Patent Description:
Lockout devices are conventionally used as a mechanism to limit operation of a control or energy isolation point. Such lockout devices can be used on switches, plugs, valves, and so forth in order to prevent operation of that control or energy isolation point under certain circumstances or by certain users. In many instances, for example, when maintenance is being performed on equipment by a worker, a control may be turned off to de-energize the equipment (for example, to temporarily cut power from the equipment) and a lockout device may be placed over the control by the worker in order to prevent others from operating the control to re-energize the equipment until the worker has completed the maintenance and removed the lockout device.

However, the example above is exemplary only and there are many use cases and many types of controls that might receive a lockout device for a variety of reasons, some of which having nothing to do with maintenance at all. For example, certain controls may be restricted using lockout devices under normal conditions and are then only available upon unlocking the lockout device by an authorized user. An example of such a lockout device may be a wall switch lockout, in which a cover is lockable over a wall switch in order to prevent non-authorized people from operating the switch. Such wall switch lockouts may be useful for controlling the operation of lighting, for controlling the supply of power to certain appliances or equipment, or for various other switch-type applications. Further prior art may be found in <CIT> and <CIT>.

As there are a wide range of possible controls and energy isolation points and associated structures, one challenge has been to provide lockout devices that are capable of being used in a wide variety of circumstances and configurations. Put differently, even a lockout device for a control type may need to be offered in a variety of sizes and configurations to accommodate different variations of that control type that may exist. This often leads to similar, but not identical, products having various different stock keeping units or SKUs in which some products are suitable for some use cases, but not all use cases.

For example, in the context of a wall switch lockout, there may be various different mounting arrangements for the lockout device based on the wall switch construction and the placement of the plate screws. This can mean even through an installer has a wall switch lockout on hand, that the particular wall switch lockout might not be appropriate for the particular wall switch construction to be locked out. This can result in end user frustration if the product in hand is not suitable for the task at hand, has the potential to lead to improper or incomplete installation of a lockout device not designed for the particular application, and present inventory management concerns if multiple types of lockouts need to be kept on hand or in stock to accommodate different switch designs.

Disclosed herein is an improved wall switch lockout device. This wall switch lockout device is able to accommodate various mounting arrangements and, in particular, accommodates different hole-to-hole distances for mounting screws as may be exhibited in different switch types (for example, rocker or paddle switches versus toggle switches) where the mounting screw spacing for the front facie or cover may vary based on the mechanical switch type and size. The disclosed construction avoids the need to stock multiple types of wall switch lockout devices for various wall switch types and can offer a more universal-type lockout device.

According to one aspect, a wall switch lockout device is provided having the features of independent claim <NUM>.

According to the invention, there is a pair of inserts with each of the respective inserts have a corresponding one of the pair of mounting openings on each respective insert. While it is contemplated that the variably adjusting of the hole-to-hole distance might be achieved with one of the mounting openings being fixed relative to the mountable base (i.e., not on a slidable insert) and the other being movable by placing the mounting on a slidable insert, having a pair of inserts instead of a single insert may well be preferable. With a pair of inserts, there is better symmetry about the opening, improving aesthetics when mounted. Moreover, having a pair of opposing inserts means that each insert could be made to travel half the distance that a single insert would be required to travel to get the same level of hole-to-hole adjustability.

The pair of inserts may both be slidable towards or away from one another along paths of linear translation that lie along a single line (i.e., the paths lie along a single line, although are spaced along the line). Still further, the pair of inserts and corresponding pair of mounting openings can be positioned on opposing top and bottom sides of the switch opening.

In some forms, the mountable base may include a securement projection extending from the front face thereof with a lock opening in the securement projection and the cover may include a slit through which the securement projection is receivable when the cover is in a closed position such that the lock opening is accessible to receive a lock therethrough to prevent the cover from being moved from the closed position to the opened position.

In some forms, the cover may be hinged to the mountable base. This hinging may be, for example, at a top end of the mountable base.

The inserts are slidable relative to the mountable base using a guide and rail connection that slidably connect the insert(s) to the mountable base.

The mountable base includes a base rail and a base guide (corresponding to each insert) and each respective insert may include an insert rail and an insert guide. The insert guide of the respective insert is attachable to the base rail of the mountable base and, likewise, the insert rail is attachable to the insert guide. In such assembly, the inserts are slidable relative to the mountable base along attachments between the insert guide and the base rail and between the base guide and the insert rail. In the case of multiple inserts, the mountable base can have separate rails and guides for each of the inserts. Both of the insert guide and the base guide include retaining projections such that the insert guide and the base guide is snappable onto the respective base rail or insert rail to help couple the rail(s) and guide(s) together.

