Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to gearshift finishers, particularly those suitable for use around the gear selector lever and gear selector plate of automatic transmission (A/T) vehicles. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Some vehicles have gear selector levers on their steering columns, particularly some A/T vehicles where the lever may operate a switch that in turn controls the vehicle gearbox remotely via relays or other actuators. However most vehicles, and the vast majority of cars, have a gear selector lever mounted centrally between, or just ahead of, the driver&#39;s seat and the adjacent passenger seat. 
     Whilst some vehicles have a dashboard-mounted gear selector lever, the lever is most commonly mounted on the floor of the vehicle cabin, which expression includes a transmission tunnel or similar structure such as a console raised above the footwells of the cabin. That position corresponds to the typical gearbox location of front-engine, rear-wheel-drive cars that have their engine and gearbox in line with a propeller shaft extending through a transmission tunnel to the rear differential. Whilst rear-wheel-drive cars are now less common than front-wheel-drive cars in which the gearbox is usually on the end of a transversely-mounted engine (i.e. to one side of the engine bay), most gear selector levers remain in a familiar central location within the cabin. This is possible because a gear selector lever need not be connected directly to the gearbox that the lever controls: typically a linkage of cables or, more commonly, rods is used to connect the lever to the gearbox. 
     The gear selector lever of an A/T vehicle pivots between operational positions that typically include park, reverse, neutral, drive and low gear, known collectively by the abbreviation PRNDL. Movement of the lever takes place within a slot defined by a gear selector plate that surrounds the base of the lever. The gear selector plate may bear indicia such as the letters PRNDL appropriate to the operational positions of the lever. It may also have other functions, such as to support switches for selecting gearbox settings, traction control and so forth. 
     If the gear selector lever is attached to the gearbox either directly or via a linkage, movement or vibration of the gearbox in use of the vehicle will be transmitted to the lever. There are also substantial manufacturing tolerances in the position of the gear selector lever with respect to its intended location, affected by the alignment of the gearbox and/or linkage with respect to the vehicle. Consequently, the gear selector plate is mounted for movement with the lever so that there is always clearance around the lever in the slot within the plate. 
     Typically the gear selector plate is accommodated within a hole in a surrounding trim moulding such as a centre console moulding or a dashboard moulding. As the plate and the lever can move with respect to the vehicle structure due to movement or vibration of the gearbox, and as manufacturing tolerances must be taken into account, it follows that the plate can adopt various positions with respect to the surrounding trim moulding. A gap must therefore be left between the gear selector plate and the trim moulding. This raises the need for a finisher to bridge the gap between the plate and the moulding, and the need for the finisher to accommodate movement of the plate within the hole in the moulding. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Manual-transmission vehicles usually employ a flexible gaiter around the base of the gear selector lever that bridges the gap between the lever and the surrounding trim moulding and that accommodates movement of the lever relative to the moulding. Such an arrangement does not suffer from the problems with which the present invention is concerned. However, manual-transmission vehicles are not excluded from the ambit of the invention because some of them employ a gear selector plate or other rigid structure around the lever that is floatingly mounted with respect to surrounding or adjacent trim panels. 
     In the related gearshift finisher solution illustrated schematically in  FIG. 1  of the drawings, a gear selector plate  10  has a C-section moulded finisher strip  12  around its periphery. The C-section of the strip  12  defines outwardly-facing parallel flanges  14 ,  16  that slidingly embrace the edge of a hole  18  in a surrounding trim panel  20 . This arrangement bridges the gap between the plate  10  and the panel  20  while accommodating movement of the plate  10  relative to the panel  20 . However, it restrains the aesthetic design of the plate  10 , forcing the plate  10  to be largely flat around its periphery at least, and leaves an ugly visible joint between the plate  10  and the panel. Vehicle assembly is also difficult. 
     Against this background, according to a first aspect, the invention resides in a gearshift finisher assembly comprising: a finisher for bridging a gap between a gear selector plate and an adjacent or surrounding vehicle trim panel; and a retainer for attachment to the trim panel; wherein the finisher is engagable with the retainer for floating movement of the finisher with respect to the retainer. 
     The finisher may preferably be engagable with the retainer via a fastener shaped to engage the finisher and the retainer. This fastener may optionally be arranged resiliently to urge together the finisher and the retainer, and may for example be a plastics frame or a spring clip. 
