GB2273084A

GB2273084A - Wheel clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2273084A
Application number: GB9225193A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Leonard Barker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-12-02
Filing date: 1992-12-02
Publication date: 1994-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 2012-12-02
Also published as: GB2273084B; GB9225193D0

Abstract

A wheel clamp for a vehicle has a back-plate 10 with a pair of guide surfaces 12 at an angle to one another and each of which carries an upstanding pin 13. A pair of lower arms 14, each having a series of holes 15 along its length, may be mounted one on each guide surface and held against movement by the pin 13 passing through a hole 15. Each arm 14 has a foot 16 arranged, when the clamp is in use, to bear on the ground. The back-plate 10 also carries a support 26, in which is slidingly received an upper arm 27 having its top part 30 turned through 90 DEG so as to lie over the upper part of a wheel to which the clamp is fitted. A face-plate is secured to the back-plate 10 to prevent removal of the clamp. The adjustable nature of the lower arm 14 and the upper arm 27 permits the easy fitting of the clamp to a wide range of vehicle wheels. <IMAGE>

Description

WHEEL CLAMP This invention relates to a wheel clamp for use on a vehicle road wheel, to immobilise the vehicle.

In recent years, wheel clamps have become widely used, either for the purpose of securing a vehicle against theft, or to immobilise the vehicle for the purpose of extracting a penalty from the driver for leaving the vehicle in an unauthorised place. In either case, it is advantageous for a clamp to be readily adjustable so as to suit different wheel diameters and tyre widths. Such adjustability tends to reduce the robustness of the clamp, and so may reduce the usefulness of the clamp for its intended purpose.

A further requirement for a wheel clamp is that it should be quick and easy to fit, and yet once fitted it should be very difficult to remove other than by an authorised person having the appropriate key, or, for some clamps, knowledge of the combination number for a combination lock. Yet another requirement is that a clamp should not be unduly heavy so as to not to restrict its portability and ease of fitting, but this again often conflicts with the requirement to have a clamp sufficiently robust to withstand a fairly determined attack.

Though there have been very many proposals for designs of wheel clamp, most of these fail to satisfy all of the above-mentioned criteria, at least to some extent. The present invention, by contrast, aims at providing a wheel clamp which minimises the problems associated with known designs of clamp, and which satisfies as fully as possible the criteria discussed above.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wheel clamp for use on a vehicle road wheel, comprising a back-plate having a pair of guide surfaces extending at an angle to one another and against each of which may be positioned a respective lower arm, inter-engagement means formed between each arm and its guide surface or the back-plate to hold the arm against movement parallel to the length thereof when positioned against its guide surface, a further guide provided on the back-plate adjustably to support an upper arm, and holding means to restrain movement of the upper arm along its length when engaged therewith, the two lower arms and the upper arm all being hook-shaped at their ends remote from the back-plate so as to permit the arms to be adjusted to engage around the tyre of a vehicle wheel on which the clamp is used, and a faceplate adapted to be locked to the back-plate to lie closely adjacent and generally parallel thereto with parts of the arms between the face- and back-plates, the face-plate being configured to prevent the disengagement of the inter-engagement means associated with the two lower arms and to prevent release of the holding means associated with the upper arm, when the face-plate has been secured to the back-plate.

The wheel clamp of the present invention may readily be adjusted so as to suit a wide range of wheel diameters, the adjusted positions of the two lower arms and of the upper arm being held securely by the action of fitting the face-plate to the back-plate and locking the face-plate in that position. The range of adjustability of the clamp may be optimised by having the lines of adjustment of the two lower arms and of the upper arm substantially intersecting at a point.

Conveniently, the angle between the lines of adjustment of the two lower arms lies in the range of from 90 to 120 , with the line of adjustment of the upper arm bisecting that angle - that is to say, the two lower arms are preferably arranged symmetrically about the line of adjustment of the upper arm.

The inter-engagement means for each lower arm preferably comprises a pin upstanding from the associated guide surface, and a plurality of holes formed along part of the length of the lower arm, which pin may be received in any one of the holes to prevent movement of the arm along its length, and so to prevent sliding movement over the guide surface associated with that arm. Then, by having the face place provided with at least two projecting portions which upstand from the surface of the face-plate and which are positioned to prevent disengagement of the inter-engagement means associated with the two lower arms when the face-plate is locked to the back-plate, the adjusted positions of the two lower arms may be maintained merely by the action of fitting the face-plate to the back-plate.

