Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/229,850 filed Jul. 30, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Electrical outlet boxes are often mounted in walls prior to completion of the wall structure. For example, an electrical outlet box may be mounted on a wall stud prior to drywall installation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary wall electrical assembly in which a supporting spacer may be used; 
         FIGS. 2A through 2D  illustrate attaching the supporting spacer of  FIG. 1  to an electrical outlet box; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are top and bottom perspective views of the supporting spacer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3C and 3D  are top and side views of the supporting spacer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3E  is an expanded side view of legs of the supporting spacer shown in  FIG. 3D ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for attaching the supporting spacer of  FIG. 1  to the electrical outlet box of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates configurations of the supporting spacer of  FIG. 1  in relation to a bottom plate of the electrical outlet box of  FIG. 1 , before and after the supporting spacer is attached to the electrical outlet box; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a result of attaching the supporting spacer to the electrical outlet box of  FIG. 1  and mounting the electrical outlet box to a wall stud. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. 
     As described herein, a supporting spacer may be attached conveniently to an electrical box without the use of any tools. The main function of the supporting spacer is to prevent the space between the electrical box and a wall from collapsing when a force is applied to the box, such as during receptacle or drywall installation. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary wall electrical assembly  100  in which a supporting spacer may be used. As shown, wall electrical assembly  100  may include drywall elements  102 - 1  and  102 - 2 , wall studs  104 - 1  and  104 - 2 , an electrical outlet box  106 , and a supporting spacer  108 . Depending on the implementation, wall electrical assembly  100  may include fewer, additional, or different components than those illustrated in  FIG. 1  (e.g., a wooden stud). In addition, although electrical box can be any box associated with electrical functions (e.g., a switch box, a gang box, etc.), for the purpose of simplicity and ease in understanding, the electrical box is described in terms of electrical outlet box. 
     Drywall elements  102 - 1  and  102 - 2  may provide partitioning of space for occupancy of a house or building. Wall studs  104 - 1  and  104 - 2  may include vertical members of a frame to which drywall elements  102 - 1  and  102 - 2  are affixed. Electrical outlet box  106  may provide an enclosure for electrical wiring. As shown, electrical outlet box  106  is attached to wall stud  104 - 2 . Supporting spacer  108  may extend from electrical outlet box  106  to the inner surface of drywall element  102 - 2 . Being substantially rigid, supporting spacer  108  may prevent electrical outlet box  106  from moving toward drywall element  102 - 2  when a force is (e.g., an accidental push) is applied to electrical outlet box  106  in the direction of arrow  110  in  FIG. 1 . This may also prevent box  106  from becoming detached from wall stud  106 - 2 , warped, or damaged. 
       FIGS. 2A through 2D  illustrate attaching supporting spacer  108  to electrical outlet box  106 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , supporting spacer  108  may include an upper body  202  and a lower body  204 . Upper body  202  may include a fastening tongue  206 , and lower body may include legs  208  and  210 . Supporting spacer  108  will be described below in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 3A-3E . Electrical outlet box  106  may include a back panel  212  in which fastening holes  214 - 1 ,  214 - 2 , and  214 - 3  are provided. 
     To attach supporting spacer  108  to back panel  212 , legs  208  and  210  of supporting spacer  108  may be inserted into fastening holes  214 - 2  and  214 - 3 , respectively, as illustrated in  FIG. 2B , by lowering supporting spacer  108  in the direction of arrow  216 . To insert fastening tongue  206  into fastening hole  214 - 1 , upper body  202  may lowered in the direction of arrow  218  without disengaging legs  208  and  210  from fastening holes  214 - 1  and  214 - 2 . In this manner, as shown in  FIG. 2C , supporting spacer  108  may be placed flat against back panel  212 . 
     Once supporting spacer  108  is placed on back panel  212  as shown in  FIG. 2C , supporting spacer  108  may be fastened to electrical outlet box  106  by raising or pivoting upper body  202  of supporting spacer  108  about a line AA (see  FIG. 2C ) in the direction of arrow  220 . When upper body  202  is being raised, fastening tongue  206  (which is not visible in  FIG. 2C  or  2 D), may rotate about line AA along with upper body  202 . 
