REMOVABLE ANTITHEFT DEVICE FOR VEHICLES STEERED WITH A HANDLE-BAR

Abstract: Removable antitheft device for vehicles steered by a handle-bar, which device is suitable to clamp a movable part of a vehicle and comprises a body (3) and a C-shaped element or bow (13), the body (3) comprising a first part (11) and a second part (12) hinged to each other on a pivot (14) so as to form a gripper, each of the parts (11, 12) containing a respective mating semi-circular hollow (17, 18), the bow (13) comprising a first arm (15) and a second arm (16), the first part (11) of the body (3) comprising a first hollow (8) in which the first arm (15) of the bow (13) is slidably fitted, the second arm (16) of the bow (13) cooperating in the closed position with a hollow (9) and/or with a space (7) provided in the body (3), reversible closure means (5) being included which clamp in the closed position the two parts (11, 12) of the body (3) together with the bow (13).

Description: REMOVABLE ANTITHEFT DEVICE FOR VEHICLES STEERED WITH A HANDLE-BAR * * * * * FIELD OF APPLICATION This invention concerns a removable antitheft device for vehicles steered with a handle-bar, as set forth in the main claim. The invention consists of a removable antitheft device which, when fitted to a vehicle such as a bicycle, motorscooter, motorcycle or any vehicle steered with a handle-bar, and after actuation of one of the control levers positioned on the handle-bar of the vehicle, clamps that control lever in the actuation position and prevents its release. When a control lever of the braking equipment is clamped, at least one wheel of the vehicle is firmly braked; if the vehicle is equipped with clutch means operated by a lever on the handle-bar, it is possible, as an alternative or in addition to actuation of the braking equipment, to disconnect the clutch of the motor vehicle by clamping the relative control lever in the disconnected position. According to a particular embodiment of the invention the antitheft device is employed to clamp directly at least one wheel of the vehicle. STATE OF THE ART So as to prevent or at least to impede the theft or removal of a vehicle such as a bicycle, a motor scooter or motor vehicle, many mechanical and/or electrical means have been disclosed and employed which are used alone or in combination with each other. These means, such as a steering lock, switches inserted into the starter circuit of the motor vehicle, etc., can be incorporated in the vehicle itself or else can be external independent elements such as chains with a lock or steel bows to clamp the wheels and/or to secure the vehicle to an external body. The means incorporated in the vehicle generally do not act on the wheels and are therefore unable to prevent the vehicle being lifted and removed, whereas the use of external means, which are often bulky and heavy, is conditioned by the availability of means to which the vehicle can be secured and by the resistance of the means to stresses. Moreover, such antitheft means are often well known to any ill-intentioned person interested in removing the vehicle, for such a person can readily acquire the techniques and means suitable for neutralising such antitheft means. The present applicants have designed, tested and embodied this invention to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art and to achieve further advantages. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION This invention is set forth and characterised in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe variants of the idea of the main embodiment. This invention concerns a removable antitheft device for vehicles steered by a handle-bar, the device being simple and economical and being able to clamp a movable part of the vehicle, in particular, one of the control levers positioned on the handle-bar. According to a form of embodiment of the invention this antitheft device has a conformation and a possible colouring which are visible, and this fact has or may have a dissuasive effect on the ill-intentioned person. The removable antitheft device according to the invention comprises a body consisting of a first part and a second part hinged on each other to form a gripper, each of which parts includes a semi -circular hollow, and a C-shaped element or bow. When closed together, the two parts of the body are solidly associated, by means of their semi-circular hollowed portions, with a hand grip of the handle-bar of the vehicle and, by means of the bow, clamp the corresponding control