GB2286930A

GB2286930A - An electrical accessory mounting

Info

Publication number: GB2286930A
Application number: GB9500838A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Michael Jeffrey
Original assignee: Caradon MK Electric Ltd
Current assignee: Caradon MK Electric Ltd
Priority date: 1994-02-25
Filing date: 1995-01-17
Publication date: 1995-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2015-01-17
Also published as: GB9500834D0; GB2286929B; GB2286930B; GB9403607D0; GB2286929A; GB9500838D0

Description

c 2286930 AN ELECTRICAL ACCESSORY MOUNTING The present invention relates

to mountings for electrical accessories.

Electrical accessories, f or example switches and socket outlets, for mounting on a surface inside a building are well known. It is also known to construct an electrical accessory so that it excludes moisture and dust, so that it may safely be used in external and other locations where normal accessories would present a safety hazard. Known electrical accessories may be constructed to be mounted to one type of mounting box f or mounting on the surf ace and to be mounted to a second type of mounting box for mounting flush with the surface and will perform entirely satisfactorily with either mounting box. However it is important for electrical accessories constructed to exclude moisture and dust that the integrity of the accessory is maintained. Hence it is customary to only manufacture these electrical accessories in a form arranged for mounting on a surface. This is not always desirable, since such electrical accessories tend to be bulky and protrude more than a normal electrical accessory. Hence they may be more prone to accidental damage, and may be visually intrusive.

It.is an object of the present invention to provide means whereby an electrical accessory, which may be constructed to exclude moisture and dust, may be mounted in a partially recessed manner below a surrounding surface.

An electrical accessory mounting according to one aspect of the invention comprises a receptacle to receive a surface 1 1 mounted electrical accessory, the mounting comprising an inner base, walls extending from the base to a mounting flange, the mounting having means to secure it to a mounting surface and means to secure the electrical accessory to the mounting.

An electrical accessory is provided according to another aspect of the invention having a mounting as described above.

An embodiment according to this invention will enable an installer to substantially reduce the amount that an electrical accessory designed for surface mounting protrudes above the surface it is fitted onto. In particular where the surface is a wall made of facing brick, board, block, or similar where it is difficult to cut a neat accurately sized hole a front facing annular flange will ensure that a neat finish is achieved, without the installer having to resort to the use of filler materials. The annular flange covers an annular area of the surface immediately adjacent to the electrical accessory so that any damage that occurred to the facing brick or block during the cutting or forming of the recess or hole in the surface is hidden. A particular embodiment is designed to receive a complete surface mounted electrical accessory that is constructed such that it excludes moisture and dust, so that it may safely be used in external and other locations where normal accessories would present a safety hazard. This embodiment enables the exclusion features of the standard surface mounted electrical accessory to remain intact when it is installed in a recessed manner. For accessories such as socket outlets that include a lid which is hinged to allow the lid to be opened to permit the insertion of a plug into the socket it is necessary that sufficient of the accessory 1 v 3 - protrudes from the surrounding finished surface to enable the normal operation of the lid.

It is particularly important when electrical accessories are installed into clean or sterile areas, such as kitchens, and places where food is prepared or processed, or hospitals, that there are no crevices that may harbour dirt or bacteria or similar. With known electrical accessories problems arise as it is hazardous to clean them by washing them down with water. With existing electrical accessories designed for use in areas subject to hosing down with water it is difficult to install them to avoid dirt traps. It is an advantage of this invention that not only is the aesthetic appearance of the sealed electrical accessory improved by being recessed into the mounting surface, but it is far easier to ensure that no dirt traps exist when the product is installed. An annular cover plate may also be used and may be retained in position by beads of sealant such as silicone rubber or epoxy resin or other material that has a surface suitable for cleaning and good adhesive properties.

A further aspect of this invention is to enable an installer to use a sealed electrical accessory together with a said mounting and a cover plate to cover a gap between an exterior surface of the accessory and an exterior surface of the mounting surface wherein sealing means is provided to seal between the cover plate and the exterior surface of the electrical accessory and sealing means is further provided to seal between cover plate and the exterior surface of the mounting surface, to ensure that the integrity of the sealing of the mounting surface is maintained after the installation of the electrical accessory.

