Abstract:
An apparatus provides multiple telephone jacks at an outlet box that has an installed telephone jack and holes to receive cover plate support screws. The apparatus includes a housing and a wiring board in the housing. The housing has an outlet box side and another side and generally has the shape of a rectangular parallelopiped with a minimal distance from the outlet box side to the other side to provide the appearance of a conventional outlet box coverplate with minimal protrusion into a room from the outlet box when installed. A telephone plug protrudes from the outlet box side of the housing to enable engagement with a jack mounted in the outlet box and includes a release lever to enable release of the plug from the jack. The housing has an access path to permit access to the release lever.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to improvements in wiring devices for telecommunications. In particular, the present invention provides a replacement for conventional faceplates or coverplates that are installed on telephone jack housings, in order to provide multiple jacks from a single, installed jack. 
     The RJ11 telephone connector jack has been around for decades, and many telephone installations have been made using that connector. Thus, there is a large installed base of telephone outlets in residences and businesses, and other installations for telephones, fax machines, and the like using such connectors. 
     In recent years, the number of telephone lines needed for typical daily operations has proliferated. In addition to the additional voice lines, lines for Internet connection, fax connection, and the like have become more and more desirable for both residential and business installations. The installed single outlet RJ11 connectors are not sufficient for these new needs. Various efforts have been made to address the need by providing after-market connectors enabling multiple telephone lines to be connected to a single outlet. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,815 to Drewnicki; U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,408 to Lao; U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,690 to Klas et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,172 to Carswell et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,561 to Collier et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,905 to Ismail; U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,974 to Hardesty; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,411 to Gumb et al. 
     While these connectors do provide for multiplication of outlets, they have the drawback of protruding into a room by a considerable amount, causing numerous problems. First, the protruding device is unsightly. Second, if a piece of furniture is to be located near the wall, the protruding portion requires the furniture to be kept a substantial distance away from the wall. Third, the protruding item, supported typically generally only by the interfitting of a male plug with a female jack, is subject to damage by a collision between something moving in the room and the protruding connector. Of course, the excessive protrusion makes such collisions more likely and it also enhances the leverage on the jack when the collision occurs, making damage more likely. 
     Further efforts have been made to provide multiple outlets including commercial products such as a jack Model SC-625D of Suttle Apparatus Corporation. However, such products have the drawback of being complicated and requiring rewiring of the outlet in order to be installed. A homeowner or non-technical person may be reluctant to undertake such a rewiring, and is subject to making an error or damaging the apparatus in making an attempt. 
     Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an easy to install multiplier for telephone jacks that does not require special expertise, is securely mounted to the wall, and does not protrude excessively into a room. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention fulfills this need in the art by providing an apparatus for providing multiple telephone jacks at an outlet box that has an installed telephone jack and holes to receive cover plate support screws including a wiring board having mounted thereon a telephone plug and a plurality of telephone jacks and wires from the plug to the plurality of telephone jacks so that circuits are formed from the plug to the telephone jacks. A housing for the wiring board has an outlet box side and another side, with the wiring board arranged within the housing so that the number of telecommunications paths available from the outlet box side of the housing to the other side of the housing is multiplied. The housing has holes arranged to receive mounting screws to pass through the housing for engagement with the holes in the outlet box to form a secure mount of the housing on the outlet box. 
     In a preferred embodiment the housing includes a top having a coverplate and sidewalls and a bottom, and the wiring board is secured to the top. In this embodiment the bottom is secured to the sidewalls so that the top, bottom and sidewalls substantially surround all sides of the wiring board. 
     Typically the telephone plug includes a release lever, and the housing includes an access path from the other side through the housing to the release lever. Preferably, the wiring board has an opening for the access path. The access path may include a boundary wall affixed to the housing. 
     In a preferred embodiment the housing includes a top having a coverplate and sidewalls and a bottom. The wiring board is secured to the top with fasteners passing through the wiring board and lodged in the coverplate, and the bottom is secured to the sidewalls by an interlock fit so that the top, bottom and sidewalls substantially surround all sides of the wiring board. In this embodiment the coverplate preferably has an outlet box side and standoffs on its outlet box side positioned to hold the wiring board spaced away from a main portion of the top. The coverplate may also have bosses on its outlet box side surrounding the mounting holes to hold the bottom spaced away from the coverplate and away from the wiring board. 
