Securable wallplate system and method

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of wallplates.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional wallplates are fashioned to couple with wall boxes, mud rings, or other attachment hardware secured within a wall defined by wallboard or other wall material. Unfortunately, the attachment hardware required in addition to the wallplate itself can add to installation complexity and cost.

FIG. 1 is a front exploded perspective view of a securable wallplate system according to the present invention positioned for mounting into an opening of a wall.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the wallplate system of FIG. 1 with the arm members retracted.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the wallplate system of FIG. 1 with arm members in a retracted angular orientation.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the wallplate system of FIG. 1 shown as positioned through an opening of a wall with the arm members in an extended angular orientation to couple the wallplate with the wall.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the wallplate system of FIG. 1 shown coupled with the wall.

A securable wallplate system and method according to the present invention couples a wallplate with wallboard or other wall material without need for additional attachment hardware such as wall boxes and mud rings. The wallplate system includes two arm members pivotally coupled with a wallplate. For each arm member, the wallplate can include a guide member that allows the arm member to pivotally rotate from a retracted angular orientation during installation of the wallplate system to an extended angular orientation during final engagement with an interior side of a wall. In the retracted angular orientation, the arm member is positioned within a first area bounded by the periphery of the wallplate to be rotatably positionable from the first retracted position to a first extended position to extend beyond the first area.

In final position, the arm members engage with an interior side of a wall while the wallplate engages with an exterior side of the wall and covers an opening in the wall. Wallplate installation involves the arm members being placed in a retracted angular orientation to allow them to pass through the wall opening from the exterior side of the wall. Once the arm members are on the interior side of the wall, they are pivotally rotated into an extended angular orientation to frictionally engage with the interior side of the wall with the wallplate simultaneously frictionally engaging with the exterior side of the wall.

Each of the arm members may include an inclined edge to assist in positioning an engagement portion of the arm member against a portion of the interior side of the wall to frictionally engage the arm member with the wall. A stop may also be included with each arm member to contact an edge of the associated guide member of the wallplate to properly position the arm member in the extended angular orientation for engagement of the arm member with the interior side of the wall.

Facing a wall 10 having an exterior side 12 bounding a room and an aperture 14 therethrough, an implementation of a wallplate system 100 is shown in FIG. 1 as having a wallplate 102 with two arm members 104 , each with a screw 106 to rotatably couple the arm member with the wallplate. The wallplate 102 is shown having a forward or exterior side 107 with receptacle apertures 108 to retain connectors (not shown). The wallplate 102 includes two apertures 110 , each to receive one of the screws 106 , and further includes two guide members 112 , each with an interior trough 113 to receive a cylindrical portion 114 of one of the arm members 104 . With the cylindrical portion 114 positioned in the interior trough 113 of the guide member 112 , the arm member 104 is able to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to the wallplate 102 and coincident with the longitudinal axes of the interior trough 113 and the screw 116 .

The cylindrical portion 114 of each of the arm members 104 has a threaded aperture 115 therethrough to receive one of the screws 106 for rotatably coupling the arm member with the wallplate 102 and allowing selective rotation of the arm member upon turning of the screw. Extending laterally from the cylindrical portion 114 is an elongated portion 116 with an engagement portion 118 extending therefrom. The engagement portion 118 has an inclined edge 120 that transitions to an engagement edge 122 on a side of the engagement portion toward a rearward or interior side 123 of the wallplate 102 . Extending from the elongated portion 116 near the cylindrical portion 114 is a stop 124 .

The system 100 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 prior to installation into the wall 10 . Each of the arm members 104 is shown in FIG. 3 coupled with the wallplate 102 with the cylindrical portion 114 of the arm member positioned in the interior trough 113 of one of the guide members 112 . The arm members 104 are shown in a retracted position to allow the arm members to be inserted through the aperture 14 of the wall 10 during installation of the system 100 . In the retracted position, the screws 106 have been sufficiently rotated to cause the elongated portion 116 of the arm member 104 to contact a first stop portion 126 of the guide member 112 .

The system 100 is shown in FIG. 4 with each of the arm members 104 having the engagement edge 122 of the engagement portion 118 in frictional contact with an interior side 16 of the wall 10 and the wallplate 102 in frictional contact with the exterior side 12 of the wall to secure the system with the wall. The arm members 104 have been pivoted from the retracted position shown in FIG. 3 to an extended position shown in FIG. 4 with the stop 124 of each of the arm members 104 contacting a second stop portion 128 of the respective guide member 112 . When each of the arm members 104 is rotated from the retracted position to the extended position, the inclined edge 120 serves as a ramp to progressively apply a clamping force on the wall until the engagement edge 122 is positioned against the interior side 16 of the wall 10 and the interior side 123 of the wall plate 102 is pulled tightly against the exterior side 12 of the wall. The inclined edge 120 allows this to be accomplished without the arm member 104 getting stuck or otherwise bound. The system 100 is shown in FIG. 5 engaged with the wall 10 with the wallplate 102 covering the aperture 14 in the wall.

It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to an implementation, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.