GB2248593A

GB2248593A - Anti-theft device for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2248593A
Application number: GB9016401A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Michael Andrew Murray
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-07-26
Filing date: 1990-07-26
Publication date: 1992-04-15
Also published as: GB9016401D0

Abstract

A motor vehicle anti-theft device is operative to restrict access to the vehicle's steering wheel and/or other controls by providing a movable member which is lockable into a position so as to prevent the use of the vehicle's driver's seat. In a preferred embodiment the driver's seat 1 carries an arm in the form of a bolt 6 which is housed slideably in the seat's back 5. The car seat is slideably displaced along rails 2 until the distance between the seat 1 and the steering wheel 7 is sufficient to permit the seat back 5 to be tilted forward. The bolt 6 is then extended to engage the steering wheel 7 and locked into this position by operation of a locking mechanism (not shown). A key slot 18 is connected to the locking mechanism so that the bolt 6 may be released and retracted to permit use of the steering wheel. <IMAGE>

Description

ANTI-THEFT DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE Anti-theft devices for vehicles such as motor cars may be either active in the form of an alarm to frighten a thief, or passive in the form of various locks to delay theft, since given time and opportunity, there are virtually no measures which cannot eventually be overcome.

It is well known that most door locks can be opened with a piece of stiff wire and ignition locks are fairly easily bypassed, but a steering lock must be dismantled or disconnected in some way to make a car derivable, which is a time consuming and obvious operation and thus a very real deter rent to a thief, who wants to be away as quick as possible.

The present invention lies in the second or passive category, and atlas the object of increasing the time needed to get tie motor car into drivable condition tiy denying immediate access to toe foot controls, and especially access tD the steering wheel, by making it impossible for an unauthorised person, once he has gained access to the car, to sit in the driving seat easily and operate the steering wheel and foot controls.

It has bccn proposed to achieve this object by moving either the while seat cr the seat back into a position in which tirol seat back engages with a portion ol the steering wheel, to seat or seat back then being locked in this position by suitable locking means which only an authorised person can unlock.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an anti-theft device for attachment to a driver's seat of a vehicle having a steering wheel and foot controls located beneath said steering wheel, the device being adjustable between 2 first inoperative mode in which a person may sit in the driver's seat and use tloe foot controls of the vetlicle and a second operative mode in which a person is denied access to the seat and the foot controls, the device comprising an arm adapted to be mounted on the back of the driver's seat for relative movement thereto between said first mode in which the arm does not protrude to any appreciable extent beyond the normal profile of the seat back and said second mode in which the arm protrudes beyond the normal profile of the seat back to engage a suitable anchorage point, and locking means to retain the arm in said second mode which locking means may be released to enable the arm to be returned to said first mode.

The arm may be mounted for sliding movement within the seat back, or alternatively the arm may be pivotally mounted on the seat back for pivotal movement about a pivot axis.

The arm may comprise a single member mounted either slidably or pivotally as mentioned above, or alternatively may comprise a first member pivotally mounted on the seat back and a second member mounted for slidable movement within the first member.

The effect of the arm protruding beyond the normal profile of a seat back may be either to tilt the whole seat or the seat back into a forwardly inclined position, or alternatively the effect may be to provide a physical barrier which prevents a person sitting in the seat.

The locking means may comprise any suitable device which can be released by an authorised person, for example with a key.

In a preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism is automatically activated when the arm is pulled out or extended into the second mode and the key is only required to release the mechanism.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.1 shows a bolt incorporated into a driving seat hinged seat back and the mode of engagement with the steering wheel or part of the car structure in the region of the steering column or dash board; Fig 2 shows an alternative way of locking a hinged seat back in which the bolt is used as a hinge lock; Fig 3 shows the use of an extending bolt to lock a rigid seat hinged about its front lower edge; Fig 4 illustrates a form of hinged arm obstruction for use with a rigid slidably adjusted seat other than the type shown in Fig 3, where a bolt is used to lock the seat in its far forward position on the set rails;; Fig 5 shows an alternative hinged arm obstruction with an extending bolt and suitable for any kind of seat; Fig 6 shows in principle a locking mechanism for the bolt; Fig 7 illustrates the lock configuration with the bolt retracted.

