GB2198403A - Vehicle anti-theft apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A noose 16 positioned in the vicinity of vehicle foot pedals 8, 10, 12 is operable by a cable 14 to trap a thief's legs. The cable 14 is connected to an electrically-operated winder drum (90, Fig. 8) which is energised when a switch (24, Figs. 3 and 13) is manually operated to set the apparatus and subsequently a pedal-operated switch (22, Figs. 2 and 6) is operated. A cable outer sheath (82, Fig. 8) operates a switch (106) to de-energise the drum motor (96) when the noose is tight and re-energise it if slack develops. Alarms and other vehicle anti-theft devices may be operated when the cable 14 is operated. <IMAGE>

Description

VEHICLE ANTI-THEFT APPARATUS This invention relates to vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

Tbe theft of vehicles such for example as cars, vans and lorries is a very frequent occurence. Numerous attempts have been made to deter the theft of the vehicles including providing extra locks on doors, providing electricity cut out switches and providing various alarms.

The extra locks, the cut out switches and the alarms are often effective to deter a thief but they invariably allow the thief to escape.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide vehicle anti-theft apparatus which prevents a thief from escaping from the vehicle.

Accordingly, this invention provides vehicle anti-theft apparatus comprising a cable terminating in a noose for positioning in the vicinity of foot pedals of a vehicle, electrically operated winder means for winding in one end of the cable to cause the noose to become smaller and trap a thief's legs, first switch means for causing the winder means to operate consequent upon'an attempted theft of the vehicle, and second switch means for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in an operational condition when the vehicle is left unattended and for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in a non-operational condition when the vehicle is being operated by an authorised person, and the winder means being such that it will operate to wind the cable until the noose is tightly positioned around the thief's legs whereupon the winder means will cease to operate but will not normally release wound cable, and the winder means also being such that it will continue to start and stop to wind in further cable each time the thief struggles and succeeds in loosening the noose, By activating the first switch means when the thief is seated in the vehicle, the noose will trap the thief's legs, usually around the ankles or lower shins. The thief will thus be securely held until such time as the vehicle owner or the police arrive. Because the winder means is such that it will not normally release wound cable, it will be apparent that the thief cannot spread his or her legs to unwind cable from the winder means and so loosen the noose and escape.During its operational mode, the winder means just continuously winds in cable until the noose becomes tight. If the thief succeeds in pressing his or her legs tightly together, or crossing his or her legs, thereby to make space in the noose and so make the noose loose, the winder means will automatically start to wind in further cable until the noose is tight again. Once the noose is tight, the winder means will'automatically stop so that there is no risk of over tightening the noose and causing permanent damage to the legs of the thief. Also, because the winder means ceases to operate once the noose is tightened, it will be apparent that the winder means will not be continuously running and operating against the struggles of the thief so that the winder means will not be subjected to forces that could overload it and possibly cause the winder means to burn out or catch fire.

Obviously, the cable should be one which is not easily broken. It is thus preferred that the cable is a metal cable. The metal cable may thus be a wire cable or a steel cable. A thief attempting to steal a vehicle will not normally be armed with wire cutters.

The cable may include an outer guide cable which is used to stop the winder means when the noose is tight.

The winder means preferably comprises a drum on which the cable is wound, a motor for rotatably driving the drum, a ratchet and pawl device for preventing the cable being prematurely unwound, and third switch means which is movable from a first position in which it stops the motor from rotating the drum when the noose is tight, to a second position in which it starts the motor to rotate the drum each and every time the noose becomes loose.

Preferably, the third switch means is movable to its first position in which it stops the rotor from rotating the drum when the noose is tight by means of the outer guide cable pressing on the third switch means.

The third switch means may be a spring biased pivoting lever.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus may include a mechanically operated release device for releasing the ratchet and pawl device in order to allow the drum to rotate and release the cable. This is obviously necessary in order to release a trapped thief in due course after a vehicle owner and/or the police have arrived.

The mechanically operated release device is preferably a release member which is pulled against the biasing action of a spring to a position in which it releases the pawl from one of a series of teeth on a toothed wheel, the toothed wheel forming the ratchet. The release member may be a knob.

The mechanically operated release device will normally be located directly on the winder means and the winder means will normally be located out of reach of a thief sitting in the driving seat of the vehicle.

