GB2114205A

GB2114205A - Vehicle immobilizing device

Info

Publication number: GB2114205A
Application number: GB8202472A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm Alfred Thomas; John Edward Kienesberg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-01-28
Filing date: 1982-01-28
Publication date: 1983-08-17

Abstract

A vehicle immobilizing device comprises at least two arms 111 forming at least one slot therebetween to receive one or more vehicle control pedals, means for locking the control pedal within the arms, at least one leg 112 extending from the arms capable of cooperating with the body of the vehicle to prevent travel of the control pedal or pedals when the pedal or pedals are positioned within the slot. The device may be a T positioned sideways, the upper cross of the T is divided into two arms to form a slot in which the control pedal is received. The pedal is padlocked between the divided arms of T. The lower cross of the T extends away from the pedal and forms a leg which rests against the floor of the vehicle preventing the pedal from being depressed. The device may have alternative h (Fig. 2) or F forms for locking the pedals in the same manner. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle immobilizing device The present invention relates to a vehicle immobilizing device. In particular, the invention relates to a device which prevents a control pedal such as the clutch and/or the foot brake of a vehicle from being used.

The present invention provides a vehicle immobilizing device comprising at least two arms forming at least one slot therebetween to receive one or more vehicle control pedals, means for locking the control pedal within the arms, at least one leg extending from the arms capable of cooperating with the body of the vehicle to prevent travel of the control pedal or pedals when the pedal or pedals are positioned within the slot.

In one embodiment, this invention is a device having an upper case T-shape. In use, the T-shape.

would be positioned sideways. In this position, the upper cross of the T is divided into two arms to form a slot in which the control pedal is received. The pedal can be secured within the arm, for example, by means of a padlock, or pin and padlock, passed through two holes in each of the divided arms on the T. The lower cross of the T extends away from the pedal and forms a leg which rests against the floor of the vehicle preventing the pedal from being depressed.

In a second embodiment of the vehicle immobilizing device, a modification of the T shape is provided in the form of a lower case h. In this case, two legs jam against the vehicle floor, the upper extension of the h between, divided to receive and lock the pedal in position the crossbar of the h being used to retain a second pedal.

Again, the pedal is secured with the arms, for example, by means of a padlock or a pin and padlock.

In another embodiment of the invention, the basic shape of the device is in an upper case F shape. In this case, the two arms extend laterally toform a slot to receive and lock one or more pedals in position, for example, by means of a padlock, or a pin and padlock. The leg of the F extends to the floor of the vehicle to prevent the pedal from being depressed, thus immobilizing the vehicle.

The material from which the device is made is preferably stainless steel or hardened steel.

However, any hard material which cannot be cut or changed in shape is satisfactory for this device.

In the first two embodiments, the material may be made of a solid square bar such as 1" (25.4 mm) bar of stainless steel, the slot being cut into the bar to receive the pedals. The parts of the T-shape are generally welded together in the most convenient manner. The holes for the padlock may be drilled once the slot has been formed. The padlock may or may not be supplied with the vehicle immobilizing device.

The material of the device may be plastic coated if necessary. As an alternative to the square solid material, a square or circular tube may be provided and be equally effective as a locking device.

Although the legs have been shown as bars, it is also possible that a plate material may be used to form a leg in the form of a web or quadrant to prevent twisting of the device from its jammed position.

In the case of a vehicle with a conventional gear box, the devices above will preferably be used on the clutch alone or together with the brake, immobilizing one or both of these pedals.

As a automatic gear box has only a brake and an accelerator pedal, one or both of these may be immobilized.

The present invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a T-shaped version; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified Tshaped version of this invention, in use; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of an F-shaped version of this invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the basic locking device 110 is in the shape of a T lying on its side. The cross of the T has an upper part 111 and a lower part 112 forming a leg. The upper part 111 is divided into two to form a slot 113 for receiving a control pedal of a vehicle (more particularly, as shown in Figure 2). The dimension of the slot 113 may vary according to the vehicle intended to be immobilized. Each part of the divided upper arm 111 has a hole 114, 11 5 therethrough to receive a locking device, preferably a padlock. Any locking device is suitable. However, the immobilizing device is more secure if a hardened steel padlock is used. The locking device 110 may be made of hardened steel, stainless steel etc and is generally welded into its basic shape. The cross-section of each part of the locking device may vary.It may be square, i.e. 1" (25.4 mm) square stainless steel or 1" (25.4 mm) circular hardened steel. A flat bar or rectangular cross sectioned material may also be used in any embodiment of the invention, as specifically illustrated in Figure 3. The whole device may be plastic coated or painted to make it aesthetically more pleasing.

