FR2723050A1 - Anti=theft device incorporated into hand brake mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

The anti-theft device is integrated into the longitudinal slot (3) of the stem forming the external carcass (2) of the hand brake lever (1). It is formed from an immobilising rack (4) situated at the level of the axis of articulation of the hand brake, a notched locking lever (6), which is rotatable and links with the rack in locking the hand brake in position, a transmission rod and a push button to release the system. A protective cover (9) encases the slot and prevents illicit movements of the locking lever and/or transmission rod. A security handle (11) is fitted and contains the locking barrel (10), which locks or releases the push button. The locking barrel contains a return spring within the handle.

Description

 The present invention provides an anti-theft device of an efficiency hitherto unknown in the field of hand brakes.

 This device puts the entire actuating mechanism of a handbrake out of reach of thieves, fitted with such an anti-theft device.

 To do this, it applies to eliminating the main weaknesses of the actuation mechanisms commonly used, that is to say at the level of the barrel, the linkage and the locking in position relative to an immobilizing rack.

 The document FR-A-2.626.228 clearly defines the simplest state of the art, it consists of an anti-theft device for motor vehicles. I1 consists of the isolation of the handbrake snap on the immobilization rack by a covering and wrapping cap which locks onto the support sheath fixed on the control lever. I1 is intended to immobilize the handbrake lever in its locked position.

 This lock is completely inert, it is not very flexible to use and does not solve the problems located at the level of the linkage and the rack.

 Document WO-A-94/00317 relates to an anti-theft device for blocking the handbrake of a vehicle, comprising a case in which is housed the end of the handbrake comprising its release button, said case being integral with the brake hand, and a key push barrel having a locking element which, when the barrel is actuated by the key, prevents the release button from being actuated. The device forms a separate assembly from the handbrake, which can be installed on any type of existing handbrake, the case, one end of which comprises the barrel, being made integral with the handbrake by a fixing means such as glue in combination with free-cutting screws at its other end, so that the device can be installed easily without requiring a specialist.

 Patent application FR-A-93/129910 proposes an anti-theft device of the type permanently fixed to the lever of a vehicle hand brake and comprising a lock which allows or does not allow actuation in translation, against a means acting as a spring, the push button for unlocking the hand brake, characterized in that it is formed by a safety sleeve which is fitted onto the lever of the hand brake, and one of which first part, oriented in the direction of the axis of articulation of said lever of said handbrake, acts as a clamp for clamping and locking in translation, on which are mounted clamping and locking means in translation, and a second of which part, oriented in the direction opposite to the axis of articulation of the lever, acts as a housing for the lock and the push button, said lock cooperating with said push button.

 These devices provide lock barrels placed in the axis or parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handbrake lever.

 The first document proposes only one sleeve which is directly in contact with the handbrake, and the locking-unlocking is carried out conventionally using a cam. This locking-unlocking is already well known from documents such as DE-A-817.559 and US-A-1,487,603.

 The second document focuses on how the sleeve (s) are fixed on the handbrake lever to be protected.

 These two documents do not make it possible to prohibit illicit access to the actuation mechanisms other than at the push button level.

To this end, the present invention provides an anti-theft device of the type permanently fixed to the handbrake of a vehicle and intended to prevent the unlawful use of the handbrake actuation mechanism, this mechanism being integrated into the inside the longitudinal groove of a spar forming the outer carcass of said hand brake and essentially consisting of an immobilizing rack located at the articulation axis of said hand brake, a locking lever notched, mobile in rotation, cooperating with the rack to immobilize the brake in position, a rod for transmitting a linear movement to the notched lever and a push button actuating the rod, characterized in that it comprises
a protective part the shape of which is such that it fits inside the longitudinal groove of the spar, the part preventing illicit operation of the locking lever and / or of the rod,
at least one safety sleeve provided with an internal housing containing laterally and entirely a lock barrel whether the latter is in the locked position or in the unlocked position of the push button, and
- the lock barrel of reduced length due to the fact that it comprises at least one return spring in position, situated in a longitudinal housing delimited by the sleeve and said barrel, the longitudinal axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of the handbrake and barrel.

 The protective part is substantially longitudinal and at least partially comprises a tongue which is fixed in the groove of the spar.

 This protective part comprises at least one breaking point placed substantially in a plane perpendicular and / or longitudinal to the longitudinal axis of said part.

 It also has a rectilinear part which protects the rod and a curved part which protects the locking lever.

 The protective part is fixed to the spar by means of chemical glue ensuring a final fixing.

