MOUNTING COLLAR FOR PANEL MOUNTED INSTRUMENT

• US 3,599,910 A
• Filed: 02/10/1969
• Issued: 08/17/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Narco Avionics Incorporated 270 Commerce Drive Fort Washington PA
• Original Assignee: Frank P. Wipff
• Inventors: Wipff, Frank P.
• Application Number:
  US04/797,840
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• US Class Current: 248/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/28 Structurally-combined illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/305 Panel mounting of instruments

Abstract

A mounting collar is disclosed for use with panel-mounted instruments. The mounting collar is mounted on the instrument behind the instrument panel. By tightening a few screws, the heads of which appear at the front of the panel, the mounting collar is caused to tightly embrace the instrument housing, holding it tightly in place. The instrument may be easily removed without access to the rear of the panel by merely loosening screws at the front of the panel, thereby to release the tight embrace of the mounting collar. The instrument may, of course, also be removed from the back of the panel, in the usual prior art manner.

Claims

1. In combination:

a. a display instrument having a housing, b. a panel having a hole therein through which said instrument housing is passed, c. a mounting collar adapted to embrace said housing in back of said panel, said mounting collar comprising, d. a front collar member, a back collar member, and a resilient compression ring between said front and back collar members;

e. fastening means passed through holes in said panel for conneCting together said front and back collar members;

f. said fastening means being accessible for adjustment from the front of said panel, said fastening means when adjustably tightened operating to pull said front and back members together to compress said compression ring, thereby to force said compression ring radially inwardly toward said instrument housing, thereby to releasably secure said instrument fixed in said panel, said fastening means when adjustably loosened operating to release said instrument housing, thereby to allow removal of said instrument from the front of said panel;

g. one of said front or back collar members having a groove at the periphery of its opening for receiving said compression ring, h. said peripheral groove facing said other collar member and also facing radially inwardly, i. said groove having a greater dimension in the axial direction than said compression ring in its uncompressed state, j. the other of said front or back collar members having an inner peripheral flange adapted to enter said peripheral groove to compress said compression ring.

2. The combination according to claim 1 characterized in that:

a. said fastening means comprise bolts adapted to extend through said panel and through said front and back collar members, the head of said bolts when fully installed being on the front of said panel and accessible for adjustment.

3. The combination according to claim 2 characterized in that said peripheral groove is in said back collar member and in that said inner peripheral flange is on said front collar member.

4. The combination according to claim 3 characterized in that said instrument housing is cylindrical.