In use, a pedal which may be the clutch or brake pedal is received with the slot between the arms 111 and locked into position by means of a padlock (not shown). A second pedal, e.g. the brake or the accelerator pedal rests on the main cross-bar 116 of the T. The leg 112 is jammed against the floor of the vehicle and cannot be removed because of the pedal locked in the slot.

Referring to Figure 2, the locking device 210 has the same basic shape as the device 10 shown in Figure 1, except the whole shape appears to be in the form of a lower case h. The upper extension of the h is divided into two arms 211,212 to receive the pedal 213 of the vehicle. The pedal is secured within the arms 211,212 by a padlock 21 5, which may be sold as an integral part of the locking device 210, or as a separate item. To secure the pedal, the padlock 21 5 is passed through two holes 216, 217. The cross-bar 218 provides an immobilizing action for a second pedal 219. In the case of an automatic vehicle, the two pedals immobilized will be the brake and accelerator pedal.In the case of a vehicle with a conventional clutch and gear box, the preferred pedals for immobilization would be the clutch pedal and the brake pedal.

The device shown in Figure 2 differs from Figure 1 in that it has two legs 220, 221 capable of being jammed against the floor of the vehicle 222 for added security.

The device 310, as shown in Figure 3, is in the form of an F-shapp. The two arms 311,312 extend laterally to form a slot 313 to receive one or two pedals 314, 315. To lock them in position, a pin 316 extends through holes 317, 318 at the extremities of the arms. The pin 31 6 is locked into position by means of a padlock 319. Alternatively, if the slot 313 between the arms 311 is small, in the case of narrow pedals, a padlock may be passed through holes 317 and 318. When a pin 316 is used it may extend to jam against the vehicle floor 321 in conjunction with the leg 320.

It will be understood that the devices shown in the figures can be made in an adjustable form to accommodate different arrangements and sizes of control pedals in vehicles to be immobilized. For example, as shown in Figure 1, one of the vertical arms may be slidably mounted on the bar 11 6. As shown in Figure 2, the vertical arm 212 may be slidably mounted on the horizontal arm 21 8. In the case of the embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, various adjustable versions are possible. One way of making the device adjustable would be to arrange the top arm 311 such that it has a slot to slidably receive the vertical portion of the F forming the leg 320. Alternatively, the arm 312 may be slidably mounted on the leg 320.

It will be understood by a person skilled in this art that many variations of the basic shapes of this invention are possible such that the control pedals of a vehicle are immobilized.

Claims

1. A vehicle immobilizing device comprising at least two arms forming at least one slot therebetween to receive one or more vehicle control pedals, means for locking the control pedal with the arms, at least one leg extending from the arms capable of cooperating with the body of the vehicle to prevent travel of the control pedal or pedals when the pedal or pedals are positioned within the slot.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 in the form of a T shape, which in use is positioned sideways and the upper cross of the T has two arms to restrain a control pedal therebetween, and the lower cross of the T forms a leg to jam the device against the vehicle floor.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 which is in the form of a lower case h, and which in use, the upper extension of the h has two arms to receive a control pedal, and the lower extensions form legs to jam the device against the vehicle floor.

4. A device as claimed in Claim 1 which is in the form of an F shape, which in use, the lateral arm of the F receives a control pedal and the vehicle part of the F forms a leg to jam the device against the vehicle floor.

5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the control pedal is obtained by a padlock closing the arms of the device.

6. A device as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the control pedal is restrained by a pin passing through the arms of the F shape locked in place by a padlock.

7. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the device is made from square sectioned material.

8. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the device is made from stainless steel or hardened steel.

9. A device as claimed in Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.