lever, whether that lever controls the brake or the clutch. The first part of the body comprises a hollow, within which a first arm of the bow can slide axially to an end-of- run position, and reversible closure means able to clamp that first arm in a closure position; the second part of the body includes an open space cooperating with the second arm of the bow. After having closed the two parts, first and second, of the body against each other in cooperation with the hand grip of the handle-bar, the first arm of the bow is inserted into the hollow made in the first part of the body towards the travel of minimum extent, while the second arm of the bow is inserted into an open space of the second part of the body and possibly into a second hollow provided in the protrusion belonging to the first part of the body, thus connecting rigidly together the first and second parts of the body and thereby fixing the antitheft device to the hand grip or to a stationary part of the vehicle; at the same time the traversing of the bow clamps in the actuation position a control lever or else a movable part of the vehicle. In a first embodiment of the invention the actuation of the bow into the position for clamping the control lever takes place by hand after the two parts of the body have been associated in their closed position on the hand grip of the handle-bar. In a second embodiment of the invention the actuation of the bow into the clamping position is functionally and kinematically associated with closure of the two parts of the body on the hand grip of the handle-bar. According to a variant of the invention the removable antitheft device is employed to clamp directly one of the wheels of the vehicle by means of the bow, the body being secured to the fork or to another element of the frame of the vehicle. ILLUSTRATION OF THE DRAWINGS The attached figures are given as a non-restrictive example and show two preferred embodiments of the invention as follows: Fig.l is a side view of a first embodiment of the antitheft device according to the invention in a closed position; Fig.2 shows a section of the antitheft device of Fig.l; Fig.3 shows a section of the antitheft device of Fig.l in the open position; Fig.4 shows a partial three-dimensional view of a handle-bar of a vehicle bearing the antitheft device of Fig.l; Fig.5 is a three-dimensional view of the antitheft device of Fig.l in the open position; Fig.6 is a side view of a second embodiment of the antitheft device according to the invention in the closed position; Fig . 7 shows a section of the antitheft device of Fig . 6 ; Fig . 8 shows the antitheft device of Fig . 6 in the open position. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig.l shows a side view of a removable antitheft device in the closed position, the device comprising a body 3 and a C- shaped element or bow 13 which can be moved in relation to the body 3. The body 3 and bow 13 are advantageously made of a metal. Fig.4 shows a partial three-dimensional view of a handle- bar of a vehicle in which the antitheft device of Fig.l is applied to a control lever 1, which is preferably, but not necessarily, one of the levers controlling the brakes. In this case, it is possible to see the control lever 1, a hand grip 2, the body 3 and reversible closure means 5 able to fix the body 3 to the hand grip 2 in correspondence with the control lever 1, which is clamped at the same time between the body 3 and the bow 13. If the vehicle is equipped with a hand grip accelerator, the hand grip 2 is preferably, but not necessarily, that of the accelerator; if the vehicle is equipped with clutch means, the control lever 1 which is clamped may be that of the braking equipment or that of the clutch. Fig.5 shows a three-dimensional view of the antitheft device of Fig.4 in the open position, wherein the hand grip 2 and the control lever 1 have been shown with lines of dashes for greater clarity of the representation. In the antitheft device according to the invention the body 3 comprises a first part 11 and a second part 12, which are hinged to each other to form a gripper, the second part 12 being able to be moved about a pivot 14 solidly fixed to the first part 11. The first and second parts 11, 12 of the body 3 contain respective semi-circular hollows 17 and 18, which enable the antitheft device to be secured to the hand grip 2 of the vehicle; these two parts 11, 12 of the body 3 are rigidly connected together by the bow 13 even if they are not perfectly in contact with each other, thus