GB2030096A

GB2030096A - A vehicle anti-theft device

Info

Publication number: GB2030096A
Application number: GB7925204A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-08-04
Filing date: 1979-07-19
Publication date: 1980-04-02
Also published as: FR2432408A1; FR2432408B1; IT1124148B; IT7912698A0; DE2930802A1; SE7906383L

Abstract

A vehicle anti-theft device is constituted by making the steering column in two parts 1 and 2, with a sleeve 3 axially slidable on the part 2 but keyed against relative rotation, and a collar 17 fixed on the part 1 with a lug 16 which is withdrawn from a recess 15 in the sleeve 3 when the latter is moved axially to render the two parts 1, 2 relatively rotatable thereby preventing the vehicle being steered. A control means 4 for moving the sleeve 3 comprises a bell-crank lever 5 forked and having lugs projecting into an annular groove 12 in the sleeve 3. A motion mechanism 6 has a rotatable element 9 carrying an arm 10 with a peg 7 extending into a slot 8 in the lever 5. The device may be concealed, the element 9 being rotatable by a key-operated lock and/or electrical switch and circuitry, possibly linked to alarm means and/or lights on the vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A vehicle anti-theft device This invention relates to a vehicle anti-theft device which operates by making it impossible to steer the vehicle by means of the steering wheel.

It is already common practice to provide motor vehicles with anti-theft devices which make normal steering impossible by locking the steering column against all possibility of rotation. These known devices usually comprise barrel locks or other locks operable by keys, but by great force it is sometimes possible to break the locks so that the devices become ineffective, or such damage is caused that it is necessary to replace or repair the locking devices.

The present invention is therefore intended to provide a vehicle anti-theft device which acts upon the steering column but avoids some of the disadvantages of the conventional devices .

According to the invention a vehicle antitheft device comprises a steering column consisting of two co-axial parts connected together end-to-end and capable of rotating independently of each other about their common axis, a sleeve axially slidable on the first of said parts but prevented from rotating relative to this first part, a counter-member on the second of said parts and releasably engageable with said sleeve, and control means for controlling the axial movements of said sleeve, whereby when said counter-member is engaged with said sleeve the said two parts are interlocked against rotation relative to each other, and when said counter-member is disengaged from said sleeve the said two parts can rotate freely one relative to the other.

In one convenient construction the two parts of the steering column are maintained in alignment by the said sleeve, and the said sleeve may be prevented from rotating relative to the first part of the steering column by means of a key set into a recess in the first part of the steering column and accommodated in a longitudinal key-way in the sleeve.

The second part of the steering column may have a diameter equal to that of the bore in the sleeve, and it may be provided with a collar or shoulder carrying a lug or a springloaded projection to co-operate with a recess in the sleeve in order to interlock the two parts of the steering column.

In a preferred construction the said sleeve is provided with an external annular channel in which engage pegs carried by a fork formed at one end of a bell-crank lever, there being at the other end of this lever a slot in which a member of a control means engages. The control means may advantageously comprise a peg engaging in the said slot and carried on a connecting arm secured to a rotatable cylindrical part which is in turn controlled by means of a barrel lock with a key or by an electrical arrangement or the like, so that due to the rotation of the said cylindrical part the lever pivots and so causes a corresponding sliding movement of the said sleeve.

In an embodiment comprising a springloaded projection for engaging in a recess in the sleeve it is possible for the sleeve to be moved into its operative position irrespective of the relative rotational positions of the two parts of the steering column, and then interlocking takes places appropriately when the steering wheel is turned.

How the invention may be put into practice appears from the following description with reference by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which parts of a device embodying the invention are illustrated schematically, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device with the parts in position to allow normal steering of a vehicle, and Figure 2 is a sectional view of two parts of a steering column and a slidable sleeve separated from each other.

As shown in Fig. 1, the anti-theft device comprises two parts 1 and 2 of a steering column of a vehicle. The two parts 1 and 2 are co-axial and are connected together endto-end so as to be capable of rotating independently of each other about their common axis. A sleeve 3 is axially slidable on the first part 2 but is prevented from rotating relative to this part 2 by means of a key 14 which is partly accommodated in a slot in the part 2 and engages in a key-way 13 in the sleeve 3.

There is a control means 4 for controlling the axial movements of the sleeve 3. This control means 4 includes a bell-crank lever 5 and an arrangement 6 for moving the lever 5.

The arrangement 6 includes a peg 7 carried eccentrically on a rotatable cylindrical part 9 by means of a connecting arm 10. The peg 7 extends into a slot 8 in one end of the lever 5. In order to control its rotation, the cylindrical part 9 may be connected to a barrel lock or other lock operable by a key, or to an electrical or other control device, which is not illustrated.

Lever 5 is advantageously cranked with a pivot at the junction of its two arms, and at its end remote from the slot 8 is formed as a fork 11 provided with pegs engaging in an external annular channel 12 in a collar of the sleeve 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the internal diameter of the sleeve 3 is equal to the external diameter of the two parts 1 and 2 of the steering column, and is provided with the said internal keyway 13. At its end towards the part 1 the sleeve 3 is provided with a recess 15 in which a lug 16 projecting from one side of a shoulder 17 on the part 1 can engage in order to allow normal steering of the vehicle. As appears from Fig. 2, the two parts 1 and 2 can be provided with comple mentary formations by which they are con nected together so as to be held against relative axial displacement although capable of relative rotation.

