GB2394704A

GB2394704A - Security device for use with trailer

Info

Publication number: GB2394704A
Application number: GB0225108A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Philip George Herring
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-10-29
Filing date: 2002-10-29
Publication date: 2004-05-05
Also published as: GB0225108D0

Abstract

A security device (10) for use with a trailer having a lockable towing hitch (28) for use with a complementary tow ball comprises: a flexible tether (12); means (14) at one end of the tether for securing the tether to an article (24); and a ball (20) at the other end of the tether for insertion and locking into the towing hitch of the trailer. It is therefore possible to secure the article to the towing hitch of the trailer. Preferably, the securing means at said one end of the tether comprises a loop (14) in that end of the tether of a size such that the ball can be passed through the loop. Therefore, the tether can be secured to the article by passing the ball or loop through an aperture in the article, then by passing the ball through the loop, and then by locking the ball into the towing hitch.

Description

TITLE Security device for use with trailer DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to security devices for use with trailers such as caravans.

When a caravan is left unattended, there are three main security considerations: À The caravan as a whole needs to be secured against theft. This can be done using a towing hitch lock (these being commonplace nowadays) to lock the 5 caravan to the vehicle used to tow it or to lock the hitch so that the tow ball of a thief's vehicle cannot be inserted into the hitch.

À The contents of the caravan need to be secured against theft, obviously by locking closed the caMvan's windows and door.

À Any portable equipment usually kept outside the caravan needs to be secured 10 against theft, for example by placing it inside the caravan or by securing it to the outside of the caravan.

With regard to the last consideration, it may be inconvenient to place such equipment inside the caravan whenever the caravan is left. Furthermore, in the case of portable generator, placing it inside the caravan may result in the interior of the caravan smelling of fuel or being 15 soiled and may cause injury or damage if the generator has recently been run and has exposed hot parts. This latter consideration also need to be addressed at night time when the occupants of the caravan are asleep. Securing such equipment outside the caravan is therefore preferable.

A padlock and chain may be used to secure a generator by its handle or frame to the towing frame of the caravan. However, this too has its inconveniences, such as the need to carry a key 20 for the padlock, in addition to the key for the towing hitch and the key for the caravan door.

Furthermore, some caravans do not have anywhere suitable around which a chain can be secured. In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a security device for use with a tMiler having a lockable towing hitch for use with a complementary tow 2s ball, the security device comprising: a flexible tether; means at one end of the tether for securing the tether to an article; and a ball at the other end of the tether for insertion and locking into the towing hitch of the trailer. It is therefore possible to secure the article to the towing hitch of the trailer.

- 2 Said one end of the tether may arranged to be permanently secured to the article, for example with a tamper-proof fixing. However, this has the disadvantage that the security device cannot readily be used with different articles as the need arises. Alternatively, the securing means at said one end of the tether may comprise a padlock or like locking device. However, 5 this has the disadvantage that a key needs to be used, or a combination needs to be remembered, in order to release the security device from the article if the need arises. Preferably, the securing means at said one end of the tether comprises a loop in that end of the tether of a size such that the ball can be passed through the loop. Therefore, the tether can be secured to the article by passing the ball or the loop through an aperture in the article, then by passing the ball 10 through the loop and then by locking the ball into the towing hitch.

Most caravan towing hitches take a conventional tow ball having a nominal diameter of 50 mm, and therefore the ball of the security device is preferably spherical or part-spherical having a nominal diameter of 50 mm.

In one embodiment, the ball is cast onto said other end of the tether and fixed thereto by 15 virtue of such casting. In another embodiment, the ball has a passageway extending at least part-

way therethrough of greater diameter than the tether; said other end of the tether extends into the passageway; and the clearance between the passageway and said other end of the tether is filled with a filler material to fix the ball to said other end of the tether. In a further embodiment, the ball has a tapered passageway that diverges in the direction away from the 20 tether, and a complementarily-tapered fitting is fitted in the passageway and to said other end of the tether.

The invention also extends, in a second aspect, to a combination of a trailer having a lockable towing hitch for use with a complementary tow ball, a security device according to the first aspect of the invention, the ball of the security device complementing the towing hitch, and 25 optionally an article secured to the securing means at said one end of the tether.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a security device according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows the device of Figure 1 in use; 30 Figure 3 is a sectioned view through an end of the security device of Figure 1;

- 3 Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3, but showing a modified construction; Figure 5 is also similar to Figure 3, but showing another modified construction; and Figure 6 illustrates a modification to the opposite end of the security device of Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a security device 10 comprises a flexible tether of plastics S sheathed, stranded steel cable 12. A loop 14 is formed at one end 16 of the cable 12 by curving the cable 12 back on itself and permanently fixing the distal end of the cable 12 to a portion of the cable part-way along its length using a crimped sleeve 18. A partspherical ball 20 having a nominal diameter B of 50 mm is permanently fixed to the other end 22 of the cable 12. The general internal diameter L of the loop 14 is such that the ball 20 can readily be passed through 10 the loop 14. The cable 12 may have any suitable length between the ball 20 and the sleeve 18, for example 0.5 m.

In order to secure an article, such a portable generator 24 having a carrying handle 26, to a hitch 28 of a caravan, first the loop 14 or the ball 20 is threaded through the handle 26.

