AU609968B2 - Cable ducting - Google Patents

Description

Australian attorney THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS This form must be accompanied by either a provisional specification (Form 9 and true copy) or by a complete specification (Form 10 and true copy).

~O9Z~f L I<A Form PATENTS ACT 1962 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: PI 7861 Lodged: 22nd April 1988 Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: 0 Ptiority: Lapsed: Published: 0 Related Art: N.Irrna of Applicant; This document contains the amnendments made under Section 49 and is correct for riniting.

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT DAVID ASHLEY DUNN 3 Kariwara Street, DUNDAS, N.S.W., Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: 2117.

DAVID ASHLEY DUNN HALFORD AND COMPANY, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, 49-51 York Street, SYDNEY, 2000 300 6'?44 2 1 /04/01? Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "CABLE DUCTING" The following statement is a full description of this Invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS.

(IMPORTANT Cross out inapplicable words in the above Form.) -2- The present invention relates to improvements in cable ducting and in particular to cable ducting utilising architectural mouldings to hide or camouflage cabling within a building.

It is well known to provide cabling within ducting or channels provided externally or internally of walls of the building for example within the space provided by a cavity wall. Cabling once installed is then difficult or expensive to change inspect or repair.

Another form of known cable ducting uses ducting 0ooo00 ooo0 which can be fixed to walls as a skirting. Two examples 0 00 0 of these types of ducting are provided in Australian 0 0 0 0 application 72,153/74 and U.S. patent 4,255,610.

0o o 0 0 o o The above Australian application describes a plastic 00 oo o ducting having a carrier which can be affixed to a wall surface and a removable cover, exposing the channel or 00 0 0 g0 channels of the ducting to enable cabling to be installed o 00 and inspected.

00ooo00 0ooo The above U.S. patent describes a wiring system which has channels made of plastics material. The plastics ooooo material is extruded in one operation and the plastics has 0 0 0 o two distinct physical characteristics. The channels forming the wiring compartments are made of at least three rigid walls and a displacable flexible access wall on a peripheral wall of the compartment. The access wall comprises a pair of flexible tongues separated by a longitudinal slot which permits passage of cabling therebetween into the compartment. The channeling is then slid on to a separate support which is fixed to a wall of

I

-3a partition.

One disadvantage of the Australian prior art is that it is difficult to make alterations to the ducting requiring drilling or cutting of the coverplate to enable power points to be installed or entry and exit of additional cabling at points in between established entry and exit points of the ducting. The time and cost of alterations plus the loss of the original cosmetic appearance of the skirting detracts from the ,usefulness of this form of ducting.

0 0000 0 0o0 In the case of the American patent referred to above oo the construction of the channeling is more complicated 0 0 15 than a simple support and cover plate arrangement as 00 00 0 I disclosed in the Australian prior art. The channeling 0 o 00 o further requires plastics material with two distinct 0 0 characteristics. The slot between the two flexible tongues while admitting entry and exit of cabling at a subsequent time to the initial installation allows ,000o dust and fluids to accumulate within the channeling which can contribute to cabling malfunction or 00 0 a failure.

000000 o 0 .o0o 25 The present invention seeks to overcome the 0 0 0 disadvantages in the prior art or to substantially 0&0 ameliorate them by providing a simple and effective 0 0 alternative thereto.

In one broad form the invention provides a ducting for accommodating cabling and allowing access thereto in situ including a back plate having fixing means adapted for fixing said back plate to a supporting surface and a cover plate having attachment means for releasably attaching said cover plate to said back plate, said back plate and said cover plate defining SRAI therebetween at least one channel when said cover Si 7- i~Ub~ i -4plate is attached to said back plate, said cover plate further including at least one flexible closure member to cover one side of said at least one channel while enabling access to said at least one channel when said cover plate is attached to said back plate.

In another form of the invention the ducting provides a back plate with three channels each open at one side and arranged in tiers with the top and the bottom channels covered by flexible coverings while the o0 middle channel is covered by a rigid section which is *goo part of and fixes the cover plate onto the back plate 0 member. The back plate member can be made of metal 0000 such as aluminium or plastic while the cover plate can o 15 be made in plastic in one or several parts. In the 00 00 00 three channel embodiment of the invention the cover o a .0.0 plate can be made with the middle covering section of g' 0 S0aluminium and the top and bottom channel covering members made of flexible members, for example rubber strip, flexibly held by the aluminium central covering 0 section.

