Motor vehicles – With means for promoting safety of vehicle – its occupant or... – By preventing unauthorized or unintended access or use
Patent
1998-03-06
2000-05-30
Rice, Kenneth R.
Motor vehicles
With means for promoting safety of vehicle, its occupant or...
By preventing unauthorized or unintended access or use
116 33, B60R 2500
Patent
active
060680768
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a vehicle theft prevention device and to a method of preventing the theft of a vehicle.
Previous attempts at providing a device to prevent the theft of a vehicle have included devices to release the pressurised air in a tyre through the valve of the tyre when the centrifugal force on the device due to the rotation of the wheel exceeded a certain amount. Devices of this type have various disadvantages associated with them. For instance, the immobilising effect of the device could be overridden by injecting foam or some similar substance into the valve through which the air was being released. This would result in a temporarily inflated tyre. The vehicle could then be removed to a location where the wheel could be replaced. Consequently, the effectiveness of these prior art theft prevention devices is severely limited. Additionally, the prior art devices must be manually activated and deactivated which can result in the disadvantage of a person possibly forgetting to deactivate the mechanism. In this situation one or more tyres of the vehicle would deflate unnecessarily. Further, an unauthorised person may be able to deactivate the device by using force. A person using the device would also be likely to dirty their hands because of the manual actuation that is required. When a number of the prior art devices are fitted to a vehicle, a considerable amount of time would be taken up in activating and deactivating the devices individually.
It is an object of the present invention to address the above mentioned disadvantages.
According to one aspect of the present invention a vehicle theft prevention device comprises motion sensing means for sensing the motion of a wheel of a vehicle and discharge means for discharging pressurised fluid from a tyre of the wheel when motion of the wheel is detected.
The device may additionally include a maintenance valve, which maintenance valve may be operable to allow fluid into and out of the tyre. Said maintenance valve may be one of the types commonly used on motor vehicle tyres. In use, the maintenance valve may protrude from the wheel of the vehicle for easy access. The maintenance valve and the discharge means may be separate parts of the device.
The maintenance valve may include a secondary valve. Said secondary valve may be in addition to the means for adjusting the pressure in the tyre. The secondary valve may be controllable electro-mechanically. The secondary valve may be controllable electrically. The secondary valve may be controllable electronically. The secondary valve may be controlled by the control means. The secondary valve may comprise a solenoid switch.
The motion sensing means may be electro-mechanical. The motion sensing means may be electrically powered. The motion sensing means may be electronic. The motion sensing means may comprise a rocker switch. The motion sensing means may comprise a mercury switch. The motion sensing means may be arranged to activate the discharge means. The motion sensing means may be arranged to activate the discharge means when the motion sensing means has, in use, sensed the motion of the wheel. Preferably, the discharge means is arranged to be activated when the motion sensing means detects that the wheel has turned through approximately one quarter of a revolution.
The vehicle theft prevention device may include a control means. The control means may be connected to the motion sensing means. The control means may be connected to the discharge means. The control means may control the discharge means dependent upon signals from the motion sensing means. The control means may cause pressurised fluid to be discharged from the tyre when the motion sensing means senses motion.
The discharge means may include a valve. The valve may be operable between open and closed positions. The valve may be controllable electro-mechanically. The valve may be controllable electrically. The valve may be controlled electronically. The valve may be controlled by a solenoid switch.
The discharge means may be arranged to be
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patent: 1329210 (1920-01-01), Rickon
patent: 1335827 (1920-04-01), Finn
patent: 3661115 (1972-05-01), Rosenstein
patent: 3688257 (1972-08-01), Mann
patent: 4375200 (1983-03-01), Bertani et al.
patent: 4818029 (1989-04-01), Moutor et al.
Carr Paul
Stancliffe John
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