Ford Motor Company Limited

Voplex Corporation

Uwe W Perl

Donald E Smick

Bhaskar S Modur

A mounting fastener 2 which includes various combinations of base plate 30, mounting bracket 4, and fastener 18 is disclosed. The mounting bracket 4 is a formed wire bracket to provide the stand-off distance between a supporting structure and a mounted panel. Mounting bracket 4 has a pair of parallel feet 6 and a pair of parallel legs 8 extending upward from these feet and a yoke 10 joining the legs in a generally transverse plane (which may or may not be parallel with the feet 6) over the feet, yoke 10 defining a collar 14 into which fastener 18 is resiliently snapped. Opposed tips 16, one extending at the end of each foot 6, adapt mounting bracket 4 for resilient snap engagement to a panel member. Bracket 4 snaps into engagement in channels 38 and tip holes 40 of the base plate 30. A simpler form of bracket 50 is adapted to hang on a supporting structure, also effecting the spacing of the mounted panel from the supporting structure. In an alternative embodiment, the base plate is of a plastic material and includes a number of raised points on its underside for joining or sonic welding of the base plate to the panel member. Its edge channels are tapered so that the fit of the feet therein is tighter toward the heels than toward the tips.

Panel mounting fastener system

Injection apparatus suitable for supplying in-mold thermoset coating material into a compression molding tool is provided, which injection apparatus comprises a housing (10) the forward end of which comprises an outlet nozzle (11) and an outlet channel (12) extending through the outlet nozzle, the forward terminus of the outlet channel being an outlet port (13). First and second material supply channels (14 and 15) extend within the housing from first and second supply inlet ports (16 and 17) in the housing, respectively, to a single common junction with the outlet channel. A shut-off rod (26) is slideably disposed within the outlet channel, being adapted to provide a sealing closure of the outlet port in a first, forward position and being retractable from the forward position to a second position in the outlet channel rearward of the junction of the material supply channels with the outlet channel. In both the forward and retracted position, the shut-off rod forms a sealing engagement with the outlet channel rearward of the junction of the two material supply channels with the outlet channel. Significantly, the first and second material supply channels are in communication with each other via only a single flow-path, at least when the shut-off rod is in the forward position.

Growing community of inventors

Union Lake, MI, United States of America

Uwe W Perl