The present invention relates to a tethering security device for tethering a tool to an interior of a vehicle, preferably being a work vehicle such as a van, or at a work site.

Theft of tools, particularly power tools, from trade vehicles is commonplace and often occurs whilst the tradesperson is on site with the vehicle unlocked but, perhaps, out of direct sight.

A tradesperson does not want to continuously lock and unlock their vehicle when retrieving tools, and does not want to have to replace a tool in the vehicle and lock the vehicle when the tool has been temporarily finished with.

Furthermore, theft of tools and portable machinery, such as pneumatic drills, from work sites, such as building sites, is also commonplace once the tool or machine is left unattended.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to these problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a tethering security device for extendably tethering a tool and/or machine to an interior of a vehicle and/or at a work site, the device comprising a cable caddy mountable to a surface within an interior of a vehicle or at a work site, a plurality of separate security cables independently windably receivable on the cable caddy, a hub end of each cable being fastened to a rotatable hub of the caddy, and a lock being provided at or adjacent to a tool end of each security cable for locking a tool to the security cable.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a tethering security device for extendably tethering a building site tool and/or a building site machine to an interior of a vehicle and/or at a work site, the device comprising a cable caddy mountable to a surface within an interior of a vehicle or at a work site and housed within the housing, a plurality of separate security cables independently windably receivable in a caddy casing of the cable caddy housed within a housing, a hub end of each cable being fastened to a spring-biased rotatable hub of the caddy, and a lock being provided at or adjacent to a tool end of each security cable for locking a tool to the security cable, and a discrete cable aperture which each cable extends through, the lock acting as a stop to prevent the respective cable being fully wound onto the hub) through its cable aperture.

Preferable and/or optional features of the first and second aspects of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 15, inclusive.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a power tool which is locked to a tool end of one said security cable of the tethering security device according to the first and second aspects of the invention.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a work vehicle having an interior space for receiving at least one power tool, a tethering security device in accordance with the first and second aspects of the invention being mounted in the interior space and for extendably tethering the said at least one power tool thereto.

Preferably, the work vehicle is a van.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a work site having a fixed rigid surface, a tethering security device according to the first and second aspects of the invention which is portable and which is releasably mounted to the surface for extendably tethering at least one power tool and/or plant machine thereto.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a tethering security device, in accordance with the first and second aspects of the invention and with a power tool attached thereto;

Figure 2 shows a cable caddy of the tethering security device with a housing lifted for clarity;

Figure 3 shows the cable caddy mounted to an interior floor of a back of a van; Figure 4 shows an exploded view of a hub of the cable caddy and a ratchet mechanism;

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of a tethering security device, in accordance with the first and second aspects of the invention;

Figure 6 shows a rotatable mounting plate of the tethering security device;

Figure 7 shows the mounting plate on an interior floor of a back of a van;

Figure 8 shows a third embodiment of a tethering security device, in accordance with the first and second aspects of the invention and shown with a plurality of extension cables; and

Figure 9 shows a tool end and lock of a security cable of the tethering security device shown in Figure 8, and an end of one of the extension cables connected to the lock.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, there is shown a first embodiment of a tethering security device 10 which comprises a cable caddy 12, a plurality of elongate flexible, preferably metal such as steel, security cables 14 which are carried independently on respective rotatable hubs 16 within the cable caddy 12, and a caddy housing 18 which covers the cable caddy 12.

The cable caddy 12 comprises a rigid metal casing 20 with the hubs 16 coaxially mounted for rotation therewithin. The casing 20 substantially encloses the hubs 16 and cables 14 for protection. As shown in Figure 4, each hub 16 includes two rigid, typically plastics, end plates 22, one with an integral projecting spigot 24 and the other with an integral boss 26 which receives an end of the spigot 24 so that the plates 22 are maintained in fixed spaced relationship. A coil spring 28 is received on the spigot 24 and has an inner end 30 engaged in an axially extending slot of the spigot 24. A ratchet plate 32 with integral ratchet hub 34 extending coaxially therefrom is mounted coaxially on the coil spring 28 and engaged with an outer end 36 of the coil spring 28. A circumferential perimeter edge of the ratchet plate 32 includes a plurality of ramped ratchet teeth 38. The security cable 14 is wound on the ratchet hub 34. A sprung arcuate ratchet arm 40 is received in a complementary channel 42 within one end plate 22 and has an engagement arm 44 at one end which extends in parallel with the rotational axis of the hub 16 and a user arm 46 at the other end which also extends in parallel or substantially parallel with the rotational axis of the hub 16. The engagement arm 44 rides on the ramped ratchet teeth 38 and locates on a radial edge to prevent unintentional winding of the ratchet hub 34. Pressing the user arm 46 which projects from an upper surface of the caddy casing 20 causes the engagement arm 44 to disengage from the respective ratchet tooth 38, allowing the coil spring 28 to rotate the ratchet hub 34. A hub end of the security cable 14 is connected to the ratchet hub 34, and thus will be automatically wound onto the ratchet hub 34 via a cable opening 50 in the caddy casing 20.

The caddy casing 20 includes opposing lower flanges 52 for permanent connection to an interior surface 54 in a back of a vehicle 56, such as a trade person's van.

In this case, the cable caddy 12 houses three separate windable security cables 14, but may include two or more than three.