making it possible to use an antitheft device according to the invention even if the hand grips of that vehicle have a diameter which does not coincide exactly than that of the semi-circular hollows 17 and 18 contained in the two parts 11, 12 of the body 3. According to a variant at least one of the semi-circular hollows 17, 18 cooperates with a resiliently deformable element 23, which adapts itself to the hand grip 2 when the two parts 11, 12 are closed together during the step of clamping the hand grip 2. In the form of embodiment shown in Fig.3 the resiliently deformable element 23 is solidly associated with the second part 12 of the body 3, defines the semi-circular hollow 18 thereof and cooperates with an inner spring 24. According to a further variant shown in Fig.6, instead of the resiliently deformable element 23 or in cooperation therewith, at least one of the semi-circular hollows 17, 18 cooperates with a removable insert 30 which has the function of reducing the thickness; this fact enables the antitheft device to be used in cooperation with hand grips 2 of a modest diameter. A first arm 15 of the bow 13 slides in a first hollow 8 provided in the first part 11 of the body 3. In this case the first arm 15 is advantageously, but not necessarily, longer than a second arm 16 of the bow 13. The second arm 16 of the bow 13 is inserted into an empty space 7 provided in the second part 12 of the body 3 and into a second hollow 9 provided in a protrusion 10 associated with the first part 11 of the body 3. According to a variant, which is not shown here, the protrusion 10 does not include the second hollow 9, and the second arm 16, in the closed condition, cooperates only with the empty space 7. The empty space 7 provided in the second part 12 of the body 3 is preferably, but not necessarily, an open space conformed as an overturned "ϋ" and closed at its upper end by a plate 29. According to a variant the space 7 consists of a hole provided frontally in the second part 12 of the body 3. In the case shown in Figs.l to 5, the traversing of the bow 13 is carried out by actuation means of a manual type, which comprise a pair of knobs 21 or equivalent means, which are fixed to the first arm 15, able to move in the first hollow 8, of the bow 13 and which emerge from the body 3 through a pair of third slots 20. According to a variant the bow 13 is operated by hand, thus eliminating the knobs 21 and the corresponding slots 20. According to another variant the means operating the bow 13 comprise a carriage means analogous to that used to cock fire arms. To permit clamping of the bow 13 which, in turn, holds rigidly together the two parts 11, 12 of the body 3, the first arm 15 of the bow 13 includes at its front end an extension 4 bearing a plurality of teeth or equivalent means, which are able to be momentarily gripped by clamping means associated with the reversible closure means 5. This plurality of teeth makes possible the definition of a plurality of intermediate positions of the bow 13 between an open position of greatest extent and a closure position of minimum extent, depending on the extent of the travel of the control lever 1. In this case the clamping means comprise a catch 19 and can be disengaged from the teeth by a key or another functionally equivalent means. According to a variant the extension 4 bears only one tooth or another equivalent means able to be engaged by clamping means associated with the reversible closure means 5. Figs .6 to 8 show a particular embodiment of the invention in which the axial traversing of the bow 13 from the release position to the clamping position and viceversa is associated kinematically with the closure/opening of the two parts 11, 12 of the body 3. In this case the rotation of the second part 12 about the pivot 14 entails the traversing of the bow 13. The bow 13 is associated by a kinematic chain with the second part 12 of the body 3, this kinematic chain comprising in this example a slotted link 25 which acts on the first arm 15 of the bow 13. To be more exact, the first arm 15 of the bow 13 includes a pin 21 cooperating with a first slot 22 provided in the first part 11 of the body 3 and with a second slot 28 associated with the second part 12 of the body 3. In this case the first part 11 includes in cooperation with the bow 13 an abutment element 26 with which the control lever 1 cooperates during the step of closure of the antitheft device according to the invention. So as to adapt the dimensions of the containing and