AU2017100820A4 - Apparatus and method for fixing a face plate - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided an electrical face plate for attachment over a hole in a wall panel including, first and second spaced apart rotatable members connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface of the electrical face plate, the first and second rotatable members each having a respective sidewardly extending projection, wherein the sidewardly extending projections of the first and second rotatable members bear against a rear of the wall panel to thereby secure the face plate to said wall panel. 26b 2 26a 0160 2 18 34 24 28a 28b Figure 5 10 38 50 40 Figure 6a 52b 28a 28b 22 26a 26b 24 Figure 6b Figure 7a 28b Figure 7b 28a --- 28b Figure 8

Description

1 2017100820 22 Jun2017

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FIXING A FACE PLATE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for fixing an electrical face plate to a wall panel.

5 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known that face plates are attached to walls to thereby support switches and electrical access points. These face plates may be in the form of a general power output (GPO) plate, lighting plate, switch plate or an electrical accessory plate. 10 For internal cavity walls or drywalls, a mounting bracket is typically connected to a stud or frame member prior to attachment of the plasterboard sheets or panels. A hole is then cut through the plasterboard to allow passage of cabling and attachment of the face plate to the mounting bracket, typically by way of screws. A cover or covers are then place over the face plate or part thereof to conceal the 15 heads of the screws.

At times, however it may be difficult to determine the exact location of the mounting bracket once the panel is in place. Furthermore, for existing walls the securing of a mounting bracket to the stud or frame member within the wall cavity can at times be problematic. 20 Alternatively, three holes may be cut through plasterboard panel, a large central hole to allow passage of cabling, and a smaller hole on either side to allow placement of fixing plugs therein to which screws are attached.

The placement of the fixing plugs however requires a degree of skill and misalignment of the holes from the vertical or horizontal can result in the faceplate 25 being misaligned which is aesthetically unpleasing.

Accordingly, the use of a mounting plate and plugs to affix a face plate to a wall panel have certain limitations.

It should be appreciated that any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification is included solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present 2017100820 22 Jun2017 2 invention and should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art was widely known or formed part of the common general knowledge in the field as it existed before the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 5 In one aspect of the invention, but not necessarily the broadest or only aspect, there is proposed an electrical face plate for attachment over a hole in a wall panel including, first and second spaced apart rotatable members connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface of the electrical face plate, the first and second rotatable members each 10 having a respective sidewardly extending projection, a first stop extending outwardly from the rear surface of the electrical face plate adjacent the first rotatable member, and configured to bear against the first rotatable member or respective sidewardly extending projection, to thereby inhibit continued rotation thereof, 15 a second stop extending outwardly from the rear surface of the electrical face plate adjacent the second rotatable member, and configured to bear against the second rotatable member or respective sidewardly extending projection, to thereby inhibit continued rotation thereof, wherein the sidewardly extending projections of the first and second rotatable 20 members bear against a rear of said wall panel to assist in securing the face plate to said wall panel.

Preferably the first rotatable member includes a cavity that is configured to coaxially align a first aperture that extends between the rear surface and a front surface of the electrical face plate, and the second rotatable member includes a 25 cavity that is configured to coaxially align a second aperture that extends between the rear surface and a front surface of the electrical face plate.

In one form a respective screw is configured to pass through the first or second aperture and engage the cavity in either the first or second rotatable member. In this way, an installer can access the head of the screw from a front of the electrical 30 face plate to rotate the first or second rotatable members that are positioned at a rear of the electrical face plate. 2017100820 22 Jun2017 3

The rear of said electrical face plate is preferably caused to bear against the front of said wall panel. The electrical face plate is effectively clamped onto the wall panel, which is held between the rear of the electrical face plate and adjacent sidewardly extending projections. 5 Preferably the first and second rotatable members are movable from a respective first position in which the sidewardly extending projections extend inwardly of an adjacent side of the electrical face plate and a respective second position wherein the sidewardly extending projections extend outwardly from the sides of the electrical face plate whereby they are able to bear against the rear of the wall panel 10 adjacent said hole.

