GB2507781A - Attachment system - Google Patents

Abstract

An attachment system comprises a hollow screw with a bore having a recessed head containing means for applying the screw. A locating pin 7 is locatable within the bore and has a head 8 which is flush or sub flush with the head of the screw to cover the means for applying the screw.

Description

IMPROVED SECURITY ATTACHMENT SYSTEM

The present invention relates to security attachment devices, such as screws which include security means to inhibit or prevent removal of the attachment device when it is in place perfoiming an attachment function.

There are many instances when aftachments are performed and the security of the attachment is important to resist, deter or prevent vandalism or theft. One such situation is to prevent the theft of vehicle number plates. This invention therefore relates to a screw fixing, which is particularly suitable for use in preventing vandalism and theft and in particular the theft of vehicle registration plates. Other uses are also envisaged, particularly those wheie secure and tamper pioof' sciew fixing is iequired.

In our GB 2435082 B8 we describe a secure attachment system comprising a screw provided with a cential bore having a flexible distal end that can be splayed by passing a locking pin through the bore to secure the screw in an orifice. The means for removal of the screw may also be covered by the head of the locking pin.

GB 2474011 A describes a similar system in which the locking pin is provided with a layer of adhesive that is activated upon insertion of the pin.

The number of vehicles on the road is continually rising. Governments are trying to counter this rise by introducing penalties. Schemes such as high fuel pricing, parking restrictions, speed cameras and congestion charges are all designed to penalize useis. All of these methods rely on the recognition of the vehicle by theft registration plates, and hence there has been a rise in the theft of vehicle registration plates.

Other applications where protection against vandalism or theft is required are in advertising hoardings in public places for example road side, bus shelters, rail stations, airports, shops including shopping centres, garages and the like. External fittings such as cameras (CCTV), alarm systems and decorative materials to buildings, homes, offices, mobile homes, calavans, vehicles also have attachments which must be secure. Meters such as gas, electricity and water meters and cash tills, franking machines and automatic transaction machines also have attachments where it is impoitant to prevent tampering and theft.

Similarly street furniture, public notices, street lighting, road signs, medical devices all have a need to prevent damage through tampering, vandalism and theft.

In addition to the need for protection against vandalism and theft there are situations in which attachments must be protected from removal in the interests of safety. For example the safety of electrical fixtures and devices, gas fixtures, provision for the security of toxic or corrosive substances in both domestic and industrial environments all rely on attachments and there remains a need to increase the security and reliability of the attachment. Additionally there is a need for increased safety for children's toys such as axle fixings for cleats for go carts.

Attachment devices have been proposed which contain security devices to render them difficult to undo. For example pop-rivets can be provided which are demountable only by drilling. These however are difficult to apply. European Patent Application 0463751 A relates to another form of security device by providing locking bolt assemblies which comprise a locking bolt assembly which prevents the release of loose parts in the event of bolt failure by use of a bolt having a head and a threaded main body with a central bore through the head and the main body portion in which the central bore has a necked down portion adjacent the end of the main body remote from the head. A plurality of slots are provided along the end of the main body portion in communication with the central bore which form bolt fingers around the necked down portion. A plunger is slidably received in the central bore and exerts radial pressure at the necked down portion to expand the bolt fingers outwardly and lock the bolt in its installed position without changing the preload of the installed bolt.

EP 0463751 A also makes the following references to other locking bolt assemblies Patent Specification US-A-3 042 094 which discloses an expander received inside a bolt to cause locking of the threads with the nut.

Patent Specification US-A-2 438 533 which discloses the use of a pin to spread two arms of a stud apart to lock the stud in place.

Patent Specification US-A-i 409 817 which discloses the use of a locking key that causes a slotted end of the bolt to expand and lock with a nut. Separated portions of the key are bendable to prevent separation of the key and bolt while the key head is received in a recess in the bolt head.

Patent Specifications US-A-2 871 749; US-A-2 463 859; and FR-A-2 867 253 which all disclose locking members that are threaded into the bore through the centre of the bolt.

These systems all involve a pin device that is inserted after the screw attachment has been made to secure the attachment, however they suffer from the disadvantage that the pin is accessible and can be forcibly removed.

Whilst the attachment system of GB 2435082 B8 is entirely satisfactory it must be made of a material that enables the distal end of the bore of the screw to be flexible.

