Abstract:
A hinged duct system having a base and a cover hingedly attached to the base. The base has a bottom wall, a first sidewall and a second sidewall that define a channel therebetween. The cover has a top wall, a first end portion and a second end portion. The cover is attached to one of the sidewalls of the base by a hinge mechanism. The hinge mechanism has a hook member located at a distal end of one of the sidewalls of the base and a hook member located at one of the end portions of the cover. A flexible member is disposed along the hinge mechanism to preventing the cover from sliding with respect to the base when the cover rotates about the base.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a wiring cable duct system including a base and a cover, and more particularly to a wiring cable duct system having a cover attached to the base by a hinge mechanism on one side to allow the cover to rotate for easy access in the raceway and a latch mechanism on the opposite side to secure the cover when in a closed position. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A wide variety of wiring duct and raceway systems are known for routing various types of wires and cables. Typical duct or raceway systems consist of a base member and a cover that may be hinged, snap latched or otherwise engageable with the base. In operation, it often becomes necessary to remove or open the cover to allow access to the cable containing area of the base member. Frequently, an installer needs to repair, reconfigure or install new cables in the raceway system. Removal, storage and replacement of the cover over the entire system during this process can be time consuming and otherwise problematic. Therefore, many raceway systems use a hinged duct cover with the base. However, certain duct covers suffer from the inability to remain aligned with the base and tend to slide axially with respect to the base when the cover is rotated away from the base. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a hinged duct system having a base member and a cover. The base member has a bottom wall, a first sidewall and a second sidewall. The base member also includes a channel located between the sidewalls. The cover has a top wall, a first end portion and a second end portion. The cover is hingedly attached to one of the sidewalls of the base member by a hinge mechanism. The hinge mechanism has a hook member located at a distal end of one of the sidewalls of the base and a hook member located at one of the end portions of the cover. The hinge mechanism enables the cover to rotate about the base. A flexible member is disposed along the hinge mechanism to prevent the cover from sliding with respect to the base. 
   Additionally, one of the sidewalls of the base of the hinged duct system has a protrusion that extends from an edge of the sidewall. The protrusion limits the rotation of the cover with respect to the base as the cover rotates about the base. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the hinged and latched raceway according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of the hinged and latched raceway illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a partial enlargement of the hinge mechanism of the raceway illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a partial enlargement of the latch mechanism of the raceway illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the hinge mechanism with a flexible vinyl member disposed on the cover of the raceway illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a front view of the raceway system of  FIG.1  with the latch mechanism released; 
       FIG. 7  is a front view of the raceway system of  FIG. 1  with the cover rotated away from the base; 
       FIG. 8  is a front view of the raceway system of  FIG. 1  with the cover rotated to a 90° angle with respect to the base; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the raceway system of  FIG. 1  with the cover maintained at a 90° angle with respect to the base; 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the hinged and latched raceway according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 11  is a front view of the hinged and latched raceway illustrated in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 12  is a partial enlargement of the hinge mechanism of the raceway illustrated in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the hinge mechanism with a flexible vinyl member disposed on the base of the raceway illustrated in  FIG. 10 ; 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of the raceway system of  FIG. 10  with the cover rotated to a 90° angle with respect to the base; and 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the raceway system of  FIG. 10  with the cover maintained at a 90° angle with respect to the base. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   One embodiment of the hinged and latched raceway or duct  20  of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-9 . A second embodiment of the hinged and latch raceway is illustrated in  FIGS. 10-15 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 10 , each embodiment of the raceway includes a base  22  and a cover  80  that is secured to the base  22  by a hinge mechanism on one side and a latch mechanism on the opposite side. The raceway may be formed from any suitable material, but is preferably formed from a plastic material, such as PVC. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the base  22  has a bottom wall  24  and first and second sidewalls  26 ,  28  which may be integrally formed or otherwise affixed together. The bottom wall  22  and the sidewalls  26 ,  28  define a receiving channel  34  for wires or the like. The distal end  30  of the first sidewall  26  includes a hook  40  that forms part of the hinge mechanism. The hook  40  includes a flange  42  that extends inwardly into the receiving channel  34  from an edge  50  of the sidewall. The hook  40  also has an inverted generally J-shape with a straight portion  44  and a curved portion  46 . The flange  42 , straight portion  44  and the curved portion  46  define a cavity  52  therebetween. 
