Patent Publication Number: US-2003224636-A1

Title: Movable utility receptacle system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT  
       [0001] This application specifically references and incorporates by reference Disclosure Document No. 503,438 filed on Dec. 11, 2001.  
       CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0002] Not applicable to this application.  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0003] Not applicable to this application.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0005] The present invention relates generally to building wiring systems and more specifically it relates to a movable utility receptacle system for providing multiple utilities within various convenient locations of a room.  
       [0006] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0007] Conventional utility wiring systems for electricity, telephone, computer network and cable television have been in use for years. Conventional utility wiring systems utilize a length of wire/cable that is extended within the inside of a wall structure and then electrically connected to one or more receptacles within the wall at desired locations. The user is able to electrically connect various electronic appliances to the receptacles utilizing a conventional coupler.  
       [0008] The main problem with conventional utility wiring systems is that they cannot be easily adjusted to accommodate different room requirements. A further problem with conventional utility wiring systems is that they typically require the usage of extension cords and the like to reach desired outlets. Another problem with conventional utility wiring systems is that they are difficult to replace. A further problem with conventional utility wiring systems is that they are difficult to install within existing or new building structures. Various other well-known problems exist with conventional utility wiring systems.  
       [0009] Examples of patented devices which may be related to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,406 to Glen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,328 to Nadeau; U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,517 to Elmouchi; U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,217 to Pantin; U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,848 to Malone; U.S. Pat. No. 2,348,665 to Van Gehr; U.S. Pat. No. Re. 36,030 to Nadeau; U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,097 to Harwood; U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,132 to Rogers et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,149 to Shangena, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,370 to Parker; U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,224 to Messing; U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,804 to Frank et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,261,986 to Frank et al.  
       [0010] While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for providing multiple utilities within various convenient locations of a room. Conventional utility wiring systems do not provide the required flexibility within a building structure to accommodate various room configurations.  
       [0011] In these respects, the movable utility receptacle system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing multiple utilities within various convenient locations of a room.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of utility devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new movable utility receptacle system construction wherein the same can be utilized for providing multiple utilities within various convenient locations of a room.  
       [0013] The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new movable utility receptacle system that has many of the advantages of the utility devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new movable utility receptacle system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art utility devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.  
       [0014] To attain this, the present invention generally comprises an elongate housing structure, a plurality of buses within the elongate housing structure, a cover member removably positionable over the housing structure, and a plurality of receptacles electrically connectable to the plurality of buses. The receptacles are comprised of a receptacle housing, at least one receptacle member and a plurality of receptacle prongs electrically connected to the receptacle member for electrically connected to one of the buses upon a desired location of the housing structure.  
       [0015] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.  
       [0016] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.  
       [0017] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.  
       [0018] A second object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system for providing multiple utilities within various convenient locations of a room.  
       [0019] Another object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that allows for the connection of various utilities such as but not limited to electrical power, telephone, cable television, and computer network.  
       [0020] An additional object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that may be easily installed within pre-existing or new building structures.  
       [0021] A further object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that allows for the convenient repositioning of utility outlets about a room.  
       [0022] Another object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that may be utilized within residential, commercial and various other building structures.  
       [0023] A further object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that is easy and safe to install.  
       [0024] Another object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that is comprised of a continuous structure that extends about the perimeter of a room.  
       [0025] A further object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that places individual rooms upon a single respective circuit breaker.  
       [0026] Another object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that may be utilized to rewire difficult to wire building structures such as older building structures and log homes.  
       [0027] A further object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that may be customized to correspond aesthetically to various room designs and colors.  
       [0028] Another object is to provide a movable utility receptacle system that may be connected within various room shapes and sizes.  
       [0029] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.  
       [0030] To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.  
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0031] Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:  
     [0032]FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of the present invention fully assembled.  
     [0033]FIG. 2 is an end view of the present invention.  
     [0034]FIG. 3 is an end view of the housing structure.  
     [0035]FIG. 4 is a front view of the housing structure.  
     [0036]FIG. 5 a  is a front view of a telephone receptacle.  
     [0037]FIG. 5 b  is a front view of an electricity receptacle.  
     [0038]FIG. 5 c  is a front view of an Ethernet receptacle.  
     [0039]FIG. 5 d  is a front view of a cable television receptacle.  
     [0040]FIG. 6 a  is a side view of a telephone receptacle.  
     [0041]FIG. 6 b  is a side view of an electricity receptacle.  
     [0042]FIG. 6 c  is a side view of an Ethernet receptacle.  
     [0043]FIG. 6 d  is a side view of a cable television receptacle.  
