Access panel with mounting tabs

Abstract

An assembly for covering an opening in a structural member, the assembly having a frame with at least two orifices formed in the frame, a cover structured for attachment to the frame, and at least two mounting members capable of being attached to the frame, each mounting member having a first end structured to be received in a respective orifice in the frame, each mounting member formed of a bendable material that enables a second end of the mounting member to bend at least 90 degrees to a bent shape and to retain the bent shape to enable attachment of the assembly to the structural member without the use of typical fasteners.

Claims

1. An assembly for covering an opening in a structural member, the assembly comprising: a frame having at least two orifices formed in the frame; a cover structured for attachment to the frame; and at least two mounting members capable of being attached to the frame, each mounting member having a first end structured to be received in a respective orifice in the frame, each mounting member formed of a bendable material that enables a second end of the mounting member to bend at least 90 degrees to a bent shape and to retain the bent shape, wherein a central opening is formed in the middle of the frame and circumscribed by an upstanding wall that extends around the central opening, and wherein each of the at least two orifices are formed in the upstanding wall.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least two mounting members are formed of a metal material.

3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the frame and the cover are each formed from a metal material, or wherein the frame and the cover are each formed from a non-metal material.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein each mounting member of the at least two mounting members has a bayonet formed on the first end to retain the at least two mounting members in engagement with the orifice in the frame.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein each mounting member of the at least two mounting members is press fit into the respective orifice in the frame.

6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the first end of each of the at least two mounting members includes a bayonet structured to retain the mounting member in engagement with the respective orifice in the frame.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the second end of each mounting member of the at least two mounting members has a through-opening through which may be inserted a fastener.

8. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the upstanding wall has an inward facing wall surface that has at least two mounting blocks formed thereon, wherein each of the at least two orifices are formed, respectively, in the at least two mounting blocks.

9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein each of the at least two mounting members include a shoulder that becomes fully seated against the respective mounting block when the respective mounting member is received in the at least two orifices.

10. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the cover includes an edge on which is formed a prong that includes a lip sized and shaped to engage a ledge formed on the inward facing wall surface of the upstanding wall.

11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least two mounting members include an elongated opening formed transversely across the at least two mounting members to facilitate bending.

12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the elongated opening divides the first end of the at least two mounting members from the second end thereof, wherein the first end of each of the at least two mounting members includes a bayonet structured to retain the mounting member in engagement with the respective orifice in the frame and the second end of each of the at least two mounting members includes a through-opening through which may be inserted a fastener.

13. The assembly of claim 1, wherein a first orifice of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a first side of the central opening and a second orifice of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a second side of the central opening, the second side of the central opening opposing the first side of the central opening.

14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the upstanding wall of the frame is configured to fix the frame in the opening in the structural member in a first dimension, and wherein one or more orifices of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a first side of the central opening, the first side of the central opening being adjacent to the central opening in the first dimension.

15. An assembly for covering an opening in a structural member, the assembly comprising: a frame having at least two orifices formed in the frame; a central opening formed in the middle of the frame and circumscribed by an upstanding wall that extends around the central opening, the upstanding wall having an inward facing wall surface that has at least two mounting blocks formed thereon, wherein each of the at least two orifices are formed, respectively, in the at least two mounting blocks; a cover structured for attachment to the frame, the cover further including an edge on which is formed a prong that includes a lip sized and shaped to engage a ledge formed on the inward facing wall surface of the upstanding wall; at least two mounting members capable of being attached to the frame, each mounting member having a first end structured to be received in a respective orifice in the frame and including a bayonet structured to retain the mounting member in engagement with the respective orifice in the frame; a second end including a through-opening through which may be inserted a fastener; an elongated opening formed transversely across the mounting tab to facilitate bending, wherein the elongated opening divides the first end of the mounting member from the second end thereof; wherein each mounting member is formed of a bendable material that enables the second end of the mounting member to bend at least 90 degrees to a bent shape and to retain the bent shape.

16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein a first orifice of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a first side of the central opening and a second orifice of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a second side of the central opening, the second side of the central opening opposing the first side of the central opening.

17. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the upstanding wall of the frame is configured to fix the frame in the opening in the structural member in a first dimension, and wherein one or more orifices of the at least two orifices is formed in the upstanding wall on a first side of the central opening, the first side of the central opening being adjacent to the central opening in the first dimension.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more readily appreciated as the same become better understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is an illustration of an assembly for covering an opening in a structural member formed in accordance with the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 2 is an illustration of a reverse side of the assembly of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the reverse side of the assembly shown in FIG. 2.

(6) FIG. 5 is an illustration of the assembly of FIG. 1 installed in a ceiling opening in accordance with the present disclosure.

(7) FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional illustration of the installed assembly shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed implementations. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that implementations may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures or components or both associated with the manufacture and installation of access openings, including walls, ceilings, floors, decks, bulkheads, as well as ventilation conduits, ducting, and related fans and structural members associated therewith have not been shown or described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the representative implementations herein below.