       FIG. 2D  shows the result of raising upper body  202  of supporting spacer  108 . As shown, supporting spacer  108  is bent such that upper body  202  is perpendicular to back panel  212 . Moreover, in this position, fastening tongue  206  is positioned underneath and hugs the bottom surface of back panel  212 , affixing supporting spacer  108  to back panel  212  of electrical outlet box  106 . 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are, respectively, top and bottom perspective views of supporting spacer  108 .  FIGS. 3C and 3D  are, respectively, top and bottom views of supporting spacer  108 , with exemplary dimensions. In one implementation, supporting spacer  108  may be constructed from a single piece of shapeable material, such as steel, galvanized steel, aluminum, etc. Dimensions of supporting spacer  108  may vary, depending on its components (e.g., legs  208  and  210 ), material used, and the type of electrical box to which supporting spacer  108  may be attached, etc. For the purpose of simplicity, it is assumed that supporting spacer  108  is approximately 2.25 inches (in.) long, 1.7 in. wide, and 0.032 in. thick (2.25×1.7×0.032 in.) and, may be attached to an electrical outlet box of approximately 4×4×2 in. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3A-3D , supporting spacer  108  may include upper body  202 , necks  302 , and lower body  204 . Upper body  202  may be connected to necks  302 , and necks  302  may be connected to lower body  204 . The dimensions of upper body  202 , necks  302 , and lower body  204  are shown in  FIGS. 3C and 3D  as W U ×L U , (e.g., 1.44 in.×1.16 in), W N ×L N  (e.g., 0.91 in ×0.093 in), W L ×L L  (e.g., 1.72 in ×0.83 in), respectively. 
     Upper body  202  may include fins  304 - 1  and  304 - 2 , center body  306 , fastening tongue  206 , and a tongue connecting portion  308 . Fin  304 - 1  may be created from upper body  202  by folding or bending a left edge of upper body  202  along a line that runs lengthwise (e.g., on a line that runs parallel to a line A in  FIG. 3C ) within supporting spacer  108 . 
     Fin  304 - 1  may prop or buttress upper body  202  against forces that are applied to surfaces of body  306 , and may prevent upper body  202  from twisting or distorting. In addition, when supporting spacer  108  is attached to electrical outlet box  106  and a top edge of upper body  202  abuts wall  102 - 2  due to the force along arrow  110 , the top edge of fin  304 - 1  (indicated by an elliptical area  304 - 3 ) may aid in stabilizing supporting spacer  108  by providing additional contact surface. Fin  304 - 2  may be formed similarly and may serve a similar function as fin  304 - 1 .  FIG. 3D  shows the height of fins  304 - 1  and  304 - 2  as H F  (e.g., 0.167 in.). 
     Center body  306  may include a piece to which other components of upper body  202  are integrally connected. In some implementations, center body  306  may include a groove or an indentation (not shown) that may be formed via punching or molding. Such a feature may provide additional rigidity and strength to upper body  202 . 
     Fastening tongue  206  may include a portion of upper body  202  that extends from tongue connecting portion  308  in a direction that is normal to the surface of center body  306  when supporting spacer  108  is not yet attached to electrical outlet box  106 . In some implementations, fastening tongue  206  may be further bent toward center body  306  in the direction of an arrow  320  shown in  FIG. 3D , Such a configuration may aid fastening tongue  206  in gripping back panel  212  when upper body  202  is raised perpendicular to lower body  204  as shown in  FIG. 2D . The length of fastening tongue  206  is illustrated in  FIG. 3D  as H T  (e.g., 0.232 in.). 
     Tongue connecting portion  308  may extend from center body  306  and connect to fastening tongue  206 . In one implementation, the length of tongue connecting portion  308  (e.g., L T  in  FIG. 3D ) may be such that, when upper body  202  is raised with supporting in bar  108  in a position to be attached to electrical outlet box  106  (see  FIG. 2D ), the surface of fastening tongue  206  may contact the bottom surface of back panel  212  without causing substantial deformation of fastening tongue  206 , tongue connecting portion  308 , or back panel  212 . 
