AU628185B2 - Steering wheel locking device - Google Patents

Description

*Y 628185 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) pIO42E 2 '6A /90 FOR OFFICE USE Application Number: PJ4917 Lodged: 26/6/89 Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: C. ass Int. Class TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicants: Address of Applicants: 0 0 Stanley George HERBERT and Eric George CURRIE 117 Basinghall Street, East Victoria Park, and 30 Hanlin Way, Samson, respectively, both in the State of Western Australia, Commonwealth of Australia Stanley George HERBERT and Eric George CURRIE Address for Service:- Wray Associates Primary Industry House 239 Adelaide Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "STEE\ING WHEEL LOCKiL DEVICE" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 1 2 THIS INVENTION relates to a steering wheel locking device for vehicles and particularly motor vehicles.

Previous types of steering wheel locking devices have included elongated members which are detachably mounted in locking arrangement to a steering wheel so as to protrude radially beyond the circumferential extent of the wheel.

This protusion is required to be sufficiently long for the member to impinge upon the chassis or internal fixtures of the vehicle upon rotation of the steering wheel thereby preventing further rotation of the steering wheel, hence making turning or driving of the vehicle impossible.

Other types of devices have included the tying or fixing of a strap or arm between a pedal for braking, gear changing or accelerating the vehicle and the circumferential extent of the steering wheel so that rotation of the steering wheel is impeded by the strap or arm opposing extension thereof which would otherwise be necessary to permit rotation of the whtel.

S. A disadvantage of the first type of steering lock described is that, notwithstanding the fact that practical driving of the vehicle is effectively prevented, the effective operation of the arm can result in damage being caused to S" the vehicle by the arm impinging upon the chassis. In particular in cases where the arm strikes the winuscreen of the vehicle, the preserce of the arm can in fact incite potential thieves to forcedly gain entry to the vehicle ai.d smash the windscreen or other internal parts of the vehicle.

In the second type of steering lock, the strap or arm is of a portable nature and often times requires inconvenient manoeuvring on behalf of the operator to attach or detach the same to the pedals and steering wheel of the vehicle.

This inconvenience has z tendency to discourage persons 3 from actually using the mechanism after purchasing the same and hence defeats the purpose of theft prevention of the vehicle. Furthermore, the portability of the device can lead to it being misplaced or lost and difficulty in finding a convenient place to stow the same when not in use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a steering wheel locking device which substantially overcomes or mitigates the problems and disadvantages associated with the aforementioned prior art types of steering wheel locking devices.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering wheel locking device for vehicles comprising an extendable and retractable arm pivotally and fixedly mounted at one end to the chassis of a vehicle proximate to the steering wheel of said vehicle; and steering wheel clamping means at the other of said arm; said steering wheel clamping means comprising a paLr of jaws movable from a closed clamping position to an open accessible position and vice versa, and a jaw locking means operable to lock said jaws at said closed clamping position, or alternatively unlock said jaws to enable said jt.s to be moved to said open accessible position to enable positioning of said jaws upon a portion of said steering wheel or withdrawal of said jaws from said portion; wherein said arm is capable of manoeuvring between a o stowage position remote from said steering wheel and an S° engaging position at which said clamping means engages said steering wheel.

(I L -4- The invention will be better understood in the light of the follow.ng description of several specific embodiments thereof wherein:- Figure 1 is a plan schematic view of the driving compartment of a vehicle showing the steering wheel locking device fixed to the windscreen pillar in the engaging position in normal outline and in the stowage position in dotted outline, in accordance with the first -,bodiment; Figure 2 is a plan view of the device with the jaws of the clamping means in the closed clamping position; Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevati.on of the device as shown at Figure 2 of the drawings, showing particular internal detail of the arrangement at the end of the arm and che locking pawl; Figure 4 is an end view taken along section A-A of Figure 3; 0 Figure 5 is a similar fragmentary view to Figure 3, but showing the device with the jaws of the clamping means in the open accessible position, with particular 0 internal detail showing the arrangement of the jaw locking means; Figure 6 is a plan schematic view of the driving compartment of a motor vehicle showing the steering wheel locking device in the engaging position with the jaws thereof in the closed clamping position; in accordance with the second embodiment; Figure 7 is a similar plan schematic view to Figure 6 with the steering wheel marginally displaced to show

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the steering wheel locking device in the stowage position; Figure 8 is a detailed fragmentary view of the steering wheel locking device in accordance with the second embodiment with the jaws of the clamping means in the closed clamping position; Figure 9 is a similar detailed fragmentary view of the device of Figure 8, but showing the clamping means in the open accessible position; and Figure 10 is a plan schematic view of the driving compartment of a vehicle showing the steering wheel locking device fixed to the windscreen pillar in the engaging position in normal outline and in the stowage position in dotted outline, in accordance with the third embodiment.

