Technical Field

The present invention relates to an antitheft protection sleeve for a flexible member of a capstan mechanism for retaining spare wheels of vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to an antitheft protection sleeve adapted to prevent fraudulent cutting off of the flexible member incorporated in a capstan mechanism for retaining vehicle spare wheels. Prior Art

Within the field of vehicles it is known to use capstan mechanisms for retaining spare wheels. These mechanisms comprise a capstan on which a flexible member, usually consisting of a cable or a chain, is wound. The free end of the cable is engaged with the spare wheel rim, for example by means of an anchor or a yoke. The wheel is firmly held against the chassis or the body of the vehicle by turning the capstan for winding the cable by means of the control pin. The rotation of the control pin in the opposite direction causes unwinding of the cable and consequent disengagement of the spare wheel. One of the problems encountered in using capstan mechanisms for retaining the spare wheel of a vehicle is how to prevent the flexible member from being cut off in a fraudulent way.

This problem has been so far solved by equipping the capstan mechanisms with tube portions surrounding the portion of the flexible member that remains exposed to burglary attempts when the wheel is retained by the capstan mechanism.

US 8714419 describes some examples of embodiment of these known solutions. For obvious practical reasons, the tube portion must be able to be inserted onto the mechanisms, when these are already fitted on the vehicles and without removing the anchor or the yoke arranged at the end of the flexible member. In order to do so, according to prior art, the tube portion is made in two half-shell-shaped parts. The flexible member is made to pass inside the tube before these half-shells are firmly associated to each other by means of screws and nuts. One of the embodiment examples described in the cited prior art document comprises a coil spring. The spring has the advantage of being able to be placed around the flexible member and making the flexible member pass little by little through the spaces existing between the windings and imparting an oscillatory movement to the spring. When the capstan mechanism is operated for bringing the spare wheel in the configuration in which it is secured against the chassis or body of the vehicle, the spring is compressed and the windings get close to one another, thus closing the spaces between the windings. This solution, however, has the drawback of being not very safe, as it may leave uncovered a part of the flexible member when the spring does not have the appropriate length and is therefore not fully compressed when the wheel is in its secured configuration. Moreover, this solution has the drawback of not allowing proper securing of the spare wheel when the spring is too long when fully compressed.

A main object of the invention is to solve the aforesaid problem of how to prevent part of the flexible member from being left uncovered or to prevent the spare wheel from not being brought to the correct secured position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protection sleeve of the aforementioned type that can be industrially produced at low cost.

A not least object of the invention is to provide a protection sleeve that can be easily mounted manually even by an individual who is not expert and has no specific tools.

These and other objects are achieved with the antitheft protection sleeve as claimed in the appended claims.

Disclosure of the Invention

The antitheft protection sleeve for the flexible member of a capstan mechanism for retaining spare wheels according to the invention comprises a spirally wound band. The band defines the wall of the sleeve. The sleeve preferably has a cylindrical or frustoconical shape. When the sleeve is at rest, i.e. when no forces except for the gravitational force are applied thereto, the windings of the band are mutually in contact in a proximal configuration. In this proximal configuration, the wall of the sleeve is closed and substantially without openings between the windings. According to the invention, the windings can be brought, preferably by hand, in a distal configuration so that a slot is defined between the windings. The distal configuration is obtained by applying between the windings forces tending to move them away from one another. For instance this effect can be achieved when a torque of forces with a component either parallel or transverse relative to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve is applied to the windings.

The band forming the sleeve is advantageously made of a high-strength material, typically steel. According to the invention, the cross-section of the band can have any suitable shape, and in particular a rectangular, square, circular, oval shape. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the band has an asymmetrical cross-section having a male edge and a female edge. Advantageously, according to this particular embodiment of the invention, when the sleeve is at rest the windings are partially in mutual engagement so as to make any burglary attempt more difficult. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the band forming the sleeve comprises a plurality of references indicating the zone where the band is to be cut for obtaining a sleeve of a desired length. Said references can be applied to the band by means of adhesives, paints or other known means suitable for the purpose. In addition, each of said references can bear a serial number indicating the length of the sleeve or, for example, a code referring to the vehicle model for which the corresponding sleeve length is intended.

Still according to the invention, the band can preferably comprise a plurality of cuts defining as many easy-breaking zones of the material of the band, for obtaining a sleeve of a desired length. The cuts can be combined with the references applied to the band.

According to the invention, the band is preferably made of spring steel. In an embodiment variant, the band is made of a deformable inelastic material.