     Advantageously, the finisher may have a skirt facing a gear selector plate. 
     The retainer may preferably be a ring that generally corresponds to the plan form of the finisher and accommodates a skirt depending from the finisher, with clearance between the skirt and the retainer ring to allow said floating movement. 
     The finisher may define a downwardly-facing bearing surface for sliding contact with an upper face of the retainer. 
     According to a second aspect, the invention resides in a fastener shaped to engage a finisher and a retainer of a gear shift finisher assembly, the fastener comprising a flexible frame having a plurality of formations for engaging the finisher and/or the retainer, the frame being arranged to hold together the finisher and the retainer. 
     From a third aspect, the invention resides in a method of mounting a gearshift finisher assembly to a vehicle with a gap between a gear selector plate and an adjacent or surrounding vehicle trim panel, the gearshift finisher assembly comprising a finisher for bridging the gap; and a retainer for attachment to the trim panel; wherein the finisher is engagable with the retainer for floating movement of the finisher with respect to the retainer, the method comprising: attaching the retainer to the trim panel; engaging the finisher with the retainer so as to allow floating movement of the finisher with respect to the retainer; and attaching the finisher to the gear selector plate. 
     The inventive concept extends to a vehicle fitted with the gearshift finisher assembly of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein; 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic sectional side view of a related art gearshift finisher arrangement; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view from above of a gearshift finisher assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, on a centre console within a vehicle cabin; 
         FIG. 2B  is a sectional view taken along substantially the line Z-Z of  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view from underneath of a gearshift finisher assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, shown in isolation; 
         FIG. 4A  is an exploded view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4B  is an enlarged view of a clip forming part of the assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C are enlarged sectional detail views taken along substantially the line A-A, B-B and C-C respectively of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view from underneath of a gearshift finisher assembly in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, shown in isolation; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 6 ; and 
         FIGS. 8A ,  8 B and  8 C are enlarged sectional detail views taken at points D, E and F respectively of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In order that the invention may be more readily understood, two embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings. 
     A first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B. 
       FIG. 2A  of the drawings shows a gearshift finisher assembly  24  in accordance with the invention that is set into an opening  26  in a trim moulding  28  defining an upper surface of a centre console  22 . The main parts of the assembly  24  visible in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  are a finisher  30 , a retaining ring  52 , and a plastics frame  100 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2B , it will be appreciated that when the finisher  30  is fixed to a gear selector plate  32  and the retaining ring  52  is fixed to the console  22 , the finisher  30  surrounds the gear selector plate  32  and bridges a gap  25  between the plate  32  and the trim moulding  28  of the console  22 . 
     In typical manner, the gear selector plate  32  has a slot  34  for accommodating an A/T gear selector lever (the lever is omitted from this figure), and spaces or windows  36  for associated indicia such as PRND. The plate  32  is mounted as in the related art discussed previously. 
     The finisher  30  will be described firstly with reference to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B. The finisher  30  is a ring that is shield-shaped in plan. The finisher  30  has a hollow, banked cross-section defined by inner and outer walls,  38  and  40  respectively, inclined away from a smoothly-radiused central ridge  42 . The inner wall  38  extends downwardly and inwardly from the ridge  42  to the upper surface  44  of the gear selector plate  32 . The outer wall  40  extends downwardly and outwardly from the ridge  42  to the surrounding trim moulding  28  of the console  22 . The outer wall  40  deepens forwardly such that the ridge  42  inclines from an upper forward end to a lower rearward end  48 . Conversely the inner wall  38  is substantially the same depth all around the gear selector plate  32 . 
     The gear selector plate  32  is therefore disposed at substantially the same inclination as the ridge  42  with respect to the upper surface  50  of the console trim moulding  28 . 
     The finisher  30  will be described in further detail with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  5 A,  5 B and  5 C.  FIGS. 3 and 4A  show the gearshift finisher assembly  24  partially visible in  FIG. 2A  from underneath with both the gear selector plate  32  and the console trim moulding  28  omitted for clarity. 
     The finisher  30  has a deep skirt  58  depending straight down from the inner wall  38 . The skirt  58  defines a receptacle for slidingly receiving and locating the gear selector plate  32  as will be appreciated from  FIG. 2B . Ribs  60  spaced at intervals around the finisher  30  extend from the skirt  58  to the outer wall  40  to stiffen the outer wall  40 . Those ribs  60  also co-operate to define a low-friction bearing surface  62  for relative movement between the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52 . The openings  102  and indentations  103  disposed around the bottom of the skirt  58  define engagement points for the plastics frame  100 . 
