GB2102363A

GB2102363A - Protective device

Info

Publication number: GB2102363A
Application number: GB8217282A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Martin Hartley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-06-16
Filing date: 1982-06-15
Publication date: 1983-02-02
Also published as: GB2102363B

Abstract

Unauthorised use of controls, such as motor car driving controls (11, 12) is prevented in the case by locking the seat in a position at which it restricts access to the controls. In one embodiment, a car seat has a back portion (2) which can be tilted forwards to afford passenger access to the rear of the car, and a lock (3) is provided to hold the back portion in the forward tilted position. In an alternative embodiment, a car seat is slidable backwards and forwards on tracks (19), and a lock (20) is provided for holding the seat in a forward position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Protective device This invention relates to a protective device for protecting against unauthorised operation of controls of the kind which are located in close proximity to a seat and are intended to be operated by a person sitting on such a seat. It is visualised that the invention will have particular application in the context of protection against unauthorised operation of hand and/or foot controls of a motor vehicle, especially a motor car, in order to protect against theft of same, although it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to this field of application.

According to the invention, there is provided a protective device, for use in connection with controls located in close proximity to a seat, at least a portion of which seat is movable relative to said controls between a first position at which a person sitting on the seat can conveniently operate said controls and a second position at which such operation is prevented or at least rendered less convenient, said protective device comprising settable means connectable to said seat and operable, when set with the seat or said portion thereof in said second position, to restrict and/or to give warning of unauthorised movement or attempted movement of said seat, or said portion thereof, towards said first position.

With this arrangement, it will be appreciated that protection can be afforded without need to effect any direct modification to the controls whereby said protective device can be constructed and installed in a simple and inexpensive manner.

Most preferably, the said settable means comprises a locking device which is locked, when set, to hold the seat, or the said portions thereof, in the second position until released, for example by means of a key or the like. If desired, such locking device may be constructed to respond in a protective manner to tampering. Thus, the locking device may be arranged to give a mild electric shock when contacted with a metal key, authorised persons being provided with insulated keys for releasing the locking device.

Additionally or alternatively, the said settable means may comprise an electric switch or transducer operable to produce an output for actuating a visual and/or audible alarm and/or for deactivating circuitry associated with said controls, such as motor vehicles ignition circuitry, and/or for initiating other protective action, in response to said unauthorised movement or attempted movement of the seat or said portion thereof.

Preferably, the seat, or said movable portion thereof, is arranged to cover or otherwise restrict access to said controls when in said second position so that operation of the controls, or at least some of same, is prevented or severely restricted. It is also possible however for the seat to be arranged so that operation of the controls is not prevented, when the seat, or movable portion, is in the second position, but is merely rendered inconvenient, for example, in that a comfortable sitting position cannot be attained. Such latter arrangement of the seat whilst not actually preventing unauthorised operation may act as a deterrent due to the inconvenience.

With regard to the arrangement of the seat, this may have a fixed base or seating portion and a tiltable back portion, and in this case, the back portion may be tilted forwardly over the controls in the said second position. Alternatively or additionally the whole seat may be bodily movable, for example by tilting of same and/or by sliding of same, and in this case also the seat may be moved to a position at which it covers the controls or some of them in the said second position.

Provision is normally made for movement of a seat back and/or the whole seat as mentioned above in the context of motor car driving seats to provide for adjustment of the sitting position and/or to give access behind the seat to the rear of the car. In cases where the present invention is applied to a motor car driving seat, such normally provided movement facility may be utilised for the arrangement of the invention, although if desired such normally provided movement may be modified or supplemented for example to ensure that the controls are adequately covered in the said second position.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are diagrammatic illustrations of parts of a seat shown in two different positions and incorporating one form of a protective device according to the present invention; Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively sectional views on the line AA and BB of Figs. 1 and 2; and Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic representations of part of a seat shown in two different positions in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.

With reference to Figs. 1 to 4, a motor car driving seat has a fixed base 1, and a back 2 which is pivotally connected to the base 1, by means of a pivot point established between plates 13, 14 respectively at adjacent ends of the base and back, so as to be movable between a first position as shown in Fig. 1 at which the back 2 is generally upright, and a second position as shown in Fig. 2 at which the back 2 is tilted forwards over the steering wheel of the car 10.

