Floor-mounted electrical box for floor electrical installation and assembly including such a floor-mounted electrical box and floor electrical installation

Abstract

The invention relates to a floor-mounted recessed box comprising a flat base (110) to be fixed to the floor and a side enclosure (120, 130) which borders said flat base on its front face (110A). The flat base and the side enclosure define an interior compartment open at the front. The side enclosure is provided, at at least two opposite points on its inner face facing the center of said interior compartment, with two rack elements (125) whose notches (126) are staggered along an axis (X) perpendicular to said flat base. According to the invention, each rack element is separate from said side enclosure and is movablely attached to a receiving means (123) of said side enclosure. The rack element and said receiving means comprise locking means (127, 123E, 123F) which cooperate to lock said rack element at two different heights along said perpendicular axis.

Description

Title of the invention: Recessed floor box for electrical floor box and assembly comprising such a recessed box and an electrical floor box

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of electrical floor boxes and, more particularly, to the field of recessed boxes intended to be embedded in a concrete screed.

[0002] It relates to a floor-mounted box comprising a flat base to be fixed to the floor and a side enclosure which borders said flat base on the side of its front face, the flat base and the side enclosure delimiting an interior housing open at the front, the side enclosure being provided at at least two opposite places on its inner face turned towards the center of said interior housing, with two rack elements whose notches are staggered along an axis perpendicular to said flat base.

[0003] Current floor recessed boxes allow the mounting of electrical floor boxes in a recessed floor, formed by a raw concrete screed covered with a finishing coating, the thickness of which varies between 65mm and 117mm.

[0004] A floor box is already known from document EP0589979. This box comprises a housing to be anchored in a floor panel and a cover to be fitted onto the housing such that its perimeter rests on the floor covering over the floor panel. According to this document, the housing has, on the inner face of two parallel side panels, series of fixed notches, staggered in height, and the cover frame has ratchet means adapted to cooperate with said notches to be mounted at different heights or depths in the housing in order to adjust the position of the cover frame to different thicknesses of floor covering.

[0005] However, in this floor box, the adjustment capacity of the cover frame is limited by the position of the notches on the side panels of the housing.

[0006] Compared to the aforementioned prior art, the present invention proposes a new floor recess box that is easy to use, the adjustment capacity of which for a cover or installation frame attached to it is increased and which can be integrated into a recess floor with a thickness greater than 117mm while allowing the cover or installation frame to be mounted so that it rests perfectly on the floor covering.

[0007] More particularly, the invention proposes a floor-mounted box as defined in the introduction, characterized in that each rack element is separate from said side enclosure and is movablely attached to a receiving means for said side enclosure, the rack element and said receiving means comprising locking means which cooperate with each other to lock said rack element at two different heights along said perpendicular axis.

[0008] Other features of the floor-mounted box according to the invention are as follows:

[0009] - the receiving means is a slide into which the element of rack, said slide having in a lateral rim two notches located at two different heights, adapted to accommodate a locking finger belonging to said rack element;

[0010] - the locking finger is integral with a flexible part of the rack element allowing the elastic movement of said locking finger to extract it and engage it in each notch of the lateral edge of the slide;

[0011] - at least one slot is provided in the rack element to make it flexible a part of the rack element linked to said locking finger;

[0012] - the side enclosure has four corners, two opposite in pair, each corner being equipped with a rack element;

[0013] - each corner of the side enclosure has a slide with a profile in V with two sides at right angles and two lateral edges bordering said sides, one of said lateral edges having said two notches, and each rack element is an angle element whose V profile corresponds to the profile of each slide and whose two right-angled internal faces bear said notches, said locking finger protruding from a vertical edge of said angle element;

[0014] - each corner is a one-piece molded piece of plastic material fixed to the bottom flat ;

[0015] - each corner comprises a vertical wall forming a right angle which, in part upper, connects continuously to a horizontal platform extending towards the inside of the corner, said corner being laterally delimited by two lateral slices each formed by a lateral slice of the vertical part extended by a lateral slice of the horizontal platform, said horizontal platform extending to the back of the slide which opens towards the center of said internal housing of the recessed box and which extends vertically in length so that a part of the back of the slide extends opposite the internal face of said vertical part, parallel to it and another part of the back of the slide rises above said horizontal platform perpendicular to it;