Furthermore the manufacturing process must provide this flexibility. Typically this is accomplished in a two stage process employing a flexible material so adding to the complexity and cost of manufacture. The system of GB 2474011 A is also satisfactory but the requirement for an adhesive increases the cost and complexity of the system.

The present invention therefore provides an attachment system which provides security against dismantling of the attachment and is simple to manufacture.

Accordingly the present invention therefore provides an attachment system comprising: i) a hollow screw threaded member having a recessed head containing a means whereby the screw is operated and provided with a bore; ii) a locking pin having an end that is forceably insertable into the bore at the head such that when the locking pin is inserted the head of the pin is flush or sub-flush with the head of the hollow screw threaded member and the head of the locking pin covers the means whereby the screw is operated wherein the locking pin is free of a layer of an adhesive that can bond the pin to the screw and is shaped to prevent removal of the locking pin once inserted into the bore of the screw thread member.

By sub-flush is meant that the head of the pin is below the surface of the recessed head of the screw threaded member.

Accordingly in creating an attachment employing the attachment system of the present invention the initial attachment will first be formed by means of the screw threaded member attaching an article to another article, for example a vehicle registiation plate to a vehicle, a protective plate to a meter, a security plate to an electrical device and the like, perhaps by mating with a nut. The attachment will then be secured by driving the locking pin into the bore of the screw threaded member. It will not be possible to withdraw the locking pin out of the bore of the screw threaded member because the locking pin will be tight against the bore of the screw.

Furthermore, it will not be possible to remove the pin and uncover the screw operating means because the pin cannot be grasped for removal from the bore.

The presence of the head of the locking pin within the recessed end of the screw threaded member will prevent access to the attachment mechanism of the screw threaded member thus inhibiting removal of the screw. We have found that removal of the locking pin is prevented without the need for an adhesive and that additional security can be provided by the physical interaction of the locking pin with the bore of the screw thread member without the need for an adhesive providing the head of the locking pin is shaped to provide a flush fit with the recessed head of the screw to make it difficult to grip the head of the pin in an attempt to remove it. More preferably the head of the pin is domed.

It is therefore not necessary that the locking pin needs to pass through the entire length of the screw threaded member and it is not necessary that the screw has a flexible end to provide sufficient protection. We have further found that the physical interaction between the pin and the bore of the screw does not require an element of increased cross section at the end of the pin that passes through the bore of the screw threaded member as is described in GB 2435082 B8.

In the present invention the locking pin is designed so that the means whereby the screw threaded member is operated to provide the initial attachment is hidden by the insertion of the locking pin. This provides an additional security element in that it inhibits access to enable removal of the screw threaded member. For example the head of the screw threaded member maybe provided with a recess designed for the receipt of a key such as an Allen key to enable rotation of the screw threaded member to perform the attachment. Alternatively it may be provided with a slot within a recess for receipt of the head of a screwdriver. The locking pin can then be provided with a head that conforms to the shape and/or size of the recess and lies within the recess when in the locking position thus preventing access to the aftachment mechanism of the screw threaded member.

The attachment system of the present invention differs from the system of GB 2435082 B8 in that it is not essential for the bore to extend the entire length of the bore of the screw to allow the locking pin to pass beyond the bore. It is possible therefore for the screw to be provided with a closed perhaps pointed end adding to the strength of the system and in some instances assisting the insertion of the screw.

As indicated the attachment system of the present invention has wide ranging applications. It may be used in domestic and industrial situations and can be used to provide additional security and/or safety in a range of situations from light to heavy industry, service industries, transport, advertising and many others. The size and shape of the screw threaded member and the locking pin and the materials from which they are made will depend upon the use to which the system is to be put. The screw and the locking pin may each be of metal or plastic although it is preferred that both are metal. The applications can range from small screws to secure registration vehicle number plates to vehicles to locking bolts in heavy industry. The head of the locking pin may be coloured in order to indicate that the security systems are in place which may be particularly useful in applications where inspection is required such as with franking machines, meter protection and other industrial environments.

In one embodiment the present invention relates to a theft resistant screw assembly suitable for use in securing registration plates to motor vehicles to prevent the easy removal and theft of vehicle registration plates. In this instance the fixing screw is preferably made from metal although it may be made from plastic, and the locking pin is preferably made from metal, but this could be reversed.

