Claims
- 1. A watthour meter socket adapter including a housing having a base wall and a sidewall extending from the base wall, the socket adapter comprising:
a support carried in the housing for supporting a circuit board in the housing, the support including: at least one support carried on the base wall and projecting therefrom, the support having spaced, opposed portions adapted to receive a portion of a circuit board therebetween to support the circuit board in a substantially perpendicular orientation with respect to the base wall.
- 2. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1 wherein the support comprises:
two pairs of supports carried on and projecting from the base wall, each pair of supports formed of first and second support members spaced apart and adapted to receive a portion of a circuit board therebetween.
- 3. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 2 wherein each support member is in the form of a tubular member.
- 4. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 3 wherein the tubular member defines a post having an end spaced from the base wall of the housing.
- 5. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 2 wherein:
each of the first and second support members are unitarily formed as a one piece part of the housing.
- 6. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 2 further comprising:
an end support member disposed adjacent each of the first and second support members, the end support member adapted to engage an end edge of a circuit board.
- 7. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 6 wherein the end support member comprises:
an elongated post projecting from the base wall of the housing; a top surface of the post inclined from a first outermost end contiguous with the post to an inner end projecting outward from the post to define a recess between an inner end of the top surface and the post; and the top surface adapted to engage an end edge of a circuit board in a snap-together connection.
- 8. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 7 further comprising:
a slot formed in the top surface of the end support member and having an open end contiguous with the inner end of the top surface, the slot adapted to receive an end portion of a circuit board.
- 9. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 6 wherein:
the end support member is adapted to engage an end edge of a circuit board in a snap together connection.
- 10. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 6 wherein:
the end support member is adapted to engage a notch formed in a side edge of a circuit board to fixedly mount the circuit board on the base wall in a snap together, releasable connection.
- 11. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 2 wherein:
the two pairs of supports comprise four pairs of supports spaced apart on the base wall of the housing and arranged in a polygonal configuration; each pair of supports including an innermost support member and an outermost support member; the innermost support member of each pair of supports having an outer end spaced from the base wall a shorter distance than an outer end of the outermost support member of the respective pair of supports; and a circuit board supported on the outer end of each of the innermost support members in a generally parallel orientation with respect to the base wall of the housing.
- 12. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 11 further comprising:
an end support member disposed adjacent each of the pairs of supports, the end support member engaging an end edge of a circuit board supported between the pair of support members.
- 13. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 12 further comprising:
the recess in the end support member receiving one edge of a circuit board.
- 14. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 13 wherein the end support member comprises:
an elongated post projecting from the base wall of the housing; a top surface of the post inclined from a first outermost end contiguous with the post to an inner end projecting outward from the post to define a recess between the inner end of the top surface and the post; and the top surface engaged with an end edge of a circuit board in a snap-together connection.
- 15. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 13 wherein:
the first and second support members and the end support member cooperate to non-movably mount a circuit board in a substantially parallel orientation with respect to the base wall of the housing.
- 16. The watthour meter socket adapter of claim 1 wherein:
the at least one support is unitary with the base wall of the housing.
CROSS REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/38,480 filed Dec. 15, 2000, which is a continuation and continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/327,022, filed Jun. 7, 1999, now abandoned. The entire contents of both applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09738480 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Child |
09998747 |
Nov 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09327022 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
09738480 |
Dec 2000 |
US |