clamping seating defined by the bow 13 and by the body 3 in the closure position, the abutment element 26 can be moved parallel to the first and second arms 15, 16 of the bow 13 and cooperates with a screw adjustment means 27 associated with the first part 11 of the body 3. This screw adjustment means 27 is associated with the semi-circular hollow 17 in the first part 11 and is accessible only when the antitheft device according to the invention is not associated with the hand grip 2 of the handle-bar . In this case the catch 19 of the clamping means associated with the reversible closure means 5 cooperates with teeth located in a coordinated pos ition on an extension 104 solidly connected to the second part 12 of the body 3. In the form of embodiment shown in the figures a covering element 6 is associated with the bow 13 and is advantageously ϋ-shaped and has an elongate shape and an inner profile complementary to that of the outer edge of the control lever 1. This covering element 6 prevents an ill-intentioned person from breaking the control lever 1 at the bow 13 and from withdrawing the bow 13 from the remaining stub of the control lever 1, thus neutralising at least partly the antitheft device. When the second part 12 of the body 3 has been rotated as far as possible from the first part 11 of the body 3 and the bow 13 has been fully withdrawn from the first part 11 of the body 3, the distance between the projection 10 belonging to the first part 11 of the body 3 and the free end of the second arm 16 of the bow 13 is at least equal to the thickness of the control lever 1, which can therefore be inserted into the bow 13. So as to fit the antitheft device of this invention to a vehicle steered by a handle-bar, the bow 13 is released from the body 3; the first and second parts 11, 12 of the body 3 are disengaged from each other and are brought to the open position. The control lever 1 is then inserted into the bow 13 and the semi-circular hollow 17 of the first part 11 of the body 3 is rested on the hand grip 2, and the second part 12 of the body 3 is then rotated until the semi-circular hollow 18 in the second part 12 is rested on the hand grip 2. The bow 13 is now traversed automatically or is traversed by manual actuation means 21 into the first hollow 8 in the first part 11 of the body 3 and is clamped by the reversible closure means 5, thus clamping the control lever 1 in the actuation position and connecting together the first and second parts 11, 12 of the body 3 so as to fix the latter to the hand grip 2. The control lever 1 is preferably actuated before the bow 13 enters the body 3. The removal of the bow 13 from the first part 11 of the body 3 can be assisted by resilient means, which are not shown in the figures but are associated with the first hollow 8 of the first part 11 of the body 3 and may cooperate axially with the first arm 15 of the bow 13. So as to free the vehicle from the antitheft device according to the invention it is enough to carry out in the reverse order the above operations by acting on the reversible closure means 5 to free the bow 13, withdrawing the bow 13 from the body 3 so as to release from each other the first and second parts 11, 12 of the body 3 and so on. According to a particular embodiment of the invention the antitheft device is employed to clamp one of the wheels of a vehicle by fixing the body 3 to the fork or to another element forming the frame of the vehicle and by clamping the wheel by means of the bow 13. In this case, the distance between the first and second arms 15, 16 of the bow 13 should not be smaller than the width of the rim and of the tyre, whereas the length of the first and second arms 15, 16 of the bow 13 should be such that, when the bow 13 has been fully withdrawn from the first part 11 of the body 3, the distance between the protrusion 10 associated with the first part 11 of the body 3 and the free end of the second arm 16 of the bow 13 should not be smaller than the overall thickness of the rim and of the tyre. According to another variant which is not shown here, the antitheft device is associated with known electrical means employed to prevent theft of a motor vehicle by equipping the device itself with an electrical sensor able to reveal any tampering. According to a special form of embodiment described as a mere example, this electrical sensor could consist of a microswitch actuated by the extension 4, 104 when it cooperates with the clamping means associated with the reversible closure means 5.

