Method and system of an installer-friendly, modularly adaptable, electrical, outlet gang box

• US 6,558,190 B1
• Filed: 10/24/2000
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: WorldCom, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Pierson, Forrest L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrams, Neil
• Application Number:
  US09/695,124
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 439/535, 439/107, 439/397, 174/53
• US Class Current: 439/535
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2103/00 Two poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/76 with sockets, clips or analogous contacts and secured to apparatus or structure, e.g. to a wall
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 25/006 the coupling part being secured to apparatus or structure, e.g. duplex wall receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 31/08 Short-circuiting members for bridging contacts in a counterpart
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/2416 the contact members having insulation-cutting edges, e.g. of tuning fork type
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 9/226 comprising a plurality of conductive flat strips providing connection between wires or components H01R9/2425 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/086 Assembled boxes

Abstract

An electrical box including a hollow container defining an interior space, as well as neutral and hot exterior connectors mounted on an exterior surface of the container, and ground, neutral, hot, and alternate hot interior conductive members mounted on an interior surface of the container which define a single circuit of the electrical box. The exterior connectors receive electrical power from a multi-conductor electrical cable and transfer the power to an electrical unit connected to the internal conductive members without the multi-conductor electrical cable entering the interior space of the electrical box. The exterior connectors are preferably insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) and are mounted to exterior bus bars that contain high current screw holes that, for alternative use, also accept high current wire connectors used where the electrical power is higher than the current capacity of the IDCs. The conductive members are preferably rigid conductive fingers attached to interior bus bars such that contacts of the electrical unit mate with the electrical box when the unit is installed in the box. When a plurality of single circuits are included in an electrical box, conductive tabs are provided to transfer electrical power from the interior bus bars of one circuit to the interior bus bars of another circuit. Two or more electrical boxes may be ganged together by manufacturing the boxes adjacent to one another, removing common interior walls and overlapping mounting lips, and providing removable jumper tabs that span from one box to an adjacent box.

Claims

1. An electrical junction box adapted for use with an un-severed multi-conductor cable, comprising:

a container having an open end, an interior surface defining an interior space, and an exterior surface;

a plurality of conductive members mounted within said interior surface and adapted to be coupled to respective contacts of an electrical unit inserted into said opening;

a plurality of longitudinal bus bars mounted on said exterior surface and in electrical contact with respective of said conductive members, each of said bus bars corresponding to a wire of a multi-conductor cable;

a plurality of alternative bus bars mounted on said exterior surface, each of said alternative bus bars corresponding to and coupled to one of the longitudinal bus bars; and

a plurality of rows of insulation displacement connectors, each row of said insulation displacement connectors mounted along a corresponding one of said bus bars and arranged to receive a corresponding wire of said multi-conductor cable passing un-severed over said exterior surface of said electrical junction box.

2. The electrical junction box of claim 1, further comprising:

high current wire clamps mounted on said bus bars and configured to receive high current wires of said multi-conductor cable.

3. The electrical junction box of claim 1, wherein said insulation displacement connectors, bus bars, and conductive members define a circuit of said electrical junction box, and said electrical box further includes a plurality of said circuits.

4. The electrical junction box of claim 3, further comprising:

removable tabs mounted on said interior surface of said container and configured to electrically connect bus bars of one of said plurality of circuits to bus bars of another one of said plurality of circuits,

wherein electrical power connected to said one of said circuits is transferred to said other one of said circuits through said removable tabs, such that branch circuits may be routed from said electrical junction box.

5. The electrical junction box of claim 1, wherein said conductive members comprise rigid conductive fingers that protrude from said bus bars such that said contacts of said electrical unit mate with said conductive fingers when said electrical unit is mated with said electrical junction box.

6. The electrical junction box of claim 5, wherein said bus bars comprise neutral and hot bus bars, said contacts comprise neutral and hot contacts, and a conductive finger connected to said neutral bus bar is oriented in a first direction,

a conductive finger connected to said hot bus bar is oriented in a second direction, and

said conductive finger connected to said neutral bus bar mates with said neutral contact of said electrical unit configured to receive said conductive finger oriented in said first direction and said conductive finger connected to said hot bus bar mates with said hot contact of said electrical unit configured to receive said conductive finger oriented in said second direction when said electrical unit is mated with said electrical junction box.

7. The electrical junction box of claim 1, further comprising a cable clamp mounted on said exterior surface of said container and configured to clamp said multi-conductor cable to said container in order to relieve mechanical stress on said insulation displacement connectors when said wires of said multi-conductor cable are fixed to said insulation displacement connectors.

8. The electrical junction box of claim 7, further comprising a cover plate removably fastened to said exterior of said container and configured to cover said cable clamp and said wires of said multi-conductor cable fixed to said insulation displacement connectors.

9. The electrical junction box of claim 8, wherein said cover plate is configured such that said cover plate will not mount on said exterior of said container unless said wires of said multi-conductor cable are fixed to said insulation displacement connectors.

10. The electrical junction box of claim 1, wherein said container further comprises:

a seating lip positioned along a perimeter of said open end to define a seating perimeter defining an area larger than an area defined by said perimeter of said open end;

a fastening paddle rotatably mounted in said interior space of said container; and

a sidewall opening in said container positioned adjacent to said fastening paddle such that when said fastening paddle is rotated, a portion of said fastening paddle protrudes through said sidewall opening to an exterior of said container and opposing said seating lip,

wherein when said container is recessed in a wall opening having an area larger than said area defined by said opening perimeter and smaller than an area defined by said seating perimeter, said fastening paddles rotate to said protruding position so that said wall is fastened between said seating lip and said fastening paddle.

11. The electrical junction box of claim 1, further comprising:

alternative insulation displacement connectors mounted on said alternative bus bars and configured to receive corresponding wires of a multi-conductor cable; and

alternative conductive members mounted on said interior surface of said container and electrically connected to said alternative bus bars, said alternative conductive members being configured to connect to alternative contacts of said electrical unit.

12. The electrical junction box of claim 1, further comprising:

gang connections connected to said bus bars and configured to receive ends of conductive jumper tabs,

wherein when two electrical junction boxes are positioned adjacent to each other, said conductive jumper tabs are fastened from said gang connections of one of said electrical boxes to gang connections of the other of said electrical junction boxes, such that electrical power is transferred from said one of said electrical junction boxes to the other of said electrical junction boxes via said conductive jumper tabs.

13. The electrical junction box of claim 12, wherein said gang connections include gang screw holes, and

said conductive jumper tabs are fastened from gang screw holes of one of said electrical junction boxes to gang screw holes of the other of said electrical junction boxes.

14. An apparatus for use with an un-severed multi-conductor cable, comprising:

a container having an open end, an interior surface defining an interior space, and an exterior surface;

a plurality of conductive means mounted within said interior surface for coupling to respective contacts of an electrical device means inserted into said opening;

a plurality of primary bus bars for distributing electrical power mounted on said exterior surface and in electrical contact with respective of said conductive means, each of said primary bus bars corresponding to a wire of a multi-conductor cable;

a plurality of alternative bus bars for distributing electrical power mounted on said exterior surface, each of the alternative bus bars in electrical contact with a corresponding one of the primary bus bars; and

a plurality of means for connecting a corresponding primary bus bars to said wire of said multi-conductor cable through multiple places in insulation surrounding said wire, each of means for connecting mounted along said corresponding primary bus bar and arranged to receive said corresponding wire of said multi-conductor cable passing un-severed over said exterior surface of said apparatus.