GB2249881A

GB2249881A - Floor box

Info

Publication number: GB2249881A
Application number: GB9022529A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Sylvester
Original assignee: CABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS LIMIT
Current assignee: CABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS LIMIT
Priority date: 1990-10-17
Filing date: 1990-10-17
Publication date: 1992-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-17
Also published as: GB9022529D0; GB2249881B

Abstract

A floor box for making connections between cables running in cavities beneath the floor with cord connected to appliances above the floor comprises a frame 38 fittable in a hole cut in the floor and defining an access opening 14, a closure 16 fittable to the frame for closing the access opening whilst allowing the passage therethrough of appliance cords and a tray 18 for mounting a plurality of outlet connections. The tray 18 is able to mount the outlet connections over a plan area 24, 26, 28 three times greater than the plan area of the access opening 14. The tray 18 is supported beneath the access opening to allow different parts 24, 26, 28 of its plan area to be selectively aligned with the access opening. The support means comprises rollers and track means 58, 56 which allow the tray to be slid in a reciprocating manner relative to the access opening. The frame 38 includes covers 42 to sealingly cover the tray and support end stops 46, the frame mounting rollers 62 for guiding the cords during tray movement. The tray 18 supports horizontal or sloping plates for mounting the connectors. <IMAGE>

Description

FLOOR BOX This invention relates to a floor box.

Floor boxes are used for making connections between electrical power, data and telecommunications cables running in cavities beneath a floor with power, data and telecommunications cords connected to appliances above the floor. These floor boxes are installed flush with the floor in a hole cut in the floor and comprise a frame which fits the hole and defines an access opening, a closure fittable to the frame for closing the access opening whilst allowing the passage therethrough of appliance cords, conventionally via raisable edge flaps of the closure, and an undertray which is fixed to the frame and which mounts directly beneath the access opening outlet connections connected to the electrical power, date and telecommunications cables.

The number of outlet connections provided in each floor box is limited by the area of the access opening of the box, and in turn this area is limited by the size of hole which may be cut in the floor without reducing the strength thereof below an acceptable level. Accordingly, if more outlets are required at a particular location than are provided by a floor box, another floor box suitably spaced from the first from the point of view of floor strength needs to be installed. This disadvantage is aggravated if two boxes do not provide the required number of outlets and a third box is required. This leads to considerable lengths of appliance cords between the boxes and the appliances, which is not only unsightly but may also be hazardous.

An object of the present invention is to enable the outlet capacity of a floor box to be significantly increased without a corresponding increase in the area of the access opening of the floor box.

To this end, the invention includes a floor box comprising a frame defining an access opening, a closure fittable to the frame for closing the access opening whilst allowing the passage therethrough of appliance cords, means for mounting a plurality of outlet connections over a plan area greater than the plan area of the access opening, and means for supporting said mounting means beneath said access opening to allow different parts of said plan area of the mounting means to be selectively aligned with said access opening.

The supporting means may support said mounting means for transverse movements relative to said access opening. These transverse movements are preferably sliding movements, and more preferably the supporting means support said mounting means for reciprocating sliding movement relative to said access opening. The supporting means may also include locating means for locating respective predetermined different parts of said plan area of the mounting means in alignment with said access opening. Furthermore, the supporting means may comprise first support means on said mounting means and cooperable second support means fixed or fixable relative to said frame, one of said first and second support means comprising roller means and the other of said first and second support means comprising track means for said roller means.

The floor box may also comprise cover means fixed or fixable relative to said frame to extend therefrom for, covering parts of said plan area of the mounting means not aligned with said access opening. In this case advantageously the cover means may carry said second mounting means.

Sealing strip means may be provided for sealing said mounting means with respect to said cover.

Guiding means, for example roll means, may be mounted relative to said frame for guiding the passage of cords, connected to outlet connections mounted on said mounting means in use during transverse movement of said mounting means relative to said access opening.

The mounting means may mount the outlet connections in inclined opposed banks with a cord accommodating well defined therebetween.

In order that the invention may be well understood, an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 are respectively top plan and side views of the floor box with an outlet connection mounting means thereof in a central position; Figure 3 is a schematic exploded view of the floor box; Figure 4 is a section along the line IV-IV in Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a cross-section of an alternative outlet connection mounting means.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a floor box 10 comprising a frame 12 defining an access opening 14 the plan area of which is rectangular, a closure 16 (shown only in Figure 3) for closing the access opening 14 whilst allowing the passage therethrough of appliance cords, and a mounting means 18 for mounting a plurality of outlet connections. The closure 16 has a plurality of edge flaps 20 which are raisable to allow the passage of appliance cords when the closure is fitted to the frame to close the access opening.

