GB2155874A

GB2155874A - Security and anti-theft devices for motor vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2155874A
Application number: GB08422388A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ricardo Carricarte Grunig
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-03-20
Filing date: 1984-09-05
Publication date: 1985-10-02
Also published as: GB8422388D0

Abstract

A security and anti-theft device is usable with any type of vehicle equipped with a mechanical or hydraulic gearbox. A gear neutralising or fixing member 5, when installed on a gear change control lever 2 of the vehicle transmission, can be made to descend within a housing 7 the body of which remains attached at its base on a suitable fixed surface 37. It is retained within the housing 7, where it prevents the movement which the lever 2 must make to be operated normally, by key-operated locks which are housed in side casings 14. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Security and anti-theft devices for motor vehicles The invention relates to security and anti-theft devices for motor vehicles.

There are present on the market a great variety of motor vehicle security devices and alarms which, operating individually or in combination, prevent or warn of the possible theft of motor vehicles. When installed in motor cars, they are mounted on the doors thereof to hinder or prevent access to the car interior, on the engine's injection or ignition system to make it impossible to start the engine or on the brake system to keep the vehicle immobilised.

The aforementioned safety devices and alarms are also placed on other locations and systems, and as the types of such equipment are extremely extensive in each of the fields in which they are comprised, I shall confine myself to referring to the plain fact that their operation is achieved by manual, electrical or mechanical means or by any combination thereof. As the memory and knowledge of those who skilled in the art will not lack specific examples relating thereto, drawn from their knowledge and experience, the description which follows will only deal with the security device to which the present application pertains.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by means of example, security and anti-theft devices representing preferred embodiments of the invention. in the drawings: Figure 1 illustrates in a conventional perspective view the assembly which forms one security device; Figure 2 is a side view of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top view of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a corresponding front view; Figures 5, fi 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 will in due course be specifically referred to as required by the order of the explanation which will be given in order to provide a full understanding thereof.

Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views of the security device in which some of its components occupy different positions and it is necessary, in connection with what is stated and explained, to depict certain other parts which do not form part of the security device per se.

In Figure 5, a gear neutralising or fixing member 5 is shown entirely outside of its housing within a cylindrical body 7 and located at a certain predetermined height on the gear-change lever 2 of the transmission of the motor vehicle, irrespective of the vehicle type and application. The neutralising member 5 is brought to the above-mentioned position by the driver by pulling it up by the flange 3 and the collar 4 after the operations which will be described have been performed.

When what I shall hereinafter call, without distinction, the gear neutralising or fixing member is in the position illustrated in Fig. 5, or dismantled from the lever 2 as shown in Fig. 6, the travel of the lever 2 is completely normal for operating it in the various required directions which it is possible so to do in the absence of the security device assembly.

When the neutralising member 5 of Fig. 5 is within its receiving body or housing as shown in Fig. 2, the movement of the lever 2 is almost nil in any direction in which it might be attempted to move it, thus preventing its reaching a point where the vehicle can move under the propulsion of its engine. In the foregoing manner it is possible to prevent accidents, particularly with motorcars provided with hydraulic transmissions, when their engine is running at low speed. Accidents occur in such conditions not only because of natural childish curiosity but also through the involuntary action of many experienced drivers.

Further to what has been stated with reference to accidents, they also occur with construction machinery when, owing to needs pertaining to the work, the engines of the most varied machines are left running without their operator paying heed to them. Such a situation may result in the said machines being put into motion through imprudence or carelessness on the part of someone who moves the control lever of the transmission pertaining to them.

When instead of putting the control of the transmission in neutral position, with the fixing member 5 within its housing, it is preferred to leave the transmission in a particular gear, the latter will preferably be the reverse gear. This is because any unauthorised person who succeeded in starting the vehicle engine would then only be able to operate it in that gear, provided that the neutralising member 5 is secured within its housing. To achieve the foregoing without explaining for the moment how the fixing member is secured - its receiving body will be disposed at one or more angles different from those in which the lever 2 is when in neutral position, so that, together with the lever, its walls coincide in a parallel manner with those of the aforesaid body, at the point where what is attempted is achieved.Figs. 12 and 14 are included by way of example as the simplest way of illustrating the foregoing. They show the body at a base angle which does not form a right angle with the longitudinal axis of the lever when the latter is in neutral. The neutral position is illustrated in broken lines in Figs. 12 and 14.