In one form, each sidewardly extending projection includes a leg portion that extends outwardly from a respective rotatable member and a foot that is spaced apart from the respective rotatable member and configured to bear against the rear of the wall panel. In this way, the abutment surface is at a distance from the edge of 15 the hole in the wall panel, which reduces the change of damage or fracturing of the wall panel around the edge of the hole.

Preferably each rotatable member and respective sidewardly extending projection, comprising the leg and foot, are integral and constructed from a plastics material. In another form, each projection is attached to a respective rotatable 20 member, by way of an adhesive or ultrasonic welding of a rigid plastics material.

The electrical face plate may be a General Power Output (GPO) plate, faceplate housing, lighting plate, switch plate or an electrical accessory plate.

The GPO plate may be a single or double and may include an integral or attachable universal serial bus (USB) connector. 25 The screws may have a slotted, Phillips and Pozidriv cross-head, hexagonal or square head screw profile.

Preferably a respective screw is configured to engage a corresponding first or second rotatable member, wherein the rotatable members is drawn towards a rear surface or mount of the electrical face plate. 4 2017100820 22 Jun2017

In one form the first and second stops are removably attached to a respective mount in a rear surface of the electrical face plate. The first and second stops may be generally cuboid and the recess may be correspondingly shaped to frictionally engage the cuboid. The first and second stops may also be glued to the rear of the 5 electrical face plate.

In another form the first and second stops are integral with the electrical face plate and extend rearwardly therefrom.

Preferably a cover is attachable over a part of the front of the electrical face plate to conceal the screw heads, while still allowing access to the switches and 10 access points, as is known in the art.

In another aspect of the invention there is proposed a method of attaching an electrical face plate over a hole in a wall panel, including the steps of: providing an electrical face plate having first and second spaced apart rotatable members connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface of the electrical face plate, the 15 first and second rotatable members each having a respective sidewardly extending projection; inserting the first and second spaced apart rotatable members through said hole in the wall panel such that at least a part of the rear surface of the electrical face plate bears against a front of the wall panel; and 20 causing the first and second rotatable members to rotate such that the sidewardly extending projections bear against a rear of the wall panel whereby the electrical face plate is secured in position over said hole in the wall panel.

The above method including the intermediate step of: moving the first and second rotatable members from a respective first position in 25 which the sidewardly extending projections extend inwardly of opposite sides of the electrical face plate to a respective second position wherein the first and second rotatably members or sidewardly extending projections thereof, abut a respect stop and extend outwardly from said opposite sides of the electrical face plate whereby they are able to bear against the rear of said wall panel.

30 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with 5 2017100820 22 Jun2017 the description and claims, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of the face plate of the 5 Figure 2 present invention; is a front view of the face plate of Figure 1 with cover removed; Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the face plate of Figure 1 with cover attached; Figure 4 is an underside perspective view of the face plate of Figure 1 with the projections extending inwardly from opposite sides of the face plate, 10 such that the rear portion of the face plate can be inserted through a hole in a wall panel; Figure 5 is a rear view of the face plate of Figure 1 showing the projections extending outwardly from sides of the face plate; Figure 6a is an underside view of the face plate of Figure 1 showing the 15 projections extending inwardly from sides of the face plate; Figure 6b is a topside view of the face plate of Figure 1 showing the projections extending outwardly from sides of the face plate; Figure 7a is a side view of the face plate of Figure 6a showing the projections extending inwardly; 20 Figure 7b is a side view of the face plate of Figure 6b showing the projections extending outwardly; Figure 8 is a front schematic view of the face plate of Figure 1 attached to the wall panel; Figure 9a is a topside view of the face plate of Figure 6b being inserted through 25 a hole in a wall panel; Figure 9b is a topside view of the face plate of Figure 9a illustrating the rotation of the rotatable members; 6 2017100820 22 Jun2017

Figure 9c is a topside view of the face plate of Figure 9b illustrating the stops that discontinues rotation of the rotatable members such that the continued rotation of the screws draw the respective foot against the rear of the wall panel; 5 Figure 10 is a perspective view of the rotatable member and sidewardly extending projection;

Figure 11 is a top view of the rotatable member and sidewardly extending projection of Figure 10;

Figure 12 10 is a side view of the rotatable member and sidewardly extending projection of Figure 10; and

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the rotatable member and sidewardly extending projection of Figure 10 through A-A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIFIED EMBODIMENTS 15 Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, there is illustrated an electrical face plate 10, demonstrating byway of an example, an arrangement in 20 which the principles of the present invention may be employed. The electrical face plate 10 is configured for attachment over a hole 12 in a wall panel 14 as illustrated in Figure 4.

