DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a modular base plate assembly and more particularly, relates to a modular base plate assembly having slidable covers for screws.

BACKGROUND

As is generally known, electrical components, such as electrical switches and power outlet sockets are mounted on a surface, for example, a wall, through at least one of a base plate and a cover plate. In some applications, a base plate as well as a cover plate is mounted to accommodate the electrical components. However, owing to the presence of two plates, this may be an expensive proposition for some consumers. Therefore, in some applications, only a base plate is mounted on the surface for accommodating such electrical components.

Such base plates are usually fixed to the wall by using fixing mechanisms, such as screws. These screws are usually visible and accessible to a user from outside. Further, these screws may be directly connected with metal boxes containing connecting wires, which are disposed within the wall. In case of contact of any exposed wire with a metal box that is further in contact with the screws, there exists a possibility that the user may get an electrical shock if the user contacts the screws. Therefore, the safety of the consumer is compromised. Moreover, the visibility of the screws on the base plates may hamper an aesthetic appeal of the base plates as well.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a modular base plate assembly is disclosed. The modular base plate assembly includes a first slot, at least one second slot, and at least one cover. The first slot is adapted to accommodate an electrical component. The at least one second slot is adapted to accommodate at least one screw to fix the modular base plate assembly with a mounting surface. The at least one cover is adapted to control an access to the at least one screw. The at least one cover is adapted to slide to a first position for covering the at least one screw and to a second position for exposing the at least one screw.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective exploded view of a modular base plate assembly depicting sub-components, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a front view of the modular base plate assembly in an assembled state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a side view of the modular base plate assembly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates another side view of the modular base plate assembly depicting a screw in a second slot, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a front view of the modular base plate assembly having covers in an open state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 6 illustrates another side view of the modular base plate assembly depicting a snap lock for a cover, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more element is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective exploded view of a modular base plate assembly 100 depicting sub-components, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 illustrates a front view of the modular base plate assembly 100 in an assembled state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In order to avoid duplicity of details, constructional and operational features of the modular base plate assembly 100 are explained with collective reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2. In an embodiment, the modular base plate assembly 100 may be formed by at least one of an injection moulding operation and a compression moulding operation.

The modular base plate assembly 100 may include, but is not limited to, a first slot 102 adapted to accommodate at least one electrical component 202. The at least one electrical component 202 may include, but is not limited to, an electrical switch and a power outlet socket. In the illustrated embodiment, the electrical component 202 is a switch panel having an electrical switch and a power outlet socket.

Further, the modular base plate assembly 100 may include at least one second slot 104 for accommodating at least one screw 106. The at least one screw 106 may be adapted to fix the modular base plate assembly 100 on a mounting surface, for example, a wall or a roof or a floor or a pillar. Although in the illustrated embodiment, the at least one screw 106 is shown to be fixing the modular base plate assembly 100 with the wall, it would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that different fixing mechanisms may be used in other embodiments, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The modular base plate assembly 100 may also include at least one cover 108 adapted to control an access to the at least one screw 106. The at least one cover 108 may be disposed on a top surface of the modular base plate assembly 100 for covering the at least one screw 106. Therefore, the at least one cover 108 may be operated to expose and cover the at least one screw 106, based on the requirement.

In the illustrated embodiment, the modular base plate assembly 100 includes a pair of second slots 104, namely, 104-1 and 104-2, adapted to accommodate a pair of screws 106, namely, 106-1 and 106-2, respectively. Accordingly, the modular base plate assembly 100 includes a pair of covers 108, namely 108-1 and 108-2, adapted to control an access to the screw 106-1 and the screw 106-2, respectively. Further, each cover 108 is operable independent of the other cover 108. Therefore, the cover 108-1 can be operated independent of the cover 108-2, and vice versa.

Further, the modular base plate assembly 100 may include a locking member 110 in each of the second slots 104. The locking member 110 may be adapted to receive and engage with the cover 108, when the cover 108 has covered the screw 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking member 110-2 of the slot 104-2 is visible. The locking member 110-2 may engage with a corresponding member on the cover 108-2 to lock the cover 108-2 in this position. This would ensure that the covers 108 are locked properly and accordingly, any possibility of unintended opening of the covers 108 is eliminated.

As would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, in the present embodiment, the modular base plate assembly 100 is shown to include the pair of second slots 104 and the pair of covers 108 in accordance with the presence of the pair of screws 106. However, the scope of the modular base plate assembly 100 is not limited to accommodating just two screws 106. In other embodiments, a number of second slots 104 and a number of covers 108 may vary based on a number of screws 106 and their positioning on the modular base plate assembly 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the number of second slots 104 and the number of covers 108 may vary based on dimensional characteristics of the modular base plate assembly 100.

