GB2262076A - Immobilising vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for immobilising a vehicle comprises locking a vehicle-weight-loaded ground-engaging member 12 in an immobilising condition with a plunger 14 between the telescoping pads 12 & 13. <IMAGE>

Description

IMMOBILISING VEHICLES This invention relates to immobilising vehicles, primarily against theft.

Surprisingly, considerable numbers of implement carrying vehicles such as excavators and loaders are stolen, with a very small recovery rate. These highvalue, specialised vehicles are taken by professional thieves to whom conventional protective measures offer no problem, particularly since such vehicles are not usually left in busy streets and the thieves can have a reasonable and undisturbed time in which to overcome such measures.

The present invention provides new methods and locks for such vehicles that are not so easily dealt with and which are, moreover, capable of being adapted to other vehicles to provide low-cost but effective protection.

The invention comprises a method for immobilising a vehicle comprising locking a vehicle-weight-loaded, ground-engaging member in an inunobilising condition.

Implement-carrying vehicles frequently comprise ground-engaging stabiliser legs, and such legs can be used as the ground-engaging member, immobilising the vehicle by being locked in the down, ground-engaging position. Where, however, such stabiliser legs are not built into the vehicle, it can be in many cases a relatively simple matter to provide such a leg as a purpose-built immobiliser. It may be important, however, in many cases, to arrange that the groundengaging leg in its down, ground-engaging position when in use for immobilising the vehicle, does not substantially relieve any wheel of the vehicle of the vehicle's weight, which might facilitate theft at least of the wheel.

It is also in many cases important to ensure that the ground-engaging leg, when not in use immobilising the vehicle, is securely locked out of possible ground-engagement.

The usual ground-engaging stabiliser legs of implement-carrying vehicles comprise telescoping box sections, which are necessarily of robust construction.

Such legs can be locked by a plunger engaging aligned holes in the box sections. The plunger may be contained in a casing, again of robust construction, which can be welded or otherwise securely attached to the outer section, containing a cam arrangement for moving the plunger into locking engagement. The cam arrangement may be rotated by a removable key and may in turn be locked against such rotation by a second key.

The plunger may be biased, as by a spring, out of locking engagement so that rotation of the cam arrangement away from the locking position will automatically unlock the leg.

Where a vehicle, such as a truck or van, has a telescoping box section mechanism which is not a stabiliser - such, for example, as a tail-lift or an hydraulic hoist, such may also be locked, at least so as to be inoperative, but also where possible to be immobilising. For example, an hydraulic hoist may be locked so as to protrude laterally from the vehicle.

Where the vehicle has no such telescoping box section, one may be added, for example in an automobile boot, which can be lowered and levered down on leaving the vehicle so as to contact the ground with some of the vehicle's weight applied to it - if.theft is attempted, the added weight of the thief will help to immobilise the vehicle.

However, the additional telescoping box section member may be fitted in a wheel arch to bear in immobilising manner against the tyre or the wheel by applying part of the weight of the vehicle body thereagainst, or it may lock the wheel, being a steerable wheel in one position, or at least restrict its full steering movement.

A telescoping box section arrangement may also be fitted between the articulating parts of articulated dumpers, tractors and the like, or to the working arm of an implement carrying vehicle such as a back-hoe. Some working arms will themselves comprise telescoping box sections already to which may be fitted a lock according to the invention.

A trailer of an articulated vehicle has already legs on which it rests when detached from the tractor locks may be fitted to those legs to prevent the trailer being lowered as to the fifth wheel of the tractor.

Methods and locks for immobilising vehicles according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, -in which Figure 1 is a section through one embodiment of a lock mounted on a telescoping box-section ground-engaging stabiliser leg of a vehicle; Figure 2 is a plan view of the internal mechanism of the lock of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view of the internal mechanism of the lock of Figure 1 from the opposite side; Figure 4 is a view on Arrow 4 of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a section through another embodiment; Figure 6 is a diagram showing a special purpose locking telescopic box section installed in an automobile boot; Figure 7 is a diagram showing a special purpose wheel locking telescopic box section installed on a wheel arch; and Figure 8 is a plan view of an articulated dumper with a special purpose telescopic box section installed between the articulated parts.

Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings illustrate a lock 11 operable to lock together two telescoping box section members 12,13 for example of a ground-engaging stabilising strut member of an implement carrying vehicle such as a back-hoe or a loader which strut member is deployed when the implement is in use.

The lock 11 comprises a plunger 14 which engages holes 12a,13a in the members 12,13 which holes are aligned when the inner box section member 12 is lowered to its ground-engaging position.

The plunger 14 slides in a guide tube 15 mounted on a face plate 15a and is backed by an abutment annulus 16. The plunger 14 is hollow and has a spring-loaded piston 17 with an abutment annulus 18. Surrounding the plunger 14 is a spring loaded abutment collar 19.

A camshaft 21 carries cams 22 which act on the collar 19 to urge it against its spring bias towards the face plate 15a. Another cam 23 one the camshaft 217- intermediate the cams 22 acts on the piston 17.

With the camshaft 21 in it fullest clockwise position as seen in Figure 1, the collar 19 is in its right-most position as seen in that figure and the plunger 14 is fully retracted into the guide tube 15.

Anticlockwise rotation of the camshaft 21 by a little more than a quarter of a turn urges the collar 19 against its spring bias to the left. The plunger 14 is thereby enabled to move to the right to engage in the hole 13a of the outer box section member 13, to which the lock 11 is secured by its case lla being welded thereto.

At this intermediate stage, the cam 23 has not moved the piston 17 and the plunger ld is free to move in the guide tube 15 and is held against the inner box section member 12 unless the hole 12a is aligned with the hole 13a, when the plunger 14 will enter the hole 12a under the action of the spring loading of the piston 17.

Further rotation of the camshaft 21 causes the cam 23 to urge the piston 17 to the left, locking the plunger 1 against retraction from the hole 12a and hence locking the box section members 12,13 against telescoping.

In use, the camshaft 21 can be set in its intermediate stage while the members. 1.2 and 13 are telescoped to bring the holes 12a,13a into alignment, whereupon the plunger 14 will pop into the hole 12a as soon as it is aligned with the hole 13a. If the members 12,13 are components of a telescoping stabilising strut of an implement carrying vehicle, the lock 11 can be cocked with the camshaft 21 in its intermediate position while the driver returns to the controls to lower the strut thus engaging the plunger in locking position.

The camshaft can thereafter be turned further to lock up the system.

The camshaft 21 is turned by a removable key 21a and has a further lock system 24 comprising a notched wheel 24a fixed on the camshaft 21 and a cooperating dead lock 24b by which the wheel 24a can be locked in either end position. The dead lock 24b has its own key and thus two keys are required to operate the mechanism.

The lock 11 is made in robust construction of heavy gauge steel. The case, welded to the member 13, has a sloping roof off which any blow (e.g. from a hammer or a shovel of another implement carrying vehicle) will glance without disloding the lock.

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of lock 11 having, again, a plunger 14 which engages holes 12a,13a in the members 12,13, sliding-in a guide tube-75 mounted in a face plate 15a. The plunger 14 extends through the case and terminates in a grip 14a by which it can be retracted from its engagement position against a spring bias. A dead lock 24b engages in one or the other of annular grooves 14b,14c in the plunger 14 to lock the plunger 14 in or out of engagement, locking or, respectively, unlocking the members 12,13. The dead lock key 24a can only be removed when the deadlock 24b is engaged in one or other of the grooves 14b,l4c.

The lock 11 can clearly be fitted at little cost, especially as compared to the capital value of an implement carrying vehicle, to any telescoping member, whether it be a stabilising strut, a tail lift, a hoist or even an implement carrying arm to immobilise the same in a ground-engaging or other vehicle movement or use impeding position.

