US1173040A

US1173040A - Switch-mounting and the like.

Info

Publication number: US1173040A
Application number: US76575613A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard R Sargent
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1913-05-06
Filing date: 1913-05-06
Publication date: 1916-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 1933-02-22

Description

H. R. SARGENT.

SWITCH MOUNTING AND THE LIKE.

7 APPLICATION FILED MAY6,1913- 1,173,040. Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

PIE 5 Inventor:

Howard RSarg ht,-

y His fittorney.,

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Witnesses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD R. SARGENT, 0F SCI-IENECTADY, NEW YORKfASSIGrNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SWITCH-MOUNTING AND THE LIKE.

Application filed May 6, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD R. SARGENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch- Mountings and the like, of which the followthe face of the switch flush with the surface of the wall, so that the face plate or cover for the switch fits closely over said wall surface, it is necessary to adjust the switch support longitudinally with respect to the stationary box or casing in which it is mounted, the amount of adjustment depending upon the thickness of the plaster or other finishing material. Hitherto, this adjustment has been commonly accomplished by the use of a number of washers located between the plate or bracket of the switch support and the stationary box, through which washers pass the screw or screws which secure the switch support to the base support. Such an expedient not only incurs the ex pense of a number of washers but frequently requires taking the switch out and putting it in several times before a proper adjustment is secured.

My invention provides novel means for quickly and securely adjusting the switch support longitudinally with reference to the stationary box or base support upon which it is mounted, without any of the disadvantages of the-washer method, and at the same time provides for the adjustment of said switch support transversely with respect to said base support.

For a fuller understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the faceplate or cover for the switch; Fig. 2 is a. longitudinal vertical se'ctionthrough the outlet box, Which is illustrated in position in the wall, the switch support being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation showing the means for adjusting theswitch Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Serial No. 765,756.

support relatively to the box; Fig. 4. is a front elevation of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective View of thelock nut, and Fig. 6 shows a modification of the lock nut.

In the drawings, 1 is the box or casing in which a swltch or receptacle is mounted, and which serves as a base support therefor. The casing is provided with brackets 2 by which the box is secured to the wall, which I have here represented by laths 3, by means of screws 4. The box is also provided with ears or brackets 5 having tapped openings 5 for a purpose hereinafter more fully explained. The switch is carried by a switch support 6, which may be made of any suitable insulating material, such as porcelain. I have not illustrated the switch mechanism with the exception of the actuating plungers 7, as the switch itself constitutes no part of my present invention. A plate or bar 8 is secured to the face of the switch support and extends beyond the body to form a support therefor in the usual manner. Each end of this plate is provided with a transversly elongated opening 9, through which passes a screw 10, which secures the switch support to the base support, and in which the head of the screw is seated. A look nut or member 11, provided with a tapped-opening 12 and a lug 13 extending at right an gles to the member, is seated against the under side of the plate 8 beneath the opening '9, the lug passing through an opening 14: in

support by screws 16, with the cover fitting closely to the plaster 17 or face of the wall.

In order to install the switch in the outlet box, the screws 10 are first inserted through the "openings 9 at the ends of the plate 8, and the members 11 are run onto the screws until they engage the plate 8 and their lugs 13 engage in the openings 14 of said plate 8. This is most conveniently done before the switch support is placed within the outlet box. The switch support is then placed within the outletbox with the points of the screws at the entrance of the tapped openings 5 in the ears 5. The screws are now backed or turned out through the members 11 until the outer face of the switch support is moved inwardly until it is flush with the surface of the plaster or wall, at the same time pressing inward on the switch in order to keep the plate 8 in engagement with the members 11. The switch support is then adjusted so as to bring the same in a vertical position by moving either or both ends of the plate 8 transversely across the screws 10, which are kept stationary with their ends at the entrances of the tapped openings 5. The screws are then turned in, and, as they travel through the members 11 and the ears 5 at the same rate, the switch support remains in the same position relative to the outlet box in which it was adjusted, and, when the screws are brought home, it is clamped or screwed in this position.

I have shown in Fig. 6 a modification in which the end of the lug 13, which projects through the plate 8, is riveted over to avoid chance of the member 11 being lost.

While in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, I have shown what I consider the best embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the same is capable of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, while I have illustrated the switch support secured to an outlet box, it will be understood that under some circumstances it might be desirable to dispense entirely with this box and the supporting body would then be secured directly to the wall. Furthermore, while Ihave illustrated my invention as embodying a nut-lock or member 11, it will be understood that this member might be dispensed with and the screw 10 would in that case be tapped di rectly through the plate S,-which is so secured to the switch support as to be effectually prevented from turning with the screw, though this does not afford the same convenient means for adjusting the supporting body relatively to the base support as the preferred construction above described. It will be further understood that while I have illustrated my invention in connection with a switch support, it could equally well be used with what is known in the art as a flush pocket receptacle. When I refer in the claims, therefore, to a switch support, it will be understood that the claims cover any kind of a device that is adapted to be mounted in an outlet box or in a wall.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a switch mounting, the combination of a base support having a tapped opening, a switch support including a part with a tapped opening so secured as to be prevented from turning, and a screw having its threads engaged in said tapped openings in the switch support and the base support.

In a switch mounting, the combination of a base support having a tapped opening, a switch support comprising a plate with an opening, a member having a tapped opening seated against said plate and engaged therewith so that it cannot turn with reference thereto, and a screw adapted to engage in said tapped openings in said base support and said member and to extend loosely through said opening in said plate.

3. In a switch mounting, the'combination of a base support having a tapped opening, a switch support comprising a plate with one or more elongated openings, a member having a tapped opening seated against said plate, there being means for preventing rotation of said member with reference to said switch support, and a screw adapted to engage in the openings of said base support and said member and to pass through the opening of said plate.

l. In a switch mounting, the combination of a base support having a tapped opening, a switch support comprising a plate having an elongated transversely extending'opening, a member having a tapped opening secured to said plate so that it may be adjusted alongthe elongated opening therein, and a screw adapted to engage in said tapped openings in said base support and said member and to pass through the elongated opening of the plate.

5. In a switch mounting, the combination of a base support having a tapped opening, a switch support comprising a plate having an elongated transversely ex tending opening, a member having a tapped opening registering with said plate opening and also having a lug engaged in an opening in the plate and forming a pivot forsaid member, and a screw adapted to engage in said tapped openings in said base support and said member and to pass through said plate opening so that said switch support may be adjusted with respect to said base support both lengthwise and transversely of said screw.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of May, 1913.

HOWARD R. SARGENT.

Witnesses BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN ORFORD.