     Preferably, the plug protrudes from the outlet box side of the housing to enable engagement with a jack mounted in an outlet box. 
     In a preferred embodiment the housing generally has the shape of a rectangular parallelopiped with a minimal distance from the outlet box side to the other side, to provide the appearance of a conventional outlet box coverplate with minimal protrusion into a room from the outlet box when installed. 
     The plurality of telephone jacks may be four telephone jacks. The wires from the plug to the jacks may connect all connected jacks to the same telecommunications path. Alternatively, the wires from the plug to the jacks may connect one of the connected jacks to a different telecommunications path than another jack. 
     The invention also provides a method of assembly of a telephone jack multiplier for an outlet box including affixing a plurality of telephone jacks and a telephone plug to a wiring board, connecting wires from the plug to the plurality of telephone jacks so that circuits are formed from the plug to the telephone jacks, installing the wiring board in a housing having an outlet box side and another side to form a plurality of telecommunication paths from the outlet box side of the housing to the other side of the housing, and providing mounting screws for the housing to pass through holes in the housing for engagement with the holes in the outlet box to form a secure mount of the housing on the outlet box. 
     The act of installing may include affixing the wiring board to a top that has a coverplate and sidewalls. It may also include affixing a bottom to the wiring board after the wiring board is affixed to the top so that the top, bottom and sidewalls substantially surround all sides of the wiring board. 
     The act of installing may include aligning a release lever on the telephone plug with an access path from the other side through the housing to the release lever. It may also include aligning a boundary wall for the access path affixed to the housing with the release lever. 
     Installing may also include securing the wiring board to a coverplate of the housing by passing fasteners through the wiring board and lodging the fasteners in the coverplate. It may also include interlocking portions of a bottom to sidewalls attached to the coverplate so that the coverplate, bottom and sidewalls substantially surround all sides of the wiring board. 
     The act of wiring the plug to the jacks may include connecting all connected jacks to the same telecommunications path. Alternatively it may include connecting one of the connected jacks to a different telecommunications path than another jack. 
     The invention also provides a method of installation of a multiple telephone jack apparatus on an outlet box in a surface including removing a coverplate from the outlet box to expose an opening in the surface and an installed jack and mounting holes on the outlet box, positioning a multiple telephone jack apparatus on the opening in the surface while inserting a plug that extends from the apparatus into the installed jack; and passing screws through the multiple telephone jack apparatus and into the mounting holes on the outlet box to secure the multiple telephone jack apparatus onto the outlet box. 
     The invention further provides a method of removal of a multiple telephone jack apparatus from an outlet box in a surface including unscrewing screws that pass through the multiple telephone jack apparatus and into the mounting holes on the outlet box to loosen the multiple telephone jack apparatus from the outlet box, inserting an elongated item into an access path opening in a surface of the multiple telephone jack apparatus to deflect a release lever on a plug extending from the multiple telephone jack apparatus into a jack in the outlet box to release the plug from the jack in the outlet box, and moving the multiple telephone jack apparatus away from an outlet box. 
     The invention further provides a method of installation of a multiple telephone jack apparatus on an outlet box in a surface including removing screws; holding a coverplate to the outlet box that has a single installed jack to expose screw mounting holes in the coverplate on the outlet box; positioning a multiple telephone jack apparatus on the coverplate while inserting a plug that extends from the apparatus into the installed jack; and passing long screws through the multiple telephone jack apparatus and into the mounting holes on the outlet box to secure the multiple telephone jack apparatus onto the outlet box. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood by a reading of the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments along with a review of the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art coverplate for a telephone jack mounted in an outlet box; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a multiple outlet telephone jack according to the invention; 
     FIGS. 3A-3C are perspective views of the components to be assembled together to make a wiring board assembly according to the embodiment of FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 4A-4C are rear perspective views of the components to be assembled together to make a multiple outlet telephone jack according to the embodiment of FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 5A-5C are front perspective views of the components to be assembled together to make a multiple outlet telephone jack according to the embodiment of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment for a top showing three optional refinements. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As seen in FIG. 1, a conventional coverplate  10  for wall mounted telephone jacks has upper and lower holes  12  and  14  into which screws fit to be received by mating holes on an outlet box (not shown). These screws hold the plate  10  in place. A hole  16  in the middle of the plate  10  allows a telephone jack  17  mounted in the outlet box to be accessed for insertion and removal of telephone jacks such as RJ11 plugs. 
