WO2008066452A1

WO2008066452A1 - A protector device

Info

Publication number: WO2008066452A1
Application number: PCT/SE2007/001048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Jonsson; Hans-Erik Strandberg
Original assignee: H & K Innovation Ab
Priority date: 2006-11-29
Filing date: 2007-11-28
Publication date: 2008-06-05
Also published as: EP2099632A1; EP2099632A4

Abstract

A protector device adapted to be inserted in an end portion of a tubular duct (A) and locked to the inside wall of the duct comprises a retainer body (31) having a plurality of catch members (36) which can be operated to firmly engage the inside of the duct, and a locking body (32) which can be separately inserted in the duct (A) and locked to the retainer body (31) so that the retainer body will be inaccessible to manipulation. A key (4) is required to operate the lock (51) from the locking position to the unlocking position so that the retainer body (31) is made accessible for removal.

Description

A protector device

This invention relates to a protector device adapted to be inserted and securely retained in a tubular duct, particularly an end portion of a fuel filler tube, to prevent unauthorised access to a space shielded by the protector device.

Although not limited to such use, the invention has been made with a view to providing an improved device for preventing theft of fuel, such as petrol, diesel oil and fuel oil, from fuel tanks. It will therefore be exemplified and described with that particular application in mind.

Petrol and diesel oil, and also fuel oil and other liquid fuels, are becoming more and more expensive and therefore also more and more attrac- tive to thieves. Theft of such fuels is a frequent and annoying problem today, and in particular haulage and building contractors and forest machine operators are often victims of fuel theft. Their trucks and machines are often left unattended in places and in circumstances in which thieves can operate without being detected. Existing filler caps are fairly easily dislodged from the filler tube even when locked. Thefts occur not only from vehicles and machines, but also from farm tanks and large tanks temporarily placed at or near building or road construction sites.

Attempts at improving theft protection of fuel tanks have been made (examples are described in US 4 299 102 and US 6 102 234) but have mostly been directed to solutions which are integrated in the filler caps Generally, filler caps are not designed to resist forceful attacks. Other attempts at solving the problem have been based on solutions directed to preventing insertion of siphoning hoses in the fuel tanks, but they have not been particularly successful (FR 2 833 889, US 4 292 130, DE 34 08 316). This invention provides a solution to the above-described problem which comprises a protector device adapted to be inserted in the end portion of a tubular duct, which may be a filler tube of a fuel tank, for example, such that it is completely or almost completely enclosed in the duct, and then locked to the duct so as to be firmly anchored therein in a manner such that it is substantially inaccessible to forceful attacks by means of prying or other intrusion tools which might be used in efforts to remove the protector device and get access to the contents in the space that is blocked off by the protector device.

More particularly, the solution is the protector device which is the subject-matter of the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments of the protector device form the subject matter of the independent claims.

Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the protector device;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the protector device of Fig. 1 with a locking body removed from a retainer body and a manipulating handle attached;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the retainer body of the protector device inserted in a tubular duct, the section being partly through the upper part of the, along a plane marked by line III-III of Fig. 8, and partly through the lower part along a plane marked by IHa-IIIa in Fig. 5;

Fig. 4 is a view of the assembled protector device, partly (in the upper part of the device) in vertical axial section along a plane angularly displaced 90° from the sectional plane of Fig. 3, which corresponds to the sectional plane marked by line IV-IV in Fig. 6, and partly (in the lower part of the device) in elevation;

Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section, along line V-V in Fig. 3, of the pro- tector device;

Fig. 6 shows the top end of the protector device viewed from line VI-VI of Fig. 4:

Fig. 7 is a view in vertical section along line VII-VII of Fig. 6, of the locking body;

Fig. 8 shows the retainer body viewed from line VIII-VIII of Fig. 3;

Figs. 9a and 9b show a handle for manipulating the retainer body, Fig. 9a being a view in axial section and Fig. 9b being an elevational view of the manipulating handle when angularly displaced 90° from the position shown in Fig. 9a;

Fig. 10 shows a key for locking the locking body to the retainer body when the protector device is inserted in the tubular duct and the retainer body has been brought into firm engagement with the inside of the tubular duct;

Fig. 11 shows a modified embodiment of the protector device in vertical section along line XI-XI of Fig. 13;