Turning back to Figure 1 the electrical face plate 10 includes first and second spaced apart rotatable members 16, 18 connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface 20 25 of the electrical face plate 10. The first and second rotatable members 16, 18 each having a respective projection 22, 24 extending sidewardly therefrom.

Each of the projections 22, 24 includes a leg portion 26a or 26b that extends outwardly from a respective rotatable member 16,18 and a foot 28a or 28b at an end of a respective leg portion, 26a, 26b, whereby they are spaced apart from the 30 respective rotatable member 16, 18. 7 2017100820 22 Jun2017

The feet 28a, 28b are configured to bear against the rear 30 of the wall panel 14, as will be illustrated.

The electrical face plate 10 further includes first and second stops 32, 34.

The first stop 32 extending outwardly from the rear surface 20 adjacent the first 5 rotatable member 16 and configured to bear against the sidewardly extending projection 22 of the first rotatable member 16 or side of the first rotatably member 16, to thereby obstruct continued rotation thereof. The second stop 34 extending outwardly from the rear surface 20 adjacent the second rotatable member 18 and configured to bear against the sidewardly extending projection 24 of the second 10 rotatable member 18 or side of the second rotatably member 18, to thereby obstruct continued rotation thereof.

As illustrated in Figure 2, in the present invention the electrical face plate 10 is a GPO double plate, includes a front surface 36, switches 38, 40, for operating power points 42, 44 and apertures 46, 48 that extend between the front surface 36 15 and rear surface 20.

Figure 3 illustrates the cover 50 that is placed over the electrical face plate 10 once in place to conceal parts of the front surface 36 and the head of the screws 60, 62 that engage apertures 46, 48.

As illustrated in Figures 4, 6a and 7a the projections 22, 24 are positionable 20 such that they extend inwardly from sides 52, 54 of the face plate 10, whereby the rear portion 56 of the face plate assembly of the face plate 10 can be inserted through the hole 12 in the wall panel 14.

Once the rear portion 56 of the face plate assembly is within the wall cavity 58 the first and second rotatable members 16, 18 are rotated by way of screws 60, 62 25 that extend through apertures 46, 48. In this way the projections 22, 24 are rotated until they abut a respective stop 32, 34 or are at least stopped from rotating thereby, such that they extend outwardly from sides 52, 54 of the face plate 10, as illustrated in Figures 5, 6b and 7b.

As illustrated in Figure 8, when installed the projections 22, 24 extend out 30 from sides 52, 54 of the face plate, such that the respective foot 28a, 28b, abutment the rear 30 of the wall panel 14 at a distance from the edge of the hole 12 and where the circumferential edge 64 of the face plate 10 bears against the front 66 of the wall 8 2017100820 22 Jun2017 panel 14. This therefore reduces the change of damage or fracturing of the wall panel 14 when the screws 60, 62 are tightened.

Figure 9a to 9c illustrate the method with which the face plate 1 is attached to the wall panel 14. As showing in Figure 9a, the sidewardly extending projection 22, 5 24 are position such that they extend inwardly from respective adjacent sides 52, 54.

The rear portion 56 of the face plate assembly is then inserted in through the hole 12 in the panel 14 in the direction of the arrow.

Once the sidewardly extending projection 22, 24 are inward of the wall panel 14 and positioned within wall cavity 58, the screws 60, 62 are tightened so that the 10 rotatable members 16, 18 are rotated which causes the projection 22, 24 to extend outwardly from sides 52, 54 of the face plate 10, as illustrate in Figure 9b. The sidewardly extending projection 22, 24 or sides of the rotatable members 16, 18 then bear against a respective stop 32, 34 which stops or terminates further rotation of the rotatable members 16, 18. 15 As the screws 60, 62 continue to be tightened the first and second rotatable members 16, 18, which are inhibited from rotating by the stops 32, 34, are drawn towards the rear 20 of the face plate 10. This causes the respective foot 28a, 28b of the projections 22, 24 to bear against the rear 30 of the wall panel 14 and the circumferential edge 64 to bear against the front 66 of the wall panel 14, as illustrated 20 in Figure 9c. This means that the face plate 10 is clamped around the edge of the hole 12 which thereby secures it to the wall panel 14.

