Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to installing devices, in particular electrical devices, alongside trunking projecting from a wall and housing and projecting conductors or other lines connected to such devices. 
     Here, and in the usual way, the term “trunking” refers to a duct comprising a base section which is attached to the wall concerned and has an open cross section and a cover section which is attached to the base section, for example clipped to it, to close it. 
     The present invention is aimed more particularly at the situation in which a device is installed alongside trunking by means of a box including, on the one hand, a body which is attached to the wall, houses the device and has an opening along its side adjoining the trunking, and, on the other hand, a canopy which extends from the body, is in corresponding relationship to the opening therein, and is designed to cover the trunking locally, transversely to its length, to be more precise to extend in practice over the base section of the trunking, between two lengths of cover section. 
     One problem to be overcome when manufacturing a box of the above kind is that trunking is available with different widths or heights. 
     French patent No. 2 595 513, filed as application number 86 03334 on Mar. 10, 1986, proposes to overcome this difficulty by separating the canopy from the body and engaging it in the body to a greater or lesser extent, according to the width or height of the trunking. 
     However, to prevent any surplus length of the canopy inside the body from interfering with other components present therein, it is necessary to cut off the excess length, which entails cutting the canopy beforehand, which complicates installation. 
     In published European patent No. 0 633 639, the canopy is removable from the body, so that a canopy suitable for one trunking width or height can be replaced by another canopy suitable for a different trunking width or height. 
     However, this leads to costly manufacture of a multiplicity of canopies, which is detrimental from the cost point of view. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A general object of the present invention is to avoid the above drawbacks. 
     To be more precise, the present invention provides a box for a device to be disposed alongside trunking projecting from a wall, of the kind including, on the one hand, a body which is adapted to be attached to the wall and to accommodate the device concerned and has an opening along its side at which it adjoins the trunking and, on the other hand, a transverse canopy extending from the body, in corresponding relationship to the opening therein, and adapted to cover the trunking locally, characterized in that the canopy is formed of at least two separate parts which are staggered lengthwise over the width or height of the trunking, namely, starting from the body, a fixed part which is fastened to the body and at least one mobile part which is inter-engaged with the fixed part and adjustable in position relative to it. 
     Accordingly, it is sufficient to adjust the position of the mobile part of the canopy relative to its fixed part to adapt the length of the canopy to the width or height of the trunking to be covered. 
     This being the case, any surplus length of the mobile part of the canopy is advantageously absorbed by its fixed part, rather than projecting into the body, and therefore without interfering in any way with other components present therein. 
     The mobile part of the canopy preferably occupies one or other of two particular positions relative to its fixed part, those positions being chosen to correspond to the most usual trunking widths or heights likely to be encountered. 
     This advantageously avoids any fumbling when locating the fixed and mobile parts of the canopy relative to each other. 
     What is more, this has the advantage that they are neatly located, which has esthetic benefits. 
     To materialize the various positions of the mobile part, means are preferably provided for positively locating the fixed and mobile parts of the canopy. 
     The locating means are advantageously nesting means, which is beneficial from the point of view of retaining the mobile part of the canopy relative to its fixed part. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features and advantages of the invention will emerge further from the following description, which is given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box according to the invention, 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the box, 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view to a larger scale of The fixed part of the canopy of the box, seen from below, in the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 2, and 
     FIG. 4, which corresponds to FIG.  3  and is to the same scale as FIG. 3, is a perspective view of the mobile part of the canopy, seen from below, in the direction of the arrow IV in FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in the figures, and in a manner that is known in the art, the overall aim is to use a box  11  to install a device, not shown, alongside trunking  10  projecting from a wall, also not shown. 
     Although it is not in itself relevant to the present invention, the trunking  10  is shown diagrammatically in dashed outline in FIG.  1 . 
     In the embodiment shown, and in a manner that is known in the art, it includes a base section  12  which is attached to the wall and has an open cross section and a cover section  13  which is attached to the base section  12 , for example clipped to it, to close it. 
     The box  11  is located between two lengths  13 ′ of the cover section  13 . 
     In a manner that is known in the art, it includes a body  14  which is attached to the wall alongside the trunking  10  to accommodate the device concerned, more particularly the mechanism of that device, and which has an opening  15  along the side adjoining the trunking  10 . A canopy  16  extends from the body  14 , in corresponding relationship to the opening  15  therein (in practice in corresponding relationship to only the upper part of the opening  15 ), to cover the trunking  10  locally. The canopy extends transversely to the trunking  10 , in practice extending over the base section  12  between the two lengths  13 ′ of the cover section  13 . 
     The body  14  of the box  11  has a lateral wall  18  and a front wall  19 . 
     In the embodiment shown, the lateral wall  18  is the shape of a truncated pyramid, for example, and the front wall  19  has an opening  20  in its central area through which a portion of the device concerned that is accessible to the user passes. 
     As shown here, for example, the lateral wall  18  and the front wall  19  are in one piece, forming a single generally bell-shaped component. 
     They can instead be parts of separate components, however. 
     The corresponding arrangements are well known in the art in themselves and are not relevant to the present invention. For this reason they are not described here. 