Each of the two projecting portions of the face-plate may comprise a strip or bar which, when the face-plate is secured to the back-plate, lie substantially parallel to the associated guide surface.

The holding means associated with the upper arm preferably comprises a pin receivable in registering holes in both the upper arm and at least one of the further guide and back-plate. Preferably, there is at least one pin-receiving hole in the arm and a series of holes through both the further guide and the backplate, with any one of which the single hole in the upper arm may successively come into register, upon sliding movement of that upper arm. The face-plate should be configured to prevent withdrawal of the pin, whereby adjustment of the upper arm will be inhibited when the face-plate has been locked to the back-plate.

An alternative arrangement would be for the pin to be secured to the face-plate, such that the pin is fitted into registering holes in the arm and in the further guide, as the face-plate is fitted to the back-plate.

It is preferred for the face-plate to include a shroud which at least partially surrounds the interengagement means formed between each lower arm and its guide surface, so as to minimise access to that interengagement means when that wheel clamp has been fitted to a wheel.

Preferably, the hook-shaped configuration at the ends of at least the two lower arms remote from the back-plate, but advantageously also the upper arm, is arranged to engage around the inner side wall of a tyre with which the clamp is used. In this case, the hookshaped configuration should be adjustable, to permit adjustment of the clamp to suit different tyre widths.

To this end, there may be provided at the lower end of each arm a foot projecting laterally of the arm to lie against the tread of a tyre, and an L-shaped bracket slidable with respect to the foot, whereby one limb of the L-shaped bracket may engage closely against the inner side wall of a tyre. Such adjustment is conveniently achieved by having the other limb of the L-shaped bracket slidable within a socket provided within the foot, a pin being receivable in registering holes in both the foot and the limb of the arm. By having a series of holes in at least one of the foot and the limb of the L-shaped bracket, the bracket may be secured in any one of a number of different positions.The pin is preferably insertable into the registering holes from the face of the foot which normally lies against the tread of a wheel, when the clamp is in use; in this way, the withdrawal of the pin will not be possible when the clamp has been secured to a vehicle wheel, in view of the presence of the tread immediately adjacent the pin, in the withdrawal direction of that pin.

Though the upper arm could simply be turned through a right angle at its upper end, so as to lie closely against the tread of a tyre, it is preferred for that upper arm to include a bracket which will engage behind the inner side wall of a tyre; such a bracket may be adjustable and be secured in an adjusted position in much the same manner as has been described above with reference to each of the two lower arms of the clamp. In this case, the pin may be provided with a spring catch or friction device, to prevent the pin dropping under gravity during fitting of the clamp.

By way of example only, one specific embodiment of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of the clamp when fitted to a wheel, but with the face-plate removed for clarity but shown in long-chain lines; Figure 2 is a perspective view on the clamp of Figure 1, but with the face-plate removed; and Figure 3 is a view of the inside of the faceplate.

Referring to the drawings, it can be seen that the wheel clamp of the present invention comprises a backplate 10 to which are secured two guides 11, which guides have guide surfaces 12 projecting normally from the plane of the back-plate 10, and lying substantially at 90 to one another. Each guide surface 12 carries a peg 13 upstanding therefrom, approximately mid-way along the length of the guide surface.

The clamp further comprises two lower arms 14 each of which has a series of holes 15 along the inner end portion thereof, and in any one of which may be received the peg 13 whereby the arm may lie against a guide surface 12, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. In this way, each arm 14 may be adjusted to project to a greater or lesser extent from the back-plate 10.

The lower end of each lower arm 14 is provided with a foot 16 configured, when the clamp is in use as shown in Figure 1, to bear on the ground 17. The upper surface 18 of the foot 16 is adapted to lie closely adjacent the outer periphery (tread) 19 of a tyre when the clamp is in use and has properly been adjusted, as shown in Figure 1.

The foot 16 defines a socket 20 in which is slidably mounted one limb 21 of an L-shaped bracket 22, the other limb 23 of the bracket being turned to extend generally parallel to the line of the associated lower arm 14. Limb 21 of the bracket has a series of holes; on sliding the bracket along its socket the holes successively come into register with a hole 24 formed through the socket 20 and in which may be received a pin 25, to lock the bracket 22 against movement with respect to the foot 16. When the clamp is in use as shown in Figure 1, the pin 25 lies closely adjacent the outer periphery 19 of the tyre.