0000 oooo On 0 o Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with respect to the following drawings in 25 which: rro 0 0 Figure 1 shows a schematic of a general environment in 0 C r which the invention can be used; Figure 2 shows an exploded view of a first embodiment of ducting according to the invention; Figure 3 shows a schematic in an assembled form of the embodiment of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a schematic of a variation of the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the ducting 51 RAZ

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N7 rrjV1Y% according to the invention; Figure 6 shows a third embodiment of the ducting according to the invention; Figure 7 shows a fourth embodiment according to another aspect of the invention; Figures 8 and 9 show respectively fifth and sixth embodiments of the invention and Figure 10 shows yet another aspect of the invention.

The invention is applicable to a variety of situations but will be described hereinafter with dtl€ reference to a residential dwelling but it is understood that the invention is not restricted thereto.

The present invention comprises ducted architectural 1e 0 mouldings used concurrently for carrying cabling of various sorts for example telephone, power or computer cabling. These architectural mouldings combine the io ;0 4 4a traditional aesthetic and functional aspects of these mouldings with the ability to carry hidden cabling. As 0oQo 0 shown in Figure 1 the ducting according to the invention can be used as skirting 2, an architrave 3, a cornice 4, a corner mould 5 and an internal angle 6. In addition other 44 0 4 0 0 o elements can be added to these forms of ducting such as a picture rail 7, underfelt channel ducting 8 or plinth block 9.

A first embodiment of the invention with reference to Figures 2 to 4 shows the ducting being used as a skirting.

In Figure 2 an expanded view of the ducted skirting is shown. The ducting 10 coxtlprises a back plate 12 to be fixed to a wall and a cover plate 14 to be secured to the -6back plate 12. The back plate 12 includes three tiered open channels 16, 18 and 20 with the channels 18 and having sloping bases 22 and 24 respectively. These sloping bases 22 and 24 enable cabling 25 as shown more clearly in Figure 3 to be more neatly collected and stacked within the channel 18, 20. Each of the channels 16, 18 and 20 has an opening 26, 28 and 30 respectively dimensioned to enable the desired cabling 25 to be suitably passed through into the associated channels with the cover plate 14 removed.

O°O° As shown more clearly in Figure 3 the back plate 12 0oo can be secured to the wall 32 by adhesive strips 34 and 36 0 0 °or by some other method for example by screws. The sides 00 00 0 0 38, 40 and 42 of the channels form the rear of the base oo o plate 12 and are basically flat and co-planar to allow simple fixing to the wall 32.

o o 0o o 0 Channel 16 is further provided with sides 44 and 46.

0 0 0 Side 44 slopes away from side 38 of the channel 16 while o000oo ooo. side 46 extends parallel to side 38 to end in a curved section 48 which as shown in Figures 3 and 4 can be used oooo to secure carpet edge 50 or 52.

0 0 0° The cover plate 14 may comprise a single one piece extrusionAof flexible plastic materialas shown in Figure 4B or may be made of several parts as shown in Figures 2, 3 or 4A.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3 the cover plate 14 comprises a central rigid portion 54 which basically covers the opening 28 of channel 18 and a pair of flexible blades 56 and 58 which respectively cover the *j 1 -7channel openings 26 and 30. The central pdrtion 54 can be made of metal or plastic material and can be shaped to have a suitable moulding profile in its function as a skirting. The blades 56 anrid 58 can be made of a suitably flexible plastic or rubber material and are tapered so as to provide a progressive decrease in rigidity toward the tip of the blade. This facilitates the movement of the blades 56 or 58 at the tip while enabling the base of the blades to be more resistant to flexion. The blades 56 and 58 are provided with flanges 60 and 62 which engage in co- 0000oooo 0000 operating slots 64 and 66 of the cover plate 14.