The skilled addressee will note that Figures 9a to 9c illustrate the cover 50 in place, however the reader will appreciate that this cover 50 is attached after the face plate 10 has been attached to the wall panel 14, as previously discussed. 25 Figures 10 to 13 illustrate the rotatable member 16 and sidewardly extending projection 22. The reader will appreciate that the rotatable member 18 and sidewardly extending projection 24 have the same or similar configuration. A spline 70 extending along a rear of the sidewardly extending projection 22 (and 24) to provide rigidity to the member. The foot 28a (and 28b) includes a plurality of raised 30 protrusions 68 that assist the foot 28a in gripping the rear 30 of the wall panel 14, as illustrated in Figure 9c. This inhibits the face plate 10 from twisting within the hole 12 once installed. 2017100820 22 Jun2017 9

Figure 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the rotatable member 16 and sidewardly extending projection 22, wherein the rotatable member 16 includes a cavity 72 that is configured to coaxially align aperture 48 that extends through the face plate 10 and which is engaged by the screw 60. The reader will appreciate that 5 rotatable member 18 also includes a cavity 72 that is configured to coaxially align aperture 46 that extends through the face plate 10 and which is engaged by a respective screw 62.

The skilled addressee should appreciate that this is only one embodiment of the invention and the face plate may be a light switch or include a different type of 10 socket. Furthermore, it is envisaged that two rotatably member will be used however there may be situation where four independent rotatable members could be used or the rotatable members may be on opposing lateral sides of the face plate, such as when used on a light switch.

The skilled addressee will now appreciate the advantages of the illustrated 15 invention over the prior art. In one form the invention provides a face plate that can be installed over a hole in a wall panel without requiring the prior installation of a mounting bracket or use of fixing plugs that may be misaligned or provide inadequate fixing. The present invention therefore provides a simply and adaptable means of fixing an electrical face plate to a wall panel. 20 Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate the invention and it is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the invention can include various modifications, which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. An electrical face plate for attachment over a hole in a wall panel including: first and second spaced apart rotatable members connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface of the electrical face plate, the first and second rotatable members each having a respective sidewardly extending projection; a first stop extending outwardly from the rear surface of the electrical face plate adjacent the first rotatable member, and configured to bear against the first rotatable member or respective sidewardly extending projection, to thereby inhibit continued rotation thereof; a second stop extending outwardly from the rear surface of the electrical face plate adjacent the second rotatable member, and configured to bear against the second rotatable member or respective sidewardly extending projection, to thereby inhibit continued rotation thereof; wherein the sidewardly extending projections of the first and second rotatable members bear against a rear of said wall panel to assist in securing the face plate to said wall panel.

2. The electrical face plate in accordance with claim 1, wherein a respective screw passes through a respective first or second aperture and engages a cavity in either the first or second rotatable member, whereby the first and second rotatable members are movable by way of the respective screw from a respective first position in which the sidewardly extending projections extend inwardly of sides of the electrical face plate and a respective second position wherein the sidewardly extending projections extend outwardly from said sides of the electrical face plate whereby they are able to bear against the rear of the wall panel.

3. The electrical face plate in accordance with claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the sidewardly extending projections includes a leg portion that extends outwardly from a respective rotatable member and a foot that is spaced apart from the respective rotatable member and configured to bear against the rear of the wall panel.

4. The electrical face plate in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electrical face plate is a General Power Output (GPO) plate.

5. A method of attaching an electrical face plate over a hole in a wall panel, including the steps of: providing an electrical face plate having first and second spaced apart rotatable members connected to, or adjacent, a rear surface of the electrical face plate, the first and second rotatable members each having a respective sidewardly extending projection; inserting the first and second spaced apart rotatable members through said hole in the wall panel such that at least a part of the rear surface of the electrical face plate bears against a front of the wall panel; and causing the first and second rotatable members to rotate such that the sidewardly extending projections bear against a rear of the wall panel whereby the electrical face plate is secured in position over said hole in the wall panel.