CA1068390A - Instrument assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

An indicator assembly having a plurality of indicators mounted in a common rectangular housing having a rear wall, there being provided a circuit plate integrally molded in the rear wall of the housing that provides the necessary circuitry for actuating each of the indicators from a remote transducer, the circuit plate prior to being molded into the rear wall of the housing having narrow cut-out portions defining the circuits in the plate with small web bridges across these cut-out portions to provide the necessary support for the plate prior to inser-tion molding into the rear wall, and after molding the housing these supporting webs are selectively removed through the housing rear wall and the circuit plate at each of these webs to isolate the circuits in the circuit plate.

Description

- ` ~.06839~

Instrument assemblies or clusters haye been pro~ided in the past for such use as automobile instrumentation and the like. The instruments are actuated through senders, transducers or slmple actuators. In the automobile field, such indicators may include fuel indication, battery voltage, oil pressure, coolant temperature and directional indicators. In order to provide the necessary circuitry f'or interconnecting the indicators to their actuators and ground, there have been two basic methods employed to effect this purpose. Firstly, there has been provided separate individual wiring from each indicator contact to its associated sender, electrical system and ground. This, quite obviously, can be a complex wiring process requiring signif'icant assembly time and also it lacks the desired rugged characteristic of a superior instrumentation system.
A second method employed in the past for providing electrical circuitry for indicator assemblies is the provision of printed circuit boards interconnecting the indicators to their respective senders, etc.
The disadvantage in such circuit boards is that they are expensive, or limited in the thickness of the circuit board, and are not sufficiently rugged in construction.
It is the primary object of the present invention to overcome these prior art problems.
In accordance with this invention there is provided an indicator assembly, comprising housing means, a plurality of indicators mounted on said housing means, each of said indicators having electrical connectors, and a one-piece conductive circuit plate carried by said housing means and providing circuit paths for said indicators through said connectors, said circuit plate having narrow elongated cut-out portions defining the desired circuits, said elongated cut-out portions having short selectively removable bridge portions there-across f'or supporting the circuit plate during assembly and also for defining different circuit arrangements.
In accordance with the present invention an indicator or `` ~a6~339~) instrument assembly is provided with an integrall~ molded housing having a ~lat circuit pla-te insert molded directly into the bottom or back wall of the housing, providing an extremely rugged construction at a reduced cost, and providing the flexibility o~ varied materials in the circuit plate itself. The circuit pla-te provides substan-tially all o~ the circuit interconnections between the indicators and their senders, actuators, ignition and ground.
Toward this end the circuit plate is initially stamped - la -., 10~
with a plurality o~ narrow cut-out portions with a plurality of webs being provided across the cut-out portions for the purpose of supporting the circult plate during assembly. The circuit plate is thereafter insert molded into the bottom wall of the housing itself, and then the Gircuit plate is drilled through the bottom wall at the point o~ each web, lsolating the circuits one from the other.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of generally U-shaped clips extending up through the circuit plate into the housing that provide both electrical connectors and sup-port for the indicators withln the housing itself. These clips also permit the instruments to be inserted into the housing in plug-in fashion. To assist in supporting the indicators wlthin the housing, there are provided a plurality of integrally molded posts extending upwardly from the bottom wall of the housing and having interconnecting portions on the top thereof which engage ; cooperating snap-on type fastening elements on the indicators themselves.
Some of the indicators are bulb type, such as used for directlonal indication, and these are held in the assembly by hav-ing key slots in the circuit plate which receive rotary fa~tening key-based indicator bulb assemblies.
Other ob~ects and features of the present invention will become apparent on examination of the following specification and claims together with the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an indicator assembly according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged rear view o~ the indicator assembly;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the indicator assemb-ly taken generally along llne 3-3 Or Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a subass-~mbly view of the circuit plate;