 The connection between the protective part and the spar is ensured by a reinforced plastic resin which hardens.

The safety sleeve is provided with a notch at the level of the lock cylinder, the side walls of which are contained
- entirely in said sleeve when said barrel unlocks the push-button, and
- partly in the sleeve when the barrel locks said push button.

 The lock barrel is provided longitudinally with at least one groove, one end of which has a shoulder, the groove receiving a spring, one end of which is in contact with the shoulder, and the sleeve has a shape which makes it possible to receive the spring and which has a shoulder placed at the other end of said spring, the spring being compressed between the two shoulders when unlocking the push button.

 The lock barrel comprises recognition elements, compatible with complementary elements carried by a key, which are placed circularly in a plane transverse to said barrel, the barrel preventing or authorizing the operation of the push button.

 The sleeve consists of two half-shells glued to each other, giving the external appearance of the sleeve and being free to rotate, and of an internal sleeve containing the lock barrel and the spring or springs, the sleeve interior being secured to the handbrake.

 The attached drawings are given as indicative and non-limiting examples. They represent a preferred embodiment according to the invention. They will allow the invention to be easily understood.

 FIG. 1 represents an overall side view of a hand brake equipped with an anti-theft device according to the invention.

 Figure 2 shows a side view of a protective part.

 FIG. 3 represents a bottom view of the part presented in FIG. 2.

 FIG. 4 represents a view from the left to the right of said part of FIG. 2.

 FIG. 5 represents a cross section along A-A of FIG. 2.

 FIG. 6 represents a view in longitudinal section of a safety sleeve according to 1 invention placed on a hand brake.

 FIG. 7 represents a side view of a lock cylinder used in the invention, the longitudinal axis of the cam being in the plane of the sheet.

 FIG. 8 represents a rear view of the barrel of FIG. 7.

 FIG. 9 represents a front view of said barrel of FIG. 7.

 Figure 10 shows a side view of the lock barrel of Figure 7, in which the longitudinal axis of the cam is perpendicular to the plane of the sheet.

 FIG. 11 represents a front view of a barrel, placed in a sleeve, in the unlocked position.

 Figure 12 shows a front view of the barrel placed in the sleeve, as shown in Figure 11, but in which the barrel is in the locked position.

 FIG. 13 represents a view in partial longitudinal section, along B-B of FIG. 11, of the barrel sleeve assembly in the unlocked position.

 Finally, FIG. 14 represents a partial longitudinal section view, along C-C of FIG. 12, of the barrel sleeve assembly in the locked position.

 The present invention relates to an anti-theft device formed of several parts, intended to be permanently fixed to a conventional handbrake lever 1 of a vehicle and which makes it possible to prevent at several points the illicit use of the actuating mechanism of the handbrake 1 along an axis of articulation 5, the assembly being protected by a flexible and aesthetic bellows 22.

 As seen in Figure 1, the actuation mechanism is located inside the handbrake lever 1.

 This mechanism comprises, as seen in Figures 6, 13 and 14, a push button 8 which rotates, as seen in Figure 1, a notched locking lever 6 cooperating with an immobilizing rack 4 .

 The movement assigned to the push button 8 according to F9 in FIG. 14 is transmitted to the lever 6, by means of a rod, not shown in the figures.

 This rod is in fact present inside a longitudinal groove 3 present at the very heart of the outer carcass 2 which constitutes the spar of the hand brake 1.

 The object of the invention is therefore to prevent illicit use on the one hand of the push button, on the other hand of the rod and the notched locking lever 6.

 As regards the linkage as well as the lever 6, a protective part 9 is present.

 Its shape is particular and allows said protective part 9 to fit inside the longitudinal groove 3 of the beam 2, which will prevent easy access to the rod as well as the locking lever 6 .

 The fitting of the part 9 in the groove 3 is carried out according to F1 of FIG. 1.

 As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 to 5, the protective part 9 is of substantially longitudinal shape and at least partially comprises a tongue 12 which has the essential object of cooperating with the groove 3.

 The protective part 9 comprises a certain number of breaking points 13, placed substantially in the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said part 9, but also at a breaking point 13 placed in the longitudinal axis.

 It also comprises a rectilinear part which has the essential object of protecting the rod and a curved part which will protect the locking lever 6, as seen in FIG. 1.

 In fact, the rectilinear part is the only one to include a tongue 12.

 It is therefore this part which will cooperate with the groove 3 of the hand brake lever 1.

