Did You Know...
...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8076578 | Adjustable electrical outlet box assembly An adjustable outlet box assembly for mounting a receptacle or similar electrical device within a wall. The adjustable box includes an outlet box and a bracket that slides with respect to the box. An adjustment screw, accessible from the front of the assembly, can b... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8013243 | Add-a-depth ring and cover plate assembly An adjustable depth cover plate assembly includes a top plate and an adjustable sleeve to compensate for different spacing between the outer surface of a wall and the front side of an electrical box. The adjustable cover plate is positioned on the electrical box wit... | 09/06/2011 |
| 7531743 | Electrical box mounting plate with adjustable ring An electrical box assembly includes an adjustable electrical box cover. The cover includes a base having a central opening and a collar encircling the central opening. A sleeve slides through the collar and is adjusted by a plurality of adjustment screws. In one emb... | 05/12/2009 |
| 7528322 | Adjustable electrical box and flange member for installation on a brick or stone wall An adjustable electrical box assembly for providing electrical service on a brick or stone wall. The assembly includes a flange member, box member, and a faceplate. The flange member includes a flange and a forward extending collar. The electrical box includes sidew... | 05/05/2009 |
| 7442873 | Environmentally protected enclosure for electrical power distributor and the like An improved enclosure for electrical components is provided. The enclosure protects components from the environment. The enclosure may rest on a surface and to move it from one location to another the enclosure may be rotated 90° and can travel on top and bottom si... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7439443 | Mounting bracket for electrical box A mounting bracket for an electrical box that includes: a base plate having substantially planar top and bottom surfaces, a first side, a second side, a first end, a second end, a plurality of mounting screw apertures and an opening for receiving an electrical box; ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7432442 | Surface mount power outlet A surface mount power outlet for connecting to a plug includes a cover having a fin disposed on an outer surface and a substantially circular face with a plurality of slots for receiving a plug. The cover also has a substantially arcuate body disposed below the face... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7427714 | Conduit junction box replacement cover A conduit junction box replacement cover for electrical conduit junction boxes. The replacement cover can replace a conventionally designed cover on a conduit junction box that contains corroded or otherwise damaged threaded holes rendering the installation of a con... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7425678 | Network cabinet A network cabinet is provided comprising a door comprising first and second opposing lateral sides. A hinge lever is rotatably connected to the door and a retractable hinge pin is connected to the hinge lever and is positioned closer to the first lateral side of the... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7423215 | Expandable structured wiring box A device (100) for receiving electrical components and wiring and adapted for mounting between adjacent studs of a wall structure, the device (100) includes means forming a composite chamber and having a box (100) with parallel, spaced apart rig... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7410072 | Electrical box extension Disclosed is an electrical box extension that includes an extending member for a switch and/or plug mounting having one or more fastening brackets, one or more base fastening brackets and one or more fasteners that together with optional contact points provide for m... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7396996 | Expandable in-use outlet cover A telescoping in-use cover plate that includes at least two inter-fitting members that enable the cover to be retracted to the wall when not in use and expanded to increase the depth of the outlet cover and allow a plug to be plugged into the outlet when the cover i... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7394020 | Adjustable floor bracket article and method A support bracket article for enabling the adjustable positioning of an electrical box enclosure relative to the bottom of a framing member, and the supporting thereof in an interior wall section of a wall system under construction. The article is able to guide the ... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7381893 | Fastening device for mounting an electrical fixture A fastening device for mounting an electrical fixture suspended from an electrical junction box in a ceiling. When a mounting bracket assembly suspends the electrical junction box between two joists, the fastening device is an overlay positioned adjacent to each end... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7381891 | Electrical box support An electrical box having spring legs for supporting the box within a space between a pair of spaced-apart parallel concrete forms. The legs engage the inside surface of one form and bias the open end of the box against the inside surface of the other form. The legs ... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7381892 | Self-supporting electrical fixture support An electrical outlet box and/or assembly is attachable to the wall stud. The assembly in one embodiment includes an outlet box having a perimetrical side wall, a back wall and open front face defining a box interior. The assembly may also include a communications fr... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7367121 | Electrical wiring method An electrical box is mounted on a wall stud, and a wiring panel is installed within the electrical box so as to partition the interior of the electrical box into a user inaccessible wiring compartment and a user accessible module compartment. A protective cover is a... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7361833 | Pan type ceiling box A pan-style electrical outlet box used to secure an electrical fixture such as a light or a ceiling fan to a ceiling joist. This shallow box has a generally planar back wall bounded by a perimeter sidewall extending therefrom. Also extending from the back wall but i... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7353961 | Outlet box knockout An electrical outlet box molded of plastic material has a knockout arrangement in a box wall that is formed by inner, intermediate and outer circular grooves that are eccentrically positioned to overlap at a tangent location and define inner, intermediate and outer ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7355118 | Electrical box mounting assembly An adjustable mounting bar and electrical box assembly for hanging a light fixture, fan, or other electrical device from a ceiling. All hardware required for mounting the electrical device is included with the assembly. The adjustable mounting bar includes sliding t... