TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for fixedly locking a load on a load carrier, and comprising a wire, cable, chain or the like and a locking device in which a first end portion of the wire is fixedly lockable.

BACKGROUND ART

Cable or wire locks of different types are previously known in the art for preventing the theft of various objects such as bicycles, wind surfing boards etc., on the one hand when these are being transported exteriorly on a vehicle, but also when they left parked or otherwise unattended.

A wire lock of this type has, at one end of the wire, a lock fitting which is insertable in a locking device which is fixedly secured in the opposite end of the wire. Hereby, the wire lock may be passed around a fixed object in order to lock and immobilise the bicycle or wind surfing board to the fixed object. Wire locks of varying lengths are also known in the art.

It is also known to provide, on vehicle-borne load carriers, permanently mounted - and often integral in the load carrier - locking apparatuses by means of which, for instance skis, bicycles, wind surfing boards etc. may be locked in place in the often purpose-designed carrier or holder.

As far as prior art wire locks are concerned, these may function well enough, on condition that they are to hand when really needed. As regards purpose- built holders or carriers with integral locking means, these are specifically adapted to fit a given type of load. In addition, they are expensive and complicated in manufacture and are not flexible in practical application.

PROBLEM STRUCTURE

The present invention has for its object to design the apparatus described by of introduction such that it may, in a simple and reliable manner, be

employed for fixedly locking different types of loads, for example bicycles, on a vehicle-borne load carrier. The present invention also has for its object to realise an apparatus which combines the simplicity and economy of the prior art wire lock with the reliability of purpose-built locking apparatuses, together with their admirable property of always being to hand when needed. Finally, the present invention also has for its object to realise a locking apparatus which may be marketed as an accessory or retrofit supplement to an existing load carrier.

SOLUTION

The objects foπning the basis of the present invention will be attained if the apparatus intimated by way of introduction is characterized in that the locking device is secured on or in the load carrier and that the wire is securable in the load carrier with its other end portion.

Suitably, according to the present invention the wire is also provided, at its other end portion, with a loop which is passed over a part of the load carrier.

As a result of these characterizing features, an apparatus will be realised which is flexible in practical application and which may readily be mounted or retrofitted to an existing load carrier for fixedly locking different types of loads thereon.

Further advantages will be attained if the subject matter of the present invention is also given one or more of the characterizing features as set forth in appended Claims 3 and 4.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with particular reference to the accompanying Drawings. In the accompanying Drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rear portion of a vehicle and a bicycle carrier or holder mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a locking device included in the carrier according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the locking device of Fig. 2; and

Fig.4 is a horizontal section through the locking device of Fig. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Fig. 1 shows, by way of example, a cycle carrier or holder 1 which is mounted on the drawbar ball 2 of a vehicle. The cycle holder has a carrier fork with substantially horizontal and mutually parallel legs 3 which are intended for carrying one or possibly more cycles (not shown on the Drawing). The subject matter of the present invention comprises a wire 4, a chain or similar flexible means which possesses good mechanical strength and is intended to be laid around a part of the cycle so that this is fixedly locked in place on the load carrier or holder 1. In its first end 5, the wire has means (not shown in Fig. 1) for fixedly locking in a locking device provided on or in the load carrier 1. The other end 6 of the wire is designed for fixedly securing to the load carrier 1. The first end 5 of the wire is suitably provided with a pin-shaped fitting 7 (Cf. Figs. 2 and 3), which is intended to be inserted in and fixedly locked in the locking device. The other end 6 of the wire 4 has, in the illustrated embodiment, a loop 8 which surrounds or is passed onto the leg 3 of the load carrier.

