Abstract:
A box bracket includes mounting brackets with upper and lower lateral telescoping arms and a sliding mount. The mounting bracket includes an end piece for attaching to a vertical stud, and inner and outer lateral arms overlapping with arms of an opposing mounting bracket to form the telescoping arms. The mounting bracket may be used as a left or right mounting bracket. The sliding mount includes a forward facing face for mounting an electrical box and vertically spaced apart mouths on left and right sides of the sliding mount, the upper and lower telescoping arms passing through the mouths. The mouths are formed in mouth frames, and after positioning the sliding mounts, the mouth frames may be bent inward against the telescoping arms to hold the position of the sliding mount on the arms. One or more sliding mounts may reside on a single box bracket subject to stud spacing.

Description:
[0001]    The present application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/173,562 filed Apr. 28, 2009, which application is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to brackets for electrical boxes and in particular to a telescoping adjustable bracket for mounting an electrical box between studs. 
         [0003]    Often, a need exists to mount an electrical box on a wall in a position between vertical studs. For example, in a kitchen, cabinet positions may require that an outlet or switch be in a certain location for easy access. Further, it is common in construction to require multiple boxes between two adjacent vertical studs, for example, one for 115 volt power, and one for low-voltage such as category 5 cable. Such multiple boxes are common in hospital rooms behind patient beds and above desks in hotel rooms. In these instances, the electrical box may not be next to a stud, and a bracket is required which reached between adjacent vertical studs. Further, studs may not be precisely spaced apart, so a need has existed for an adjustable (e.g., telescoping) bracket to reach between the vertical studs. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,419 for “Bracket Assembly for Mounting Electrical Box Between Two Building Studs” discloses a bracket with flattened telescoping upper legs  132  and  142  and lower legs  136  and  156 . The telescoping legs are sandwiched between a plaster ring  30  and an electrical box  20 . While the bracket assembly of the &#39;419 patent is satisfactory in many application, it does not allow positioning the electrical box along the full length of the bracket because the electrical box can not straddle the two different material thicknesses without leaving an excessive gap between the electrical box and the plaster ring. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a box bracket which includes mounting brackets with upper and lower lateral telescoping arms and a sliding mount. The mounting bracket includes an end piece for attaching to a vertical stud, and inner and outer lateral arms overlapping with arms of an opposing mounting bracket to form the telescoping arms. The mounting bracket may be used as a left or right mounting bracket. The sliding mount includes a forward facing face for mounting an electrical box and vertically spaced apart mouths on left and right sides of the sliding mount, the upper and lower telescoping arms passing through the mouths. The mouths are formed in mouth frames, and after positioning the sliding mounts, the mouth frames may be bent inward against the telescoping arms to hold the position of the sliding mount on the arms. One or more sliding mounts may reside on a single box bracket subject to stud spacing. 
         [0006]    In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a multi-box bracket having telescoping arms, the bracket allowing same or different sized electrical boxes to be installed on the telescoping arms across the full width between two adjacent vertical studs. 
         [0007]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a sliding mount with mouths for sliding over telescoping arms. The mouths are in mouth frames, and the mouth frames may be bent against the arms, after positioning the sliding mount, to resist movement of the sliding mount on the arms. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a sliding mount with fixing screw holes in a face of the sliding mount. After positioning the sliding mount on the arms, fixing screws passing through the fixing screw holes are tightened against the arms to resist movement of the sliding mount on the arms. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0009]    The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a narrow telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in a retracted position. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a wide telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in a retracted position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the narrow telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in an extended position. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4A  is a front view of the narrow telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in the extended position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4B  is a top view of the narrow telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in the extended position. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4C  is an end view of the narrow telescoping box bracket according to the present invention in the extended position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a narrow mounting bracket according to the present invention of the narrow telescoping box bracket. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6A  is a top view of the narrow mounting bracket according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6B  is an end view of the narrow mounting bracket according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6C  is a top view of the narrow mounting bracket according to the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a sliding mount according to the present invention of the narrow telescoping box bracket. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8A  is a front view of the sliding mount according to the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8B  is a top view of the sliding mount according to the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 8C  is a side view of the sliding mount according to the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9A  is a side view of an arm of the mounting bracket passing through a mouth in a mouth frame of the sliding mount with the sliding mount free to slide on the arm according to the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 9B  is a top view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through the mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the sliding mount free to slide on the arm. 
           [0026]      FIG. 10A  is a side view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through the mouth in a mouth frame of the sliding mount with a point on a rear edge of the mouth bent away from the arm allowing the sliding mount free to slide on the arm according to the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 10B  top view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through a mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the point on the rear edge of the mouth bent away from the arm allowing the sliding mount free to slide on the arm. 