In this embodiment the invention suitably consists of two elements, the fixing screw (part 1) and the locking pin (part 2). The fixing screw is suitably used to secure the plate to the vehicle, and the locking pin is then inserted into it to prevent removal of the screw so that the theft resistant screw assembly consists of a screwed method of attaching the registration plate to the vehicle, and a locking pin, which prevents access to the tightening/loosening arrangement of the screw.

Suitably, the theft resistant screw assembly contains interference features, which prevent the removal of the screw with the locking pin in position.

Suitably, the theft resistant screw assembly contains interference features, which prevent the removal of the locking pin after insertion into the screw.

In a preferred embodiment, the screw assembly of the present invention comprises: a) a screw body defining an external thread, said screw body having a central through bore, wherein the screw body contains a screw tightening means within a recess at a first end of said screw body; b) a locking pin arranged for receipt by said central bore, wherein said pin is free of adhesive and defines a pin head at a head end thereof which fits within the recess in the head of the screw body to cover the screw tightening means whereby insertion of the pin in the base of the screw locks the pin head so that it obscures the screw tightening means such as to prevent access thereto and results in the pin head providing a flush or sub-flush surface with the recessed end of the screw body.

The screw tightening means of the screw assembly is provided at a recessed position within said screw body, which defines part of said central through hole.

The invention is illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a screw body of an attachment system of the invention.

Figure 2 shows the screw body of Figure 1 together with a partially inserted pin which may be inserted after the screw has been tightened.

Figure 3 shows the screw body of Figure 1 with the locking pin of Figure 2 fully inserted into the bore of the tightened screw body.

Figure 1 shows a screw body (1) comprising a threaded section (2), a pointed end (3) and a head (4). At least the initial section of the screw body is hollow and the head (4) contains a recess (5) in which is located the means for causing rotation of the screw (6) such as an Allen Key.

Figure 2 shows a pin (7) and partially inserted into the hollow bore of the screw body.

The pin is provided with a head (8) sized to fit within the recess (5) in the head of the screw body to cover the means for causing rotation of the screw (6).

S Figure 3 shows the system of the invention in which the pin has been inserted into the hollow bore of the screw body so that the head of the pin is flush or sub-flush with the head of the screw body to prevent it being grasped and removed.

As previously described the attachment systems of the present invention have an extremely wide range of uses from lightweight screw attachment systems to heavy duty industrial attachment systems. The invention has use in all the outlets previously described although the outlets envisaged are not limiting on the potential uses of the present invention.

The invention is also concerned with the manner in which the attachment systems are provided. For example the screw threaded member and the locking pin may be provided as a kit, they may be provided as a multi kit package of several attachment systems, alternatively they may be provided as part of a multi component package including the article which is to be attached. For example the appropriate number of attachment systems of the present invention may be supplied together with the article to be attached such as a vehicle registration plate. The invention therefore includes any such kits and any such means of supplying the attachment system of this invention.

Claims (7)

1. CLAIMS1. An attachment system comprising: i) a hollow screw threaded member having a recessed head containing S a means whereby the screw is operated and provided with a bore extending therethrough; U) a locking pin having an end that is forceably insertable into the bore at the head such that when the locking pin is inserted the head of the pin is flush or sub-flush with the head of the hollow screw threaded member and the head of the locking pin covers the means whereby the screw is operated wherein the locking pin is free of a layer of an adhesive that can bond the pin to the screw and is shaped to prevent removal of the locking pin once inserted into the bore of the screw thread member.
2. 2. An attachment system according to Claim 1 in which the head of the locking pin is shaped to provide a flush fit with the recessed head of the screw.
3. 3. An attachment system according to Claim 2 in which the head of the pin is domed.
4. 4. A theft resistant screw assembly suitable for use in securing registration plates to motor vehicles comprising an attachment system according to any of the preceding claims.
5. 5. A screw assembly comprising: i) a hollow screw threaded member having a recessed head containing a means whereby the screw is operated and provided with a bore extending therethrough; ii) a locking pin having an end that is forceably insertable into the bore at the head such that when the locking pin is inserted the head of the pin is flush or sub-flush with the head of the hollow screw threaded member and the head of the locking pin covers the means whereby the screw is operated wherein the locking pin is free of a layer of an adhesive that can bond the pin to the screw and is shaped to prevent removal of the locking pin once inserted into the bore of the screw thread member.S
6. 6. A multi kit package of several attachment systems or screw assemblies according to any of the preceding claims.
7. 7. A multi component package comprising a kit according to Claim 6 together with the article which is to be attached.