     Necks  302  may include a portion that connects upper body  202  and lower body  204 . Part of necks  302  may be formed by removing slivers of material from the edges of supporting spacer  108 , thus establishing recesses  310 - 1  and  310 - 2  between upper body  202  and lower body  204 . To complete the formation of necks  302 , additional material may be cut away from between necks  302 . The length of necks  302  (e.g., W N −W O  in  FIG. 3C ) may be such that when a force is applied to upper body  202  to raise upper body  202  as shown in  FIG. 2C , supporting spacer  108  bends at necks  302 . In some implementations, necks  302  may include a score line on either the front or the back of supporting spacer  108 . The score line is shown as the dotted portions of line C in  FIG. 3C . The score line may render bending upper body  202  perpendicularly relative to back panel  212  easier than it would be without the score line. 
     Lower body  204  may include belly  312 , a molded portion  314 , a U-shaped hole  316 , and legs  208  and  210 . Belly  312  may include a piece to which other components of lower body  204  and necks  302  are integrally connected. Molded portion  314  may run through the surfaces of belly  312  ( FIGS. 3A and 3B ), and may provide rigidity and/or strength to lower body  204 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , from the top view, molded portion  314  appears as a protuberance, and as shown in  FIG. 3B , from the bottom view, molded portion  314  appears as a groove. Although the shape of molded portion  314  is illustrated as part hexagon, depending on the implementation, molded portion  314  may be implemented in other shapes. 
     U-shaped hole  316  may be cut in belly  312  to form tongue connecting portion  308  and fastening tongue  206 . The cut may extend from one side of tongue connecting portion  308  and traverse around tongue  206 , and end at the other side of tongue connection portion  308 . In creating the cut, the dimensions of U-shaped hole  316  may be set at L O ×W O , as shown in  FIG. 3C  (e.g., 0.438 in ×0.47 in). L O  and W O  should be large enough to accommodate the creation of fastening tongue  206  and tongue connection portion  308 , which is shown as W T  wide (e.g., 0.22 in). U-shaped hole  316  and recesses  310 - 1  and  310  may reduce the strength of necks  302 , such that when a force is applied to upper body  202  of supporting spacer  108  in the direction of arrow  220 , supporting spacer  108  may bend at neck  302  as illustrated in  FIGS. 2C and 2D . 
     Each of legs  208  and  210  may extend lengthwise relative to supporting spacer  108 , from lower body  204 &#39;s edge that is parallel to the widthwise direction of supporting spacer  108 .  FIG. 3E  is an expanded side view of leg  208 / 210  in  FIG. 3D . As shown in  FIG. 3E , leg  208 / 210  may include a thigh  322  and lower leg  324 . 
     Thigh  322  may be attached, on one end, to lower body  204  in a direction perpendicular to the plane of supporting spacer  108  and in the same direction as fastening tongue  206 . On the other end, thigh  322  may be attached perpendicularly to lower leg  324 . In  FIG. 3E , the length of thigh  322  is shown as H H , which, in one implementation, may be set at about 0.08 in., and may correspond approximately to the thickness of back panel  212 . 