In some forms, the device can further include a pair of detents for maintaining a pair of respective positions of the at least one insert relative to the mountable base. The pair of detents may be projections extending rearwardly from a rear face of the mountable base and can be positioned over a translational path of the at least one insert relative to the mountable base.

The pair of respective positions of the inserts establishable using the pair of detents may include (<NUM>) a rocker position for mounting the wall switch lockout device to a wall switch having a rocker-type switch with an associated rocker switch hole-to-hole distance and (<NUM>) a toggle position for mounting the wall switch lockout device to a wall switch having a toggle-type switch with an associated toggle switch hole-to-hole distance. The rocker switch hole-to-hole distance can be larger than the toggle switch hole-to-hole distance as the mounting spacing of the rocker is larger than that of a toggle switch.

According to another aspect, a method of installing a wall switch lockout device having the features of independent claim <NUM> is provided.

These and still other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. What follows is merely a description of some preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Looking first at <FIG>, a wall switch lockout device <NUM> is illustrated for selectively limiting access to a wall switch (not shown) relative to which the wall switch lockout device <NUM> is mounted. As illustrated, the wall switch lockout device <NUM> includes only a small number of components including a mountable base <NUM>, a pair of inserts 14a and 14b, and a cover <NUM> which will all be described in turn below in such a manner as to illustrate their connection and usage with one another in order to provide the lockout function for the wall switch.

With respect to the mountable base <NUM>, the mountable base <NUM> is perhaps best seen in <FIG> and <FIG> and is a generally rectangular plate-like body extending in a longitudinal direction having a front face <NUM> (<FIG>) and a rear face <NUM> (<FIG>). Centrally and extending between this front face <NUM> and the rear face <NUM> is a switch opening <NUM>. Since the mountable base <NUM> is designed to be mounted to various types of wall switches, such as both toggle switches and rocker or paddle switches, the switch opening <NUM> is sized to permit access to switches that are so geometrically sized and shaped through the switch opening <NUM>. As illustrated, the switch opening <NUM> also has switch opening extensions 24a and 24b on the top and bottom of the periphery of the switch opening <NUM> which are slot-like in form and narrower than the more central part of the switch opening <NUM> that accommodates the switch after mounting. These switch opening extensions 24a and 24b are present in order to provide access to the inserts 14a and 14b that are movable relative to the mountable base <NUM> and, more specifically, to the pair of mounting openings 26a and 26b on the inserts 14a and 14b, respectively, that will be discussed below.

The cover <NUM> as illustrated is large enough to cover the front face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM> and, moreover in the form shown, has sidewalls that extend around the lateral and lower sides of the periphery of the mountable base <NUM>. This cover <NUM> also includes a slight bump or protrusion in the in the middle so as to provide some space to accommodate a depth dimension of the switch in the closed position of the cover (that is, space to accommodate, for example, a toggle switch or other forward-facing control which may project forwardly into the space of the cover).

For the purposes of providing lockout functionality, on the front face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM> and as best seen in <FIG> and <FIG>, there is securement projection <NUM> extending from the front face <NUM> which provides a closed loop that includes a lock opening <NUM> therein. There is also, at the top end of the mountable base <NUM>, a hinge part <NUM> that is adapted for connection to a mating hinge part <NUM> on the cover <NUM> to collectively provide a hinged connection between the mountable base <NUM> and the cover <NUM>. In the particular design illustrated, the hinge part <NUM> on the base <NUM> is a hinge rod and the hinge part <NUM> is a pair of snap on retaining fingers or guides. This hinged connection lets the cover <NUM> be movable and positionable between an opened position as shown in <FIG> and a closed position, as illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG>.

In the opened position of the cover <NUM> relative to the mountable base <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>, the cover <NUM> is lifted to provide access to the switch opening <NUM> on the front face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM> and, more meaningfully, the wall switch that would be accessible at the switch opening <NUM> when the device <NUM> is mounted.

In the closed position of the cover <NUM> relative to the front face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>, the cover <NUM> covers and limits access to the switch opening <NUM> and the switch. Moreover, in this closed position, the securement projection <NUM> is received through a slot <NUM> formed in the cover <NUM> at a lower end of the cover <NUM>. In order to secure or temporarily lock the cover <NUM> in this closed position, a padlock <NUM> or other securing mechanism can be received through the lock opening <NUM> in the securement projection <NUM> as is illustrated in <FIG>. With the padlock <NUM> in place (or some other variety of lock), the cover <NUM> cannot be moved relative to the base <NUM> to expose the switch opening <NUM> or switch and so the switch to which the device <NUM> is mounted cannot be operated.

While various hinge designs might be implemented with similar results, with the pin and snap on guide arrangement illustrated in the exemplary embodiment, and more particularly in <FIG>, the orientation of the guides or fingers can be designed such that the hinge at the top cannot be decoupled in the closed position. That is to say, the parts that are snapped onto the hinge rod, in the closed position, can be C-shaped with the open end of the snap part C-shape facing forward such that the hinge parts cannot be decoupled when the device <NUM> is in the closed position.

