member in an
upward direction, whereby when said bolt is depressed down against
the action of said spring and is initially rotated in one direction
the latching member is rotated with the bolt to a position below
the flange shoulders of said trim ring, and whereby further
rotation of said bolt draws the circular cover plate down on the
flange of said trim ring such that the peripheral gasket
compressingly seals the cover plate.
9. In an adjustable floor receptacle mount, the combination
comprising a casing stationarily positioned in an opening in a
floor, a housing provided with electrical receptacles on the
vertical sidewalls thereof, a cover plate secured to the upper end
of said housing, said housing being shaped to have a sliding
movement within said casing to a recessed position in which said
cover plate is flush with the level of the floor and a withdrawn
position in which the receptacles thereon are exposed for use above
the floor, latching means for latching said housing in its recessed
position within said casing, and a cap located on the center of
said cover plate, said cap being supported so as to be urged into
an upward position above the cover plate when said housing is not
latched to said casing by said latching means whereby said cap can
be used to withdraw said housing from said casing.
10. In an adjustable floor receptacle mount, the combination
comprising a casing formed of a pair of identically shaped lengths
of extrusions which are interlocked along the side edges thereof,
said casing having a generally circular cross section with flat
portions on diametrically opposite inside surfaces thereof, a trim
ring attached to the upper end of said casing, said casing being
adapted to be stationarily positioned in a circular opening in the
floor of a building with the trim ring projecting over the rim of
said opening, a housing formed of a pair of identically shaped
lengths of extrusions which are interlocked along the side edges
thereof, said housing having a generally square cross section with
rounded corners, a circular cover plate attached to the upper end
of said housing, said housing being mated to slide within said
casing with the rounded corners thereof engaging the circular
inside surfaces of said casing and with opposite sides thereof
engaging the flat portions on the diametrically opposite inside
surfaces of said casing, and receptacle devices mounted on the
vertical walls of said housing, said housing being slidable within
said casing between a recessed position in which said cover plate
is flush with the level of the floor and a withdrawn position in
which the receptacle devices thereon are exposed for use above the
floor.
Description
This invention relates to adjustable floor receptacle mounts and
more particularly to a novel structure for such a mount.
It is highly desirable to provide a movable housing in a floor
receptacle mount that can be either lowered within a stationary
casing provided in the floor and latched in a hidden position
therein flush with the surrounding floor area or that can be easily
lifted out of the casing and held in a withdrawn position above the
level of the floor in which position the electrical receptacles on
the sides of the housing are readily available for providing
service to electrical equipment.
It can be readily appreciated that when it is desirable to provide
such an adjustable floor receptacle mount that extends through an
opening provided in a concrete floor, it simplifies and reduces the
expense of the labor of installation thereof if the recess or
opening to be bored in the concrete floor is of a circular
configuration. This, however, requires that the casing for the
mount to be placed in this circular opening be of a circular
configuration. It is also appreciated that in order to latch the
housing when it is in its hidden position within the casing or to
unlatch the housing so that it can be lifted therefrom when it is
desired to use the services provided by the receptacles, it is of
advantage to apply a rotative force in some manner to the housing.
However, this rotative force is of no effect unless the surface of
the casing in which the housing vertically slides is shaped so as
to resist such rotation.
Accordingly, in order to provide shapes for the casing and housing
of an adjustable floor receptacle mount which will accommodate
these and other requirements without having to machine or specially
fabricate the parts, the present invention provides for forming the
casing and housing of extruded open channel structures that can be
readily manufactured in a continuous manner. The extruded open
channel structures are so shaped that two separate lengths of the
identically shaped structures can be interlocked or mated together
by sliding the side edge portions thereof lengthwise within each
other to form a hollow closed cross-sectional unit. Thus, the
casing is formed of two lengths of interlocked identically shaped
channel structures such that although the cross section of its wall
configuration is generally circular, its interior wall
configuration is formed with flat surfaces on diametrically opposed
portions thereof. The housing is likewise formed of two lengths of
interlocked identically shaped open channel structures such that
although the cross section thereof is generally square, the corner
walls thereof are rounded to conform with a close sliding fit
within the circular wall of the casing. Thus, the rounded corners
of the housing are permitted to slide vertically along the circular
interior wall of the casing while the flat sides of the housing
abutting the flat surfaces on diametrically opposed portions of the
interior wall of the casing restrain the housing from rotation
therein. It should be noted that by forming the casing and housing
of extruded structures other useful shapes can be readily provided
which will facilitate the installation and operation of such
adjustable floor receptacle mounts.