The first embodiment is directed towards a steering wheel locking device for a motor vehicle as shown at Figures 1 through to 5 of the drawings.

The device 11 generally consists of an arm 13 and a steering wheel clamping means The arm 13 is fixedly mounted at one end by means of a pivotal ball and socket joint 17 to the windscreen pillar 19 of the vehicle. The pivotal ball and socket joint is of conventional form comprising a socket 23 which is bolted to the windscreen pillar for fixed location and a ball 27 which is fixedly attached to the inner end of the arm 13 to be retainedly accommodated within the socket so that the arm may pivot about the ball and socket joint. The outer end of the arm is slidably and retainedly mounted within an aperture 25 provided at the inner end of the clamping means to enable limited extension and retraction of the clamping /i 6 means axially of the arm. The outer end of the arr is retained within the aperture 25 by the provision of a wire circlip 29 which defines a flange of greater diameter than the diameter of the aperture 13.

The clamping means 15 comprises a pair of jaws 33 which are pivotally interconnected intermediate their respective lengths by means of a clamping pivot pin to form a scissor like mechanism. In this manner the jaws may open and close about an axis transverse to the arm and coincident with the clamping pivot pin The rear end of one of the jaws 33a provides the connection to the arm 13 and the rear end o' the other jaw 33b is free so that the ends may be moved relative to each other so as to form a pair of handles. The rear ends of the jaws are in the form of U-shaped channels whir'i have generally closed ends and open faces confron-ing each other. The channel defining the end of the jaw narginally smaller than the channel defining the end or -ne jaw 33b so that the end of the jaw 33a may be entirely accommodated within the end of the jaw 33b when the jaws are moved to the closed clamping position as shown in Figure 3.

The anterior ends of the jaws which are disposed at the outermost distal end of the clamping means are each provided with complementary mandibles 39 to define a mouth 41 therebetween which leads to an inner recess 43 circumscribed by the mandibles 39 so as to accommodate an adjacent circumferential portion 45a of the steering wheel therein. Moreover, as shown at Figures 3 and 5, the two mandibles 39a and 39b are each inwardly curved to define o the mouth 41 between the outer ends of each mandible, and •are each provided with an inner concave surface to define the inner recess 43.

i II 7 The mandibles are movable in conjunction with the jaws 33 by operating the handles to vary the spacing therebetween and consequently change the size of the mouth 41 and inner recess 43 to alternatively adopt an open accessible position, as shown at Figure 5 of the drawings, at which the circumferential portion 45a of the steering wheel can be moved through the mouth 41 and into the recess 43 or vice versa, or to close the mouth 41 and the recess 43 to a minimum spacing at a closed clamping position as shown at Figure 3 of the drawings. At the closed clamping position, the circumferential portion 45a of the steering wheel is effectively accommodated and clamped within the recess 43 between the mandibles 39.

The inner concave surfaces of the mandibles are lined with resiliently compressible material 31 such as rubber to tightly clamp the periphery of the circumferential portion of the steering wheel without damaging the same.

A jaw opening spring 37 is disposed about the clamping pivot pin 35 and has two diverging arms which respectively engage opposing inner surfaces of the jaws 33 to normally bias the handles and consequently the mandibles of the jaws apart. Accordingly, pressure must be applied to the handles to displace the jaws inwardly relative to each other for the jaws to move towards the closed clamping position, at which position the handle 33b accommodates the handle 33a tnerein.

The clamping means incorporates a jaw locking means 47 arranged in two cooperating halves. One half 47a is disposed within the handle portion of the jaw 33a and the S" oother cooperating half 47b is disposed within the handle portion of the jaw 33b.