It will be appreciated that while a hinged arrangement between the cover and the mountable base are shown, that the cover need not necessarily be hinged. For example, the cover could be slidable relative to the base providing enough clearance for any switch control. Still further, while a securement projection <NUM> and slot <NUM> are shown, other cover locking arrangements could be workable including alignable holes and so forth which may be at least in part based on the range of motion of the cover. So while the exemplary lockout device <NUM> is illustrative, it should not be considered limiting.

Turning now to the pair of inserts 14a and 14b, the pair of inserts 14a and 14b are received in the mountable base <NUM> and are slidable relative to the mountable base <NUM>. Each of the inserts 14a and 14b have a respective one of the mounting openings 26a and 26b centrally located thereon, and so these openings 26a and 26b travel with the respective inserts 14a and 14b. Further and as illustrated, there is one insert 14a positioned at the top end of the switch opening <NUM> and another insert 14b positioned at the opposing bottom end of the switch opening. In the form show, the insert 14a is proximate the top switch opening extension 24a while the insert 14b is proximate the bottom switch opening extension 24b.

The mounting and sliding structure for the inserts 14a and 14b in the mountable base <NUM> can be best seen in <FIG> in which the inserts 14a and 14b are exploded from the mountable base <NUM>. It is there seen that the rear face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM> includes a pair of insert-receiving structures 40a and 40b each including a respective base rail 42a or 42b and a respective base guide 44a or 44b having retaining projections 46a or 46b. Likewise, each of the inserts 14a and 14b each include a respective insert rail 48a or 48b and a respective insert guide 50a or 50b having retaining projections 52a or 52b. Relative to the orientation illustrated in the figures, the various rails and guides on each of the base <NUM> and inserts 14a and 14b are, generally speaking, on lateral sides of the respective structures with the rails extending in the top to bottom or longitudinal direction and guides being so configured as to be snapped to the rails in an orientation as to permit the travel of the inserts 14a and 14b in the top to bottom direction (and vise-versa) relative to the mountable base <NUM>.

Turning now to <FIG> and <FIG>, the installation of the respective inserts 14a and 14b into the mountable base <NUM> is shown as a two-step process. First, the insert guides 50a and 50b are received onto the base rails 42a and 42b of the mountable base <NUM>. Looking at both <FIG> and <FIG>, the insert guides 50a and 50b are C-shaped with laterally outward facing recesses with retaining projections 52a or 52b that are snapped onto the respective base rails 42a and 42b.

As illustrated in <FIG>, after the insert guides 50a and 50b are snapped onto the respective base rails 42a and 42b, the other side of the respective inserts 14a and 14b supporting the insert rails 48a and 48b are rotated about the hinge created by the insert guides 50a and 50b and their respective base rails 42a and 42b, such that the insert rails 48a and 48b are received into the base guides 44a or 44b. Just as with the first connection between the insert guides 50a and 50b and the respective base rails 42a and 42b, the connection formed between the base guides 44a or 44b and the insert rails 48a and 48b can be a snap fit with the retaining projections 46a or 46b being somewhat flexible to permit them to be connected with a little pressure during coupling and to keep the features together once connected.

With this structure, the inserts 14a and 14b are able to slide and translated top to bottom along the travel line established between various respective guides and rails of the mountable base <NUM> and the inserts 14a and 14b. As shown in <FIG>, this permits the inserts 14a and 14b to be spaced a maximum distance from one another to create a large hole-to-hole distance between the pair of mounting openings 26a and 26b (such as to match the mounting plate screw distance of a rocker or paddle switch) and permits the inserts 14a and 14b to be brought together to be spaced a minimum distance from one another to create a small hole-to-hole distance between the pair of mounting openings 26a and 26b (such as to match the mounting plate screw distance of a toggle switch).

As illustrated, the inserts 14a and 14b each can travel over a path of linear translation on opposing sides of the switch opening <NUM> to accommodate for various mounting arrangements and hole-to-hole distances. These respective pair of paths of linear translation can lie along a single line with the center of the mounting openings 26a and 26b traveling along this single line as the inserts 14a and 14b move. As illustrated, in all positions of the inserts 14a and 14b relative to the mountable base <NUM>, the mounting openings 26a and 26b are positioned somewhere along the switch opening extensions 24a and 24b or moved into the more central part of the switch opening <NUM> such that the mounting openings 26a and 26b could receive a mounting screw therethrough for mounting at the faceplate screws openings associated with the switch.