The mounting means is adapted to mount a plurality of outlet connections over a plan area greater than the plan area of the access opening 14 and is supported beneath the access opening to allow different parts of this plan area to be selectively aligned with the access opening.

In the illustrated embodiment, the floor box includes supporting means which support the mounting means 18 for reciprocating sliding movement relative to the access opening as indicated by the doubleheaded arrows 20 in Figures 1 and 2. The length L in the sliding direction 22 of the plan area of the mounting means over which the outlet connections may be mounted is substantially greater than the length 1 of the plan area of the access opening 14 in this direction. Thus, the capacity of the floor box is substantially greater than that of a conventional floor box having the same plan area access opening.

In the embodiment the length L is approximately three times as great as the length 1 to triple the capacity of the floor box. Thus the plan area of the floor box may be considered to have three side-by-side parts 24, 26 and 28, each of which has the same area as the access opening.

In more detail, the frame 12 of the illustrated embodiment comprises four corner pieces 30 which are interconnected by opposed pairs of sidewall members 32, 34. The sidewall members are provided with respective flanges 36, 38 for engaging the floor (shown in dotted line in Figure 2) or a covering thereon around the hole cut in the floor for receiving the floor box. Securing means (not shown) preferably mounted on the frame 12, are provided for securing the frame to the floor. A respective cover portion 40 extends from each side wall member 32 for covering the plan area parts 24, 26, 28 of the mounting means 18 which are not aligned with the access opening is use.

Thus each cover portion 40 has a length in the direction of sliding 22 of substantially L-l. Each portion 40 is of channel section, comprising a web 42 and two opposed depending wings 44. The free end of each cover portion 40 also carries an abutment member 46 for engagement with a respective closure plate 48 of the mounting means for limiting the extent of reciprocating sliding movement of the mounting means.

These closure plates 48 extend upwardly from the respective ends of a tray 50 of the mounting means in which the outlet connections are accommodated. The closure plates are configured to closely conform to the channel shape of the cover portions 40 so as to leave only a slight gap between the closure plates and the inside of the cover for the passage of contaminants such as dust or grit. Preferably, the closure plate carries a strip seal (not shown) for example of the brush type which seals against the inside of the cover portions 40 to seal the gap between the closure plates and cover. The tray is provided with horizontally extending mounting plates 52 for mounting the outlet connections and a plurality of knockouts 54 for allowing entry into the tray of the cables to be connected to the outlet connections.

The arrangement for supporting the mounting means 18 for its reciprocating sliding movement relative to the frame comprises first support means on the mounting means 18 and cooperable second support means fixed, or fixable relative to the frame, one of these support means comprising roller means and the other comprising track means for the roller means. In the illustrated embodiment the track means are provided on the mounting means 18 and comprise two channel members 56 one on each of the longitudinal sides of the tray 50. The channel members 56 each open away from each other in order to receive rollers 58 carried by the cover portions 40 on angle sections 60 interconnecting the cover portions 40 on each side of the frame. A pair of opposed rollers 58 is carried by each cover portion 40 and is disposed substantially half way along the length of each cover portion 40.The tracks 56 extend from each end of the tray 50 in order to retain their engagement with the rollers 58 when the mounting means is in each of its two limit positions i.e. the limit position defined when the part area 24 of the mounting means is aligned with the access opening 14 and the limit position when the part area 28 of the mounting means is aligned with the access opening 14. By having the rollers fixed to the frame and also by maintaining them relatively close to the frame limits the torque applied to the frame by the weight of the mounting means and its contents when in the above-mentioned two limit positions.Of course, it is to be understood that the rollers could be positioned throughout the length of each cover portion 40 and, in this case if the torque limiting considerations mentioned above were not crucial crucial, the channel members 56 need not extend beyond the ends of the tray 50 as illustrated. Furthermore, it will be understood that alternatively when torque considerations are not crucial, the tray 50 could be fitted with rollers which would be arranged to run in tracks fixed relative to the frame and running the extent of the cover portions 40.

