Abstract:
What is disclosed is a conduit for the installation of telephone or television cables in the interior of a building. The conduit is adapted to be installed at the corner where a wall meets a ceiling. The conduit comprises a cable receiver, a cover therefore and a moulding to be installed over the cover.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/383,936 filed Mar. 30, 2009. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed to the field of conduits used for installation of wires or cables inside of buildings. Such wires or cables can be used for providing telephone, internet, fibre optics, speakers or television service to a customer in a building without having to wall fish wires. In particular, the present invention is directed to the field of conduits mounted on the exterior surface of interior walls in the buildings. 
         [0003]    In general, the utility company provides a main line for service into the building. In an apartment or office complex, the service lines to the individual units must be run separately into the individual units. Consequently, the lines are run through various parts of the buildings. Generally, the cables run through the interior hallways in conduits located in the corner where the side walls meet the ceilings. The conduit covers must be easily removable to service, upgrade and to splice the cables when each customer calls for service. 
         [0004]    The presently available conduits for use in these types of buildings generally are mounted at the corner where the walls intersect the ceiling. The available conduits generally are fabricated from plastic with a triangular cross-section. Thus, the currently available conduits provide a plain and inexpensive looking appearance. This inexpensive looking appearance creates a problem in up-scale residences and office buildings because it detracts from the ambiance of the building. In such up-scale buildings, the occupants expect high quality appearing mouldings at the corners of walls and ceilings. However, placing a conventional corner moulding over the available conduits cannot be easily implemented. 
         [0005]    A primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem. The present invention, as explained in detail below, solves this problem by providing a novel corner conduit and moulding combination for installing wires and cables therein. The interchangeable architectural face piece also allows for ease of installation for the typical homeowner. Pre-finished mouldings can be installed without nails or putty eliminating the need to nail through the pre-finished face plate. The product is also UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A wall cable conduit combination comprising of a longitudinally extending cable receiver adapted to be fastened to a wall where the wall intersects a ceiling comprising a rear central panel, a first side panel projecting from an end of the rear central panel, a second side panel projecting from an opposite end of the rear central panel, a first semi-circular receiving slot attached to an end of the first side panel opposite to the rear central panel and a second semi-circular receiving slot attached to an end of the second side panel opposite the rear central panel, a longitudinally extending conduit cover adapted to be removeably connected to the cable receiver such that a hollow space is formed between the conduit cover and the cable receiver wherein cables are placed, the conduit cover comprising a longitudinally extending panel with a front and back, a first side edge and a second side edge and a first longitudinally extending connecting unit attached to the first side edge of the panel on the front of the panel and a second longitudinally extending connecting unit attached to the second edge of the panel on the front of the panel and a longitudinally extending rectangular projection on the back of the panel wherein the first connecting unit and the second connecting unit comprise a generally circular projection with a longitudinal slot therein and are adapted to be received in the first and second semi-circular receiving slots, a longitudinally extending decorative moulding comprising a removeable architectural face plate on a front surface wherein the longitudinally extending slot is and a longitudinally extending slot on a back surface where the longitudinally extending slot is adapted to receive the rectangular projection, a double sided tape disposed between the decorative moulding and conduit cover to fix the decorative moulding to the conduit cover. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a side cut-away exploded view of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a side cut-away assembled view of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a part of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of a part of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of a part of the present invention as installed. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is an assembled view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is an exploded side view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a side cut-away assembled view of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a top perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a bottom perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a front exploded view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is a side cut-away exploded view of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 14  is a side cut-away assembled view of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a component of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 16  is a top perspective view of a component of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 17  is a bottom perspective view of a component of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 18  is an assembled view of the alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    The present invention will now be described in terms of the presently preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
         [0026]    The corner conduit  10  is shown in the drawings. The corner conduit  10  comprises a generally hollow longitudinally extending cable receiver  12 , a longitudinally extending conduit cover  14  and a moulding  16 . The moulding  16  comprises a front ornamental surface design  17 . The ornamental surface design  17  shown in the appended drawings is merely one example of the ornamental surface features of the moulding  16  that could be used as an interchangeable face plate on the cable receiver  12 . The corner conduit  10  will be UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring. 
         [0027]    The cable receiver  12  is illustrated in cross-section in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The cable receiver  12  comprises two side panels  18  and  20 , generally oriented perpendicular to each other, with an integral back panel  22 . The cable receiver  12  is adapted to be installed in a corner where a side wall meets a ceiling with the side panel  20  adjacent to the ceiling and the side panel  18  adjacent to the side wall. The cable receiver  12  is generally attached to the wall and ceiling by means of conventional fastening techniques, such as screws, well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The cable receiver  12  further comprises projections  24  and  25 . The projections  24  and  25  are generally oriented perpendicular to the side panel  18  and  20  as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0028]    The conduit cover  14  will now be described in detail. The conduit cover  14  is adapted to snap into the cable receiver  12  as shown in the assembled view of  FIG. 3 . The conduit cover  14  comprises a central panel  26 , a first connecting unit  28  and a second connecting unit  30 . It is anticipated that the conduit cover  14  and moulding  16  may be manufactured as an integral extruded plastic part but that is not required to be within the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
         [0029]    The central panel  26  is flat with a first rectangular projection  27 . The first connecting unit  28  extends from the central panel  26  on one side opposite to the second connecting unit  30 . The first connecting unit  28  comprises a rectangular mating unit  29  which is adapted to be received in projections  24  and  25  on the side panel  20 . 
