AU5182298A - Steering wheel lock assembly with air bag protection (Case B) - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for service is: Wen Chang WU Wen Chang WU WRAY ASSOCIATES 239 Adelaide Terrace Perth, WA 6000 Attorney code: WR Invention Title: "Steering Wheel Lock Assembly with Air Bag Protection" (Case B) Details of Associated Provisional Application No(s): The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- -2- Steering Wheel Lock Assembly with Air.Bag Protection Background of the Invention i. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel lock assembly with air bag protection.

2. Description of the Related Art A wide variety of steering wheel locks have been developed, yet unauthorized access to the air bags still 1 cannot be prevented. The present invention is intended to provide a steering lock assembly with air bag protection.

Summary of the Invention A steering lock assembly in accordance with the present invention comprises a main body, a hook means, an air bag protective plate, and a lock means. The main body includes a recess for receiving a portion of a rim of a steering wheel. The main body further includes an end attached to an object to prevent from rotational movement of the steering wheel when the main body is mounted on the steering wheel.

The hook means is pivotally mounted in the main body and includes a hook member for releasably enclosing the recess of the main body to securely hold the portion of the rim of the steering wheel. The hook means further includes a first engaging member provided thereon. The lock means has a lock core and a second engaging member actuatable by the lock core for releasably engaging with the first engaging member on the hook means.

The air bag protective plate is in a position to prevent from unauthorized access to the air bag when the lock means is in a locked position in which the first engaging member of the hook means engages with the second engaging member of the lock means and in which the hook member encloses the recess of the main body to securely hold the portion of the rim of the steering wheel. When a proper key is inserted and rotated, the second engaging member of the lock means is disengaged from the first engaging member of the hook means to allow removal of the lock assembly.

The air bag protective plate may be integral with the main body or the hook means.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a steering wheel lock assembly in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevational view illustrating use of the steering lock assembly in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the steering wheel lock assembly in accordance with the present invention; and -4- Fig. 4 is a schematic side elevational view illustrating use of the steering lock assembly in Fig. 3.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of a steering wheel lock assembly in accordance with the present invention generally includes a main body i, a hook means 2, a lock means 13, and an air bag protective plate 16. The main body 1 is made of rigid material and includes a first end 11 securely attached to, a dashboard. (not shown) to prevent from rotational movement of a steering wheel 5 (Fig. 3) to which the main body 1 is mounted. The main body 11 includes a recess 12 for fittingly receiving a portion of a rim of the steering wheel The air bag protective plate 16 may be integrally formed with the main body 1.

The hook means 2 includes a tubular section which has a hole 21 in alignment with a hole 14 defined in the main body 1, and a pivotal axle 15 is extended through the holes 14 and 21 to thereby pivotally mount the hook means 2 to the main body 1. A pin 22 is used to secure the hook means 2 to the pivotal axle 15 to pivot therewith. The hook means 2 further includes, two hook members 24 which may enclose the recess 12 to securely hold the portion of the rim of the steering wheel 5, which will be described in detail later.

The lock means 13 includes a lock core (not labeled) which is mounted in the main body 1 and operable by a correct key. The lock means 13 further includes a retaining member 17 (Fig. 2) for releasably engaging with a notch 23 defined in the tubular section of the hook means 2 to prevent from movement of the hook means 2.

In use, referring to Fig. 2, the air bag protective plate 16 is in a position to shield the air bag 6 (Fig. 2) while the hook members 24 of the hook means 2" enclose the portion of the rim of the steering wheel 5. Rotational movement of the steering wheel 5 is prevented (as rotational movement of the end 11 of the main body 1 is restrained) while removal of the lock assembly is also prevented (due to engagement between the retaining member 17 of the lock means 13 and the notch 23 of the hook means When a proper key (not shown) is inserted into the lock core and rotated through a pre-determined angle, the retaining 17 is lifted upwardly and thus disengages from the notch 23. As a result, the hook members 24 of the hook means 2 may be rotated to a position shown by the solid lines to allow removal of the lock assenr6bly.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the steering wheel lock assembly in accordance with the present invention which is substantially modified from the above embodiment. It is appreciated that the air bag protective plate (now designated by reference numeral in this embodiment is integrally formed with the hook means 2 rather than the main body 1 in the first embodiment. The air bag -6protective plate 25 is in a position to shield the air bag 6 (Fig. 4) when the hook members 24 of the hook means 2 enclose the recess 12. The other arrangement and operation of this modified embodiment are identical to those of the first embodiment and therefore not described to avoid redundancy.

According to the above description, the steering wheel lock assembly in accordance with the present invention may provide protection to both of the steering wheel and the air bag.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Throughout this specification (including the claims if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims (3)

1. 2. The steering wheel lock assembly according to claim i, wherein the air bag protective plate is integral with the main body.
2. 3. The steering wheel lock assembly according to claim i, wherein the air bag protective plate is integral with the hook means.
3. 4. A steering lock assembly substantially as herein described. Dated this TWELFTH day of JANUARY 1998. WEN CHANG WU Applicant Wray Associates Perth, Western Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicant