Surface accessible wiring system and assembly

A surface accessible raceway for accommodating conductors, the raceway being suitable for mounting on a structural wall having a wall finish layer of predetermined thickness covering the structural wall, the raceway including a channel, a cover securable to the front of the channel and means for securing the channel to the structural wall:

• the channel further comprising a base with upper and lower sides having a depth approximating the thickness of the wall finish layer so that the front of the channel is substantially flush with the surface of the wall finish layer, each of the sides having inwardly directed lips oriented parallel to the base, the channel also having a center partition extending parallel to the sides and dividing the channel into two compartments, each compartment being at least partially open on the front and having a height substantially greater than the depth of the compartment, with means being located at the front of each compartment for retaining conductors in the channel prior to securing the cover to the channel;
• the cover further comprising a flat planar plate having opposed stiff projections protruding from an inner surface of the flat planar plate adjacent the edges thereof, the stiff projections engaging the inwardly directed lips on the interior of the sides to secure the cover to the channel so that the raceway protrudes beyond the wall finish layer to a distance no greater than the thickness of the flat planar member, wherein the means for retaining conductors in the channel prior to securing the cover to the channel comprises flexible conductor retainer guides insertable in each compartment, the lower end of each flexible conductor retainer guide being held in its associated compartment and the upper end of each flexible conductor retainer guide initially extending beyond the front of the associated compartment so that the conductors can be laid into associated compartments, the upper end of each flexible conductor retainer guide being insertable into the associated compartment after the conductors are laid in the proper compartment.

An enclosure comprising a channel of a given axial length having a transverse base with upstanding sides extending along said given length and terminated by lips directly inwardly parallel to said base, each lip including a rounded surface of a given radius, a further mating element adapted to be snap-fitted to said channel to form said enclosure, said mating element including an interior surface at each side thereof and there adjacent a pair of stiff projections, one for each side extending along the length thereof with each projection including a concave surface of a radius adapted to receive in mating engagement the said rounded surface of each lip, said further element being loaded in compression and said upstanding sides of said mating element being loaded in bending when the further element is mated with the upstanding sides of the transverse base, the length of said upstanding sides being substantially less than the height of said mating element so that the upstanding sides remain relatively inflexible so that said further element is tightly secured to the base, said further mating element being snap fittable between said upstanding sides by hand applied pressure and said further element being removable only upon the application of a force applied by a tool having a lever arm, wherein said channel includes a further surface interiorly thereof projecting to engage a surface of the said projection of said further element to permit said further element to be loosely attached to said channel in a position at an angle to the plane of the base thereof whereby to permit inspection of the interior of said channel while said further element is loosely attached thereof.