000ooo0 ooo At the rear of cover plate 14 inverted channel 66 and 00o oo0 S0 curved ledge 68 extend to provide means to fix the cover 00 0 0 0o 0o o plate 14 to the back plate 12. As shown in Figure 3 0 0 inverted channel 66 is placed over the side 70 of the 0000channel 20 while curved ledge 68 is biased against the 0000 0 a0 00 0 o0 0 sloping base 22 of the channel 18 by the projection 72.

0 00 An alternate method to secure the cover plate 14 to 0000 oo0 the back plate 12 is shown in Figures 4A and 4B. In Figure 4A as in Figures 2 and 3 an inverted channel 76 is 0 provided at the upper end of cover plate 14. At the lower Go a 00 0 o end of the cover plate 14 a flange 78 and a channel 80 are provided. The sloping base 22 of the channel 18 is provided with a ledge 82 extending to the edge of the channel side 84. Ledge 82 and projection 72 form therebetween a cavity which is suitably shaped to accommodate the projection 78 while ledge 82 fits within channel 80 thus providing a "double" locking mechanism.

A further variation of the embodiment of Figure 4A is i -8shown in Figure 4B where the cover plate is made in a single integral piece having an inverted channel 86 and a contoured projection 88 for co-operation with back plate 12 as shown in Figure 4A. In this variation the flexible blade 56 and 58 are replaced by flexible edges 90 and 92 of the integral cover plate The flexible blades 56 and 58 of Figures 2, 3 and 4A are made of a suitably flexible material for example rubber which will flex sufficiently to allow cabling 25 to be pushed into or pulled from channel 16 or 20 without C, removing the cover plate 14. The channels 16, 18 or can have services installed prior to the cover plate 14 C 8€ being fixed in place. Once the cover plate 14 has been a fixed over the back plate 12 the channel 16 or 20 can 8 a 8 still be accessed t remove cabling 25 or to install additional utilities. For example, to provide a temporary 0a installation within a room the lower ducting channel 16 can be used to hide an extension cord for most of its ooe o length ind only becoming exposed for the short distance between the apparatus to be powered and the nearest part 0p of the skirting.

o o o 0 e o To detour around a gap such as windows or doors a variation of the invention as shown in Figures 2, 3 or 4 can be used. This embodiment as shown in Figure functions as an architrave having channels 102, 104 formed in a back plate 106 which is adhesively fixed to a wall board 107 by adhesive strips 108 and 110. The back plate 106 bridges the door jamb 111 and wall board The back plate 106 also has a cavity 112 formed from a space 1-9between the sides 114 and 116 of the channels 102 and 104 respectively.

The cover plate 118 comprises a front face 119 rearwardly of which is connected a tongue 120. At one end of the front face 119 is an integral end 122, while at the other end of the cover 119 a slotted edge 124 accommodates flexible blade 126. The tongue 120 is accommodated by the cavity 112 of the back plates 106 to fix the cover plate 118 to the back plate 106 to thereby close the channels 102 and 104 and to form an additional channel 128 between i oo the outermost side 130 of the channel 102 and the flexible 0000 blade 126. This additional channel 128 can be used as 0a 00 a 0 0 described above for accommodating cabling without removing aI 0 0 0 oo oo I o 0 the cover plate 118.

o oa a 00 o 0 15 A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 6. This embodiment is for use as a corner mould 0000 for providing vertical channeling of cabling at the 0 0 00 0 joining of two wall surfaces. The corner mould comprises 0000oooo ooo an anchor-shaped back plate 140 formed of two V-shaped channels 142 and 144 with their common wall 146 bifurcated o 0 o0.G to form a channel 148 at its free end. The back plate 140 00oo 0 is fixed to the walls 150, 152 respectively by the adhesive strips 154 and 156. In this embodiment the cover plate 160 comprises a simple moulded section 162 having slotted edges 164 and 166 accommodating flexible blades 168 and 170 covering the channels 142 and 144. The moulded section 162 further has a tongue 172 shaped to resiliently fit within the channel 148 of the back plate 140. As shown more clearly in Figure 1 the corner mould is used to connect two horizontal ducting elements for example skirting 2 and picture rail 5 (to be described below) via vertical channels 142 or 144 as shown in Figure 6.