Then the ball 20 is threaded through the loop 14. Then, the ball 20 is inserted into the towing 15 hitch 28, being held by a latching element 30 of the hitch 28. Then, the hitch 28 is locked to prevent unauthorised removal of the ball 20, for example using an integral locking device 32 of the hitch 28 or a separate locking device. Theft of the caravan or generator 24 is therefore made extremely difficult.

It will be appreciated that more than one article may be secured by the same security 20 device 10 by passing the ball 20 through apertures or the like in the other articles before inserting the ball 20 into, and locking it to, the hitch 28.

Referring to Figure 3, a first method of affixing such a ball 20 at the end 22 of the cable 12 involves stripping back the plastics sheath 34 of the cable a distance of about 30 mm and then casting the ball 20 directly onto the exposed strands at the end 22 of the cable 12. In this 25 case, the ball 20 may be cast in plastics resin with a metal filler, or in metal. In order to improve the strength of fixing of the ball 20 to the end 22 of the cable 12, a metal ferrule 33 may be crimped to the end 22 of the cable 12 and/or a pin 35 or rivet may be inserted transversely through the cable 12 between its strands before the ball 20 is cast.

Referring to Figure 4, a second method of affixing such a ball 20 at the end 22 of the 30 cable 12 involves stripping back the plastics sheath 34 of the cable a distance of about 35 mm, inserting the end 22 of the cable 12 into a passageway 36 through the ball 20, and then injecting

- 4 adhesive/filler 38 into the passageway 36 to bond the end 22 of the cable 12 in place. In this case, the ball 20 may be cast or machined in metal or plastics material, and the adhesive/filler 38 may be of plastics resin preferably with a metal filler. The passageway 36 preferably tapers towards the bottom of the ball 20 to improve the strength of bond between the adhesive/filler 38 5 and the ball 20, and the strands at the end 22 of the cable 12 are splayed out, preferably into an irregular arrangement, and even turned back on themselves, before injection of the adhesive/filler 38.

Referring to Figure 5, a third method of fixing a ball 20 at the end 22 of the cable 12 involves stripping back the plastics sheath 34 of the cable a distance of about 30 mm, inserting 10 the end 22 of the cable 12 through a passageway 36 through the ball 20, and then crimping a steel sleeve 40 tightly onto the end 22 of the cable 12. The passageway 36 tapers towards the bottom of the ball 20, and the sleeve 40 has a complementary taper. Thus, when the cable 12 is pulled back through the ball 20, the sleeve 40 jams in the passageway 36. In this case, the ball 20 is preferably cast or machined in metal. Alternatively, the sleeve 40 may be of aluminium 15 and initially be slightly oversize for the tapered passageway 36 and a clearance fit for the end 22 of the cable 12. With the end 22 of the cable 12 inserted into the sleeve 40, the sleeve 40 is pressed into the passageway 36, whereupon the tapering causes the sleeve 40 to contract radially onto and firmly grip the end 22 of the cable 12. In either case, adhesive such as cyanoacrylate may be used between the sleeve 40 and the passageway 36 to prevent the ball 20 slipping along 20 the cable 12.

Many modifications and developments may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above. For example, the tether 12 may be formed of steel chain, rather than cable, preferably with a plastics sheath. In this case, the loop 14 at the end 16 of the chain may be formed by interlinking the end link of the chain with one of the links part-way along the 25 chain. Also, instead of providing a loop 14 at the end 16 of the tether 12 to enable the tether 12 to be secured to an article 24, a padlock 42 may be permanently fixed to the end 16 of the tether 12, as shown in Figure 6. Alternatively, the end 16 of the tether 12 may be permanently secured to the article 24.

Although the invention has been described with reference to caravans, it is also 30 applicable to the securing of articles to other forms of trailer.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the invention have been described above purely by way of example and that many other modifications and developments may be made thereto within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

- s - CLAIMS

1. A security device for use with a trailer having a lockable towing hitch for use with a complementary tow ball, the security device comprising: a flexible tether; means at one end of the tether for securing the tether to an article; and a ball at the other end of the tether for insertion and locking into the towing hitch of the trailer.

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2. A security device as claimed in claim 1, in combination with an article to which said one end of the tether is permanently secured.

3. A security device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means at said one end of the tether comprises a padlock or like locking device.

4. A security device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means at said one end of 10 the tether comprises a loop in that end of the tether of a size such that the ball can be passed through the loop.

5. A security device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ball is spherical or part-spherical having a nominal diameter of 50 mm.

6. A security device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ball is cast onto said 15 other end of the tether and fixed thereto by virtue of such casting.

7. A security device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the ball has a passageway extending at least part-way therethrough of greater diameter than the tether; said other end of the tether extends into the passageway; and the clearance between the passageway and said other end of the tether is filled with a filler material to fix the ball to said other end of the tether.

20

8. A security device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the ball has a tapered passageway that diverges in the direction away from the tether; and a complementarily-tapered fitting is fitted in the passageway and to said other end of the tether.

9. A security device substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

10. A combination of: a trailer having a lockable towing hitch for use with a complementary 2s tow ball; and a security device as claimed in any preceding claim, the ball of the security device complementing the towing hitch.

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11. A combination as claimed in claim 10, and including an article secured to the securing means at said one end of the tether.