CA1120574A - Mounting construction for electrical device - Google Patents
Mounting construction for electrical deviceInfo
- Publication number
- CA1120574A CA1120574A CA000322468A CA322468A CA1120574A CA 1120574 A CA1120574 A CA 1120574A CA 000322468 A CA000322468 A CA 000322468A CA 322468 A CA322468 A CA 322468A CA 1120574 A CA1120574 A CA 1120574A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- control
- housing
- neck
- panel
- tip portion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Landscapes
- Casings For Electric Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
MOUNTING CONSTRUCTION FOR ELECTRICAL DEVICE
Abstract of the Disclosure A control is disclosed which includes a housing and a sheet metal mounting member for securing the housing in place to a mounting panel. The mounting member comprises a tab projecting away from the housing and having a tip portion and a neck portion supporting the tip portion. The neck por-tion has a relatively easily deformable section and the tip portion includes at least one deformable gripping section extending from the tip portion in a direction generally paral-lel to and spaced laterally from the neck section so that the neck section can be bent for extension through a panel opening and then twisted to tightly engage the gripping sec-tions with the panel.
Abstract of the Disclosure A control is disclosed which includes a housing and a sheet metal mounting member for securing the housing in place to a mounting panel. The mounting member comprises a tab projecting away from the housing and having a tip portion and a neck portion supporting the tip portion. The neck por-tion has a relatively easily deformable section and the tip portion includes at least one deformable gripping section extending from the tip portion in a direction generally paral-lel to and spaced laterally from the neck section so that the neck section can be bent for extension through a panel opening and then twisted to tightly engage the gripping sec-tions with the panel.
Description
'7~L
The present invention relates to mountings for control devices and, more particularly, to mountings for attaching electrical control devi~es to supporting panels.
Equipment such as clothes dryers, water heaters, baseboard heaters, etc., commonly employ temperature respon-sive controls to halt operation of the equipment upon the attainment of a temperature condition which is potentially destructive to the equipment. These temperature responsive ~-controls, as well as other similar types of controls, e.g.
pressure responsive controls, are often mounted on sheet metal ~- equipment body panels. The controls may vary widely in con-struction and purpose but most include a housing supporting an electrical switch and a condition responsive switch act- ~-uator.
- Many types of control mountlng techniques are known, the commonest probably being sheet metal screws. In many instances, the control is provided with a bracket, a mounting flange, and/or tabs in which openings are formed to permit the control to be secured to a supporting panel by the screws.
The use of screw fasteners is comparatively expensive in terms of both materials and labor. Moreover, screw fas~eners tend ; to loosen over a period of time particularly when subjected to vibrations.
The use of deformable tabs for connecting elements, such as controls, to sheet metal panels has been proposed as a cost reducing measure. One proposal for connecting a control to a sheet ~etal panel is shown by Canadian Design Patent No. 38,038. ~n this proposal a mounting member has a deformable tab which can be bent to extend through a slot in a sheet metal panel and then twisted to prevent removal of the tab from the slot. A second tab portion extends away 1.
LZ~5'74 from the control housing for receipt by another ~lot or open-ing in the supporting panel. The second tab includes a step, or "dog leg," which permits the second tab to be inse~ted in the panel with the moun~ing member flush against the panel.
This proposal simplifies the control mounting pro-cedure in terms of eliminating screws, but does not enable electrical grounding of the control to the panel and does not prevent the control from rattling when the panel vibrates.
Where "dog legs" are used the mounting member must have oppo-sitely oriented "dog legs" depending on how the control is to be oriented with respect to the panel when it is mounted (i.e., whether the electrical terminals of the control are to project outwardly or lnwardly from the panel)~
The present invention provides a new and improvedcontrol which is readily mounted to a supporting panel in . , ~` such a way that the control can be quickly and easily atkached to its supporting panel, supported against vibration relative to the supportlng panel and whose conskruction is consistent regardless of the eventual orientation of the contro:L relative ; 20 to the panel. If the panel is electrically grounded the new mounting construction is effective to establish electrical continuity with it.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention a control housing is associated with a sheet metal mounting member having a tab projecting away from the housing which is comprised of a tip portion and a tip supporting neck portion. The neck portion is formed at least in part by a relative~y easily deformable s~ction and the tip portion includes a deforJnable gripping section projecting from it generally parallel to and spaced laterally from the neck section.