(9) Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims that follow, the word comprise and variations thereof, such as comprises and comprising are to be construed in an open inclusive sense, that is, as including, but not limited to. The foregoing applies equally to the words including and having.

(10) Reference throughout this description to one implementation or an implementation means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation is included in at least one implementation. Thus, the appearance of the phrases in one implementation or in an implementation in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more implementations.

(11) The various implementations described above can be combined to provide further implementations. Aspects of the implementations can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further implementations.

(12) These and other changes can be made to the implementations in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific implementations disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible implementations along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.

(13) Referring to FIGS. 1-4, shown therein is an assembly 10 in relation to an opening 12 formed in a structural member, in this case a ceiling 14. The assembly 10 includes a frame 16 having at least two orifices 50 formed therein, a cover 28 structured for attachment to the frame 16, and at least two mounting members in the form of mounting tabs 22 capable of being attached to the frame 16. Each mounting member 22 has a first end 56 structured to be received in a respective orifice 18 in the frame 16. Each mounting member 22 is formed of a bendable material as described below, that enables a second end 58 of the mounting member 22 to bend at least 90 degrees to a bent shape, and to retain the bent shape, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As such the mounting member 22 is in the form of a compliant mounting tab 22 that bends and retains its bent shape. The cover 28 attaches to the frame 16 by snapping into place as described in more detail below.

(14) The frame 16 in this implementation has a substantially rectangular shape with two long sides 30 connected together by two short sides 32. A central opening 34 is formed in the middle of the frame 16 that is defined by the long and short sides 30, 32 that also has a rectangular shape. Ideally the central opening 34 is slightly smaller than the perimeter of the frame 16. The central opening 34 is circumscribed by an upstanding wall 36 that extends completely around the central opening 34. It is to be understood that the upstanding wall 36 does not need to fully extend around the entire perimeter of the central opening. The wall 36 is positioned on the edge of the central opening and has an outward facing wall surface 38 that is substantially smooth on all sides of the upstanding wall. The upstanding wall 36 also has an inward facing wall surface 40 on all sides of the upstanding wall 36.

(15) It will be appreciated that the upstanding wall 36 has two long sides 42 and two short sides 44 similar to the long and short sides 30, 32 of the frame 16. Both the inward facing wall surface 40 of the long and short sides 42, 44, respectively, of the upstanding wall 36 have a ledge 46 formed thereon for retaining the cover 28 in place. More particularly, the cover 28 includes prongs 29, two on each long edge, that includes a lip 31 sized and shaped to engage the ledge 46 when the cover 28 is snapped into placed in the frame 16, thus holding the cover 28 in place but allowing it to be removed, such as with a flat tool.

(16) In addition, the inward facing wall surface 40 on each long side 42 of the upstanding wall 36 has a mounting block 48 formed thereon and positioned adjacent the short sides 44. Each mounting block 48 has an orifice 50 formed in the top thereof that is sized and shaped to receive a single mounting member, such as the mounting tab 22 shown therein, preferably by press fitting. However, an opening 52 is formed in a sidewall of each mounting block 48 to accommodate a bayonet style retainer 54 on a first end 56 of the respective mounting tab 22.

(17) Each mounting tab 22 has a second end 58 that includes a through-opening 60 for a fastener, if desired, and an elongated opening 62 formed transversely across the mounting tab 22 to facilitate forming a bend line.

(18) In use, the mounting members 22 are installed in the frame 16, either at the factory or on site, by pressing each mounting tab 22 into a respective orifice 50 in the mounting block 48 until a shoulder 49 on the mounting tab 22 is seated fully against the mounting block 48 and the bayonet 54 locks into the opening 52 in the mounting block 48.

(19) The frame 16 is then positioned into the pre-formed opening 12 by sliding the upstanding wall 36 therein. Once the frame 16 sides 30, 32 are pressed against the structure 14, the mounting members 22 are bent along the oblong opening 62 to bear against an adjacent surface of the structure 14. If the structure 14 were a ceiling, the second end 58 of the mounting tab 22 would be bent to approximately a 90 degree angle until it bears against an upper surface of the ceiling. Ideally the mounting tab 22 is formed of a malleable material that enables repeated bending without failure and keeps the mounting tab 22 at the bent position. Suitable materials include aluminum and related alloys as well as other malleable and compliant metals.

(20) After the frame is held in position by the mounting members 22, fasteners may be inserted through the through-openings 60 and into the structure 14 to permanently mount the frame in place.

(21) The cover 28 is then placed in the central opening 34 of the frame and pushed into place until it is seated on a circumscribing shoulder formed in the frame adjacent a surface of the frame that will be exposed when mounted on the structure 14. Seating the cover 28 in the frame will result in the lips 31 of the prongs 29 snapping in place over the ledge 46 formed on the side 40 of the upstanding wall 36.

(22) Although the disclosure has been described in detail with particular reference to these preferred implementations, other implementations can achieve the same results.

(23) The various implementations described above can be combined to provide further implementations. Aspects of the implementations can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further implementations.

(24) These and other changes can be made to the implementations in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific implementations disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible implementations along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.