ANTI-THEFT LOCKING DEVICE

Abstract: Security device having first and second sleeve members (6, 16) and a spindle member (1). When the device is fitted to the door frame or sill of vehicle, the first sleeve member (6) non rotatably engages the door frame or sill and the second sleeve member (16) is adapted to rotatably fit into the said first sleeeve member (6). The said second sleeve member (16) is rotatable and lockable in said first sleeve member (6) and the said spindle member (1) is slidably located within said second sleeve member (16) such that when the spindle (1) is in its lower position, it does not substantially protrude above the said second member (16). A similar device can be formed using only a first sleeve member (6) and a spindle member (1).

Description: ANTI-THEFT LOCKING DEVICE The present invention relates to anti-theft devices for motor vehicles, in particular such devices for addition to or replacement of existing security systems in said motor vehicles. A great number of motor vehicles at present on the world's roads utilise a locking spindle and knob on the top sill of a doorway. It has been found that many thieves, by use of wire or package strapping and the like, can still gain access to the interior of a motor vehicle via these locking spindles and knobs. It is an object of the present invention to provide a security device which substantially overcomes or ameliorates the disadvantages of locking devices on existing or new vehicles. According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a security device comprising: (a) a relatively stationary sleeve member; and (b) a spindle member; wherein said spindle member is adapted to releasably engage, said sleeve member; said sleeve member adapted to engage a door frame of an existing motor vehicle, whilst said spindle member is adapted to replace a conventional spindle member. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a security device comprising: (a) a relatively stationary sleeve member; (b) a spindle member; and (c) a rotatable sleeve member; wherein said relatively stationary sleeve member engages a door frame or sill; said rotatable sleeve member adapted to fit into said relatively stationary sleeve member; said spindle member adapted to replace a conventional spindle; wherein said rotatable sleeve member is rotatable and lockable in said relatively stationary sleeve member whereby said spindle member when in a locked position, does not protrude over an upper rim of said rotating sleeve. Another feature of the present invention is a security device comprising members having tapered surfaces which taper inwardly as the member extends upwardly and one of said members being a spindle member or rotatable sleeve which is locked in a second of said members being a relatively stationary sleeve member by firstly pushing said spindle member or said rotatable sleeve downwards against a bias then rotating same allowing said spindle member or rotatable sleeve to be moved in the direction of said bias to come to a locked rest position. This means to unlock this rotatable sleeve requires a positive downward motion to counteract the bias or spring then rotation of the rotatable sleeve will pop upwards by virtue of the bias or spring. In its broadest form the present invention comprises a security device comprising: (a) a first sleeve member; (b) a spindle member; and (c) a second sleeve member; wherein when fitted to a door frame or sill, the first sleeve member non rotatably engages said door frame or sill; said second sleeve member being adapted to rotatably fit into said first sleeve member; wherein said second sleeve member is rotatable and lockable in said first sleeve member and said spindle member is slidably located within said second sleeve member such that when the spindle is in its lower position, it does not substantially protrude above said second member . In an alternative form of the invention the locking device comprises a security device comprising: a first sleeve member and a spindle member wherein when fitted to a door frame or sill said first sleeve member non rotatably engages the said door frame or sill; said spindle member being adapted to fit into said first sleeve member; wherein said spindle is rotatable and lockable against rotation and substantial longitudinal motion in said first sleeve member such that the spindle when in any position of engagement with said first sleeve member protrudes above said sleeve member. The present invention is useful not only for the purpose of anti-theft devices but also for child safety. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Pig. 1 illustrates a first locking means according to the present invention and comprised of components A, B and C; Fig. 2 illustrates a second locking means being comprised of components A and B; Fig. 3 illustrates the embodiment of Fig. 2 assembled and placed on an existing locking spindle; Fig. 4 illustrates the components of Fig. 1 in assembled condition on an in place locking spindle; and Fig. 5 illustrates a door lock protector to be used with said components of Figs. 1 and 2 to complete the security system. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, a security device comprises a door lock spindle 1 having a downwardly extending shaft 2 having a hollow portion 4 therewithin adapted to receive a threaded insert 3. The upper end of the spindle 1 having inwardly tapering surfaces 5. A relatively stationary outer sleeve 6 has a tapering flange portion 7 and includes an angled surface 8 for fitting against the sill surface of a car door. Downwardly extending tail portion 9 is placed in position through a car door. On internal surfaces of the outer sleeve 6 there are located a slot 10 and in the view of Fig. IB this is seen as being "J" shaped. There is also located a hollow central portion 11 through which a downwardly extending tail portion 17 of inner sleeve 15 passes. A tab 12 (also called a locking lug) is to keep the sleeve firmly located within a car door skin on a car door sill. Illustrated in Fig. 1C is inner sleeve 15 comprising at an upward end a tapering portion 16, a downwardly extending tail 17 through which a bore 18 is located. The bore 18 is counter bored at 18A to provide a shoulder 19. On the exterior of the tail portion 17 are located spigots 20 adapted to run in the "J" slot 10 in the outer sleeve of Fig. IB. In the lower portions of the inner sleeve 15 there is a cap or closed in portion 31 having a bore 32 being substantially equal to the width or diameter of the locking rod 21. This will prevent rods being inserted up the tail 17 of the inner sleeve 15 to lift spindle 1 directly which would obviate the use of a key in the conventional door lock. The assembly drawing of Fig. 4, illustrates the apparatus of Fig. 1. The door lock rod 21 engages the threaded insert 3 in the hollow 4 on the 'tail piece 2 of spindle 1. For attaching the spindle 1 to the door lock rod 21 the outer sleeve 6 is first located into a car door panel or sill and the design of the outer sleeve 6 is such that the distance between the locking lug 12 and the tapered surface 8 approximates the thickness of the door sill. This way, the outer sleeve 6 is held firmly in the door. Then, the inner sleeve 15 is located in the outer sleeve 6. Inner sleeve 15 seats on biasing spring 23. Shoulder 13 of inner sleeve 15 comes in contact with the biasing spring 23 which is housed within cavity 14 of outer sleeve 6. The inner sleeve 15 is located and guided in the outer sleeve 6 by means of the spigots 20 which move in the "J" slot 10 between the inner and outer sleeves (15, 6) . The small compression spring 23 is located to provide spring bias. Once the inner and outer sleeves 15 and 6 respectively have been located within each other and located in the door, the spindle 1 is then screwed on to the locking rod 21 completing the assembly. In use, the door lock of Fig. 4 operates as follows. When door lock spindle 1 is pushed down it locks the door using the conventional door lock rod and mechanism already installed by pushing the locking rod 21 in the downward direction. Before pushing the spindle 1 down, however, the inner sleeve 15 is locked into the outer sleeve 6 by pushing the inner sleeve 15 downwards so that the spigots 20 move downwardly in the "J" slot 10. It must be noted that there are two "J" slots 10 and two spigots 20 preferably spaced at the further distance from each other around the circumference of tail 17. This downward motion pushes against the bias of spring 23 and once the maximum downward portion has been reached, rotation in a clockwise direction will move the spigot 20 across the horizontal portion of the "J" and upon reaching the furthest point in a clockwise direction, and then releasing the inner sleeve 15, the inner sleeve 15 by virtue of the spring bias from spring 23 will move upwardly into the tail end 25 of the "J" slot 10. In this position the outer sleeve 6 and the inner sleeve 15 are locked relative to each other. To then lock the door, spindle 1 is pushed down as previously described. In the locked position, the spindle 1, and more specifically the top 26 thereof is located beneath a rim 27 of the spindle 15. To unlock the door from the inside of the vehicle the inner sleeve 15 is pushed down and then rotated in an anti-clockwise direction so that the spigot 20 engages the beginnings 28 of the "J" slot 10 and the spring 23 then pushes the inner sleeve 15 in the upward direction. As the lower shoulder 29 on the spindle 1 engages shoulder 19, (see Fig. 1A) movement of inner sleeve 15 also moves the spindle 1 and consequently the door lock rod 21 is moved to the upward position thereby unlocking the door. When unlocking the door from the outside a key must be inserted into the conventional door lock which then moves the spindle upwardly, however, the outer sleeve remains in and locked to the inner sleeve when this done. To prevent unauthorised entry and to aid in this unauthorised entry a locking mechanism guard 30 (see Fig. 5) is placed in the driver's side door locking mechanism to prevent wire and the like being used to open the door lock. The illustrations of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, are similar to that of Figs. 1 and 4, however a single outer sleeve 71 is utilised which has locking lugs 72. Outer sleeve 71 also has a tail 76. The spindle 74 has a tapered upper portion 75 and a lower tail portion 73. Downwardly extending spindle tail portion 73 has an internal hollow section 77 and threaded insert 78. Tail portion 73 also has the spigot member 79 similar to spigot member 20 on the inner sleeve 15 of Figs. 1 and 4. The assembled view, " as illustrated in Fig. 3 operates in the following fashion: The spindle 74 is assembled with the outer sleeve 71 with a compression spring 80. The outer sleeve 71 is placed into a door panel of a conventional motor vehicle and the door panel is locked relative to the outer sleeve 71 by means of the locking lugs 72 and mating