Preferably, the vehicle anti-theft apparatus is such that the first switch means is operated by a pedal of the vehicle. The pedal may be the clutch pedal, the brake pedal, or the accelerator pedal. In automatic carsS the clutch pedal will not be present so that either the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal will be used. For a manually geared car, it is preferred to locate the first switch means such that it is operated by the clutch pedal since the clutch pedal must always be depressed in order to engage gear. With an automatic vehicle, it is always necessary to press the accelerator pedal in order to pull away so that the first switch means can advantageously then be arranged to be operated by the accelerator pedal. If desired, the first switch means can be operated by other devices such as releasing the hand brake or moving the gear lever of the vehicle.Foot pedal actuation is however preferred since this virtually certainly ensures that the thief is in a driving position in the driving seat with his or her legs in the noose.

Preferably, the first switch means is a spring biased contact member which is caused to operate consequent upon a pedal of the vehicle being depressed.

The second switch means may be an on/off push/pull or lever switch.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus may include circuit means for operating the vehicle lights and/or the vehicle horn consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus, in order to provide a visual and/or audible warning of the attempted theft. The lights and/or the vehicle horn can be arranged to operate continuously or intermitently. The vehicle anti-theft apparatus may also include circuit means for operating a separate alarm system consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus may further include circuit means for cutting off the supply of electricity to the engine of the vehicle, for example to the starter motor, consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus may include door locking means for locking the doors of the vehicle consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus, thereby preventing a trapped thief from even opening the vehicle doors.

The present invention also provides a vehicle when provided with the vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

The vehicle may be any type of vehicle such for example as a car, van, lorry, bus or coach. The vehicle can also be a dumper truck or other equipment of the type used on building sites. The vehicle can also be a water vehicle such for example as a speed boat.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the foot pedal part of a car with a cable and noose in position; Figure 2 shows more of the car than in Figure 1 and in addition to showing the cable and the noose in position, Figure 2 also shows other parts of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus; Figure 3 shows the dashboard of the vehicle and various parts of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus; Figure 4 illustrates how the vehicle anti-theft apparatus is connected to the starter switch socket of the vehicle; Figure 5 shows parts of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus mounted in the engine part of the vehicle; Figure 6 shows first switch means; Figure 7 shows winder means; Figure 8 shows a control unit for operating the winder means;; Figure 9 shows a relay which forms part of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus; Figure 10 shows a wire cable and an outer guide cable; Figure 11 shows a steel belt for holding the cable shown in Figure 10 in a desired position inside the car; Figure 12 shows a switch holder for the first switch means shown in Figure 6; Figure 13 shows second switch means; Figure 14 shows somewhat schematically a horn of the vehicle; and Figure 15 shows a door locking device for locking the door of the vehicle.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, there is shown a vehicle 2 having a driving seat 4, a gear stick 6, a clutch pedal 8, a brake pedal 10 and an accelerator pedal 12.

The vehicle 2 is provided with anti-theft apparatus comprising a cable 14 which terminates in a noose 16. The noose 16 is positioned in the vicinity of the foot pedals 8,10,12 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 so that a person wishing to operate the foot pedals 8,10,12 must place his or her legs through the noose 16.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus also comprises electrically operated winder means 18 which is located as shown in Figure 5 in the engine compartment 20 of the vehicle 2. The winder means is for winding the end of the cable 14 remote from the noose 16 to cause the noose 16 to become smaller and trap a thief's legs.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus includes first switch means 22 which is so mounted as to engage the clutch pedal 8 as shown in Figure 2. Depression of the clutch pedal 8 causes the switch means 22 to activate and cause the winder means 18 to operate. Thus the winder means 18 is operated consequent upon an attempted theft of the vehicle 2.

The vehicle anti-theft apparatus further includes second switch means 24 which is positioned on a dashboard 26 of the vehicle 2. The second switch means 24 is for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in an operational condition when the vehicle 2 is left unattended and for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in a non-operational condition when the vehicle 2 is being operated by an authorised person.

-The vehicle anti-theft apparatus can be installed in the vehicle 2 by cutting into only one wire in the normal electrical system on the vehicle 2, and this wire will be the wire that normally stays live during operation of the vehicle 2. This wire is shown as wire 28 in Figure 4. It will be seen that the wire 28 is connected to the barrel part 30 of the ignition key switch 32 of the vehicle 2.

The barrel part 30 has the usual slot 34 for receiving the vehicle ignition key (not shown). The wire 28 is cut at position 36 to enable the vehicle anti-theft apparatus to be connected in circuit. To the position 36 are connected a first wire 38 and a second wire 40 for conducting current in the direction shown by the arrows 42,44. The wires 38, 40 shown in Figure 4 are also shown in Figure 3 for ease of understanding how the circuit is made.

Referring still to Figure 3, it will be seen that a control unit 46 as described in more detail hereinbelow with reference to Figure 8 is mounted behind the vehicle instrument panel 48. The control unit 46 is provided with a wire 50 which goes to pick up the main vehicle circuit as will be described below. Also as shown in Figure 3 are wires 52,54 which come from the control unit 46 and which connect to the first switch means 22 as shown most clearly in Figure 6.

