Electrical box mounting bracket

A bracket for mounting an electrical box on a wall stud, the electrical box being of the type having side walls, a rear wall, a front opening, and a pair of box mounting screws projecting forward from the box generally adjacent diagonally opposite corners of the front opening of the box, each screw having a screw head and a threaded shank, said bracket comprising:

• a sheet metal plate having front and rear faces and a large central opening therein having diagonally opposite corners,
• a fastening flap extending from one side of the plate for securement to a wall stud to mount the bracket on the stud in a position wherein the plate extends laterally from the stud at one side of the stud and lies in a generally vertical plane,
• a pair of screw opening formations in the plate generally adjacent said diagonally opposite corners of the central opening in the plate, each formation including a relatively narrow screw shank clearance slot having a width sufficient to receive the shank of a respective box mounting screw but insufficient to permit passage therethrough of said screw head,
• the plate being so configured that an electrical box is adapted to be moved to a first position in which the front of the box is closely adjacent the rear face of the plate and in which the heads of said box mounting screws are disposed forward of the front face of the plate, the box then being movable in a direction generally parallel to the plate from said first position to a second position in which the shanks of the screws are received in said screw shank clearance slots of respective screw opening formations and in which the front opening of the box is generally in register with the central opening in the plate, and
• at least one locking device formed as an integral part of the bracket movable relative to the bracket from a first position in which it is positioned on the bracket for enabling said box to be moved from its said first position to its said second position, to a second position in which it is positioned on the bracket for preventing movement of the box from its said second position back to its said first position thereby to lock the box in its said second position and to hold the box captive on the mounting bracket without the need to tighten the box mounting screws to bring the heads of the screws into clamping engagement with the front wall of the bracket,
• said locking device being engageable with the shank of one of said box mounting screws when the locking device is in its said second position and the box is in its said second position for preventing movement of the box back to its said first position.

A bracket for mounting an electrical box on a wall stud, the electrical box being of the type having side walls, a rear wall, a front opening, and a box mounting screw projecting forward from the box generally adjacent one of the four corners of the front opening of the box, the screw having a screw head and a threaded shank, said bracket comprising:

• a sheet metal plate portion having front and rear faces,
• a fastening flap extending from one side of the plate portion for securement to a wall stud to mount the bracket on the stud in a position wherein the plate portion extends laterally from the stud at one side of the stud and lies in a generally vertical plane,
• a screw opening formation in the plate portion, the formation including a relatively narrow screw shank clearance slot having a width sufficient to receive the shank of a respective box mounting screw but insufficient to permit passage therethrough of said screw head,
• the plate portion being so configured that an electrical box is adapted to be moved to a first position in which at least a portion of the front of the box is closely adjacent the rear face of the plate portion and in which the head of said box mounting screw is disposed forward of the front face of the plate portion, the box then being movable in a direction generally parallel to the plate portion from said first position to a second position in which the shank of the screw is received in said screw shank clearance slot of the screw opening formation, and
• a locking device formed as an integral part of the bracket movable relative to the bracket from a first position in which it is positioned on the bracket for enabling said box to be moved from its said first position to its said second position, to a second position in which it is positioned on the bracket for preventing movement of the box from its said second position back to its said first position thereby to lock the box in its said second position and to hold the box captive on the mounting bracket without the need to tighten the box mounting screw to bring the head of the screw into clamping engagement with the front wall of the bracket,
• said locking device being engageable with the shank of said box mounting screw when the locking device is in its said second position and the box is in its said second position for preventing movement of the box back to its said first position.