Abstract:
A lighted floor box having a transparent or translucent cover extending over a light source within the floor box. This light source illuminates the interior of the floor box while the cover permits such light to exit the box. The light source is preferably powered via the same cables that power an electrical fixture within the floor box. Furthermore, such light transmissible cover enables a user to inspect the interior of the floor box without the need to open the cover of the box in order to view its contents.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/699,770, filed on Jul. 15, 2005. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention pertains to electrical outlet boxes in general and more particularly to an illuminated floor box having a transparent or translucent cover for both inspection and location purposes.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Floor boxes are commonly used in buildings to provide power or data in areas that are not readily serviced by other means, such as wall boxes. Floor boxes are generally placed in areas away from wall boxes and more towards the open center of the floor where no wall or other support structure occurs. Because floor boxes are generally located in closer proximity to the device or devices they service, they eliminate wire or cords extending across the floor to the more traditional wall boxes. Obviously, while cords or cabling do also extend from a floor box, such floor boxes are generally arranged so that no such cabling need pass across main traffic aisles as is often the case when there are only wall boxes providing such service. Hence, to some degree, floor boxes help eliminate tripping hazards.  
         [0004]     During daylight hours, such floor boxes in the open area of a floor and the cabling extending therefrom are readily seen as they generally contrast quite starkly with the floor material. At night however when lights are low, it may be more difficult to visually ascertain where the floor boxes and cabling are located. Hence, even the short run of cabling associated with floor boxes can create a tripping hazard.  
         [0005]     It is thus desirable to provide a means of visually indicating where floor boxes are located even under low lighting conditions so that personnel can take appropriate precaution when near them. Further, the illumination of floor boxes serves double duty as a sort of “night light” by providing a limited source of area lighting. Also, illuminated floor boxes provide a point of reference during periods of low visibility such as when the room is smoke-filled because the light source is located in the floor and not the ceiling. Such floor reference points can be used to aid personnel in the proper evacuation of a building when normal visibility levels do not exist.  
         [0006]     Additionally, it is common for data connectors to include a small LED therein that indicates when data is either being received or transmitted. It is also common for power connectors to have a small indicator light that informs the potential user that this receptacle is “hot”. In traditional floor boxes, the only way to view these indicator lights is to lift the lid and peer inside. When there are a large number of such boxes to inspect, this becomes a time-consuming task. Hence, it is a purpose of this invention to enable an inspector to readily view the inside of the floor box without having to actually pivot or move the lid into the open position.  
         [0007]     These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious upon further review and investigation.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention is a lighted floor box which includes an electrical outlet box that is sized and shaped to receive an electrical fixture or a data receptacle therein. A cover plate extends over this electrical outlet box with the cover plate having at least one opening that is sized to accommodate the electrical fixture. A pivotable cover extends over this floor box with the cover being shaped and configured to permit both light to pass therethrough and a wire or cord to extend out of the floor box. Also included within the floor box is a light source intermediate the cover and the electrical outlet box.  
         [0009]     In a preferred embodiment, the floor box further includes a finished floor covering adapted to be mounted substantially flush with a floor, wherein the pivotable cover is hingedly attached to the covering. The box further preferably includes a transition tube intermediate the cover and the electrical outlet box. Thus, the light source can be configured to extend at least partially along the transition tube. In an alternative embodiment, the cover plate is formed with at least one light opening which is sized to accommodate the light source therein.  
         [0010]     The pivotable cover can be designed to selectively block or unblock a wire access when pivoted with respect to the outlet box. Moreover, the pivotable cover can include a first opaque component and a second transparent or translucent component. In another embodiment, the pivotable cover includes a series of concentric grooves and ridges formed therein, wherein the grooves and ridges have alternating textured and polished surfaces for enhancing light transmission through the cover.  
         [0011]     A preferred form of the illuminated floor box, as well as other embodiments, objects, features and advantages of this invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a cut-away perspective view of the upper side of one embodiment of an illuminated floor box.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  illustrating a cord extending from the box.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a cut-away perspective view of the upper side of another embodiment of an illuminated floor box.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a cut-away perspective view of the upper side of yet another embodiment of an illuminated floor box.  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7  illustrating a cord extending from the box.  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of one light source usable in this invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of yet another light source usable in this invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 12  is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of the cover.  
