Electrical Switchgear Mounting with Pivoting Tabs
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical device supports require precise installation of electrical boxes in walls, making it difficult to achieve perfect alignment, leading to misalignment and mechanical stress issues when installing cover plates over multiple boxes.
Innovation Solution
A device support with movable legs and a bearing edge that can pivot relative to the fixing screws, allowing for angular adjustment and slight lateral play, enabling easier installation even if the box is not perfectly plumb, and accommodating misaligned center distances between electrical boxes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If flexible metal legs with notches are used to allow tab retraction during installation, then the support can be attached to the electrical box, but the installer must position the electrical box with great care to avoid tilting and misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the legs movable rather than fixed. The legs can pivot at their base (point A) and flex at their free ends, allowing them to dynamically adapt to misaligned screw holes. This mobility enables the support to accommodate positioning errors without requiring precise box installation, resolving the contradiction between ease of attachment and positioning precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by modifying the geometric parameters of the legs - specifically their length, thickness, and curvature radius. These parameter changes enable the legs to have sufficient flexibility to retract and flex during installation while maintaining structural integrity. The optimized parameters allow the legs to absorb positioning errors, reducing the precision requirements for electrical box installation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If keyhole-shaped openings are used to allow angular adjustment of the bracket, then misalignment can be corrected, but the installer must take special care to keep the bracket horizontal during screwing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by replacing the static keyhole-shaped opening with dynamic, flexible legs that can pivot and flex. This dynamic structure provides angular adjustment capability through the legs' ability to bend and reposition, eliminating the need for special care to keep the bracket horizontal during installation. The legs automatically adapt to angular misalignments, making installation easier while maintaining adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If two single-gang electrical boxes are installed with a center-to-center distance of exactly 71 mm, then a single cover plate can be used, but achieving this precise distance is difficult and misalignment between boxes is common
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the leg dimensions (length, thickness, curvature) to provide adequate adjustment range. This allows the support to accommodate variations in center-to-center distance between electrical boxes, making it possible to use a single cover plate even when the exact 71 mm distance cannot be achieved. The flexible legs absorb the dimensional discrepancies, maintaining cover plate compatibility without requiring precise box installation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the electrical box is not installed perfectly vertically, then the screws will be offset vertically, but this results in the entire assembly being tilted once installed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by using flexible legs that can pivot and flex to compensate for vertical offset of screws caused by non-vertical box installation. The dynamic capability of the legs allows them to adjust their position and angle, maintaining proper assembly alignment even when the electrical box is not perfectly vertical. This resolves the contradiction by providing tolerance to installation errors while preserving assembly stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables secure and stress-free installation of electrical devices with greater freedom in positioning, allowing for effortless alignment of cover plates and reducing the risk of mechanical stress or rupture.
Implementation Method 1
a tab (141) made of an elastically deformable material which bears against said tab (150) so as to return the free end (152) outwards
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
Figure 7~9
AI summary
The invention relates to a device support (100) comprising: - a frame (101) which internally delimits an opening for a device mechanism and which has two opposing arms in which are provided passage holes (104C) for fixing screws equipping an electrical box, - tabs (150) each having a free end (152) which is located at the right of one of said passage holes, which is movable relative to the frame and which is turned outwards, and - a means for returning the free end of each tab outwards. According to the invention, the free end of each tab has a bearing edge adapted to bear against the body of one of said fixing screws, and whose average radius of curvature is at least twice greater than the radius of the body of the fixing screw.