The one half 47a comprises a key opciated lock mechanism 49 having a lock barrel 51 rotatably and transversely mounted T 9 8 within the jaw 33a. The external surface of the lock barrel 51 forms a cam having a cam surface 53 which extends radially of ,he rotational axis of the lock barrel. A transfer link comprising a cam follower 54 at one end and a saddle shaped pawl 59 at the other end is pivotally mounted about a transverse pivot pin 55 so that the cam follower rides along the cam surface 53 and is maintained in engagement therewith by means of a retaining spring 57 and the pawl surmounts the arm. The cam follower 54 transfers angular movement to the pawl by virtue of the transfer link adopting a bell crank form generally axially of the jaw 33a upon rotation of the locK barrel.

The outer end of the pawl 59 is disposed adjacent an opening (not shown) provided along a truncated portion 61 at the rear end of the jaw 33a, the provision of which will become clear 'ater.

The other helf 47b of the locking means is in the form of a saddle shaped catch 63 integrally formed with the rear end of the jaw 33b. The catch 63 defines a stop having a surface 65 which extends marginally axially of the jaw 33b.

The surface 65 is of complementary shape to the end of the pawl 59 to enable the pawl to engage therewith through the opening provide- along the truncated portion 61 of the handle 33a upon mutual engagement and accommodation of the jaw 33a within the jaw 33b. In order to facilitate this engagement between the pawl and the catch 63, the catch is provided with a curved leading face 67 upon which the outer end of the pawl 59 may ride, causing pivotal movement of the transfer link in a generally axial direction with respect to the jaw 33a during progressive movement of the handle 33b towards the handle 33a. The retaining spring 57 °will bias the pawl into mutual engagement with the surface of the catch 63 when total mutual engagement between the handles is achieved. This position corresponds to the jaws (4 p:F/cS ,.-~rcranmr~----rrsm~ acrm~-n~ 9 attaining the c.osed clamping position as previously described.

Upon the pawl and the surface 65 of the catch attaining mutual engagement, the surface 65 of the catch prevents outward displacement of the jaws apart from each other, thereby effectively locking the jaws at the closed clamping position. Accordingly, in order to unlock the jaws from the closed clamping position, it is necessary to operate the lock mechanism by utilising an appropriate key to rotate the lock barrel in a direction whereby the cam surface 53 pivots the cam follower 54 in a direction so that the pawl moves axially of the jaw 33a clea;ing the catch 63.

In operation, the steering wheel locking device 11 when disposed in a stowage position as shown in dotted outline at Figure 1 of the drawings, is accommodated within a cradle 91 for convenience and can simply be moved from the stowage position to an engaging position as shown in full outline at Figure i, by simply manoeuvring the arm and clamping means. During this time, the clamping means, if not already, may be unlocked so that the jaws adopt the open accessible position as shown at Figure 5 of the drawings.

The clamping means in manoeuvred until such time as the circumferential portion 45a of the steering wheel is disposed within the inner recess 43 of the mandibles 39 and the handles operated to close the mandibles around the circumferential portion of the steering wheel. Upon the handle 33b mutually engaging the handle 33a, the pawl of the locking means engages with the surface 65 of the catch to lock the jaws together at the closed clamping position as shown at Figure 3 of the drawings.

10 At this position, rotation of the steering wheel is effectively prevented by the clamping effect of the jaws of the clamping means.

In order to unlock the device, an appropriate key is required to be inserted into the keyway of the lock mechanism 49 and turned to cause the cam surface 53 to rotate anticlockwise. This action causes the pawl 59 to disengage the catch 63 by virtue of the bell crank mechanism and the cam follower enabling the jaws to be moved apart to t-he open accassible position.

The second embodiment is directed towards a steering wheel locking device for a motor vehicle as shown at Figures 6 through to 9 of the drawings.

The device 111 generally consists of an arm 113 and a steering wheel clamping means The arm 113 is fixedly mounted at one end by means of a pivotal ball and socket joint 117 to the chassis floor 119 of the vehicle. The pivotal ball and socket joint is of S: substantially similar form to that described in the previous embodiment comprising an anchoring means 122 having a socket 123 provided with a threaded anchor portion 125 which is bolted to the chassis for fixed location. The socket 123 accommodates a ball 127 which is fixedly attached to the lower portion of the arm 113 so that the arm may pivot universally about the ball and socket joint 117. The arm is telescopic comprising a lower virgate portion 129 and an upper cyliiidrical portion 131 which is extendable and retractable in a telescoping manner axially of the virgate portion 129.