     The retaining ring  52  will now be described in further detail with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  5 A,  5 B and  5 C. The retaining ring  52  comprises a continuous contoured strip  66  whose shape broadly corresponds to the shield-like plan shape of the finisher  30  but is a little smaller and thinner in plan. Specifically, the width of the strip  66  from its inner edge  68  to its outer edge  70  is such that the retaining ring  52  can fit between the skirt  58  and the bottom edge  72  of the outer wall  40  of the finisher  30 . 
     Moreover, the aperture  74  delineated by the inner edge  68  of the strip  66  is large enough to accommodate the skirt  58  of the finisher  30  with clearance all around the skirt  58 , such that the finisher  30  can move laterally and longitudinally with its skirt  58  within the retaining ring  52 . 
     The majority of the strip  66  of the retaining ring  52  lies substantially in one plane, save for slight inverse dishing, meaning that its inner edge  68  lies slightly above its outer edge  70  all round. However, the inner edge  68  of the forward transverse portion  76  of the strip  66  is raised further above the outer edge  70 , whereby the forward transverse portion  76  of the strip  66  comprises a steeply inclined inner section that leads upwards from a substantially horizontal outer section to the raised inner edge at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees. The raised inner edge  68  and the inclined inner section of the forward transverse portion  76  combine to create an upwardly-extending pocket  104  in the forward transverse portion  76 , which combines with a corresponding recess  106  in the skirt  58  of the finisher  30  to accommodate a forward protrusion of the gear selector plate  32 . More generally, the forward transverse portion  76  of the strip  66  also has a slight convex curvature when viewed from above, this matching the curvature of the console  22  to which the retaining ring  52  is attached in use. 
     The upper face of the strip  66  of the retaining ring  52  is largely plain and featureless, save for the pocket  104  in the transverse portion  76  of the strip  66 . The majority of the upper face of the strip  66  defines an upper bearing surface  78  that bears against bearing surface  62  of the ribs  60  between the skirt  58  and the outer wall  40  of the finisher  30 . 
     Integral fixing and locating formations project from the lower face of the strip  66  of the retaining ring  52 . Those formations comprise four downwardly-facing posts  80 , two being disposed to each side of the strip  66 , and two pins  82 , one being disposed on each side of the strip  66 , between each pair of posts  80  of the retaining ring  52 . The majority of the lower face of the strip  66  defines a lower bearing surface  79  that bears against the plastics frame  100 . 
     The plastics frame  100  will be described in further detail with reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  5 A,  5 B and  5 C. The plastics frame  100  is shaped as a contoured ring which follows the general plan form of the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52 . The general shape and size of the frame  100  is such as to fit snugly around the skirt  58  of the finisher  30 , where an inner surface  108  of the frame  100  lies against an outer surface  59  of the skirt  58 . However, the inner surface  108  of the frame  100  comprises six inward facing snap fitting projections  110 , which are arranged in three pairs, one member of each pair being opposed to the other to each side of the frame  100 . Further, the inner surface  108  of the frame  100  comprises four inward locating projections  111 , which are arranged in two pairs. 
     The frame  100  also comprises seven outwardly-facing support projections  112  each having an upwardly facing surface that serves to engage with the lower bearing surface  79  of the strip  66 . Six of the support projections  112  of the frame  100  are arranged in three pairs, one member of each pair being opposed to the other to each side of the frame  100 , whilst the remaining projection  112  extends from the tapered rear end of the frame  100 . 
     &lt;Others&gt; 
     Some of the details shown particularly in  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C have already been described above. Others will be mentioned now. All of those Figures also show the increased ‘footprint’  94  defined by the extensive range of movement of the finisher  30  that the invention permits.  FIG. 5(   d ) shows the rib  60  has a cutout portion  61  for accommodating the frame  100 . 