If the body 7 is not integrated to its base with the angle of inclination required for fixing the transmission lever 2 in a particular gear, this may be achieved by means of a seating which can be used to determine the angle required in one or more directions. Figure 17 shows a seating 100 as aforesaid and also two tapered parts 101 and 102 which can be used to keep parallel the heads of the screws or the faces of the nuts which attach the security device assembly to the surface on which the latter is secured. In the case of Fig. 7, the seating will be placed between the base of the security device assembly and the fixing flange of a part 38, which is in its turn the part within which the lever 2 (urged by a spring which is not de picted) is articulated and by which the lever 2 is retained.The base of the assembly body 32, with housing for the neutralising member, does not necessarily have to be elongated but may even be circular or of any other shape which practice suggests. Once the means used for mounting the security device assembly (such as bolts or setscrews 35 shown in Fig. 7) have been tightened, they are welded to its base to make their easy removal impossible.

I now go on to refer briefly to the manner in which the fixing member is secured within its housing when the transmission lever of the vehicle on which it is fitted is in neutral, or in any chosen gear position of the transmission, with reference to the parts which have been mentioned in the figures in which they appear, and also other parts which are neither shown nor named.

When the neutralising or fixing member 5 in Fig.

7 is raised to the point where a pin 7 can be removed from a cross bore 6 in the lever 2, that member will be free to be lowered within the body 32, remaining secured in it as seen in Fig. 8 so long as the cylindrical locking bodies 20 with their corresponding locks are situated where shown in Fig. 8 as a result of having been moved. The bodies 20 house within them the lock barrel into which is inserted the key which operates each of their locks, and also other components such as pins and springs which are the common ones used in most of such locking devices, or substitute members likewise of any known type. The variants which become particular to the locks of the present security device will be dealt with in due course.

With reference to Figs. 7 and 8 wherever it is hereinafter necessary to identify any of the parts, a detailed explanation will now be given of the man ner of releasing the gear neutralising member 5. It should be understood that in order to secure the member 5 together with the transmission lever 2 the same operations will be carried out, but in reverse order.

Figure 8 shows how springs 30 urge the neutral ising member 5 against bosses 22 of the cylindrical locking bodies 20. Pressing the neutralising mem ber down by hand overcomes the resistance cre ated by the spring 30, thereby causing that member to rest on the stops 29 as shown in Fig. 9.

The stops are illustrated out of position, a fact which I will pass over for the moment in order to continue with the explanation. While the neutralis ing member 5 is held against the stops 29, the key is inserted into the lock via the hole provided in the cap 16 or Fig. 8 for further continued insertion into the barrel of the lock. The hole in the cap has a visual obstruction member 23 which may be of any known material and type, that in the present case being a flexible disc with a hole in the centre and with radial cuts which section it in the manner of gores without these latter reaching the periph ery of the disc. The front view in Fig. 4 shows clearly the hole provided in the cap 16 and the cuts and hole in the member 23. The cuts may be made in any other direction if it is decided that they should be other than described.

With the object that the thrust exerted by the hand be made with the least force in order to cause the fixing member 5 to descend, it will be arranged that the tips of the bosses 22 have no contact with the latter, so that no additional resistance due to friction or rubbing is added to the resistance created by the springs 30.

Returning to Fig. 9 while continuing to consult Figs. 7 and 8, it is arranged that turning the key in either lock raises a corresponding transverse pin 27, the end of which is for the left-hand lock shown dotted and clear of the hole 24 which a bushing 17 in which the lock body 20 is mounted bears on its wall. With the neutralising member still pressed down and with the key held turned, the latter is pulled outwards in order to move the body of the lock to the hole 25, in which, when the key is turned in the opposite direction to the initial one, the corresponding transverse pin 27 is accommodated in order thereby to prevent the lock assembly from moving back to the point where it was previously situated, despite the thrust which the spring 21 exerts. The same operation is carried out with the opposite lock, so that both occupy the retracted position which they have in Fig. 7.The next step is to release the neutralising member, which was held pressed down by the hand, in order to bring it to, and secure it at, the position shown in Fig. 7, thus leaving the lever 2 in a state to operate freely. This will also be possible if the fixing member is dismantled from the lever 2, for which purpose the gear knob 1 is removed and subsequently re-installed, the security assembly then being observed detached as shown in Fig. 6. The latter shows in broken lines the various positions into which the gear lever 2 may be put without movement thereto being prevented by the body of the security device, irrespective of whether the vehicle is stationary or moving.