[0016] - the two lateral edges of the slide extend lengthwise perpendicularly to said horizontal platform and parallel to said vertical wall of the corresponding corner, these lateral edges being located at the level of the two lateral edges of the corner, each lateral edge has two parallel longitudinal faces, a internal longitudinal face turned towards said notches and an opposite external longitudinal face, as well as a free edge extending between said longitudinal faces in which the two notches are formed, said external longitudinal face of each lateral rim extending in the same plane as the corresponding lateral edge of the corner;

[0017] - the side enclosure comprises four side walls connected to each other by the corners to delimit an internal parallelepiped housing, the said side walls being separate pieces attached in a peripheral mounting groove provided on the front face of said flat bottom and linked to each other by said corners, also attached in the peripheral groove, by means of complementary assembly means;

[0018] - each side wall is a single piece molded from plastic material;

[0019] - the flat bottom is formed by a solid plate;

[0020] - the flat bottom is formed by a flat frame; and

[0021] - it comprises a hood including a front wall bordered by a side wall attached to the side enclosure so that the front wall closes the front opening of said interior housing, the side wall of the hood and the side enclosure having free edges positioned edge to edge so that the hood forms a lost formwork to be extracted from a screed poured around the floor recess box;

[0022] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a recessed box as above and an installation frame for a floor box to be fixed to the side enclosure of said recessed box, said installation frame being equipped with rack elements whose notches are adapted to cooperate with the notches of the rack elements of the floor recessed box.

[0023] The following description with regard to the attached drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be carried out.

[0024] On the attached drawings:

[0025] [Fig-1] is a perspective view of an embodiment of a floor-mounted box according to the invention,

[0026] [Fig.2] is an exploded view of [Fig.1],

[0027] [Fig.3] is a top view of the floor box of [Fig.1] without the cover,

[0028] [Fig.4] is a perspective view of the floor-mounted box of [Fig.1], without the hood, with the rack elements locked at a first height on the side enclosure,

[0029] [Fig.5] is a magnifying view of detail I of [Fig.4],

[0030] [Fig.6] is a perspective view of the floor-mounted box of [Fig.1], without the hood, with the rack elements locked at a second height on the side enclosure,

[0031] [Fig.7] is a magnifying view of detail I of [Fig.6],

[0032] [Fig.8] is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the installation frame of a box floor mounted in the recessed box according to the invention in the configuration of [Fig.4],

[0033] [Fig.9] is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the installation frame of a box floor mounted in the recessed box according to the invention in the configuration of [Fig.6],

[0034] [Fig. 10] is a perspective view of the outside side of a corner of the side enclosure of the floor recess box in the configuration of [Fig. 4],

[0035] [Fig. 11] is a perspective view of the inside side of the corner of [Fig. 10], and

[0036] [Fig. 12] is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the assembly according to the invention.

[0037] In the following description, the terms front and rear will be defined with respect to the user's perspective, the front of an element of the invention being oriented towards the user while the rear of that element is oriented away from the user. Similarly, the terms inside or internal and outside or external will be defined with respect to the center of the internal housing of the floor-mounted box according to the invention, the inside or internal side of an element of the invention being oriented towards the center of said internal housing while the outside or external side of that element is oriented away from that center.

[0038] Figures 1 to 4 and 6 show a preferred embodiment of a floor box 10 to be embedded in a screed poured on a floor.

[0039] This floor-mounted box 10 includes a base 100 and a cover 200 attached to the base 100.

[0040] The base 100 is intended to be fixed to the ground. It comprises a flat bottom 110 and a lateral enclosure 120, 130 which define an internal housing L with center O, open at the front.

[0041] The base 100 is made of several assembled parts.

[0042] According to the example shown, the flat bottom 110 is a solid plate with a square contour 110C. The contour of the solid plate may be rectangular. The flat bottom 110 has a front face 110A and an opposite rear face 110B for resting on the ground. The flat bottom 110 has, at its four corners, four flat protrusions 111 with oblong openings 111A for anchoring elements (not shown), such as screws or nails (installed using a nail gun), to be passed through and anchored in the ground for fixing the flat bottom 110 to the ground.

[0043] According to an unrepresented variant, the flat bottom can be provided to be a flat frame formed by strips assembled together.

[0044] It can also be provided, according to another unrepresented embodiment, that, unlike a solid plate or a flat frame, the flat bottom is formed solely by surfaces in contact with the ground such as pads or feet supporting said base.

