Abstract:
An anti-theft device for a pedal operated vehicles having a pedal lever. The device having a housing member adaptable for mounting within an interior of a vehicle near the pedal lever. The housing member having a first bore in which a rod is positioned to move interchangeably from a retracted position to an extended position to engage and disengage the pedal lever. The movement of the rod being operated by a linear actuator motor connecting thereto. The device further containing a means to lock the rod in the extracted position.

Description:
INTRODUCTION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 09/369,292 previously filed on Aug. 6, 1999. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates to theft prevention devices for vehicles. More particularly, the present invention is an anti-theft device for pedal operated vehicles which operates by locking and preventing the actuation of the pedal.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0005]    Vehicle theft is a major problem in the automobile industry. There are many types of anti-theft devices for vehicles. Most cars have ignition locks and steering wheel locks as standard features. Another common anti-theft apparatus is an alarm which makes loud noises to attract attention to a vehicle being entered unlawfully. Alarms are popular options selected by most car owners, and many cars come with an alarm as a standard feature. However, it is possible to circumvent such features as indicated by the high rate of theft for cars having these common devices.  
           [0006]    Another popular anti-theft device is an elongated rod for attachment to a steering wheel of a vehicle such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,283 issued to Chen commonly known as THE CLUB®, which operates by making steering impossible. Such a device can be circumvented by cutting or removing the steering wheel.  
           [0007]    Another form of theft prevention device is a tracking device which can be concealed in an automobiles. When a car is reported stolen, police can activate the tracking signal to locate the car. A disadvantage is that the device does not prevent the car from being stolen in the first place. It only serves as a deterrent to would be car thieves who fear being tracked down by police. However, car thieves who plan to quickly remove parts from a vehicle can simply steal and abandon the vehicle before police can locate them.  
           [0008]    There are also theft prevention devices that operate by locking either the gas or brake pedal. Several prior art perform by locking the brakes through offering a means of locking up hydraulic fluid to the wheel cylinders which activate the brakes of a vehicle as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,040,675 and 5,431,487. Others operate by directly placing a locking mechanism around the pedals as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,198 issued to Brown which teaches first and second stop bodies arranged to clamp around the lever of a pedal of a vehicle to prevent actuation of the pedal. Locking mechanisms such as the one taught by Brown can be inconvenient in that a user has to manually reach down under the dashboard to the pedals of the vehicle to attach and remove the devices.  
           [0009]    There are a substantial variety of vehicle theft prevention devices in the prior art; however, none teaches an anti-theft device as taught in the present invention.  
           [0010]    A primary object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle theft prevention device which is reliable. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle theft prevention device which is easy to operate. It is another objective of the present invention to provide an automobile having a built-in theft prevention device according to the present invention.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The present invention is an anti-theft device for a pedal operated vehicles having a pedal lever. The device includes a housing member which can be adapted to be secured to an interior of a vehicle near the pedal lever. The housing member has a first bore in which a rod is positioned to move from a retracted position to an extended position. When the rod is in the extended position, it extends outwardly from the housing member for a predetermined distance and engages the pedal lever.  
           [0012]    The movement of the rod to the extended position can be triggered by either air from an air compressor, or by the force of a solenoid located behind the rod. In this embodiment, the housing member contains a means to lock the rod in the extracted position.  
           [0013]    In the alternative, the movement of the rod can be controlled by a motor connecting to the rod. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 shows the device of the present invention positioned adjacent the pivotal point of pedal lever;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional side view of the present invention showing the rod in the retracted position;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 a  is a cross sectional side view of an embodiment of the present invention in the retracted rod;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 b  is a cross sectional side view of a “lock pin-free” embodiment of the present invention showing the rod in the retracted position;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the present invention showing the rod in the extended position;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 a  is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the present invention having an extended solenoid positioned behind the extended rod;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 b  is a “lock pin-free” embodiment of the present invention showing the rod in the extended position;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional top view of a second embodiment of the present invention having dual rods;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention; and,  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 a  is a perspective view of the “lock pin-free” embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    The present invention is an anti-theft device for pedal operated vehicles. An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.  1 - 4 . The device includes a housing member  10  having a front wall  15  and a back wall  19 . The housing member  10  is made of a rigid durable material and has an opening  12  at the front wall  15  leading into a first bore  20  which extends longitudinally to the back wall  19 . Situated within the first bore  20  is a rod  30  which is sized and shaped to fit slidably within the first bore  20 . The rod  30  has a first end  31  and is movable within the first bore  20  in a piston-like manner from a retracted position as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2 a  to an extended position as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 a.  In the retracted position the rod  30  remains substantially within the first bore  20 , and in the extended position the rod  30  extends outwardly from the housing member  10  for a predetermined length.  