           [0028]      FIG. 11A  is a side view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through the mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the mouth frame bent towards the arm restricting the sliding mount free to slide on the arm according to the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 11B  top view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through a mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the mouth frame bent towards the arm restricting the sliding mount free to slide on the arm. 
           [0030]      FIG. 12A  is a side view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through the mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the mouth frame bent towards the arm and the point on the rear edge of the mouth contacting the arm thereby restricting the sliding mount free to slide on the arm according to the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 12B  top view of the arm of the mounting bracket passing through the mouth in the mouth frame of the sliding mount with the mouth frame bent towards the arm and the point on the rear edge of the mouth contacting the arm thereby restricting the sliding mount free to slide on the arm according to the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 13A  shows a front view of a second sliding mount with holes for fixing screws according to the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 13B  shows an edge view of the second sliding mount with screws passing though the holes and engaging the arms for fixing the position of the sliding mount in the arms according to the present invention. 
           [0034]      FIG. 14  shows a third sliding mount including support for EMT and armored cable according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0035]    Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0036]    The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. 
         [0037]    A narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  in a retracted position and a wide telescoping box bracket  10   b  according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 2  in a retracted position. The telescoping box brackets  10   a  and  10   b  include a sliding mount  12  and a pair of mounting brackets  15  (see  FIG. 5 ). The narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  includes mounting brackets  15  having a short upper outer arm  16   a  and a short lower inner arm  18   a  (see  FIG. 4A ) attached a left mounting flange  14   a , and a short upper inner arm  22   a  (see  FIG. 3A ) and a short lower outer arm  24   a  attached to a right mounting flange  20   a . Generally, the mounting brackets  15  are two identical mounting brackets, with one of the mounting brackets rotated 180 to telescopingly engage the other mounting bracket  15 , but as long as the mounting brackets have cooperating arms, they may otherwise be different mounting brackets. 
         [0038]    The wide telescoping box bracket  10   a  has elements similar to the narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a , except the mounting brackets have longer arms. 
         [0039]    The narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  is preferably a sixteen inch telescoping box bracket suitable for spans between vertical studs of up to sixteen inches between centers and the arms of the telescoping box bracket  10   a  are preferably about ten inches long. The wide telescoping box bracket  10   b  is preferably a twenty four inch telescoping box bracket suitable for spans between vertical studs of up to twenty four inches between centers and the arms of the telescoping box bracket  10   b  are preferably about fourteen inches long. Although sixteen and twenty four inches are preferred lengths, brackets of any length having cooperating telescoping arms and a sliding mount as described herein are intended to come with in the scope of the present invention. 
         [0040]    A perspective view of the narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  according to the present invention in an extended position is shown in  FIG. 3 , a front view of the narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  in an extended position is shown in  FIG. 4A , a top view of the narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  in an extended position is shown in  FIG. 4B , and an end view of the narrow telescoping box bracket  10   a  in an extended position is shown in  FIG. 4C . The upper outer and inner arms  16   a  and  22   a  respectively are shown passing through mouths  26  formed in mouth frames  27  in the sliding mount  12 . 
         [0041]    Points  13  on a rear inside edge of each mouth  26  may initially be bent to the side, if necessary, to allow sliding the sliding mount  12  along the telescoping arms. Once the box bracket  10   a  or  10   b  is assembled, the sliding mount  12  is free to slide the length of the telescoping arms for positioning the electrical box. When the sliding mount  12  is in a desired position, the mouth frames  27  may be bent inward to engage the points  13  with a rear surface of the arms to lock the position of the sliding mount  12 , or if the points  13  were bent to allow the sliding mount  12  to slide on the arms, the points  13  may be straightened to contact the arms to resist sliding of the sliding mount  12  on the arms. The ability to bend (or adjust) the mouth frames  27  and points  13  allows the sliding mount  12  to be positioned over the larger outer arms or over the smaller inner arms, or over a combination of the outer and inner arms. Unlike known box brackets, the sliding mount  12  of the present invention may thus reside at any location along the arms  16   a ,  18   a ,  22   a , and  24   a , including against a vertical stud. 