[0045] According to the example shown in the various figures, the flat bottom 110 has on its front face 110A, along its square contour 110C, a peripheral groove 112, defined between two parallel ribs 112A, 112B, an external rib 112A whose external face forms said square contour HOC, and an internal rib 112B. The internal rib 112B has, on each of its four sides, three rounded bulges 112C, regularly distributed along the length of said side, which form, on the side of said groove 112, three recesses 112C with a rounded bottom. In addition, the front face 110A of the flat bottom 110 has two attachment tabs 113 on either side of each corner. Each attachment tab 113 is provided in the external rib 112A; it rises perpendicularly to said front face 110A and has on an internal face, near its free end, a hooking tooth 113A.Therefore, at both ends on each side of said external rib 112A, two attachment lugs 113 are provided, the inner face of which, turned towards the center O of the flat bottom 110, carries said attachment tooth 113A.

[0046] The flat bottom 110 is advantageously here a one-piece part made of molded thermoplastic material such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

[0047] According to the embodiment of the base 100 shown more particularly in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 6, the side enclosure 120, 130 comprises four side walls 130 connected to each other by four corners 120 arranged in pairs opposite each other. The side enclosure 120, 130 and the flat bottom 110 thus define a parallelepiped-shaped internal compartment L with center O. The side walls 130 and the corners 120 are separate parts fitted into the peripheral groove 112 provided on the front face 110A of said flat bottom 110. Each corner 120 is connected to two adjacent side walls 130 by means of complementary assembly means. Thus, the side walls 130 are connected to each other by said corners 120 to form said rigid side enclosure which laterally defines the parallelepiped-shaped internal compartment L. The corners 120 are also fixed to the flat bottom 110 to secure the side enclosure 120, 130 to the flat bottom 110.

[0048] Each side wall 130 is also advantageously a one-piece unit made of molded thermoplastic material such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

[0049] As shown in Figures 2, 4 and 6, each side wall 130 is in the form of a right-angled angle with two longitudinal flanges 131, 132. One of the The two longitudinal wings form a vertical panel 131, and the other longitudinal wing forms a horizontal panel 132. The horizontal panel 132 has a vertical return 133. The lower free edge 13 IC of each side wall 130 (formed by the lower free edge 13 IC of the vertical panel 131) is inserted into one side of the groove 112 of the flat bottom 110 so that the vertical panel 131 rises perpendicularly to the front face 110A of said flat bottom 110. The inner face 13 IB of each vertical panel 131 of each side wall 130 has three projecting vertical centering columns 138 extending the height of said vertical panel 131. Two vertical columns 138 are provided at the two ends of said vertical panel 131, and one vertical column 138 is located in the center of said vertical panel 131.When the lower free edge 13 IC of each side wall 130 is inserted into the corresponding side of the groove 112 of said flat bottom 110, the three vertical columns 138 of the corresponding vertical panel 131 engage in the recesses 112C of the internal rib 112B to center the vertical panel 131 along the corresponding side of said groove 112.

[0050] As shown more particularly in Figures 4 and 5, each side wall 130 has, at each end, a cover strip 134 which follows the angle-shaped profile of said side wall 130. Each cover strip 134 forms a step so that the inner face 134B of each cover strip 134 is recessed from the inner face of the side wall 130.When the side walls 130 and the corners 120 of the side enclosure are placed in the groove 112 of the flat base 110, the inner face 134B of each cover strip 134 of each side wall 130 covers a part of the outer face of each corner 120 located at each end of said side wall 130 so that the upper free edges 133C of said side walls 130 are in continuity with the upper free edges 120C of said corners 120 to form the upper free edge of the side enclosure 130, 120 which delimits the front opening of the inner housing L of the base 100 of the floor recess box 10 (see in particular [Fig.3]).

[0051] As illustrated in the various figures, the additional assembly means between the corners 120 and the side walls 130 of the side enclosure are snap-fit ​​means. Attachment means are also provided between the flat base 110 and the corners 120; these means cooperate to secure or fix the side enclosure 120, 130 to the flat base 110.