This construction allows the housing to be mounted to a sheet metal panel, or the like, with the neck section bent to enable the tip portion to extend through a support panel opening. The neck section is then twisted causing the gripping section to deformahly engage the panel material ad-jacent the opening and secure the tab in place to it. Edges of the gripping section material tend to bite into the panel material to assure a secure connection and, if the panel is electrically conductive, electrical continuity between the control mounting member and the panel can be established.
This provides a safety feature in that if the panel is elec-trically grounded, or earthed, as it usually is, the control housing is grounded.
The mounting member forms a mounting element extend~
ing from the housing at a location spaced from the tab. The mounting element is engageable with the mounting panel and is resiliently flexible so that it is flexed when the control is mounted to a panel. This tends to minimize vibration of the control when the panel vibrates.
Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings which form part of the speci-fication.
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a control embodying the present invention partially mounted to a support panel;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view o~ a control embodying the invention mounted in a different orientation relative to the panel;
FIGURE 3 is an elevational view o~ a control embodying the invention prior to mounting;
15~74 FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of a control embodying the invention mounted to a panel; and, FIGURE 5 is an elevational view seen approximately from the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.
~ condition responsive control 10 is illustrated by the drawings connected to a supporting panel 12 which is preferably made from sheet metal or similar material defining a keyhole-shaped opening 14 and a rectangular slot 16 spaced slightly away from the opening 140 The control 10 is engaged with the panel in the openings 14, 16.
The control 10 comprises a housing 20, a mounting member 22, a switch assembly 24 and a switch operator assembly 26 ~see ~IGURE 4). The switch operator assembly 26 is respon-sive to sensed changes in a physical condition, such as temper~
ature or pressure, for actuating the switch assembly 24 between conductive and nonconduc~ise condi~ions in turn compl~t.ing and interrupting an eleckrical control circuit in which the switch assembly i~ connec~ed. For purposes of this description the control 10 re~ponds to temperature levels sensed in the ~ general vicinity of the control to govern conductivity of the control circuit.
The housing 20 may be of any su.itable construction and is illustrated as formed by a molded thermosetting plastic material defining a cylindrical wall 30 and a generally circular base wall 32. A cavity is defined within the housing wall which opens remote from the base 32 for receiving the switch assembly 24.
The mounting member 22 secures the housing 20 to the mounting panel 12 and in the preferred embodiment includes an annular panel-~ngaging flange 40, a tab 42 extending away from the housing 20 and a mounting element 44 which projects away from the housing 20 at a location spaced from ~he tab 42.
The flange 40, tab 42 and mounting element 44 are stamped from a common planar piece of sheet metal such as steel.
In the illustrated control the mounting member 22 is clamped to the housing 20 by crimping or staking it to the housing wall 30 along the inside periphery of the panel-engaging flange 40. The housing wall 30 is provided with suitable mounting member engaging shoulder areas lnot illustrated) against which the flange material is crimped or staked, as is conventional.
The tab 42 is formed by a tip portion 52 connected to the flange 40 by a neck portion 54. The neck portion is continuous with the flange 40 and defined at least in part by a relatively easily deformable nect section 56. The tip portion 52 includes at least one deformable gripping section 58 which extends from the tip portion in a direction generally parallel to and spaced laterally Erom the neck section 56.
The deformable neck section 56 is formed by an abruptly narrowed part of the neck whose edges converge pro-ceeding towards the tip portion 52. An opening 60 i~ formed in the neck section which, along with the converging neck section edges, weakens the neck section 56 to facilitate its deformation. Weakening the neck section 56 allows it to be bent out of the plane of the flange and twisted relatively easily by the simple expedient of gripping the tip portion by a simple tool (such as pliers) and applying the appropriate manual forces.