z Maintaining the integrity of a sealed surface is particularly important when it is essential to prevent moisture or water vapour from penetrating the surface. For instance this occurs when timber frames are used for exterior wall construction, and it is essential to avoid condensation occurring behind the sealed surface.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a receptacle for the recessed mounting of a complete surface mounted electrical accessory, an annular cover plate is also shown above the receptacle; and Figure 2 shows a plan view of the receptacle shown in Fig. 1 (without the annular cover plate); and Figure 3 shows a section of the receptacle and cover plate shown in Figure 1 taken on the plane AA of Fig. 2, with an electrical accessory fitted into the receptacle, the whole mounted on a surface.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a receptacle 100 for the recessed mounting of a complete surface mounted electrical accessory (not shown in this Fig.). The receptacle comprises a flange 102 with screw holes 104 for fixing to a wall surface, walls 106 forming the sides of a box like enclosure, and a base 108 forming the bottom of the box. Each of the walls has a centrally positioned cut-out 110 to enable the installer to fit a surface mounted electrical accessory which has blanking plugs or 1 grommets already f itted to holes in the side of the base part of the electrical accessory. These cut-outs may also be used f or cable or conduit entry to the accessory (not shown). Two opposed walls each have a groove 112 for providing a drain to ensure that moisture that may enter the accessory may be safely drained out at the bottom. The base has a large centre hole 114 to provide for cable entry which may be by using a special gland, or in a conduit fitted to the base of the rear part of the accessory. The base also has four holes 116 (only one is visible) to enable the accessory to be screwed in place from the inside of the rear part of the accessory. A thin annular rectangular cover plate 130 is provided so that screws fitted in holes 104 are hidden from view. The thin annular rectangular cover plate 130 has four small upstanding rearward facing pegs 134 that engage in the corresponding holes 126 formed in the annular upstands 124 on fixing flange surface 122 to retain the cover plate on the flange. The thin annular rectangular cover plate 130 may in addition to the clip fixing of the rearward facing pegs 134 be glued or stuck with adhesive to the surface 122 to ensure that it cannot be removed.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the receptacle 100 shown in Fig. 1 without the annular cover plate 130 in place. The grooves 112 in the two opposed side walls continue round into the base 108 as a recessed portion ill, which additionally has a hole 113 in it. Hole 113 may be used to provide a drainage facility to the rear of the receptacle should the drain to the front be accidentally or intentionally blocked. It may be advantageous to prevent any drainage from the accessory to the front surface when the accessory is installed in a clean area such as a kitchen, hence in this case the installer may use hole 113 to drain to the rear.

- 6 p Figure 3 shows a section of the receptacle 100 and cover plate 130 shown in Figure 1 taken on the plane AA of Fig. 2. Additionally a complete electrical accessory 300 arranged for surface mounting is fitted into the receptacle, and a conduit 600 and conduit fitting 602 is shown passing through hole 114 and connected into a rear part 302 of the electrical accessory 300, the whole mounted on a finished surface 510. The receptacle is fixed to the surface with four countersunk head screws 280 (only one of which is shown in this Fig.), which are covered by the thin annular rectangular cover plate 130 which is clipped in place by engaging the four rearward facing pegs 134 in the corresponding holes 126. The thin annular rectangular cover plate 130 has a thin walled notch 132 in its inside periphery positioned at the bottom. This thin walled notch 132 may be opened by removing the thin wall section to allow any moisture to drain from the accessory to the front surface. Should it be undesirable for any moisture to drain onto the front surface, then any moisture may drain to the rear through hole 113. In addition in this case it would be desirable to seal the gap between the accessory and the cover plate with a continuous bead of sealant 140, as well as filling the annular space 145 with sealant or adhesive. The height of the walls 106 is such that the electrical accessory 300 protrudes sufficiently above the surface 510 for a lid 306 to hinge open in the direction of arrow H to enable a plug to be fitted to a socket in the case that the electrical accessory is a socket outlet. Four screws 117 (only two are visible) are used to attach the rear part 302 to the receptacle using holes 116. Surface 510 is shown as a board material such as plasterboard or plywood, but surface 510 could equally well be the facing surface of brickwork, or of a plastered or rendered surface applied to a substrate.

Claims

C L A I M S is 1. An electrical accessory mounting comprising a receptacle

to receive a surface mounted electrical accessory, the mounting comprising an inner base, walls extending from the base to a mounting flange, the mounting having means to secure it to a mounting surface and means to secure the electrical accessory to the mounting.
2. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 1, arranged to be secured to the surface by securing means attaching the mounting flange to the surface.
3. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the securing means passes through apertures in the mounting flange.
4. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a cover plate is provided to cover the securing means.
5. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 7, wherein means is provided to attach the cover plate to the electrical accessory mounting.
6. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 1, wherein means is provided to allow moisture to drain away from the mounting to the rear of the mounting surface.
7. An electrical accessory mounting as claimed in Claim 1, wherein means is provided to allow moisture to drain away from the mounting to the front of the mounting surface.
8. An electrical accessory mounting substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
9. An electrical accessory having a mounting as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical accessory is sealed.
10. An electrical accessory as claimed in Claim 9, having a mounting as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the surface mounted electrical accessory may be operated in a similar manner when secured to the mounting as it would be operated if the electrical accessory were mounted directly on a surface.
11. An electrical accessory as claimed in Claim 9, having mounting as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, having cover plate to cover a gap between an exterior surface of the accessory and an exterior surface of the mounting surface wherein sealing means is provided to seal between the cover plate and the exterior surface of the electrical accessory and sealing means is further provided to seal between cover plate and the exterior surface of the mounting surface.
12. An electrical accessory substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.