The clamping means 115 is fixedly mounted at the other distal end of the arm 113 and comprises a pair of jaws 133 hingedly connected to the arm by means of a clamping pivot pin 135 received within an axially projecting anchor lug A. ~CC I I -LI- ~-uuuu 137 of the cylindrical portion 131 of the arm. The jaws are hinged to the arm in such a manner as to open and close about an axis transverse to the arm and coincident with the clamping pivot pin 135. The jaws 133 are substantially similar to those described in the first embodiment, each being provided with complementary mandibles 139 at the outer most distal end of the clamping means to define a mouth 141 therebetween which leads to an inner recess 143 circumscribed by the mandibles 139 so as to accommodate an adjacent circumferential portion 145a o2 the steering wheel 145 therein. Moreover, as shown at Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings, the two mandibles 139a and 139b are each inwardly curved to define the mouLh 141 between th, outer ends of each mandible, and are each provided with ar inner concave surface to define the inner recess 143 as is the case in the previous embodiment The mandibles 139 are movable in conjunction with the jaws 133 to vary the spacing therebetween and consequently change the size of the mouth 141 and inner recess 143 to enable access o. the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel through the mouth 141 and into the recess 143 or vice versa, or alternatively to close the mouth 141 and the recess 143 to a mini.mum spacing upon moving the jaws to a closed clamping position as shown at Figure 8 of i"0 the drawings at which the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel is effectively accommodated and clmtped within the recess 143 between the mandibles 139. The inner concave surfaces of the mandibles are lined by have affixed or bonded thereto resiliently compressible material such as rubber to tightly clamp the periphery of the circumferential portion of the steering wheel without damaging the same.

!The clamping means incorporates jaw locking means in the form of actuating means 147 governing hinging movement of the jaws 133 between the closed clamping position and the I~_~n~ll~_lll_ 12 open accessible position and providing for locking the clamping means at the closed clamping position to prevent unauthorised opening of the clamping means. The actuating means 147 generally consists of a hand wheel or knob 149, a lock barrel 151, actuating sleeve 153, bearing means 155, detent pin 157, cam barrel 159 and cam follower 161.

The hand wheel 149 is provided with a central aperture within which is fixedly mounted the sleeve 153 so that the sleeve extends outwardly from the hand wheel to form a spigot which is receivable within a passageway 163 which extends through both jaws 133 from the top jaw 133a to the bottom jaw 133b. The bottom of the passageway 163 disposed within the lower jaw 133b is provided with a pair of lugs 165 defining a recess therebetween to receive a complementary shaped lug 167 which projects axially from the base of the cam barrel 159 to form a trunnion. The lugs of the passageway are intersected with a transversely extending aperture to receive a trunnion pin 169 which projects through a corresponding and aligned aperture provided in the projecting lug 167 of the cam barrel to form a pivot assembly, whereby the cam barrel 159 is allowed to partially pivot about a transver~l:, extending axis 171 of the lower jaw 133b. Thus, the cam barrel 159 is capable of partial pivotal movement within a plane extending longitudinally of the jaws 133 of the clamping means and which plane is coincident with the central rotational axis of the hand wheel 149 but is prevented from rotational movement about this axis.

The cam barrel 159 is cylindrical and has an inner diameter marginally larger than the outer diameter of the outwardly projecting spigot portion of the sleeve 153 so that the sleeve is accommodated within the barrel 159 for slidable axial movement thereof.

13 The portion of the sleeve 153 accommodated within the aperture of the hand wheel 149 is provided with an outer flange 171 which defines a seat 173 to accommodate the head 175 of the lock barrel 151 which is fixedly disposed within the confines of the sleeve 153 to be coextensive therewith.

Accordingly, the head 175 incorporates the mouth of a keyway which extends longitudinally along the lock barrel to -eceive a key for operating the lock barrel.

The lock barrel 151 is of conventional form and is operable by the key to actuate the detent pin 157 so as to extend or retract the pin 157 through aligned apertures provided in the lock barrel 151 and the well of the sleeve 153. The detent pin 157 is spring loaded and is particularly disposed to selectively project through a retentioning hole 177 disposed at a prescribed location within the wall of the cam barrel 159 so that the detent pin can be brought into registry with the same and be extended through the same by operation of the key.