Claims: - - CLAIMS 1 - Removable antitheft device for vehicles steered by a handle-bar, the device being suitable to clamp a movable part of a vehicle and being characterised in that: - it comprises a body (3) and a C-shaped element or bow (13), - the body (3) comprising a first part (11) and a second part (12) hinged to each other on a pivot (14) so as to form a gripper, each of the parts (11, 12) containing a respective mating semi-circular hollow (17, 18), - the bow (13) comprising a first arm (15) and a second arm (16), - the first part (11) of the body (3) comprising a first hollow (8) with which the first arm (15) of the bow (13) cooperates slidably, - the second arm (16) of the bow (13) cooperating in the closed position with a hollow (9) and/or with a space (7) provided in the body (3), - reversible closure means (5) being included which clamp in the closed position the two parts (11, 12) of the body (3) together with the bow (13) . 2 - Antitheft device as in Claim 1, which is fixed by means of the two semi-circular hollows (17, 18) against the hand- grip (2) of the handle bar of a vehicle, the bow (13) cooperating with the control lever (1) of the brake and/or of the clutch and retaining that lever (1) in the actuation position. 3 - Antitheft device as in Claim 2, in which with the first arm (15) of the bow (13) fully withdrawn from the first part (11) of the body (3) the distance between the free end of the second arm (16) of the bow (13) and the body (3) is not less than the thickness of the control lever (1) . 4 - Antitheft device as in Claim 1, which is fixed by means of the two semi-circular hollows (17, 18) to an element of the frame of the vehicle, the bow (13) cooperating with one of the wheels of the vehicle. 5 - Antitheft device as in Claim 4, in which with the first arm (15) of the bow (13) fully withdrawn from the first part (11) of the body (3) the distance between the free end of the second arm (16) of the bow (13) and the body (3) is not less than the overall thickness of the rim and of the tyre, the distance between the first arm (15) and the second arm (16) of the bow (13) being not less than the width of the rim and of the tyre. 6 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which the bow (13) cooperates with manual actuation means so as to pass from the release position to the clamping position and viceversa. 7 - Antitheft device as in Claim 6, in which the manual actuation means comprise knobs (21) associated with the first arm (15) of the bow (13) and able to slide in slots (20) contained in the body (3). 8 - Antitheft device as in any of Claims 1 to 5 inclusive, in which the bow (13) cooperates with automatic actuation means so as to pass from the release position to the clamping position and viceversa, these automatic actuation means associating functionally the traversing of the bow (13) with the rotation of the first (11) and second (12) parts of the body (3) about the pivot (14) . 9 - Antitheft device as in Claim 8, in which the automatic actuation means comprise a slotted link means (25) associated with the first arm (15) of the bow (13), this first arm (15) comprising knobs (21) cooperating with a first slot (22) provided in the first part (11) of the body (3) and with a second slot (28) associated with the second part (12) of the body (3). 10 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, which comprises a covering element (6) associated with the bow (13) and having a form complementing that of the control lever (1) with which it cooperates. 11 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which the first part (11) of the body (3) includes in cooperation with the bow (13) an abutment element (26) able to move parallel to the first and second arms (15, 16) of the bow (13) and cooperating with an adjustment means (27) with which there cooperates the movable element to be clamped in the step of closure of the antitheft device. 12 - Antitheft device as in Claim 11, in which the adjustment means (27) is associated with the semi-circular hollow (17) of the first part (11) of the body (3) and is accessible only when the antitheft device is not associated with a vehicle. 13 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which the reversible closure means (5) comprise an extension (4, 104) including at least one tooth with which there cooperates a catch (19) associated with the first part (11) of the body (3) . 14 - Antitheft device as in Claim 13, in which the extension (104) is associated with the second part (12) of the body (3) . 15 - Antitheft device as in Claim 13, in which the extension (4) is associated with the first arm (15) of the bow (13) . 16 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which at least the first arm (15) of the bow (13) cooperates with resilient contrast means. 17 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which at least one of the semi-circular hollows (17, 18) cooperates with a resiliently deformable element (23) which adapts itself to the hand grip (2) or to the tube of the frame when the two parts (11, 12) of the body (3) are closed together. 18 - Antitheft device as in Claim 17, in which the resiliently deformable element (23) is solidly associated with one of the parts (11, 12) of the body (3) and cooperates with an inner spring (24) . 19 - Antitheft device as in any claim hereinbefore, in which at least one of the semicircular hollows (17, 18) cooperates with a removable insert (30) having the function of reducing the thickness.

Inventors: MACCHINI MARIO, MACCHINI, MARIO
Applicants: MACCHINI MARIO, N A S C O ITALIA S R L, MACCHINI, MARIO, N.A.S.C.O. ITALIA S.R.L.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B62H5
IPC codes: B62H5, B62L3