Fig. 12 is a view of the bottom side of the locking body of the modified protector device;

Fig. 13 is a view from above of the retainer body shown in Fig. 11; Fig. 14a and 14b are fractional sectional views of the retainer and locking bodies when locked together, Fig. 14a showing an axial section taken along a curved line XIVa-XIVa in Fig. 12 and Fig. 14b showing an axial section taken along line XIVb-XIVb in Fig. 14a;

Fig. 15 is an elevational view, partly in axial section, of the manipulating handle of the modified protector device; and

Fig. 16 is also an elevational view, partly in axial section, of the manipu- lating handle of the modified protector device and shows the handle displaced 90° from it position in Fig. 15.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the protector device comprises two main parts, namely a cylindrical retainer body 1 (having a central axis C) and a locking body 2. Associated with the retainer body 1 is a handle 3, which is used to manipulate the retainer body 1 and insert it in an end portion of a duct A, such as the filling end portion of a filler tube, indicated by phantom lines in Figs. 3 and 4, of a fuel tank and to fasten it securely but releasably to the inside of the duct. Associated with the locking body is a removable key 4.

In accordance with the invention, and as will be explained in greater detail as the description proceeds, the locking body 2 can be placed on top of the retainer body 1 as shown in Fig. 1 and fastened to it through coupling elements which are provided on the confronting faces of the two bodies 1, 2 and interengage to couple them together. A lock incorporated in the locking body 2 can then be operated by means of the key 4 to lock the two bodies together so that they cannot be separated until the lock has been unlocked by means of the key.

Fig. 3 is an axial sectional view of the retainer body 1 , which comprises a retaining mechanism 5 having a plurality of catch members 6 formed by cam-like levers. Three such catch members 6 are provided in the illustrated embodiment and mounted in recesses adjacent to the bottom side 7 of the retainer body 1. Each catch member 6 is pivotally supported on a horizontal pivot pin 8 inserted in a generally circular cylindrical block 9 which forms the main part of the retainer body 1.

The retainer body 1 also includes an actuating member 10 which is centrally positioned in the retainer body block 9 and comprises an axi- ally extending screw- threaded spindle 10a accommodated in a screw- threaded bore in the block 9. The actuating member 10 comprising the spindle 10a acts on one arm 6a, the inner arm, of each catch member 6. If the retainer body 1 is inserted in the filling end portion of the duct A and the spindle 10a is rotated in one direction to move downwards in the block 9, the spindle pushes these arms 6a downwards, so that the other, outer arms 6b are pivoted towards the inside of the duct A until they engage the duct in a retaining position of the catch members 6. The edges 6c of the outer arms 6b are knurled and thus will bite into the duct A and be securely engaged with the duct in the retaining position. In Fig. 3, the catch member 6 shown on the right side is in the re- taining position in firm engagement with the duct A.

Rotation of the spindle 10a in the opposite direction will relieve the inner arms 6a from the downward force applied by the spindle so that the outer arms 6b can move inwardly to a release position of the catch members 6, thereby making it possible to pull the retaining body 1 out of the duct A. In Fig. 3, the outer arm 6b shown on the left side is in the release position. The catch members 6 may be provided with suitable means, not shown, biasing them towards the release position.

Although in the illustrated embodiments both the retainer body 1 and the locking body 2 are cylindrical and circular in cross-section, other shapes are possible, e.g. depending on the shape of the duct in which the protector device is to be used. However, particularly the locking body 2 should preferably have a cross-sectional shape and size such that it can easily be inserted in the duct A, even if the duct should not be perfectly cylindrical or straight, but it should leave only a small gap between the inside of the duct and the locking body 2. The cross- sectional shape and the diameter of the retainer body 1 are less important but should of course leave an adequate gap between the retainer body 1 and the duct A.

A feature of the retainer body 1 thus is the ability of the catch members 6 to be actuated so as to move outwards and project laterally from the rest of the retainer body 1 and take a retaining position in engagement with the duct A and to retract inwards from the retaining position to a release position out of engagement with the duct A.