         [0042]    A perspective view of the narrow mounting bracket  14   a  according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 5 , a top view of the narrow mounting bracket  14   a  is shown in  FIG. 6A , an end view of the narrow mounting bracket  14   a  is shown in  FIG. 6B , and a top view of the narrow mounting bracket  14   a  is shown in  FIG. 6C . The left and right brackets are preferably identical or functionally equivalent parts, although either the right or left mounting bracket, or both may have additional features not shown here. When used as the left bracket, the left upper telescoping arm is the larger cross-section arm and the smaller right upper telescoping arm slides inside the left upper telescoping arm. The identical right bracket is rotated 180 degrees providing a larger right lower telescoping arm for the smaller left lower telescoping arm to slide. As a result, only a single bracket half is required for both right and left sides. Preferably the arms and the flange are formed separately and then assembled to make the mounting bracket, and those skilled in the art will recognize various ways to manufacture the mounting bracket, and a mounting bracket manufactured by any method is intended to come within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0043]    The flange  14   a  (and  20   a ) has a flange height H f  of preferably approximately 6.59 inches. The narrow mounting bracket has an overall width W md  of preferably approximately 10.11 inches (14.11 inches for the wide mounting bracket) and the arms  16   a  and  18   a  of the narrow mounting bracket have an overall width Wmd of preferably approximately ten inches (fourteen inches for the wide mounting bracket). The arms have an arm depth D a  and an arm height H a . The depth D a  for an outside arm is between approximately 0.59 and 0.62 inches and the depth D a  for an inside arm is between approximately 0.545 inches and the 0.565 inches. The height H a  for an outside arm is between approximately 0.679 and 0.709 inches and the height H a  for an inside arm is between approximately 0.653 inches and the 0.673 inches. The top and bottom edges of the arms are approximately vertically aligned with the top and bottom edges of the flange  14   a.    
         [0044]    A perspective view of a sliding mount  12  of the telescoping mounting bracket according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 7 , a front view of the sliding mount  12  is shown in  FIG. 8A , a top view of the sliding mount  12  is shown in  FIG. 8B , and an end view of the sliding mount  12  is shown in  FIG. 8C . The sliding mount  12  has a face  12   a  and left and right sides  12   b  and  12   c  respectively. The sides  12   b  and  12   c  are bent back approximately 90 degrees from the face  12   a  during fabrication. The face  12   a  includes keyed mounting holes  28  for attaching the electrical box and a passage  30  for access to the interior of the electrical box. The locations of the holes  28  are for a standard electrical box. The side  12   b  and  12   c  include the mouth frames  27  reaching back away from the face  12   a , and the mouths  26  are formed in the mouth frames  27 . 
         [0045]    The sliding mount  12  has a height H sm  and a width W sm . The height H sm  is preferably approximately seven inches and the width W sm  is preferably approximately 5.16 inches. The mouths  26  have a height H m  and a depth D m . The height H m  is preferably between approximately 0.672 inches and approximately 0.682 inches and the depth D m  is preferably approximately 0.88 inches. The point  13  has a height H p  which is preferably approximately 0.1 inches. The dimensions for the arms and the sliding brackets are approximate and those skilled in the art will recognize that there dimensions may be consistently varied and still come within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0046]    A side view of an arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through a mouth  26  in a mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  is shown in  FIG. 9A  and a top view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in the mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  is shown in  FIG. 9A . Depending on if the point  13  is in contact with the arm  16   a , the sliding mount may or may not be able to slide freely on the arm. 
         [0047]    A side view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in a mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the point  13  bent away from the arm is shown in  FIG. 10A  and a top view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in the mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the point  13  bent away from the arm is shown in  FIG. 10A . With the point  13  bent away from the arm, the sliding mount  12  is free to slide on the arm to position the sliding mount. 
         [0048]    A side view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in a mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the mouth frame  17  bent towards the arm is shown in  FIG. 11A  and a top view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in the mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the mouth frame  17  bent towards the arm is shown in  FIG. 11A . The mouth frame is in contact with the arm, resisting sliding the sliding mount on the arm, without a point  13  in the mouth  26 . 
         [0049]    A side view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in a mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the mouth frame  17  bent towards the arm is shown in  FIG. 12A  and a top view of the arm  16   a  of the mounting bracket  14   a  passing through the mouth  26  in the mouth frame  27  of the sliding mount  12  with the mouth frame  17  bent towards the arm is shown in  FIG. 12A . The point  13  is in contact with the arm, resisting sliding the sliding mount on the arm. The mouth frame  27  may be bent less to contact an outer arm which is larger, and bent more to contact an inner arm which is smaller. The box mounts  10   a  and  10   b  thereby allow positioning the sliding mount at any location along the arms, including against the studs. 
         [0050]    A front view of a second sliding mount  12 ′ with holes  40  in the face  12   a  for fixing screws is shown in  FIG. 13A  and an edge view of the second sliding mount  12 ′ with screws  42  passing though the holes  40  and engaging the arms  16   a  for fixing the position of the sliding mount  12 ′ on the arms is shown in  FIG. 13B . The screws  42  are preferably self tapping screws and/or sheet metal screws, but may also be machine screws and the hole  40  may be tapped for the machine screws. The sliding mount  12 ″ is otherwise is similar to the sliding mount  12 . 
         [0051]    A third sliding mount  12 ″ including support for EMT and armored cable according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 14 . The sliding mount  12 ″ is otherwise is similar to the sliding mounts  12  and  12 ′. 
         [0052]    The adjustable box bracket is preferably a stamped metal product. 
         [0053]    While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.