Patent Application
20100242389
The present invention is directed to the field of conduits used for installation of wires or cables inside of buildings. Such wires or cables can be used for providing telephone, internet, fibre optics, speakers or television service to a customer in a building without having to wall fish wires. In particular, the present invention is directed to the field of conduits mounted on the exterior surface of interior walls in the buildings.
In general, the utility company provides a main line for service into the building. In an apartment or office complex, the service lines to the individual units must be run separately into the individual units. Consequently, the lines are run through various parts of the buildings. Generally, the cables run through the interior hallways in conduits located in the corner where the side walls meet the ceilings. The conduit covers must be easily removable to service, upgrade and to splice the cables when each customer calls for service.
The presently available conduits for use in these types of buildings generally are mounted at the corner where the walls intersect the ceiling. The available conduits generally are fabricated from plastic with a triangular cross-section. Thus, the currently available conduits provide a plain and inexpensive looking appearance. This inexpensive looking appearance creates a problem in up-scale residences and office buildings because it detracts from the ambiance of the building. In such up-scale buildings, the occupants expect high quality appearing mouldings at the corners of walls and ceilings. However, placing a conventional corner moulding over the available conduits cannot be easily implemented.
A primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem. The present invention, as explained in detail below, solves this problem by providing a novel corner conduit and moulding combination for installing wires and cables therein. The interchangeable architectural face piece also allows for ease of installation for the typical homeowner. Pre-finished mouldings can be installed without nails or putty eliminating the need to nail through the pre-finished face plate. The product is also UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring.
A corner wall cable conduit comprising a longitudinally extending cable receiver adapted to be fastened to a wall where the wall intersects a ceiling comprising a first side panel, a second side panel, a central panel and a plurality of projections oriented generally perpendicular to the first side panel and the second side panel; a longitudinally extending conduit cover adapted to be connected to the cable receiver such that a hollow space is formed between the conduit cover and the cable receiver for the installation of cables or wires comprising means adapted to be received in the plurality of projections so as to secure the conduit cover to the cable receiver; a front connector attached to the conduit cover; and a moulding adapted to be received in the front connector. The present invention provides an interchangeable architectural face plate which allows ease of access to the conduit path.
The present invention will now be described in terms of the presently preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.
The corner conduit 10 is shown in the drawings. The corner conduit 10 comprises a generally hollow longitudinally extending cable receiver 12, a longitudinally extending conduit cover 14 and a moulding 16. The moulding 16 comprises a front ornamental surface design 17. The ornamental surface design 17 shown in the appended drawings is merely one example of the ornamental surface features of the moulding 16 that could be used as an interchangeable face plate on the cable receiver 12. The corner conduit 10 will be UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring.
The cable receiver 12 is illustrated in cross-section in
The conduit cover 14 will now be described in detail. The conduit cover 14 is adapted to snap into the cable receiver 12 as shown in the assembled view of
The central panel 26 is flat with a first rectangular projection 27. The first connecting unit 28 extends from the central panel 26 on one side opposite to the second connecting unit 30. The first connecting unit 28 comprises a rectangular mating unit 29 which is adapted to be received in projections 24 and 25 on the side panel 20.
The second connecting unit 30 comprises a straight projection 31 with a second projection 32 extending therefrom at an angle “a.” In addition, the straight projection 31 comprises a plurality of serrated longitudinal grooves 34.
The rectangular projection 27 on central panel 26 is adapted to be received into a mating opening 36 on moulding 16 placed on the surfaces 40 and 42. The moulding 16 snaps in place over the central panel 26 and is joined thereto by double sided tape 38. The double sided tape 38 allows the moulding 16 to be fitted to the conduit cover without the use of nails or putty or other traditional fastening means. The final assembly of the conduit receiver 12, conduit cover 14 and moulding 16 is placed on the surfaces 40 and 42 as shown in
The installation and use of the corner conduit 10 will now be described in detail. The cable receiver 12 will first be installed at the corner between a wall and ceiling by conventional fastening techniques. The cables or wires will then be installed in the opening 19 formed by side panels 18 and 20. The conduit cover 14 will be snapped into place over the cable receiver 12. The conduit cover 14 will be installed by placing rectangular mating unit 29 into the projections 24 and 25 on side panel 20 and then the opposite end of the conduit cover will be snapped onto projection 25 on side panel 18 until the serrated grooves 34 connect to the corner conduit 12. At that point, the moulding 16 will be snapped onto the front connector 16 and connected thereby the double sided type as described above. The installation is complete and appears as a normal moulding in the corner between the wall and ceiling.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