         [0026]    The rod  30  can be locked in the in the extended position by a pin  40  located within a second bore  25  of the housing member. The second bore  25  crosses the first bore  20  allowing the pin  40  to enter and exit the first bore  20 . The pin  40  is movable within the second bore  25  relative to the position of the rod  30  so that when the rod  30  is in the extended armed position, the pin  40  engages the rod  30  to prevent retraction thereof. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, 2 a,    3 , and  3   a,  a third bore  50  extends across the rod  30 . The third bore  50  is located so that when the rod  30  is in the extended position, the third bore  50  aligns with the second bore  25  allowing the pin  40  to enter into the third bore  50 .  
         [0027]    The movement of the pin  40  is mechanically controlled by an electrical motor  45  having a motor shaft  44 . The pin  40  has a threaded hollow bore  27 . A shaft  60  having a front end  61  and a base end  62  is threaded to mate with the threaded bore  27  of the pin  40 , and thus allowing the shaft  60  to move laterally along the bore  27  of the pin  40 . The shaft  60  is connected at its base end  62  to a gear assembly  64 . The gear assembly  64  includes a first gear  65  connected to a second gear  67 . The second gear  67  has a smaller diameter than the first gear  65 . The second gear  67  is attached to the motor shaft  44 . The electrical motor  45  can be powered by a battery of a vehicle. FIG. 2, 2 a,    3 , and  3   a  show that the pin  40  moves laterally toward the first gear  65  as the shaft  60  rotates in one direction, an that the pin  40  moves laterally away from the first gear  65  as the shaft  60  rotates in a second direction opposite the first direction. In the alternative, the motor can be a linear motor actuator which is available from Eastern Air Devices, Inc. located in Dover N.H. The linear motor actuator will operate the movement of the shaft  60  which in turn will operate the movement of the pin  40 .  
         [0028]    When used with an automobile, the housing member  10  is secured on the automobile adjacent the back end of the pedal lever  100  beneath the pivotal point  105 . At this location, in most cars, the housing member  10  is hidden within a fire wall and not visible in the floor area. The housing member  10  is a positioned with the front wall  15  facing the pedal lever  100  so that when the rod  30  is in the extended position, the first end  31  of the rod  30  engages the pedal lever  100  to limit actuation of the pedal lever  100 . As shown in FIG. 3 a,  the movement of the rod  30  from the retracted position to the extended position is triggered by air pressure supplied by an air compressor source. Many automobiles have an air compressor source as a standard feature. For those cars having an air compressor, a tube  110  is connected at one end to the air compressor, and the other end is connected to a hole  14  located at the back wall  19  of the housing member  10 . The hole  14  leads into the first bore  20 . For those cars not equipped with an air compressor, one would need to be installed. As an alternative shown, hydraulic pressure instead of air pressure can be used to control the movement of the rod  30  to the extended position.  
         [0029]    As shown in FIGS.  2  and FIG. 3, the movement of the rod  30  could be controlled by a solenoid  70  positioned within the first bore  20  behind the rod  30  and attached to a base  22  of the first bore  20 . The solenoid  70  has a protruding pin  75 , which upon activation, quickly extends and retracts. The activation of the solenoid  70  causes the solenoid in  75  to push against the rod  30  to move the rod  30  from the retracted position to the extended position.  
