Car audio fixing device

Details Car audio fixing device Car audio fixing device

1999-10-04

2001-09-04

Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)

Supports

Instrument in panel

Having biased clip holding means

Reexamination Certificate

active

06283417

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a car audio mounting device for positioning and fixing a car audio into an audio mounting hole formed in a vehicle. Particularly, the invention is concerned with a car audio mounting device which is attached to both side faces of a car audio and which is to be fitted into a vehicular audio mounting hole together with the car audio.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventional methods of fitting and setting a car audio into a vehicular audio mounting hole have entailed the use of mounting strips which are attached beforehand to both right and left side faces of the car audio. When the car audio is fitted into the audio mounting hole, the mounting strips are brought into engagement with the audio mounting hole, and the car audio is positioned and fixed into the audio mounting hole.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing a car audio in relation to an audio mounting hole formed in a vehicle, with a conventional car audio mounting device being attached to the car, and
FIG. 2
is an enlarged perspective view of the car audio shown in FIG.
1
. In these figures, the reference numeral
1
A denotes an instrument panel of a vehicle (automobile), numeral
1
B denotes a steering handle, numeral
1
denotes a rectangular audio mounting hole formed in the instrument panel
1
A, and numeral
2
denotes a car audio to be fitted and set into the audio mounting hole
1
. The car audio
2
is constituted by a combination of a chassis
2
A in the shape of an open top type case and a chassis
2
C for covering the chassis
2
A from above, the chassis
2
A having an operating panel
2
B as a front panel. The chassis
2
A and
2
C are formed by thin metallic plates.
Numeral
3
denotes a convex lug formed plurally on the front upper portion of the cover chassis
2
C. Likewise, downwardly convex lugs
3
(see
FIG. 4
to be referred to later) are formed on the front lower portion of the case-like chassis
2
A.
Numeral
4
denotes a car audio mounting member (hereinafter referred to also as “mounting device body”) attached and fixed in face-to-face contact to the front portion of both the right and left side faces of the car audio
1
. Numeral
5
denotes a bolt which tightens and fixes the mounting device body
4
to the car audio
1
.
FIG. 3
illustrates the car audio mounting device shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, in which (a) is a side view, (b) is a front end view of (a), and (c) is a top view of (a).
In
FIG. 3
, the numeral
4
denotes a plate-like mounting device body constituted by a rigid metallic plate such as a stainless steel plate; numeral
6
denotes a bent front-end engaging piece formed by bending the front end of the mounting device body
4
in a direction perpendicular thereto; numeral
7
denotes two elastically deformable cut-in pieces formed by cutting in the web portion of the mounting device body
4
; numeral
8
denotes an engaging pawl formed by bending the front end of the cut-in piece
7
, the engaging pawl
8
projecting in the same direction as the direction of the bend of the bent front-end engaging piece
6
; and numeral
9
denotes a bolt insertion hole formed in the mounting device body
4
.
FIG. 4
is a side view in vertical section of the car audio as loaded into the audio mounting hole shown in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 5
is a plan view in cross section of FIG.
4
. In these figures, the audio mounting hole
1
comprises an outer large-diameter opening
1
a
and an inner small-diameter opening
1
b.
The operation will now be explained.
First, two mounting device bodies
4
formed as above are tightened and fixed with bolts
5
to both side faces of the chassis
2
A of the car audio
2
so that the respective bent front-end engaging pieces
6
face outward.
When the car audio
2
, with two mounting device bodies
4
thus fixed to both sides thereof, is fitted in the vehicular audio mounting hole
1
, the side in the direction of insertion of the bent front-end engaging pieces
6
of the mounting device bodies
4
comes into abutment with the stepped front walls of the small-diameter opening
1
b
of the audio mounting hole
1
, as shown in
FIG. 5
, whereupon the front ends of the bent front-end engaging pieces
6
are held in an abutted state against the right and left inner wall surfaces of the
1
a
large-diameter opening
1
a
of the audio mounting hole
1
. At the same time, the engaging pawls
8
of the mounting device bodies
4
come into engagement with inner opening ends of the small-diameter opening
1
b
of the audio mounting hole
1
. Further, as shown in
FIG. 4
, the upper and lower lugs
3
of the car audio
2
abut and match the upper and lower inner wall surfaces of the small-diameter opening
1
b
of the audio mounting hole
1
.
Therefore, when the car audio
2
is fitted into the audio mounting hole
1
, the front ends of the bent front-end engaging pieces
6
of the mounting device bodies
4
come into abutment with the right and left inner wall surfaces of the large-diameter opening
1
a
of the audio mounting hole
1
, and thus the bent front-end engaging pieces
6
function as transverse positioning mechanisms which inhibit transverse movements of the car audio
2
. The convex lugs
3
formed on the upper and lower chassis
2
C,
2
A of the car audio
2
come into abutment with the upper and lower inner wall surfaces of the small-diameter opening
1
b
of the audio mounting hole
1
, thus the convex lugs
3
function as vertical positioning mechanisms which inhibit vertical movements of the car audio
2
. Further, the engaging pawls
8
of the mounting device bodies
4
are engaged with inner opening ends of the small-diameter opening
1
b
of the audio mounting hole
1
, so that the engaging pawls
8
function as inward positioning mechanisms which inhibit an inward movement of the car audio
2
.
Since the conventional car audio mounting device is constructed as above, it is possible to satisfactorily effect positioning and fixing in the transverse direction of the car audio
2
by the bent front-end engaging pieces
6
of the mounting device bodies
1
. Positioning and fixing in the inward direction of the car audio is effected by the engaging pawls
8
of the mounting device bodies
1
. However, the problem has arisen that the positioning and fixing of the car audio
3
in the vertical direction by the lugs
3
formed on the chassis
2
A and
2
C of the car audio
2
are insufficiently strong. In more particular terms, since the chassis of the car audio
2
comprises separate, upper and lower chassis
2
A,
2
C and especially since the chassis
2
C, serving as a cover member, is formed by a thin metallic plate, the chassis
2
C is deflected easily and hence an error in the vertical direction is apt to occur at the time of mounting the car audio
2
relative to the audio mounting hole
1
. That is to say, it is difficult to obtain vertical dimensional accuracy in mounting the car audio.
Moreover, since the convex lugs
3
are formed on the chassis
2
C, it is necessary to design such lugs
3
for each type of audio system and therefore the freedom as regards design is reduced.
FIG. 6
is a perspective view showing an auxiliary mounting device in relation to the car audio and the vehicular audio mounting hole, the auxiliary mounting device being used in combination with the conventional audio mounting device described above.
FIG. 7
is a sectional view showing the car audio shown in
FIG. 6
as loaded into the vehicular audio mounting hole. In these figures, the numeral
10
denotes an auxiliary mounting device which is in the shape of a rectangular frame being fitted on the outside of the car audio
2
, and numeral
11
denotes a convex lug formed plurally on both upper and lower surfaces of the auxiliary mounting device
10
. The lugs
11
substitute the lugs
3
of the chassis
2
A and
2
C shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
and
4
. Numeral
12
denotes a window hole formed in both side walls of the auxiliary mounting device
10
. The window holes
12
are for allowing the engaging pawls
8
of the mounting device bodies
4
shown

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