Longitudinally extending strip sealing means (not illustrated) which may take the form of brush seals, may be provided on the cover portions 40 and/or the mounting means to seal the gaps between the tray and the cover means adjacent each longitudinal edge of the tray 11. Guiding means shown as a plurality of roll means 62 are mounted relative to the frame 12 adjacent the lower edges of the side wall members 32 thereof for guiding the passage of cords connected to the outlet connections mounted on the mounting means during sliding movement of the mounting means relative to the access opening. As will be appreciated these roll means 62 protect the outer coverings of the appliance cords from scuffing on the frame lower edges. As an alternative to the illustrated roll means, the guide means may merely comprise a protective member fitted to the lower edges of the side wall members 32.However, the roll means 62 are preferred since they are rotatable and thus reduce frictional engagement with the cords. Furthermore, a plurality of individually rotatable rolls are preferred since the speed of the passage of the cords over them may vary one to another.

As shown in Figure 4, the mounting plates 52 carried by the tray 50 present a horizontal surface extending both lengthwise and crosswise of the tray for mounting the outlet connections. Figure 5 shows an alternative arrangement, in which the tray 50a is provided with mounting plates 52a for the outlet connections arranged in two inclined opposed banks extending lengthwise of the tray with a well 64 defined therebetween. The provision of the well is particularly useful since it is able to accommodate the appliance cords within the box.It will be appreciated that the length of each cord from the closure edge flap under which it passes to the outlet connection to which it is connected should be sufficient to allow the tray to be moved to its two limit positions and accordingly in at least some positions of the tray relative to the access opening there will be slack cord which requires accommodating within the tray. The tray illustrated in Figure 5 is provided with a closure plate 48a at each of its ends (one shown in Figure 5) and by way of example is illustrated being provided with rollers 58a on each of its longitudinal sides which would engage in track means fixed relative to the frame of the floor box.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, the illustrated floor box has three times the capacity of a conventional floor box having the same access opening plan area. Although not essential, it is considered advantageous to provide the supporting means for the mounting means 18 with locating means for locating the respective predetermined different parts 24, 26, 28 of the plan area of the mounting means in alignment with the access opening in order to prevent movement of the mounting means when the appliance cords are being connected to the outlet connections. This is readily achieved, by providing depressions and/or ridges in the tracks for the rollers 58.

By way of summary, it will be appreciated from the foregoing that the described embodiment comprises a floor box having an access opening and a tray for mounting outlet connections slidably supported thereunder for allowing different parts of the tray to be selectively aligned with the access opening.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A floor box comprising a frame defining an access opening, a closure fittable to the frame for closing the access opening whilst allowing the passage therethrough of appliance cords, means for mounting a plurality of outlet connections over a plan area greater than the plan area of the access opening, and means for supporting said mounting means beneath said access opening to allow different parts of said plan area of the mounting means to be selectively aligned with said access opening.

2. A floor box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting means supports said mounting means for transverse movements relative to said access opening.

3. A floor box as claimed in claim 2, wherein said supporting means support said mounting means for sliding transverse movements relative to said access opening.

4. A floor box as claimed in claim 3, wherein said supporting means support said mounting means for reciprocating sliding movement relative to said access opening.

5. A floor box as claimed in claim 4, wherein said supporting means include locating means for locating respective predetermined different parts of said plan area of the mounting means in alignment with said access opening.

6. A floor box as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said supporting means comprises first support means on said mounting means and cooperable second support means fixed or fixable relative to said frame, one of said first and second support means comprising roller means and the other of said first and second support means comprising track means for said roller means.

7. A floor box as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6 comprising cover means fixed or fixable relative to said frame to extend therefrom for covering parts of said plan area of the mounting means not aligned with said access opening.

8. A floor box as claimed in claim 7 when appended to claim 6, wherein the cover means carries said second support means.

9. A floor box as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein strip sealing means are provided for sealing said mounting means with respect to said cover.

10. A floor box as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein guiding means are mounted relative to said frame for guiding the passage of cord, connected to outlet connections mounted on said mounting means in use during transverse movement of said mounting means relative to said access opening.

11. A floor box as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said guiding means comprise roll means.

12. A floor box as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said mounting means comprise means for mounting outlet connections in inclined opposed banks with a cord accommodating well defined therebetween.

13. A floor box having an access opening and a tray for mounting outlet connections slidably supported thereunder for allowing outlet connections mounted in different parts of the tray, in use, to be selectively aligned with the access opening.

14. A floor box substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.