Secured by means of a pair of bolts 11 above the top side 12 of the retainer body block 9 is a circular top plate 13 which forms a top side of the retainer body block. The space left between the top plate 13 and the top side 12 of the block accommodates a cross-piece 10b extending horizontally through the spindle 10a which projects upwards through a central opening 14 in the top plate 13. As shown in Fig. 8, the top plate 13 is formed with a pair of diametrically opposite openings 15 of keyhole shape and a further pair of diametrically opposite openings 16, hereafter referred to as latch openings. The functions of the cross-piece 10b, the top plate 13 and the openings 15 and 16 will be explained below.

The locking body 2 comprises a cylindrical block 17 with a through bore 18 accommodating a cylindrical lock 19 which is firmly anchored within the block 17. The key 4 shown in Figs. 1 and 10 can be inserted in the lock 19 from the top side 20 of the block 17 to operate the lock. The lock 19 comprises a bolt-like latch 21 which can be extended from the lower end of the lock to enter one of the latch openings 16 of the top plate 13 of the retainer body 1 as shown in Fig. 4.

A blind bore 22 in the bottom side 23 of the locking body block 17 is designed to accommodate the top end of the actuator member spindle 10a when the locking body 2 is united with the retainer body 1 as shown in Fig. 4.

A pair of male coupling elements in the shape of headed bolts 24 are inserted in threaded blind bores 25 opening in the bottom side 23 of the block 17. The heads 26 of the bolts 24 are spaced from the bottom side 23 by a distance which is slightly greater than the thickness of the top plate 13 of the retainer body 1. As shown in Fig. 6, the bolts 24 are diametrically opposite and separated by a distance corresponding to the distance separating the keyhole openings 15 in the top plate 13. The diameter of the bolt heads 26 is slightly less than the diameter of the wide part of the keyhole openings 15 so that the bolt heads can be passed through that part of the keyhole openings 15 and take a position clear of the top plate 13. Turning the locking body 2 in the proper direc- tion, counterclockwise when viewed as in Fig. 8, will cause the shanks of the bolts 24 to enter the narrow parts of the keyhole openings 15, so that the locking body 2 can no longer be axially separated from the retainer body 1. That turning movement of the locking body 2 will align the latch 21 of the lock 19 with one of the two latch openings 16 in the top plate 13, so that the lock can be operated to extend the latch 21 into that opening as shown in Fig. 4, thereby preventing turning of the locking body 2 to bring the heads 26 of the bolts 24 back to the position in alignment with the wide part of the keyhole openings 15.

Accordingly, when the positively locking male coupling elements formed by the heads 26 of the bolts 24 are engaged with the respective associated complemental positively locking female coupling elements formed by the portions of the top plate 13 which define the narrow parts of the keyhole openings 15, they effectively prevent axial separation of the locking body 2 from the retaining body 1 and thereby effectively prevent manipulation of the retaining body when the protector device is in its operative position inside the duct A as shown in Fig. 4.

It therefore is extremely difficult for a person not having a key fitting the lock 19 to remove the protector device according to the invention in order to obtain access to fuel stored behind it and pump it out through the duct A. The illustrated lock 19, which is a standard lock readily obtainable from hardware suppliers, can be mounted flush with the top side 20 of the locking body block 17 so that it presents no part suitable for attacks by means of tools. Operation of the lock 19 to project the latch 21 into the locking position takes place by pressing a push-button 19a, the pressed position of which is indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4. When the lock is unlocked by means of the key 4, the push-button 19a returns to a raised position.

The manipulating handle 3 shown in Figs. 9a and 9b comprises an outer tube 3a, an inner tube 3b, which is internally screw- threaded at its lower end and can be screwed onto the upper end of the spindle 10a, and a handlebar 3c which extends horizontally through the upper part of the inner tube 3b and through a pair of diametrically opposite axial slots 3d in the outer tube 3a. The outer tube 3a is axially slidable rela- tive to the inner tube 3b within the limits defined by the ends of the slots 3d and its lower end is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite notches 3e wide enough to receive the crosspiece 10b of the spindle 10a.

The protective device is used as follows. 1. When the protective device is being prepared for putting it in position and making it operative, the spindle 10a is preferably first screwed down in the retainer body 1 approximately to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. The radially outer portion of the outer arm 6b of the left catch member 6 is withdrawn from the retaining position so that it will not prevent insertion of the retaining body in the duct A. Moreover, the inner tube 3b of the handle 3 is screwed onto the upper end of the spindle 10a, the outer tube 3a being held in its uppermost position during the screwing down so that the notches 3e will not slide over the pro- jecting parts of the crosspiece 10b and thereby lock the spindle 10a ro- tationally to the inner tube 3b. Only when the inner tube 3b is completely or almost completely screwed down will the outer tube 3a be allowed to slide down to engage the cross-piece 10b.