         [0024]      FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of the cover shown in  FIG. 12  taken along the line  13 - 13 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of another alternative embodiment of the cover.  
         [0026]      FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional view of the cover shown in  FIG. 14  taken along the line  15 - 15 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 16  is a top plan view of still another alternative embodiment of the cover.  
         [0028]      FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional view of the cover shown in  FIG. 16  taken along the line  17 - 17 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 18  is a top perspective view of the cover shown in  FIG. 16 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is shown one embodiment of an illuminated floor box  10  of the present invention mounted within a floor  15 . While a floor box for mounting within a floor of a structure is shown and described herein, it is conceivable to incorporate the illumination feature of the present invention in other electrical outlet boxes, such as wall boxes and ceiling boxes.  
         [0031]     The floor box  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-3  comprises a sub-floor box  12  coupled to a transition tube  14  which, in turn, is secured to a finished floor covering  16 . Covering  16  includes a hinged cover  18  for permitting access to the interior of the floor box  10 .  
         [0032]     The covering  16  is generally in the form of a rim adapted to be mounted substantially flush with the finished floor  15 . In this regard, the cover  16  preferably includes an outer peripheral ramp portion  17 , which provides a smooth transition between the floor  15  and the top of the floor box to prevent a person from tripping on the box.  
         [0033]     Cover  18  of finished floor covering  16  is preferably transparent or translucent so that the illumination of the interior of floor box  10  may pass therethrough. In this regard, the cover  18  is preferably molded from a transparent or transluscent plastic material, such as clear polycarbonate or a similar polymer. Cover  18  operates in a normal fashion by being pivotable between a first open position providing access to the interior of floor box  10  and a second closed position sealing off the interior of the box.  
         [0034]     Sub-floor box  12  may be of metal or plastic construction and it may be integral with transition tube  14  or it may be separately attachable thereto, such as a typical electrical outlet box might be. In either event, a cover plate  20  is provided between the sub-floor box  12  and the transition tube  14 . The cover plate  20  can be placed over the open sub-floor box  12  and attached to either the box  12  or the transition tube  14 . Alternatively, cover plate  20  may form an integral part of the transition tube  14  or the sub-floor box  12 . Cover plate  20  is configured with typical openings  22  therein to accept one or more of a variety of different data and/or power fixtures  24  which include duplex, GFCI, round, switch and data jacks. For example, the cover plate  20  shown in  FIGS. 1-3  includes an arrangement of openings  22  which allows two data plates to be mounted on opposite sides of a standard decorator style receptacle  24 .  
         [0035]     The transition tube  14  defines a recessed area above the electrical outlet  24  and/or data panels to accommodate the plugs of the electrical and/or data wires entering the box  10  and inserted into respective receptacles below floor level. Also, the length or height of transition tube  14  is selected primarily based on the thickness of the floor. Thus, in some cases, transition tube  14  may be longer than in others, but it is preferably not to be shorter than the height of the plug inserted within fixture  24  otherwise cover  18  could not be closed.  
         [0036]     In the embodiment shown, a light source  26  is mounted within floor box  10  along transition tube  14 . This light source  26  may include LEDs or it may contain another light emitting device as the illumination source. No matter the type, light source  26  would preferably have its leads secured to the same power source as power fixture  24  within floor box  10 .  
         [0037]     Details of one light source  26  are shown in  FIG. 11 , wherein an LED  28  slides or is fitted within a light housing  30  located on the cover plate  20  or along an inside surface of transition tube  14 . This housing  30  is in the form of a vertically oriented tower and can be attached to or formed integrally with the inside surface of the transition tube  14  and/or the cover plate  20 . The light housing  30  is further provided with at least one lens (not shown) or other opening  32  therein to permit the light from the light source  26  to shine therethrough.  FIG. 11  further illustrates the various leads associated with LED  28  which would be connected to the wiring running to power fixture  24  in center opening  22 .  