[0052] As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 6, the outer face of each cover strip 134 of each side wall 130, and more particularly the horizontal portion of the outer face of each cover strip 134, has a stud 135 with a hooking edge 135A. Each corner 120 has a horizontal outer face 122A which has two snap-on tabs 124, each equipped of a ratcheting tooth 124A. The two ratcheting tabs 124 of each corner 120 are arranged respectively along the two lateral edges 120A of the corner 120 oriented at right angles (see Figures 10 and 11). Each ratcheting tab 124 rises perpendicularly to the horizontal outer face 122A of the corner 120 and carries the ratcheting tooth 124A on a face turned towards the corresponding lateral edge 120A of the corner 120. The two ratcheting tabs 124 of each corner 120 are therefore oriented at 90 degrees to each other. The ratchet teeth 124A of the ratchet lugs 124 of each corner 120 hook onto the hook edges 135A of two hook edges 135 of two adjacent side walls 130 so that each corner 120 connects the two adjacent side walls 130 together (see especially figures 8 and 9).

[0053] In addition, each corner 120 has, in two right-angled sections of the outer face 121A of a vertical wall 121 forming a right angle, two recesses 121D forming two horizontal edges 121E (see Figures 10 and 11). This vertical wall 121 has a lower free edge 12IC inserted into a corner portion of the groove 112 of the flat bottom 110 so that the two right-angled sections of the vertical wall 121 of the corner 120 rise perpendicularly to the front face 110A of the flat bottom 110.Each horizontal rim 121E formed in the outer face 121A of said vertical wall 121 is positioned at a determined distance from said lower free edge 121C so that when the latter is inserted into said groove 112, the hooking teeth 113A of two hooking tabs 113 of the flat bottom 110, arranged on either side of a corner thereof, hook respectively onto said horizontal rims 121E of the corner 120 to secure it to said flat bottom 110 (see figures 6, 8 and 9).

[0054] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the vertical panel 131 of each side wall 130 of the side enclosure has a plurality of cutouts 131D that open onto the outer face 131A and inner face 131B of said vertical panel 131. These cutouts 131D define removable circular portions A to create openings for one end of cable trays positioned on the floor. Each side wall 130 has a plurality of triangular reinforcements 136 attached to the outer faces 132A, 133A of the horizontal panel 132 and the vertical return 133. These reinforcements 136 are regularly distributed along the entire length of the side wall 130.

[0055] According to an advantageous feature of the floor-mounted box 10, the side enclosure 120, 130 is provided at at least two opposite places on its inner face facing the center O of the inner housing L, with two rack elements 125 whose notches 126 are stepped along an axis X perpendicular to said flat bottom 110 (the axis X is perpendicular to the front face 110A of the flat bottom 110).

[0056] Remarkably, as shown more particularly in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, each rack element 125 is separate from said side enclosure 120, 130 and is reported in a movable manner in a receiving means 123 of said side enclosure 120, 130, the rack element 125 and said receiving means 123 comprising locking means 127, 123E, 123F which cooperate with each other to lock said rack element 125 at two different heights along said axis X.

[0057] According to the example shown in the various figures, the four corners 120 of the side enclosure are each provided with a rack element 125.

[0058] Preferably, each receiving means is a slide 123 into which the rack element 125 is slid. The slide 123 has, in a lateral flange 123D, two notches 123E, 123F located at two different heights along the X axis, adapted to receive a locking finger 127 belonging to said rack element 125 (see Figures 5 and 7). The notches and the locking finger form said locking means.

[0059] Advantageously, the locking finger 127 is integral with a flexible part of the rack element 125 allowing the elastic movement of said locking finger 127 to be extracted and engaged in each notch 123E, 123F of the lateral edge 123D of the slide 123. According to the example shown, at least one slot 128 is provided in the rack element 125 to make flexible a part of the rack element 125 linked to said locking finger 127.

[0060] As Figures 5, 7, 10, and 11 more clearly show, here, each corner 120 is formed by the right-angled vertical wall 121, which, at its upper end, connects continuously by a rounded edge to a horizontal platform 122. Each corner 120 is laterally delimited by two lateral slices 120A, each formed by a lateral slice of the vertical part 121 extended by a lateral slice of the horizontal platform 122. The two attachment tabs 124 of the corner 120 rise from the outer face 122A of the horizontal platform 122, perpendicular to it. They are positioned respectively along the two lateral slices 120A of the corner 120. The face of each attachment tab 124 bearing the attachment tooth 124A is turned towards the corresponding lateral slice 120A of the corner 120.