Further, for the sake of brevity, the constructional and operational details of the modular base plate assembly 100 are hereinafter explained with respect to a single slot 104, a single screw 106, and a single cover 108. The details would of course be equally applicable to the second slot 104-1 and the second slot 104-2, the screw 106-1 and the screw 106-2, and the cover 108-1 and the cover 108-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 illustrates a side view of the modular base plate assembly 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 illustrates another side view of the modular base plate assembly 100 depicting a screw 106 in a second slot 104, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4, the cover 108 may be adapted to slide between a first position and a second position for covering and exposing the screw 106, respectively.

In particular, the cover 108 may be adapted to slide to the first position for covering the screw 106. In the first position, the cover 108 is said to be in a closed state. In the closed state, the locking member 110 may lock the cover 108 in the slot 104 so that the cover 108 cannot be unintentionally opened. Further, the cover may be adapted to slide to the second position for exposing the screw 106. In the second position, the cover 108 is said to be in an open state. Figure 5 illustrates a front view of the modular base plate assembly 100 having the covers 108 in the open state, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the open state, the user can now access the screw 106, for example, for tightening or loosening or repairing purposes.

Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5, in the first position, the cover 108 may be in a locked state, i.e., the cover 108 may not move freely unless an external force is applied to slide it. Further, when the cover 108 is slid into the second position, i.e., for exposing the screw 106, the cover 108 may be engaged with a top surface of the modular base plate assembly 100. In an embodiment, the modular base plate assembly 100 may include a snap lock to ensure that the cover 108 stays in contact with the top surface, in the second position.

Figure 6 illustrates another side view of the modular base plate assembly 100 depicting the snap lock 600 for the cover 108, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the snap lock 600 may be adapted to restrict the movement of the cover 108 in the second position to stay engaged with the top surface. This would ensure that the cover 108 does not fall off of the modular base plate assembly 100 when being slid to the second position. In other embodiments, the modular base plate assembly 100 may include any other locking mechanism for restricting the movement of the cover 108 in the second position, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6, the cover 108 may be constructed and assembled such that the user can conveniently slid the cover 108 into the first position to cover the screw 106, and can slid the cover 108 into the second position to expose the screw 106.

As would be gathered, the covers 108 are adapted to cover the screws 106 to keep them out of the reach of the consumer in order to eliminate the possibility of electrical shocks. Further, the covers 108 are provided with locking arrangements to limit the sliding motion of the covers 108 in opposite directions to ensure an effective operation. Also, the modular base plate assembly 100 is designed such that the covers 108 form a sealed fit with the top surface ensuring customer safety as well as neat and appealing aesthetic appearance.

Moreover, considering that the covers 108 can be conveniently operated, the modular base plate assembly 100 of the present disclosure offers convenience of operation to users. Further, the covers 108 can be formed in any shape of sliders ensuring flexibility in terms of manufacturing with varying aesthetics. Therefore, the modular base plate assembly 100 of the present disclosure is cost-effective, flexible in implementation, convenient, and has a wide range of applications.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. A modular base plate assembly (100) comprising:
a first slot (102) adapted to accommodate an electrical component (202);
at least one second slot (104) adapted to accommodate at least one screw (106) to fix the modular base plate assembly (100) on a mounting surface; and
at least one cover (108) adapted to control an access to the at least one screw (106), wherein the at least one cover (108) is adapted to slide to a first position for covering the at least one screw (106) and to a second position for exposing the at least one screw (106).

2. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one cover (108) is adapted to be in a locked state in the first position.

3. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 2, comprising a locking member (110) in each second slot (104) adapted to engage with a corresponding cover (108) to lock the cover (108) in the first position.

4. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one cover (108) is engaged with a top surface of the modular base plate assembly (100), in the second position.

5. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 4 comprising at least one snap lock (600) adapted to restrict the movement of the at least one cover (108) in the second position to stay engaged with the top surface.

6. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1 comprising:
a pair of second slots (104) for accommodating a pair of screws (106); and
a pair of covers (108) adapted to control an access to the pair of screws (106), wherein each cover (108) is operable independent of the other cover (108).

7. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of second slots (104) and a number of covers (108) vary based on dimensional characteristics of the modular base plate assembly (100).

8. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the modular base plate assembly (100) is formed by at least one of injection moulding and compression moulding.

9. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one electrical component (202) comprising at least one of an electrical switch and a power outlet socket.

10. The modular base plate assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one electrical component (202) is a switch panel having an electrical switch and a power outlet socket.