Once fixed in place, a tool end 58 of each security cable 14 is passed through a respective cable aperture 60 in the caddy housing 18, and the housing 18 is engaged with the cable caddy 12. Consequently, even if the housing 18 is removed, access to the security cables 14 is restricted due to the substantially enclosed casing 20 of the cable caddy 12. It is feasible that the apertures may be provided as part of the caddy casing 20 instead of or in addition to the housing 18.

With the caddy housing 18 in place, a lock body 62 of a lock 64 is fastened via a lock mechanism 66 to the tool end 58 of each security cable 14. The lock mechanism 66 includes a lock opening 68 for receiving a releasable end 70 of the security cable 14. With the lock body 62 fed onto the security cable 14, the releasable end 70 can then be looped back and releasably locked to the lock body 62 via the lock mechanism 66. The lock body 62 also acts as a stop which prevents the tool end 58 of the security cable 14 being fully drawn into the cable casing 20.

In use and once mounted to the interior surface 54 of the vehicle 56, a security cable 14 can be selected and easily drawn out via the user grasping the lock body 62. A tool 72, typically being a power tool, is then connected to the tool end 58 of the security cable 14 by looping the releasable end 70 of the security cable 14 through a loop or aperture 74 on the tool 72 and inserting it back into the lock mechanism 66 of the lock body 62.

Each security cable 14 is preferably 10 metres long, but may be shorter or longer as necessity dictates.

With the tool 72 attached, the security cable 14 can be easily drawn out to the work place so that the tool 72 can be utilised. Once finished, the tool 72 can be laid to one side without fear of theft due to being tethered to the vehicle 56 via the security cable 14. Once the tool 72 is finished with, it can be placed back in the vehicle 56 and the security cable 14 can be wound in via the coil spring 28 by releasing the ratchet mechanism.

To release the tool 72, a key is used to operate the lock mechanism 66, thereby disengaging the releasable end 70 of the security cable 14.

Due to the provision of a plurality of security cables 14, multiple tools 72 can be left unattended outside of the vehicle 56 without theft and/or being mislaid.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 7, there is shown a second embodiment of a tethering security device 10. Like references refer to like parts, and further detailed description is omitted.

This embodiment of the tethering security device 10 is similar to that of the first embodiment, except that a separate mounting plate 76 is utilised to carry or support the cable caddy 12. The mounting plate 76 includes a fixable base 78 which is permanently mountable to an interior surface 54 of a back of a vehicle 56, and a rotatable member 80 which is rotatably mounted to the fixable base 78. The cable caddy 12 is preferably permanently fϊxable to the rotatable member 80, for example, using security fasteners. The cable caddy 12 may be slidably engaged with the rotatable member 80 before then being fastened in place. The caddy housing 18 then covers the cable caddy 12 and is independently lockable to the rotatable member 80 via a second lock mechanism 82.

In this way, the cable caddy 12 and caddy housing 18 can be rotated through 360 degrees and thus oriented to face in any direction. This simplifies drawing and winding of the plurality of security cables 14.

Referring to Figures 8 and 9, a third embodiment of a tethering security device 10 is shown and now described. Again, like references refer to parts which are similar to those described previously and thus further detailed description is omitted.

The tethering security device 10 includes at least one extension cable 84, and preferably a plurality of said extension cables 84. A bracket 86 for carrying the or each extension cable 84 is preferably provided on at least one side of the caddy housing 18, and this may be integrally formed as one-piece with the caddy housing 18 or fastenable thereto as a retro-fit addition.

The extension cable 84 is separate and independent of any other extension cable 84 and the security cables 14. Similarly to the security cables 14, the extension cable 84 is preferably a multi-stranded flexible steel cable and may include a protective plastics sheathing.

The extension cable 84 may be the same length as the security cables 14, or shorter or longer. A lock similar to that described in the first embodiment is preferably provided at a tool end of the extension cable, and a tail end 88 is engagable with the lock 64 of the security cable 14 once the releasable end 70 of the security cable 14 has been released. See Figure 9.

A length of one or more of the security cables 14 can thus be easily extended as and when necessary. The security device may also be portable. For example, it may be carried in a vehicle and then moved to a work site. Once at the work site, the caddy casing can be securely attached via the lower flanges to, for example, a concrete floor. Rivets can be used so that the caddy housing cannot be casually moved. The housing then covers the caddy casing, and preferably locks thereto thus covering the lower flanges and making unauthorised access to the rivets particularly difficult. Once the security device is finished with, the rivets can be released and the security device moved to another location.

As above, the rotatable mounting plate may or may not be provided.

The security device can be utilised with any tetherable device, such as a power tool or plant machinery, such as a hydraulic or pneumatic drill or jack hammer.

The caddy housing, although preferable, may be dispensed with.

The lock at the tool end of the security cable is essential. The lock may be permanently provided on the security cable, or may be releasable.

It is thus possible to provide a secure and robust tethering security device which prevents or limits casual and opportunistic theft from work sites and unattended vehicles. The tethering security device allows a user to work remotely from the vehicle and to leave a tool unattended at the site. The tethering security device is simple and thus cost-effective to manufacture, and easy to operate allowing automatic winding of the security cable once the ratchet mechanism has been released.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples only, and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.