         [0030]    Yet in another “lock pin-free” alternative, shown in FIG. 2 b  and  3   b  and  6   a,  the device includes a housing member  10  having a front wall  15  and a back wall  19  having an opening  12  at the front wall  15  leading into a first bore  20  which extends longitudinally into the housing member  10 . Situated within the first bore  20  is a rod  30  which is sized and shaped to fit slidably within the first bore  20 . The rod  30  has a first end  31  and is movable within the first bore  20  in a piston-like manner from a retracted position as shown in FIG. 2 b  to an extended position as shown in FIG. 3 b.  In the extended position the rod  30  extends further out from the housing member  10  for a predetermined length than when the rod  30  is in the retracted position. In the retracted position, the rod  30  does not have to be completely within said housing but has to retract only a predetermined distance necessary to permit the actuation of the pedal lever. Operating the extension and retraction of the rod  30  is a motor  111  having a shaft connecting to the rod  30 . The motor  111  as shown in FIG. 2 b  and  3   b  can be a linear motor actuator which is available from Eastern Air Devices, Inc. located in Dover N.H. The linear motor actuator has a threaded screw shaft  115  which with operation of the motor  111  moves in a linear movement within the first bore  20 . The screw shaft  115  engages the rod  30  to operate the extending and retracting movement of rod  30 .  
         [0031]    When used with an automobile, the housing member  10  is secured on the automobile adjacent the back end of the pedal lever  100  beneath the pivotal point  105 . At this location, in most cars, the housing member  10  is hidden within a fire wall and not visible in the floor area. The housing member  10  is a positioned with the front wall  15  facing the pedal lever  100  so that when the rod  30  is in the extended position, the first end  31  of the rod  30  engages the pedal lever  100  to limit actuation of the pedal lever  100 . As shown in FIG. 3 a,  the movement of the rod  30  from the retracted position to the extended position is triggered by air pressure supplied by an air compressor source.  
         [0032]    The operation of the motors utilized in the present invention requires a power source. The power requirement can be supplied by connection to the existing car battery conventionally found in automobile or an independent battery source.  
         [0033]    The operation of the anti-theft device can be controlled by a key switch. When the vehicle is being operated, the anti-theft device is inactivated. In the inactive state, the rod  30  is retracted allowing the driver to freely press down on the pedal lever  100 . When the driver parks the vehicle and wants to activate the device (to render the vehicle theft-proof), a key is inserted into the key switch and turned to the “on” position. Turning the switch to the “on” position triggers the air compressor to release air in to the first bore  20  causing the rod  30  to eject to the extended position. Should the device have a solenoid  70  instead of an air compressor, the turning of the switch to the “on” position activates the solenoid  70 . The key switch also activates the electrical motor  45  immediately after the rod  30  reaches the extended position. Upon activation, the electrical motor  45  rotates the shaft  60  in the direction which moves the pin  40  laterally away from the gear assembly  64  and into the third bore  50  of the extended rod  30  (FIG. 3 a ) or behind the extended rod  30  (FIG. 3). When the driver wants to operate the vehicle, the key switch is turned to the “off” slot. Upon rotating the key switch to the “off” position, the electrical motor  45  rotates in the direction which moves the pin  40  laterally toward the gear assembly  64  and out of the third bore  50  (FIG. 2 a ) or out from behind the rod  30  (FIG. 2). As the driver presses down upon the pedal level, the rod  30  will be pushed back into the retracted position. In the alternative, the electrical motor  45  can be activated and deactivated independently by a second key switch or a key remote device.  
         [0034]    In the “lock pin-free” alternative, the operation of the anti-theft device can also be controlled by a key switch. When the vehicle is being operated, the anti-theft device is inactivated. In the inactive state, the rod  30  is retracted enough to allow the driver to freely press down on the pedal lever  100 . When the driver parks the vehicle and wants to activate the device (to render the vehicle theft-proof), a key is inserted into the key switch and turned to the “on” position. Turning the switch to the “on” position triggers the movement of the motor to linearly urge the rod  30  to the extended position and engage the pedal lever  100 .  
         [0035]    For vehicles having a brake pedal and a gas pedal, the device could be installed behind the pedal lever of each of the brake and gas pedal. In the alternative a second embodiment of the device shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 have a second fixedly attached housing member  10 . The second embodiment has two rods  30 , and the device can be positioned in the vehicle so that upon activation, one rod  30  engages the brake pedal and the other rod  30  engages the gas pedal.  
         [0036]    Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated for purposes of clarity and example, it should be understood that many changes, substitutions and modifications to the described embodiment will be apparent to those having skill in the art in light of the foregoing disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention which is defined by the claims which follow.