In a modification which is not illustrated the shoulder 1 7 is provided with a movable spring-loaded lug instead of the lug 16, and this movable lug allows the sleeve 3 to be moved into abutment with the shoulder 1 7 even if the lug and the recess 1 5 are not in alignment; the movable lug then enters the recess 1 5 when the part 2 and sleeve 1 3 are rotated.

The device embodying the invention can be placed at any convenient position in a vehicle, for example hidden behind an instrument panel or bulkhead in such a manner that it can be controlled conveniently by a mechani cal means such as a key-operated lock, although it is preferably located where access is difficult, control then being effected by electri cal means with or without a key-operated lock.

When there is a key-operated lock which operates either directly or through electrical means upon the anti-theft device, the key of the lock can be quite different from that of the ignition key operative lock or the key for opening the doors, and this anti-theft device key can be removed from its lock so as to leave the anti-theft device either in the position for allowing or for preventing normal steering. It is thus possible, for example, to leave the vehicle at a garage or elsewhere so that it can be moved for maintenance operations but cannot be restored to the condition for normal steering.

In a further modification which is not illustrated the anti-theft device can incorporate a switch which interrupts the engine ignition circuit so as to prevent operation of the engine when the sleeve 3 is in position to prevent normal steering.

The illustrated anti-theft device operates as follows. When the cylindrical part 9 is rotated, by any convenient means as indicated above, the peg 7 engaging in the slot 8 causes the lever 5 to pivot about its axis. Because of this pivoting the other end of the lever, provided with the fork 11 and pegs extending into the external annular channel 1 2 of the sleeve 3, displaces the sleeve 3, for example to release the sleeve 3 from the lug 1 6 on the shoulder 1 7 so that the part 2 can rotate freely without transmitting motion to the part 1. A reverse rotation of the part 9, for example through about 180 , restores the connection to allow normal steering.

In the case where the lever 5 is controlled directly by means of a key-operated lock, the latter is turned through 180 in one direction or the other for the locking or the unlocking.

When control is effected through the intermediary of electrical means, the operation of a key-operated lock will have, for example, the effect of starting a step-by-step electric motor or the momentary supply of current to an electric motor by means of a relay, the motor always turning in the same direction through 180 at a time.

With the aid of the invention it is possible to construct an anti-theft device which can be very difficult to tamper with, the disconnection of the two parts 1 and 2 having the effect of allowing free rotation so that the device cannot be overcome by exerting force upon the steering wheel.

Other modifications are possible, for example in the arrangement of the control means.

Claims

1. A vehicle anti-theft device comprising a steering column consisting of two co-axial parts connected together end-to-end and capable of rotating independently of each other about their common axis, a sleeve axially slidable on the first of the said parts but prevented from rotating relative to this first part, a counter-member on the second of said parts and releasably engageable with the said sleeve, and control means for controlling the axial movements of the said sleeve, whereby when the said countermember is engaged with the said sleeve the said two parts are interlocked against rotation relative to each other, and when the said counter-member is disengaged from the said sleeve the said two parts can rotate freely one relative to the other.

2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the two parts of the steering column are held together by complementary formations of their ends which allow relative rotation of the two parts, the latter being maintained in alignment with the aid of the slidable sleeve.

3. A device according to Claim 2, wherein the internal diameter of the sleeve is equal to the external diameter of the two parts of the steering column, the sleeve being guided for relative axial movement but prevented from relative rotation upon the first part of the steering column by means of a longitudinal key mounted in this first part and engaging in a longitudinal keyway in the sleeve.

4. A device according to Claim 1 or 2 or 3, wherein the second part of the steering column has a shoulder provided with a lug capable of cooperating with a recess in the sleeve in order to effect locking of the two parts of the steering column against relative rotation.

5. A device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the sleeve has an external annular channel in which engage pegs carried by a fork provided at one end of a bell-crank lever.

6. A device according to Claim 5, wherein the lever at its end remote from the fork is provided with a slot in which engages a peg included in a control arrangement.

7. A device according to Claim 6, wherein the control arrangement also includes a rotatable cylindrical part which carries the said peg eccentrically either directly or by means of a connecting column, this cylindrical part being controlled by a key-operated barrel lock or an electrical control system or other conventional control means.

8. A device according to Claim 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the lug provided upon the said shoulder is movable with respect to the said shoulder in such a manner that the lug can be displaced by the sleeve when the latter is moved in the direction for locking the parts of the steering column together if the lug is not directly opposite the recess in the sleeve.

9. A device according to Claim 8, wherein the movable lug is spring-loaded.

10. A device according to any one of the preceding Claims, incorporating a switch which interrupts the ignition circuit of the vehicle engine when the slidable sleeve is positioned to allow relative rotation of the two parts of the steering column.

11. A vehicle anti-theft device constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.