This disclosure relates to a lock that is secured to the chain of a bicycle to interfere with movement of the chain around the sprocket thereby preventing the propulsion of the bicycle forward using the bicycle crank.
Bicycle theft is typically seen as a low police priority, its impact and magnitude often overlooked because police consider incidents on a case-by-case basis. This picture is often misleading, however, and when viewed at the aggregate level, bicycle theft represents a much larger problem, one with harmful economic and societal effects that warrant greater police attention.
The bicycle has become increasingly popular as a healthier and environmentally friendlier mode of transport. In London, for example, cycle use has increased by 83 percent between 2000 and 2007. In the United States, between 1992 and 2006, bicycle sales have increased from 15.3 million to 18.2 million per year (an increase of roughly 20%), illustrating an increase in cycle use there. While cycles enjoy the greatest share of transit options within campus towns, several major towns and cities such as Portland, Oreg., are continually improving cycling infrastructure to encourage cycling. Moreover, anticipating consumer demand, General Motors has developed the Flex-Fix system, a retractable bicycle rack that is hidden in a car's bumper. These changes in bicycle usage and provision have been influenced in recent years by:
increased awareness of the detrimental effect of automobile carbon dioxide emissions, and pursuit of air quality and emission reduction targets;
concerns over growing traffic congestion and accompanying noise pollution;
rising levels (and fear) of obesity and heart disease;
recognition that most trips are relatively short, or “bike-sized”;
savings in road maintenance and improvement of street infrastructure; and
responses to policies such as traffic congestion charging.
Several studies suggest that fear of cycle theft may discourage bicycle use, and that many bicycle theft victims do not buy a replacement. Combating bicycle theft is therefore a necessary step toward increasing the use of this sustainable form of transport, an increase that unexpectedly may also improve cyclist safety. To elaborate, a recent international review of schemes to encourage walking and cycling found strong evidence indicating that as the number of cyclists and walkers increased, the frequency of collisions between those groups and motorists decreased. The authors concluded that an effective means of improving the safety of cyclists and walkers is therefore to increase the numbers of people cycling and walking. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the prevention of bicycle theft. Car theft has received much more attention, for example, yet according to data collected as part of the International Crime Victim Survey, for all countries for which data were available (including the United States), bicycle owners are far more likely to have their bikes stolen (4.7%) than car owners their cars (1.2%) and motorcyclists their motorcycles (1.9%).
Understanding the problem of bicycle theft is hampered because police data typically underrepresent the problem. This is illustrated by data from the International Crime Victim Survey (2000), which show that across the 17 countries surveyed (including the United States), on average only 56 percent of bicycle thefts were reported to the police. U.S. crime statistics are collated using both National Crime Victim Survey (NCVS) data from a yearly national survey, and data recorded by the police. Comparing the two data sources highlights the problem of underreporting. For example, in 2004, bicycle theft accounted for 3.6 percent of all incidents of larceny (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2005), which equates to more than 250,000 bicycles stolen each year. According to an estimate from the NCVS, in 2006 the number of incidents of theft-of or theft-from bicycles was more like 1.3 million (just under 2.5 incidents per minute). This suggests that for every crime reported, another four (or more) may have occurred.
Interviews with bicycle theft victims indicate that underreporting is largely due to victims' belief that the police are not interested in bicycle theft and cannot do anything about catching the offender and returning the stolen bicycle. A further reason for an underrepresentation of the problem is that police departments record bicycle theft in different ways that, however inadvertently, may serve to conceal the full scope of the problem. For example, police may record a bicycle theft as a burglary from a residential property.
Generally, when you come out and you find nothing but a busted lock where your bike used to be, the chances of being reunited with it are slim. Nationwide, less than half of stolen bicycles are recovered by police and barely 5 percent are reunited with their owners.
It is difficult to determine the precise number of stolen bicycles, because most bicycle theft is never reported to law enforcement. Over two million bicycles are stolen each year in the U.S. and Canada. Out of those, only 20 percent are ever reported to the police as stolen. The theft of two million bicycles was originally believed to be worth some $50 million, but now estimated to be a billion-dollar problem.
Another reason theft is so prevalent is that locks haven't kept pace with the times. The ones that do work can be so expensive or so heavy that they deter people from riding in the first place. GPS trackers can locate a stolen bike, but do nothing to stop thieves who only want to strip its parts.
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the device disclosed herein, some of the problems associated with bicycle locks are overcome.
In order to combat the increasing scourge of bicycle theft the apparatus disclosed herein repurposes the method of use of the invention under U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,945 titled Universal self-conforming trigger lock for firearms. The system and method for subverting the theft of bicycles requires the application of the locking mechanism disclosed herein to the chain of a bicycle. Once applied to the chain and locked in position onto the chain, the capacity to propel the bicycle using the locomotion hardware to include the pedals, sprockets and chain becomes extremely limited, if non-existent. Once the locking mechanism is applied to the chain, the chain cannot engage with the sprockets of the front carriage or the sprockets of the rear wheel cassette or navigate past the derailleur. Any attempt to force the locking mechanism around either the front carriage sprockets or the rear wheel cassette will result in either slippage of the chain off the sprocket, a seizing of the chain sprocket assembly in place and/or damage to the front and rear derailleurs.
These and other objects of the chain lock disclosed herein, which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by providing a lightweight and compact lock that secures to the chain of a bicycle preventing rotation of the chain around the sprocket due to interference between the lock and the sprockets and derailleurs.
It is therefore an object of the lock disclosed herein to be of sufficient mass to functionally inhibit normal operation of the bicycle by preventing rotation of the chain.
It is a further object of the lock disclosed herein to be fabricated from components that are sufficiently robust to prevent utilization of typical household tools to remove the lock from the chain.
These, together with other aspects of the lock disclosed herein, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the technology, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part of this disclosed technology. For a better understanding of the disclosed technology, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the disclosed technology.
Illustrative embodiments of the lock disclosed herein are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein and wherein:
Disclosed herein are a system and method for preventing the theft of bicycles, and conceivably any chain driven apparatus, by the application of the locking device so disclosed and described.
As illustrated at
Also illustrated at
In operation, the lock operator seeks to apply the locking apparatus 10 to a span 12 of chain 14 of a bicycle 16. The chain 14 for purposes of the apparatus disclosed herein circumscribes a front sprocket and a rear sprocket of the bicycle 16. The operator then places the span 12 of the bicycle chain 14 between the at least one spacer rod 72 and the outwardly extending cylinder 40. The cylinder and the spacer rod 40, 72 restrain the chain span 12 to movement along a linear path but do not fully restrain the chain span 12 thereby allowing the first and second locking members 18, 20 to complement restraint of the chain span 12 in position.
To fully enclose the chain span 12 between the first and second locking members 18, 20 the cylinder 40 is received into the opening 76 of the second locking member 20. As previously detailed above, the opening 76 in the second locking member 20 includes an interior surface 80. Extending longitudinally along the interior surface 80 of the opening 76 is a striated plate 84. As the cylinder 40 is advanced into the opening 76 of the second locking member 20, the striations 62 on the shaft 54 housed within the cylinder 40 may be rotated such that there is no contact between the shaft striations 62 and the striations on the plate 84. Lack of contact between the two striated surfaces occurs when the locking mechanism 70 is rotated away from the open face, or cutaway 42, effectively hiding the striations 62 from contact. Alternatively, the shaft striations 62 may remain within the open face 42 and the cylinder 40 may readily slide into the opening 76. Any attempt to withdraw the cylinder 40 is not be possible as the shaft striations 62 have engaged with the oppositely directed striations 85 of the striated plate 84.
Once the distally located outer contact surface 74 of the spacer rod 72 contacts the inner face 32 of the second locking member 20 the cylinder 40 and the enclosed shaft 54 are seated thereby fully restraining the chain span 12 in position between the first and second locking members 18, 20. Rotating the locking mechanism 70, with the key 71, rotates the shaft 54 housed within the cylinder 40 for interlocking engagement of the striations 62 upon the shaft 54 with the striations 85 upon the striation plate 84. This interlocking engagement of the two striated structures secures the span of chain 12 in position between the first and second locking members 18, 20 as well as between the cylinder 40 and the at least one spacer rod 72.
Any different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed technology. Embodiments of the disclosed technology have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the disclosed technology.
It will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub combinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/990,000 filed on Mar. 16, 2020.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62990000 | Mar 2020 | US |