2. Then the retainer body 1 is lifted with the handle 3 and inserted in the upper end portion of the duct A and pushed or slid down until the retainer body 1 is well below the end of the duct. The handle 3 is turned to screw down the spindle 10a and make it engage and push down the inner arms 6a of the retaining members 6 so that the outer arms 6b will be forced outwards and engage the inside of the duct as shown on the right side of Fig. 3, where the lowermost position of the spindle is indicated in dash-dot lines. Initially, if required, the retainer body 1 can be slightly tilted against the inside of the duct to keep it from rotating.

3. When the outer arms 6b of the catch members 6 firmly engage the duct A, the outer handle tube 3a is lifted to disengage the crosspiece 10b whereupon the inner tube 3b is unscrewed from the spindle 10a.

4. The locking body 1 is then inserted in the duct A and rotated until the bolt heads 26 find the keyhole openings 15 and drop through the wide keyhole portions, whereupon it is rotated further in the counter- clockwise direction as viewed from above to push the bolt shanks into the narrow portions of the keyhole openings.

5. Finally, the push-button 19a of the lock 19 is pressed to insert the latch member 21 in one of the latch openings 17.

6. The only part of the protector device that is accessible in the duct A is the top side of the locking body 2. That side is essentially smooth and covers virtually the entire lumen of the duct A, so that it is very difficult to attack the locking body 2 successfully to dislodge it. Any attempt to push the protective device inwards, using a sledgehammer and a steel rod, for example, will only result in an even firmer engagement of the retaining members with the duct.

Figs. 11 to 16 show a modified embodiment of the protector device according to the invention. In respect of its functional and structural features the modified protector device is generally similar to the protector device of Figs. 1 to 10, but it is simplified on some points in respect of its structural design and operation.

The modified protector device also essentially comprises two main parts, that is, a retainer body 31 and a locking body 32. Associated with the retainer body 31 is a manipulating handle 33 which can be used to handle the retainer body and securely fasten it in an end portion of a cylindrical duct A, shown by dash-dot lines in Fig. 1 , by frictional engagement with the inside of the duct. The duct A may, for example, a filler tube of a fuel tank (not shown). Associated with the locking body 32 is the key 34.

Like the protector device of Figs. 1 to 10, the retainer body 31 comprises a retainer mechanism 35 having three catch members 36 formed by radially oriented cam-like levers uniformly distributed about the central axis C of the retainer body and mounted in recesses adjacent to the bottom side 37. Each such catch member 36 is pivo tally supported on a horizontal pivot pin 38 inserted in a cylindrical block 39. The retainer mechanism 35 likewise comprises an actuating member 40 centrally positioned in the block 39 and including a screw-threaded spindle 40a accommodated in a screw- threaded bore in the block 39. The actuating member 40 acts on an inner arm 36a of the catch members 36 through a circular pushing plate 40b.

If the spindle 40a is screwed downwards in the block 39, it pushes the inner catch member arms 36a downwards, whereby the other, outer arms 36b are pivotally moved outwards, towards the inside of the duct A when the retainer body 31 is inserted in the duct. The curved outer edge 36c of the catch members 36 is knurled so that it can take a firm grip against the inside of the duct A and thus be securely engaged with the duct (see Fig. 11 which shows the catch members in the engaged, retaining position) If the spindle 40a is screwed upwards, the grip is loosened so that the catch members 36 can pivot inwards to a release position and the retainer body 1 can be pulled out of the duct A. The catch members 36 can be provided with suitable means (not shown) biasing them towards the release position.

The spindle 40a can be rotated to move up and down with the aid of the handle 33 shown in Figs. 15 and 16, which can be connected to the spindle 40a at the hexagon socket 40b in the upper end of the spindle.

