MXPA97008015A

MXPA97008015A - Non-metal box for the p

Info

Publication number: MXPA97008015A
Application number: MXPA/A/1997/008015A
Authority: MX
Inventors: S Bowman Timothy; Domigan Charles; Stauffer John
Original assignee: Walker Systems Inc
Priority date: 1996-10-21
Filing date: 1997-10-17
Publication date: 1999-04-06

Abstract

The present invention relates to a non-metallic floor box, for use in electrical power supply and sub-floor communication distribution systems that includes a plurality of vertically aligned sets of indexing teeth formed inside the wall At the side of the housing, an adapter ring is dimensioned for insertion into the interior of the housing to hold an activation equipment above the interior compartment of the housing. The adapter ring has flanges extending from its periphery which are positioned to coincide reciprocally with the vertical rows of teeth when the adapter ring is inserted into the interior compartment of the housing. The ridges and teeth are constructed to allow the ring to be inserted into the housing but to prevent its detachment or removal from the housing after its insertion therein. An activation cover is insurable to the upper part of the adapter ring and extends beyond the perimeter of the side wall to limit the distance at which the adapter ring can be inserted into the housing. The floor box accommodates double services by using two sets of parallelly aligned conduit cubes and a divider which can be inserted into the interior of the housing between the two sets of conduit tubes. The closed top portion of the housing acts as a concrete cover during floor placement, and as a temporary cover for waste after it is cut but before activation of the floor box. The gradient markers inside the floor box provide a fast and accurate measurement of the interior volume of the floor box, for inspection and compliance with building codes.

Description

NON-METALI BOX ft? * RA B. ISO BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The invention relates in general to the supply of electrical energy in the floor which houses variable floor material depths and multiple services. Conventional electrical boxes for the floor are difficult to install in placed floors because the height of the floor box is fixed. As a result, it is usually necessary for the installer to hold the floor box above the subfloor and perform complicated leveling processing to ensure that the top of the floor box is in the same plane as the top of the floor that it has been placed in which it is installed. By recognizing these problems, it is known that by providing boxes for floor which are placed on empty concrete floors and then cut to stay in the depth of the empty floor. These floor boxes are generally referred to as "cuttable" floor boxes in the present application. Examples of cuttable floor boxes are found in US Patent No. 3,343,704 to Terry, US Patent REF: 25763, No. 5,466,886 to Lengyel et al. However, known cuttable floor boxes suffer from several drawbacks. Specifically, these devices typically have an open top, and therefore require a separate cover assembly to protect the interior of the waste box from materials during the pouring of concrete and before its activation. Additionally, the building codes establish the amount of the type of wiring and electrical connections (a floor box can contain as a function of its interior volume.) In a box for cuttable floor which necessarily has a variable interior volume, this volume it has not been determined before the wiring and activation in order to satisfy the requirements of the construction code The National Electric Code ("NEC") also establishes that the boxes which house multiple services, for example, electrical and data systems, they must be designed to maintain physical separation between the various services within the box.The designs of portable floor floor boxes such as Lengyel et al. in the '866 patent are based on complicated tunnels and / or divisions to maintain the required separation. These devices are complex to manufacture and are difficult and time consuming to install.

The activation equipment provides an additional complication in the design of cuttable floor boxes. Specifically, these floor boxes are designed to be cut for sawing after installation, it is difficult to provide a mechanism to attach the activation equipment to the floor box. In most cases, the activation equipment (or leveling ring) simply adheres to the floor box. Consequently, the person making the installation must be careful when attaching the installation equipment to the housing to ensure proper placement of the ring with respect to the housing. In recognizing this problem, the Lengyel et al. '866 describes a leveling assembly which uses a leveling ring having retaining clips which are fixed in elongated slots formed in the interior of the housing. This design is based on numerous components, and therefore, is undesirable from the point of view of manufacture and installation.