     In the embodiment shown, and in a manner that is not relevant to the present invention either, and therefore not further described here, the box  11  is completed by a plate  22  for attaching it and its contents to the wall and which incorporates four projecting columns  23  and by a device support  24  which is designed to receive the mechanism of the device concerned and adapted to be clipped onto the columns  23  on the plate  22 , the resulting assembly being capped and covered by the body  14 . 
     In accordance with the invention, the canopy  16  has at least two separate parts  16 A,  16 B which are staggered in the lengthwise direction across the width or height of the trunking  10 , namely, starting from the body  14 , a fixed part  16 A which is fastened to the body  14  and at least one mobile part  16 B which is inter-engaged with the fixed part  16 A and adjustable in position relative to it. 
     In practice, the canopy  16  has only one mobile part  16 B in the embodiment shown. 
     In the embodiment shown in continuous outline in FIGS. 1 and 2 and shown diagrammatically in dashed outline in FIG. 3, which is the preferred embodiment of the invention, the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  is separate from the body  14  of the box  11  and attached to the body  14 . 
     For example, the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  is removable so that the canopy  16  can, if required, be replaced with a blanking plate for blanking off the opening  15  in the body  14 . 
     The corresponding arrangements are well known in the art in themselves and are not relevant to the present invention. For this reason they are not described here. 
     Alternatively, the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  can be in one piece with the body  14 , if required, forming a single component with at least the portion thereof in which the opening  15  is formed, in this instance its lateral wall  18 . 
     In either case, the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  has a front wall  26 A and two lateral walls  27 A in the embodiments shown. 
     The front part  26 A is in line with the top part of the opening  15  in the body  14  and the lateral walls  27 A extend over only a fraction of the height of the opening  15 , leaving a passage to the trunking  10  below them. 
     The total length of the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16 , as measured from the body  14 , is preferably chosen to correspond substantially to the minimum width or height of the trunking  10  likely to be encountered, being slightly less than that minimum width or height, allowing for the associated mobile part  16 B. 
     In the embodiments shown, the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  is engaged in its fixed part  16 A. 
     Like the latter, it has a front wall  26 B and two lateral walls  27 B, but it is completed by a front wall  28  which is extended beyond the lateral walls  27 B to cover the base section  12  of the trunking  10  laterally. 
     The front wall  26 B of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  engages under the front wall  26 A of the fixed part  16 A and is substantially in contact with it and its lateral walls  27 B engage between the lateral walls  27 A of the fixed part  16 A and are substantially in contact with them. 
     In the embodiments shown, the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  can occupy any of a number of clearly defined positions relative to its fixed part  16 A. 
     To this end, and as is the case in these embodiments, locating means  30  are preferably provided for the fixed part  16 A and the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16 . 
     As shown here, for example, the locating means  30  take the form of nesting means. 
     To be more precise, in the embodiments shown, the locating means  30  include at least one transverse rib  31  projecting from either part  16 A or  16 B of the canopy  16  and at least one transverse groove  32  in the other of the parts  16 A and  16 B and whose profile in cross section is at least partly complementary to that of the previously mentioned rib  31 . 
     In the embodiments shown, the rib  31  is part of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  and extends over at least a portion of its transverse profile and the groove  32  is part of the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  and extends over at least a portion of its transverse profile in corresponding relationship to the rib  31  on the mobile parts  16 B. 
     In practice, the rib  31  projects from the outside surface of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  and the groove  32  is in the inside surface of its fixed part  16 A. 
     In the embodiments shown, the rib  31  extends over the whole of the transverse profile of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16 , continuously with its front wall  26 B, and over all of its width, and with its lateral walls  27 B, and over all of their height, and the groove  32  extends over the whole of the transverse profile of the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16 , continuously with its front wall  26 A, and over the whole of the width thereof, and with its lateral walls  27 A, and over the whole of their height. 
     In practice, the rib  31  is in the vicinity of the free edge of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  and the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  includes a plurality of spaced staggered grooves  32  along its length. 
     Finally, in the embodiments shown, the rib  31  on the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  and the groove  32  on the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16  each have a rectangular profile in cross section. 
     Also, in the embodiments shown, and as can be seen in FIG. 4, the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  has internal ribs  34  projecting from its front wall  28  for clipping it onto the base section  12  of the trunking  10 . 
     It further includes thinner portions  35  which extend from its lateral walls  27 B in the corner area of the front wall  28 , for reasons that will become apparent hereinafter. 
     At assembly time, the rib  31  on the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  is nested in one or other of the grooves  32  on the fixed part  16 A of the canopy  16 , by means of a movement in translation substantially perpendicular to its front wall  26 B, as shown by the arrow F in FIG.  4 . 
     Of course, the groove  32  on the fixed part  16 A in which it nests is chosen to suit the width or height of the trunking  10  to be covered. 
     As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, the front wall  28  of the mobile part  16 B of the canopy  16  is then pressed substantially laterally against the base section  12  of the trunking  10 , continuously with the length  13 ′ of its cover section  13 , and its thinner portion  35  covers the latter. 
     Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, and encompasses any variant execution thereof. 
     In particular, the number of parts of the canopy can be greater than two and the ribs and grooves can be interchanged between the parts. 
     Retaining the mobile part(s) of the canopy by means of a simple telescopic assembly of the various parts of the canopy is also within the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: h