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7348484 | Method of assisting a compromised barrier The present invention provides method, apparatus, and system to assist in partially or fully reestablishing the fire rating of a barrier that has been compromised by the installation of an electrical box(es) in the barrier. The electrical box includes a faceplate ha... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7342173 | Multi-directional-port junction box An electrical junction box is disclosed in one aspect of the present invention as including a housing; two or more wiring ports formed in the housing to accommodate electrical wiring routed into the housing; and tabs resiliently connected to the housing and substant... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7343078 | Patch panels with communications connectors that are rotatable about a vertical axis A patch panel configured for mounting to a network rack, includes: a frame including mounting features at opposite lateral ends for mounting the patch panel to the network rack; a bezel mounted to the patch panel, the bezel including a plurality of outlet apertures,... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7341463 | Extension socket structure An extension socket structure includes a positioning sleeve, which has a front face with an opening disposed thereon and a rear face having a plurality of positioning slots disposed thereon, and an extension socket being inserted in the positioning sleeve for a sock... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7332683 | Dimmer switch module A dimmer switch module removably connects to a wiring module mounted within an electrical box and connected to a power source. The dimmer switch module is configured to control electrical current flowing from the power source to a power sink, such as a light. The di... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7319192 | Frame member and box combination for recessing an electrical box and cover assembly An electrical box assembly including a frame member and an outlet box assembly with an outlet box and a hinged cover. The frame member includes a peripheral flange and inward sloping sidewalls that extend to a rear panel having a central opening therein. The outlet ... | 01/15/2008 |
| 7309834 | Extendible and retractable extension cord apparatus An extendible and retractable electrical extension cord device is disclosed, which includes a housing adapted to be secured to a wall of a structure, and a reel mounted in the housing for rotation. An extension cord is wound about the reel, and has a first plug end ... | 12/18/2007 |
| 7294781 | Recessed electrical outlet assembly A recessed electrical outlet assembly for recessing a duplex receptacle or similar electrical device within a wall. The recessed electrical outlet assembly includes an electrical box and a frame member. The electrical box includes sidewalls and a back wall defining ... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7285733 | Recessed poke-thru fitting A poke-thru fitting includes a plurality of stacked modules, each of the plurality of stacked modules being configured to retain at least a power receptacle and a communication receptacle, wherein an axial cross-sectional envelope of the fitting remains constant des... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7279635 | Quick connecting universal electrical box and wiring system A quick connecting universal electrical box system for the mounting of electrical sockets, switches or any electronic or communication component that is typically installed into a wall is disclosed. The system comprises a mounting frame and an electrical box, which ... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7279633 | Apparatus for providing an electrical wiring hub An apparatus for an electrical wiring hub is provided. The electrical wiring hub includes: a hub housing, configured to receive a plurality of wires; a plurality of conductor rings, configured to conduct electrical current from one of the plurality of wires to anoth... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7276661 | Electrical box extension Disclosed is an electrical box mud ring member adapted to either receive an electrical device or receive an extending member adapted to both receive an electrical device and be elevated relative to the mud ring via one or more elevating fasteners. Either the mud rin... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7273982 | Electrical box extender mechanical fastener An extender and a method for making an extender for an electrical box is provided. The extender includes: a side wall having a length with first and second ends and a width with first and second edges, wherein the side wall is configured so that the first and second... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7271335 | Combination mounting bracket and adapter plate for mounting electrical boxes A mounting system for securing an electrical box within a wall of a building. The electrical box is of typical construction having an open side thereof. The mounting system consists of an elongated bracket having one end region secured to the wall structure and a ge... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7271336 | Adjustable mounting bracket assembly for mounting an electrical box An adjustable mounting bracket assembly for mounting an electrical box that includes: (a) a mounting bracket that includes a mounting plate having a first opening for receiving an electrical box and a rail having a first aperture; a mounting bracket attaching end; a... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7259328 | Adjustable two-tier cover assembly for an electrical box A two-tier cover assembly for a field service box. The two-tier cover assembly can be retrofitted to an existing field service electrical box to protect the electrical device that is housed therein. The cover assembly provides two configurations for protecting the e... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7250571 | Stud snap and lock non-metallic snap-on electrical box An electrical box assembly for nail-free mounting to a stud. The assembly includes an electrical enclosure and a bracket affixed to the enclosure, the bracket defining a stud receiving cavity and a clamping leg. The clamping leg extends into the stud-receiving cavit... | 07/31/2007 |
| 7238063 | Field communication and computer data distribution system A field communication and computer data distribution system includes a weatherproof housing with a hinged lid, a panel positioned in the housing and having a plurality of pairs of insulation displacement connector units mounted thereon, and a pair of multi-terminal ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7235739 | Box extender A junction box extension method and apparatus for creating additional space proximate an existing junction box without having to remove the existing junction box. The junction box extension has an open box with a lip on one side and a rim on the other, a flange for ... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7235738 | Portable data device A portable data device includes: a first body including a display section, the first body having a first long side and a first short side; a second body housing a circuit section for controlling the display section, the second body having a second long side and a se... | 06/26/2007 |