     [0044]FIG. 7 is a front view of a receptacle housing having a plurality of receptacle members within.  
     [0045]FIG. 8 a  is a front view of an electricity straight joiner.  
     [0046]FIG. 8 b  is a side view of an electricity straight joiner.  
     [0047]FIG. 8 c  is an upper perspective view of an electricity straight joiner.  
     [0048]FIG. 9 a  is a top view of an inner corner joiner.  
     [0049]FIG. 9 b  is a top view of an outer corner joiner.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0050] Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 through 9 b  illustrate a movable utility receptacle system  10 , which comprises an elongate housing structure  20 , a plurality of buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  within the elongate housing structure  20 , a cover member  50  removably positionable over the housing structure  20 , and a plurality of receptacles electrically connectable to the plurality of buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 . The receptacles are comprised of a receptacle housing  60   a - e , at least one receptacle member  62   a - d  and a plurality of receptacle prongs  64   a - d  electrically connected to the receptacle member  62   a - d  for electrically connected to one of the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  upon a desired location of the housing structure  20 .  
     [0051] The housing structure  20  is comprised of an elongate structure that may have various pre-formed lengths. The housing structure  20  may be cut at various lengths to accommodate various room configurations of a building structure. The housing structure  20  may be comprised of various materials such as but not limited to plastic, vinyl, composite material, or metal. The housing structure  20  is preferably comprised of a material non-conductive of electricity and that provides an insulating barrier for electrical components. The housing structure  20  may be constructed to be mounted within a wall  12  as illustrated in FIG. 12, or directly to the outer surface of the wall  12 .  
     [0052] The housing structure  20  may be secured to a wall  12  utilizing various conventional fastening means such as but not limited to adhesive, hooks and fasteners. FIG. 4 illustrates the usage of apertures  21  extending through the housing structure  20  for receiving a corresponding number of fasteners that extend into the wall  12 .  
     [0053] As best shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the housing structure  20  is preferably comprised of a rear portion  26 , an upper portion  22  having an upper lip  24  extending from an upper edge of the rear portion  26 , and a lower portion  23  having a lower lip  25  extending from a lower edge of the rear portion  26 . The upper portion  22  and the lower portion  23  preferably extend parallel to one another and orthogonally from the rear portion  26  forming a U-shaped structure. The upper lip  24  and the lower lip  25  assist in maintaining the cover member  50  upon the housing structure  20 . A cap member  29  may be attached to the exposed distal ends of the housing structure  20  for protecting the interior of the housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.  
     [0054] As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the housing structure  20  includes a plurality of buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 . Each of the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  correspond to a specific utility such as but not limited to telephone, electricity, cable television, and computer network. The buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  preferably extend along the entire length of the housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 4. Each of the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  has the desired number of bus receptacles depending upon the desired usage. For example, an electrical bus would have three bus receptacles. The bus receptacles are preferably comprised of a conventional frictional engagement structure commonly utilized that snugly receive the receptacle prongs  64   a - d . An insulating structure preferably extends about the bus receptacles to separate each of the receptacles. The bus receptacles are then electrically connected to the desired utility at a specified location along the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 .  
     [0055] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings, a first bus  30 , a second bus  32 , a third bus  34 , and a fourth bus are preferably positioned within the housing structure  20  from an upper segment to a lower segment of the housing structure  20  respectively. The first bus  30  is preferably comprised of a bus structure for telephone connections.  
     [0056] The second bus  32  is preferably comprised of a bus structure for electrical connections. The second bus  32  preferably includes a pair of opposing connector slots  28  for receiving a pair of corresponding connector members  66  from a receptacle housing  60   a - e  for securing the receptacle housing  60   b  containing the electrical receptacle member  62   b . The connector slots  28  preferably include a pair of opposing inner flange members that catchably receive flanged distal ends of the connector members  66 .  
     [0057] The third bus  34  is preferably comprised of a bus structure for computer network (i.e. Ethernet) connections. Finally, the fourth bus is preferably comprised of a bus structure for cable television connections. It can be appreciated that the respective positions of the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  illustrated may be switched around for various configurations not shown in the drawings. In addition, it can be appreciated that one or more buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  may be utilized within the housing structure  20  depending upon the number of utilities utilized within a room. Each of the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  is electrically connected to the respective utility.  
     [0058] As shown in FIGS. 5 a  through  6   d , the receptacles are comprised of a receptacle housing  60   a - e , a receptacle member  62   a - d  and receptacle prongs  64   a - d . The receptacle prongs  64   a - d  are electrically connected to the receptacle member  62   a - d  in an appropriate and predetermined configuration within the receptacle housing  60   a - e . The receptacle prongs  64   a - d  extend from the receptacle housing  60   a - e  and are removably inserted within a corresponding bus  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 . The receptacle prongs  64   a - d  are preferably each comprised of a rigid straight structure that is removably received within the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 .  
