Patent ID: 8550279

Claim:
A method for retrofitting a vehicle or vessel with an anti-theft device so as to prevent the siphoning of fuel from a fuel tank that is connected to a fuel inlet through a fill hose, the method comprising the steps of: cutting the fill hose along the circumference of said hose at a location that is substantially remote from the fuel inlet so as to separate a first portion of the fill hose that is coupled to the fuel tank from a second portion of the fill hose that is coupled to the fuel inlet; sliding a first clamp onto the first portion of the fill hose, and sliding a second clamp onto the second portion of the fill hose; inserting the anti-theft device between the first and second portions of the fill hose, the anti-theft device comprising a tubular body having an outer circumference that corresponds with an inner circumference of the fill hose, a stop ridge interposed between a first and second cylindrical coupling elements, wherein each one of the coupling elements comprises an inner restriction element having a plurality of radial arms disposed at a distal end of the tubular body and wherein the inner restriction elements of the first coupling element are angularly offset relative to the inner restriction elements of the second coupling element, the first coupling element being inserted into the first portion of the fill hose and the second coupling element being inserted into the second portion of the fill hose leaving the stop ridge exposed; and tightening the first clamp at a first point proximal to the center of the first coupling element so as to secure the first portion of the fill hose to the anti-theft device, and tightening the second clamp at a second point proximal to the center of the second coupling element so as to secure the second portion of the fill hose to the anti-theft device.