BRIEF SUMMARY DB THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a floor box structure which greatly improves the versatility of floor boxes with respect to the depth of the floor material and the power supply and communication service configurations. Another object of the invention is to provide a floor box which is friendly to the person performing the installation by the use of a structure which eliminates the need for vacuum covers and interior volume measurements. Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable height floor box which is easy to manufacture and install on a concrete floor. Still another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable height floor box that includes a mechanism for receiving a bracket for mounting an activation device on the interior volume of the floor box housing. A further objective of the invention is to provide an adjustable height floor box which accommodates multiple services and which maintains physical separation between the services within the floor box. The above and other objects and advantages are provided by a floor box apparatus comprising a housing having a base, a vertically extending side wall defines an interior volume. A plurality of vertically aligned set of indexing teeth are formed inside the side wall of the housing. An adapter ring is dimensioned for insertion into the interior of the housing and is adapted to hold an activation equipment above the interior compartment of the housing. The adapter ring has a plurality of flanges extending from its periphery which are positioned to reciprocally coincide with the vertical rows of teeth when the adapter ring is inserted into the interior compartment of the housing to secure the adapter ring within the housing. The ridges and teeth are constructed to allow the ring to be inserted into the housing but to restrict the separation of the housing ring after its insertion therein. The floor box provides several advantages over existing floor box designs. Specifically, the adapter ring is easy to install and install inside the housing. Gradient markings are provided inside the housing and on the divider that provides a quick and accurate measurement of the interior volume of the floor box, for insertion and compliance with building codes. Additionally, the upper part of the housing includes a reduced circumferential projection so that, after it has been cut, the upper part can be inverted to coincide with the projection with the inner surface of the vertically extending side wall. As a result, the closed upper part of the housing has a dual purpose: to act as a concrete cover during the emptying of the floor and as a cover for temporary waste after it is removed by cutting but before the activation of the floor box. The floor box is also designed to accommodate multiple services by using two pairs of opposite duct tubes and a divider which is inserted into the interior of the housing to maintain a separation between the services. The two pairs of tubes are aligned parallel to each other to allow the conduits to remain parallel to each other as they approach the box. The divider is designed to be broken or removed by cutting and includes gradient markers which coincide with the gradient markers inside the housing to indicate the proper position to cut the divider. Advantageously, the floor box can be manufactured economically as a two-piece plastic design, where both halves are mirror images and can be easily assembled by welding or fusion bonding, for example.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVERSE VIEWS OF THE DRAWING For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference is now made to the embodiment illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings and which is described below by way of example of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the floor box of the present invention, with a ring of reducing plugs and removably attached to the exterior of the housing. Figure 2 is an isometric view illustrating the construction of two pieces of the floor box of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an isometric view of an adapter ring constructed in accordance with the present invention. Figure 4 is an exploded isometric view of the floor box of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a top view of the floor box after the upper part of the box has been removed by cutting and the adapter ring has been removed. inserted in the box. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the floor box along line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the same view as in Figure 6, showing the activation equipment installed in the floor box. (This drawing is being prepared). Figure 8 is an upper isometric view of a second embodiment of the floor box. Figure 9 is a bottom isometric view of the floor box of Figure 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to Figure 1, the floor box 10 comprises a generally circular housing 11 with an integrally formed upper wall 13. Although a rounded housing is shown, it should be appreciated that the principles of the present invention are equally applicable to rectangular housings. The floor box 10 is referred to as a closed floor box because, in its assembled state, there are no openings (except for the mounting hole 18 of the molding shaft) through which concrete or other debris can enter. To the accommodation. Therefore, unlike conventional floor boxes, there is no need for a separate cover or a layer of concrete mud to prevent concrete residues from entering the housing.

