Electrical Box Mounting Bracket With Localized Thread Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mounting brackets for electrical boxes often struggle with securing components due to thin material, leading to poor engagement with fasteners and potential stripping of self-tapped threads, especially when using power drills, and may not provide sufficient strength or durability for supporting heavier loads.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates thicker material at mounting holes, achieved through extrusions, folded features, or additional components like washers, to increase thread length and engagement with fasteners, while maintaining a reduced overall thickness and diameter, allowing for secure attachment without separate fasteners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional mounting brackets use thin material, then the overall thickness and diameter can be reduced, but the strength and durability decrease leading to poor fastener engagement and thread stripping
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket features localized thickening at mounting holes through extrusions or folded features, creating regions of increased material thickness specifically where fastener engagement is required. This allows the bracket to maintain thin overall dimensions while providing sufficient material depth for secure thread engagement and fastener support at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a third dimension by creating extrusions or folded features that extend beyond the plane of the thin bracket body. These three-dimensional features provide additional material depth at mounting holes without increasing the overall planar dimensions of the bracket, enabling strong fastener engagement while maintaining a sleek, thin profile.
2Strength
If conventional mounting brackets use thin material, then the device complexity can be reduced, but the durability and ability to support heavier loads decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket integrates multiple functions into a single component: the thin body provides structural support and positioning, while localized extrusions or folded features at mounting holes provide enhanced fastener engagement. This merging of thin-profile design with localized reinforcement creates a durable mounting solution without requiring separate reinforcement components or complex assembly procedures.
3Reliability
If thicker material is used at mounting holes, then the thread length and fastener engagement improve, but the overall thickness and diameter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket features localized thickening at mounting holes through extrusions or folded features, creating regions of increased material thickness specifically where fastener engagement is required. This allows the bracket to maintain thin overall dimensions while providing sufficient material depth for secure thread engagement and fastener support at critical locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A mounting bracket for an electrical box can be configured for use with a support that has a first and a second rail. The mounting bracket can include a first attachment device that is secured to mounting body and a second attachment device that is secured to the mounting body opposite the first attachment device. To secure the mounting bracket to the support, the first attachment device can be configured to engage one of the first rail or the second rail and the second attachment device can be configured to engage the other of the first rail or the second rail. Each of the first and second attachment devices can include a first arm configured to extend on a first side of the corresponding first or second rail, and a second arm configured to extend on a second side of the corresponding rail, opposite the first arm.