The opening 60 can also serve to receive a screw if ~he control 10, for some reason, must be mounted to the panel by the use of screw fasteners. Although the openings 14, 16 in the panel 1~ are "standard" and normally provided )S79L
in appliances for mounting controls some situatlons exist in which these openings are not provided and controls must be screwed in place~
In the preferred and illustrated control two gripping sections 58 are provided. Each is formed by a barb-like struc-ture tapering to a point proceeding away from the tip. The tapered construction of the gripping sections 58 enables ~hem to undergo bending deformation under relatively small applied forces. The pointed ends and the edges of each of the barbs bite into the panel material when they are bent so that firm, electrically continuous contact between the tab and the panel material can be provided.
The preferred mounting element 44 is formed by a projection having diverging edges 62 extending radially away from the flange 40 and terminating in laterally extending ears 64. The element 44 is continuous with the ~lange 40 and formed by a stamping opera~ion, as noted, so that the element 44 is in the plane of the flange 40 prior to mounting the control to the panel (see F~GU~E 3). ~n aperture 66 is formed in the element 44 between khe edges 62 for increasing the flexibility of the mounting element 44 as well as receiving a mounting screw is the control 10 must be attached to a control panel by sheet metal screws.
The switch assembly 24 can be of any suitable construc-tion. The switch assembly 24 is schematically shown as having a fixed contact 70, a moving contact 72 supported on a re-silient electrically conductive cantilevered blade 76, and terminals 80, 82 electrically connected to the fixed and moving contacts 70, 72, respectively, and pro~ecting through and away from the housing base wall 32. The blade 76 is re-siliently deflected by the operator assembly to disengage 6.
-57~
the contacts 70, 72 and is stressed so that it constantly biases the contacts toward engagement.
The switch operator assembly 26 may be of any suit-able construction but is illustrated as including a snap acting imperforate spring me~al diaphragm 90 whose motion is transmitted to the switch assembly 24 by a motion transfer pin 92 formed from an electrically non-conductive plastic material so that electrical conductivity between the switch assembly and the diaphragm 90 is prevented. The illustrated control includes a cup-like drawn sheet metal body 94 contin-uous with the flange 40 and extending over the diaphragm 90.
The diaphragm periphery is hermetically welded to the interior wall of the body 94 so that a chamber 96 is formed in the body 94 on the side of the diaphragm opposite from the motion transfer pin. An opening in the body 94 receives the open end of a capillary tube 100 which is hermetically attached to the body abou~ the opening~ The capillary tube 100 extends from the chamber to a closed tube end, not shown, which is remote from the control ~0 and can be disposed at a location whose temperature is desired to be monitored.
The capillary tube and chamber 36 are filled with a vaporizable fluid 50 that when the temperature of the fluid in the capillary tube remote from the control increases or decreases there is a resultant respective fluid pressure increase or decrease in the chamber 96. The diaphragm 90 is constructed to snap between one position and another in response to a predetermined pressure levels in the chamber 96 in a manner which is well known and understood in the art.
The illustrated control 10 is constructed to sense excessive temperatures at a location (not shown) along the capillary tube 100 remote from (but in the general vicinity 5~
of) the control 10 and to open the swi-tch contacts 70, 72 as a result. Figure 4 illustrates the control in a condition in which the switch contacts are opened as a result of an excessive temperature having been sensed.
The control 10 may be mounted to a supporting panel 12 with the capillary tube extending from tbe plane of the panel in either direction. Figures 1 and 2 show the alterna-tive mounting arrangements. Figure 1 illustrates a control ~-10 partially mounted to a panel 12 with the capillary tube 100 extending from the panel face 12a while Figure 2 shows the capillary tube extending from the opposite panel face 12b. The opposite mounting orientations of the control 10 are achieved without requiring any differences in the construc-tion of the mounting member 22 during production of the contrvl.
To mount the control 10 to a supporting panel 12 the kab tip portion 52 is gripped by pllers and the neck sec-~ion 56 is bent 50 that the tip portion extends at approximately a right angle to the plane of the ~lange 40 in the direction of the panel 12. The mounting element ears 64 are ~hen moved through the plane of the keyhole opening 14 and into position along opposite edges of the rectangular part 14a of the keyhole shape (as shown at Figures 1 and 2~. This results in the control 10 extending away from the panel at a small angle since the flange 40 is located on the opposite side of the panel 12 from the ears 64.