The floor box 10 is provided with a plurality of reducing plugs 12 and closing plugs which are sent to the end user in a molding shaft. The molding shaft includes a downward projecting portion (not shown) which is dimensioned for insertion into a reciprocal opening 18 formed in the upper part of the floor box 10. Prior to the closed floor box arrangement the binding capacity of the reducers and the closure 14 of plugs to the floor box 10, there are some loose parts that are subject to loss or damage during shipping. By installation, the person making the installation can separate the appropriate reducers and / or plugs from the molding tree and insert them as needed into the duct hubs in the housing. Preferably, the floor box 10 is formed by matching two pieces as shown in Figure 2. The first piece 18 and the second piece 19 are preferably mirror images of each other and are constructed from molded plastic . The two pieces 18, 19 can be joined to form a complete waste floor of housing in the box. The alternative means for joining the two pieces 18, 19, easily present in themselves, such as welding, bolts, adhesives or press fit. The advantages of the two-piece plastic construction include ease and economy of manufacture and the ability to easily form contours (such as teeth) in the housing. The first and second pieces 18, 19 of the floor box 10 each include a base 20, a top 22 and a vertically extending side wall 24. With reference, in addition to Figures 4-6, a plurality of rows 25a-25d of indexing teeth 26 vertically aligned (see also Figure 3) are formed inside the side wall 24 of the housing. An adapter ring 28 is dimensioned for insertion into the interior of the housing (after the upper part has been removed by cutting) and is adapted to hold an activation equipment in the interior compartment 30 of the housing. The adapter ring 28 has a plurality of flanges 32a-32d with teeth, extending from its periphery which are positioned to reciprocate with the vertical rows 25a-25d of the teeth 26 when the adapter ring 28 is inserted into the interior compartment of the accommodation. The ridges 32 with teeth and the teeth 25 in the housing 11 have a ratchet trigger ratio which allows the adapter ring 28 to be inserted into the housing, but prevents the ring from detaching from the housing after insertion therein. A plurality of vertical slots 34a-34d are formed inside the side wall 24 of the housing. The adapter ring 28 includes outwardly projecting portions 36a-36b which are oriented to slidably engage the vertical slots 34a-34d to fix the axial orientation of the adapter ring 28 relative to the housing 11 of the floor box . The exterior of the side wall 26 of the housing includes two sets of cubes 38, 40 for conduits, opposed, formed integrally. The duct cubes 38, 40 open into the interior of the housing and are adapted to receive the electrical conduit 42, as shown in Figure 4, to allow the wiring to be directed into the interior of the housing. When necessary, the reducing plugs 12 or the closing plugs 14 can also be inserted into the hubs 34, 40. The providing the bucket assemblies 38a, 38b; 40a, 40b allow multiple services to be performed by the box, for example telephone and electric service. The cubes in each set are placed on opposite sides of the housing 11, while two sets 38, 40 of cubes run parallel to each other. This orientation allows the service ducts to remain parallel to each other as they approach the box, eliminating the need to move one of the ducts as required in the boxes in which the duct cubes are ninety-degree deviations degrees . A plate-like partition divider 44 is inserted into the interior of the housing to divide the interior into two sub-compartments (i.e., a sub-compartment 50 of energy and a sub-compartment 52 of communications) and to maintain physical separation between the services of the cabinet. For this purpose, the two vertical grooves 34c, 34d are placed between the two pairs of conduit to receive the divider 48. With reference to Figure 6, the interior of the side wall 24 includes gradient markers 58 that mimic the interior volume of the entire housing 10 of box for full floor, measured from the base 20 to the respective mark 58. Similar markings may be placed on the outside of the floor box 10 to easily indicate the concrete depth surrounding the floor box 10. The divider 44 is designed to be broken or detached by cutting and includes markings which coincide with the markings 58 inside the housing to indicate the proper placement for cutting the divider.

