Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2048506
SEPARATING BARRT~R FOR GANGED ELECTRICAL OUTLET BO~ES
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a separating barrier for
ganged electrical outlet boxes and more particularly to an
arrangement comprising at least two ganged electrical boxes
of the type having a U-shaped body and two removable side
walls. The arrangement comprises first and second end walls
and a barrier of flat sheet material secured between at
least two adjacent ganged box bodies whereby the arrangement
defines at least two physically separated compartments.
The number of communication outlets which have to
be located close to an electrical receptacle, has greatly
increased during the last few years. This was caused by the
growth in the usage of communication and entertainment
equipment such as telephone recording machines, facsimile
transfer equipment (faxes), PC computers, cable connected
television, VCR's, etc.
In practice, to provide the communication
connection for the equipment, a box, which supports a wall
plate containing a communication outlet, is mounted on a
wall stud. For convenience, this box is often located close
to an outlet box containing the power receptacle. The
Electrical Code does not allow mixing of power and
communication cables carrying different potentials, in the
same box without a physical barrier between them, therefore
two separate boxes are used at the present time.
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Since generally boxes are mounted on wall studs,
the two boxes, one containing the communication receptacle
and the other the power receptacle, are 16" or 24" apart
(the distance between stud centeræ) which contributes to the
maze of cables often present in the back of communication
equipment. Locating the power and communication outlets
close together can be accomplished by mounting one of the
boxes on the stud and the other on the wall close to it.
An expensive "rework box", containing special clamps
allowing it to be fastened to the wall, is used in order to
have two boxes close together. The cost of such
installation is fairly high and therefore it is provided
only on special request.
One of the most common electric device boxes used
by electricians is the "gangable" type. Gangable boxes can
be joined (ganged) together, to provide mounting means for
two, three or more electrical devices. In order to assemble
a "two-gang" box, one side is removed from each of the
boxes, and the two are then assembled together, using
holding screws.
The present invention provides a means of
separating the communication conductors outlet from the
power conductors outlet and providing a physical barrier
between the power and low voltage lines in the gangable
boxes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a broad aspect of the invention, there
is provided an arrangement comprising at least two ganged
electrical outlet boxes of the type having a U-shaped body
and two removable side walls, said body having a first end,
a second end, a back, a first side edge and a second side
edge, said body having first and second retaining means at
said first and second ends adjacent each of said first and
second side edges for releasably retaining either a side
wall or an adjacent U-shaped outlet box body to which said
body is ganged, said arrangement further comprising first
and second end side walls and a barrier of flat sheet
material secured between at least two adjacent ganged box
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bodies whereby said arrangement defines at least two
physically separated compartments, said first retaining
means on said first end adjacent said first edge and on said
second end adjacent said second edge comprises an outwardly
projecting portion having a tapped hole containing a screw,
said second retaining means on said first end adjacent said
second edge and on said second end adjacent said first edge
comprises a slot extending away from said second or first
edge, respectively, each said barrier having a first end and
a second end provided with a first ear and a second ear,
respectively, having an end portion extending at a right
angle to said barrier, each said ear having a slot in said
end portion, the screw on the first end of one box body
being accommodated in the slot of said first ear and the
screw on the second end of an adjacent box body being
accommodated in the slot in said second ear and the slot in
the second end of the first box body.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the
invention also provides an arrangement comprising at least
two ganged electrical outlet boxes of the type having a U-
shaped body and two removable side walls, said body having
a first end, a second end, a back, a first side edge and a
second side edge, said body having first and second
retaining means at said first and second ends adjacent each
of said first and second side edges for releasably retaining
either a side wall or an adjacent U-shaped outlet box body
to which said body is ganged, said arrangement further
comprising first and second end side walls and a barrier of
flat sheet material secured between at least two adjacent
ganged box bodies whereby said arrangement defines at least
two physically separated compartments, said first retaining
means on said first end adjacent said first edge and on said
second end adjacent said second edge comprises an outwardly
projecting portion having a tapped hole containing a screw,
said second retaining means on said first end adjacent said
second edge and on said second end adjacent said first edge
comprising a slot extending away from said second or first
edge, respectively, said U-shaped body has a predetermined
2048506
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internal depth and height, and said barrier has a width and
length slightly less than said depth and width,
respectively, æaid barrier having first and second ends
provided with first and second tabs, respectively, engaged
with first and second edges of adjacent ganged box bodies,