[0061] Each corner 120 internally comprises a slide 123 having a V-shaped profile extending lengthwise along the X-axis. The slide 123 has, along the X-axis, two right-angled facets 123A, 123B and two lateral edges 123C, 123D bordering said facets 123A, 123B. One of said lateral edges 123C, 123D comprises said two notches 123E, 123F. The horizontal platform 122 of each corner 120 extends from the rounded end to the back 123G of the slide 123, which opens towards the center 0 of said internal housing L of the base 100 of the floor mounting box 10. The Slide 123 has a lower free edge located at the same level as the lower free edge 12IC of the vertical wall 121 of the corner 120. Slide 123 extends from this lower free edge, along the X-axis, over a length or height H greater than the height of the vertical wall 121, such that a portion of the back 123G of slide 123 extends parallel to the inner face 121B of said vertical section 121, and another portion of the back of slide 123 rises above said platform 122 perpendicularly to it. The portion of slide 123 rising above the horizontal platform 122 has a free upper edge forming the upper free edge 120C of said corner 120.The two lateral edges 123E, 123F of the slide 123 are located at the level of the two lateral slices 120A of the corner 120 and extend lengthwise perpendicularly to the horizontal platform 122 and parallel to the vertical wall 121 of the corner 120. Each lateral edge 123E, 123F has two parallel longitudinal faces: an internal longitudinal face facing inward toward the slide 123 and an opposite external longitudinal face extending in the same plane as the corresponding lateral slice 120A of the corner 120, as well as a free slice extending between the longitudinal faces, in which the two notches 123E, 123F are formed. The two notches 123E, 123F have identical length and depth.Here, the two notches are located in the part of the lateral rim 123D extending along said vertical wall 121, one of the notches 123E extends longitudinally from the lower free edge of the slide 123 while the other notch 123F, located above said first notch, has an upper end located at said horizontal platform 122.

[0062] As Figures 5, 7, 10, and 11 more clearly show, here, each rack element 125 is an angle bracket whose V-profile corresponds to the profile of each slide 123 and whose two right-angled inner faces bear said notches 126. Each rack element 125 has two right-angled faces bounded by two vertical free edges 125B, a horizontal lower free edge 125A, and a horizontal upper free edge 125C (see [Fig. 7]). The notches 126 are oriented horizontally (perpendicular to the X-axis), they extend over the entire width of said inner faces, and they are staggered along the X-axis (which constitutes the longitudinal axis of the rack element 125 parallel to said vertical free edges 125B). The rack element 125 has a height or length H identical to that of the slide 123. It is slid in a movable manner in the slide 123.

[0063] The locking finger 127 of each rack element 125 projects from a free vertical edge 125B of said rack element 125. The locking finger 127 is a tab whose height (or width) L2 and thickness correspond, within clearance, to the length (or height) L1 and depth of each notch 123E, 123F of the lateral edge 123D of the slide 123 (see Figures 5, 10 and 11). This tab 127 is located here at the lower end of the corresponding vertical free edge 125B of said rack element 125 so that the lower longitudinal edge of said tab 127 extends in the continuation of the lower free edge 125A of a face of said rack element 125. As shown in [Fig.

[11] , advantageously provided in the pan of said rack element 125 to which said locking tab 127 is attached, is a slot 128 which extends from the vertical free edge 125B of the latter over a part of its width in order to make more flexible the part of this pan linked to said locking tab 127 and to facilitate the maneuvering of this tab 127 to engage and extract it from the corresponding notch 123E, 123F of the lateral edge 123D of the slide 123.

[0064] Each rack element 125 is advantageously a one-piece unit made of molded plastic material.

[0065] Figures 4, 5, 10, and 11 show the lowered position of the rack elements 125 slid into the guides 123 of the base 100. In this lowered position, each rack element 125 is fully engaged in the guide 123, and the locking tab 127 of the rack element 125 is inserted into the first, lowest notch 123E of the lateral edge 123D of the guide 123. The edges of this notch hold the tab 127 in position to lock the rack element 125 in this lowered position. In this lowered position, the toothed faces 126 of the rack elements 125 are completely contained within the guides 123 of the corners 120. They are therefore entirely located within the inner recess of the base. The said rack elements 125 extend over the same height H as that of the said slides 123.The lower free edges 125A and upper free edges 125C of each rack element 125 are located at the same level as the lower and upper free edges of the slides 123 and, in particular, the upper free edge 125C of each rack element 125 extends to the touch of the upper free edge 120C of each corner 120 (see [Fig.5]).

[0066] Figures 6 and 7 show the upper position of the rack elements 125 slid into the guides 123 of the base 100. In this upper position, each rack element 125 is partially engaged in the guide 123, and the locking tab 127 of the rack element 125 is inserted into the second, higher notch 123F of the lateral edge 123D of the guide 123. The edges of this notch hold the tab 127 in position to lock the rack element 125 in this upper position. In this upper position, each rack element 125 has a portion extending outside the inner housing of the base. This portion extends to a height H1 above the upper free edge 120C of each corner 120 of the lateral enclosure of this base. Part of the internal serrated faces 126 of said rack elements 125 is therefore accessible outside and above the slides 123. Said rack elements 125 protrude by a height H1 from said slides 123. The upper free edge 125C of each rack element 125 extends to a height H1 above the upper free edge 120C of each corner 120 (see [Fig.7]).

[0067] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cover 200 of the floor-mounted box 10 comprises a front wall 210 bordered by a side wall 220. Here the cover 200 has a square parallelepiped shape whose dimensions are adapted to those of the side enclosure 120,130 of the base 100. It can be made of molded plastic material. According to the example shown in figures 1 and 2, the hood 200 is formed of two identical half-shells 201, 202 assembled along a median line M. The side wall 220 of the hood 200 is attached to the side enclosure 120, 130, while the rack elements 125 are locked in the lower position in the slides 123 so as to be completely contained in the inner housing L of the base 100. Thus the front wall 210 of the hood 200 closes the front opening of said inner housing L of the base 100.Once assembled, the side wall 220 of the hood 200 and the side enclosure 120, 130 of the base 100 have free edges 221, 133C, 120C positioned edge to edge so that the hood 200 forms a lost formwork to be extracted from a screed poured around the floor recess box 10. Two snap-on tabs 222 are provided projecting from two parallel sides of the free edge 221 of the side wall 220 of the hood 200, the snap-on edges of which are adapted to hook onto teeth 137 carried by the inner face 133B of the vertical returns 133 of two side walls 130 of the side enclosure in order to temporarily secure the hood 200 to said side enclosure 120,130.Finally, a line of cutouts 211 in dotted lines is provided in the front wall 210 of the hood 200 which delimits a removable central part of this front wall 210 to create an area for an installer to grasp the hood 200 in order to extract it from its cooperation with the side enclosure of the base 100.

[0068] The floor-mounted box 10 described above is advantageously integrated into an assembly 1 shown in Figures 8, 9, and 12. This assembly 1 comprises, in addition to the floor-mounted box 10, a floor box 300 having an installation frame 310 suitable for housing various electrical devices (not shown) and a cover frame 320 attached to the installation frame 310. The installation frame 310 is bordered by a peripheral outer rim 311 intended to rest on the finishing surface of the recessed floor wall. The cover frame 320 is bordered by a peripheral outer rim 321 which covers the peripheral outer rim 311 of the installation frame 310 when the cover frame 320 is attached to the installation frame 310 (see [Fig. 12]). The 300 floor box includes also a cover 340 pivotally mounted on one side of the cover frame 320 to close the front opening of the floor box 300 when the electrical equipment contained in this floor box is not in use. The installation frame 310 is advantageously equipped with rack elements 330 whose notches 331 are adapted to cooperate with the notches 126 of the rack elements 125 of the side enclosure of the floor box 10.

[0069] More specifically, here II, a pair of pins 334, slidably inserted onto internal portions of the frame, are provided on two parallel sides of the mounting frame 310. On each relevant side of the mounting frame, the two pins are mounted back to back. They are adapted to be moved in translation relative to the mounting frame between a standby position and a mounting position. Each pin 334 has, at an internal end, an actuating handle 332 and, at an external end, the rack element 330.The two pins 334 of the same pair are mounted on the corresponding side of the mounting frame 310 so that, on the one hand, their actuating handles 332 are placed back to back, near the center of said side of the mounting frame, and, on the other hand, their rack elements 330 emerge on the outer face of two opposite sides of the mounting frame, adjacent and perpendicular to said side of the mounting frame on which the pins 334 are mounted. Each actuating handle 332 has a toothed face 333 which cooperates with a lever 350 pivotally mounted about an axis Y (transverse to the direction of movement of said pin 334) on the cover frame 320. The levers 350 are pivoted on the cover frame 320 from a raised position (not shown in [Fig. 12]) to a lowered position (visible in [Fig. 12].12]) to move in translation the pins 334 from their waiting position, in which the rack elements 330 are placed recessed from the outer face of the installation frame 310, to their mounting position, in which the rack elements 330 are placed protruding from said outer face of the installation frame so that the notches 331 of these rack elements 330 hook onto the notches 126 of the rack elements 125 of the floor mounting box 10 (see Figures 8 and 9).

