Harman International Industries, Inc.

Robert E Hazelwood

Ronnie S Espiritu

Gorm H Jo Slashedrgensen

An improvement in small round loudspeakers of popular standard types used in vehicle assembly is obtained by modifying a standard-sized basket in a manner to provide a polar array of special mounting openings located on a concentric mounting circle of larger than standard diameter, thus allowing the use of a larger cone for improved performance and allowing the loudspeaker to be mounted in different-sized popular mounting hole patterns in the baffle panel; for example an aspect of the invention enables the '6.5 inch basket', associated with Asian-built vehicles, to be fitted with a larger-sized cone used in the '170 mm basket' associated with European-built vehicles, thus providing a loudspeaker, with the improved performance of the larger cone, that can be installed in a range of different baffle panel cutout sizes and configurations of either type of vehicle. In a twist-lock embodiment, an array of elongated slots, typically four, configured in the rear side of the peripheral mounting flange of the loudspeaker, enables twist-lock installation and removal, by engaging a corresponding array of specially-shaped lock tabs associated with the baffle panel. The lock tabs may formed on a sheet metal ring that can be attached to the baffle panel by bolts, screws, rivets or other fasteners prior to installing the loudspeaker. A forward-facing raised landing surface of the loudspeaker flange, which normally carries protruding mounting screw heads, is left clear to provide an unobstructed flat surface for adhesive attachment of the surround suspension of the larger cone.

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Amesbury, MA, United States of America

Robert E Hazelwood