In addition to the embodiments of the invention described with respect to Figures 2 to 6 other elements can be provided which complement and provide a ducting system. These elements are shown in Figures 7 to Figure 7 shows a form of ducting which can be used to provide wiring channels under a carpet. This embodiment oo°0 is designed to be used with the carpet underlay with the 00 0 o040 underlay having a thickness of at least 13mm. The o material of this form of ducting is chosen to be 0 0 sufficiently resilient to prevent compaction by more then Oq 00 0 0 0 0 o 15 15% otherwise a visible ridge would appear on the surface of a floor with which it was used. The ducting comprises 0000 0 0 O( 0 an arched bridge section 180 having a number of channels aoo 182. The shape of the ducting 180 provides a weight 0000 eooO bearing capacity for the ducting to resist compression.

The ducting is designed to replace a section of carpet underlay and in line with this usage the top of the arched 0 Q oo bridge section 180 is provided with carpet underlay material 184 to provide a level surface 186. Wiring can then be placed within the channels 182 and as shown in Figure 1 may extend between gaps in a doorway or between the skirting and some central point of a room.

Alternatively, the ducting of Figure 7 could be used in an exposed form, for example, above a carpet or across a floor surface. In this form the arched bridge section -11- 180 with channels 182 may simply be used on its own. The shape of the section would then contribute to providing an easy passage for traffic thereacross. A resilient material such as rubber or a suitable plastics material may be used for the section to allow minor deformation without substantial movement of the section as a whole when the section is impacted by traffic.

Figure 8 shows another form of architectural moulding which is to be used as a picture rail. This is a horizontal moulding which can be fixed in a room at about 00oooo door head height. It can be formed as a rigid extrusion o0oo aaoo °00 either in metal or in plastic and has an open channel 00 00 00o structure. A similar element is the cornice as shown in 00 00 o oo S0Figure 9. This is a 900 angle form to be used at the 0s 0 o 0 15 junction of a wall and a ceiling. This element as shown comprises two open channels and, similar to the picture 000 00 0 rail, can be formed as an extruded single part element.

0 00 0 0 By providing suitable shaping to the channels cables can 0 000 00Q0 be concealed in them while their front edges provide hanging points for paintings and lights.

00000 In order to provide versatility to the system o described above a plinth block as shown in Figure 10 can be used. The plinth block holds in place and encloses bends in wiring while providing an access point useful in directing wires from one area of a room or part of a building to another (see Figure The plinth block comprises a base block 200 and a cover 204. The base block 200 is a flat plate 206 with a number of pegs 208 projecting therefrom for fixing the path of cables when 0 0900 0 0090 0 9000 0 0909 00 00 00 0 o 0 0 0 00 90 00 0 0 0 0 0 00 00 #0 0 o 0 0 0 9000 0 0 9000 0 00 00 0 0 0 000000 0 0 0 0 0 0 03 0000 0) 09 9 0 #0 -12held therebetween. The cover 204 provides protection for the cables fixed on the base block 200 while providing a visually attractive finish to match other elements such as the architrave or skirting ducting.

The base block 20:0 and the cover 204 can be made from an injected moulded plastic or other suitable material. A rotating latch (not shown) can be used to hold the cover 204 to the bas-e block 200.

10 In order to accommodate angled turns of the skirting or the architrave mouldings the back plates and the cover plates for these mouldings can be pre-fabricated so as to have the specific internal or external angle required. Thus, for example, where the skirting 15 changes direction by either 90o or 270o then prejoined back plate or cover plate elements can be provided for the corners of the skirting ducting in these situations. Alternatively, thes-e corners could be made in a situation as required.

A recessed face section can be provided on the removable cover plates to receive "feature strip' architectural finishes along the contin-uous'length of the plate members. These feature strips can be chosen 25 from the various ranges of materials provided by a variety of manufacturers and are replaczble and interchangable for future redecorating events.

The rigid sections 54, 118, 162 of the associated cover plates can be made of any suitable material, f or example, of an extruded plastics or aluminium.

The flexible closure members 56, 58, 128, 168, or 170 can be made of a suitably flexible material, such as a plastics or rubber material.