The control 10 is then pressed toward the panel so that the tip portion 52 extends through the slot 16 and the flange 40 engages the panel 12 in substantially full face contact about the edges of the keyhole opening 14. In this position of the control the mounting element 44 is resiliently deflected so that it biases the control towards movement in a direction to withdraw the tab from the slot 16.
Figure 1 illustrates the control 10 at this stage of its mounting and, as illustrated, the tips of the gripping sections 58 extend back from the tip portion 52 through the plane of the panel 12. With the control 10 held in the posi-tion illustrated ~y Figure 1 the tip portion is again grasped by pliers and twisted about its longitudinal axis (which ex-tends perpendicular to the flange 40). The neck section 56 is thus twisted to move the gripping sections 58 to engage the panel and be deformed with their edges biting into the panel material. The tab mount~ng with the neck section twisted as described is illustrated by Figures 2, 4 and 5.
The biasing force produced by the resiliently de- ~ ;
flected mounting element 44 maintains a control resiliently engaged with the panel 12 insuring engagement of the tab gripping sections 58 wi~h the panel 12 and minimizing rattli.ng noises which might otherwise be encountered if the panel tends to vibrate relative to the control.
While a sinyle preferred embodiment of the invention
The present invention relates to mountings for control devices and, more particularly, to mountings for attaching electrical control devi~es to supporting panels.
Equipment such as clothes dryers, water heaters, baseboard heaters, etc., commonly employ temperature respon-sive controls to halt operation of the equipment upon the attainment of a temperature condition which is potentially destructive to the equipment. These temperature responsive ~-controls, as well as other similar types of controls, e.g.
pressure responsive controls, are often mounted on sheet metal ~- equipment body panels. The controls may vary widely in con-struction and purpose but most include a housing supporting an electrical switch and a condition responsive switch act- ~-uator.
- Many types of control mountlng techniques are known, the commonest probably being sheet metal screws. In many instances, the control is provided with a bracket, a mounting flange, and/or tabs in which openings are formed to permit the control to be secured to a supporting panel by the screws.
The use of screw fasteners is comparatively expensive in terms of both materials and labor. Moreover, screw fas~eners tend ; to loosen over a period of time particularly when subjected to vibrations.
The use of deformable tabs for connecting elements, such as controls, to sheet metal panels has been proposed as a cost reducing measure. One proposal for connecting a control to a sheet ~etal panel is shown by Canadian Design Patent No. 38,038. ~n this proposal a mounting member has a deformable tab which can be bent to extend through a slot in a sheet metal panel and then twisted to prevent removal of the tab from the slot. A second tab portion extends away 1.
LZ~5'74 from the control housing for receipt by another ~lot or open-ing in the supporting panel. The second tab includes a step, or "dog leg," which permits the second tab to be inse~ted in the panel with the moun~ing member flush against the panel.
This proposal simplifies the control mounting pro-cedure in terms of eliminating screws, but does not enable electrical grounding of the control to the panel and does not prevent the control from rattling when the panel vibrates.
Where "dog legs" are used the mounting member must have oppo-sitely oriented "dog legs" depending on how the control is to be oriented with respect to the panel when it is mounted (i.e., whether the electrical terminals of the control are to project outwardly or lnwardly from the panel)~
The present invention provides a new and improvedcontrol which is readily mounted to a supporting panel in . , ~` such a way that the control can be quickly and easily atkached to its supporting panel, supported against vibration relative to the supportlng panel and whose conskruction is consistent regardless of the eventual orientation of the contro:L relative ; 20 to the panel. If the panel is electrically grounded the new mounting construction is effective to establish electrical continuity with it.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention a control housing is associated with a sheet metal mounting member having a tab projecting away from the housing which is comprised of a tip portion and a tip supporting neck portion. The neck portion is formed at least in part by a relative~y easily deformable s~ction and the tip portion includes a deforJnable gripping section projecting from it generally parallel to and spaced laterally from the neck section.
