Title of Invention	"A PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE CYLINDER LOCK"
Abstract	The invention provides for a protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock comprising a rotor for receiving a magnet key and a shutter for movably covering the keyhole of said vehicle cylinder lock wherein the rotor is connected to the shutter by at least one intermediate gear.

Full Text

The invention relates to a protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock. Background of the Invention: - Most vehicles employ cylinder locks as locks. The key is inserted in the cylinder lock and turned to unlock the vehicle or for ignition as the case may be. When such vehicles, and particularly two and three wheelers, are parked with the key removed from the cylinder lock the key insertion hole of the said cylinder lock is open to the environment. This leads to the following disadvantages namely: - 1. Miscreants may insert sharp metallic objects such as scissors, wires, nails or even sticky fluids and adhesives into the keyhole causing damage and inconvenience to the vehicle owner. An easily accessible key hole, as in the case of two and three wheelers and also open top four wheelers, provides an opportunity for thieves to tamper with the lock and drive the vehicle away. 2. A keyhole open to the environment also allows water, dust, grime and other foreign particles to enter the keyhole and jam the cylinder lock. This ingress of rainwater and dust also results in reduction in the life of the cylinder lock and sometimes failure of the lock at an inappropriate moment. To overcome these drawbacks, numerous solutions have been proposed in the prior art such as providing a shutter or cover over the cylinder lock when the vehicle is not in use. Japanese patent publication number 09-053348 describes one such cover that is easily detachable and uses a number lock system. A detachable cover however leads to complications of the cover being misplaced or lost as also the inconvenience of storing the cover on the vehicle or with the user when the vehicle is in use. There is a need in vehicular locks to improve user friendliness and to reduce wear of the lock. At the outset, it is preferable to define the term rotor and shutter in the context of protective devices. The magnet key-receiving component that is rotated by a magnet key is referred to as the rotor. The component covering the keyhole of cylinder lock is referred to as shutter. In some protective devices the rotor and shutter are a single component. To remedy the drawbacks of a detachable cover as set forth by Japanese patent publication number 09-053348, Japanese patent application number S61-5175 provides for a protective device installed on the cylinder lock such that the rotation of a rotor by a magnet key results in the movement of a shutter for opening or closing the keyhole of cylinder lock. The rotor is locked in the closed position by magnets. To release the rotor, magnets embedded on the key are used to repel the locking magnets, and rotation of the key results in the rotation of the rotor that in turn opens a shutter covering the keyhole. • This type of lock gained popularity and various modifications and improvements of the protective device are now available. Present day protective devices available may be broadly classified as locks having a single rotary piece that serves as a rotor and the shutter and, locks in which the rotor and the shutter are two separate components. Protective devices having a rotor and a shutter as a single piece component have been described, for example in Japanese patent publication numbers JP 11-044132, JP 2000-104426, JP 2003-056219, JP 2003-064912, JP 2005-076204 and JP 2005-089993 and the same are incorporated here in entirety by reference. Japanese patent publication number JP 2003-161061 describes a protective device in which the rotor and the shutter are separate components connected by a link mechanism. Protective devices in which the rotor and shutter are two separate components allow different materials to be used for the two components and also increase the degree of freedom of the components. It is therefore advantageous to have a protective device where the rotor and shutter are separate components formed of different materials, both components serving different requirements. Japanese patent publication number 2003-239581 also describes a two piece rotor shutter magnetic lock in which the opening of the shutter is carried out by magnet key and the closing of the shutter is manually done by the depression of a button that holds the shutter in open position. In all the protective devices discussed above and those commonly available, a magnet key, or a key with magnets embedded in the tongue section, is to be inserted into the magnet keyhole in the protective device cover and rotated by a substantial amount in order to open the shutter covering the ignition keyhole. Most protective devices require the magnet key to rotate between 45 to 65 degrees to rotate the rotor that in turn moves the shutter to open the keyhole of the cylinder lock. There is therefore a requirement to reduce the excessive rotation of the magnet key to improve user friendliness of the said protective device as also to increase the life of the protective device on account of the reduced rotation of the components involved. To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks the invention provides for A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock comprising a rotor for receiving a magnet key and a shutter for movably covering the keyhole of said vehicle cylinder lock wherein the rotor is connected to the shutter by at least one intermediate gear: Brief Description of the Drawings The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the following detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Figure 1 illustrates an exploded vjew of the protective device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 illustrates the protective device in the open position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 illustrates an elevation view of the protective device of figure 2. Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view along line A-A of figure 3. Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view along line C-C of figure 4. Figure 6 illustrates the protective device in the closed position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 7 illustrates an elevation view of the protective device of figure 6. Figure 8 illustrates a sectional view along line B-B of figure 7. Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view along line D-D of figure 8. Figures 10 (a, b, c) illustrate a shutter in accordance with an embodiment of an invention. Figures 11 (a, b, c) illustrate intermediate gear one in accordance with an embodiment of an invention. Figures 12 (a, b, c) illustrate the rotor gear in accordance with an embodiment of an invention. Figures 13 (a, b, c) illustrate intermediate gear two in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 14 illustrates the shutter held in the open position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 15 is a sectional view along line F-F of figure 14. Figure 16 illustrates a cover in accordance with an embodiment of an invention. Figure 17 illustrates the base in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 18 illustrates a perspective view of the key in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Figure 19 illustrates the tongue section of the key of figure 18. Detailed Description of the Invention For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. Through out the patent specification, a convention employed is that in the appended drawings, like numerals denote like components. The invention provides for a protective device in which a gear train is used to transmit motion from the rotor to the shutter. With reference to the accompanying figures, and initially to figure 1, an exploded view of the protective device assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The figure illustrates a protective device 1' that is to be fitted with a cylinder lock (not shown) of a vehicle. The protective device comprises of a base (1) and a cover (20) with a rotor and a shutter mechanism in between the base and the cover. The keyhole of the cylinder lock is aligned with the corresponding insertion holes (2,21) of the protective device. The cover (20) comprises of a magnet key insertion hole (22) in which a tongue section (81) of key (80) is inserted to open or close a shutter (60) covering the keyhole of the cylinder lock. As shown, the key (80) has magnets (82) embedded in the tongue section. This magnet embedded tongue section of the key is inserted into the magnet key insertion hole (22) and rotated to move the shutter (60) covering the insertion hole (2) in the base (1) of protective device. It is however within the scope of the invention that a separate magnet key be used. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the rotor in the form of a rotor gear (30) fits in the magnet key insertion hole (22) to receive the tongue end of the key. The rotor gear (30) rotates about a pivot (3) formed on the base (1), as illustrated. The pivot (3) has cavities for housing a plurality of magnets (70) that are spring loaded. On assembly the spring-loaded magnets press against the lower surface of the rotor gear (30) thereby locking the rotor in position. Any attempts to insert an object in the magnet key insertion hole (22), and an attempt to rotate the rotor (30) by such an object will be unsuccessful on account of the magnet lock on the rotor by magnets (70) housed in the pivot. When the magnet key is inserted in the magnet keyhole, the magnets (82) present in the tongue section of the key repel the magnets (70) locking the rotor from rotation. The repulsion forces generated release the rotor from the magnet lock, and rotation of the magnet key will now result in rotation of the rotor. The rotation of the rotor is converted into movement of the shutter (60) that covers the keyhole by intermediate gears (40,50). It is to be noted that though the figures describe the embodiment of the invention employing two intermediate gears (40,50) to convert rotation of the rotor gear (30) into sliding motion of the shutter (60), it is within the scope of the invention to employ a single gear or more than two gears. The compound gear train thus formed amplifies a small rotation of the rotor gear into a significant sliding motion of the shutter. Thus a 15 to 20 degree rotation of the rotor gear is sufficient to move the shutter such that the keyhole of the cylinder lock is covered or uncovered. With reference now to figures 10 (a, b, c) an embodiment of the shutter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The shutter (60) is in the form of a rack with gear teeth (62) formed on one surface. The rack meshes with an intermediate gear the rotation of which causes the shutter to open or close the keyhole of the cylinder lock. Shutter (60) is also provided with a guide channel (61) for guiding the sliding movement of the shutter during the opening and the closing. The guide channel slides on a rib (8) present on the base. As illustrated, the shutter is also provided with projections in the form of dimples (63) that reduce the area of contact between the shutter and the base, so as to provide a smoother functioning of the shutter, as also to reduce the wear of the lock. However, any other projection may be employed to achieve the desired objective. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention employing two intermediate gears figures 11 (a, b, c) illustrate the first intermediate gear (40). In the embodiment illustrated gear (40) is a stepped gear with gear teeth formed at two levels. In the embodiment shown the gear is a sector gear. The stepped gear is employed to economize on space and provide a more compact protective device. The pitch circle diameter (PCD) of the upper gear is larger than the pitch circle diameter of the lower gear. The gear teeth at the lower level (43) interlock with the teeth of the rotor gear (30), whereas the gear teeth at the upper level (44) interlock with intermediate gear (50) that serves as the pinion for shutter. Intermediate gear (40) is provided with projections in the form of dimples (42) to reduce the area of contact with the base (1) thereby improving overall smoothness of the protective device. Intermediate gear (40) is also provided with a guide hole (41) that receives guide pins from the base and/or cover, to retain the gear (40) in place. With reference to figures 12 (a, b, c) a rotor gear (30) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated with figure 12(a) illustrating a top view and figure 12(c) a bottom view. The rotor gear (30) comprises of a central hollow body with an arm having gear teeth projecting from it. The central hollow body comprises of a recess (31) for receiving the tongue portion of the magnet key and is mounted over a pivot (3) formed on the base. The recess (31) has a guide for the magnet key to ensure correct positioning. The central hollow body has step (38) at the bottom surface that aligns with the pivot (3) of the base and a step (37) for receiving the sealing ring (72). The rotor gear rotates about the pivot. The gear arm (39) projecting from the central hollow body has gear teeth (32) that mesh with intermediate gear (40). The rotation motion of the rotor is thus transmitted to the intermediate gear (40) in the desired ratio. As illustrated, the central hollow body of the rotor gear also comprises of magnet receiving cavities (36) at the bottom surface for receiving magnets mounted in the pivot (3) of the base to create the magnet lock. When the shutter is in the closed position, magnets housed in the pivot (3) project partly in the cavities (36) of the bottom section of the rotor gear, thereby locking the rotor from rotation. The gear teeth (32) at the end of the gear arm (39) are in the form of a sector gear only that corresponds to the maximum rotation of the rotor in order to open or close the shutter. The rotor gear is provided with projections in the form of dimples (34) at the bottom portion of the gear arm so as to reduce and minimize the area of contact between the gear and the base (1) thereby reducing friction and improving the workability and convenience of the protective device. The rotor gear also has two recesses (33) formed on its lower surface that correspond to an open and closed position of the shutter. These recesses (33) receive a spring-loaded ball (91) housed in the base (1), such that the ball partly enters one recess in the open position and the other recess in the closed position. This detent and ball mechanism provides the necessary jerk and feel to the user of the protective device during opening and closing of the shutter, thereby enhancing user friendliness. Figures 13 (a, b, c) illustrate a pinion in the form of intermediate gear (50) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention with figure 13(a) illustrating a top view and figure 13(c) a bottom view. The intermediate gear (50) meshes with the upper gear of the stepped intermediate gear (40) and with the rack in the form of a shutter. The rotary motion of the rotor gear (30) is conveyed via the intermediate gear (40) to pinion (50). The pinion is also provided with projections in the form of dimples (53) at the bottom surface to reduce area of contact with the base and minimize friction to enhance the smooth functioning of the protective device. The gear (50) is also provided with a guide hole (52) to receive support pins from the base and/or the cover. The gear train so formed translates a small rotation of the magnet key and rotor gear into a significant sliding motion of the shutter to open and close the keyhole. The working of the detent mechanism has been illustrated in figure 14 and 15 wherein a ball (91) is shown to be partly in recess (33) of the rotor gear. The ball (91) is spring loaded and presses against the bottom surface of the rotor gear. Figure 15 illustrates a section along line F-F of figure 14 when the shutter is in the open position. The ball restricts the rotation of the rotor gear and therefore keeps the shutter in the open position when the magnet key is removed from the magnet key-receiving hole and the key is inserted in the keyhole of the cylinder lock. When the shutter is to be shut, the magnet key is inserted and the rotor gear is rotated. The force of rotation causes the ball (91) to be pushed down against the spring action. On the completion of the prescribed rotation motion the ball re-enters the second recess (33) providing the user with the feel that the desired and required rotation is now complete. Figure 16 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the cover (20) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The cover is shown to have two holes (21,22) corresponding to the keyhole and the magnet keyhole respectively. As shown the keyhole is surrounded by a guide channel (27) for guiding the shutter during opening and closing motion. The cover is also provided with a guide pin (23) for the intermediate gear (40) and a guide pin (24) for the intermediate gear (50). In addition the cover is provided with projections (25,26) for fitting with and aligning with the base. Figure 17 illustrates the base (1) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The base has an upper and lower level created by a step (12) to accommodate the movement of the rotor gear and the intermediate gear (40). The base also has hole (2) that aligns with the keyhole of the cylinder lock and hole (21) of the cover. Guides (7,8) are formed on the base for guiding movement of the shutter and guide pins (5,6) are formed for supporting intermediate gears (40,50). The pivot (3) on which the rotor gear rotates is provided with holes (4) for housing magnets (70). The base is also provided with a drainage hole (11) to drain out the water that may enter the protective device. Figures 18 and 19 illustrate an key (80) with the magnets (82) embedded in the tongue section. The tongue section is provided with a projection (83) in which the magnets are housed. In an embodiment of the invention the projection (83) is given a unique shape with a corresponding shape formed in recess (31) of the rotor gear so as to ensure that the key may be inserted in a given direction only and that the magnets of the key and the magnets of the pivot are aligned. The working of the invention may now be understood from