Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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This invention relates to theft-deterrents and more particularly to a theft-
deterrent which
is attached to a motor vehicle and which displays a sign that informs
motorists in the vicinity of
the vehicle that it may be stolen.
There are many theft-deterrents for deterring the theft of a motor vehicle.
Some lock the
steering wheel of a vehicle, some activate the horn of a vehicle and some
cause the headlights of
a vehicle to flash on and off All such theft-deterrents have various
shortcomings. For example, a
lock for a steering wheel can be removed by means of a bolt cutter. A
carjacker can use the
cutter without drawing attention to what he is doing simply by closing the
doors of the vehicle
and placing a cloth over the cutter. As far as audible alarms are concerned,
they are so commonly
heard nowadays that little attention is paid to them. Concerning flashing
lights, they are
frequently seen on tow trucks, cars having mechanical problems, police cars
and ambulances.
Such lights draw little attention to a motor vehicle.
I have invented a theft-deterrent for a motor vehicle that overcomes many of
the
shortcomings of existing theft-deterrents. My device has no computers or other
electrical
components that are subject to malfunctioning. My device has few components
composed of
readily available material and hence is inexpensive. Furthermore my device
requires no
mechanical skills to install and to activate and deactivate.
Briefly the theft-deterrent of my invention includes a lower panel attached to
a licence
plate of a motor vehicle by means of the existing screws or bolts that already
attach the licence
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plate to the vehicle. An upper panel is seated on the lower panel and is
attached to the lower
panel by means of a tongue on one side of either one of the two panels and an
opening or mouth
on a side of the other panel. On the other sides of the two panels are blocks
having openings for
the pivoted hook of a padlock. The two panels are attached by insertion of the
tongue into the
mouth of the two panels and by interconnecting the two blocks by means of the
padlock so that
there is no space between the upper and lower panels for a pry to separate the
panels. The upper
panel displays a message such as that the motor vehicle is or may be stolen.
The theft deterrent of the invention is described with reference to the
accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a lower panel of the theft-deterrent;
Figure A is a view of the lower panel from line A-A of Figure 1;
Figure B is a view of the lower panel from line B-B of Figure 1;
Figure 2 is a plan view of an upper panel of the theft-deterrent;
Figure C is a view of the upper panel from line C-C of Figure 2;
Figure D is a view of the upper panel from line D-D of Figure 2;
Figure 3 is a plan view of the lower and upper panels lying upon a licence
plate;
Figure E is a fragmentary view of the components illustrated in Figure 3
viewed from line
E-E of Figure 3;
Figure F is a view of the components of Figure 3 viewed from line F-F of
Figure 3; and
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Figure G is an fragmentary elevation of the components of Figure 3 viewed from
line G-
G of Figure 3.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of
the drawings.
With reference to Figure 1, the lower panel of theft-deterrent of the
invention, generally
is in the shape of a frame having an outer edge 10a which is generally
rectangular and has
roughly the same dimensions as a licence plate to which the panel is to be
attached. The licence
plate is not illustrated in Figure 1 but is in Figure 3. The panel has an
inner edge 10b which is
outside the writing on a typical licence plate so that it does not fully
obscure the numbers and
letters on the plate.
There are elongated grooves 12 at the corners of the panel for receipt of
attachment
means such as screws or bolts so that the panel can be attached to a licence
plate by removing the
existing screws or bolts which attach the plate to a vehicle, placing the
panel over the licence
plate and inserting the screws or bolts into grooves 12, through openings in
the licence plate
beneath the grooves and into the threaded openings in the vehicle for
attaching the licence plate
to the vehicle.
With reference to Figures 1 and A and B, at the side of the panel are block
14, 16 which
project outwardly from the upper wall of the panel. In block 14 there is an
elongated rectangular
opening or mouth 18 and in block 16 there is a circular opening 20.
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With reference to Figure 2, an upper plate 26 lies flat on top of the lower
plate. The upper
plate is rectangular except for a tongue 28 which extends laterally from one
side edge. The
tongue is received in mouth 18 in block 14 when the upper panel lies on top of
the lower panel.
Grooves 30 on the inside surface of the upper plate are provided for receipt
of the heads of the
screws or bolts which interconnect the lower panel to the licence plate so
there is no space
between the upper and lower panels for a conventional pry such as a crowbar
for separating the
panels from each other when the upper panel lies on top of the lower panel.
With reference again to Figure 2 and to Figure D, a block 34 projects upwardly
from the
side of the upper panel opposite tongue 28. A circular opening 36 is formed in
the block which is
in register or correspondence with opening 20 in block 16 of the lower panel
when the upper
panel lies on top of the lower panel and the tongue 28 is within mouth 18.
With reference to Figure 3, the lower panel 10 is seated on a licence plate 40
and the
upper panel 26 is seated on the lower panel. With reference also to Figures E
and G, tongue 28 of
the upper panel is L-shaped, having a lower limb 28a which extends through
mouth 18 of block
14 and an upper limb 28b which extends upwardly adjacent to the outer wall of
the block.
With reference to Figure F, a conventional padlock, generally 42, has a
pivoted hook 44
which extends through the openings in blocks 34, 16 and serves to interconnect
the two blocks
and the upper and lower panels to which they are affixed. As illustrated in
Figure F, the space
between the lock 42a of the padlock and block 34 is insufficient to permit the
cutting edges of a
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conventional bolt cutter to be inserted into the space in order to sever the
pivoted hook. A
protuberance 46 at the top of block 34 prevents the padlock from pivoting
upward thus the
padlock cannot be pivoted upward in order to enlarge the space between the
lock and the block
so that a bolt cutter can be used to sever the hook. Pivoting of the padlock
in the opposite
direction is prevented by the upper panel.
When the padlock is unlocked rightfully by the owner of the vehicle, the lock
42a moves
relative to the pivoted hook in the direction of the arrow in Figure F. The
lock then clears the
protuberance as the padlock is rotated clockwise so that the hook can be
withdrawn from the
openings in the two blocks 34, 16.
Once the upper panel is connected to the lower panel, the padlock must be
removed
before the panels can be separated. If the padlock is not removed, the panels
can only be separ-
ated by destroying them. This is because the heads of the screws or bolts
which attach the licence
plate to a vehicle are covered by the upper panel so that the panels cannot be
separated by
removing the screws or bolts. Those screws and bolts also attach the lower
panel to the licence
plate as well as to the vehicle so that destruction of the panels results in
damage to the licence
plate and such damage is readily apparent.
The upper panel being attached to the lower panel by the tongue and mouth at
one side of
the two panels and the padlock at the other sides of the panels, the message
which appears on the
upper panel cannot be removed by a hijacker who lacks a key to unlock the
padlock. Only by
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destroying the panels can a hijacker remove the message and in doing so he
will also do serious
damage to the licence plate. As a consequence, a hijacker is likely to attract
the attention of the
police when he is driving the vehicle either because of the message on the
outer panel, if it still
exists, or because of the damaged licence plate, if the outer panel has been
removed by
destroying it.
The panels of the theft-deterrent of the invention are preferably composed of
transparent
inflexible plastic which will not bend when an attempt to remove the panels by
prying them
apart. The letters on the upper panel should preferably be bright yellow and
reflective so that they
are visible at night when illuminated by the headlights of vehicles in the
vicinity of the theft
deterrent..
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the theft-
deterrent of
the invention without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as
defined in the
appended claims.
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