While the load carrier in Fig. 1 has been exemplified as a cycle holder intended for mounting on the drawbar ball 2 of a vehicle, it will be obvious to the skilled reader of this specification that any type of load carrier whatever may be relevant according to the present invention. Thus, the load carrier may be a load rack or holder which is mounted on the roof of a vehicle, or a cycle holder which is supported on the fender or bumper 9 of the vehicle and secured by clamping means or similar devices to the boot lid of the vehicle. According to the invention, the expression "load carrier" should therefore be interpreted in a broad sense and not be restricted to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

The locking device for the first end of the subject matter of the present invention may, as was intimated above, be placed interiorly in the load carrier 1, but may also be permanently secured on the outside of the carrier. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking device is placed interiorly in the load carrier, more specifically at the free end of its load carrying leg 3.

Fig. 2 shows the design and construction of the locking device in exploded view, and it will be apparent that the leg 3 has an opening 10 and that the locking device is insertable in the open end portion of the leg. For mounting the locking device, use is made of a sleeve fitting 11 which is preferably of plastic and which, on its outside, has grooves or lands which may be compressed or deformed in response to varying tolerances interiorly in the tube from which the leg 3 has been produced. The sleeve fitting 11 has an opening 12 which, when the sleeve fitting is inserted to the correct position in the open end portion of the leg 3, lies in register with the opening 10 of the leg.

The locking device further includes an outer sleeve 13 which may be inserted in the sleeve fitting 11 and which in itself accommodates a lock cylinder 14, a twist operating portion 15, a sliding bolt 16 and a guide 17 for the sliding bolt.

The lock cylinder 14 has a rotary driver 18 which may be rotated within a certain angle interval by the action of a key. The driver 18 is interiorly housed in the operating portion 15 and is rotationally fixed in relation to the operating portion so that the operating portion 15 follows the rotational movements of the driver coaxially with the longitudinal direction of the locking device and thereby also coaxially with the longitudinal direction of the leg 3.

At its end surface facing away from the lock cylinder 14, the operating portion 15 has helical ramp surfaces 19 against which abut the end surfaces 20 of the sliding bolt 16. Given that the sliding bolt 16 is accommodated in grooves 21 in the guide 17 and cannot, therefore, rotate together with the operating portion 15, a rotation of the operating portion 15 will entail an axial displacement of the sliding bolt 16 so that it is movable between a

locking position where it engages with the pin-shaped fitting 7, and an open position where it is slid in a direction to the left in Fig. 2 and where it thus releases the pin-shaped fitting 7 so that this may be withdrawn out through the mutually aligned openings 10, 12 and 22 in the leg 3, the sleeve fitting 11 and the outer sleeve 13, respectively. Springs 23 are employed for returning the sliding bolt 13 to abutment against the ramp surfaces 19 and towards the closure position.

By placing the locking device interiorly in the leg 3 of the load carrier and by inserting the end fitting 7 of the wire 4 through an opening 10 in the leg and into the locking device for fixedly locking thereof, the locking device is positionally fixed in the leg 3 when the wire is locked. No separate securement of the locking device will therefore be necessary above and beyond that which is realised by the tight fit between, on the one hand, the sleeve fitting 11 and the leg, and the sleeve fitting 11 and the outer sleeve 13 on the other. It is, therefore, a simple matter to provide a retrofit to an existing load carrier if this is provided with a correctly placed opening 10.

As an alternative to the placing of the locking device interiorly in the leg 3, an arrangement is conceivable on other types of load carriers in which a short sleeve is welded (or fixed by other appropriate means) to a suitable place on the load carrier, the sleeve then corresponding to the open end portion of the leg 3 as this has been described according to the present invention.

Instead of the above-disclosed loop 8 at the other end of the wire 4, it is of course possible to secure the wire by other means. For example, the other end of the wire may be provided with a head which is of greater diameter than the pin-shaped end fitting 7. As a result of such design and construction, the whole wire 4 may be passed, with the end fitting 7 first, through an opening which is sufficiently large to allow the passage of the end fitting, but insufficient to allow the passage of the head on the other end 6 of the wire.

It is also possible to permanently secure the other end 6 of the wire 4 in the load carrier. Thus, the other end of the wire may be provided with a sheet

metal lug (similar to a cable lug) which has an aperture for a rivet or other anchorage device by means of which the end fitting is secured in the load carrier.

The present invention may be further modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended Claims.