This construction allows the housing to be mounted to a sheet metal panel, or the like, with the neck section bent to enable the tip portion to extend through a support panel opening. The neck section is then twisted causing the gripping section to deformahly engage the panel material ad-jacent the opening and secure the tab in place to it. Edges of the gripping section material tend to bite into the panel material to assure a secure connection and, if the panel is electrically conductive, electrical continuity between the control mounting member and the panel can be established.
This provides a safety feature in that if the panel is elec-trically grounded, or earthed, as it usually is, the control housing is grounded.
The mounting member forms a mounting element extend~
ing from the housing at a location spaced from the tab. The mounting element is engageable with the mounting panel and is resiliently flexible so that it is flexed when the control is mounted to a panel. This tends to minimize vibration of the control when the panel vibrates.
Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the drawings which form part of the speci-fication.
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a control embodying the present invention partially mounted to a support panel;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view o~ a control embodying the invention mounted in a different orientation relative to the panel;
FIGURE 3 is an elevational view o~ a control embodying the invention prior to mounting;
15~74 FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of a control embodying the invention mounted to a panel; and, FIGURE 5 is an elevational view seen approximately from the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.
~ condition responsive control 10 is illustrated by the drawings connected to a supporting panel 12 which is preferably made from sheet metal or similar material defining a keyhole-shaped opening 14 and a rectangular slot 16 spaced slightly away from the opening 140 The control 10 is engaged with the panel in the openings 14, 16.
The control 10 comprises a housing 20, a mounting member 22, a switch assembly 24 and a switch operator assembly 26 ~see ~IGURE 4). The switch operator assembly 26 is respon-sive to sensed changes in a physical condition, such as temper~
ature or pressure, for actuating the switch assembly 24 between conductive and nonconduc~ise condi~ions in turn compl~t.ing and interrupting an eleckrical control circuit in which the switch assembly i~ connec~ed. For purposes of this description the control 10 re~ponds to temperature levels sensed in the ~ general vicinity of the control to govern conductivity of the control circuit.
The housing 20 may be of any su.itable construction and is illustrated as formed by a molded thermosetting plastic material defining a cylindrical wall 30 and a generally circular base wall 32. A cavity is defined within the housing wall which opens remote from the base 32 for receiving the switch assembly 24.
The mounting member 22 secures the housing 20 to the mounting panel 12 and in the preferred embodiment includes an annular panel-~ngaging flange 40, a tab 42 extending away from the housing 20 and a mounting element 44 which projects away from the housing 20 at a location spaced from ~he tab 42.
The flange 40, tab 42 and mounting element 44 are stamped from a common planar piece of sheet metal such as steel.
In the illustrated control the mounting member 22 is clamped to the housing 20 by crimping or staking it to the housing wall 30 along the inside periphery of the panel-engaging flange 40. The housing wall 30 is provided with suitable mounting member engaging shoulder areas lnot illustrated) against which the flange material is crimped or staked, as is conventional.
The tab 42 is formed by a tip portion 52 connected to the flange 40 by a neck portion 54. The neck portion is continuous with the flange 40 and defined at least in part by a relatively easily deformable nect section 56. The tip portion 52 includes at least one deformable gripping section 58 which extends from the tip portion in a direction generally parallel to and spaced laterally Erom the neck section 56.
The deformable neck section 56 is formed by an abruptly narrowed part of the neck whose edges converge pro-ceeding towards the tip portion 52. An opening 60 i~ formed in the neck section which, along with the converging neck section edges, weakens the neck section 56 to facilitate its deformation. Weakening the neck section 56 allows it to be bent out of the plane of the flange and twisted relatively easily by the simple expedient of gripping the tip portion by a simple tool (such as pliers) and applying the appropriate manual forces.
The opening 60 can also serve to receive a screw if ~he control 10, for some reason, must be mounted to the panel by the use of screw fasteners. Although the openings 14, 16 in the panel 1~ are "standard" and normally provided )S79L
in appliances for mounting controls some situatlons exist in which these openings are not provided and controls must be screwed in place~
In the preferred and illustrated control two gripping sections 58 are provided. Each is formed by a barb-like struc-ture tapering to a point proceeding away from the tip. The tapered construction of the gripping sections 58 enables ~hem to undergo bending deformation under relatively small applied forces. The pointed ends and the edges of each of the barbs bite into the panel material when they are bent so that firm, electrically continuous contact between the tab and the panel material can be provided.
