Vehicle Antitheft Device

The subject invention relates to a vehicle antitheft device which mechanically locks a brake system in a brakes-on position. More specifically, the instant invention relates to the use of a brake pedal engaging mechanism which locks the brake pedal of a vehicle towards the floorboard in a brakes-on position and which does not interfere with safe operation of the brakes when the locking system is not engaged.

Prior art vehicle antitheft devices have included steering column locks, burglar alarms, ignition lock guards, hood locks, brake lock devices and hooking mechanisms which engage the steering wheel and brake pedal. These devices have been unsuccessful in stopping thieves because these systems can be removed easily or bypassed in a short period of time. For instance, alarm systems can be easily bypassed by an experienced thief in about one minute or less and the system which hooks the brake pedal and steering wheel can be easily pried loose in less than one minute.

The brake-locking mechanisms in the past have not been effective because they have interfered with the safe operation of the brakes.

As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,972,300 issued to Hemingway, Jr. on Sept. 4, 1934 teaches a brake-lock mechanism hidden underneath the floorboard which is locked by means of a ratcheting pawl which engages locking slots in the locking shaft, which locking shaft is operatively connected to the brake pedal. In this Hemingway patent, the lock is disengaged by the energizing of an electromagnet which pulls the locking pawl out of engagement with the locking shaft. It is evident upon examination of this mechanism that a failure of the electromagnet disengaging system would result in an unsafe brake lockup and would, therefore, interfere with safe brake operation.

Also known to the prior art is the brake locking mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 1,516,482 issued to Gray on Nov. 18, 1924. While the Gray '482 mechanism would not interfere with safe operation of the brakes, the locking mechanism is easily circumvented by either "prying" the brake pedal engaging means loose or by breaking the lock. Either method could easily be accomplished due to the easy accessibility of the system from the vehicle interior.

The U.S. Pat. No. 1,260,051 to Reiser, issued Mar. 19, 1918 discloses a locking assembly for motor vehicles. The assembly includes a brake or clutch pedal to which a locking shaft is fixedly secured. The other end of the locking shaft extends through the vehicle floor and is slideably supported within an opening of a base plate located away from the vehicle floor. A plunger having bars thereon is actuated and the bars engage openings in the locking shaft to prevent movement of the locking shaft. This patent is most deficient in that the locking shaft is fixed to the brake pedal and cannot be removed. This may cause inadvertent locking of the brakes during operation of the vehicle.

The European Patent Application No. 0,086,087 filed Mar. 2, 1983 discloses an antitheft device for automotive vehicles. This application shows a "J" hook member. The shaft is supported by locking member. The shaft has a plurality of ratcheting teeth thereon. The base of the shaft engages the vehicle floor. When the device is locked, the purpose of the "J" hook is to prevent application of brakes.

The U.S. Pat. No. 1,764,383 to Bejek, issued June 17, 1930 discloses a device for locking a vehicle clutch a brake in the engaged position. This patent shows a shaft which is fixedly secured at one end to a brake pedal below the floorboard. The opposite end of the shaft is slideably retained in a housing. The shaft has a plurality of teeth thereon for locking the shaft within the housing for locking the brake or clutch pedal in the engaged position.

According to the present invention there is provided a vehicle antitheft assembly including a brake pedal engaging means for engaging the brake pedal above the floorboard and retaining the brake pedal in a brake-engaged position. A locking means for receiving the brake pedal engaging means is disposed below the floorboard of a vehicle and at a position aligned with the brake pedal. The locking means locks the pedal engaging means in the brake engaged position.

The advantage of this system over the prior art is that the pedal engaging means cannot be "pried" loose because the only exposed portion is between the floorboard and the brake pedal and, therefore, a "pry bar" longer than the vehicle itself would be necessary to provide enough leverage to break the pedal-engaging means. In addition, the locking mechanism is hidden below the floorboard to provide further tamper resistance.