 This is not shown in the figures, but the protective part 9 is fixed to the spar 2 by means of chemical glue which ensures a final fixing.

 This first part constituting the anti-theft device therefore prevents access to the rod and to the lever 6.

 The breaking points 13, both longitudinal and transverse, make it possible to prevent rapid destruction of the whole of the part 9.

 These are also absent in the figures but the connection between the protective part 9 and the spar 2 can be ensured by a reinforced plastic resin which hardens over time.

 The second part of the anti-theft device consists of a lock barrel 10 which is placed substantially in the longitudinal extension of the push button 8 whose length is characteristic since it is of reduced size.

 Conventionally, lock barrels have a length greater than 4 centimeters (cm).

 However, thanks to the present invention, the lock barrel is less than 2.5 cm in length, it being understood that it is a lock barrel which can be actuated in longitudinal translation according to arrow F8 in FIG. 14 due to manual push according to F7.

 It is this movement according to F7 which will generate the movement according to F8 and thus the movement according to F9 at the level of the push button 8.

 If all of these movements F7, F8, F9 can be carried out as seen in FIG. 14, the handbrake 1 can be put in the unlocked position.

 If as seen in Figure 13, these movements are not possible, the handbrake is said to be in the locked position.

 In fact, the lock barrel 10 does not include, within it, the mechanisms which allow its automatic return to the rest position.

 To do this, the lock barrel 10 is provided longitudinally with two grooves 16, as can be seen in FIGS. 6 to 14.

 Each groove 16 has, at one of its ends, a shoulder 17, the groove 16 having the object of receiving a spring 18, according to F2 of FIGS. 8 and 9, one end of which is in contact with the shoulder 17.

 Of course, the translational movement of the lock barrel 10 takes place against a fixed point.

 This fixed point is constituted by a sleeve 11 whose characteristics we will see later. However, this sleeve 11 has an internal shape at the level of its internal housing 14.

 Said sleeve 11 also includes a shoulder, not shown in the figures, which cooperates with the other free end of said spring 8, so that the spring 18 is compressed between the two shoulders when the push-button 8 is unlocked.

 It is therefore easy to understand that the length of the lock barrel 10 will be much less than what was previously done, the means for returning the barrel to position being positioned laterally with respect to said barrel 10 and not in the longitudinal extension, as was the case in the prior art.

 In addition, the lock barrel comprises recognition elements compatible with the complementary elements carried by a key 21, as seen in FIG. 10, which are placed in a circular manner in a plane transverse to said barrel 10.

 Therefore, instead of having a set of recognition mechanism placed longitudinally, these are placed in the same plane which decreases the length of the barrel accordingly.

However, the key 21 is introduced in a conventional manner according to
F5 inside a window 27 present at the barrel 10.

 This window 27 is clearly visible in FIG. 9 as well as in FIGS. 11 and 12.

 The third part of the anti-theft device is constituted by the security sleeve 11 which is provided with an internal housing 14 receiving on the one hand the conventional handbrake lever 1, and on the other hand the whole mechanism of the barrel 10 and springs 18.

 This internal housing 14 laterally and entirely contains the lock barrel 10, whether the latter is in the locked position or in the unlocked position of the push button 8.

 In fact, and as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 6 but also 13 and 14, the safety sleeve 11 is provided with a notch 15 located at the level of the lock barrel 10, the side walls of which are completely contained in said sleeve 11 when said barrel 10 unlocks the push button 8, and partly in the sleeve 11, when the barrel 10 locks said push button 8.

 This notch 15 allows the correct positioning of the thumb of the user.

 In order to adapt the anti-theft device 1 to any type of user, the sleeve 11 is free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the handbrake 1.

 In fact, and this is not completely shown in the figures, the sleeve 11 consists of two half-shells 19 glued to each other, giving the external appearance to the sleeve 11, and of an internal sleeve 20, as can be seen in FIG. 6, which contains the lock barrel 10 and the spring or springs 18, the inner sleeve 20 being secured to the hand brake 1 by immobilization means known per se.

 In fact, as can be seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, the stroke of the barrel 10 is limited using a lug 25 which is put in place according to F6 in FIG. 10, and which is movable according to F10 at 1 inside a housing 26 of the sleeve 11.

 In the same way, the locking in translation is done using a cam 23, movable in rotation according to F3 or F4 of FIG. 8, which may or may not cooperate with a housing 24 located at the level of the sleeve 11.

