Erico International Corporation

Erico Products, Inc,

Martin F Delmore

Raymond Scott Laughlin

John E Groth

John D Langdon

An electrical box support assembly for stud wall construction includes two channel shape struts with one being confined by and telescoping in the other. Both have a longitudinally extending V-shape groove opening toward the box or boxes to be supported thereon whereby the boxes may quickly be attached by a self tapping screw with a screw gun. The groove ensures that each box is straight and, if more than one box is mounted, both straight and aligned. While the two parts may be telescoped they are not readily separable and are sufficiently rigid so that they do not need to be preassembled. The opposite ends of the struts are each provided with planar tabs with two longitudinally spaced designed bend points at which the strut ends or tabs may selectively be field bent to form right angle flanges matching the depth of the box to be supported. The tab ends of the struts are shipped straight or flat and in some forms may include one or more additional bend points which, when the strut end tab is selectively bent, may be used to form a flange substantially parallel to the strut. The parallel flange may be the full width or one-half the width of the stud. The field formed flanges may be provided with holes to facilitate the screw gun fastening of the strut ends to substantially any surface of the stud. If a projecting portion of the tab is not employed, it may simply be folded back on itself to form a double thickness end.

Box support

An electrical fixture for mounting a cover plate over a wall opening which eliminates the necessity of installing an outlet box within such wall opening to facilitate the mounting of the cover plate. In a preferred embodiment the fixture comprises a rectangular plate having a front and rear surface, and a major opening and a pair of screw openings extending therethrough. Extending from the longer side edges of the major opening essentially perpendicular to the front and rear surfaces are a pair of flanges which serve to provide lateral support for the fixture within the wall opening. Extending from the center of the narrower top and bottom edges of the major opening are a pair of diametrically opposed deformable fingers which, upon insertion of the fixture within a wall opening, may be bent firmly to secure the fixture within the opening. Each of the deformable fingers includes a slot of sufficient size that upon attachment of the cover plate to the fixture with fasteners the deformable fingers do not interfere with the driving or placement of such fasteners.

Electrical fixture

An electrical box support for supporting an electrical box or other like device in a studded wall. The box support comprises a horizontal strut having a centrally located outwardly opening horizontally extending V-shape channel and a pair of legs formed at each end thereof. The purpose of the V-shape channel is to facilitate horizontal positioning or alignment of such boxes, to facilitate fastening, and also to strengthen the strut. Separating each leg of a leg pair is a cut-out which allows each of the legs to flex and bend independent of the other. To rigidify further and strengthen the box support, the invention further provides a pair of flanges or ribs formed along the lateral edges of the horizontal strut.

A hold-down and retaining clip for a lay-in light fixture secures the fixture to the T-bar frame of the suspended ceiling against both vertical and lateral movement. The main body portion of the clip has an L-shape configuration adapted to lie substantially adjacent the stem in one bottom flange of the T-bar. The upper vertical leg of the clip includes an extended center portion which is formed in an enlarged bend extending over the top of the stem with substantial clearance and terminates in an upwardly rebent edge adapted to engage the far side of the stem. The shorter lateral portions of the vertical leg have their upper edges bent toward the stem and are adapted to engage the near side of the stem at a slightly higher elevation than the terminal edge on the far side of the stem. The lower horizontal leg of the clip includes a heel adapted to bear against the stem adjacent the bottom flange and also includes a center portion at a slightly higher elevation than the foot of the lateral portions which form the heel. The center portion is provided with barbs directed toward the stem which are adapted to engage and bite into a horizontal peripheral flange of the light fixture when the same is inserted between the center elevated portion and the lower lateral portions of the bottom leg of the clip. The clip is adapted to accommodate either round or rectangular head T-bar or lighting fixtures which have upturned peripheral flanges of varying degree or no upturned flanges at all.

Growing community of inventors

Seven Hills, OH, United States of America

Martin F Delmore