Though the invention has been described aboVe with -13respect to preferred embodiments of the invention variations thereto are contemplated within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art. For example, the adhesive strips 34, 36, 108, 110, 154 and 156 are the preferred option for fixing the back plate to a suitable surface. However, other methods, such as nailing or screwing, may also be employed..

oat 0o0 Q I a 0O O 0 0 o a 0 I *0

Claims (16)

1. 2. A ducting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said back plate is formed with a plurality of open channels and said at least one flexible closure member closes at least one of said open channels.
2. 3. A ducting as claimed in claim 2 wherein said back plate is formed with three open channels arranged one above the other to form bottom, middle and top channels respectively and wherein said cover plate includes a rigid section for closing said middle channel and a pair of flexible closure members attached to said rigid section for closing said top and bottom channels when said cover plate is attached to said back plate, said attachment means forming part of said zigid section.
3. 4. A ducting as claimed in claim 3 wherein said flexible closure members are wedge shaped blades. A ducting as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cover plate is an integral piece of extruded plastics material.
4. 6. A ducting as claimed in any one of claims 3, 4 or wherein said rigid section includes a substantially planar moulding having an inverted channel towards one end for fixing to the front of said top channel and a rearwardly projecting member towards the other end thereof for fixing said cover plate to said middle channel. 0 00oo 0 oo 000 0 0000 0 00o0 00 00 0 0 0 o o O 0 00 00 b 0 o 0 o 0 00 00 0O 0 000 o0000 0 0 0000o 0000 o0 0 00 0 o o 0 0 P 60 0
5. 7. A ducting as claimed in claim 6 wherein said rearwardly projecting member comprises a flange and said middle channel includes a slotted channel member attached to bottom and front sides of said middle channel to accommodate said projecting member therein.
6. 8. A ducting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said back plate comprises a pair of V-shaped channels having a common side.
7. 9. A ducting as claimed in claim 8 wherein said common side is formed with a channel for accommodating said attachment means.
8. 10. A ducting as claimed in claim 9 wherein said cover plate includes a rigid section and said attachment means comprises a rib carried by said rigid section, said cover plate further including a pair of flexible closure members, being said at least one flexible closure member and a second flexible closure member, attached respectively to the edges of said rigid section and covering the openings in said V-shaped channels when said cover plate is attached to said back plate.
9. 11. A ducting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said back plate includes a pair of open channels ened e-a central cavity which accommodates said attachment -16- means.
10. 12. A ducting as claimed in claim 11 wherein said cover plate comprises an F-shaped rigid section covering said back plate, said attachment means being formed integral with said rigid section and said at least one flexible closure member is secured to an edge of said rigid section to form a side of said at least one channel.
11. 13. A ducting as claimed in claim 12 wherein said at 0ooo least one channel is formed exterior of said back 0000 plate when said cover plate is attached to said back 0^00 o00 plate. 00 00 o0 0 0 0 0 0 14. A ducting as claimed in claim 7 wherein said 00 00 00o 0 0 rigid section is made of plastics material or 0 00 o o o aluminium. 0 0 A ducting as claimed in claim 10 wherein said ooo rigid section is made of plastics material or oo00 aluminium. 00 o
12. 16. A ducting as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 t wherein said rigid section is made of extruded plastics material or of extruded aluminium.
13. 17. A ducting as claimed in any one of claims 14, or 16 wherein said flexible closure member or members are made of rubber, or flexible plastics material.
14. 18. A ducting as claimed in any one of the previous claims wherein said fixing means comprises adhesive stripping on said back plate.
15. 19. A ducting as claimed in any previous claim wherein said cover plate is shaped to provide an 0 i- -17- exterior surface conforming to an architectural moulding. A ducting for accommodating cabling substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 to 4.
16. 21. A ducting for accommodating cabling substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure o 22. A ducting for accommodating cabling substantially o009 as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 6. 0 o 0009 0000 00 0 00 0 0 o o 00 00 0 0 0 o 0 DATED this 20th day of November 1990. 0 0 00 00 0 0 o 0 DAVID ASHLEY DUNN 0000 oaso° by his Patent Attorneys 0" o. HALFORD AND COMPANY ao 00 0 0 000a C C Sot 1 c