GB2339751A

GB2339751A - Vehicle security device

Info

Publication number: GB2339751A
Application number: GB9821798A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Alan Ragsdale
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-07-24
Filing date: 1998-10-06
Publication date: 2000-02-09
Also published as: GB9821798D0; GB9816076D0

Description

2339751 SECURUY-DEVICE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to vehicle security devices and more particularly to a device for fitting on the pedal arrangement of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicle immobilising systems are well-known in the art. They usually take the form of either an electronic immobiliser or a physical immobiliser.

Electronic immobilisers are generally fitted by the manufacturer and are able to immobilise the engine management system until de-activated by a special handheld device or a key-pad code. Thus they are effective since a potential thief is unlikely to have access to the special device or code. However they have the drawback that they are expensive and difficult to retro-fit to a vehicle after manufacture.

Physical immobilisers are usually bought separately from the vehicle by the owner and are therefore often designed to fit a variety of vehicles. Those currently available are of several forms. One example is a steel bar with a lock at one end which clamps around the steering wheel and which is shaped in such a way to enable it to curve behind the steering wheel at the opposite side to the lock. Alternatively, it simply extends outwards from the lock. In either case, it extends for some way beyond the wheel. In this way, if the steering wheel is turned, the end of the bar will come into contact with either the car door, the windscreen or the driver's legs, thus making it impossible to turn the wheel more than a few degrees. It is possible for such a device to be combined with an alarm. A possible disadvantage of this device is that the steering wheel could be cut to remove it, permitting the car to be steered.

Another type of physical immobiliser is a bar which fits between the gear lever and the handbrake, thus preventing the car being driven by virtue of the fact that the handbrake is unable to be released and it is impossible to change gear or even engage neutral to push the car. A disadvantage of this device is that it is often relatively easy to remove the gear lever knob and thereby allow the immobiliser to be slid off the gear stick. Also, of course, it is unsuitable for automatic vehicles.

A third type of physical immobiliser currently known in the art is the crook-lock type. This is a bar for fitting between the steering wheel and one of the pedals, thus preventing relative movement of the two. For example, if the pedal used is the clutch pedal, this means that it is impossible to disengage the clutch because the rigidity of the steering wheel prevents the downward movement, and it is impossible to steer the car because the clutch pedal will not turn. A disadvantage of this device is that the steering wheel could be cut to remove it, permitting the car to be steered.

It would be desirable to provide a secure physical immobilising device which is suitable for fitting to all types of vehicle, including automatic vehicles, during or after manufacture, and which would be difficult to remove by cutting or removing parts of the vehicle, and which would also be cheap to manufacture.

DISCUSSIQN_ OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a security device for a vehicle having at least two operating pedals supported by pedal arms, the device comprising a rigid structure and a lock for locking the rigid structure in place between the pedals so as to resist relative movement of the pedals.

Preferably the rigid structure of the security device is for (preferably suitable or adapted for) attachment to the pedal arms. Alternatively, it could be for attachment to the pedals. The device could attach to the pedal arms by clamping to or around the pedals/pedal arms and/or by surrounding the pedal arms. The device is preferably capable of attaching rigidly to the pedal arms or holding the pedal arms captive within it.

Preferably the rigid structure comprises a first rigid element for extending between the pedal arms and a second rigid element for lockable attachment to the first rigid element to hold the first rigid element to the pedal arms. Most prefm-ably the first and/or second rigid elements are elongate elements. The length of the first and/or second rigid element is preferably greater than the distance between two or more preferably three of the pedals or pedal arms. Preferably the security device comprises a hinge for hingedly connecting the first rigid element and the second rigid element and a lock for locking the first rigid element relative to the second rigid element. The hinge could be any suitable hinge means such as a portion of flexible material or two mutually hinged members integral with or fixed to respective ones of the rigid elements. The lock could be integral with one or both of the rigid elements or could be separate, for instance a conventional padlock engageable with locking elements on one or both of the rigid elements. Conveniently the hinge is located at one end of the first and second rigid elements and the lock is located at the opposite end. Alternatively a second lock could be provided in place of the hinge.

Preferably the first and second rigid elements are dimensioned to allow the pedal arms to be held captive between the rigid elements when the rigid elements are locked by the lock. Advantageously the rigid structure has a plurality of recesses for fitting snugly around the pedal arms. The rigid structure may have three such recesses, or alternatively, at least four such recesses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure I shows a top view of the device in its unlocked state Figure 2 shows a view of the device fitted to a vehicle having three pedals DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the figures like reference numerals indicate like parts.

This particular embodiment is a device which fits onto the three operating pedals of a vehicle, namely the clutch, brake and accelerator.

Figure I shows a view of an embodiment of the device as it would be seen from above whilst being fitted onto the pedals. This embodiment comprises a first rigid structure 1, a second rigid structure 2, and a hinge 4 and a lock 5,6 for joining the two.

The first rigid structure I is substantially cuboid in form. A suitable material for this would be plastic-covered steel or high-strength plastic, but other materials could also be used. A suitable length for this structure in this particular embodiment would be 30cm. The depth as shown would be chosen according to material strength, and the width (into page) would be approximately 5cm so as to be a suitable size for the pedal arms as described below. The second rigid structure is a plate of a similar length to the first part and of a similar width (into page), with a depth sufficient to allow recesses to be machined out which are of a suitable size to fit quite closely onto the pedal arms. A suitable material for this structure would be steel, but other materials could also be used.