said barrier has a predetermined thickness and said tabs
have a thickness less than said predetermined thickness.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the
invention also provides an arrangement comprising at least
two ganged electrical outlet boxes of the type having a U-
shaped body and two removable side walls, said body having
a first end, a second end, a back, a first side edge and a
second side edge, said body having first and second
retaining means at said first and second ends adjacent each
of said first and second side edges for releasably retaining
either a side wall or an adjacent U-shaped outlet box body
to which said body is ganged, said arrangement further
comprising first and second end side walls and a barrier of
flat sheet material secured between at least two adjacent
ganged box bodies whereby said arrangement defines at least
two physically separated compartments, said retaining means
on said first end adjacent said first edge and on said
second end adjacent said second edge comprises an outwardly
projecting portion having a tapped hole containing a screw,
said second retaining means on said first end adjacent said
second edge and on said second end adjacent said first edge
comprising a slot extending away from said second or first
edge, respectively, said U-shaped body has a predetermined
internal depth and height, and said barrier has a width and
length slightly less than said depth and width,
respectively, said first and second ends being provided with
lateral depressions accommodating said screws, said barrier
being retained by said screws between adjacent ganged box
bodies.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the
invention also provides an arrangement comprising at least
two ganged electrical outlet boxes of the type having a U-
shaped body and two removable side walls, said body having
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a first end, a second end, a back, a first side edge and a
second side edge, said body having first and second
retaining means at said first and second ends adjacent each
of said first and second side edges for releasably retaining
either a side wall or an adjacent U-shaped outlet box body
to which said body is ganged, said arrangement further
comprising first and second end side walls and a barrier of
flat sheet material secured between at least two adjacent
ganged box bodies whereby said arrangement defines at least
two physically separated compartments, said back has a
predetermined width and first and second cable clamps are
secured to said back adjacent said first and æecond ends,
said clamps having a length less than said predetermined
width of said back, said U-shaped body having a
predetermined internal depth and height and said barrier
having a width and length slightly less than said depth and
width, respectively, said barrier having a back edge
retained between adjacent bodies by said clamps in said
bodies.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAHINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gangable
electrical outlet box of known type, with both of its
removable sides attached,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of two gangable
electrical outlet boxes, each having one side removed prior
to their being joined together (ganged),
Figure 3 is a perspective view of two boxes joined
together to form a "two-ganged" box,
Figure 4 is a perspective view of two boxes as in
Figure 2 plus a barrier between the boxes,
Figure 4A illustrates a modification of the barrier
of Figure 4,
Figure 5 is a perspectivew view of two ganged boxes
with the barrier secured between them to divide the "two-
gang" box into physically separated compartments,
Figure 6 is a perspective view similar to Figure 4
but with a modified form of barrier,
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Figures 7A and 7B are front and side views,
respectively, of the barrier shown in Figure 6,
Figure 8 is a perspective view, similar to Figure
5, showing a modified form of barrier, and
Figure 9 is an exploded detail view of part of the
embodiment shown in Figure 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EHBODIHENTS
Referring to Figure 1, a gangable electrical outlet
box, generally indicated at 10, comprises a U-shaped body
12 and two removable side walls 13, 14. The body 12 is
provided with tapped holes 15 for fastening a standard
wiring device such as a receptacle, a switch or a
communication outlet. It also has provision for attachment
of the side walls 13, 14. Specifically, a tab 17 at one end
of each side wall engages a slot 18 in an end wall of the
body and the other end of each side wall is retained by a
screw 20 in a tapped hole in an outwardly projecting portion
21 of the opposite end wall of the body. The shape of these
boxes has been standardized in North America and gangable
boxes made by one manufacturer can be attached to boxes made
by other manufacturers.
Referring to Figure 2, two boxes 10 and 10' may be
"ganged " together by first removing side wall 14 from box
10 and side wall 13 from box 10'. The two boxes 10, 10' are
assembled together by sliding slot 18 of box 10' under the
head of screw 20 in box 10 and sliding slot 18 of box 10
under the head of screw 20 in box 10'. Note that the area
23 around screw 20 is recessed below the surface 25 of the
box body 12, so that the area around the slot 18 fits into
it and the two areas 23 are flush when the box bodies are
mounted together.
Figure 3 shows the assembled structure of boxes 10
and 10' forming a single enclosure of essentially double the
size of a single box enclosure.
Referring to Figure 4, the U-shaped bodies 12 of
boxes 10, 10' each have a first end 26, a second end 27, a
back 28, a first side edge 29 and a second side edge 30.
Each body 12 has first and second retaining means (screw 20
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and slot 18) at its ends 26, 27 adjacent the first and
second side edges 29, 30 for releasably retaining either a
side wall ~13,14) or an adjacent body 12 to which it is
ganged.