the following description. With reference to figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, a protective device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention in the open position is illustrated. As shown in figures 2 and 3, the tongue section of the key (80) is inserted in the magnet key-receiving hole formed in the cover (20) and engages the recess formed in the upper surface of the rotor gear. The magnet key is shown to be rotated to the open position. In this position the shutter does not cover the keyhole of the cylinder lock and the key can now be removed from the magnet key-receiving hole and the opposite end of the said key may be inserted into the cylinder lock. Figure 4 illustrates the sectional view of the magnet key lock along line A-A of figure 3 where the shutter (60) does not cover the keyhole of the cylinder lock and the pinion (50) is at one end of the shutter (60). The magnets (70) housed in holes (4) of the pivot (3) press against the bottom surface of the rotor gear but do not enter the cavities (36). This misalignment may be better understood from figure 5 where the magnets (70) are shown to be pressing against the bottom surface of the rotor gear. With reference now to figures 6, 7, 8 and 9, a protective device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention in the closed position has been illustrated. Figure 6 shows the magnet key in the shut position and the shutter covering the keyhole. This may also be seen from figures 8 and 9 where the shutter is shown to be covering the keyhole and the pinion (50) is at the other end of the shutter (60). The magnets (70) of the pivot are now locked in the corresponding cavities (36) at the bottom of the rotor gear as shown in figure 9. In this position, any attempt to rotate the rotor gear will be restrained by the magnets (70) that are locked into place and remain in the cavities on account of the spring force. When a magnet key is inserted in the magnet key-receiving hole, the magnets (70) are pushed down and the rotor gear (4) is free to rotate. It will readily be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments herein shown. Thus variations may be made within the' scope and spirit of the accompanying claims without sacrificing the principal advantages of the invention. We claim: 1. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock comprising a rotor for receiving a magnet key and a shutter for movably covering the keyhole of said vehicle cylinder lock, the rotor having at least one cavity at the bottom surface for receiving a magnet to form a magnet lock, wherein the rotor is connected to the shutter by at least one intermediate gear. 2. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rotor is connected to the shutter by two intermediate gears. 3. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rotor is a gear. 4. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 3 wherein said rotor is a sector gear. 5. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rotor has an arm projecting from it. 6. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rotor has a magnet key receiving recess. 7. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rotor has a recess to receive a ball corresponding to the open position of the shutter. 8. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said rotor has a recess to receive a ball corresponding to the close position of the shutter. 9. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the rotor has a guide for receiving and aligning the magnet key. 10. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein a key has magnets embedded in the tongue section to form the magnet key. 11. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 10 wherein the magnets in the key are aligned with the magnets of the protective device. 12. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said shutter is a gear. 13. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 12 wherein said shutter is a rack. 14. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the protective device comprises of a base section and a cover. 15. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 14 wherein the base section has a pivot about which the rotor rotates. 16. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 15 wherein the pivot has at least one cavity for housing a magnet. 17. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 16 wherein the magnet housed in the pivot is spring loaded. 18. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 14 wherein the base is provided with a step. 19. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 14 wherein the cover is provided with a magnet key insertion hole and a keyhole. 20. A protective device for a vehicle cylinder lock as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the intermediate gear is a stepped gear. 21. A protective device substantially as herein described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

874-del-2006-abstract.pdf

874-del-2006-Claims-(21-04-2011).pdf

874-del-2006-Claims-(22-07-2014).pdf

874-del-2006-claims.pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondance Others-(25-04-2013).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(11-07-2014).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(11-12-2012).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(22-07-2014).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(28-03-2014).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(02-07-2013).pdf

874-DEL-2006-Correspondence-Others-(10-01-2008).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(21-04-2011).pdf

874-DEL-2006-Correspondence-Others-(22-02-2011).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(24-01-2013).pdf

874-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(25-07-2013).pdf

874-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

874-del-2006-description(complete).pdf

874-del-2006-drawings.pdf

874-del-2006-form-1.pdf

874-del-2006-form-2.pdf

874-del-2006-form-3.pdf

874-DEL-2006-GPA-(22-02-2011).pdf

874-del-2006-gpa.pdf

874-del-2007-correspondence-others-1.pdf

874-del-2007-form-18.pdf

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