Brackets for mounting electrical wiring boxes to supporting structures
First Claim
1. A mounting bracket for mounting a box to a metal supporting structure and adapted to be attached to the supporting structure, said supporting structure having a first corner region and a second corner region adjacent to the first corner region, said mounting bracket comprising:
- a first portion adapted to be attached to a box and including embracing means generally conforming to the configuration of the first corner region of the supporting structure and adapted to embrace said first corner region in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure; and
a second portion connected with the first portion and adapted to be positioned against the supporting structure between the first and second corner regions of the supporting structure in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure, said second portion including deformable means capable of being deformed by a tool and arranged initially to extend past the second corner region of the supporting structure and, when deformed, to conform generally to the configuration of and embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure, and said second portion further having a tool-receiving opening therein adjacent to the deformable means, said tool-receiving opening being adapted to receive a tool whereby said tool may be used to deform the deformable means of the second portion to cause the deformable means to conform to and to embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure whereby the mounting bracket is caused to be attached to the supporting structure.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Metal mounting brackets for mounting electrical wiring boxes to studs. A metal mounting bracket in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention is basically Z-shaped and includes a first flat portion adapted to be attached to an electrical wiring box, a second flat portion generally normal to the first portion and including a pair of generally U-shaped stud-embracing members, and a third flat portion generally normal to the second portion and having a pair of spaced, initially-flat pair of tabs extending outwardly from an edge thereof, each of the tabs having a pair of stud-biting teeth extending therefrom. The third portion further has a pair of tool-receiving openings therein, each adjacent to a corresponding one of the tabs and arranged to receive a standard adjustable plier. In mounting a wiring box to a stud, for example, to a metal stud, the U-shaped members of the second portion of the bracket are first arranged by an installer to embrace a first corner region of the stud. The installer then uses the adjustable plier to bend the tabs associated with the third portion around a second curved corner region of the stud and to cause the teeth associated with the tabs to bite into the second corner region of the stud, thereby securely mounting the bracket and the attached wiring box to the stud.
A metal mounting bracket in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention is similar to the abovedescribed first embodiment but does not have stud-biting teeth associated with the tabs.
42 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A mounting bracket for mounting a box to a metal supporting structure and adapted to be attached to the supporting structure, said supporting structure having a first corner region and a second corner region adjacent to the first corner region, said mounting bracket comprising:
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a first portion adapted to be attached to a box and including embracing means generally conforming to the configuration of the first corner region of the supporting structure and adapted to embrace said first corner region in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure; and a second portion connected with the first portion and adapted to be positioned against the supporting structure between the first and second corner regions of the supporting structure in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure, said second portion including deformable means capable of being deformed by a tool and arranged initially to extend past the second corner region of the supporting structure and, when deformed, to conform generally to the configuration of and embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure, and said second portion further having a tool-receiving opening therein adjacent to the deformable means, said tool-receiving opening being adapted to receive a tool whereby said tool may be used to deform the deformable means of the second portion to cause the deformable means to conform to and to embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure whereby the mounting bracket is caused to be attached to the supporting structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A mounting bracket for mounting a box to a metal supporting structure and adapted to be attached to the supporting structure, said supporting structure having a first corner region and a second corner region adjacent to the first corner region, said mounting bracket comprising:
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a first portion adapted to be attached to a box and including embracing means generally conforming to the configuration of the first corner region of the supporting structure and adapted to embrace said first corner region in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure; and a second portion connected with the first portion and adapted to be positioned against the supporting structure between the first and second corner regions of the supporting structure in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure, said second portion including first and second deformable means capable of being deformed by a tool and arranged initially to extend past the second corner region of the supporting structure and, when deformed, to conform generally to the configuration of and embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure, and said second portion further having first and second tool-receiving openings therein adjacent to the first and second deformable means, respectively, said tool-receiving openings being adapted to receive a tool whereby said tool may be used to deform the first and second deformable means to cause the first and second deformable means to conform to and embrace the second corner region of the supporting structure whereby the mounting bracket is caused to be attached to the supporting structure. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A mounting bracket for mounting a box to a wood supporting structure and adapted to be attached to the wood supporting structure, said wood supporting structure having a first corner region and a second corner region adjacent to the first corner region, said mounting bracket comprising:
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a first portion adapted to be attached to a box and including tip means adapted to be positioned against the first corner region of the supporting structure in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure and capable of penetrating for essentially its entire length into the supporting structure; and a second portion connected with the first portion and adapted to be positioned against the supporting structure between the first and second corner regions of the supporting structure in preparation for attaching the mounting bracket to the supporting structure, said second portion including deformable means and teeth means connected with the deformable means, said deformable means being arranged initially to extend past the second corner region of the supporting structure and being capable of being deformed by a tool and said teeth means being capable of penetrating the supporting structure at the second corner region thereof for essentially its entire length when the deformable means has been deformed by the tool, and said second portion further having a tool-receiving opening therein adjacent to the deformable means, said tool-receiving opening being adapted to receive a tool whereby said tool may be used to deform simultaneously the deformable means of the second portion of the mounting bracket so as to cause the teeth means to penetrate into the supporting structure at the second corner region thereof and to cause the tip means of the first portion of the mounting bracket to penetrate into the supporting structure at the first corner region thereof, thereby to attach the mounting bracket to the supporting structure. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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Specification