Figure 5 shows the wire 50 as it has passed into the engine compartment 20 and how it is connected to a horn 56 shown in Figure 14. Figure 5 also shows a wire 58 extending between the vehicle battery 60 and a relay 62 which is shown in more detail in Figure 9.

Referring now to Figure 6, there is shown in more detail the first switch means 22. It will be seen that the first switch means 22 has a cylindrical body 64 from which projects a switch member 66. The switch member 66 is such that, when the clutch pedal 8 is depressed, it is pushed back into the body 64 to open the contacts 68,70 as shown.

This causes current to pass to the control unit 46 shown in Figure 8.

The control unit 46 shown in Figure 8 comprises a pair of relays 72,74. The relay 72 includes a coil 76 and the relay 74 includes a coil 78.

As shown in Figure 10, the cable 14 is provided inside an outer guide cable 80. The outer guide cable 80 has an end 82 which is remote from the noose 16 and which abuts against third switch means in the form of a spring biased pivoting lever 84. The lever is biased by a spring 86 and it pivots about a pivot 88.

The lever 84 forms part of the winder means 18 and the entire winder means 18 is best seen in Figure 7. As can be seen from Figure 7, the winder means 18 comprises a drum 90 on which the cable 14 is wound. The cable 14 passes through an aperture 92 in the lever 84 and it is anchored to the drum 90 at an anchor point 94. The winder means 18 also comprises a motor 96 for rotatably driving the drum 90. The left hand end of the drum 90 is provided with a toothed wheel 98 which operates with a pawl 100 to form a ratchet and pawl device.More specifically, the pawl 100 has a pawl member 102 which engages between teeth 104 on the toothed wheel 98 such that the toothed wheel 98 can rotate with the drum 90 for the purpose of winding in the cable 14 to tighten the noose 16, but the pawl member 102 prevents the drum 90 rotating in the opposite direction to release the wound cable 14. Thus, once the noose 16 is tight around a thief's legs, it will be apparent that the thief cannot open the noose to release his or her legs.

In the event that a thief should press his or her legs tightly together or cross his or her legs or provide various other contortionist movements to gain more space in the noose 16 and thus in effect make the noose 16 loose, the motor 96 which will have previously stopped will be caused to start again, thereby tightening the noose 16 further. More specifically, when the noose is tight, the end 82 of the outer guide cable 80 will press on the right hand end of the lever 84 and the general struggling of the thief with the noose 16 tight will cause the lever 84 to pivot in a clockwise manner about the pivot 88. This pivoting of the lever 84 will in turn open a contact 106 which is an earthed contact connected to the body 108 of the winder means 18.This will be effective to stop the operation of the electric motor 96. If the cable 14 becomes slack, the spring 86 will be able to pivot the lever 84 in an anti-clockwise direction and the contact 106 will again make electrical contact with the body 108.

This will cause the motor 96 to start up again and to cause the drum 90 to rotate a little more to take up the further formed slack in the cable 14 and the noose 16.

This stopping and starting operation will be repeated as many times as necessary until it is not possible for the thief to make any further contortionist movements to generate more slack in the noose 16. The stopping and starting of the motor 96 is advantageous because the motor 96 is not constantly working against the struggles of the thief in the noose 16. This stops the motor being overloaded so that the motor 96 cannot burn out or become overheated.

In order to release the thief, the pawl 100 is manually operated. More specifically, a release device in the form of a knob or handle 110 is pulled against pressure of a biasing spring 112 to release the pawl member 102 from between the teeth 104 so that the drum 90 can then be rotated in order to release the wound cable 14.

As indicated above, the control unit 46 provides the current required by the electric motor 96. When the contacts 72 are closed, current passes to the coil 78.

Energisation of the coil 78 causes the contact 74 to close.

The contacts 72 and the coil 76 in effect form a stop and start relay which is able to supply current to a driving relay which is constituted by the -coil 78 and the contacts 74.

The coil 78 is able to work at greater current loads of, for example, 12 volts and 30 amps in order to drive the motor 96 with the required power for winding the cable 14 against the struggles of a thief. It will be noted that Figure 8 shows a wire 114 for connection to the vehicle battery. Another wire 116 receives the vehicle 12 volt supply all the time and it is connected to the horn 56 as shown in Figure 14.

The wire 118 needs to be earthed in order to complete the circuit. The wire 116 which connects to the horn 56 may also be connected to a car lock 118 as shown in Figure 15. The car lock 118 comprises a body 120 which houses a coil 122.