The preferred mounting element 44 is formed by a projection having diverging edges 62 extending radially away from the flange 40 and terminating in laterally extending ears 64. The element 44 is continuous with the ~lange 40 and formed by a stamping opera~ion, as noted, so that the element 44 is in the plane of the flange 40 prior to mounting the control to the panel (see F~GU~E 3). ~n aperture 66 is formed in the element 44 between khe edges 62 for increasing the flexibility of the mounting element 44 as well as receiving a mounting screw is the control 10 must be attached to a control panel by sheet metal screws.
The switch assembly 24 can be of any suitable construc-tion. The switch assembly 24 is schematically shown as having a fixed contact 70, a moving contact 72 supported on a re-silient electrically conductive cantilevered blade 76, and terminals 80, 82 electrically connected to the fixed and moving contacts 70, 72, respectively, and pro~ecting through and away from the housing base wall 32. The blade 76 is re-siliently deflected by the operator assembly to disengage 6.
-57~
the contacts 70, 72 and is stressed so that it constantly biases the contacts toward engagement.
The switch operator assembly 26 may be of any suit-able construction but is illustrated as including a snap acting imperforate spring me~al diaphragm 90 whose motion is transmitted to the switch assembly 24 by a motion transfer pin 92 formed from an electrically non-conductive plastic material so that electrical conductivity between the switch assembly and the diaphragm 90 is prevented. The illustrated control includes a cup-like drawn sheet metal body 94 contin-uous with the flange 40 and extending over the diaphragm 90.
The diaphragm periphery is hermetically welded to the interior wall of the body 94 so that a chamber 96 is formed in the body 94 on the side of the diaphragm opposite from the motion transfer pin. An opening in the body 94 receives the open end of a capillary tube 100 which is hermetically attached to the body abou~ the opening~ The capillary tube 100 extends from the chamber to a closed tube end, not shown, which is remote from the control ~0 and can be disposed at a location whose temperature is desired to be monitored.
The capillary tube and chamber 36 are filled with a vaporizable fluid 50 that when the temperature of the fluid in the capillary tube remote from the control increases or decreases there is a resultant respective fluid pressure increase or decrease in the chamber 96. The diaphragm 90 is constructed to snap between one position and another in response to a predetermined pressure levels in the chamber 96 in a manner which is well known and understood in the art.
The illustrated control 10 is constructed to sense excessive temperatures at a location (not shown) along the capillary tube 100 remote from (but in the general vicinity 5~
of) the control 10 and to open the swi-tch contacts 70, 72 as a result. Figure 4 illustrates the control in a condition in which the switch contacts are opened as a result of an excessive temperature having been sensed.
The control 10 may be mounted to a supporting panel 12 with the capillary tube extending from tbe plane of the panel in either direction. Figures 1 and 2 show the alterna-tive mounting arrangements. Figure 1 illustrates a control ~-10 partially mounted to a panel 12 with the capillary tube 100 extending from the panel face 12a while Figure 2 shows the capillary tube extending from the opposite panel face 12b. The opposite mounting orientations of the control 10 are achieved without requiring any differences in the construc-tion of the mounting member 22 during production of the contrvl.
To mount the control 10 to a supporting panel 12 the kab tip portion 52 is gripped by pllers and the neck sec-~ion 56 is bent 50 that the tip portion extends at approximately a right angle to the plane of the ~lange 40 in the direction of the panel 12. The mounting element ears 64 are ~hen moved through the plane of the keyhole opening 14 and into position along opposite edges of the rectangular part 14a of the keyhole shape (as shown at Figures 1 and 2~. This results in the control 10 extending away from the panel at a small angle since the flange 40 is located on the opposite side of the panel 12 from the ears 64.
The control 10 is then pressed toward the panel so that the tip portion 52 extends through the slot 16 and the flange 40 engages the panel 12 in substantially full face contact about the edges of the keyhole opening 14. In this position of the control the mounting element 44 is resiliently deflected so that it biases the control towards movement in a direction to withdraw the tab from the slot 16.