     [0059]FIGS. 5 a  and  6   a  illustrate the usage of a telephone receptacle for electrically receiving a telephone cord plug. FIGS. 5 b  and  6   b  illustrate the usage of an electricity receptacle having a pair of connector members  66  extending parallel to the receptacle prongs  64   a - d . The electricity receptacle is formed for electrically receiving a power plug. FIGS. 5 c  and  6   c  illustrate the usage of a computer network receptacle for electrically receiving an Ethernet plug. FIGS. 5 d  and  6   d  illustrate the usage of a cable television receptacle for electrically receiving a cable plug. FIG. 7 illustrates the usage of a single receptacle housing  60   e  for retaining a plurality of receptacles within a single receptacle housing  60   e.    
     [0060] Since a plurality of housing structures  20  are typically required within a typical room, the housing structures  20  are positioned with their ends abutting one another and the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  electrically connected to one another by either a straight joiner  70 , an inner corner joiner  74  or an outer corner joiner  76 . The straight joiner  70  is comprised of a non-conductive housing having a plurality of straight joiner  70  prongs  72  that have a width sufficient for electrically extending between corresponding buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of each housing structure  20  as shown in FIGS. 8 a  through  8   c.    
     [0061] The inner corner joiner  74  is comprised of a non-conductive housing having a plurality of inner corner prongs  75  that have a width sufficient for electrically extending between corresponding buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of each housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 9 a  of the drawings. The inner corner joiner  74  is formed for electrically connecting respective buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of a pair of abutting housing structures  20  having an abutment at an inner corner of a wall  12 . FIG. 9 a  illustrates the inner corner prongs extending from two adjacent outer sides of the non-conductive housing.  
     [0062] The outer corner joiner  76  is comprised of a non-conductive housing having a plurality of outer corner prongs  77  that have a width sufficient for electrically extending between corresponding buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of each housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 9 b  of the drawings. The outer corner joiner  76  is formed for electrically connecting respective buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of a pair of abutting housing structures  20  having an abutment at an outer comer of a wall  12 . FIG. 9 b  illustrate the outer corner prongs extending from two adjacent inner sides of the non-conductive housing.  
     [0063] The cover member  50  is formed of an elongate structure that is removably attachable about the front of the housing structure  20  thereby enclosing the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  within the housing structure  20 . The cover member  50  may be formed from various types of material including but not limited to plastic, vinyl, composite or metal. The cover member  50  preferably is comprised of an electrically non-conductive material. The cover member  50  may be cut to various lengths to fit between or about receptacles connected at various locations to the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 .  
     [0064] The cover member  50  preferably includes an upper cover portion  52  that has an upper slot that catchably receives the upper lip  24  of the housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The cover member  50  also preferably includes a lower cover portion  54  that has a lower slot in opposition to the upper slot that catchably receives the lower lip  25  of the housing structure  20  as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.  
     [0065] In use, the user secures a first housing structure  20  having a pre-cut structure to a first wall  12 . The user then secures a second housing structure  20  adjacent to the first housing structure  20  upon a second wall  12 . If a wall  12  requires more than one housing structure  20 , the user simply secures the additional housing structure  20  to the wall  12  adjacent the prior housing structure  20 . This process continues until the desired portion of the room has been covered with the housing structure  20 . The user inserts the required jointer  70 ,  74 ,  76  to electrically connect the buses  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  of the respective housing structures  20 . The user further electrically connects the  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36  to a respective utility within the building structure such as but not limited to telephone wiring, electrical wiring, computer network wiring and cable television wiring. The user then determines the desired locations for specific receptacles and inserts the receptacle housing  60   a - e  within the housing structure  20  along with the corresponding receptacle prongs  64   a - d  electrically extending into the corresponding bus  30 ,  32 ,  34 ,  36 . The user may connect one or more receptacle housings  60   a - e  at one or multiple locations in a stacked manner as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. The user then cuts the cover member  50  to a desired length to cover the housing structure  20  on opposing sides of the receptacle housing  60   a - e  inserted within the housing structure  20 . The user continues this process until the desired amount of receptacles have been fully installed. The user may then plug-in the corresponding plugs within the receptacle members  62   a - d  as desired.  
     [0066] As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.  
     [0067] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed to be within the expertise of those skilled in the art, and all equivalent structural variations and relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.  
     [0068] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.