Referring now to Fig 1, a motor car driving seat 1 is slid Dly located on rails 2 rigidly attached to the car floor 3. The seat back 5 is attached to the seat 1 by a hinge 4 and carries an arm in the form of a bolt 6 slidably housed within the seat back 5. Sliding the seat 1 along the rails 2 towards the rear of the car, until the whole assembly is located as far from the steering wheel as possible, permits the seat back 5 to be tilted forwards abou. tae hinge point 4 and the bolt 6 extended to engage the steering wheel 7 carried by the steering column 8 and locked in this extended position. Alternatively, the bolt 6 may engage a socket attached to the steering column or dash board area of the motor car structure.A lock with key slot 18 is provided to release the bolt 6 and allow it to be retracted.

Fig 2 shows an alternative way of locking a hinged seat back 5, in which the bolt 6 is used as a lock for the hinge 4 by providing a saddle piece 25 against which the bolt 6 rests when extended with the seat back inclined towards the steering wheel 7. In this case, the bolt 6 is made to extend downwards through the seat back and the method of securing the seat back in the inclined position is dependent of the exact geometrical relationship of seat and steering wheel.

Fig. 3 shows the method of locking a rigid seat assembly into the inclined position, where a seat 1 has a rigidly attached seat back 5, with the whole seat hinged about the lower front edge 24 of the seat frame. In this case, a downwardly extendable bolt 6 is housed within the seat back 5, which bolt 6 can engage a socket 25 mounted on the floor 3, or preferably recessed into it.

Fig. 4 illustrates a form of hinged arm obstructions for use with any rigid driving seat, except that shown in Fig. 3, unless the latch which normally holds the rear end of the hinged rigid seat to the floor when the seat is in use can itself be locked. The seat back 5 carries a padded arm 5a with a hinge 4a attaching the arm to the upper end of the seat back 5 and allowing it to pivot about a horizontal axis, this arm being normally carried recessed into the seat back. The arm 5a is rotated to an angle at which it can engage the steering wheel 7 when the driving seat 1 is moved towards by sliding it to its extreme forward position along the seat rails 2. The seat may then be locked in this forward position by a downwardly extendable bolt 6 housed within the seat back 5, which bolt 6 can engage a socket 25 mounted on the floor 3, or preferably recessed into it. A lock with key slot 18 is provided to release the bolt 6 and allow it to be retracted. It would of course also be possible to modify existing rail latch mechanisms to make them lockable, but it would not be easy to make them tamper proof.

Fig. 5 shows an alternative way of using the hinged arm of Fig.4 as an obstruction to deny access to the controls of a motor car by an unauthorised driver. By virtue of its construction and features, this method can be used with any type of seat. A bolt 6 is housed within the arm 5a, such that when the seat 1 is moved sufficiently rearwards along the rails 2 to allow the arm 5a to be raised without fouling the steering wheel 7, the bolt 6 can be extended to engage the steering wheel 7 and locked in the extended position.

Alternatively, the bolt 6 may engage a socket attached to the steering column or dash board area of the motor car structure, or even engage a hole specially provided in a broad spoke forming part of the steering wheel itself. It is also possible for the bolt 6 merely to project below the steering wheel, lying in the space between the steering wheel 7 and the seat 1. A lock with key slot 18 is provided to release the bolt 6 and allow it to be retracted. Again with reference to Fig. 5, it will be appreciated that the hinge 4a may also be placed in the lower part of the seat back, in which case, the rotation of the arm is reversed.