In Fig. 7, reference 18 represents a pin or the round head of a screw incorporated in the cylindrical lock body 20. This pin serves as a stop for the longitudinal movements of the said body, while at the same time preventing it from rotating. For both purposes it engages in a longitudinal slot in the bushing 17 and numbered 19 in Fig. 8. The pin 18 and the slot 19 which acts as a guide for it may be double so as to be disposed in an opposite manner on the walls of the related parts.

Figure 10 includes two detail views A and B. In the former it is observed that the transverse pin 27 which is incorporated in the retracted body 20 of the lock is within the outer one of the two holes in which, according to the case, it is accommodated.

In detail B, it is seen that when the barrel 103 of the lock has been turned by means of its key (not depicted), a projection 104 which it bears on its end raises the pin 27 against the force of a spring 105 by which it is urged. The projection may be a cam or any other known means for converting angular into rectilinear motion.

For the purposes of the following, the two locks of the security device will be regarded as being of the type known as "English", except as regards each transverse pin 27 and what pertains to it.

However, any other type of lock with a sliding body which may be used in the security device will have one or both of two things, namely a pin or boss at one end of its body, and one or more springs which urge it inwardly from the end by which the key is inserted, even if the transverse pin which is accommodated, as previously described, in the bushing of the lock is dispensed with. Having clarified the foregoing, it is arranged that if anyone with a skeleton key intending to free the fixing member 5 and its lever 2 succeeds in levelling or engaging properly within their respective housings the tumbler pins of the lock which have not been illustrated, he would have to cause the barrel 103 of the lock to turn in order to be able to remove from the hole in the bushing 17 the end of the transverse pin with which the lock is provided.

Turning the latter would have to be done with a flat-tip screwdriver or something of similar strength and shape, because attempting so to do with a skeleton key would twist it if it was not hardened and would break it because of its thinness if it was hardened. This being so, anyone using such suitable means without the key in order to cause the barrel of the lock to turn would achieve only part of his purpose, since he would have to be able to pull the barrel together with its body. On attempting so to do with a skeleton key, the latter would come out of the narrow slot of the barrel in which it had been inserted, owing to the opposition of the spring 21 which keeps the lock under pressure via the body which forms part of the latter.In addition to the foregoing, it would be necessary to move in a uniform and parallel manner the skeleton key and the end of the screwdriver used to hold turned the barrel of the lock concerned. To make the situation described still more difficult, it should be remembered that the neutralising member 5 as shown in Fig. 9 has to be kept pressed down, otherwise pulling the lock will not move it sufficiently with its body, because the pin 26 disposed transversely on the boss 22 (see Fig. 8 again) will be engaged with the bent-up portion of the skirt 10 of the fixing member 5.

As will already have been observed, the body 20 of each lock has a seating on which one of the ends of the associated spring which urges it inwardly bears (see 28 in Fig. 8). The seating 28 which the figures show integrated to the outer wall of the body 20 may also be on the face of the said body and form a projection, and provided that it does in every case perform the function for which it is intended, it does not matter if it is an independent part of the aforesaid body despite being mounted on it.