Claims (10)

REFERENCES 1. Handbrake 2. External brake housing 1 or side member 3. Longitudinal groove of the carcass 2 4. Immobilization rack 5. Articulation pin 6. Notched locking lever 8. Push button 9. Protection piece 10. Lock barrel 11. Security sleeve 12. Workpiece tab 9 13. Workpiece breaking points 9 14. Inner sleeve housing 11 15. Sleeve notch 11 16. Barrel grooves 10 17. Groove shoulders 16 18. Groove springs 16 19. Outer half-shells of the sleeve 11 20. Inner sleeve of the sleeve 11 21. Key of the lock cylinder 10 22. Soft and attractive bellows 23. Barrel locking cam 10 24. Sleeve housing 11 for cam 23 25. Pin for limiting movement of barrel 10 in the  sleeve 11 26. Sleeve housing 11 for lug 25 27. Barrel window 10 for inserting key 21 F1. Insertion of part 9 in groove 3 F2. Insertion of the springs 18 in the grooves 16 F3 and F4. Cam rotation movement 23 F5. Insert key 21 in window 27 F6. Insertion of the pin 25 in the barrel 10 F7. Pressure exerted manually on the barrel 10 F8. Insertion of barrel 10 F9. Push button 8 depressed F10. Translation of lug 25  1. Anti-theft device of the type permanently attached to the handbrake (1) of a vehicle and intended to prevent the unlawful use of the handbrake actuation mechanism (1), this mechanism being integrated into the inside of the longitudinal groove (3) of a spar forming the outer casing (2) of said hand brake (1) and essentially consisting of a immobilizing rack (4) situated at the level of the articulation axis (5) of said hand brake (1), of a notched locking lever (6), movable in rotation, cooperating with the rack (4) to immobilize the brake (1) in position, of a transmission rod d '' a linear movement with the notched lever (6) and a push button (8) actuating the rod, characterized by the fact  that it includes  - a protective part (9) whose shape is such that it fits inside the longitudinal groove (3) of the spar (2), the part (9) preventing the unlawful operation of the locking lever (6) and / or the rod,  - at least one safety sleeve (11) provided with an interior housing (14) containing laterally and entirely a lock barrel (10) whether the latter is in the locking position or in the unlocking position of the push button ( 8), and  - The lock barrel (10) of reduced length due to the fact that it comprises at least one spring (18) for returning to position, located in a longitudinal housing delimited by the sleeve (11) and said barrel (10), the l longitudinal axis is parallel to the longitudinal axes of the handbrake (1) and the barrel (10).  2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the protective part (9) is substantially longitudinal and at least partially comprises a tongue (12) which is fixed in the groove (3) of the beam (2).  3. Device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that  that the protective part (9) comprises at least one breaking point (13) placed substantially in a plane perpendicular and / or longitudinal to the longitudinal axis of said part (9).  4. Device according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that  that the protective part (9) has a straight part which protects the rod and a curved part which protects the locking lever (6).  5. Device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that  that the protective part (9) is fixed to the beam (2) by means of chemical glue ensuring a final fixing.  6. Device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that  that the connection between the protective part (9) and the beam (2) is ensured by a reinforced plastic resin which hardens.  7. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that  that the safety sleeve (11) is provided with a notch (15) at the level of the lock cylinder (10) whose side walls are contained  - entirely in said sleeve (11) when said barrel (10) unlocks the push button (8), and  - partly in the sleeve (11) when the barrel (10) locks said push button (8).  8. Device according to any one of claims 1 or 7, characterized in that  that the lock barrel (10) is provided longitudinally with at least one groove (16), one end of which has a shoulder (17), the groove (16) receiving a spring (18), one end of which is at the contact of the shoulder (17), and  that the sleeve (11) has a shape which makes it possible to receive the spring (18) and which comprises a shoulder placed at the other end of said spring (18), the spring (18) being compressed between the two shoulders (17 ) when unlocking the push button (8).  9. Device according to any one of claims 1, 7 or 8, characterized in that  that the lock barrel (10) comprises recognition elements, compatible with complementary elements carried by a key (21), which are placed in a circular fashion in a plane transverse to said barrel (10), the barrel (10) preventing or authorizing the operation of the push button (8).  10. Device according to any one of claims 1, 7 or 8, characterized in that  that the sleeve (11) consists of  - two half-shells (19) bonded to each other, giving the external appearance of the sleeve (11) and being free to rotate, and  - an inner sleeve (20) containing the lock barrel (10) and the spring (s) (18), the inner sleeve (20) being secured to the hand brake (1).