Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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.