     &lt;Assembly of the Gearshift Finisher Assembly  24  Itself&gt; 
     It will be described how the gearshift finisher assembly  24  is constructed from the finisher  30 , the retaining ring  52 , and the frame  100 , with reference to  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B,  5 C. Firstly, the retaining ring  52  is placed between the finisher  30  and the frame  100 , as exemplified by  FIG. 5B . The projections  111  of the frame  100  are inserted into the indentations  103  in the skirt  58  of the finisher  30 . Then, fixing projections  110  engage in a snap fit with the openings  102  in the skirt  58  of the finisher  30  so as to hold the frame  100  firmly in place, as exemplified by  FIG. 5C . 
     In the finished assembly  24 , the retaining ring  52  is trapped between the low-friction bearing surface  62  of the finisher  30  and the upwardly facing surfaces of the support projections  112  of the frame  100 , as exemplified by  FIG. 5B , whereby the finisher  30  is supported for sliding movement with respect to the retaining ring  52 . The depth of the outwardly facing support projections  112  is such that, whilst permitting relative lateral movement between the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52  in the finished assembly  24 , the support projections  112  combine to prevent the inner retaining ring  52  from slipping past the frame  100 . The aperture  74  of the retaining ring  52  is not large enough to accommodate passage of the frame  100  and its support projections  112  in the finished assembly  24 . 
     The assembly  24  also includes clips  56  on the retaining ring  52  whose purpose is to attach the retaining ring  52  to the console trim moulding  28 . The clips  56  are attached to the posts  80  of the retaining ring  52 , as shown in  FIG. 513 . Each clip  56  has a retaining portion  57  to prevent disengagement from the retaining ring  52 . A detailed view of one of the clips  56  is shown in  FIG. 4B . 
     When the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52  are assembled and the frame  100  is applied to them, the projections  110  of the frame  100  apply downward pressure to the openings  102  of the finisher  30 , as exemplified by  FIG. 5C , while the projection  112  of the frame  100  applies simultaneously upward pressure to the bearing surface  79  of the retaining ring  52 , as exemplified by  FIG. 513 . Thus the components are urged or biased together to prevent relative vertical movement of one part with respect to the other. Yet, the frame  100  permits the relative lateral movement between the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52  that is key to the function of the assembly  24 , 
     &lt;Mounting of Assembly  24  to the Vehicle&gt; 
     It will now be described how the gearshift finisher assembly  24  is mounted in a vehicle. Firstly, there is provided a vehicle having a gear selector lever and a gear selector plate  32  (the lever is omitted from all figures). Then, the console  22  is mounted in the vehicle. The gap  25  between the plate  32  and the trim moulding  28  of the console  22  is visible. Then, the assembly  24  is attached to the console, as exemplified by  FIG. 2A . 
     It will be apparent from  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C that the opening  26  in the console  22  has a peripheral rebate  88  that supports the retaining ring  52  upon a recessed flange  90 . This accommodates the retaining ring  52  in a flush-mount manner, to assure a neat finish with minimal gaps between components. The recessed flange  90  around the opening  26  in the console  22  is provided with fixing sockets  96 , as exemplified by  FIG. 5A , and locating sockets  97 , as exemplified by  FIG. 2B . The fixing sockets  96  of the console  22  are spaced to correspond to the posts  80  that depend from the lower face of the strip  66  of the retaining ring  52 , and the locating sockets  97  are spaced to correspond to the pins  82 . 
     Each post  80  of the retaining ring  52  has a clip  56  to aid attachment to the console  22 , as previously mentioned. Each clip  56  engages the periphery of a socket  96  in a recessed flange  90 . The gear selector plate  32  has a skirt  92  depending from its upper surface  44  that fits closely within the skirt  58  of the finisher  30 , as showed by  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C. 
     During mounting, the assembly  24 , is placed on the console  22  so that the skirt  58  of the finisher  30  faces the skirt  92  of the gear selector plate  32 . Next, the gearshift finisher assembly  24  is simply pushed into the opening  26  in the console  22  until the posts  80  slide into the fixing sockets  96  and the clips  56  carried by the posts  80  engage around the associated the fixing sockets  96  to retain the assembly  24  in the opening  26 , as shown in  FIG. 5A . At that time, the pins  82  of the retaining ring  52  are received in corresponding of the locating sockets  97  of the console  22  to aid alignment and location of the retaining ring  52 , as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     As a result, mounting of the gearshift finisher assembly  24  on the centre console  22 , is achieved by attaching the retainer  52  to the trim moulding  28 ; engaging the finisher  30  with the retainer  52  with the help of the plastics frame  100  so as to allow floating movement of the finisher  30  with respect to the retainer  52 ; and attaching the finisher to the gear selector plate  32 . 