When a floor receptacle mount is residing with its housing in its
hidden position within the casing in the floor, a cover plate on
the upper end of the housing is positioned flush with the level of
the floor and latched tightly against a trim ring attached to the
stationary casing such as to seal the mount. Because the cover
plate is flush with the floor with no protruding parts, there is no
way of grasping hold of the cover plate after being unlatched in
order to lift the housing out of the floor without using a special
tool to pry or otherwise lift up the cover plate. Thus, it is
highly desirable to provide a built-in device on the mount for
being able to simply lift the housing after it is unlatched such
that it can be withdrawn from the casing when service connections
are to be made to the receptacle thereon, and then lowered back
into the casing when the service connections are no longer
required.
The adjustable floor receptacle mount of the present invention
provides a cap on a bolt extending through the center of the cover
plate for the housing which operates in conjunction with its
latching mechanism such that the cap pops up above the level of the
cover plate when the housing is unlatched. The cap thus provides a
convenient handle by which the housing can be quickly pulled out of
the casing in the floor.
Accordingly, the broad object of the present invention is to
provide improvements in the construction of adjustable floor
receptacle mounts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
structure for such a mount by manufacturing both the stationary
casing and the movable housing therefor out of extruded channel
structures.
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel popup device
operating in conjunction with a latching mechanism for facilitating
the lifting of the housing of the floor mount when it is in its
hidden position in the casing flush with the level of the
floor.
The manner in which the above objects are accomplished in
accordance with the invention, as well as other objects, advantages
and features thereof, will become apparent from the following
description and the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the floor receptacle mount of the
present invention shown with the movable housing in its hidden
position flush with the level of the floor;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the floor receptacle mount
showing the casing with the movable housing in its hidden position
therein flush with the level of the floor;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the floor receptacle mount shown
with the movable housing in its withdrawn position above the level
of the floor;
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the floor receptacle mount
showing the casing with the movable housing in its withdrawn
position therein so as to extend above the level of the floor;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the details of the trim ring
as viewed from below the floor level;
FIG. 6 is a plan and partially horizontal sectional view of the
mount taken generally at different levels along line 6--6 of FIG.
2;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the details of the cover plate
assembly for the housing;
FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the mount taken along line
8--8 of FIG. 2 and showing the latching mechanism in its latched
and unlatched positions; and
FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the mount taken along line
9--9 of FIG. 2 and showing the spring supported stop for holding
the housing in its withdrawn position.
Like referenced numerals correspond to like elements throughout the
figures of the drawings.
Referring to the drawings, the adjustable floor receptacle mount of
the present invention includes an inner housing denoted by
reference character 10 and an outer casing denoted by reference
character 16. The housing 10 is movable within casing 16 which is
stationarily held in a circular opening 35 provided in a concrete
floor. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the movable housing 10 is illustrated in
its recessed or hidden position within casing 16 in which it is
flush with the level of the floor. In FIGS. 3 and 4 the movable
housing 10 is illustrated in its withdrawn or in-use position in
which the upper half thereof is pulled out of the casing 16 and
extends above the level of the floor.
Housing 10, which is generally square in cross section, is formed
of two identically shaped lengths of aluminum extrusions 11 and 12
the sides of which are interlocked at 13 and 14 by sliding the
projections on the side end portions thereof within each other to
form a hollow closed cross-sectional unit, as shown in FIGS. 6, 8
and 9. More specifically, as shown at 13 in FIG. 6, a side
projection 11d of extrusion 11 is slid lengthwise into the opening
of a side end projection 12d of extrusion 12. The corners, such as
11f, of the housing 10 are rounded such that the housing is
slidably mounted within the generally circular stationary casing 16
which is likewise formed of two identically shaped lengths of
aluminum extrusions 17 and 18 the side edges of which are
interlocked at 20 and 21, similarly to the extrusions of housing
10, as shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9. The identical extrusions 17 and
18 forming casing 16 provide respective flat surfaces 17a and 18a
on diametrically opposite sides of the internal wall thereof which
together with respective shoulders 18b and 17b provide for mating
with the respective opposing flat sidewalls 12a and 11a of the
identical extrusions 12 and 11 forming movable housing 10.
