Patent Application
20060124815
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for mounting items to, and displaying items on, vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a rigid and versatile apparatus for supporting instruments or other items from available areas of vehicles, such as the areas surrounding the typical rear view mirror location.
Many forms of personal transportation lack desired controls, indications, or accessories suited to the personal tastes of the individual or individuals using the transportation. Automobile manufacturers provide a basic level of indicators and displays (e.g., speedometer, engine temperature, and fuel level, with warning lights for various other indicators) and forego the addition of ancillary instruments and gauges to keep their costs low. Simple efforts at adding gauges and other instruments to a vehicle's interior often sacrifice the stability of the factory equipment to which the instruments are attached, and further sacrifice the safety of the passengers by not adequately supporting the added instruments.
These problems provide opportunities for creative after-market solutions. Because of the expense of design and production, after-market manufacturers try to design products applicable to a wide variety of makes or styles of vehicles. Therefore, it is important that after-market solutions be versatile, capable of suiting most drivers regardless of the vehicle. Ideally, the flexibility of orientation and location would help a variety of drivers of a single vehicle to achieve spatial compatibility with the installed indications. Such products should also be effective, safe, inexpensive, and easy for the driver to install.
Most vehicles feature some exposed, available surface. For example, vehicles used in motor sports are likely to provide roll over protection through tubular roll bars or cages; additionally, in some of these vehicles the A-pillar is also an exposed tube. Larger vehicles, such as boats and automobiles may have free surfaces on dashboards or consoles in front and below the driver's field of view, as well as on the windshield or on the roof in front and above the driver's field of view. Such spots provide an opportunity for mounting one or more gauges, controls, or accessories.
Different drivers, and even different positions of a single driver can require a broad range of adjustment to preserve spatial compatibility of an important gauge or indication. Additionally, items such as gauges typically must be connected by wiring to the equipment measuring the given vehicle performance or other parameter to be displayed by the gauge. This requires provisioning for wire hookup and discrete wire covering.
The present invention is directed to an improved gauge mounting assembly for overcoming the above and other challenges. In one embodiment, the invention includes a gauge display member having a face portion, a beard portion and an interior wall. The face portion is provided with a substantially horizontal top edge lying in a substantially horizontal plane when the mount is in an upright position, and the beard portion can be integrally formed with the face portion. The beard portion extends outwardly from the side and lower edges of the face portion, and the face portion includes at least one opening through which a gauge or other instrument may be viewed. The invention further includes a rampart member securable to the interior wall of the gauge display member. In one embodiment, the rampart member is secured to the gauge display member by means of a lip portion extending along a lower inner portion of the rampart member, which provides a flat surface of sufficient surface area to securely mate with the gauge display member interior wall. When the gauge display member and the rampart member are secured, an opening is created through which gauges, instruments and wiring may be positioned and maintained.
With reference to the drawings, as shown in
As shown in
The face portion 40 is formed with one or more substantially circular, part-cylindrical and/or other shaped rings 54 so as to provide one or more openings 55 therein, through which an installed gauge or other instrument may be viewed, for example. In one embodiment, each ring edge 58 forms the perimeter of the respective opening 55 and the ring body 59 and edge 58 are configured to receive and/or retain a portion of the gauge or instrument for display. In this way, the face of the gauge or other instrument (shown in dashed lines in
As further shown in
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As further shown in
When the rampart member is securely engaged with the gauge display member, an opening 62 is created, which leads to a cavity portion 64 as shown in
The combined gauge display member and rampart member can be secured within a vehicle using a variety of attachment methods and devices. In one embodiment, an adhesive such as two-sided tape, hook-and-loop fasteners, glue or other suitable bonding adhesive can be placed on the windshield and/or the back of rampart member flat section 22 to adhere the device to the windshield. In another embodiment, a first bracket member (not shown) can be adhered to a windshield while a cooperating second bracket member (not shown) is adhered to the back of rampart member flat section 22. Then, the brackets are cooperatively engaged to securely support the device on the windshield of a vehicle. In another embodiment, the top edge of rampart member is snugly engaged between elements of the vehicle, such as the roof and the headliner of the vehicle as indicated at 67 of
It will be appreciated that the gauge display assembly of the present invention may thereby be located at various locations within the vehicle depending upon the user's taste. In one embodiment, a kit can be provided in connection with the invention, including the gauge display member, rampart member, adhesive and/or other attachment mechanisms for securing the rampart member to the vehicle interior as well as for securing the rampart member to the gauge display member.
In constructing the present invention, the gauge display member 15 and rampart member 20 may be formed by creating a mold out of urethane or similar material, and vacuum sealing ABS plastic or other suitable material about the mold. The plastic member can then be trimmed and cut to provide the desired edges and/or openings. It will be appreciated that the positioning and retaining of gauges within the cavity created by securing the gauge display member and the rampart member, as well as the process steps of securing the assembly in place within a vehicle interior may occur in a variety of orders. For example, the gauge display member and rampart member may be secured together, and then gauges fed through openings 55, wiring first. Then the rampart member may be secured to the vehicle, such as against the windshield, above the headliner or both, with the wiring extending through notch 31 and up along or behind the headliner so as to effectuate concealment. Alternatively, gauges and wiring may be placed in the gauge display member as it is placed in position within the vehicle interior. Then, the rampart member may be brought into position such that the lip portion external surface mates with the gauge display member interior wall, thereby retaining the gauges and wiring within the formed cavity. The wiring may then be brought up through the opening 62 and notch 31 for feeding along ridge 32 and back groove 33 as described earlier. The rampart member can then be secured to the gauge display member and the assembly can then be secured to the vehicle interior in any of the manners described or the equivalents thereof. In one embodiment, the gauge display member itself can be secured to the vehicle without the use of the rampart member, such as by glue or other adhesive along the edges of the gauge display member. The particular dimensions of the gauge display member and rampart member and their elemental parts can, in one embodiment, be customized depending upon the target vehicle make and model and the desired location within the target vehicle.
It should be understood that the foregoing description and examples are only illustrative of the present invention; the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and the manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. Thus, various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims.