Fig. 6 shows in perspective a locking mechanism for the bolt 6. The bolt 6 is guided by bushes or bearings 9 housed within the seat back 5, and carries a collar 10 to limit its extension. A member 11 of channel or stirrup section, is hinged about pivot spindles 12 and 14 carried by bearings 27 and 28 respectively and subject to the force of a tension spring shown as the vector arrow 15a imparting a tendency to rotate about the axis through the pivot spindles 12 and 14 until arrested by the stop plate 13. When the stirrup member 11 is rotated to the position in which it is in contact with the stop 13, the bolt 6 is trapped in the extended position with the bolt end 16 in contact with the upper surface of the stirrup member 11. It would also be possible to employ a compression spring represented by the vector arrow 15b or a torsion spring represented by the arrow 15c for this purpose.

It will be appreciated that the essential feature of the mechanism is that the member 11 should be spring loaded to dispose it to rotate towards the stop 13. This mechanism is given as one of a number of different ways of achieving the desired characteristic that the bolt should automatically lock when pulled out to the fully extended position.

Considering now the means for releasing the bolt 6 and allowing it to be retracted, the stirrup member 11 must be rotated to clear the inner end 16 of the bolt, which rotation is controlled by an actuator which may be either lockable, or be capable of being disabled and locked in the disabled condition. The effect of this actuator may be applied either as a direct force acting on the stirrup member 11 or an extension of that member, or it may be applied as a torque via-one or other of the pivot spindles 12 or 14.

The torque type actuator is shown in principle in Fig 6, where a housing 17 is rigidly attached to the seat structure and contains a keyed lock barrel with key slot 18, the barrel being coaxial with and rotatably attached to the pivot spindle 14. To make the trapping of the fully extended bolt 6 automatic without the need to operate a key, a lost motion mechanism is required between the lock barrel 22 and the spindle 14. By way of example, one method of providing this lost motion is to cut away half of the circumference of the lock barrel extension 22 to enable it to engage pin 23 projecting at right angles from one side of the pivot spindle 14, thus allowing unrestrained rotation of the pivot spindle 14 over an appreciable fraction of a revolution.

The direct acting form of actuator is illustrated in principle in Fig 7, in which a plunger 20 is slidably mounted in a housing 21, which latter is rigidly attached to the seat structure. The plunger 20 is normally held clear of the stirrup member 11, but is able, upon being unlocked and pressed at the end 26 remote from the stirrup member 11, to make contact with an extension 19 of the stirrup member 11 and by causing the stirrup member to rotate about the axis of the pivot spindles 12 and 14, removes the obstruction to the lower or inner end 16 of the bolt 6 and allows it to be retracted. The keyed lock may be contained within the plunger 20 or within the housing 21, the latter case being shown with key slot 18.

Claims

1. An anti-theft device for a vehicle which is displaceable between a first inoperative mode and a second operative mode in which access to the vehicle's driver's seat is blocked, the device including locking means to enable the device to be locked in the second operative mode.

2. r. device as claimed in claim 1 in which the driver's seat back is arranged to be displaceable into a position when it is engageable with a portion of the vehicle's steering wheel.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the driver's seat is arranged to be displaceable into a position when it is engageable with a portion of the vehicle's steering wheel.

4. A device as claimed in Claim 1 for attachment to a driver's seat of a vehicle having a steering wheel and foot controls located beneath said steering wheel, in which the device is adjustable between a first inoperative mode in which a person may sit in the driver's seat and use the foot controls of the vehicle and a second operative mode in which a person is denied access to the seat and the foot controls, the device comprising an arm adapted to be mounted on the back of the driver's seat for relative movement thereto between said first mode in which the arm does not protrude to any appreciable extent beyond the normal profile of the seat back and said second mode in which the arm protrudes beyond the normal profile of the seat back to engage a suitable anchorage point, and locking means to retain the arm in said second mode which locking means may be released to enable the arm to be returned to said first mode.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the arm is mounted for sliding movement within the seat back.

6. A device as claimed in claim 4 in which the arm is pivotally mounted on the seat back for pivotal movement about a pivot axis.

7. A device as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6 in which the arm comprises a first member pivotally mounted on the seat back and a second member mounted for slidable movement within the first member.

8. A device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7 in which the locking mechanism is automatically activated when the arm is pulled out or extended into the second mode and a key is only required to release the mechanism.

9. An anti-theft device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.