   The first sidewall  26  also includes a bump or protrusion  54  that extends upwardly from the edge  50  of the sidewall such that it is positioned above the flange  42  and is located at the opening of the cavity  52  formed by the J-shaped hook  40 . As will be described with respect to  FIGS. 7-9 , the protrusion  54  prevents the cover  80  from rotating beyond 90° with respect to the base  22 . 
   The distal end  32  of the second sidewall  28  includes a latch  60  that forms part of the latch mechanism. The latch  60  has a bottom portion with an angled wall  62  that is directed inwardly towards the channel  34  and a top portion with a single arrowhead  64  that is directed outwardly from the channel  34 . The second sidewall  28  also includes a step  66  that leads to the angled wall  62  of the latch  60 . 
   The bottom wall  24  of the base  22  includes a plurality of pre-punched holes, not illustrated, to aid in the installation of the raceway. The inner surface of the bottom wall  24  may also include a groove  70  located along the center of the base to aid in the positioning of a drill for installing the raceway, if desired. The inner surface of the bottom wall includes an upwardly extending rib  72  positioned on either side of the pre-punched holes and the center groove. The ribs  72  protect the wires positioned in the raceway from being damaged by the heads of the screws that are used to install the raceway. 
   The outer surface of the bottom wall  24  is configured to enable the raceway to be mounted to fittings on the walls, floors or the like. The outer surface includes a recess  74  at the center of the bottom wall  24  and a notch  76  at the bottom of each of the sidewalls  26 ,  28 . The recess  74  and the notches  76  accommodate the fittings used to install the raceway. 
     FIG. 2  also illustrates the cover installed on the base. The cover  80  includes a generally planar top wall  82  and a curved first and second end portion  84 ,  86 . The first end portion  84  includes a hook  90  for engaging the hook  40  at the distal end  30  of the first sidewall  26  of the base  22 . A finger  98  is formed on the cover and spaced inwardly from the hook  90  so as to define an opening  102  therebetween. The opening  102  accommodates the hook  40  located at the distal end  30  of the first sidewall  26  when the cover is installed on the base. The second end portion  86  includes a latch  110  for engaging the latch  60  at the distal end  32  of the second sidewall  28 . A finger  114  is formed on the cover and spaced inwardly from the latch  110  so as to define an opening  118 . The opening  118  accommodates the latch  60  at the distal end  32  of the second sidewall  28  when the cover is installed on the base. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate an enlarged view of the hinge mechanism and the latch mechanism of the present invention, respectively. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the hook  90  at the first end portion  84  of the cover is generally C-shaped. The generally C-shaped hook  90  engages the straight portion  44  of the generally J-shaped hook  40  of the first sidewall  26  when the cover  80  is in a closed position over the base. 
   The raceway includes a layer of a co-extruded flexible member  104  that extends the length of the raceway. The flexible member is formed from a vinyl material. The raceway embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1-9  features the layer of the flexible member disposed on the inner surface  96  of the C-shaped hook  90 . When the cover  80  is installed on the base  22 , the flexible vinyl member  104  on the inner surface of the C-shaped hook  90  engages the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40  of the first sidewall  26 . As the cover  80  is rotated, the flexible vinyl member  104  and the C-shaped hook  90  enter the cavity  52  defined by the J-shaped hook  40  and continue to engage the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40 . The layer of the flexible vinyl member  104  provides an Interference between the base hook  40  and the cover hook  90  that form the hinge mechanism. As a result, the flexible vinyl member  104  prevents the cover  80  from sliding axially with respect to the base. 