The housing 10 is provided with a top circular cover plate 22 which
has a bridge member 24 secured to the underside thereof by welding,
for example, as shown in FIG. 7. The ends of bridge member 24
extend downwardly and inwardly to form brackets 26a and 26b. The
cover plate 22 is securely attached to the upper end of housing 10
by mounting screws 28a and 28b extending through the flat back and
front walls 11c and 12c, respectively, of housing 10 and the
downwardly extended portions of brackets 26a, 26b of bridge member
24. The inwardly extending portions of brackets 26a and 26b have a
horizontal barrier 32 attached thereto by mounting screws 32a and
32b. The horizontal barrier 32 serves to shield receptacles 19
mounted within the housing 10 from dirt, water or other foreign
matter. The periphery of cover plate 22 projecting beyond the sides
of the inner housing 10 is provided on the underside thereof with a
peripheral gasket 25 (FIG. 2). A bottom circular cover plate 30
provided with a sealing gasket 31 is secured onto the bottom end of
housing 10 by mounting screws 33.
The flat back and front walls 11c and 12c, respectively, of housing
10 are provided with rectangular openings 38 (FIG. 2) to
accommodate the electrical receptacles 19 on a pair of panels 15
which are attached to these walls by mounting screws 15a. It should
be understood that a variety of replaceable panels 15 formed to
accommodate a variety of electrical receptacles 19 can be provided
for attachment to the front and back walls of housing 10 in the
aforementioned manner. As indicated in FIG. 9, a vertical barrier
68 may be inserted in grooves 12b and 11b formed on the respective
flat sidewalls 12a and 11a of housing 10 when it is desirable to
have the mount provided with electrical devices or receptacles 19
of high and low potential requirements.
The stationary casing 16 is formed with four radially extending
ribs 17c, 17d, 18c and 18d equally spaced about the outer circular
wall thereof for facilitating the positioning of casing 16 into the
circular opening 35 provided in the concrete floor. As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 6, a trim ring 37, preferably formed of a stamping, is
positioned over the opening 35 in the floor with its outer
periphery forming a circular rim 23 extending over the edge thereof
and with its inner periphery stepped downwardly to form an inner
flange 27. Flange 27 is formed with side portions positioned over
the interlocking end portions 20 and 21 of the outer casing 16 so
as to be held thereon by mounting screws 20a and 21a. A sealing
gasket 38a is positioned under circular rim 23.
It should thus be understood that casing 16 is positioned in
opening 35 provided in the concrete floor and supported therein by
the trim ring 37 which has its inner flange 27 attached to the
upper end of outer casing 16 and its outer rim 23 extending about
the circular edge of opening 35. Outer rim 23 sits above the
surface of the concrete floor such that its upper surface matches
the level of the tile 34, for example. The lower portion of casing
16 extending below the lower surface of the concrete floor is
provided with a sleeve 40 that can be vertically positioned along
the lower end portion of casing 16 such that its upper flange 41
contacts the lower surface of the concrete floor. Screws 42 passing
through sleeve 40 engage threaded openings in the interlocking wall
portions of the casing 16 (FIG. 9) to hold the sleeve 40 in this
position.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is contemplated that the space surrounding
the portion of the floor receptacle mount located below the
concrete floor is enclosed by a metal box 46 which is attached to
the undersurface of the floor by screws 48. The inside surface of
box 46 is lined with an asbestos insulation, for example, so as to
serve as a heat barrier for the floor mount. A connector 61
attached to a central opening in the bottom cover 30 provides for
holding flexible cable 63 such that its ends can extend upwardly
within housing 10 and be connected (not shown) to the electrical
receptacles 19 held on the side panels 15 of housing 10. The other
end of cable 63 is attached by connector 66 on the wall of box 46
to an outlet box 64.
It should now be clear that the movable housing 10 with the cover
plate 22 attached on the upper end thereof can slide vertically
within the stationary casing 16 to either its hidden position flush
with the level of the floor as illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 2 or to
its withdrawn position above the level of the floor as illustrated
by FIGS. 3 and 4. In a manner to be described in the ensuing
description, when the housing 10 is latched in its hidden position
the outer periphery of cover plate 22 is sealed by gasket 25
compressingly engaged against flange 27 of trim ring 37 and when
the housing 10 is held in its withdrawn position the outer portion
of bottom cover 30 is sealed by gasket 31 which abuts up against
the lower end of casing 16.
The housing 10 is held in its withdrawn position by a pair of
spring supported stops 45a and 45b which are positioned
intermediately within the housing 10 on opposite walls 12a and 11a
thereof with the lower ends of the spring supports 43a and 43b held
by screws 44a and 44b. The stops 45a and 45b extend through
respective openings 39a and 39b provided on the opposite sidewalls
12a and 11a of the housing 10 into the recesses provided between
the circular wall of the casing 16 and the sidewalls of the housing
10, as shown in FIG. 9. Stops 45a and 45b are provided with slanted
surfaces such that as the housing 10 is raised past the inner
flange 27, the stops 45a and 45b are deflected inwardly. Then, upon
the housing 10 reaching its withdrawn position the stops 45a and
45b snap back out through openings 39a and 39b so as to rest
against the upper surface of inner flange 27.
