ELECTRICAL OUTLET COVER PLATE WITH SIGNAGE FEATURE
First Claim
1. A sign, comprising:
- a cover plate adapted to be mounted to a wall near an electrical source, said cover plate having a wall mounting surface, an opposed outwardly facing plate surface, and a sign aperture extending from said wall mounting surface to said outwardly facing plate surface; and
a lens received in said sign aperture and protruding outwardly therefrom such that an outwardly facing lens surface is spaced outwardly from said outwardly facing plate surface, said lens having a visual indicia disposed on said outwardly facing lens surface,said lens comprising at least one of;
i) a photoluminescent material capable of absorbing photons and discharging the absorbed photons over a period of at least 10 minutes, and ii) a radioluminescent material.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sign is combined with an electrical outlet plate which can mount near or to existing electrical infrastructure to provide information such as direction toward an exit. A protruding and/or outwardly visible surface of the sign may be painted or adorned with a sign appliqué, and can be illuminated and/or photoluminescent to provide maximum visibility with or without electrical power. Advantageously, the sign can be mounted at electrical outlets and/or electrical switches that are near the floor and away from the ceiling, such that the sign remains visible even when lines of sight within a building are impaired, such as from smoke. In one exemplary embodiment, the sign is integrated into a portion of a standard-sized duplex cover plate, which can be mounted to an existing electrical junction box to preserve the functionality of adjacent electrical outlets or switches.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A sign, comprising:
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a cover plate adapted to be mounted to a wall near an electrical source, said cover plate having a wall mounting surface, an opposed outwardly facing plate surface, and a sign aperture extending from said wall mounting surface to said outwardly facing plate surface; and a lens received in said sign aperture and protruding outwardly therefrom such that an outwardly facing lens surface is spaced outwardly from said outwardly facing plate surface, said lens having a visual indicia disposed on said outwardly facing lens surface, said lens comprising at least one of;
i) a photoluminescent material capable of absorbing photons and discharging the absorbed photons over a period of at least 10 minutes, and ii) a radioluminescent material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A sign, comprising:
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an electrical cover plate having a wall mounting surface, an opposed outwardly facing plate surface, and a sign aperture extending from said wall mounting surface to said outwardly facing plate surface; a lens received in said sign aperture and protruding outwardly therefrom such that an outwardly facing lens surface is spaced outwardly from said outwardly facing plate surface, said lens defining an interior cavity opposed to said outwardly facing lens surface, said lens comprising at least one of;
i) a photoluminescent material capable of absorbing photons and discharging the absorbed photons over a period of at least 10 minutes, and ii) a radioluminescent material; anda light source operable to provide light to said lens, said light source disposed within said interior cavity. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method of installing a sign, the method comprising:
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removing an existing cover plate from an underlying electrical access point disposed at an interior wall of a building; removing an electrical apparatus from one of the existing cover plate and the underlying electrical access point, said step of removing an electrical apparatus creating an available space behind a cover plate aperture when the cover plate is mounted to the electrical access point; installing a lens over the cover plate aperture such that the lens faces outwardly through the cover plate aperture and away from a wall-contacting surface of the cover plate, and such that the lens at least partially occupies the available space behind the cover plate aperture; the lens comprising at least one of;
i) a photoluminescent material capable of absorbing photons and discharging the absorbed photons over a period of at least 10 minutes, and ii) a radioluminescent material; andreattaching the existing cover plate to the underlying electrical access point. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification