Adjustable Outlet Cover With Locking Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for adjustable electrical outlet box covers fail to provide a safe, reliable, and cost-effective means to accommodate varying wall thicknesses without exposing installers to live wires, often requiring long screws that interfere with wiring and compromising grounding.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable cover with a mounting plate, extension sleeve, and locking device, where a short fastener operates a locking mechanism to securely engage and disengage the extension sleeve, ensuring a solid ground path and eliminating the need for long screws, allowing adjustments without entering the box.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a threadably mounted extension sleeve is used to accommodate varying wall thicknesses, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases and reliable locking becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a mounting plate that attaches to the outlet box, and an extension sleeve that attaches to the mounting plate. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the mounting plate provides stable attachment while the extension sleeve provides adjustability, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment function is extracted from the mounting mechanism. Instead of making the entire mounting system adjustable through complex threading, the patent separates the mounting function (providing stable attachment) from the adjustment function (providing position variability). The extension sleeve is taken out as a distinct component that can be adjusted independently while the mounting plate remains simple and stable.
2Adaptability or versatility
If long screws are used to mount the extension sleeve, then adaptability is improved, but harmful factors increase due to interference with wiring and grounding issues
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening function is extracted and relocated to the mounting plate, which is positioned outside the electrical box. Short fasteners are used at the mounting plate to attach the extension sleeve, eliminating the need for long screws that would penetrate into the box and interfere with wiring. This extraction of the fastening location resolves the contradiction between adjustment range and harmful factors.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting plate serves as an intermediary component between the outlet box and the extension sleeve. It provides a mounting surface outside the box where short fasteners can be used, mediating the connection between the box and the adjustable sleeve without requiring long fasteners that would penetrate the box and create grounding or wiring interference issues.
3Ease of operation
If adjustments are made from inside the box, then ease of operation is improved, but harmful factors increase due to exposure to live wires
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the extension sleeve adjustable from inside the box (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the adjustment mechanism by placing it on the outside of the box. The mounting plate with external fasteners allows the user to adjust and secure the extension sleeve from the front, completely avoiding exposure to live wires inside the box while maintaining ease of operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the box position is moved to accommodate wall thickness changes, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning function is segmented between the fixed mounting plate (attached to the box) and the adjustable extension sleeve. The mounting plate remains stationary at the correct position on the box, while the extension sleeve adjusts to accommodate wall thickness variations. This segmentation allows the box position to remain fixed and simple while achieving adaptability through the sleeve adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of moving the box in one dimension (positioning), the patent adds adjustment in another dimension (extension length). The mounting plate fixes the box at the correct position, while the extension sleeve provides adjustability in the depth dimension, allowing accommodation of wall thickness variations without complicating the box positioning system.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention pertains to an adjustable cover for an electrical outlet box. The cover is configured having a generally planar mounting plate with a collar surrounding an opening through this mounting plate. An extension sleeve moves within this opening and adjacent the collar. At least one fastener is located adjacent the opening and is movable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The fastener operates a locking device that engages and bias against the extension sleeve when the fastener is in the locked position and which disengage and cease biasing the extension sleeve when the fastener is in the unlocked position.