Advantageously, the sleeve according to the invention can be incorporated in capstan mechanisms having a flexible member comprising a cable or chain or the like,

Brief Description of the Drawings

Some preferred embodiments of the invention given by way of non-limiting examples will be described with reference to the annexed figures, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an overall view of a capstan mechanism intended for vehicle spare wheels and equipped with the protection sleeve in a first embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the sleeve of Fig. 1 at rest, separated from the flexible member;

Fig. 3 shows a longitudinal section of the sleeve of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of the sleeve at rest in a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal section of the sleeve at rest in a third embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal section of the sleeve with two windings distanced from each other in a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In all the Figures, the same reference numerals have been used for denoting same or functionally equivalent parts.

Description of Some Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated the arrangement of a generic capstan mechanism known per se for vehicle spare wheels. The mechanism has been generally indicated by the reference 11. It mainly comprises a capstan 13, a flexible member 15 and a yoke or anchor 17. The capstan 13 is housed in a casing 19 and is provided with a control pin 21. The control pin 21 protrudes from the casing 19 for being rotated by means of an appropriate tool that is usually part of the vehicle equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible member 15 comprises a cable 23. In other embodiments of the mechanism 11, the flexible member 15 may comprise a chain. The flexible member 15 is generally made of high-strength steel. The yoke 17 is firmly attached to the free end of the cable 23 and can be engaged in the rim 25 of the spare wheel 27. The capstan 13 allows to wind and unwind the cable 23 on a spool contained in the casing 19. When the cable 23 is wound by the capstan 13, the spare wheel 27 is brought against the base of a housing provided in the chassis or body of the vehicle. A guide duct 29, open to the base of said housing, is often provided in order to guide the cable 23 along the desired path. In this arrangement, the spare wheel 27 can be licitly separated from the vehicle only by acting on the capstan 13 for unwinding the cable 23. However, those who may want to take possession of the spare wheel 27 in a fraudulent way, could try to cut off the cable 23. This fraudulent operation is made possible by the fact that a space sufficient for the passage of a cutter often remains between the wheel 27 and the base of the housing provided in the vehicle. On the other hand, the deformability of the tire 31 makes it difficult to completely eliminate the possibility to open a passage between the wheel 27 and the chassis or body of the vehicle. According to the invention, in order to prevent cutting off of the cable 23, the portion of the cable 23 remaining exposed to cutting-off attempts is protected by means of a sleeve 33.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the features of the sleeve 33 can be better appreciated therefrom. Said sleeve 33 substantially comprises a spirally wound band 35. The band 35 defines the wall 37 of the sleeve 33. In the illustrated embodiment, the sleeve 33 has a cylindrical shape, but it is also possible to make it with frustoconical shape or other shapes suitable for the purpose. When the sleeve 33 is at rest, i.e. when no forces except for the gravitational force are applied thereto, the windings 39i of the band 35 are mutually in contact in a proximal configuration. In this proximal configuration, the wall 37 of the sleeve 33 is closed and substantially without openings between the windings. According to the invention, the band 35 is made of a high-strength material, which nevertheless allows the windings 39i to be brought, at least two by two, to a distal configuration so that a slot for the passage of the flexible member 15 is defined between the windings 39i. The distal configuration is obtained by applying to the windings 39i forces tending to move them away from one another. For instance this effect can be achieved when a torque of forces with opposite components in a longitudinal or transverse plane of the sleeve is applied to the windings 39i. In the illustrated embodiment, the band 35 has a rectangular cross-section, in which the shorter side is parallel to the generatrices of the cylindrical sleeve defined by the spirally wound band 35.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is illustrated a second embodiment of the invention, wherein the band 35 has a circular cross-section. Referring to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a third embodiment of the invention, wherein the band 35 has a rectangular cross-section in which the longer side is parallel to the generatrices of the cylindrical sleeve defined by the spirally wound band 35.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is illustrated a fourth embodiment of the invention, wherein the band 35 has an asymmetrical cross-section. According to this embodiment of the invention, a male edge 35a and a female edge 35b are therefore defined in the band 35. The edges 35a,35b are complementary to each other, whereby when the sleeve 33 is at rest and the windings 39i are in the proximal configuration, the windings 39i are partially in mutual engagement thanks to the fact that the male edge 35a penetrates into the female edge 35b. Advantageously, thanks to this measure, the sleeve 33 is particularly resistant to burglary attempts. According to the invention, the windings 39i can be moved apart at least two by two, as illustrated for the windings 39d,39e in Fig.6, so as to allow progressive introduction of the flexible member 15 into the sleeve 33 through the slot or opening 41 established between said windings 39d,39e.

Referring again to Fig.2, in a particular embodiment of the invention, the band 35 comprises a plurality of references or markings 43, for example obtained by painting or coining, indicating the zone where the band 35 is to be cut for obtaining a sleeve of a desired length. In addition, the band 35 may comprise a plurality of cuts or notches 45 defining as many easy-breaking zones of the material of the band 35 for easily obtaining a sleeve of a desired length even without using specific tools.

The sleeve as described and illustrated is susceptible to several variations and modifications, all of them falling within the same inventive principle.