Also mounted on the back-plate 10 is a channel 26, disposed symmetrically with respect to the two guides 11, an upper arm 27 being slidably received within the tube defined jointly by the back-plate 10 and the channel 26. The lower part of the upper arm 27 is formed with a hole which comes successively into register with each of a series of holes 28 formed through the channel 26 and the back-plate 10 as the upper arm 27 is moved along the length of the channel 26, a pin 29 being insertable through the registering holes to secure the upper arm against movement in an adjusted position. The top part 30 of the upper arm 27 is turned through 900, whereby the upper arm 27 may be adjusted to have that top part lying closely adjacent the top of a vehicle tyre with which the clamp is used.

Though not shown in the drawings, the top part 30 of the upper arm 27 may be provided with a bracket to engage the inner side wall of the tyre, in a generally similar manner to that described above with reference to the foot 16 of each lower arm 14.

The wheel clamp further comprises a face-plate 31 of a similar shape but significantly larger than the back-plate 10. The back-plate has a lug 32 projecting forwardly therefrom, which lug is receivable in an opening 33 in the face-plate, a hole 34 being formed through the lug 32 to receive a padlock or combination lock. In this way, the face-plate 31 may be secured parallel to and overlying the back-plate 10, in engagement with the outer edges of the guides 11. The face-plate 31 has a pair of upstanding locking segments 35, suitably positioned so as to lie over the inner end portions of the lower arms 14, to hold those inner portions against the guide surfaces 12 and so to prevent the removal or adjustment of the arms 14.The face-plate 31 furthermore prevents withdrawal of the pin 29 from the upper arm 27, so preventing the adjustment of that arm once the face-plate has been locked in position.

The face-plate 31 further includes an upstanding shroud 36 made up from a plurality of sections and arranged to surround the back-plate and so also the components mounted thereon. This shroud serves to prevent unauthorised access to the locking mechanisms for the arms 14 and 27 and also serves stably to hold together the face-plate and the back-plate 10, in a generally parallel disposition, when the face-plate has been locked in position.

From the forgoing description, it will be appreciated that the wheel clamp may readily be adjusted to suit a wide variety of wheel diameters and widths, firstly by adjusting the brackets 22 to suit the wheel (tyre) width and then locking the brackets 22 in position by means ot the pins 25. Secondly, the lower arms 14 and the upper arm 27 are adjusted to suit the wheel diameter, as shown in Figure 1. Then, the clamp is secured against unauthorised removal by means of the face-plate 31, held in position by a padlock or combination lock fitted into hole 34 formed in lug 32, after the face-plate 31 has been fitted into its position parallel to the back-plate 10, with lug 32 projecting through aperture 33 in the face-plate 31.

Thus, when properly adjusted, the clamp cannot be removed other than by removal of the padlock or combination lock.

Claims

1. A wheel clamp for use on a vehicle road wheel, comprising a back-plate having a pair of guide surfaces extending at an angle to one another and against each of which may be positioned a respective lower arm, interengagement means formed between each arm and its guide surface or the back-plate to hold the arm against movement parallel to the length thereof when positioned against its guide surface, a further guide provided on the back-plate adjustably to support an upper arm, and holding means to restrain movement of the upper arm along its length when engaged therewith, the two lower arms and the upper arm all being hook-shaped at their ends remote from the back-plate so as to permit the arms to be adjusted to engage around the tyre of a vehicle wheel on which the clamp is used, and a faceplate adapted to be secured to the back-plate to lie closely adjacent and generally parallel thereto with parts of the arms between the face- and back-plates, the face-plate being configured to prevent the disengagement of the interengagement means associated with the two lower arms and to prevent release of the holding means associated with the holding means, when secured to the back-plate.

2. A wheel clamp according to Claim 1, wherein each interengagement means comprises a pin upstanding from the associated guide surface, and a plurality of holes formed along part of the length of the lower arm, which pin may be received in any one of the holes to prevent movement of the arm along its length.

3. A wheel clamp according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the face-plate is provided with at least two projecting portions which upstand from the surface of the face-plate and which are positioned to prevent disengagement of the interengagement means associated with the two lower arms.

4. A wheel clamp according to Claim 3, wherein the two projecting portions of the face plate each comprises a strip or bar which, when the face-plate is secured to the back plate, lies substantially parallel to the guide surface of

5. A wheel clamp according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the holding means associated with the upper arm comprises a pin receivable in regisreing holes on the upper arm and in at least one of the further guide and the back-plate.