     Lower leg  324  may be attached substantially perpendicular to thigh  322 , in the direction away from the center of and substantially in the plane of supporting spacer  108 . In  FIG. 3E , the angle between thigh  322  and lower leg  324 , shown as X, may be slightly less than 90°, such that a gap H G  between the bottom surface of supporting spacer  108  and the end of lower leg  324  is less than the length of thigh  322 , H H , and, therefore, is also less than the thickness of back panel  212 . Consequently, when supporting spacer  108  is in the position illustrated in  FIG. 2D , the distal end of lower leg  324  may exert a gripping force against the bottom surface of back panel  212  and aid in attaching supporting spacer  108  to electrical outlet box  106 . The magnitude of the resulting, gripping force may depend on angle X, as well as the length of lower leg  324 , shown as L G  (e.g., 0.225 in) in  FIG. 3E . 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of an exemplary process  400  for attaching supporting spacer  108  to electrical outlet box  106 . Assume that electrical outlet box  106  has yet to be mounted on a wall stud. Process  400  may begin when legs  208  and  210  of supporting spacer  108  are inserted into fastening holes  214 - 2  and  214 - 3  at back panel  212  of an electrical outlet box  106  (block  402 ). To insert legs  208  and  210  into the fastening holes  214 - 2  and  214 - 3 , a user may hold supporting spacer  108  in a direction relatively and substantially normal to the surface of back panel  212  and slide legs  208  and  210  into fastening holes  214 - 2  and  214 - 3 , respectively, as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     Supporting spacer  108  may be placed flat against back panel  212  of electrical outlet box  106  (block  404 ). In placing supporting spacer  108  flat against back panel  212 , while legs  208  and  210  are engaged in fastening holes  214 - 2  and  214 - 3 , supporting spacer  108  may be rotated about lower body  204 &#39;s edge that touches back panel  212 , bringing fastening tongue  206  toward fastening hole  214 - 1  in back panel  212 . The rotation may stop when supporting spacer  108  is flat against the top surface of back panel  212 , and fastening tongue  206  protrudes beneath the bottom surface of back panel  212  (not shown). 
     Supporting spacer  108  may be bent at necks  302 , causing upper body  202  of supporting spacer  108  to be raised perpendicular to lower body  204  (block  406 ). To bend supporting spacer  108  that is placed flat against the top surface of back panel  212 , a force may be applied to lower body  204  to hold lower body  204  in place. As illustrated in  FIG. 2D , when another force is applied to upper body  202  in the direction of arrow  220  (e.g., by pushing upper body  202  at the edge that extends beyond the edge of electrical outlet box  106 ), supporting spacer  108  may bend about necks  302 . The user may stop bending supporting spacer  108  when upper body  202  is perpendicular to lower body  204 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates configurations of supporting spacer  108  in relation to bottom plate  212  of electrical outlet box  106  before and after supporting spacer  108  is attached to electrical outlet box  106 . As shown, upper body  202  and lower body  204  are placed flat against bottom plate  212  (see block  402 ). In this configuration, fastening tongue  206  extends from tongue connecting portion  308  into a fastening hole  214 - 1 . 
     When upper body  202  is raised in the direction of arrow  502  and placed in a position  504  shown in dotted lines, fastening tongue  206  and tongue connecting portion  308  may move in the direction of arrow  506 . Fastening tongue  206  and tongue connecting portion  308  may end in a position  508  shown in dotted lines. 
     In some implementations, because supporting spacer  108  is designed to be attached to electrical boxes with hands, edges of supporting spacer  108  may be rounded or smoothed to prevent supporting spacer  108  from accidentally cutting the hands. For example, the top corner edges of fins  304 - 1  and  304 - 2 , fastening tongue  206 , and legs  208  and  210  are illustrated in  FIGS. 3A-3D  as being round. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a result of attaching supporting spacer  108  to electrical outlet box  106  and mounting electrical outlet box  106  to wall stud  104 - 1  ( FIG. 1 ).  FIG. 6  is a side view of wall electrical assembly  100 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , wall stud  104 - 1  is located between drywall elements  102 - 1  and  102 - 2 . Further, the front edge of electrical outlet box  106 , which is mounted on wall stud  104 - 1 , is flush with the front edge of wall stud  104 - 1 . Supporting spacer  108 , which is attached to electrical outlet box  106  in accordance with process  400  and without use of any tools, is positioned and mounted between electrical outlet box  106  and drywall element  102 - 2 . Supporting spacer  108  may prevent the space between the electrical outlet box and a wall from collapsing when a force is applied to electrical utility box  106  in the direction of arrow  602 . 
     The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the teachings. For example, dimensions of the devices are provided for ease of understanding, but different implementations of supporting spacer  108  for different boxes may have different dimensions. Further, supporting spacer may be used not only for electrical boxes, but for other types of boxes that may be mounted on a wall. 
     In addition, while series of blocks have been described with regard to exemplary processes illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the order of the blocks may be modified in other implementations. In addition, non-dependent blocks may represent acts that can be performed in parallel to other blocks. 
     No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the implementations described herein unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Technology Category: 4