         [0030]    The second connecting unit  30  comprises a straight projection  31  with a second projection  32  extending therefrom at an angle “a.” In addition, the straight projection  31  comprises a plurality of serrated longitudinal grooves  34 . 
         [0031]    The rectangular projection  27  on central panel  26  is adapted to be received into a mating opening  36  on moulding  16  placed on the surfaces  40  and  42 . The moulding  16  snaps in place over the central panel  26  and is joined thereto by double sided tape  38 . The double sided tape  38  allows the moulding  16  to be fitted to the conduit cover without the use of nails or putty or other traditional fastening means. The final assembly of the conduit receiver  12 , conduit cover  14  and moulding  16  is placed on the surfaces  40  and  42  as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 7  illustrates the installation of the present invention in a corner where two side walls meet the ceiling. In the case of such a corner, an additional moulding  44  is required. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the corner conduit  10  is installed along the wall and ceiling joint in both directions. The corner moulding  40  is adapted to fit over the corner conduits  10  by installation on the rectangular projection on the central panel  26 . 
         [0033]    The installation and use of the corner conduit  10  will now be described in detail. The cable receiver  12  will first be installed at the corner between a wall and ceiling by conventional fastening techniques. The cables or wires will then be installed in the opening  19  formed by side panels  18  and  20 . The conduit cover  14  will be snapped into place over the cable receiver  12 . The conduit cover  14  will be installed by placing rectangular mating unit  29  into the projections  24  and  25  on side panel  20  and then the opposite end of the conduit cover will be snapped onto projection  25  on side panel  18  until the serrated grooves  34  connect to the corner conduit  12 . At that point, the moulding  16  will be snapped onto the front connector  16  and connected thereby the double sided tape as described above. The installation is complete and appears as a normal moulding in the corner between the wall and ceiling. 
         [0034]      FIG. 7  illustrates the installation of the corner piece  40 . The corner piece  40  comprises two grooves  46  in the same shape as mating opening  36  on the moulding  16 . The grooves  46  allow the corner piece  40  to be installed with double sided tape over the corner conduit  10  in the same manner as the moulding  16  allowing for a transition at wall corners. 
         [0035]    An alternate embodiment  200  of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 12 to 18 . The alternate embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 12 to 18  is a simplified version of the prior embodiments that can be utilized by an individual homeowner to install cables in their home or apartment. Unlike the prior embodiment, this embodiment is directed to an initial installation of the cable conduit rather then as an add-on to existing cable conduits. This conduit is a multi-use UL® rated conduit that can be used with electrical wires, speaker wires, etc. 
         [0036]    The corner conduit  200  comprises an ornamental moulding  202 . The ornamental features on the front of the moulding  202  can be varied without deviating from the scope of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 12 , a longitudinally extending cable receiver  204  is provided. The longitudinally extending cable receiver  204  is comprised of two side panels  205 , a rear central panel  206  and two semi-circular receiving slots  208  with projections  209  and  211 . 
         [0037]    The corner conduit  200  further comprises a conduit cover  210 . The conduit cover  210  is adapted to snap into the cable receiver  204  as illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . The conduit cover  210  comprises a first generally circular connecting unit  212  and a second generally circular connecting unit  214 . The circular connecting units  212  and  214  each respectively comprise a longitudinal slot  216 . The conduit cover  210  further comprises a longitudinally extending generally rectangular projection  218 . 
         [0038]    The assembly of the corner conduit  200  is illustrated in  FIG. 13 . The conduit cover  210  snaps into the conduit receiver  204  by means of the first and second circular connecting units  212  and  214 . In practice, the longitudinal slots  216  allow the diameter of the first and second connecting units  212  and  214  to be reversibly contracted a slight amount and then placed into the receiving slots  208 . Upon release of the slots  216 , the first and second connecting units  212  and  214  expand to their original diameter and into the receiving slots  208  and thereby the conduit cover  210  is fixed to the conduit receiver  204 . 
         [0039]    The ornamental moulding  202  comprises a generally rectangular longitudinal slot  220  on its rear surface  222 . The longitudinal slot  220  is adapted to slidingly receive the generally rectangular projection  218  on the conduit cover  210  as illustrated in  FIG. 14 . The ornamental moulding  202  is joined to the conduit cover by means of double-sided tape  224  placed between the conduit cover  210  and the ornamental moulding  202 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , to create the final assembly of the corner conduit  220 . 
         [0040]    Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.