     ADVANTAGES 
     In conclusion, the gearshift finisher assembly  24  bas the following advantages. 
     Firstly, vehicle assembly is facilitated by allowing for a large tolerance in the position of the gear selector lever in all directions with respect to its intended location, and by providing a finisher arrangement that can be applied to a wide range of gear selector levers or gear selector plates. Thus, as the retaining ring  52  is fixed to the console  22 , the facility for relative movement between the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52  allows for a large tolerance in the position of the gear selector plate  32  in all directions. Specifically, the lateral tolerance is allowed by floating between the finisher  30  and the retaining ring  52 , and the vertical tolerance is allowed by skirt  58  of the finisher  30 . 
     Secondly, the gearshift finisher assembly  24  permits a great deal of aesthetic design freedom, for example the creation of AT finishers of various three-dimensional shapes. 
     This is because the assembly  24  allows the joint between the assembly  24  and the console  22  to be hidden, and the finisher  30  is not directly attached to the console  22 . The outer wall  40  of the finisher  30  largely conceals the retaining ring  52  when assembled and mounted in use. 
     Turning to the second embodiment of the detailed structure of the gearshift finisher assembly  124  of  FIG. 2A , and referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7  of the drawings, the gearshift finisher assembly  124  is once again shown from underneath, with both the gear selector plate  32  and the console trim moulding  28  omitted for clarity. It will be apparent that the assembly  124  of the second embodiment comprises the finisher  130  shown in  FIG. 2A , a retaining ring  152  that broadly corresponds to the plan form of the finisher  130 , and a spring clip  154  that extends around the ring  152  and the finisher  130  to hold them together as will be explained. The assembly  124  also includes clips  156  on the retaining ring  152  whose purpose is to attach the retaining ring  152  to the console trim moulding  28 , as will be best appreciated in the detail view of  FIG. 8A  to be described below. 
     Looking at  FIGS. 6 and 7  in detail, it will be seen that the finisher  130  has a deep skirt  158  depending straight down from the inner wall  138 . The skirt  158  defines a receptacle for slidingly receiving and locating the gear selector plate  32  as will be appreciated in  FIGS. 8A ,  8 B and  8 C to be described below. Ribs  160  spaced at intervals around the finisher  130  extend from the skirt  158  to the outer wall  140  to stiffen the outer wall  140 . Those ribs  160  also co-operate to define a low-friction bearing surface  162  for relative movement between the finisher  130  and the retaining ring  152  as can be seen in  FIG. 8B . Outwardly-facing lugs  164  disposed around the bottom of the skirt  158  are spaced at intervals to alternate with the ribs  160 . These lugs  164  define engagement points for the spring clip  154  as will be explained with reference to  FIG. 5C . 
     The retaining ring  152  comprises a continuous contoured strip  166  whose size and shape broadly corresponds to the size and shield-like plan shape of the finisher  130 . The width of the strip  166  from its inner edge  168  to its outer edge  170  is such that the retaining ring  152  can fit between the skirt  158  and the bottom edge  172  of the outer wall  140  of the finisher  130 . In this way the outer wall  140  of the finisher  130  largely conceals the retaining ring  152  when assembled and mounted in use. Moreover, the aperture  174  delineated by the inner edge  168  of the strip  166  is large enough to accommodate the skirt  158  of the finisher  130  with clearance all around the skirt  158 , such that the finisher  130  can move laterally and longitudinally within the retaining ring  152 . As the gear selector plate  32  is fixed to the finisher  130  and as the retaining ring  152  is fixed to the console  22 , the facility for relative movement between the finisher  130  and the retaining ring  152  effects the desired floating mounting of the gear selector plate  32 . 
     The strip  166  of the retaining ring  152  lies substantially in one plane save for slight inverse dishing, meaning that its inner edge  168  lies slightly above its outer edge  170  all round. The forward transverse portion  176  of the strip  166  also has a slight convex curvature when viewed from above, this matching the curvature of the console  22  to which the retaining ring  152  is attached in use. 
     The upper face of the strip  66  of the retaining ring  152 , not visible in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , is largely plain and featureless. It defines a bearing surface  178  that bears against the underside  162  of the ribs  160  between the skirt  158  and the outer wall  140  of the finisher  130  as exemplified by  FIG. 8B , whereby the finisher  130  is supported for sliding movement with respect to the retaining ring  152 . 
