Anti-theft device for cycles

Details Anti-theft device for cycles Anti-theft device for cycles

2002-10-01

2003-12-30

Knight, Anthony (Department: 3676)

Locks

Special application

For cycles

C070S233000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06668605

ABSTRACT:

The invention relates to an anti-theft device for bicycles comprising one or more frame tubes and a pedal crank housing attached thereto.
Anti-theft devices with all kinds of different types of construction have been developed for preventing the unauthorized use of bicycles. For example, steel cable, chain or bow-type locking systems are known in the prior art, by means of which bicycles can be secured against theft. With such anti-theft devices, the bicycle is linked to, for example a stationary object (such as, for example a bicycle parking frame or the post of a street lamp, etc.) in order prevent its unauthorized use.
In addition to such separate types of construction, locking systems comprising securing steel cables of the type introduced, for example in GB 1 474 834, which are arranged on the bicycle, have become known as well.
Owing to the fact that the purchase costs of the bicycles are often relatively high, high-quality steel cable, chain or bow-type locks comprising high-quality locking systems are, of course, offered as well.
One of the major drawbacks of such high-quality security locks for bicycles is the high transport weight of the locking system, in particular the weight of the casing enclosing the locking system.
Therefore, it needs to be noted in general that in conformity with the current trend, high-quality bicycles are built with increasingly lighter weights, whereas the weight of the bicycle safety locks to be associated with such high-quality bicycles paradoxically becomes increasingly heavier at the same time.
Because of the low depth of installation of the safety lock, even the bicycle safety locks described in the prior art that are separately secured on the frame of the bicycle, can be forcibly opened through targeted manipulations even if such safety locks comprise the most stable type of construction of a steel cable, a chain or a bow, or by destroying the safety lock by force. This means that even with such types of construction of the safety lock that are connected with a high transport weight, the thief is able to drive away with a fully functioning bicycle after the lock has been broken open.
Now, other different variations of bicycle safety devices have been developed as well for preventing such “driving away”.
A system for locking the pedals of the bicycle has been introduced, for example in DE 195 31 315 A1. The rotational movement of the pedals of the bicycle is blocked by means of this locking system.
The drawback in conjunction with this type of construction is the fact that the thief, after he has pushed the bicycle, for example to a “safe location”, can replace the pedals of the bicycle by a new pair of bicycle pedals after simply unscrewing and removing the original pair of pedals, and will quickly have again a fully functioning bicycle in this way.
It has been proposed in connection with other types of construction to block the pedal crankshaft by means of a locking system. Such locking systems for blocking the pedal crankshaft have been described earlier in NL 8100343, in DE 43 06 562 C2, and in EP 0 630 802.
However, the locking system described in the above documents can be used only in special types of construction of the frame, and cannot be fitted at a later time in most cases.
The locking system for blocking the pedal crankshaft introduced in DE 197 53 024 C2, which comprises a sleeve body that is formed by two bushes that can be pushed one into the other, whereby one bush is connected with the one and the other bush with the other of the two flanges, and whereby the blocking slide has to engage both bushes at the same time so as to prevent the flanges from being unscrewed in the locked condition after the pedals have been removed, can in fact be employed in a universal manner. However, this system requires high manufacturing and installation expenditures and, moreover, has a drawback in common with the pedal bearing blocking systems described already in the prior art, such disadvantage being the fact that the entire bicycle can be pushed or carried away in spite of the fact that the pedal crankshaft is locked with such a system. This means that it is not possible to prevent the theft of the entire bicycle, and it is neither possible to prevent the stolen bicycle from being dismantled at a later time into “usable individual components”.
If the thief destroys, for example the lightweight frame of the bicycle after he has pushed the bicycle away and has subsequently manipulated the blocked pedal crankshaft, and in case the complete bicycle has been recovered again, no insurance company will replace the frame that has been destroyed by the manipulations on the system blocking the pedal crankshaft.
Therefore, the present invention is based on the problem to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above in connection with the prior art, and to develop an anti-theft device for bicycles that can be manufactured in a simple manner in terms of manufacturing technology. Such an anti-theft device prevents the bicycle from being pushed or carried away by unauthorized persons, and it is characterized by a very high-quality locking system that is difficult to access and has a low transport weight; that can be fitted at a later time on all types of different bicycle frame constructions and on any type of material of a bicycle frame (even on materials of the lightweight type) at low cost and with minor installation expenditure; and that, furthermore, prevents the frame of the bicycle from being destroyed even if sub-assemblies of the locking system have been subjected to extremely high stress due to forceful intervention.
Said problem is solved by means of an anti-theft safety device for bicycles comprising one or more frame tubes (
1
) and a pedal crankshaft guide (
2
) attached thereto, whereby a right-hand and a left-hand bearing receptacle (
3
) each accommodating an antifriction bearing (
4
) is supported in the pedal crankshaft guide (
2
) on the one and the other sides, and whereby a pedal crankshaft (
5
) is supported in said bearings in a rotating manner; whereby a chain sprocket wheel (
6
) with a pedal crank (
7
) is arranged on the one end of the pedal crankshaft (
5
), and a pedal crank (
7
) is arranged at the opposite end of the pedal crankshaft (
5
); with the pedal cranks each being screwed on either side to the pedal crankshaft (
5
) by means of a fixing screw (
8
).
In this connection, it is essential to the invention as well that the central through-extending bores (
9
) are arranged both axially in the pedal crankshaft (
5
) and axially in the fixing screws (
8
), and that the pedal crankshaft (
5
), which is dimensioned thicker with respect to its outside diameter in the mid-region (
10
), is provided in said region with a radial recess (
11
), in which both a lock housing (
12
) with a cylinder lock (
13
) and a slider (
17
) are arranged, whereby the key (
14
) of the cylinder lock (
13
) axially penetrates the fixing screw (
8
) located closest to the cylinder lock, but projects beyond said fixing screw with an actuator piece (
15
).
By virtue of the fact that the locking system is arranged in a low location in the pedal crankshaft and the installation depth is high at the same time in the middle of the pedal crankshaft, the locking system is difficult to access particularly for undesirable manipulations.
Furthermore, the “protected” accommodation of the cylinder lock in the middle of the functionally conditioned pedal crankshaft as defined by the invention, is characterized by an extremely low additional transport weight.
Furthermore, a characterizing feature is the fact that an eccentric pin (
16
) is arranged on the opposite face side of the cylinder lock (
13
). Via an eccentric pin guide (
18
), said eccentric pin is actively connected with a slider (
17
), which is arranged in a displaceable manner in the recess (
11
) on one face side. By turning the key (
14
) of the cylinder lock (
13
), the eccentric pin (
16
) moves in part of a circular track, and due to its cooperation with the eccentric pin guide (
18
), the

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