Figure 1 illustrates the control 10 at this stage of its mounting and, as illustrated, the tips of the gripping sections 58 extend back from the tip portion 52 through the plane of the panel 12. With the control 10 held in the posi-tion illustrated ~y Figure 1 the tip portion is again grasped by pliers and twisted about its longitudinal axis (which ex-tends perpendicular to the flange 40). The neck section 56 is thus twisted to move the gripping sections 58 to engage the panel and be deformed with their edges biting into the panel material. The tab mount~ng with the neck section twisted as described is illustrated by Figures 2, 4 and 5.
The biasing force produced by the resiliently de- ~ ;
flected mounting element 44 maintains a control resiliently engaged with the panel 12 insuring engagement of the tab gripping sections 58 wi~h the panel 12 and minimizing rattli.ng noises which might otherwise be encountered if the panel tends to vibrate relative to the control.
While a sinyle preferred embodiment of the invention
2~ has been illustrated and described herein in considerable detail the invention is not to be considered limited to the precise construction shown. Various adaptationsl modifica-tions and uses of the invention may occur to those skilled - in the art to which the invention relates. For example, the control 10 could be constructed using a "dog leg" configuration of the mounting element 44 if desirable in a particular circum-stance. The intention is to cover all such adaptations, modi-fications and uses which come within the scope or spirit of the attached claims.
Claims (11)
1. A control comprising:
a housing;
a sheet metal mounting member for securing said housing in place, said mounting member comprising a tab pro-jecting away from said housing, said tab comprising a tip portion and a neck portion supporting said tip portion relative to said mounting member, said neck portion defined at least in part by a relatively easily deformable section and said tip portion including at least one deformable gripping section extending from said tip portion in a direction generally paral-lel to and spaced laterally from said neck section.
a housing;
a sheet metal mounting member for securing said housing in place, said mounting member comprising a tab pro-jecting away from said housing, said tab comprising a tip portion and a neck portion supporting said tip portion relative to said mounting member, said neck portion defined at least in part by a relatively easily deformable section and said tip portion including at least one deformable gripping section extending from said tip portion in a direction generally paral-lel to and spaced laterally from said neck section.
2. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said gripping section is defined by a barb-like element tapering toward its end proceeding away from said tip portion.
3. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said mounting member defines a mounting element projecting away from said housing at a location spaced from said tab.
4. The control claimed in claim 3 wherein said mounting element forms a resiliently flexible projection.
5. The control claimed in claim 4 wherein said mounting member defines a generally planar flange structure extending about said housing, said tab and said mounting element formed continuous with and by the same material as said flange structure.
6. The control claimed in claim 5 wherein said flange structure, tab and mounting element are formed in a common plane.
10.
10.
7. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said neck section is formed between convergent side edges of said neck portion.
8. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said neck section defines at least part of an opening in said neck.
9. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said thin narrow neck section is disposed immediately adjacent said tip portion and said neck widens proceeding toward said housing.
10. The control claimed in claim 1 wherein said control is mounted on a supporting panel, said tip portion extending through a slot in the panel, said thin narrow neck section being bent and twisted to engage said at least one gripping section with the mounting panel side remote from the housing and said at least one gripping section deformed by said engagement.
11.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000322468A CA1120574A (en) | 1979-02-28 | 1979-02-28 | Mounting construction for electrical device |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000322468A CA1120574A (en) | 1979-02-28 | 1979-02-28 | Mounting construction for electrical device |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1120574A true CA1120574A (en) | 1982-03-23 |
Family
ID=4113644
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000322468A Expired CA1120574A (en) | 1979-02-28 | 1979-02-28 | Mounting construction for electrical device |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1120574A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2342685A (en) * | 1998-10-13 | 2000-04-19 | Otter Controls Ltd | Twist-tab fastening, eg for electrical devices |
-
1979
- 1979-02-28 CA CA000322468A patent/CA1120574A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2342685A (en) * | 1998-10-13 | 2000-04-19 | Otter Controls Ltd | Twist-tab fastening, eg for electrical devices |
| GB2342685B (en) * | 1998-10-13 | 2002-11-06 | Otter Controls Ltd | Improvements relating to the control of electric heating elements |
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