Patent ID: 7617988

Claim:
A thermostat arrangement adapted for mounting on a wall surface of a controlled space, comprising: a thermostat having a front cover and a back plate adapted to be mounted onto said wall surface, with the back plate and the cover defining a cavity within which are contained control circuitry, and contacts which are adapted to receive two or more thermostat wires that protrude through a penetration of said wall; the back plate including fastener holes adapted for receiving attaching means to mount the thermostat on said wall surface over said penetration, and a thermostat wire opening adapted to receive said two or more thermostat wires that protrude from said penetration in said wall; and a wall plate member adapted to be installed against the wall surface and between said wall surface and the back plate of said thermostat, the wall plate member having a small wire passage aligned with said penetration and through which said thermostat wires are passed, the wall plate member, at the location of said passage, being formed of a material capable of closing over said wires, and said wall plate member including barrier means serving as a barrier to direct air flowing out the penetration in said wall away from the cavity of said thermostat; said wall plate member further including a thermal barrier to block thermal contact between the back plate of the thermostat and said wall surface; wherein said wall plate member includes a front rigid wall plate, and said thermal barrier includes a sheet of closed cell foam fitted onto a wall-facing side of said front rigid wall plate to contact the wall surface; and wherein said front rigid wall plate has a generally rectangular recess on its wall facing side, and said sheet of closed cell foam is fitted into said recess; wherein said front rigid wall plate has a peripheral edge, and a ridge on the wall-facing side thereof proceeding in a generally closed rectangular shape and defining a said generally rectangular recess as a central portion within the closed rectangular shape and a margin portion between the rectangular shape and the peripheral edge; and said sheet of closed cell foam is affixed within said central portion.