Abstract:
An outlet cover assembly is described that provides a base portion with a face plate opening for two face plates that are removable from the base portion. One of the face plates has a jack opening for retaining a jack therein. A retaining hook assembly for the jack is provided by a first hook detail that located on the face plate and a second hook detail located on the cover panel. When the face plate is secured within the face plate opening, the first and second hook details become aligned opposite one another and are operable to selectively engage hook portions on the jack. Because each of the hook details are formed on separate components, neither component must be formed using a collapsible insert.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention is directed to an improved wall mountable outlet cover used for securing jacks. In other aspects, the invention is directed to arrangements for retaining jacks within outlet covers. 
     Wall mountable outlet covers feature a substantially flat plate that is secured to a wall or other support surface using screw connectors. The plate has an opening within which a jack is secured so that plugs may be removably disposed into a plug receptacle in the jack. To secure the jack within the opening, a retaining hook assembly is integrally formed into the plate on the periphery of the opening. The retaining hook assembly is made up of a pair of opposing hinge details that are placed in opposition to one another on either side of the opening. It is, however, relatively difficult and costly to produce face plates having opposing hook details. The molding process for these requires a collapsible insert for the forming tool. It would be an improvement to have an outlet cover that did not require such an insert, thereby providing greater ease of manufacture and an associated reduction in cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An exemplary outlet cover assembly is described having a base portion that provides a face plate opening for two face plates that are removable from the cover panel. One of the face plates has a jack opening for retaining a jack therein. A retaining hook assembly for the jack is provided by a first hook detail that located on the face plate and a second hook detail located on the cover panel. When the face plate is secured within the face plate opening, the first and second hook details become aligned opposite one another and are operable to selectively engage hook portions on the jack. Because each of the hook details are formed on separate components, neither component must be formed using a collapsible insert. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an front perspective view of an exemplary outlet cover assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 depicts a rear perspective of the outlet cover assembly shown in FIG. 1 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded rear view of the outlet cover assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates is a frontal view of the outlet cover assembly shown in FIGS. 1-3. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines  5 — 5  in FIG.  4 . 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 are enlarged views depicting insertion of a copper jack into the outlet cover assembly. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate another embodiment of the outlet cover assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 through 7 depict an exemplary outlet cover assembly  10  having a base section  12  and two removable face plates  32  and  50 , which will be described in detail shortly. The outlet cover assembly  10  is shaped and sized to be affixed to a wall or other support surface (not shown) by securing screws or other fasteners (not shown). The base section  12  is preferably rectangular in shape (although any size and shape could be used) and contains upper and lower apertures  14 ,  16  through which fasteners are disposed. The base section  12  also contains a central face plate opening  20 , best shown in FIG. 3, that is also preferably rectangular in shape as well. Opening  20  could be any size or shape, depending on the size and shape of the face plates  32 , whose size and shapes may, in turn, depend of the size and shape of the connectors or plugs/jacks that are used. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, four projections  22  are located on either lateral side of the face plate opening  20 , which assist in stabilizing and maintaining the face plates  32 , 50  flush with the base section  12 . The front side surface  24  of the base section  12  is the side that is normally visible when the outlet cover  10  is affixed to a wall or other support surface. The reverse side  26  is placed adjacent the wall or support surface and becomes hidden from view when in use. It is noted that the front side surface  24  may also have rectangular recessed portions  28  proximate the upper and lower ends into which labels (not shown) may be secured. The reverse side  26  of the base section  12  has a downwardly projecting flange  30  that extends across the upper end of the face plate opening  20 . The flange  30  is visible in FIGS. 2,  3  and  5 . As will be described in greater detail later, the flange  30  provides a hinge detail that is useful for retaining jacks. The lower end of the face plate opening  20  has a notch  31  cut into the reverse side  26 . 
     A removably insertable upper face plate  32  is shown that is generally rectangular in shape. The upper face plate  32  also presents a front side surface  34  and a reverse side surface  36 . Each of the lateral sides  38  of the upper face plate  32  have a tang  40  that projects rearwardly away from the reverse side surface  36 . A rectangular jack opening  42  is centrally disposed through the upper face plate  32 . The reverse side surface  36  of the upper face plate  32  presents a pair of jack alignment tabs  44  that are situated on either lateral side of the jack opening  42 . These tabs  44  engage each side of a jack to help align the jack with the opening  42 . The tabs  44  also engage the flanges on the copper jack  70  to ensure that the jack is flush with the front side surface  34  of the face plate  32  and is not pushed too far. 
     A U-shaped bracket  46  is located below the tabs  44  and projects rearwardly from the reverse side surface  36  of the upper face plate  32 . As best shown in FIGS. 3,  6 , and  7 , the bracket  46  has a pair of flat vertically oriented side pieces (which also assist in preventing the jack  70  from going too far forward) and an interconnecting cross-piece. The cross-piece has an upwardly-projecting flange  48 . 