     As seen in FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a multiple outlet telephone jack apparatus  50  having a housing made up of a top  52  and a bottom  54 . The housing has upper and lower holes  58  adapted to allow screws  60  to pass through the entire apparatus  50  for engagement with the mounting holes in the installed outlet box. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the conventional coverplate  10  is removed from the outlet and the apparatus  50  is installed in its place. So installed, the multiple outlet telephone jack apparatus  50  has four independently accessible telephone jacks  56  available to receive various plugs, as desired. 
     FIGS. 4A-4C show the apparatus  50  in an exploded, rear perspective view with the top  52  separated from the bottom  54 , showing the normally internally located wiring board  70 . 
     The wiring board  70  as seen in FIG. 3A may be formed of a stamped metal or other suitable material. It has four peripheral windows  72  arranged about a central window  76 . The peripheral windows  72  are sized to receive leading ends of jacks  80 , seen in FIG.  3 B. Just below the central window  76  of the wiring board  70 , two holes  92  are provided to receive a  6 P plug  82  seen in FIG.  3 C. The holes  74  are sized to receive rivets or other suitable apparatus or the like for engaging the wiring board  70  with the top  52 . Other ways of affixing the board  70  to the top  52  may be substituted, such as adhesives, press fit or interlock fits. 
     As seen in FIG. 3B, the jacks  80  are provided with peripheral shoulders  84  and  86 , so that the part forwardly of the shoulder  84  can pass into the window  72  with the shoulders  84  and  86  being held rearwardly of wiring board  70 . 
     The 6P plug  82  shown in FIG. 3C is arranged for secure attachment to a jack in a wall-mounted outlet, such as jack  16  of FIG.  1 . The plug  82  has a release lever  88  for release of the plug  82  from the jack by depression of the release lever  88 . Levers of this sort are conventional in telephone jacks. The plug  82  is provided with prongs  90  to engage holes  92  in the board  70 . 
     As seen in FIG. 4, the wiring board  70  has the jacks  80  engaged in the respective windows  72  with upper and lower shoulders  86  and  84  engaging on the rearward face of the mounting board  70 . Similarly, forward prongs  90  of the plug  82  engage with openings  92  in wiring board  70 . The engagement of the prongs  90  of the plug  82  with the holes  92  of wiring board  70  causes the plug  82  to be located below the window  76 . This permits the window  76  to serve as an accessway for actuation of the lever  88 . The jacks and plugs are mounted onto the wiring board  70  and are wired in a factory environment in any desired wiring pattern. 
     For example, all four of the jacks can be connected with identical wiring to the wires of the plugs so that they form four identical parallel wire connections. Alternatively, since telephone wires are usually provided with two distinct pair of wires, either pair of which is sufficient to transmit and receive, one pair could be wired to one or more of the jacks  80  and the other pair wired to the remainder. 
     The assembled jacks and plug on the wiring board  70  are thus ready for mounting with screws  94  into the top  52 . 
     The top  52 , as seen in FIG. 4A, includes a coverplate portion  96  and side walls  98 . Thus, when the top  52  is assembled with the bottom  54 , the result is a shape that is generally a rectangular parallelepiped. It is generally desirable, however, that the side walls  98  be maintained as short as possible to minimize the distance between the bottom  54  and the coverplate  96 , and therefore minimize the amount that the entire apparatus will protrude into a room once installed. 
     Internally, top  52  is provided with standoffs  102  and threaded holes  100  to receive the screws  94 . The standoffs assure that the appropriate spacing between wiring board  70  and the coverplate  96  is maintained for the proper location of the fronts of the plugs  56  at the side of the top  52  (not visible in FIG.  4 A). 
     The side walls  98  are provided with tabs  104  positioned to interlock with notches  111  on bottom  54  (seen in FIG.  5 C). 
     The top  52  is further provided with a rearwardly extending channel  106  positioned for alignment with the window  76  of the wiring board  70 . Thus, the channel  106  provides a boundary around an access path for the lever  88  in the assembled apparatus. 