At this point the description has to be interrupted again in order to emphasise several significant aspects relating to the complete mechanism of the lock. This mechanism, which is similar to or the same as others already known, has the decisive and determinant advantage that the spring 21 which urges the body 20 of the corresponding lock is situated not in the portion or face where the pin or boss 22 projects but in that corresponding to the end at which the key that operates the lock is inserted. This particular feature of the arrangement of the spring 21, which may be not only one, makes the lock more difficult to tamper with than it would otherwise be.In fact, if the spring which urges its body were at the end where the pin or boss is, as is commonly the case, it would be sufficient to turn the barrel of said lock so that when the transverse pin which retains it comes out of its housing the assembly will move from the place where it was situated, thus making it possible to release or open what was intended to be secured or closed. Another notable difference of the present lock assembly lies in the fact that the bushing 17 or surface on which it moves has two holes 24 and 25 in which, when required by its use, the transverse pin 27 is accommodated. This pin 27 cannot be pushed inwardly from outside so as to change the position of the lock, because the bushing 17 on which it acts is surrounded by a jacket or casing 14 which is closed at one end except for the hole required to allow the key of the lock to pass through it.The face or internal portion of the cover or cap 16 of the jacket or casing serves as one of the two supports or seatings required for the spring 21 which urges the body 20 of each lock inwardly.

The jacket or cyllndrical casing 14 which surrounds each lock assembly which includes the bushing 17 in which the corresponding lock body 20 moves in one direction or the other has its cap 16 secured by means of one or more pins 12.

These pins may be omitted if the cap is press-fitted or welded to the jacket or casing part 14, or if the latter is cast or machined integrally to include the cap 16.

In case of need, all the components of the lock may be removed from the jacket 14 within which they are accommodated, by being pushed inwardly by means inserted through the hole by which the key is inserted, provided always that the transmission control or lever 2 does not obstruct its exit. If the lever 2 does so obstruct exit, it will be necessary to remove the security device assembly, and in either of the two situations the pins or screws 13 which hold the bushings 17 in position must first be removed by suitable means. To dismantle the security device assembly, it will be necessary to cut the heads of the screws 35, since they are welded to the base of the body of the security device, as previously mentioned.

I will now identify the remaining parts still unidentified in the figures of the drawings in which they appear, and will mention the function which they perform where their application is not obvious. In Fig. 5, reference 1 identifies the knob of the gear change control lever 2 of the vehicle transmission. Reference 11 in the same figure indicates the protruding portion of the concertina-like sealing boot 11 (see Fig. 7) which, if the fixing member 5 was not hollow, would hinder its entry into its housing. Reference A in Fig. 5 represents an outlet or drain for the body 7.

In Fig. 7, reference 8 indicates a noise suppressor member to suppress the noise which in its absence would inevitably occur when the inside of the collar 4 struck the lever 2 while the vehicle was running over very uneven roads or was stationary with its engine running. To enable it to perform the task for which it is intended, the noise suppressor member is made of rubber, vinyl plastics or any other material appropriate for the purpose. The part 8 may be integrated to the fixing member 5 or be removable. In the latter case, whether it is composed of one or more portions, it will have at its bottom one or more recesses appropriate in form and size to those of the pin 7, to prevent it from moving and risking coming out or from being overloaded towards one side of the hole 6.

The area marked 9 in Fig. 7 is that which impinges on portion 15 of the inside of the body 32 when the gear lever 2 moves in any direction while the gear neutralising or fixing member 5 is within its housing. Likewise in Fig. 7, reference 31 indicates the seating which forms at its end the prolongation 34 of the base of the security device. The firm support which part 14 achieves with said seating provides the assembly with rigidity, and what this strengthening represents has to be achieved either as ilustrated or in a very similar manner, so that the tool employed for tightening the screws 35 can be used without interference.The foregoing also means that if the wall 34 is transverse and therefore not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the security device assembly, there is an outlet for the flame of a blowtorch and the material which it cuts, which will be none other than that of the heads of the screws 35 if it becomes necessary to remove the assembly. For the same reason, the prolongation 34 shown in Fig. 4 has a cut or aperture to prevent as far as possible the heat generated by the flame of the blowtorch from being transferred with risk to those parts for which this is not desirable.

To attach the security device at the location where its purpose is achieved, studs and nuts will be used instead of screws if practice so requires in specific cases that arise. Reference 37 in Fig. 7 identifies the surface of any material to which the security device is attached in such a way as to accomplish its objctive which consists, as has already been described, in nullifying the movement of the gear change control lever 2.

Reference 36 indicates a cutting-off of the lever such that its lower end is not shown. Said end generally terminates in a ball or sphere which operates the shift forks which move the gears of the transmission if the latter is of a mechanical type.

