Abstract:
A cord-reel assembly having an in-wall assembly connected to a source of electricity and including an electrical power receptacle. A cover plate having a decorative side and an engagement side is provided for connection to the in-wall assembly. The cover plate includes at least one stationary outlet receptacle, an internal cord-reel and at least one outlet receptacle connected to the end of the internal cord-reel and being accessible from said decorative side of said cover plate. A plug on the engagement side of the cover plate is adapted to align with and engage the electrical power receptacle in the in-wall assembly and thereby provide power to the cord-reel and stationary outlet receptacles.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates to wall mounted cord-reel assemblies. More particularly, it relates to a cord-reel assembly that is partially mounted in the wall and includes a wall cover plate that is electrically connected to the in-wall box and includes the cord reel.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    The concept of an in-wall cord reel assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,158. The &#39;158 patent shows the implementation of box mounted in the wall for accommodating the cord-reel and the hardwiring of the electrical supply to the device. A cover plate is electrically attached to the in wall housing and an adjacently mounted outlet using plugs. The cover plate electrically connects the existing outlet to the internally mounted cord-reel in order to provide power to the reel.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,488 discloses a modular outlet assembly that provides a cord-reel contained within a housing that is adapted to replace the cover plate of an ordinary outlet. This is an accessory item that basically converts a standard outlet into a plurality of outlets, including a short extension cord operably disposed within the housing.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cord-reel assembly for using in new construction and existing construction environments.  
           [0007]    It is yet another object of the invention to provide a cord-reel assembly that combines the advantageous features of an exteriorly mounted cord-reel assembly with the integrity of an in-wall mounting of cord-reel assemblies.  
           [0008]    These and other objects are achieved in accordance with an embodiment of the invention wherein an in-wall assembly is connected to a source of electricity and includes an electrical power receptacle, and a cover plate having a decorative side and an engagement side is provided for connection to the in-wall assembly. The cover plate includes at least one stationary outlet receptacle, an internal cord-reel and at least one outlet receptacle connected to the end of the internal cord-reel and being accessible from said decorative side of said cover plate. A plug on the engagement side of the cover plates is adapted to align with and engage the electrical power receptacle in the in-wall assembly and thereby provide power to the cord-reel and the at least one stationary outlet receptacle.  
           [0009]    Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    In the drawings wherein like reference numeral denote similar components throughout the views:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 a  is a perspective view of the cord-reel assembly according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 b  is a perspective view of the cord-reel assembly according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 c is a perspective view of the cord-reel assembly according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a front view of the cover plate according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a rear view of the cover plate according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a partially broken away rear view of the cover plate according to an embodiment of the invention,  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a partially broken away rear view of the cover plate according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 a  is a partial cross-sectional view of the cord-reel assembly according to an embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 b  is a partial cross-sectional view of the cord-reel assembly according to another embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    Referring to FIGS. 1 a ,  1   b ,  6   a  and  6   b  there are shown some different embodiments of the cord-reel assembly  10  according to the invention. Cord-reel assembly  10  is made up of an in-wall box  14  and an outer cover plate  12 . In-wall box  14  is preferably mounted between wall studs  8  with mounting brackets (not shown) attached to the studs  8 , but may also be mounted using other known drywall methods in an existing construction environment (e.g., madison clips, etc.). In-wall box  14  is recessed from the wall  16  by a predetermined amount and is hard wired to the electrical supply of the building. In addition, the in-wall box can include a telephone cord reel  46  (FIG. 6 b ) and a modular telephone plug  20  that is extendable through hole  30  in cover plate  12 . In this embodiment, in-wall box  14  is also hard wired to the telephone line or lines of the building.  
         [0021]    Cover plate  12  includes an outer decorative surface and an opposing in-wall engagement side  13  (FIGS. 2 and 3). On the outer decorative surface are several outlets  24   a - 24   c  and at least one extendable outlet  22 . Outlet  22  is at the end of an internal cord-reel  44  contained within cover plate  12  (FIGS. 4 and 5). The manner in which cord-reels  44  and  46  are mounted and electrically connected to their sources can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,562,488 and 5,700,158, the entire contents of both are incorporated herein by reference. The cover plate  12  is a separate element that contains the cord-reel  44  for the outlet  22  and which is powered through the electrical connection of cover plate  12  to in-wall box  14 .  