   The finger  98  is curved so that a portion of the finger may contact the curved portion  46  of the J-shaped hook when the J-shaped hook  40  is disposed in the opening  102  between the finger  98  and the C-shaped hook  90 . The finger  98  is always in a pre-loaded condition to insure that the hinge mechanism has secured the cover  80  to the base  22 . The finger  98  also insures that the hinge mechanism is able to smoothly rotate the cover  80 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , the latch  110  at the end portion  86  of the cover  80  includes a downwardly extending single arrowhead  112  that faces inwardly towards the C-shaped hook  90  at the opposite end portion  84  of the cover  80 . The arrowhead  112  of the cover latch  110  is similar to the single arrowhead  64  of the base latch  60  except that the cover arrowhead has been rotated 180 degrees so that the arrowheads are able to interlock. The finger  114  spaced from the latch  110  also has a smooth curved radius surface that is always under tension when it engages the base latch  60  positioned in the opening  118  to insure that the latch mechanism is secure. 
   To install the cover on the base of the raceway, the C-shaped hook  90  at the first end portion  84  of the cover  80  is aligned with the J-shaped hook  40  at the distal end  30  of the first sidewall  26 . Next, the C-shaped hook  90  is pushed down until it snap locks into position on the J-shaped hook  40 . As a result, the finger  98  engages the curved portion  46  of the J-shaped hook  40  and the C-shaped hook  90  with the flexible vinyl member  104  engages the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40 . The latch  110  at the second end portion  86  of the cover  80  also snaps into a locking engagement with the latch  60  at the second sidewall  28  of the base  22 . As a result, the arrowheads  112 ,  64  of each latch  110 ,  60 , respectively, interlock and the finger  114  engages the back side of the latch  60  of the second side wall  28  to ensure that the cover  80  is locked in a closed position. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 , when the cover  80  is secured to the base  22 , the latching mechanism defines a slot or opening  120  between the cover latch  110  and the base latch  60 . The slot  120  accommodates a screwdriver or other flat tool to enable the cover  80  to be removed from the base  22  by separating the cover latch  110  from the base latch  60  to disengage the latching mechanism. Once the latching mechanism has been disengaged, the cover  80  may be rotated away from the base  22 . Also shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the protrusion  54  on the first side wall  26  prevents or prohibits access into the hinge mechanism with a screwdriver or other flat tool. As a result, the first end portion  84  of the cover  80  may not be removed from the base  22  by a screwdriver or other flat tool. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , as the cover  80  is rotated, the C-shaped hook  90  enters the cavity  52  defined by the generally J-shaped hook  40  of the first sidewall  26  of the base  22  and the finger  98  follows the curved portion  46  of the J-shaped hook  40  such that a portion of the finger  98  is continuously in contact with the J-shaped hook  40 . Once the cover  80  has rotated  90  degrees, the C-shaped hook  90  contacts protrusion  54 . The protrusion  54  prevents the cover  80  from rotating beyond 90 degrees with respect to the base  22 . Additionally, as discussed above, the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40  contacts the flexible vinyl member  104  so that when the cover  80  is disposed at 90 degrees, the flexible vinyl member  104  prevents the cover  80  from sliding with respect to the base. 
   Alternatively, as illustrated in the raceway embodiment of  FIGS. 10-15 , the layer of the flexible vinyl member  104  may be positioned on the inverted generally J-shaped hook  40  of the first sidewall  26  of the base  22 . Preferably, the flexible member  104  is positioned within the cavity  52  along the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40 . The flexible member  104 , however, may be positioned elsewhere along the J-shaped hook to prevent the cover from sliding with respect to the base.  FIGS. 14-15  illustrate the cover  80  rotated away from the base  22  with a portion of the C-shaped hook  90  engaging the flexible vinyl member  104  positioned on the straight portion  44  of the J-shaped hook  40 . As discussed above, the flexible vinyl member  104  prevents the cover  80  from sliding with respect to the base  22 . 
   The embodiments of the hinged and latched raceway may also include a two sided pressure sensitive tape or adhesive that is positioned along the outer surface of the bottom wall of the base. The pressure sensitive tape provides a means of installing the raceway to the wall, floor or like when using communication wires. For power applications, the pressure sensitive tape facilitates positioning the raceway during installation. 
   Furthermore, while the particular preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the teaching of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.