Reference 33 indicates a hole which serves to drain the jacket or casing 14.

As regards the figures which have not been specifically referred to, Fig. 11 is the top view of the body and base of a modified security device provided with only one lock 200, which shows a projection or ring 201 which, whether or not integral with the inside wall of the body, serves to dispose on the latter the stops 29 and the springs 30 shown in Figs. 7 and 8. It has previously been stated that the stops were illustrated out of position. Representing them at the location which is occupied by the springs was necessary in order to be able to simplify the drawings.It is possible, without distinction, to place the stops 29 at the location of the springs 30, or vice versa, subject to adapting accordingly their respective housings; if both hinder the exit of the lock and its bushing then the holes for the springs as shown in Fig. 11 will be made in the projection or ring 201 of the body. This is for the simple reason that it is easier to remove the springs 30 than the stops 29. The whole of the foregoing is greatly simplified if the springs 30 have for each of them pins with diameters decreasing from the head to the lower end of their stem. This latter portion of the pin will be accommodated, with the necessary clearance, in the hole which is taken out of the projection or ring 201.The largest diameter of the pin will be that which forms its head, via which each spring will transmit its thrust to the neutralising member while the latter is within its housing. Finally, the intermediate diameter of the pin will serve as a stop for the fixing member when it is made to descend to the bottom of the body which accommodates it.

As it is surrounded by the turns of its spring, the intermediate portion will serve as a guide to that which corresponds to it.

Figure 13 is the same as Fig. 11 but includes the gear neutralising or fixing member 5 and the knob 1 of the lever 2.

Fig. 15 is the side view of Fig. 13 but with the fixing member 5 removed from the lever 2.

Figure 16 is the top view of a security device against theft of motor vehicles which is provided with three locks 300, 301 and 302 around its body, and the locks could be four or more in number if the space available so allows and the need so to do is suggested by circumstances.

Although the body or housing 7 of the security device and its neutralising member 5 have been generally represented in all the figures with a cylindrical shape, they may have any other shape or combination of shapes appropriate to them for the purpose for which they are intended. In other words, where the gear change control or gear lever does not have certain peculiarities, a simple stick, tube or articulated rod will be adapted in each particular case to the internal and external shapes which best suit the purpose. They will therefore have internally and externally and throughout their length the dimensions, shapes and profiles which are considered most desirable. Such profiles, whether protuberant or not with respect to their walls, and being located on the latter in any plane, help them to accomplish fully the function for which they are intended, assisted therein by the other components which have been described or illustrated, or both as has mostly been the case.

For all the parts involved in the formation of the security device, the materials which prove appropriate to them will be used. They will also have the dimensions, shapes and profiles which best contribute to its working or performance, being in such quantity as is considered desirable, without having to attach importance to the fact that its various components capable of being in the form of a single part may be composed of two or more por tions for reasons of cost or constructional simplicity.

Finally, even if the locks used in the security device are different from those here described, they will in every case have a gear neutralising or fixing member having the essential features here shown and considered, together with the variants to which said member is liable for reasons of design of the gear change control to which it is fitted. The aforesaid member will also have a receiving housing or body which accommodates it such that in conjunction with the locks it is possible to immobilise and secure the gear lever of the transmission in the position allowed by the design and original manufacture of the security device assembly and by the procedures which arise with the use of other auxiliary components which have already been dealt with.

Claims

1. A security and anti-theft device for a motor vehicle, comprising a gear neutralising or fixing member which, when installed on a gear change control lever of a mechanical or hydraulic transmission and when made to descend within a housing the body of which remains attached to its base on a surface which is most appropriate for the purpose, prevents the movement which that lever must make in order to be operated normally.

2. A security device according to claim 1, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member has on its outer wall a channel which accommodates a boss or pin of the or each lock with which the security device assembly is provided, the boss or pin remaining in the zone formed by said channel to prevent said member being removed from its housing unless it is freed in the manner explained hereinbefore.

3. A security device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member is provided with a collar which has in its turn a flange which serves the former so that it can easily be raised or even removed from the gear change control or lever of the transmission.

