Combination electrical box and mounting bracket assembly

• US 7,208,679 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2005
• Issued: 04/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Michael Phillips
• Original Assignee: Michael Phillips
• Inventors: Phillips, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, DHIRUBHAI R
• Application Number:
  US11/122,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20060237211A1
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 174/58, 174/60, 174/61, 174/135, 174/64, 220/3.2, 220/3.7, 220/3.9, 248/906, 248/343
• US Class Current: 174/58
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/126 with supporting means for mounting on a single wall stud
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/26 Installations of cables, lines, or separate protective tubing therefor directly on or in walls, ceilings, or floors by means of insulators H02G3/24; supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing F16L3/00; hose-clips F16L33/02
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/383 in floors

Abstract

A combination electrical box and mounting bracket assembly is provided which includes an electrical box and a mounting bracket attached to the electrical box. The mounting bracket is configured and dimensioned for enabling the mounting bracket to be secured to a truss joist, especially to a floor truss joist, such as a TGI floor I truss joist. The mounting bracket is contoured to resemble the shape of a portion of the floor truss joist at which the mounting bracket is secured to. The combination assembly significantly reduces the force applied to the electrical box by electrical equipment and/or devices connected to wires/cable received by the electrical box as compared to prior art mounting brackets by distributing the force to a larger surface area of the mounting bracket and truss joist.

Claims

1. A mounting bracket for mounting an electrical box to a structural element, said mounting bracket comprising:

a first weakened area and a second weakened area, wherein the first weakened area is adapted for enabling bending of the mounting bracket for defining an L-shaped mounting bracket, and further wherein the second weakened area is adapted for enabling further bending of the L-shaped mounting bracket for defining a lip portion, the lip portion being adapted to adjoin said electrical box to said mounting bracket, the L-shaped mounting bracket defining at least one hole for receiving at least one fastening member along an axis parallel to at least one of a plane of a vertical portion of the L-shaped mounting bracket and a horizontal portion of the L-shaped mounting bracket.

2. The mounting bracket according to claim 1, wherein the lip portion extends from an end of said horizontal portion of the L-shaped mounting bracket and in an opposite direction from said vertical portion of the L-shaped mounting bracket and substantially parallel to the vertical portion.

3. The mounting bracket according to claim 2, wherein the structural element is a TGI floor I truss joist, and wherein the horizontal and lip portions abut a beam of the truss joist and the vertical portion abuts a panel of the truss joist connecting two beams of the truss joist upon adhesively mounting the electrical box to the truss joist via the adhesive.

4. The mounting bracket according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive provided on a rear surface of said mounting bracket and covered by an adhesive backing member.

5. A method for mounting an electrical box to a structural element, comprising:

providing a mounting bracket having a first weakened area and a second weakened area;

bending the mounting bracket at the first weakened area for defining an L-shaped configuration;

bending the mounting bracket at the second weakened area for defining a lip portion, wherein the lip portion extends substantially perpendicularly from a horizontal portion of the L-shaped configuration;

adjoining the electrical box to the lip portion; and

attaching the mounting bracket to a portion of the structural element by providing at least one fastening member through at least one hole defined by the L-shaped configuration and along an axis parallel to at least one of a plane of a vertical portion of the L-shaped configuration and the horizontal portion of the L-shaped configuration.