Mounted on the cover plate 22 and within the upper portion of inner
housing 10 is a mechanism which is used for latching housing 10 to
the casing 16 when it is in its recessed position within the casing
16. This mechanism also operates to facilitate the lifting of the
housing 10 out of its recessed position. To this end, cover plate
22 is formed with a circular well 29 in the center thereof which
seats cap 50 having a slot 53. Cap 50 forms the head of a bolt 51
whose threaded body passes through a central clearance opening 52
provided in the center of cover plate 22. A spring 54 positioned
between the underside of cap 50 and the upper surface of the well
29 on cover plate 22 tends to urge the bolt 51 in an upward
position (FIG. 4). A horizontally disposed latch member 55 provided
with latching end portions 57a and 57b is provided with a threaded
opening 58 in the center thereof for receiving the threaded body of
bolt 51. A nut 59 is provided on the lower end of the body of bolt
51. A spring 60, positioned between the nut 59 and the lower
surface of latch member 55, takes up any slack in the threads so as
to urge the latch member 55 into an upward position such that it
tends to move with the rotation of bolt 51 until it meets a
resistance. As shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 8, when the cap 50 is forced
down against the spring 54, the latch member 55 is lowered such
that its end portions 57a and 57b can be rotated in a clockwise
direction into horizontally disposed slots 62a and 62b respectively
provided on the opposite sidewalls 12a and 11a of inner housing 10.
Upon being rotated about 45.degree., the end portions 57a and 57b,
respectively, bear against the surfaces 17f and 18f of the
interlocking end portions 21 and 20 of the casing 16. Further
tightening of the cap 50 in a clockwise direction then causes
threaded bolt 51 to draw up on the latch member 55 such that the
end portions 57a and 57b thereof bear upwardly against the
depending inner shoulders 65a and 65b provided on diametrically
opposing sides of inner flange 27 of the trim ring 37. This
compresses the gasket 25 provided on the periphery of the cover
plate 22 so as to seal the floor receptacle housing 10 in its
recessed position within the casing 16.
When the floor receptacle housing 10 is to be withdrawn from the
casing 16 to its in-use position above the concrete floor, the cap
50 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by turning a coin or
a similarly shaped object positioned in the slot 53. The initial
turning of the cap 50 provides for loosening the latch member 55.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, upon further rotation in this direction,
the latch member 55 rotates with the bolt 51 because of the force
of spring 60 until the respective end portions 57a and 57b of the
latch member 55 clear the horizontally disposed slots 62a and 62b
in the opposite sidewalls 12a and 11a of housing 10, and moves to
the position shown in FIG. 8, in which the end portions 57a and 57b
respectively contact the flat front and back walls 12c and 11c of
the housing. The nut 59 on the lower end of the bolt 51 prevents
the bolt from inadvertently being rotated out of latch member 55.
Latch member 55 is now free to move upwardly by the force of spring
54 such that the bolt 51 and cap 50 pop up, as shown in FIG. 4, so
as to provide a convenient handle for lifting the housing 10 out of
the casing 16.
As described previously, the housing 10 is lifted until gasket 31
on bottom cover plate 30 bears against the bottom end of casing 16
at which time the spring-supported stops 45a and 45b snap out into
flange 27 to support the housing 10 in its withdrawn position. When
it is desired to again position the housing into its recessed
position in the floor, the stops 45a and 45b can be pressed
inwardly and the housing 10 is then lowered down into the casing 16
while being held by cap 50. The cap 50 is then pressed down against
spring 54 which lowers the latch member 55 such that rotating the
cap 50 in a clockwise direction by inserting a coin in its slot 53
will rotate the latch member 55 approximately 45.degree. until
arrested by the end portions 57a and 57b thereof respectively
contacting the inner locking portions 20 and 21 of the casing 16
(FIGS. 6 and 8). When in this position the end portions 57a and 57b
of the latch member are below the depending shoulders 65a, 65b on
inner flange 27 of the trim ring 37. Thus, continued tightening of
cap 50 in a clockwise direction causes the end portions of the
latch member 55 to bear upwardly against the inner shoulder 65a and
65b of the trim ring 37. This causes the periphery of the cover 22
to bear down on the gasket 25 so as to seal the mount while in its
recessed position.
Although the description herein has been concerned with a
particularly illustrative embodiment, it is to be understood that
the invention is subject to various modifications in both the
construction ad arrangement thereof without departing from the
spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, should be
considered as including all possible modifications and variations
coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended
claims.
* * * * *