[0070] Advantageously, the floor mounting box 10 allows the floor box 300 to be mounted in a recess whose depth (also called the total recess height) can vary between a minimum value Hmin (see [Fig. 8]) and a maximum value Hmax (see [Fig. 9]). The minimum value Hmin corresponds to the height of the base 100 (measured between the rear face 110B of the flat bottom 110 and the upper free edge 120C, 133C of the side enclosure 120, 130) when the rack elements 125 are locked in the lower position in the slides 123 (see [Fig. 8]). The maximum value Hmax corresponds to the height measured between the rear face 110B of the flat bottom 110 of the base 100 and the underside of the peripheral rim 311 of the frame installation 310 whose notches 331 of the rack elements 330 are hooked to the notches 126 located in the immediate vicinity of the upper free edge 125C of the rack elements 125 locked in the upper position in the slides 123 (see [Fig.9]).

[0071] As an example, the minimum value Hmin is equal to 65mm and the maximum value Hmax is equal to 142mm.

[0072] Of course, to reach the aforementioned maximum value, the height of the hood 200 must be adapted so that the thickness of the screed poured around the floor recess box 10 reaches 125mm.

[0073] It should be noted that the total embedment height is equal to the thickness of the concrete screed poured on the floor, plus the thickness of the floor finishing covering (such as tiles or carpet) placed on the concrete screed.

[0074] We will now describe the installation of assembly 1 in a recessed opening of maximum depth.

[0075] The floor-mounted box 10, fitted with its cover 200, is fixed to the floor by means of screws or nails driven into the floor through the oblong openings 111A of the protrusions 111 of the flat base 110. The concrete screed is poured around the base 100 and the cover 200 so that the front surface of the screed is flush with the front wall 210 of the cover 200. Once the concrete screed has hardened, the cover 200 is removed. To do this, the installer removes the central part of the front wall 201 of the cover 200 by cutting along the dotted line and grasps the cover 200 to pull it out of the screed. The finishing layer is then laid on the concrete screed. Then the installer modifies the position of each rack element 125 in each slide 123 of the base 100 by moving it from its lower position to its upper position.To do this, it extracts each locking tab 127 from the notch 123E provided at the lowest point in the lateral edge 123D of the slide 123 and inserts it into the notch 123F provided at the highest point in the lateral edge 123D of the slide 123. It then brings the installation frame 310 of the floor box 300 onto the parts of the rack elements 125 that emerge in the recess opening, above the upper free edge of the lateral enclosure 120, 130 of the base 100 so that the peripheral outer edge 311 of the installation frame 310 rests on the floor finishing covering. It locks the installation frame 310 onto the rack elements 125, by means of the levers 350 which push the notches 331 of the rack elements 330 of the installation frame 310 against the notches 126 of the rack elements 125 of the base 100 of the floor mounting box 10.Of course, according to one variant, a final floor covering with a maximum thickness of 10mm, such as carpet, can be laid after the installation frame 310 has been put in place so that part of this final floor covering covers the outer edge 311 peripheral of the installation frame 310 (see . figures 8 and 9), this part of the final floor covering being then covered by the outer rim 321 peripheral of the cover frame 320 attached to the installation frame 310.

[0076] The invention is not limited to the detailed description above and various other modifications can be made to it by a person skilled in the art in accordance with its spirit.

[0077] According to an unrepresented variant, it can be provided that the rack elements of the floor-mounted box are brought into receiving means provided on flat inner faces of the side walls of the side enclosure.

[0078] Three or four notches can also be provided in the lateral edge of each slide of the lateral enclosure to increase the height adjustment capacity of said rack elements in said slides.

[0079] Notches can also be provided in the two lateral edges of each slide to accept left and right locking tabs for the rack elements.

[0080] Finally, it can be provided that the locking finger is attached to a flexible central portion of a section of the rack element. In this case, two parallel slots can be provided that delimit said flexible central portion of the rack element.

[0081] The various parts of the floor inset box can be made of metal (by cutting and bending a metal strip) rather than of molded plastic material.