Figure 5 is a ~ront view of the indicator assembly shown 'r3(~
in Figure 2 with some o~ the instruments removed;
Figure 6 is an enlarged cross section of the terminals taken generally along line 6-6 o~ Flgure 2;
Figure 7 iS a fragmentary section taken generally along line 7-7 of Figure 5, showing the narrow webs in the circuit plate prior to removal;
Figure 8 is a fragmentary section similar to Figure 8, subsequent to drilling out the narrow web in the circuit plate;
Figure 9 ls a fragmentary section taken generally along line 9-9 of Figure 2, illustrating one of the indicator bulb assemblies in position, and Figure 10 is a fragmentary section taken generally along line lQ-10 of Figu:re 3, illuskrating one of the connector clips in position.
Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figure 1, an indicator assembly 10 is illustrated including an integrally molded housing 11, cover plate 12, and indicators including a voltage indicator 14, an oil pressure indicator 15, a coolant temperature indlcator 17 and a ~uel indicator 18, as well as miscellaneous illumination type indicators 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25.
As seen in Flgures 2, 3 and 5, the housing 11 is an inte-grally molded plastic body including a back wall 27, top and bot-tom walls 28 and 29, respectively, and side walls 30 and 31. A
flange 34 surrounds the top of the top, bottom and side walls, as shown clearly in P'igures 2 and 3, for the purpose of receiving a cooperating flange 36 on the periphery of the cover plate 12.
Suitable fasteners extend ~hrough apertures 37 for the purpose of attaching the cover to the housing 11 after the instruments have been placed in position. Partitions~ such as at 38 and 39, shown in Figure 3, lsolate the instruments 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25.
To provide the necessary circuitry between each o~ the indicators and their senders, ignition and ground, where desired, ~Qi~

a flat conductive circuit plate 40 is provided integrally molded in the bottom wall 27 by conventional insert molding techniques.
As seen clearly in Figure 4, the flat circuit plate is a conductive rectangularly shaped plate having enlarged apertures 41 ~or receiving indicator bulb assemblies, smaller rectangular aper-tures 42, ~or receiving clips that support and provide a conductlve path with instruments 14, 15, 17 and 18, and a plurallty of narrow cut-out portions 43. Spaced along the various cut-out portions 43 are web portions, indicated at 45, for the primary purpose of sup-porting the sheet during assembly and for the secondary purpose o~proYiding selective circuit paths. As will appear hereina~ter, most all o~ the webs 45 are removed after molding into the bottom wall 27 of housing 11, slnce at that time the plate no longer requires support.
The areas 47, as seen in Figure 4 between the cut-out por-tions 43, provlde the conductive paths ~or the instruments. Each o~ these conductive paths is connected to terminals 50 that as shown in Figure 6, are bent into a receiving boss 51 in the bottom o~ the housing 11 that is adapted to receive a terminal contact ; 20 boss(not shown) for the entire indicator assembly 10.
The circuit plate 40 is integrally molded in the back wall 27 in a position so that each of the web portions 45 is aligned wlth an aperture 52 in the back wall, as shown in Figures 5 and 7.
Thereafter, most, if not all o~ the apertures 52, are punched or otherwise removed (as seen in Figure 8), removing the webs 45, and at this time the circuits are isolated ~rom one another. I~ ~s also possible not to remove certain o~ the webs to alter the con-ductive paths in the circuit plate 40.
For the purpose of providing an electrical connection be-30 tween the instruments 14, 15, 17 and 18, and ignition, ground, and sender signal, contact clips 53 are provided, shown clearly in Figure 10. Clips 53 are generally U-shaped in construction, having ~0~83~
legs 54 and 55, and a bottom portion 56 that engages the rear wall o~ the circuit plate 40 to provide electrical contact there-with. The legs 54 and 55 firmly grasp a threaded projection 57 pro~ecting rearwardly from the associated instrument. Clips 53 ha~e retractable shear formed tabs 53' which snap outwardly upon insertion of a clip. These tabs keep cllps from falling out.
As seen clearly in Flgure 9, the indicator and illumina~ing bulb assemblies also pro~ect through the circuit plate 40 and through the rear wall 27. Indicator bulb assembly 60 is the indicator bulb associ~ted with indicator 22 which may, for example, be a transmission oil temperature warning indicator. The indicator ; and illuminating bulb assemblies 60 have generally circular bases 62 with diametrical rear pro~ections 63 for the purpose of ~acili-tating insertion and rotation of the assembly 60 into the back wall 27 o~ the housing 11. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, each of the circuit plate apertures 41 is recessed at 64 and 65, as well as the inner surface of the back plate 27, as shown at 66 and 67.
The base 62 has radial pro~ections 69 and 70 which fit within the recesses 66 and 67, a~ter which the indicator assembly 60 is rotated by the thumb pro~ection ~3 and held firmly in position in the back plate~
A contact strip 75 is positioned between bulb base 76 and the base 62 and has contact members 79 and 80 which engage portions 82 and 83 of the circuit plate 40, as seen clearly in Figure 4.
This provides the necessary electrical connections between the indicator or illuminator 60 and the circuit plate 40. It should be understood that the indicators 60 are easily removable and replaceable as a result o~ this construction.
With respect to the instruments 14, 15, 17 and 18, they may be directly plugged lnto the housing 11 as a result of the clips 53 cooperating with rearward pro~ections 57. To ~urther assist in holding the instruments 14, 15, 17 and 18 in position, there are provided~ as shown in Figures 3 and 5, posts 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, gl and 92, ~ormed integrally with and pro;ecting up-wardly ~rom the bottom wall 27. ~t the top o~ the posts 85 - 92 are short sha~t portions 95, as seen in Figure 5, that rec~ive a U-shaped ~lexible clamp portion on each o~ the instruments. It should be noted that diagonal posts 85 and 8~ support instrument 15, posts 86 and 90 instrument 17, posts 87 and 91 instrument 14 and posts 89 and 92 support instrument 18. The posts 85 - 92 permit, along with the clips 53, the instruments to be directly inserted into the housing 11 withouk the need for any manual ~asteners.
The circuit plate in Figure 4 represents a typical circuit ~or the indicator assembly or cluster shown, but it should be understood that other circuit configurations may be easily devised.
It is believed helpful to briefly explain the portions o~ the circuit plate shown in Figure 4. Terminal 100 receives the sender signal to the oil pressure gauge 15 through conductive path 101 to conduckive clip 102~ which is mounted in aperture 103 in the circuit plate shown in Figure 4O Note that Figure 4 represents a back view of the circuit panel, while Figure 5 represents a front view of the assembly with the instruments removed. Terminal 105 provides a common ground through conductive path 106. Terminal 107 provides power to lamps 110 and 111 through conductive path 112 in plate 40. Terminal 108 is the ignition battery terminal providing a conductive path through portion 110' in the plate, as shown in Figure 4.
It should be noted that various conductive paths can be interconnected by clips 112, shown in Figure 2, which have legs which project through apertures 113 and 114, thus connecting con-ductive path 110' with conductive pakh 116.
Terminal 118 carries the sender signal to the temperature gauge 17 through conduckive path 120, which has electrical contact with clip 121 associated with the temperature gauge 17. Fuel ~06l~3~30 gauge 18 ls driven through terminal 122 through conductive por-tion 124 to clip 126, which is seated within aperture 127 shown in Figure 4.
The remaining terminals 130 to 135 are connected up to actuate the remaining instruments in the assembly 10, and may be easily traced on the circuit of Figure 4.
;; It should be understood that the terminals as shown in Figure 4 are illustrated in their uncut position, while in Figure 6 they are cut. The center portion, after molding into the wall 27, is cut out and the remaining free ends are bent into the boss 51, as shown clearly in Figure 6.

Claims (6)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An indicator assembly, comprising housing means, a plurality of indicators mounted on said housing means, each of said indicators having electrical connectors, and a one-piece conductive circuit plate carried by said housing means and providing circuit paths for said indicators through said connectors, said circuit plate having narrow elongated cut-out portions defining the desired circuits, said elongated cut-out portions having short selectively removable bridge portions there-across for supporting the circuit plate during assembly and also for defining different circuit arrangements.

2. An indicator assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said indicator connectors project rearwardly from said components and are rigid in construction, interengaging connectors being mounted in said housing and having clip portions grasping said indicator connectors directly upon insertion of said indicators into said housing means.

3. An indicator assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said components are connected to said circuit plate by a plurality of U-shaped clips on the back of the rear wall of said housing and projecting through said rear wall.

4. An indicator assembly as defined in claim 3, including a plurality of enlarged apertures in said rear wall exposing portions of said circuit plate, and additional indicator components mounted in said enlarged apertures.

5. An indicator assembly as defined in claim 4, including a plurality of enlarged apertures in said rear wall exposing portions of said circuit plate, illumination bulbs mounted in said enlarged apertures.

6. An indicator assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said circuit plate has a plurality of narrow cut-out portions defining the circuit paths, clip means on the back of the rear wall of said housing extending through the circuit plate and from one path to another providing at least a portion of the circuit.