Patent Publication Number: US-3878315-A

Title: Attachable extension for an electrical outlet housing

Description:
United States Patent [1 1 [111 3,878,315 Blush Apr. 15, 1975 [54] ATTACHABLE EXTENSION FOR AN 1,069,425 8/1913 Hornbeck 220/3.6 ELECTRICAL OUTLET HOUSING 2,989,206 6/1961 McAfee 3,720,783 3/1973 Moll 174/57 [76] Inventor: Jerry F. Blush, 9447 Washington Blvd., Lanham Park, Md. 20801 [22] Filed: Jan. 24, 1973 Primary ExaminerJ. V. Truhe 1 pp NO: 326,566 Assistant Examiner-David A. Tone [52] U.S. Cl. 174/57; 220/37; 220/392 [51] Int. [58] Field of Search 174/53-57, 1 174/66, 67; 220/392, 3.94, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5,  
  3 3 7 3 39 A simply fabricated attachment adapted to be secured to a housing for extending the same a desired distance 5 References cu to a position wherein it is flush with the building wall.  
 UNITED STATES PATENTS 886,978 5/1908 Holabird 220/392 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures WJENTEBAPR 1 5 i975 FIG] ll rIO l0 ll ATTACHABLE EXTENSION FOR-AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET HOUSING.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problem by providing an attachment fabricated to permit a quick and simple connection to the recessed electrical housing for extending the same flush with the wall. The attachment is further provided with at least one portion thereof being removable to permit the same to be ganged in side-by-side relation with a like attachment whereby adjacent outlet housings can be extended outwardly and thereafter the attachments can be secured together by the portion that was removed. The attachment is further designed to permit the same to be stacked one onto another and secured to provide a longer extension.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above advantages of this invention and its operation will be more easily understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in connection with the attached drawings in which:  
 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the attachment;  
  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the attachment secured to a housing secured to a support stud;  
  FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2 showing the details thereof; and  
  FIGS. 4 and 5 show a pair of the attachments with portions thereof removed and thereafter secured to one another to permit the same to accommodate outlet housings disposed in side-by-side relation.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. I, the attachment is seen to be rectangular in shape and comprised of a pair of spaced vertical legs 11,11 having a pair of end legs 12,12 disposed at the extremities thereof and secured to the same in any desired fashion. In the disclosed embodiment. the legs 11,11 and 12,12 are fabricated as straight members with the ends of the legs 12,12 turned upwardly as at 13 to provide a surface to which the ends of the legs 11,11 can be secured and maintained. Any suitable means can be utilized for obtaining the securement such as. for example, spot welding. In this regard, the securement means should be such that while permitting the attachment to be rigid it will allow at least one of the legs 11,11 and its corresponding support surfaces 13 to be clearly and easily removed for reasons to be explained hereinafter. Pairs of spaced and aligned mounting ears 14,14 with aligned openings 15,15 are provided on the end legs 12 and the openings 15,15 are utilized for connecting the attachment to the outlet housing. Both pairs of legs 11,12 are provided with spaced threadedopenings 16,16 with the spacing therebetween arranged to permit the openings in the legs 11 adapted to coincide with the openings on the end legs 12 for reasons to become apparent hereinaf- Referring to FIG. 2, the attachment 10 is seen as being connected to&#39;a conventional outlet housing 20 having mounting tabs 21 with openings (not shown) secured to a support stud 22 by screw means 23. As is apparent. the attachment 10 serves to extend the housing 20 outwardly to allow the same to be flush with the finished wall. As is seen in FIG. 3, the attachment 10 is secured to the outlet box 22 by a screw 25 extending through the aligned openings 15 of the mounting cars 14 and into a tapped hole 24 provided in the mounting tabs 21, respectively. This securement serves to make a good electrical connection between the housing 20 and the attachment 10. With the attachment in place. the carpenter or mason merely extends the wallboard or panelling 26 onto the peripheral area defined by the legs thereby making the outlet box 20 flush with the finished wall 26. Thereafter a face plate 27 with spaced plug openings can be secured to the electrical means 28 disposed in the housing 20 in known fashion by a fastener 29. It should be appreciated that if the outlet box 20 is inadvertently positioned inwardly a greater distance it is only necessary to use a plurality of the attachments 10,10 in a stacked arrangement to bring the g same flush with the finished wall. In this situation it is only necessary to use a longer screw 25.  
  Upon occasion there is a situation wherein two outlet boxes 20,20 are positioned one adjacent the other and it becomes necessary to make the pair flush with the wall to be installed. To this end a pair of attachments 10,10 serve to frame the pair of outlet boxes 20,20 by removing the adjacent legs 11,11 of the attachments when placed in side-by-side relationship as depicted in phantom lines in FIG. 4. The removed legs 11,11 are then placed one on top and one below in straddling relationship with the remaining portion of the attachments with the openings 16,16 thereof respectively aligned with and secured to the adjacently disposed openings 16,16 of the end legs of the respective attachments 10,10. A plurality of fasteners 30,30 extending through the openings serve to make the joined attachments unitary. The fasteners 30 are optional with the attachment and can be furnished therewith to facilitate the securing of the legs in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.  
 I claim:  
  1. An attachment for a housing for extending the depth of the same comprised of a body defined by a pair of units, each of said units being defined by an open three sided configuration comprised of a pair of end members connected at one thereof by a side member, said side and end members being provided with spaced openings, therein, each unit being positioned with the open sides adjacent to one another, means securing the end members to one another, said means comprising a tie member of a length substantially equal to that of said side member, said tie members being provided with openings coinciding with those of said end members when disposed in a straddling position with respect thereto, fastener means extending through said coinciding openings rigidly securing the same together, and oppositely disposed mounting ears prothe side members, means connecting the end members to the side members. said means being of a nature which permits at least one of the side members to be readily detached from its connection with the end members. and oppositely disposed mounting ears provided on said pairs for facilitating its mounting onto a housing. and a plurality of said attachments stacked one on the other and fastener means extended through the oppositely disposed mounting ears for extending the depth of the housing.  
 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the side and end members form a quadrilateral.