In the first position, a person can sit on the seat and operate the steering wheel 10, other hand controls 11 and the usual foot pedals 12 of the motor car in the normal manner. In the second position the seat back 2 covers the steering wheel 10 and prevents or restricts normal operation of most or all of the various controls 10, 11, 12.

A locking device 3 is mounted at a readily accessible position on the outer side of the plate 13 at one side (the offside) of the seat base 1 slightly spaced from the pivot axis 1 5 of the seat back 2. The plates 13, 14 of the base and back slidably abut each other as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and the locking device 3 has a pin 4 which is normally retracted, by the action of a spring 7 to a position at which a free end thereof terminates level with the outer side of the plate 1 3 in alignment with a hole 5 in such plate. A hole 6 is provided in the abutting plate 14 and, in the first position shown in Fig. 3 such hole is slightly above and to the left (as seen in Fig. 1) of the hole 5.

When the seat back 2 is in the second position the holes 5 and 6 are aligned with each other and with said pin 4 and the pin 4 can be inserted into the aligned holes manually by pushing in a keyreceiving barrel 16 of the lock 3 to which the pin is attached, possibly after first releasing a catch by insertion of a key into the barrel from the outer end 1 7 thereof.

When the pin 4 has been inserted, the seat back 2 is locked securely in the said second position, and the pin 4 cannot be retracted to release the seat back 2 until the barrel 1 6 of the locking device 3 has been released by use of the key.

With this arrangement it will be appreciated that unauthorised operation of the car controls and hence theft of the car can be prevented in a simple yet effective manner. The locking device can be installed in a simple and inexpensive manner either as original equipment or as a subsequent addition and it will be noted that no modification of the controls is required. It will also be noted that the locking device is simple and convenient to set and release by an authorised person.

With the embodiment of Fig. 5 to 6, a car driving seat is bodily movable towards and away from the car controls by sliding of seat runners 1 8 along tracks 1 9. A locking device 20 of a similar nature to the device 3 of the embodiment of Figs.

1 to 4 is provided for locking the runners 1 8 relative to the tracks 1 9 when the seat is at a forward position at which it restricts access to the controls.

In the case where a car driving seat has a tiltable back, as with the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 4, and also is bodily slidable, as with the embodiment of Fig. 5 and 6, it may be necessary or desirable to provide two locking devices or an appropriately formed single locking device, with which both tilting of the back and sliding of the seat can be locked.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments which are described by way of example only. Thus, for example, with reference to Figs. 3 and 4, if desired the spring 7 may be arranged alternatively to urge the pin into the locking position.

Claims

1. A protective device, for use in connection with controls located in close proximity to a seat, at least a portion of which seat is movable relative to said controls between a first position at which a person sitting on the seat can conveniently operate said controls and a second position at which such operation is prevented or at least rendered less convenient, said protective device comprising settable means connectable to said seat and operable, when set with the seat or said portion thereof in said second position, to restrict and/or to give warning of unauthorised movement or attempted movement of said seat, or said portion thereof, towards said first position.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said settable means comprises a locking device which is locked, when set, to hold the seat, or the said portion thereof, in the second position until released.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said locking device is a key-operated locking device.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said settable means comprises an electric switch or transducer operable to produce an output in response to said unauthorised movement or attempted movement of the seat or said portion thereof.

5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said seat or said movable portion thereof is arranged to cover or otherwise restrict access to said controls when in said second position so that operation of the controls, or at least some of same, is prevented or severely restricted.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the said seat has a fixed base or seating portion and a tiltable back portion and the back portion is arranged to be tilted forwardly over the controls in the said second position.

7. A device according to claim 6, when dependent on claim 2, or any claim dependent on claim 2, wherein the locking device is fixed to one of said seating and back portions and is engageable with the other said portion in the locked condition to prevent said tilting movement.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein said locking device has a male element engageable with a female element on the said other portion.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein said male and female element respectively comprise a pin and a hole.

10. A device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, including spring means operable to urge said locking device into locking engagement with said other portion.

11. A device according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the whole seat is bodily movable towards said second position in which it covers the controls or some of them.

12. A device according to claim 1 wherein the seat has runners which are slidable along tracks and said locking device is engageable between the tracks and runners in the locked condition to prevent said sliding movement.

1 3. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said seat is a driving seat of a vehicle.

14. A device according to claim 13, wherein said seat is a driving seat of a motor vehicle and said seat or movable portion thereof is arranged to cover or otherwise restrict access to foot and hand controls of the vehicle.

1 5. A protective device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A protective device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.