Navistar International Transportation Corporation

Joseph Pollak Corporation

Leonard P Lachmann

Robert D Dannenberg

David D Williams

Thomas Lozito

Thomas V Lozito

A turn lock bezel mounts an instrument gauge on an instrument panel by exerting axial retention forces that force a bezel ring against a front margin of a mounting aperture in the instrument panel and a dial graphic and dial plate of the gauge against a rear edge of a retaining ring that holds a window glass in the bezel ring and passes axially into the mounting aperture. In a first embodiment, when the bezel is turned a small acute angle in one direction, it can be extracted from the mounting aperture leaving the gauge behind in the instrument panel, and when turned a small acute angle further, the bezel can still be extracted, but it now extracts the gauge too. In a second embodiment, a lost motion connection is provided between the bezel and the gauge so that finger tip clearance will exist between the rear edge of the bezel ring and the instrument panel before the bezel begins to extract the gauge. This allows the person to get a better grip for better overcoming resistance that may be encountered in separating the electrical terminals of the gauge from mating terminals in a circuit board in the instrument panel.

Turn lock bezel for gauge extraction and retention

A front removable gauge assembly including a case gauge housing for locking the assembly to an instrument panel. A printed circuit board is mounted within the case gauge housing in electrical contact with conductors of a connector shell which extends from the case gauge housing for electrically connecting elements on the printed circuit board to an instrument signal source. A front removable gauge unit is removably mounted within the case gauge housing and contains an instrument assembly which can be mounted for 90-degree or 255-degree pointer sweep. From the bottom of the front removable gauge unit, a connector stud and wiper contacts extend. The connector stud has a protruding key which engages the bottom surface of the printed circuit board upon clockwise rotation of the front removable gauge unit to thereby removably lock it to the printed circuit boards. Also, with rotation, the wiper contacts are pressed against contact pads on the printed circuit board from which they remove oxidation and improve electrical contact. For removal, the front removable gauge unit is simply rotated in a counterclockwise direction to disengage the key from the printed circuit board.

Growing community of inventors

El Paso, TX, United States of America

Leonard P Lachmann