A locking catch 124 will be arranged to project into a hole in a door upright (not shown) so that then the locking catch 124 will extend between the vehicle door and the upright so that it will not be possible to open the vehicle door.

The lock 118 can just be located in the drivers door or it can be located on all the doors of the vehicle 2. Current for the coil 122 is provided via leads or wires 126,128 which are provided with 12 volts dc.

The relay 62 shown in Figure 9 comprises a coil 130 and contacts 132, and it also comprises a coil 134 and contacts 136. The first switch means 22 is shown schematically in Figure 9 and the second switch means 24 is also shown schematically in Figure 9. When the contacts 132 are engaged in the position shown in Figure 9, the winder means 18 does not operate and nothing happens.

When current passes to the coil 134 in an attempted theft situation, then this current is passed from the relay 62 to the control unit 46.

Figure 11 shows a steel belt 140 for ensuring that the cable 14 follows a desired contour in the part of the car adjacent the foot pedals 8,10,12 Figure 12 shows a holder 142 which is for holding the first switch means 22. The holder 142 has an aperture 144 through which the first switch means ?2 passes. The first switch means 22 has a locking nut 146 (see Figure 6) for tightening the first switch means 22 in position against the holder 142. The holder 142 also has an elongate slot 148 enabling the holder 142 to be located adjacent the clutch pedal 8 with quite a large degree of adjustment.

Figure 13 shows in detail the second switch means 24.

It will be seen that the second switch means 24 comprises a body 150 in which appropriate contacts are positioned. The second switch means 24 is turned on and off by pushing or pulling on a knob 152 which is positioned on the end of a shaft 154 which extends from the body 150 as shown.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, Figure 3 shows the control unit 46 mounted on a pair of brackets 156,158 but alternatively the control unit 46 may be positioned elsewhere in the vehicle 2.

Also, the first switch means 22 can be arranged to operate off the brake pedal 10 or the accelerator pedal 12 as may be desired. Naturally, if the thief should release his or her foot from the clutch pedal 8, the brake pedal 10 or the accelerator pedal 12, electric current will still continue to be supplied to the winder means 18 and to other parts of the entire vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

Claims (17)

1. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus comprising a cable terminating in a noose for positioning in the vicinity of foot pedals of a vehicle, electrically operated winder means for winding in one end of the cable to cause the noose to become smaller and trap a thief's legs, first switch means for causing the winder means to operate consequent upon an attempted theft of the vehicle, and second switch means for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in an operational condition when the vehicle is left unattended and for setting the vehicle anti-theft apparatus in a non-operational condition when the vehicle is being operated by an authorised person, and the winder means being such that it will operate to wind the cable until the noose is tightly positioned around the thief legs whereupon the winder means will cease to operate and will not normally release wound cable, and the winder means also being such that it will continue to start and stop to wind in further cable each time the thief struggles and succeeds in loosening the noose.

2. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claim 1 in which the cable is a metal cable.

3. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the cable includes an outer guide cable which is used to stop the winder means when the noose is tight.

4. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the winder means comprises a drum on which the cable is wound, a motor for rotatably driving the drum, a ratchet and pawl device for preventing he cable being prematurely unwound, and third switch means which is movable from a first position in which it stops the motor from rotating the drum when the noose is tight, to a second position in which it starts the motor to rotate the drum each and every time the noose becomes loose.

5. ~ Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claims 3 and 4 in which the third switch means is movable to its first position in which it stops the motor from rotating the drum when the noose is tight by means of the outer guide cable pressing on the third switch means.

6. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5 in which the third switch means is a spring biased pivoting lever.

7. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including a mechanically operated release device for releasing the ratchet and pawl device in order to allow the drum to rotate and release the cable.

8. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claim 7 in which the mechanically operated release device is a release member which is pulled against the biasing action of a spring to a position in which it releases the pawl from one of a series of teeth on a toothed wheel, the toothed wheel forming the ratchet.

9. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the first switch means is operated by a pedal of the vehicle.

10. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to claim 9 in which the first switch means is a spring biased contact member which is caused to operate consequent upon a pedal of the vehicle being depressed.

11. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the second switch means is an on/off push/pull or lever switch.

12. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including circuit means for operating the vehicle lights and/or the vehicle horn consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus, in order to provide a visual and/or audible warning of the attempted theft.

13. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including circuit means for operating a separate alarm system consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

14. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including circuit means for cutting off the supply of electricity to the engine of the vehicle consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus.

15. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including door locking means for locking the doors of the vehicle consequent upon activation of the vehicle anti-theft apparatus, thereby preventing a trapped thief from even opening the vehicle doors.

16. Vehicle anti-theft apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A vehicle when provided with the vehicle anti-theft apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.