     The coverplate  96  is further provided with rearwardly extending bosses  108  having central holes  109  positioned for alignment to pass above and below the wiring board  70  and in alignment with the holes  110  in the bottom  54 . These holes are spaced so that they will align with the mounting holes in the outlet box into which the assembled apparatus is to be installed. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 5A, coverplate  96  of the top  52  has the four openings  110  aligned with the jacks  56  mounted in the wiring board  70 . When the screws  94  engage the wiring board  70  with threaded bosses  100 , the jacks  56  thus are available for access through the openings  110  in the front of the top  52 . The channel  106  terminates in an opening  108 , so that access can be had to the lever  88 . The holes  109  in the center of bosses  108  are also visible. 
     As seen in FIG. 5C, the bottom  54  has notches  111  around its periphery located so that the tabs  104  will interlock with the notches  111  to hold the bottom  54  secured to the top  52 . A window  112  in the bottom  54  is positioned for alignment to receive plug  82 , so that the plug  82  can be engaged with a jack mounted in a wall-mounted outlet. The bottom  54  is also provided with bosses  114  which cooperate with the bosses  108  on the rear of the coverplate  96 . The bosses  114  and  108  define a passageway for the screws  60  for engagement with the mounting holes of the outlet box installed in the wall to which the apparatus is to be mounted. 
     Thus, when the wiring board  74  is affixed to the top  52 , and the bottom  54  is engaged by having the notches  111  receive the tabs  104 , a generally unitary structure is provided. This unitary structure can then be sold as a commercial unit to a consumer who has no need for disassembly of the apparatus for installation or normal use. 
     The user can then provide him/herself with a multiplicity of outlet jacks by removing conventional coverplate  10  from an outlet; aligning the assembled apparatus  50  so that the plug  82  aligns with and inserts into the jack  17 ; and securing the unitary structure to the wall using screws  60 . 
     If, for some reason, the user wishes to dismount the apparatus, he or she need merely unscrew the screws  60  and insert a narrow instrument through the channel  106  to depress the lever  88 , to disengage the apparatus from the outlet box. 
     FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a top  120  similar in all respects to the top  52  described previously, except that it has several refinements, which can be made to the apparatus either singly or as combinations. First, side holes  124  can be provided in addition to (or instead of) the holes  109  for use with outlet boxes that have similarly-located holes. Of course, corresponding refinements of the wiring board and bottom to accommodate the side holes would also be needed. Second, the side walls  122  of the top  120  can be made slightly deeper, on the order of 2-3 mm deeper, so that the entire apparatus can fit over top of the original coverplate  10  (see FIG.  1 ). Thus, when installing the apparatus, the screws  12 ,  14  holding the coverplate  10  would be removed, but not the coverplate  10  itself. The multiple jack apparatus will fit over the old coverplate, and the plug  82  will be properly positioned to engage the original jack. This adds to the security of the fit and reduces the complexity of the installation process. Third, the top  120  can be provided with legends  126 ,  128  identifying the jack as being either line  1  or line  2 . Of course, the wiring of the plug  82  to the jack needs to be coordinated with this labeling. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other variations of design can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. 
     While it is impossible to list all such variations, several examples will be given. For example, the number of jacks  56  need not be four. Other numbers of jacks can be provided, along with appropriate changes in the numbers of the windows  72  and openings in the coverplate  96 . Of course, the top  52  can have other shapes besides rectangular, but does need to have the holes aligned for receiving screws and a mount for the plug  82  to align with the installed jack in the outlet box to be replicated. Various other ways of affixing replicated jacks to the plug  82  can be used other than the specific expedient of the wiring board  70 , although it does provide a low profile, which is preferable. Wiring board  70  can be affixed to the coverplate  96  by means other than screws, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Also, the bottom  54  can be affixed to the top  52  other than by the inter-engagement of tabs and notches, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     As will be apparent, the present invention provides a convenient way to replicate telephone jacks through a multiple apparatus which can be securely mounted to an outlet box and provide a minimum protrusion into a room from the outlet box. This provides the advantage of avoidance of collisions, as well as provides a more secure engagement and reduced lever arm, to be able to withstand collisions. In addition, the non-electrician can readily install the device without resort to wiring or other activities which may require specialized knowledge or especially agile manipulations.