     A lower face plate  50  is shown as generally rectangular and presents a front side surface  52  and reverse side surface  54 . The lower face plate  50  has an angularly recessed central portion  56  that contains a jack opening  58 . The jack opening  58  is sized and shaped to receive and retain a fiber optic jack (not shown). The angular recession of the central portion  56  causes a fiber optic jack to be retained within the jack opening  58  at an angle to the front side surface  52 . Rearwardly projecting jack alignment portions  60  are located on either side of the jack opening  58 . A lower jack alignment portion  62  also projects rearwardly along the lower edge of the jack opening  58 . The lower end of the lower face plate  50  has a retaining tab  64  that projects downwardly. The retaining tab  64  is shaped and sized to be received within the notch  31  at the lower edge of the face plate opening  20 . In addition, tangs  66  are located on either lateral side of the lower face plate  50 . 
     An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In the alternative embodiments, the upper face plate  32 ′ is the same as in the first embodiment except that face plate  32 ′ has two jack openings  42 ′, 42 ″, each one to hold a jack  70  (see FIG.  3 ). As seen in FIG. 9, each opening  42 ′, 42 ″ would have the jack alignment tabs  44 , the U-shaped bracket  46 , and the upwardly-projecting flange  48  as in the first embodiment. Although not shown, the lower face plate  50  may also have more than one jack opening. It should also be noted that the flange  30  could be divided into two separate flanges when there are two jack openings, although it would be more difficult and expensive to mold. 
     When the outlet cover  10  is assembled, both the lower face plate  50  and the upper face plate  32  are received and retained within the face plate opening  20  so that the upper and lower face plates  32 ,  50  adjoin one another. The opening  20  may also be divided into two separate openings rather than as one large opening as shown. The upper face plate  32  is configured to receive and retain a plug for copper wiring while the lower face plate  50  is configured to receive and retain a connector for an optical fiber. During assembly, the lower face plate  50  must be inserted into the face plate opening  20  before the upper face plate  32  is installed. The lower face plate  50  is inserted into the opening  20  from the front side surface  24  of the base portion  12 . Insertion is accomplished by disposing the lower edge of the face plate  50  within the lower end of the face plate opening  20  so that the retaining tab  64  becomes disposed within the notch  31  in the face plate opening  20 . The upper end of the lower face plate  50  is then urged rearwardly until the tangs  66  lockingly engage the opening  20  between protrusions  22 . The fully inserted position is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     The upper face plate  32  is then secured within the upper portion of the face plate opening  20  by urging it rearwardly into the opening  20  (as FIG. 3 illustrates) until the tangs  40  lockingly engage the opening  20  between the protrusions  22 . 
     An exemplary copper jack  70  is shown that is received within the jack opening  42  of the upper face plate  32 . It is noted that the jack  70  is shown apart from the copper wiring or conductors that would normally be interconnected to the jack  70 . The jack  70  is generally block-like and defines a plug receptacle  72  therein to receive a complimentary copper jack plug once the outlet cover  10  is assembled and affixed to a wall. As best shown in FIGS. 5,  6 , and  7 , the top side  74  of the jack  70  has a pointed ridge  76  that projects upwardly above the top side  74 . The forward side of the ridge  76  is slanted while the rear side is substantially vertical. 
     The lower side  78  of the jack  70  has a spring clip  80  (best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6) that consists of an arm  82  that is affixed to the lower side  78  so that it may be depressed upwardly toward the lower side  78 . A downwardly facing ridge  84  is located on the end of the arm  82 . 
     In use, this construction permits the copper jack  70  to be secured within of the outlet cover assembly  10  to present plug receptacle  72  upon the front side surface  24  of the base section  12 . The jack  70  is secured within the jack opening  42  by a retaining hook assembly that provides opposing hinge details that engage opposite flanges  76  and  82  on the jack  70 . The term “hinge detail”, as used herein, is meant to refer to a structure that engages a mating portion of a jack in order to help secure the jack in place. The flange  30  of the base portion  12 , which provides the first hinge detail, engages the ridge  76  of the jack  70 . The second hinge detail is provided by the upwardly-projecting flange  48  of the upper face plate  32  and opposes the first hinge detail when the upper face plate  32  is secured within the face plate opening  20 . Because one of the opposing hinge details is provided by the base portion  12 , the upper face plate  32  can be more easily and inexpensively created since the molding process for the upper face plate  32  will not require the use of a forming tool with a collapsible insert, as would be required if both opposing hinge details used to retain the jack  70  were located on the upper face plate  32  or on the base portion  12 . 
     It is noted that the construction of the outlet cover assembly  10  is exemplary only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the retaining hook arrangement described as used within the outlet cover assembly  10  may also be incorporated into other designs for switch plates and the like while providing the same benefits of reduced cost and ease of manufacture.