The first and second structures are joined at one end by means of a hinge 4, which allows the device to be open as shown or to be shut so the inner surfaces 7,8 of the first and second structures lie clo.ce to one another. At the opposite end of the structure 1 is the base part 5 of a lock and the top part 6 of this lock is situated at a suitable position in the plate 2 so that when the device is shut the two parts of the lock fit together, thus holding the device securely shut until the lock is unlocked. The lock would suitably be operated by a key. The keyhole would preferably be located in the upper part 6 of the lock on or parallel to the outer surface 9 of plate 2 since this would be the easiest place to access when the device is fitted on the pedals.

In the embodiment shown, the base part 5 of the lock is set on a pegged structure and is thus firmly recessed in the rigid structure 1. The top part 6 of the lock is of a barrel construction. The two lock automatically when pushed together and are unlocked by an appropriate key. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that other types of locking device co-ald be used instead.

Figure 2 shows how the device fits onto the pedals of a typical vehicle with a manual gearbox, having three pedals 10, 11, 12. It can be seen that the pedal arms 100, 110, 120 protrude from a surface 13 of the interior vehicle body from where they extend substantially straight downwards before curving round and upwards into a substantially vertical portion. The pedals are attached at the end of this portion, which is shown by a dashed line. The device of figure I is intended to be fitted onto the substantially vertical portion of the pedal arms, and the width of the rigid structures 1, 2 is determined so that the structures are narrow enough that the device can be fitted around the pedal aims and preferably as wide as possible so that it retains its strength.

When in its open configuration, the device can be located with the first rigid structure I behind the pedal arms and the rigid plate 2 in front of them. The rigid plate contains a series of recesses 3, each of which can be located around a respective one of the pedal arms. In the example shown, the hinge 4 is located proximate to the clutch pedal 12 and the lock 5,6 is located proximate to the accelerator pedal 10. The exact longitudinal position of the bar relative to the pedals is fixed by the locations of the recesses. The recesses can be sized and spaced apart so as to make the device suitable for the pedals of a specific car or group of cars; i n that case only three recesses (or two recesses for an automatic gear car) need be provided. Alternatively, a series of more recesses could be provided to make the device suitable for a range of pedal spacings and sized. The recesses could even be omitted if the rigid plate 2 and the structure 1 lay closely to each other in their locked configuration.

When the device is closed, as shown in Fig. 2, the recesses fit fairly snugly around the pedal arms, the exact fit depending on the particular vehicle, and the size of the recesses 3. The device is supported by the pedal arms, either because the arms are gripped between the plate 2 and the structure 1 or because the rigid structure I rests on the pedal arms. When the device is locked, the three pedals are held together, and prevented from substantial motion relative to each other, by virtue of the fact that the device is rigid in the vertical and horizontal directions, thus making it impossible to move one pedal without moving the others. Hence it is impossible to drive the vehicle in this situation. Furthermore, in order to remove the device it would be necessary to cut all three pedals, or the device itself, which would be difficult as they are not easily accessible cutting the pedals would also render the vehicle impossible to drive.

It must be understood that the arrangement described in the figures is merely an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Many variations are possible. One example is to replace the hinge with a second lock. Furthermore, for automatic vehicles having only two pedals, or for manual vehicles in which the accelerator or the clutch is not suitably disposed for the embodiment described, the device could easily be adapted to fit on just two pedals by, if necessary, shortening its length and/or removing some of the recesses 3.

The applicant draws attention to the fact that the present invention may include any feature or combination of features disclosed herein either implicitly or explicitly or any generalisation thereof, without limitation to the scope of any of the present claims. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

8

Claims

I. A security device for a vehicle having at least two operating pedals supported by pedal arms, the device comprising a rigid structure and a lock for locking the rigid structure in place between the pedals so as to resist relative movement of the pedals.
2. A security device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rigid structure is for attachment to the pedal arms.
3. A security device as claimed in claim I or claim 2, wherein the rigid structure comprises a first rigid element for extending between the pedal arms.
4. A security device as claimed in claim 3, comprising a second rigid element for lockable attachment to the first rigid element to hold the first rigid element to the pedal arms.
5. A security device as claimed in claim 4, comprising a hinge for hingedly connecting the first rigid element and the second rigid element.
6. A security device as claimed in claim 5, comprising a lock for locking the first rigid element relative to the second rigid element.
7. A security device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the hinge is located at one end of the first and second rigid elements and the lock is located at the opposite end.
8. A security device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first and second rigid elements are dimensioned to allow the pedal arms to be held captive between the rigid elements when the rigid elements are locked by the lock.
9- 9. A security device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rigid structure has a plurality of recesses for fitting around the pedal arms.
10. A security device as claimed in claim 9, comprising at least three such recesses.
11. A security device as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the recesses are adapted to fit snugly around the pedal arms of the vehicle.
12. A security device as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, comprising at least four such recesses.
13. A security device for a vehicle, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.