Where no such or no suitable telescoping arrangement is available, however, one can be fitted at little extra cost. Figure 6 illustrates such a telescoping box section 51 arrangement fitted to the floor of the boot 52 of an automobile, with a lock 11 on the outer member.

The inner member can be locked up or down, or may be removable when not in use so as to lay flat in the boot giving rise to no risk at all of inadvertent lowering.

So as to engage the ground already with some weight on it with an empty vehicle, a lever may be provided to align a pair of specially provided apertures in the inner and outer box members, but in any event even if the arrangement is only just in contact with the ground, the contact will be reinforced by added occupant weight if an attempt is made to drive the vehicle with the lock engaged.

Instead of engaging the ground directly, however, the lock 11 may be fitted to a special purpose telescoping arrangement 63 in a wheel arch 61 as shown in Figure 7 and bear, in use, on the tyre 62 or the wheel either so as to act as a brake thereon (reinforced, again, by added occupant weight if an attempt is made to drive the vehicle) or to prevent or hinder steering movement of the wheel.

Figure 8 shows in plan an articulated dumper 71 with a special purpose telescoping box section arrangement 72 fitted to one part thereof extendable for locking purposes as illustrated to restrict the full articulation of the dumper and make it undrivable.

Other kinds of locks than the particular type described and illustrated can be used to lock up box section telescoping arrangements for -~all thë~ purpses herein referred to and, of course, the locks 11 can be used to lock up other structures than those particularly described, for example, in the case of mechanical diggers, loaders and shovels, the locks 11 can be used to lock the shovel or other implement in a groundengaging position, possibly even with one or more wheels of the vehicle off the ground.

Claims (17)

1. A method for immobilising a vehicle comprising locking a vehicle-weight-loaded ground-engaging member in an immobilising condition.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which the said ground-engaging member comprises a ground-engaging leg, the immobilising condition of which is its down, groundengaging position.

3. A method according to claim 2, in which the vehicle is an implement-carrying vehicle with stabilise legs, and the said ground-engaging leg comprises one of said stabiliser legs.

4. A method according to claim 2, in which the ground-engaging leg in its down, ground-engaging position when in use for immobilising the vehicle does not substantially relieve any wheel of the vehicle of the vehicle's weight.

5. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the ground-engaging leg, when not in use immobilising the vehicle, is securely locked out of possible ground-engagement.

6. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which the ground-engaging leg comprises telescoping box sections and the box sections are locked by a plunger engaging aligned holes therein.

7. A method according to claim 6, in which the plunger is moved into locking engagement with the holes by a cam arrangement rotated by a removable key.

8. A method according to claim 7, in which the cam arrangement is in turn locked against rotation by a second key.

9. A method according to claim 1, in which said ground-engaging member is a vehicle wheel locked in an immobilising condition by the vehicle weight being applied to it by a wheel-engaging member extending between the vehicle body and the wheel.

10. A method according to claim 9, in which the wheel-engaging member comprises telescoping box sectibns locked by a plunger engaging aligned holes therein, one of said box sections being mounted in a wheel arch of the vehicle body.

11. A method according to claim 10, in which the wheel engaging member is accessed by a normally locked compartment of the vehicle.

12. A method according to claim 1, in which the ground-engaging member is a vehicle wheel locked in an unsteerable position.

13. A lock for immobilising a vehicle comprising a plunger engaging aligned holes in a telescoping parts of a component of the vehicle, the plunger being engageable and disengageable by a lockable actuator.

14. A lock according to claim 13, the actuator comprising a cam arrangement rotated by a removable key.

15. A lock according to claim 14, the cam arrangement being locked against rotation by a lock with a second key.

16. A lock according to any one of claims 13 to 15, the plunger being biased out of engagement.

17. A lock according to any one of claims 13 to 16, comprised in a casing adapted for welding or like secure attachment to a telescoping component.