4. A security device according to claim 3, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member is provided in the inner portion of its collar with a noise suppressor member to suppress the noise which would otherwise occur when the collar strikes the gear lever.

5. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device has among its components a pin which, accommodated in a hole formed in the lever, enables the gear neutralising or fixing member to rest on it at a height such that nothing prevents that lever from having complete freedom of movement in order to be operated normally at the will of the driver of the vehicle.

6. A security device according to claim 5, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member has on its inner position and in the zone which corresponds to the location where it rests on said pin a component which, whether or not it forms part of the noise suppressor member of claim 4, serves as a seating for the aforesaid pin, preventing it at the same time from moving with risk of coming out of the hole in which it is located, through that component having one or more recesses or supports suitably adapted to the crosssection and length of said pin.

7. A security device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member has in its interior sufficient space such that a concertina-like sealing boot with which the gear control lever is provided does not prevent said member from entering its housing to the point to which it is appropriate for it so to do.

8. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a skirt of the gear neutralising or fixing member ends with a bend disposed upwards so that it engages, in the operative conditions considered in the description, with the transverse pin which the or each body of the lock or locks with which the security device is provided bears close to the end of its boss.

9. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member adopts in the length and zones which is necessary for its outside wall the general shape which corresponds internally to the housing which accommodates it.

10. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gear neutralising or fixing member can be secured at the will of the driver or operator of the vehicle with one or more locks, as said driver or operator wishes, and which the security device has, when said member is within its housing.

11. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device has among its components a body with housing for accommodating the gear neutralising or fixing member when the gear change control or lever of the transmission is in a neutral or reverse position or in any chosen gear into which it is considered pertinent to put it, when the requirements therefore stated in the foregoing description are met and the operations therein explained are performed.

12. A security device according to claim 11, wherein said member can be accommodated in said housing when the gear change control lever and the outside wall of the gear neutralising or fixing member coincide in a parallel manner at a predetermined point with the inside wall of the body of the security device, providing the housing for the said fixing member.

13. A security device according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the inside wall of the body with the housing can form a right angle with its base, or said body can be inclined with respect to the base at one or more angles, in order to be able to immobilise and secure the control lever in the position which in the judgment of the manufacturer is the best.

14. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body with a housing for the gear neutralising or fixing member has on its inside wall and at the depth which is ap propriate a projection or ring in the upper part of which various holes are formed, without having to consider whether said projection or ring is or is not integrated with said wall.

15. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are disposed on the outside wall of the body of the security device one or more jackets or casings within which, or each of which, a corresponding lock and those portions pertaining thereto are accommodated.

16. A security device according to claim 15, wherein the base of the body of the device has one or more prolongations the ends of which form a seating for each of said jackets or casings.

17. A security device according to claim 16, wherein said prolongations have apertures or holes of the shape and size which they require for their intended purpose as explained in the foregoing description.

18. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, having in or very close to the base of its body a hole which, whatever its shape, serves as a drain for the body.

19. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the parallelism which the base of the security device maintains in relation to one or more of the surfaces to which it is secured is capable of being nullified in one or more directions by the insertion between them of a seating the angles of which will be those appropriate to what is attempted and achieved by their use, as stated in the foregoing description.

20. A security device according to claim 19, wherein when said seating is used it employs portions provided with a longitudinal hole for each of the nuts or screws which secure it together with the base of the security device, the ends of said portions being flat on one side while the opposite sides are diagonally cut with the angle of inclination required for the use which is made of them as explained in the foregoing description.

21. A security device according to claim 14, wherein one or more of the holes formed in said projection or ring serve to accommodate one or more springs which directly urge the gear neutralising or fixing member against the pin(s) or boss(es) of the lock(s) which the security device has.

22. A security device according to claim 21, wherein one or more of the holes formed in said projection or ring serve for placing in them one or more stops which limit the enforced descent to which the gear neutralising or fixing member is subjected under certain conditions.

23. A security device according to claim 21, wherein said springs do not have direct contact against the gear neutralising or fixing member and exert thrust upon the latter via the heads of pins which each of them has, these pins being provided with a stem with the appropriate length for them to be guided within their respective holes formed on said projection or ring.