The arrangement shown in Figure 4 further
comprises, in accordance with the invention, a barrier 32
of flat sheet material such as steel or galvanized steel;
the boxes 10, 10' may, and normally would, comprise the same
type of material as the barrier 32. When the boxes 10, 10'
are joined together (ganged) as shown in Figure 5, the
barrier 32 is secured between the two adjacent ganged box
bodies 12 of boxes 10 and 10'.
The barrier 32 is provided at its ends with first
and second ears 33 and 34. The ears 33 and 34 have end
portions 36 and 37 extending at right angles to the barrier.
The end portions 36, 37 of ears 33, 34 have slots 40, 41.
When assembled as illustrated in Figure 5, the screw 20 of
the body 12 of box 10 is accommodated in the slot 40 of ear
33 and the screw 20 of the body 12 of box 10' is
accommodated in the slot 41 of ear 34.
The barrier 32 is provided with slits 43 so the
ears 33, 34 can be bent back as well as folded so that end
portions 36, 37 form flat faces at 90 to the surfaces of
the barrier. Bending back the ears provides clearances for
the screws 20.
In order to assemble the barrier 32 shown in Figure
4 to the bodies 12 of boxes 10 and 10', the following
procedure is used. The barrier 32 is placed against the
edge 29 of box 10, with the slot 40 of ear 33 fitting under
the head of screw 20. Then the box 10' is assembled to box
10 by sliding slot 18 of box 10' above the slot 40 in the
ear 33 of the barrier and under the head of the screw 20 of
box 10. The slot 41 in the lower ear 34 of the barrier 32
is in place over the slot 18 in box 10 and these slots
accommodate the screw 20 in box 10'. The barrier 32 is held
firmly in place once the screws 20 of boxes 10 and 10' are
tightened.
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An alternative ear conætruction is shown in Figure
4A which shows only a portion of barrier 32 with ear 33.
The slot 40 in ear 33 is angled to match the position of the
slot 18 in box 10'. Correspondingly, the slot 41 in the
lower ear 34 ~not shown) would be slanted to match the slot
18 in box 10. The completed asæembly of boxes 10 and 10'
with barrier 32 is shown in Figure 5.
An alternative construction of barrier is shown in
Figure 6. The barrier 32 is similar to the one described
above except that it does not have ears, such as ears 33 and
34. Instead of the ears, the barrier is provided with first
and second tabs 45 and 46. The first (upper) tab 45 is bent
toward the box 10 and the second (lower) tab 46 is bent
towards box 10'. In order to assemble the boxes 10 and 10'
the barrier 32 is placed against the edge 29 of box 10. The
length and width of the barrier 32 are made slightly less
than the interior height and depth, respectively, of box 10
(or 10'). Recesses 47 and 48 at the ends of barrier 32
provide clearances for the depressed areas 23 around the
screws 20 in the boxes 10 and 10'. The tabs 45 and 46
prevent the barrier 32 from entering box 10 too deeply.
Once the barrier 32 is in place, the box 10' is assembled
to box 10 in the normal manner. Depressions 49 and 50 in
barrier 32 provide spaces to accommodate the shanks of
screws 20. Once the boxes 10, 10' are assembled together
in the normal manner, the barrier 32 is held firmly in
place. In order to prevent the creation of a gap between
boxes 10 and 10', the tabs 45 and 46 are preferably
flattened down to about 60% of the thickness of the rest of
the barrier 32. This is illustrated in Figure 7B which is
a side view of the barrier 32 showing thinner tabs 45 and
46.
Figure 7A is a plan view of the barrier 32 showing
it more clearly than in Figure 6.
A number of different configurations of the barrier
32 are possible. For example, the shape of the ears 33, 34
(Figure 4) could be modified as could the shape of the tabs
45 and 46 (Figure 6). Also, with reference to Figure 6,
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more than one tab could be provided at each end of the
barrier 32. One could also provide a barrier without the
tabs 45 and 46, but having the lateral depressions 49 and
50, relying only on the box screws 20 to hold the barrier
in place.
Figures 8 and 9 show an embodiment wherein notches
51 are formed in the top and bottom of the boxes 10 and 10'
to accommodate tabs 52 on barrier 32. When boxes 10 and 10'
are assembled, the tabs 52 hold the barrier in place.
Alternatively, the barrier 32 could be held in place by
cable clamps 53 which are commonly secured in outlet boxes
by screws 54. Such clamps are slightly shorter than the
width of a box 10. A tab 52 with corresponding clearances
51 in the boxes could be used to locate the barrier in the
front of the boxes.