         [0038]     Due to cover  18  allowing light to pass therethrough (i.e. transparent or translucent), light source  26  not only illuminates the interior of box  10 , but also the area above and around box  10  as well. It is this illumination both within and outside box  10  that permits a user to readily see such devices so that box  10  and any cords extending therefrom can either be located if that is what is desired or they can be avoided if need be.  
         [0039]     Further, the transparent or translucent nature of cover  18  also permits visual inspection of the power and data connectors within floor box  10  without the need to open the box itself. Such visual inspection is especially needed should the power or data connectors within floor box  10  be of the type that includes one or more indicators or other visual device that signals whether they are active or not. These light or other visual sources, while not designed for illumination purposes, are designed to be seen and thus the advantage of light transmissible cover  18  of the present invention which allows such sources to be viewed without the need to open such cover for such inspection to occur.  
         [0040]     Returning to  FIGS. 1-3 , the rim  34  of finished floor covering  16  is preferably made of metal for strength and rigidity in order to provide support to cover  18 . Transparent or translucent cover  18  is also preferably pivotable in at least one direction that it can be selectively operated to open or close (seal) a cord entryway or access opening  36  through which a wire  38  passes. Finished floor covering  16  is also designed to comply with industry code regarding scrub-water resistance so that only the allowed amount of scrub-water is permitted to enter box  10  from the outside.  
         [0041]     Whereas  FIGS. 1-3  illustrate the light source  26  as being mounted to or extending along transition tube  14 , the embodiment  10   a  shown in  FIGS. 4-6  illustrate a light source  26   a  as emanating from a cover plate  20   a  and shining upwardly. For this version, the cover plate  20   a  would contain an opening  22   a  designed to accommodate this bottom light source  26   a.  Also, sub-floor box  12   a  would be constructed differently than the version previously described so as to accommodate this new light source  26   a.  In a preferred embodiment, this light source  26   a  includes an upper light emitting surface, which is mounted flush with the top surface of the cover plate  20   a.  As further shown in these figures, there is still sufficient space within box  10   a  for both data and power receptacles in addition to this bottom light source  26   a.  This light source  26   a  utilized in the embodiment  10   a  shown in  FIGS. 4-6  is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0042]      FIGS. 7-9  illustrate yet another embodiment  10   b  of the invention. This embodiment employs a decorator style receptacle  24   b  having its own integral light source  26   b.  Hence, no further wiring or assembly is required as both the power fixture and the light source are one and the same. However, a clear or translucent cover  18  is still a necessity if more than the interior of box  10  is to be illuminated. As also shown in these  FIGS. 7-9 , a typical single gang box can be employed as sub-floor box  12 .  
         [0043]      FIGS. 12-15  illustrate various alternative designs for the cover  18 . The cover  18  shown in  FIGS. 12-13  includes a series of concentric ridges  40  and grooves  41 . Alternating polished and textured surfaces on adjacent ridges  40  and grooves  41  can be provided to enhance illumination of the cover  18 . For example, an appropriate combination of textured ridges  40  and polished grooves  41  can be selected to cause the cover  18  to act as a lens, directing, focusing or diffusing the light emanating from within as desired.  
         [0044]     The cover  18  shown in  FIGS. 14-15  is planar and can include a textured surface to produce a translucent cover, or the surface can be polished to produce a transparent cover. Additionally, various color tinting can be utilized with the cover  18  for other desired lighting effects.  
         [0045]     In another embodiment, the cover  18  may consist of two separate pieces, as shown in  FIGS. 16-18 , with an opaque outer component  42  and a concentric transparent or translucent center component  44 . The outer component  42  can be made from a metallic or non-metallic material. In the case of a non-metallic material, the outer portion  42  can be textured to be opaque. The center component  44  is preferably made from a transparent or translucent plastic material, such as clear polycarbonate or a similar polymer, so as to act like a lens. Here too, the center component  44  can be textured or be provided with colored tinting to provide any desired lighting effect. It is even possible to emboss a logo or a symbol on the center component  44 , (or the cover  18  shown in any of the other embodiments described above), if so desired.  
         [0046]     While select preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated, many modifications may occur to those skilled in the art and therefore it is to be understood that these modifications are incorporated within these embodiments as fully as if they were fully illustrated and described herein.