Plug in raceway with socketless receptacle
AssigneeThe Wiremold Company
InventorsWilfred R. Rogers, Salvatore A. Cancellieri
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A raceway has extruded polymeric base and cover portions that snap together, and a socket defining segment of the cover can be located anywhere along the base to provide design flexibility for socket location. The base has elongated wire conductors molded into upstanding legs that define self-hinges for resiliently acting on the plug prongs when the plugs are pushed into slots defined by these leg portions. The plug prongs can be used to rotate a safety disk in the cover prior to pushing the prongs into the slots.
Claims36
In a raceway for use with an electrical male plug having at least two spaced prongs and a grounding plug stud, said raceway comprising an elongated raceway base of non conductive extruded plastic, said base including a back portion and elongated primary leg portions oriented generally parallel to one another said primary elongated leg portions integrally connected to said back portion along elongated resiliently flexible hinge lines, electrical conductors molded into said primary elongated leg portions and arranged between said hinge lines and the free ends of said leg portions, said conductors having elongated exposed segments projecting laterally of said primary leg portions and being spaced from one another so that said primary leg portions flex laterally to assure electrical contact between the plug prongs and said elongated electrical conductors, said elongated raceway base including entegrally formed secondary leg portions oriented parallel to one another and defining an elongated secondary slot between them for receiving the grounding plug stud of the male electrical plug, and an elongated electrical grounding conductor molded into at least one of said secondary leg portions, said electrical grounding conductor having an exposed segment projecting laterally into said secondary slot to provide electrical contact between the grounding plug stud and said elongated electrical grounding conductor.
In a raceway for use with an electrical male plug having at least two spaced prongs, said raceway comprising an elongated raceway base of non conductive extruded plastic, said base including a back portion and elongated primary leg portions oriented generally parallel to one another, said primary elongated leg portions integrally connected to said back portion along elongated resiliently flexible hinge lines, electrical conductors molded into said primary elongated leg portions and arranged between said hinge lines and the free ends of said leg portions, said conductors having elongated exposed segments projecting laterally of said primary leg portions and being spaced from one another so that said primary leg portions flex laterally to assure electrical contact between the plug prongs and said elongated electrical conductors, a cover segment for said base, said cover segment being generally U-shaped in cross-section with a cover segment web portion adapted to overlie the free ends of said primary leg portions, and said cover segment having cover segment side walls with portions that mate with said leg portions of said base, said cover segment web portion defining openings for receiving the male prongs of the plug, said cover segment further includes a moveable portion in said web portion thereof, said movable portion having a blocking position to prevent said openings from so receiving the prongs of the male plug.
In a raceway for use with an electrical male plug having at least two spaced prongs, said raceway comprising an elongated raceway base of non conductive extruded plastic, said base including a back portion and elongated primary leg portions oriented generally parallel to one another, said primary elongated leg portions integrally connected to said back portion along elongated resiliently flexible hinge lines, electrical conductors molded into said primary elongated leg portions and arranged between said hinge lines and the free ends of said leg portions, said conductors having elongated exposed segments projecting laterally of said primary leg portions and being spaced from one another so that said primary leg portions flex laterally to assure electrical contact between the plug prongs and said elongated electrical conductors, a cover segment for said base, said cover segment being generally U-shaped in cross-section with a cover segment web portion adapted to overlie the free ends of said primary leg portions, and said cover segment having cover segment side walls with portions that mate with said leg portions of said base, said cover segment web portion defining openings for receiving the male prongs of the plug, said base including elongated integrally formed secondary leg portions oriented parallel to one another and defining an elongated secondary slot between them for receiving a grounding plug stud of the male electrical plug, and an elongated electrical grounding conductor molded into at least one of said secondary leg portions, said electrical grounding conductor having an exposed segment projecting laterally into said secondary slot to provide electrical contact between the grounding plug stud and said elongated electrical grounding conductor.
In a raceway for use with an electrical male plug having at least two spaced prongs, said raceway comprising an elongated raceway base of non conductive extruded plastic, said base including a back portion and elongated primary leg portions oriented generally parallel to one another, said primary elongated leg portions integrally connected to said back portion along elongated resiliently flexible hinge lines, electrical conductors molded into said primary elongated leg portions and arranged between said hinge lines and the free ends of said leg portions, said conductors having elongated exposed segments projecting laterally of said primary leg portions and being spaced from one another so that said primary leg portions flex laterally to assure electrical contact between the plug prongs and said elongated electrical conductors, in the cover segment for said base, said cover segment being laterally U-shaped in cross-section with a cover segment web portion adapted to overlie the free ends of said primary leg portions, and said cover segment having cover segment side walls with portions that mate with said leg portions of said base, said cover segment web portion defining openings for receiving the male prongs of the plug, an extruded plastic cover for said base, said cover being generally U-shaped in cross section with a web portion adapted to overlie the free ends of said primary leg portions, and said extruded plastic cover including spaced sidewalls integrally connected to said web portion thereof, said sidewalls of said cover having free ends defining abutments that mate with abutments defined on said base in order to hold said cover and base in assembled relationship to one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.