         [0022]    On the in-wall engagement side  13 , plug  28  is provided for electrical connection with receptacle  18  on in-wall box  14 . Those of skill in the art will recognize that other methods for electrically connecting cover plate  12  to in-wall box  14  may be implemented without departing from the spirit of the invention. In one embodiment, in-wall box  14  includes a receptacle  18  that, when engaged with the plug  28  of cover plate  12 , provides the cover plate and corresponding outlets  22  and  24   a - 24   c  and circuitry with power. In another contemplated embodiment, the power connection between in-wall box  14  and cover plate  12  can be made using a plurality of connectors  42  and receiving plugs  40 . The connection using connectors  42  and plugs  40  can also be adapted for providing telephone and/or data cable connections to the cover plate from the in-wall box  14  (discussed below). When cover plate  12  is disposed against the wall  16  and in electrical engagement with the in-wall box  14 , mounting holes  37   a  and  37   b  are aligned with holes  38   a  and  38   b  in cover plate  12  and corresponding screws  38   a  and  38   b  are used to secure cover plates  12  in its operable position engages with in-wall box  14  and against wall  16 .  
         [0023]    Cover plate  12  can also includes surge protection and/or circuit breaker circuitry for one or more of the outlets  22  and  24   a - 24   c . When circuit breaker circuitry is implemented for one or more outlets, a reset switch  26  is provided on the cover plate. Cover plates  12  is also equipped with an indicator light  34  or LED for providing a power indication and/or a circuit trip by the circuit breaker circuitry.  
         [0024]    As mentioned previously, in-wall box  14  can also include a telephone cord reel  46  with a modular plug  20  that can be pulled through pass through hole  30  in the cover plate and provide up to ten (10) feet of telephone cord for the user. In accordance with another embodiment, telephone cord reel  46  can be disposed within cover plate  12  (FIG. 5). In this embodiment, the telephone connection to the in-wall box  14  can be made with a modular plug (not shown) on the engagement side  13  or using the aforementioned connectors  42  and plug  40 .  
         [0025]    Furthermore, a coaxial cable or television connection  32  is provided on cover plate  12 . The coaxial connector  32  can simply pass through cover plate  12  and allow the connection of a wire on the engagement side  13  (FIG. 6 a ). In this configuration, a pass through hole  52  for the coaxial wire is provided in the in-wall box  42 . In another embodiment, the coaxial connector  32  is mounted on in-wall box  14  and the pass through hole  30  in cover plate  12  allows access to both the telephone plug  20  and coaxial connector  32  when cover plate  12  is mounted in its operable positioned electrically engaged with the in-wall box.  
         [0026]    Other contemplated embodiments replaces telephone cord-reel  46  with a data, fiber optic or any other suitable known type of wire for a particular communication application (e.g., Category 5, IEEE 1394 FireWire, etc.).  
         [0027]    The aforementioned embodiments of FIGS. 1 a  and  1   b  are designed for new constructions environments. FIG. 1 c  shows an embodiment adapted for existing construction applications. As shown, cover plate  12  has been extended while engagement side  13  has remained the same. In this embodiment, a hole is made in wall  16  adjacent to an existing outlet box  60  having an outlet  62 . The hole in the wall  16  accommodates the depth of engagement side  13  when plug  28  is received in outlet  62 . According to one embodiment, the in-wall box  14  is not required, and all power for the cord-reel and outlets  24  in cover plate  12  is provided by the electrical connection of plug  28  with outlet  62 . In another embodiment, in-wall assembly  14  can be mounted as shown to provide various features and additions to cover plate (as discussed with respect to FIGS. 1 a  and  1   b ). An additional mounting hole  36   c  is provided that aligns with the cover plate mounting hole  37   c  in outlet  62 .  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 6 a , cover plate  12  has and overall depth (or thickness) d 3  and an engagement side  13  depth d 1 . Those of skill in the art recognize that the overall depth d 3  is a matter of design choice and depends on the size of the internal reels  44  and/or  46 . The engagement side depth d 1  can be any suitable amount provided in wall box  14  can be mounted and recessed from wall  16  such that depth d 2  is equal to depth d 1 , such that cover plate  12  is flush against wall  16  when mounted in its operable engaged position with in-wall box  14 . In an exemplary embodiment, depth d 3  is approximately 2″-2½″ but may vary based on design considerations. The depth d 2  is determined by the recessed mounting of in-wall box  14  and is only limited by the actual depth of wall  16 . For purposes of aesthetics, the portion of cover plate  12  that remains outside wall  16  is to be as low a profile as desired. For example, d 3 -d 1  can equal ½″.  
         [0029]    There have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the methods described and devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.