The lower wall 24 includes fixing means 62 for attaching the floor box 10 to a floor surface 64, as shown in Figure 4. The fixing means 40 provides an opening for receiving a fastener for example a pin, nail, screw or similar. Referring again to Figures 1, 2 and 4, the upper part of the floor box 10 includes a projection 66 of reduced diameter having an outside diameter which is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the side wall 24 of the housing. Accordingly, as shown in Figure 4, the upper fraction 68 removed by cutting and the floor box 10 can be inverted and placed on the lower portion 70, to act as a temporary cover. The temporary cover is used after the concrete has been emptied, but before the activation of the box 10 for floor. The cover provides easy access to the interior of the housing for wiring and connection services, and at the same time prevents unwanted waste and material from entering the housing. As can be seen in Figures 4-7, the adapter ring 28 is adapted to hold an activation equipment above the interior compartment of the housing. The activation equipment may include a duplex outlet 72, a duplex cover 74 and an activation cover 76. The operation of the floor box 10 can be better understood by reference to figures 4 and 7 which show the box 10 for fixed floor to a floor surface 64 by fixing means 62. The appropriate connections for the floor box 10 are made by installing the electrical conduits 42 in the hubs 38, 40. If necessary, reducing plugs 12 can be used to reduce the internal diameter of the flange 28 before the installation of the conduit 42 Additionally, closure plugs 14 can be inserted for single service installations within the cubes 38, 40 not used to seal the interior compartment 30 of the housing. Once the proper conduit connections are made, concrete 78 is poured to the desired depth. After the concrete has been poured and allowed to set, when the top portion 78 of the floor box 10 is poured, it is removed by cutting slightly above or parallel to the top surface of the concrete 78. The type of cover for The floor and activation equipment used will determine the amount of accommodation that remains extending above the top surface of the concrete 49.

After removing the upper portion 78, the interior of the housing 11 is exposed, as shown in Figure 4. The gradient markings 58 indicate the interior volume of the remaining housing. If the compartment divider 44 is to be installed, the divider 44 is sheared off in the proper position and slid into the vertical slots 34c, 34d. This process is greatly simplified by the gradient marks 60 in the splitter 44 which correspond to those inside the housing, thus indicating the appropriate position to which to cut the divider. The electrical conductors are then connected to the output 72 duplex according to the N.E.C. and local codes. Once the wires have been placed in the duplex outlet 72, it is attached to the adapter ring by a pair of threaded fasteners which extend through the openings in the duplex portion braidedly with the adapter ring 28. The duplex cover 74 is then placed over the plex outlet. The duplex cover serves to electrically isolate the electrical output of the communications compartment. This cover 74 is not required in single service applications. The activation cover 76 is then attached to the adapter ring by fasteners which extend through the cover and are braided on the adapter ring.

If data services are provided, the data lines are placed through an opening located in the trigger cover 76. The opening may include an inner ring for sealing around the data cables. The assembly is completed by aligning the protruding parts 36a-36d on the adapter ring 28 with the slots 34a-34d inside the housing and inserting the ring into the interior of the housing. As the adapter ring 28 moves in the housing, the flanges 32a, 32d, with teeth are engaged with the reciprocating teeth 25a-25d formed inside the housing 11. The adapter / cover ring combination is pushed into the housing until the lower part of the cover 76 of the adapter meets with the upper part of the side wall of the housing. The periphery of the cover 76 extends beyond the side wall 74 of the housing, and therefore, the interface between the cover 76 and the side wall 24 of the housing serves as a stop to limit the distance at which it can be inserted. the adapter ring 76 inside the housing 36. Figures 8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the floor box. In the second embodiment (Figures 8 and 9), a flange 100 is formed along the junction of the first and second pieces 18, 19 of the housing 11. This flange 100 adds strength to the housing 11, provides a wider reinforcement for welding and provides a better clamping surface while joining the housing portions 18, 19. The second embodiment (Figures 8 and 9) also has projections 102, 104, formed on the outside of the base 20 and on the upper wall 22, respectively. Although elements, embodiments of particular applications of the present invention have been shown and described, of course, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto since such modifications can be made by those familiar with the art, particularly in light of the previous teachings. Therefore, it is contemplated by the appended claims to cover such modifications insofar as they incorporate those features which are within the spirit and scope of the invention. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims

l. A floor box, for mounting on a concrete floor, the floor box is characterized in that it comprises: a housing having a base, a vertically extending side wall defining an interior volume, and a plurality of sets of teeth indexing aligned vertically, formed inside the side wall of the housing; and an adapter ring sized for insertion into the interior of the housing that is adapted to hold an activation equipment above the interior compartment of the housing, the adapter ring has a plurality of flanges extending from its periphery which are placed to coincide reciprocally with the vertical rows of teeth when the adapter ring is inserted into the interior compartment of the compartment to fix the adapter ring inside the housing.
2. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the rims and the teeth are constructed to allow the adapter ring to be inserted in the housing but to prevent the detachment or removal of the housing ring after its insertion therein.
3. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises gradient marks placed on at least one surface of the side wall, the marks indicate the interior volume of the housing measured from the base to the respective mark.
4. The floor box according to claim 3, characterized in that the gradient marks are placed on the interior surface of the side wall.
5. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing further includes an integrally formed upper part defining a protection having a reduced circumference with respect to the vertically extending side wall so that after to be eliminated by cutting, the upper part can be inverted to match the projection with the inner surface of the side wall that extends vertically.
6. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall of the housing is cylindrical in shape.
7. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is formed of two image portions to the mirror which are joined during manufacturing.
8. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall additionally has a plurality of vertical grooves formed in its interior surface; and wherein the adapter ring further includes a plurality of outwardly projecting protruding portions arranged to slidably engage the vertical slots to fix the axial orientation of the adapter ring relative to the housing.
9. The floor box according to claim 8, characterized in that the side wall includes two pairs of opposite vertical slots.
10. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one pair of vertically opposed slots is further adapted to receive a compartment divider for separating the interior of the housing into two compartments.
11. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises two pairs of opposite duct cubes extending from the exterior of the side wall of the housing and an opening towards the interior of the housing, the two pairs of cubes they are generally parallel to each other, and the cubes in the respective pair are generally opposite each other.
12. The floor box according to claim 11, characterized in that it additionally comprises a set of vertically opposed slots placed between the pairs of duct cubes, the slots are adapted to receive a compartment divider to separate the interior of the housing in two. compartments, where a set of cubes opens each compartment.
13. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises an activation cover which is fixedly fixed to the upper part of the marker ring, the periphery of the activation cover extends beyond the wall side of the housing so as to prevent the inward movement of the adapter ring within the interior of the housing.
14. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is formed of a non-metallic material.
15. The floor box according to claim 1, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for fixing the floor box to a floor surface. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A non-metallic floor box is provided, for use in electrical power supply systems and below-floor communication distribution including a plurality of vertically aligned indexing teeth assemblies formed within the side wall of the housing, An adapter ring is dimensioned for insertion into the interior of the housing to hold an activation equipment above the interior compartment of the housing. The adapter ring has flanges extending from its periphery which are positioned to coincide reciprocally with the vertical rows of teeth when the adapter ring is inserted into the interior compartment of the housing. The ridges and teeth are constructed to allow the ring to be inserted into the housing but to prevent its detachment or removal from the housing after its insertion therein. An activation cover is insurable to the upper part of the adapter ring and extends beyond the perimeter of the side wall to limit the distance at which the adapter ring can be inserted into the housing. The floor box accommodates double services by using two sets of parallelly aligned conduit cubes and a divider which can be inserted into the interior of the housing between the two sets of conduit tubes. The closed top portion of the housing acts as a concrete cover during floor placement, and as a temporary cover for waste after it is cut but before activation of the floor box. The gradient markers inside the floor box provide a quick and accurate measurement of the interior volume of the floor box, for inspection and compliance with building codes.