24. A security device according to claim 23, wherein each of said pins surrounded by the turns of their respective springs in the zone comprised between the head and the stem which touches each of them, and that owing to that zone having a larger diameter than that of the corresponding stem it serves as a stop for the gear neutralising or fixing member when it is pushed towards the bottom of the interior of the body in which it is accommodated.

25. A security device according to claim 2, 10 or 15, wherein the lock or locks are each movable together with the body of which they form part, when they are operated by their corresponding key in either of the directions in which they move.

26. A security device according to claim 25, wherein each of the bodies of the locks has a pin or boss the location of which is opposite to the end at which the key which turns the barrel of the corresponding lock is inserted.

27. A security device according to claim 26, wherein the boss of each body of the locks has a transverse pin conforming to what is stated in claim 8.

28. A security device according to claim 25, wherein the mechanism which enables the barrel of the locks to turn is that of any known type.

29. A security device according to claim 28, wherein the body of each lock has incorporated in it a mechanism additional to that strictly concerned with enabling its barrel to turn, consisting basically in members which convert angular into rectilinear motion, in any known manner, and serves for the purposes for which it is intended.

30. A security device according to claims 25 and 29, wherein the lock bodies each move along a bushing provided with two holes in which one end of the transverse pin which is accommodated in each of the aforesaid bodies of the locks can enter or leave, accordingly as becomes necessary, and said pin forms part of said additional mechanism.

31. A security device according to claim 30, wherein said bushings also have one or more longitudinally disposed slots along which move one or more of the pins which, in conjunction with said slots, limit the movement of the bodies of the locks.

32. A security device according to claim 30 or claim 31, wherein said bushings, if they are not a press-fit within the corresponding jackets or casings, are secured to said jackets or casings by means of pins or screws or by any other means of attachment which are appropriate.

33. A security device according to claim 31, wherein one or more round-headed screws or pins incorporated in the bodies of each lock of the device engage said slots for said movement-limiting purpose and at the same time also prevent the locks from turning when use is made of their respective keys.

34. A security device according to claim 29, wherein a pin transverse to the body of each lock with which the security device is provided works against the force of a suitably disposed spring.

35. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body of each lock of the device has one or more springs which constantly urge that body towards the interior of the housing which accommodates the gear neutralising or fixing member, said one or more springs being located at the end of the body at which the key of the lock thereof is inserted.

36. A security device according to claim 35, wherein a seating supports one of the ends of said one or more springs which seating, being of whatever shape is suitable, may or may not be integrated on the body of each lock.

37. A security device according to claim 15, wherein each of said jackets or casings has a cap which closes one of its ends.

38. A security device according to claim 37, wherein said cap has a hole formed in it through which the key of the corresponding lock with which the security device is provided is inserted.

39. A security device according to claims 37 and 38, wherein if it is not pressure-fitted or welded to its jacket or casing, said cap is secured thereto by means of pins or screws, the number and size of which are suitable for the purpose.

40. A security device according to claims 35 to 39, wherein the other end of said one or more springs rests on the inner surface of the corresponding cap, it being immaterial whether one or more components are interposed between the spring(s) and cap.

41. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a visual obstruction member at the point of key insertion comprises a disc-shaped flexible membrane with cuts formed in the manner of gores and with a hole disposed at the centre thereof.

42. A security device according to claim 15 and any one of claims 37 to 40, wherein said jackets or casings which, whether integral or not with the body of the security device, are closed at one end by said cap are each of them at the other end completely free to allow one or more of the components which are disposed within them to be removed through said other end.

43. A security device according to claim 42, except that the jackets or casings are cast or machined in such manner that one of their ends is internally closed to provide the characteristics and purposes of said cap mentioned in claim 37 and subsequent claims relating to said cap, disregarding therein in a logical manner everything which has to be done because of the content of the present claim.

44. A security device according to claim 15, 42 or 43, wherein each of the jackets or casings has a drainage hole.

45. A security and anti-theft device constructed and arranged substantially as herein particularly described with reference to Figs. 1 to 10, Fig. 11, Figs. 12 to 14, or any one of Figs. 15 to 17 of the accompanying drawings.