A second advantage is that the pedal-engaging means can be removed free from the braking system and does not interfere with the safe operation of the braking system.

A third advantage is that to remove the present assembly would take forty-five minutes to one hour using cutting torches. This time factor discourages the theft of the automobile because a thief does not have forty-five minutes in which to remove the system and would therefore be inclined to move on to another vehicle.

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a vehicle antitheft assembly in the unlocked position;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an assembly in the locked position; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the locking mechanism.

A vehicle antitheft assembly of the type for locking the brakes in a brake-engaged position is generally shown at 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the assembly 10 includes a brake pedal engaging means 12 comprising a locking hook member 12 having a curved portion 14 in the form of a "J" shaped hook 14 with a depending shaft portion 13. The locking hook member 12 is independent from the vehicle brake pedal 16. That is, the hook member 12 is not fixed to the pedal 16. When the assembly 10 is actuated, the brake pedal 16 is engaged by the hook portion 14 which holds the brake pedal 16 toward the floorboard 20 by a locking means generally shown at 11 in FIG. 3. More specifically, locking means 11 includes a shaft portion 13 having a series of locking holes 22. The shaft portion 13 fits into a sleeve 18 depending from the floorboard and having a guide hole 23 which sleeve 18 is permanently mounted through the floorboard 20 of a vehicle using any suitable fasteners 19. That is, the sleeve 18 extends downwardly from the floorboard 20. This provides retention of the shaft portion 13 immediately below the floorboard 20. A dead bolt 24 is slideably mounted so that it passes through and engages the shaft portion 13 of the hook member 12 within the sleeve 18. The dead bolt 24 is slideably engaged by push-pull cable 26 operated by a keyed lock 28. The bolt 24 is slideably supported in sleeve or cylinder 25.

A brake light cutoff means 34 is employed so that when the mechanism is locked in the brake-engaged position, the brake lights do not remain on and, therefore, will not run down the battery. More specifically, a cutoff switch 34 is wired into the power line 36 of the brake light switch 32. This cutoff switch 34 can be operated manually or may be placed such that it operates in response to the assembly being engaged, i.e., a linkage or electrical interconnect.

The assembly also has armor plating means 38 to protect the exposed elements of the locking means 11. More specifically, the armor plating means includes a metal box 38 or a plurality of metal boxes which surround the locking means 11 and push-pull cable assembly 26 and 28. The box is attached to the floorboard 20 of the vehicle using a large number of fasteners, such as rivets, or the box may even be welded. The use of a large number of fasteners provides further time-consuming tamper resistance.

In operation, the hooked portion 14 of the locking hook member 12 is placed over the brake pedal or brake pedal shaft 16. The shaft portion 13 is then moved into the sleeve 18 directly below the floorboard. The brake pedal 16 and the locking hook member 12 are moved in response to a manual force applied to the brake pedal 16 to the full braking position (as shown in FIG. 2). As one of the locking holes 22 aligns with the guide hole 23, the key lock 28 is actuated by turning the key. The push-pull cable 26 engages the dead bolt 24 which extends through the guide hole 23 and the locking hole 22 in the shaft portion 13 of the brake pedal engagement means 12 and the cutoff switch 34 is opened. The push-pull cable 26 is moved in response to the key lock 26 being actuated. This movement causes the dead bolt 24 to move through the guide hole 23 and into the locking hole 22. This prevents movement of the locking hook member 12 thereby locking the brake pedal 16 in the engaged position.

To restore normal operation of the brakes, the key is turned in the key lock 28 and the push-pull cable 26 retracts the dead bolt 24 from the locking hole 22. The locking hook member 12 is manually removed and the cutoff switch 34 is placed in the closed position. By removing the locking hook member 12, normal operation of the brake pedal 16 is achieved without any interference of the antitheft assembly.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims wherein reference numerals are merely for convenience and are not to be in any way limiting, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.