The lock barrel 151 is fixedly disposed with respect to the sleeve 153 by means of a circlip 179 and scotch key (not shown) protruding radially inwardly from the sleeve into a corresponding groove provid d in the lock barrel or alternatiely a grub screw (not shown) screwed into a radially extending threaded hole between the sleeve and lock barrel to prevent the lock barrel 175 from rotational and axial movement relative to the sleeve 153. Thus rotation of the hand wheel 149 causes corresponding Srotation of the lock barrel 151 and sleeve 153 to cause the detent pin to move into or out of registry with the retentioning hole 177. In this manner the hand wheel 149, lock barrel 151, sleeve 153 and detent pin 157 effectively Scombine to form an irtegral actuating assembly for the jaw actuating means.

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14 The locus of movement of the detent pin 157 is prescribed by the provision and function of the cam follower 161 and cam barrel 159. Moreover, the cam barrel 159 is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed helical cam slots 81 within the wall thereof which provide upper and lower cam surfaces 181a and 181b respectively. The cam surfaces of each slot 181 are spaced apart sufficiently to receive corresponding can followers 161 which are formed by the opposing ends of a diametrally extending pin which projects through correspondingly aligned apertures of the lock barrel 151 and the wall of the sleeve 153 near the lower axial end thereof. Thus, the diametrally extending pin is of a longitudinal extent approximately commensurate to the external diameter of the cam barrel 159 and greater than the external diameter of the sleeve 153. Furthermore, the pair of cam slots 181 are particularly disposed opposite to each other so that the cam followers 161 repose at corresponding locations within the slots at any one time.

In this manner, the locus of movement of the detent pin 157 is determined by the movement of the cam followers 161 within the cam slots 181. The disposition of the slots is such that when the cam followers repose at the lower most axial extent of the slots, as shown at Figure 8 of the drawings, the detent pin 157 is brought into registry with the retentioning hole 177 for relative extension and retraction therewith as a result of operation of the lock barrel by the key. Consequently rotation of the actuating assei:)ly is permitted only after retraction of the detent pin 157 to remove the same from within the confines of the retentioning hole 177. Subsequent rotational movement of the hand wheel 149 with the detent pin 157 retracted results in axial movement of the actuating assembly outwardly from the cam barrel 159 by the cam followers progressively moving along the slots 181 to repose at an uppermost axial position therein, as shown at Figure 9 of the drawings. This axial movement of the actuating ass< .oly is imparted to the upper jaw 133a via the be,'ring I 15 means 155 so as to cause opening and closing of the jaws.

Furthermore, the axial extent of the cam slots 181 is marginally greater than the diameter of the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel to enable the mouth 141 of the mandibles 139 to open sufficiently widely at the open accessible position to enable entry or exiting of the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel to or from the inner recess 143 of the mandibles.

It should also be noted that the particular helical arrangement provided by the cam slots 181 as shown in Figs.

8 and 9 enables relatively fast hinged movement of the jaws but relatively slow clamping pressure to be applied to or from the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel by the mandibles 139.

The bearing means 155 are in the form of dual row angular contact bearings which not only allow for relative rotational movement of the hand wheel, lock barrel and sleeve assembly relative to the jaws, but also permit connection to a trunnion to form a pivot assembly which compleiients and accommodates pivotal movement of the cam barrel 159 to maintain coaxial alignment between the lock o barrel and sleeve on the one hand and the cam barrel on the other hand, which otherwise would prevent or oppose hinged o'o outwardly movement of the jaws 133, due to the angular movement of the jaws and the need for axial movement between the actuating assembly and the cam barrel.

Accordingly, the upper jaw 133a is provided with a pair of lugb (not shown) either side of the passageway 163, respectively supporting a pair of trunnion pins 183 which are coa.-ally aligned with each other and which are disposed in spaced parallel relationship with the trunnion °pin 169 of the cam barrel 159.

The trunnion pins 183 are mounted inwardly within a pivot cradle 185 which constitutes the central race of the -qN r7-- 16 bearings. Accordingly, the pivot cradle 185 is capable of concurrent and complementary pivotal movement about the trunnion pins 183 in conjunction with pivotal movement of the cam barrel 159 about the trunnion pin 169.