     Integral fixing and locating formations project from the lower face of the strip  166  of the retaining ring  152 . Those formations comprise four downwardly-facing posts  80 , two being disposed to each side of the strip  166 , and two pins  182 , one being disposed centrally at each of the forward and rearward ends of the retaining ring  152 . The posts  180  are attachment points for clips  156  whose function is best appreciated in  FIG. 8A  to be described below. The pins  182  are received in corresponding holes adjacent the opening  126  in the console trim moulding  128  to aid alignment and location of the retaining ring  152  during assembly and in use. 
     The spring clip  154  is a continuous loop of stiff but resilient wire, shaped to follow the general plan form of the finisher  130  and the retaining ring  152 . Specifically the general shape and size of the loop is such as to fit snugly around the skirt  158  of the finisher  130 , where inner portions  184  of the loop lie against the skirt  158  and engage the lugs  164  as aforesaid, as shown in  FIG. 5C . However, the loop is deformed locally to define six projections  186  spaced around the loop that alternate with the inner portions  184  of the loop which engage the lugs  164 . Those projections  186  are grouped in three pairs, one member of each pair being opposed to the other to each side of the loop, such that the loop is symmetrical about its central longitudinal axis. In the finished assembly  124 , the projections  186  bear against the underside of the strip  166  of the retaining ring  152 . So, when the finisher  130  and retaining ring  152  are assembled and the spring clip  154  is applied to them, the spring clip  154  applies downward pressure to the lugs  164  of the finisher  130  while simultaneously applying upward pressure to the retaining ring  152 , thus urging or biasing those components together to prevent relative vertical movement of one part with respect to the other. Yet, the spring clip  154  permits the relative lateral movement between the finisher  130  and the retaining ring  152  that is key to the function of the assembly  124 . 
     Some of the details shown particularly in  FIGS. 8A ,  8 B and  8 C have already been described above. Others will be mentioned now. For example it will be apparent from all of those drawings that the opening  26  in the console  22  has a peripheral rebate  88  that supports the retaining ring  152  upon a recessed flange  90 . This accommodates the retaining ring  152  in a flush-mount manner, to assure a neat finish with minimal gaps between components and to allow smooth sliding movement of the finisher  130  with respect to the retaining ring  152 . 
     All of  FIGS. 8A ,  8 B and  8 C show that the gear selector plate  32  has a skirt  92  depending from its upper surface  44  that fits closely within the skirt  158  of the retainer. All of those drawings also show the increased ‘footprint’  94  defined by the extensive range of movement of the finisher  130  that the invention permits. 
     Finally,  FIG. 5A  shows how the recessed flange  90  around the opening  26  in the console  22  is provided with sockets  96 , one of which is shown in that Figure. The sockets are spaced to correspond to, and to receive, the posts  180  that depend from the lower face of the strip  166  of the retaining ring  152 . Each post  180  has a hole  98  for attachment of a clip  156  to the retaining ring  152 , which clip  156  also engages the periphery of the socket  96  in the recessed flange  90 . During vehicle manufacture, the gearshift finisher assembly  124  is simply pushed into the opening  26  in the console  22  until the posts  180  slide into their sockets  96  and the clips  156  carried by the posts  180  engage around the associated sockets  96  to retain the assembly  124  in the opening  26 . 
     Mounting of the gearshift finisher assembly  124  according to either embodiment, on the centre console  22 , is achieved by attaching the retainer  152  to the trim moulding  28 ; engaging the finisher  130  with the retainer  152  with the help of the plastics frame  100  or wire clip  54  so as to allow floating movement of the finisher  30 / 130  with respect to the retainer  152 ; and attaching the finisher to the gear selector plate  32 . 
     The entire contents of United Kingdom patent application No. 0526289.4 with a filing date of Dec. 23, 2005 and European patent application No. 06125088.2 with a filing date of Nov. 30, 2006 are herein incorporated by reference. 
     Many variations are possible within the inventive concept. For example, the provision of a plastics frame or a spring clip is an optional feature, albeit preferred: it is possible for the retaining ring to be held directly by projections integral with or attached to the finishers with elastic deformation of one or both of the components permitting their assembly. Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing specific description in determining the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: b