with the surface 81 which forms a flange on the outer sleeve 71. In operation, spindle 74 is pushed down to lock the door which in turn moves the door lock rod 21 to which it is connected in a downward direction. Further pushing in the downward direction forces the spigot 79 to pass through channel 82 where it clears the bottom of the locking lug 83. The spindle 74 is then turned clockwise a quarter of a turn until the stop 84 is reached. Compression provided by the spring 80 lifts the spindle 74 back in the upward direction so that the spigots 79 engage the slots 85 which are thereby locked into position. The only way to open the lock containing the apparatus of Figs. 3 and 2 is to open the door from the inside. By virtue of the locking engagement of the spindle 74 with outer sleeve 71 forced entry is prevented. Attempting to open or move this door lock by placing a wire down the door to activate the lock rod independently will not be successful by virtue of the lock between the spindle 74 and outer sleeve 71. The apparatus is intended for use in the following fashion: In a conventional car having four doors, driver side front door is fitted with locks as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, a locking mechanism guard 30 being placed over the locking mechanism in accordance with the apparatus of Fig. 5. The remaining three doors are fitted out with the apparatus of Figs. 2 and 3. Alternatively the apparatus of Figs. 2 and 3 can be fitted to both front doors (by fitting of an extra quard) . The foregoing describes some embodiments of the present invention and modifications made by those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims: THE CLAIMS: 1. A security device comprising: (a) a first sleeve member; (b) a spindle member; and (c) a second sleeve member; wherein when fitted to a door frame or sill, the first sleeve member non rotatably engages said door frame or sill; said second sleeve member being adapted to rotatably fit into said first sleeve member; wherein said second sleeve member is rotatable and lockable in said first sleeve member and said spindle member is slidably located within said second sleeve member such that when the spindle is in its lower position, it does not substantially protrude above said second member . 2. A security device according to claim 1, wherein the said first sleeve member releasably engages the said second sleeve member by movement against a bias. 3. A security device according to claim 2, wherein the said first sleeve member has at least one slot into which at least one spigot on the said second sleeve member is adapted to fit allowing rotation of the second sleeve member when the said members are engaged. 4. A security device according to claim 3, wherein the first and second sleeve members are engaged by pushing against the said bias and rotating the second sleeve when it is within the first sleeve. 5. A security device according to claim 4, wherein the said at least one slot is formed in the shape of a "J". 6. A security device according to claim 5, wherein the said spindle member locates within the said second sleeve member and engages a lock component within the said door. 7. A security device according to claim 6, wherein the door is locked when the second sleeve engages the said first sleeve against said bias and when the spindle is pushed downwards moving said lock component. 8. A security device according to claim 7, wherein the door is unlocked by application of downward pressure and rotation applied to said second sleeve which causes said spindle to move upwardly when said bias acts against said second sleeve member . 9. A security device comprising: (a) a first sleeve member; (b) a spindle member; wherein when fitted to a door frame or sill said first sleeve member non rotatably engages the said door frame or sill; said spindle member being adapted to fit into said first sleeve member; wherein said spindle is rotatable and lockable against rotation and substantial longitudinal motion in said first sleeve member such that the spindle when in any position of engagement with said first sleeve member protrudes above said sleeve member. 10. A security device according to claim 9, wherein the said spindle member releasably engages the said first sleeve member against a bias. 11. A security device according to claim 10, wherein the first sleeve member is adapted with at least one slot to receive at least one spigot on the spindle members 12. A security device according to claim 11, wherein the spindle member releasably engages the first sleeve member by pushing the spindle against said bias and rotating said spindle thereby putting the device in a locked mode. 13. A security device according to claim 11, wherein the spindle member disengages the first sleeve member by pushing the spindle downwards against said bias and rotating said spindle thereby putting the device in an unlocked mode. 14. A security device according to claim 13, wherein the spindle is elongated relative to the first sleeve member. 15. A security device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the said bias is a spring. 16. A security device according to claim 15, wherein the said spindles and sleeves adapted for rotation have gripping surfaces. 17. A security device being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: COX JOSEPH ALAN, COX, JOSEPH, ALAN
Applicants: COX JOSEPH ALAN, COX, JOSEPH, ALAN
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E05B65
IPC codes: E05B65, E05C21