The pivot cradle 185 forms an inner bearing race for each row of the ball bearings 187 and co-operates with axially adjacent and oppositely disposed outer bearing races 189 at each axial side of the cradle to form two rows of angular contact bearings. Thus, the uppermost outer bearing race 189a is connected to the underside of the flange portion of the sleeve 153 and the lowermost outer bearing race 189b is connected to the upper jaw 133a circumscribing t passageway 163. Consequently, the angular contact bearings are capable of supporting combined radial and thrust loads as a result of rotation of the actuating assembly relative to the passageway and pivoting of the assembly relative to the upper jaw 133a.

In operation, the steering wheel locking device 111 when disposed in a stowage position as shown at Figure 7 of the drawings, is accommodated within a cradle 191 for convenience and can simply be moved from the stowage position to an engaging position as shown at Figure 6 of the drawings by simple manoeuvring of the arm aid clamping means. In order to facilitate manoeuvring of the device, the socket 123 is formed with a slot shaped mouth 193 of prescribed longitudinal extent and position which confines pivotal movement of the arm 113 to a prescribed locus of movement from the stowage position to the engaging position. During this pivotal movement of the arm, the arm is extended by way of its telescopic form to bring the clamping means into a position adjacent the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel. Near this position, the jaw actuating means, if not previously, is unlocked by inserting an appropriate key into the lock barrel and turning the same so that the detent pin 157 is retracted TftVMPW 17 from within the confines of the retentioning hole 177.

Subsequently, the hand wheel 149 can be easily rotated causing the jaws to hingedly open to the open accessible position. The clamping means 115 can then be easily manoeuvred so that the circumferential portion 145a of the steering wheel enters the inner recess 143 of the mandibles 139, whereupon counter-rotation of the hand wheel 149 results in the jaws hingedly closing causing the inner surfaces of the mandibles 139 to clamp upon the periphery of the circumferential portion of the steering wheel. The provision of the bearing means 155 facilitates tight clamping of the mandibles about the circumferential portion of the steering wheel without the need of forced rotation of the hand wheel 149. Upon reaching maximum rotation of the hand wheel which corresponds to the cam followers 161 reposing at the lower most axial position within the cam slots 181, the detent pin 157 extends outwardly by way of its spring loading to repose within the confines of the retentioning hole 177 so that the surrounds of the retentioning hole 177 oppose rotational movement of the detent pin thereby prev-nting rotation of the hand wheel 149.

In order to unlock the device, the key is inserted into the keyway of the lock barrel 151 and turned clockwise so that the lock barrel causes the detent pin 157 t, be withdrawn or retracted from the retentioning hole 177 allowing the hand wheel 149 to be rotated anti clockwise until the detent pin is moved out of registry with the hole, whereupon the key may be removed.

i: Due to the fixed location of the end of the arm with the floor of the vehicle, rotation of the steering wheel is prevented thereby preventing steering of the vehicle.

4 0 The third embodiment is directed towards a steering wheel locking device substantially identical to that described in 18 the preceding embodiment except that the device is fixedly mounted to the windscreen pillar of the vehicle as shown at Figure 10 of the drawings, similar to the arrangement described in the first embodiment, for convenient location upon the dashboard rather than on the floor of the vehicle.

In such an arrangement, the anchoring of the ball and socket joint 217 is varied to suit mounting to the windscreen pillar as is the case in the first embodiment and the cradle 291 instead of being mcunted on the floor is mounted upon the dashboard 295 of the vehicle. The extendable and .etractable arrangement in the arm and pivotal mounting of the same to the ball and socket joint 217 and to the clamping means 215 enables the same device to be used for clamping attachment to a circumferential portion 245a of the wheel which is proximate to the stowage position of the device, without any alteration to the intrinsic design of the device.

It should be noted that the steering wheel locking device relies upon its own inherent strength to resist rotation of the wheel and thus does not lend itself to damaging the vehicle interior as is the case in prior art devices.

Furthermore, the permanent fixture of the device to the a vehicle chassis enables the device to be used at all times by the operator so long as the operator has the key to the device and thus is not subjected to the same problems associated with portable devices which are not at all times conveniently located within the vehicle.

It should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, changes in accordance with conventional engineering practice in standard components described in the embodiments comprising the device, are deemed to fall within the scope of the present invention.