From the top side 42 of the block 39 of the retainer body 31 a pair of screw-threaded bores 43 extend axially into the block (see Figs. 13, 14). These bores 43 are positioned at equal radial distances from the central axis C and are diametrically opposite. Each bore 43 accommodates a bolt 44 with a cylindrical round head 45, the underside of which is spaced from the top side 42. A pair of additional blind bores 46 are also placed at equal distances from the central axis C and diametrically opposite. The function of these blind bores 46 corresponds to that of the latch openings 16 in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 10.

The locking body 32 comprises a circular cylindrical block 47 whose bottom side 48, like the top side 42 of the retainer body block 39, is perpendicular to the central axis C. The bottom side 48 of the block 47 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite recesses 49 whose shape near the bottom side 48 resembles that of a keyhole (Fig. 12) and whose height is slightly greater than the distance between the top side of the bolt heads 45 and the top side 42 of the retainer body block 39 (see Figs. 14a, 14b). Thus the recesses 49 have a wide portion 49a and a narrow portion 49b which extends along a part of a circle centred on the central axis of the block 47 (this axis coincides with the central axis C of the retainer body 31 and the spindle 40a when the retainer body 31 and the locking body 32 are put together as shown in Fig. 11). Above the narrow portion 49b the recesses 49 are enlarged to a width that corresponds to the width of the wide keyhole portions 49a. On both sides of the narrow portion 49b, the transition from the narrow portion 49b to the enlarged area of the recesses form a ledge or shoulder 49c (Fig. 14b) whose height above the bottom side 48 is slightly less than the distance separating the underside of the bolt heads 45 and the top side 42 of the retainer body block 39. The width of the wide portion 49 is slightly larger than the diameter of the bolt heads 45 and the width of the narrow portion 49b is slightly larger than the diameter of the shanks of the bolts 44.

The bolt heads 45 can be thus passed axially into the recesses 49 through the wide portion 49a until the top side 42 of the retainer body block 39 engages the bottom side 48 of the locking body block 47. Turning of the locking body 32 relative to the retainer body 31 in the proper direction (counterclockwise as viewed from above in Fig. 11) will dis- place the shanks of bolts 44 into the narrow recess portion 39b so that the bolt heads 45 will be positioned above the ledges or shoulders 49c as is shown in dash-dot lines to the right in Figs. 14a. In this position the bolt heads 45 prevent axial separation of the locking body 32 from the retainer body 31 (disregarding the small play that may exist between the shoulders or ledges 49 c and the underside of the bolt heads 45).

Accordingly, the retainer body 31 includes male coupling elements formed by the bolt, heads 45 which are positively engageable with associated complemental female coupling elements of the locking body 32 to prevent axial separation of the locking body from the retainer body, and disengageable from the locking body 32 to allow such axial separation. Thus, as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 10, the coupling elements form a kind of bayonet coupling which effectively prevents manipulation of the retaining body 31 when the protector device is in its operative position inside the duct A.

From the bottom side 48 of the locking body block 37 a blind bore 50 extends into, but not through, the block along the central axis C. The diameter of the blind bore 50, the wall of which is smooth, is wide enough to allow the spindle 40a to slide easily in the bore.

A lock 51 of the same type as the lock in the protector device of Figs. 1 to 10 is accommodated and secured in the locking body block 47. The lock extends from the top side 52 of the block 37 down to its bottom side 48 and at its lower end has a bolt- like latch 51a. The latch 51a is operated from the top side 52 by means of a push-button 51b to extend the latch 51a into one of the two blind bores 46 of the retainer block body 39 and by means of the key 34 to retract the latch 51a from the blind bore. The two blind bores 46 are positioned such that whenever the bolts 34 of the retainer body 31 and the recesses 39 of the locking body 32 are in the relative angular position indicated in dash-dot lines in Fig. 14a, the latch 51a is aligned with one of the blind bores 46.

The handle 3, which is shown in detail in Figs. 15 and 16, comprises an outer tube 53, whose upper end carries a transverse handlebar 54 extending centrally through it. At the lower end the outer tube 53 has an internal screw-thread 55 which fits the external screw-thread of the spindle 40a. An inner tube 56 is axially displaceable in the outer tube 53 and biased downwards by a compression spring 57 inserted between the handlebar 54 and the top end of the inner tube 56. Adjacent to its upper end the inner tube 56 is provided with a transverse pin 58 which protrudes through an axial slot 59 in the outer tube 53. A hexagon bit 60, which is axially inserted and secured in the lower end portion of the inner tube 56, fits in the hexagon socket 40c formed in the top end of the spindle 40a.