Claims

Demands

1. A floor-mounted box (10) comprising a flat base (110) to be fixed to the floor and a side enclosure (120, 130) which borders said flat base on the side of its front face (110A), the flat base and the side enclosure defining an interior housing (L) open at the front, the side enclosure being provided at at least two opposite points on its inner face facing the center (0) of said interior housing (L), with two rack elements (125) whose notches (126) are staggered along an axis (X) perpendicular to said flat base, characterized in that each rack element (125) is separate from said side enclosure (120, 130) and is movablely attached to a receiving means (123) of said side enclosure, the rack element (125) and said receiving means (123) comprising locking means ( 127,123E,123F) which cooperate with each other to lock said rack element (125) at two different heights along said perpendicular axis (X).

2. Floor-mounted box (10) according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means is a slide (123) in which the rack element (125) is slid, said slide having in a lateral rim (123D) two notches (123E,123F) located at two different heights, adapted to accommodate a locking finger (127) belonging to said rack element (125).

3. Floor-mounted box (10) according to claim 2, wherein the locking finger (127) is integral with a flexible part of the rack element (125) allowing elastic movement of said locking finger to extract it and engage it in each notch (123E,123F) of the lateral edge (123D) of the slide (123).

4. Floor-mounted box (10) according to claim 3, wherein at least one slot (128) is provided in the rack element (125) to make flexible a part of the rack element connected to said locking finger.

5. Floor-mounted box (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side enclosure has four corners (120) two by two opposite, each corner being provided with a rack element (125).

6. A floor-mounted box (10) according to claims 2 and 5, wherein each corner (120) of the side enclosure has

7.

8.

9. a slide (123) having a V-profile with two sides (123A,123B) at right angles and two lateral edges (123C,123D) bordering said sides, one of said lateral edges (123D) having said two notches (123E,123F), and in which each rack element (125) is an angle element whose V-profile corresponds to the profile of each slide and whose two internal faces at right angles bear said notches (126), said locking finger (127) projecting from a vertical edge (125B) of said angle element. Recessed floor box (10) according to claim 6, wherein each corner (120) is a one-piece molded piece of plastic material fixed to the flat bottom. A floor-mounted recessed box (10) according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein each corner comprises a vertical wall (121) forming a right angle which, at its upper part, connects continuously to a horizontal platform (122) extending inward toward the corner, said corner being laterally delimited by two lateral slices (120A) each formed by a lateral slice of the vertical wall extended by a lateral slice of the horizontal platform, said horizontal platform (122) extending to the back of the slide (123) which opens toward the center of said internal housing of the recessed box and which extends vertically in length such that a portion of the back (123G) of the slide (123) extends opposite the inner face (121B) of said vertical wall (121), parallel to it, and another portion of the back of the slide rises above said horizontal platform (122) perpendicular to it. A floor-mounted box (10) according to claim 8, wherein the two lateral edges (123C, 123D) of the slide (123) extend lengthwise perpendicularly to said horizontal platform (122) and parallel to said vertical wall (121) of the corresponding corner (120), these lateral edges (123C, 123D) being located at the level of the two lateral slices (120A) of the corner, each lateral edge having two parallel longitudinal faces, an inner longitudinal face facing said notches (126) and an opposite outer longitudinal face, as well as a free slice extending between said longitudinal faces in which the two notches are formed, said outer longitudinal face of each lateral edge extending in the same plane as the corresponding lateral edge of the corner.

10. Floor-mounted box (10) according to claim 5, wherein the side enclosure comprises four side walls (130) connected to each other by the corners (120) to delimit an inner parallelepiped housing (L), said side walls being separate parts fitted into a peripheral mounting groove (112) provided on the front face of said flat bottom (110) and linked to each other by said corners (120), also fitted into the peripheral groove (112), by means of complementary assembly means.

11. Floor-mounted box (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein each side wall (130) is a one-piece molded piece of plastic material.

12. Floor-mounted box (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flat bottom is formed by a solid plate.

13. Floor-mounted box according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the flat bottom is formed by a flat frame.

14. Floor recess box (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a cover (200) including a front wall (210) bordered by a side wall (220) attached to the side enclosure (120,130) such that the front wall closes the front opening of said inner housing, the side wall of the cover and the side enclosure having free edges (221,120C,133C) positioned edge to edge so that the cover forms a lost formwork to be extracted from a screed poured around the floor recess box.

15. Assembly (1) comprising a floor recess box (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and an installation frame (310) for a floor box (300) to be fixed to the side enclosure (120,130) of said recess box, said installation frame being equipped with rack elements (330) having notches (331) adapted to cooperate with the notches (126) of the rack elements (125) of the floor recess box (10).

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