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Claims (10)

1. 2. A locking device as claimed in claim i, including anchoring means fixedly mounted to said chassis comprising a socket and said arm having a ball at said one end to be retainedly accommodated within said socket for pivotal movement relative thereto, said socket having a slot shaped mouth of prescribed longitudinal extent and position to confine said pivotal movement to a prescribed locus of movement between said stowage position and said engaging position.
2. 3. A locking device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said jaws comprise a pair of complementary mandibles at the Q s y I- Y-U- l n~llinn~Rlrcrrr~ ap 20 outermost distal extent of said clamping means to define a mouth therebetween leading to an inner recess circumscribed by said mandibles to accommodate said portion of said steering wheel therein, said mandibles each being inwardly curved opposite to the other to form an inner concave surface defining said inner recess between the intermediate portions of said manuibles and defining said mouth between the outer ends of each mandible.
3. 4. A locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said inner concave surfaces of said mandibles are lined with a resilient compressible material to enable tight clamping of said mandibles about the periphery of said portion of said steering wheels without damaging the same. A locking device as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein said jaws are pivotally interconnected intermediate their respective lengths to define a pair of rearwardly extending handles to form a scissor-like mechanism whereby said mandibles are moved between said open accessible position and said closed clamping position by corresponding outward and inward movement of said handles relative to each other.
4. 6. A locking device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said handles and correspondingly said mandibles are normally biased apart to said open accessible position.
5. 7. A locking device as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein one of said handles houses one half of a key operated lock mechanism and the other of said handles houses the other co-operating half of said lock mechanism, whereby said lock mechanism can be operated to lock said one half with respect to said other half and vice versa by a key when said handles are brought together in mutual engagement p:ith each other at which position said mandibles are iin said closed clailping position. ,.1 .1 of the catch 63 when total mutual engagement between the handles is achieved. This position corresponds to the jaws i i II I II I II ll I li q ra*n 21
6. 8. A locking device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said jaws comprise a pair of complementary mandibles at the outermost distal exte:it of said clamping means and said j&ws are hingedly connected at or towards the inner most distal extent of said clamping means, and said clamping means include- an actuating means to govern hinging movement of said jaws between said closed clamping position and said open accessible position.
7. 9. A locking device as claimed in claim 8, wherein said actuating means comprises a key operated lock mechanism and a rotatable hand wheel whereby said jaws and correspondingly -aid mandibles are moved between said open accessible position and said closed clamping position by rotation of said hand wheel in one 4irection or the other and said leck mechanism can be operated to lock said jaws and said mandibles together at said closed clamping position. A locking device as claimed in claim 9, wherein said actuating means includes an actuating sleeve extending outwardly from said hand wheel, said sleeve being accommodated axially within a cam barrel disposed with a passageway extending transversely through said jaws, and said sleeve also having a cam surface to receive a cam Zollower, said cam follower projecting radially from said sleeve, said hand wheel and said actuating sleeve being retainely and rotatably mounted to one said jaw and said cam barrel being retainedly mounted to the other said jaw, whereby the profile of said cam surface describes the locus of movement of said cam follower which in turn governs the rate of axial movement of said actuating sleeve with respect to said cam barrel relative to rotational movement of said hand wheel, and consequently relative displacement of said jaws. 22
8. 11. A locking device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said cam surface is helically disposed along said cam barrel so as to provide for relative rapid hinged movement of said jaws with relatively minimal torque applied to said jaws during the range of movement of said jaws to said open accessible position, and relative slow hinged movement of said jaws with relatively maximal torque applied to said jaws during the range of movement to said closed clamping positi n.
9. 12. A locking device as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11 wherein said lock mechanism include a lock barrel and a radially extending detent pin accommodated within said actuating sleeve, said detent pin being capable of extension or retraction when brought into registry with a retentioning hole disposed within said cam barrel upon operating said lock mechanism with said key to respectively lck and unlock rotation of said hand wheel, said detent pin and said retentioning hole being disposed so that said registry only occurs when said clamping means is disposed at said closed clamping position.
10. 13. A locking device according to claim 1 substantially as hereindescribed 'it reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this FIFTEENTH day of June 1992 STANLEY GEORGE HERBERT and ERIC GEORGE CURRIE Applicants. WRAY ASSOCIATES, Perth, Western Australia Patent Attorney for the Applicants.