By means of the transverse pin 58 the inner tube 56 can be manually displaced upwards against the bias of the spring 57 and inserted and retained in a lateral extension 59a of the axial slot 59.

The modified embodiment of Figs. 11 to 16 is used in substantially the same manner as the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 10.

Initially, the retainer body 31 and the locking body 32 are separated. The handle 33, with the inner tube 56 moved to its upper position and the transverse pin 58 latched in the lateral extension 59a of the slot 59, is applied to the upper end of the spindle 40, and the outer tube 53 is screwed down over the spindle. Then the transverse pin 58 is moved out of the lateral slot extension 59a so that the spring 57 can push down the inner tube 56 and thus the hexagon bit 60 towards the spindle 40a. The hexagon bit 60 will then automatically be pushed into the hexagon socket 40b in the spindle, possibly after some further turning of the handle 33.

With the aid of the handle 33 the retainer body 31 is then inserted to a suitable position in the end portion of the duct A (Fig. 1) where it is secured by screwing down the spindle 40a until the catch members 36 are in firm engagement with the duct A. The handle 33 is then removed and the locking body 32 is inserted in the duct and slid over the spindle 40a and turned until the bolt heads 45 pass through the wide portion 49a of the keyhole recesses 49 whereupon it is turned additionally until the bolt heads 45 have been moved over the shoulders or ledges 49c to the inner end of the widened upper portion of the recesses 49. Finally, when the push-button 51b of the lock 51 is depressed, the bolt-like latch 51a enters one of the blind holes 46 of the retainer body 31 to prevent turn- ing of the locking body 32 and thereby prevent axial separation of the locking body 32 from the retainer body 31.

Claims

1. A protector device adapted to be inserted in an end portion of a tubular duct, in particular a pipe, and locked to the inside wall of the duct to prevent unauthorised access to a space shielded by the protector device, comprising a retainer body having a central axis (C), a top side and a bottom side, a retaining mechanism incorporated in the retainer body and in- eluding

~ a plurality of catch members which are distributed around the retainer body and movable to take a retaining outer position in firm engagement with a duct and an inner release position out of firm engagement with the duct, and — an actuating member in the retainer body which is operable from the top side of the retainer body to displace the catch members towards the retaining position and to allow them to move away from the retaining position to the release position, a locking body having a top side and a bottom side and which is positionable with its bottom side on the top side of the retaining body, at least one coupling element on each of the top side of the retainer body and the bottom side of the locking body, the coupling element on the retainer body being engageable with the coupling element on the locking body to prevent axial separation of the locking body from the retainer body and disengageable from the coupling element of the retainer body to allow such separation, a lock secured to the locking body and including

~ a latch which is engageable with the retainer body and operable to take a locking position for preventing axial separation of the locking body from the retainer body and an unlocking position to allow such separation, and

— a key for operating the latch to move it from the locking position to the unlocking position.

2. A protector device according to claim 1, in which the catch members are levers which are pivotally movable in the retainer body and each comprise an inner arm and an outer arm, and in which the actuating member is displaceable to act on the outer arms and pivot the catch members towards the retaining position and retractable to allow the catch members to move from the retaining position to the release position.

3. A protector device according to claim 1 or 2, in which the actuating member is a screw- threaded rod which is rotatably accommodated in an axial screw-threaded bore in the retainer body.

4. A protector device according to claim 1 or 2 or 3, in which the coupling elements comprise, on one of the retainer and locking bodies, at least one male coupling element on said one body and having a shank and a head and, on the other of the retainer and locking bodies, at least one female coupling element defining a recess having a wide portion for receiving the head and a narrow portion for receiving the shank, said male and female coupling elements being capable of allowing said axial separation in a given angular position of the retainer body with respect to the locking body and to prevent said axial separation in a different angular position of the retainer body with respect to the locking body.

5. A protector according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, in which the lock comprises a latch, which in the locking position of the lock protrudes from the bottom side of the locking body into a recess in the retainer body to prevent rotational movement of the locking body relative to the retainer body.

6. A protector according to claim 4, in which the male coupling element is part of the retainer body and the female coupling element is part of the locking body.