While it is contemplated that the inserts 14a and 14b might be positioned anywhere along their path of travel, it is also contemplated that detents <NUM> can be used to establish discrete positions of the inserts 14a and 14b relative to the mountable base <NUM>. In the embodiment illustrated, these detents <NUM> can be best seen in <FIG> and <FIG> on the rear face <NUM> of the mountable base <NUM>. These detents <NUM> can be small projections that extend from the rear face <NUM> and a respective feature of the inserts 14a or 14b (such as a wall or lip) to maintain the a respective insert 14a or 14b at a specific position relative to the mountable base <NUM>. This can perhaps be best seen in <FIG>, in which the uppermost and lowermost detents <NUM> engage a lower side of an uppermost wall of the insert 14a or an upper side of a lowermost wall of the insert 14b, respectively, to maintain the inserts 14a and 14b at a maximum permitted distance from one another and establishes the rocker switch position with maximum hole-to-hole distance. This can also be seen in <FIG>, in which the more centrally located detents <NUM> engage an upper side of an uppermost wall of the insert 14a or lower side of a lowermost wall of the insert 14b, respectively, to maintain the inserts 14a and 14b at a minimum permitted distance from one another and establishes the toggle switch position with minimum hole-to-hole distance. While two discrete positions are illustrated to accommodate a rocker and a toggle position, it will be appreciated that there could be a number of detents provided beyond the four detents that provide two positions for each insert. Still further, there could be no detents and/or there could be a variable range of positions available between the two spacing extreme for any non-standard mounting screw spacings. Even beyond this, it will be appreciated that other forms of detents could be utilized that are different from those specifically illustrated; for example, the detents could be found on the insert and interface with features on the rear face of the mountable base.

In use, once the wall switch lockout device <NUM> is assembled (and it is certainly contemplated that the device <NUM> could be sold as a pre-assembled product), the inserts 14a and 14b may be slid relative to the mountable base <NUM> to the desired position to provide the target hole-to-hole spacing for the particular switch installation. The mountable base <NUM> can then be secured to the underlying switch using the openings on the switch that are used to secure the faceplate to the front of the switch - and the faceplate also can be captured between the lockout device <NUM> and the switch - such that the switch control extends through the switch opening <NUM> in the mountable base <NUM>. Once the mounting screws are secured in place, then the cover <NUM> can be moved between the opened and closed positions to provide access to or to restrict access to the switch. In the closed position, and as described above, to lock out the switch and make it inoperable, a padlock or other securement device can be used to lock the cover <NUM> in the closed position as illustrated in <FIG>. Since the mounting screws are only accessible when the device <NUM> is open, the device <NUM> cannot be removed so long as the cover <NUM> is in the closed and locked position relative to the mountable body <NUM>. Then, only after the padlock or securement device has been removed, can the cover <NUM> be opened.

Claim 1:
A wall switch lockout device (<NUM>) for selectively limiting access to a wall switch relative to which the wall switch lockout device (<NUM> ) is mounted, the wall switch lockout device (<NUM>) comprising:
a mountable base (<NUM>) having a front face (<NUM>) and a rear face (<NUM>), the mountable base (<NUM>) having a switch opening (<NUM>) extending therethrough from the front face (<NUM>) to the rear face (<NUM>) for receiving the wall switch therethrough;
wherein the mountable base (<NUM>) includes a base rail (42a, 42b) and a base guide (44a, 44b);
a cover (<NUM>) positionable and securable over the front face (<NUM>) of the mountable base (<NUM>) for selectively covering and limiting access to the switch opening (<NUM>);
a pair of mounting openings (26a, 26b) for mounting the mountable base (<NUM>); and
a pair of inserts (14a, 14b) received in the mountable base (<NUM>) and slidable relative thereto;
wherein the pair of inserts (14a, 14b) includes an insert rail (48a, 48b) and an insert guide (50a, 50b);
wherein the insert guide (50a, 50b) of the pair of inserts (14a, 14b) is attachable to the base rail (42a, 42b) of the mountable base (<NUM>) and the insert rail (48a, 48b) is attachable to the insert guide (50a, 50b) such that the insert is slidable relative to the mountable base (<NUM>) along attachments between the insert guide (50a, 50b) and the base rail (42a, 42b) and between the base guide (44a, 44b) and the insert rail (48a, 48b), wherein both of the insert guide (50a, 50b) and the base guide (44a, 44b) include retaining projections (46a, 46b, 52a, 52b) such that the insert guide (50a, 50b) and the base guide (44a, 44b) is snappable onto the respective base rail (42a, 42b) or insert rail (48a, 48b); and
wherein at least one of the pair of mounting openings (26a, 26b) is on the at least one insert such that, when the at least one insert (14a, 14b) is slid relative to the mountable base (<NUM>), a hole-to-hole distance between the pair of mounting openings (26a, 26b) is variably adjusted.