JPH0152553B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an anti-theft device for a vehicle that incorporates an optical fiber into a flexible strip and photoelectrically detects the cutting of the flexible strip to activate an alarm. .

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, anti-theft devices for vehicles, particularly motorcycles, are of the wire lock type using flexible strips, such as wires. This involves wrapping a vehicle around a strong structure such as a utility pole with a locking wire, and locking the vehicle by fitting locks attached to both ends of the locking wire to firmly connect the vehicle to the structure. It is.

However, in recent years, with the development of cutting tools such as wire cutters, wires can be easily cut and theft incidents tend to occur frequently. Therefore, an anti-theft device is used in which an electric wire is embedded in the wire and energized, and when the wire is cut, it is electrically detected and an alarm is activated.

However, in the above-mentioned electric device, it is possible to deactivate the alarm by separately forming a current bypass path in place of the current-carrying path in the wire, and therefore, after taking such measures, Cases of cutting and stealing wires are becoming more prominent.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and includes an optical fiber built into a flexible strip, light passing through the optical fiber during use, and the flexible strip being cut to block the light. The present invention provides a vehicle anti-theft device that photoelectrically detects breakage of the flexible strip and activates an alarm.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention,
A plug 5, which is a connecting means, is fitted and fixed to one end 1a of the flexible strip 1, and the other end 1b is fixed to a casing 20a of the main body 20. An optical fiber 2 is arranged at the axial center position of the flexible strip 1,
The area around the optical fiber 2 is coated with a synthetic resin such as vinyl (not shown). A flexible member, for example, a plurality of wires 3, is tightly wound spirally around the outer periphery of the coating of the optical fiber 2 along the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the outer periphery of this wire 3 is coated with a synthetic resin 4 such as vinyl.

The plug 5 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a flange 5a and an annular groove 5b formed along the circumferential direction on the outer periphery, and an O-ring 7 for waterproofing and dustproofing is fitted into the annular groove 5b. ing. Further, the plug 5 has a locking notch 5c and an open end 5 on its outer circumference.
A key groove 5d is formed along the axial direction from f toward the center. The tip 3a of the wire 3 is fitted into the open end 5f of the plug 5, and the tip 3a of the wire 3 and the plug 5 are firmly fixed by caulking. This plug 5 is made of hard metal. The support body 8 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a tip 2 of the optical fiber 2 at one open end.
A light emitting element 9 made of a light emitting diode, for example, is fitted into the other open end. The light emitting portion 9a of the light emitting element 9 and the end surface 2a' of the optical fiber 2 are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval and are aligned.

A connector 10 is fitted into the open end 5f of the plug 5, and connection terminals 9b and 9c of the light emitting element 9 are connected to the connection terminals 10a and 10b.
A space inside the plug 5 is filled with a filling member 11 made of synthetic resin or the like, and the support 8 and the connector 10 are firmly fixed at predetermined positions within the plug.

The holder 12 (FIG. 3) has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a flange 12a is formed on the outer periphery of the substantially central portion. The end 3b of the wire 3 of the flexible strip 1 is fitted into the opening 12b of the holder 12, and is firmly fixed to the holder 12 by caulking. A stepped portion 12d is formed on the outer periphery of the holder 12 on the side of the open end 12c, and a screw 12e is further carved from the stepped portion 12d toward the flange 12a. On the other hand, a hole 20b having a step 20c is bored in a predetermined position of the housing 20a, and the holder 12 is inserted into the hole 20b from the outside. The flange 12a is locked at a position where it abuts against the stepped portion 20c. In this state, the screw portion 12e of the holder 12 is attached to the housing 2.
It protrudes into the inside of the housing 20a, and is firmly tightened and fixed to the housing 20a from the inside via a nut 13.

The support 14 is formed in the same manner as the support 8, and has a tip 2b of the optical fiber 2 at one open end.
However, the light-receiving elements 15 are fitted into the opening ends on the other side, respectively. End face 2b' of optical fiber 2 and light receiving element 15
The light receiving section 15a is arranged opposite to the light receiving section 15a at a predetermined interval and in alignment with the light receiving section 15a. One side open end of a cylindrical case 16 is fitted and fixed to a stepped portion 12d of an open end 12c of this holder 12, and a support body 14 is housed therein. A connector 17 is fitted to the other open end of the case 16.
Connection terminals 15b and 15c of the light receiving element 15 are connected to the connection terminals 17a and 17b, respectively. Each connection terminal 17a, 17b of the connector 17 is connected to the housing 20.
Connect wires 18a and 18b to predetermined connection terminals (not shown) of the electric circuit 33 (FIG. 4) housed in
connected via. Further, the case 16 is filled with a filling member 11, and the support body 14 is fixed in the case 16 to protect the end portion 2b of the optical fiber 2 and the light receiving element 15.

A plug 5 is installed in the housing 20a of the main body 20 (Fig. 4).
a socket 21 that fits into the socket 21, and a lock body 2 that locks or unlocks the plug 5 and the socket 21.
5, power supply case 30, electric circuit 33 and alarm 3
4th grade is stored. The socket 21 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is sized so that the plug 5 can be inserted into the socket by slidingly contacting it up to the flange 5a, and a connector 22 that engages with the connector 10 of the plug 5 is provided at the bottom end. A protruding portion 21c that engages with the keyway 5d of the plug 5 is provided at a predetermined position on the wall portion 21a.

Each connection terminal 22a, 22b of the connector 22 is connected to a predetermined connection terminal (not shown) of an electric circuit 33, and is connected to a corresponding connection terminal 10a, 10b of the connector 10. A hole 21b (Fig. 5) is bored in the wall 21a of the socket 21 at a position corresponding to the notch 5c of the plug 5, and a locking pin 23 slides into and out of this hole 21b. It is arranged in This pin 23
One end 23a faces into the socket 21,
A spring 26 is interposed between the other end 23b and the side wall of the housing, and the operator 25b of the lock body 25 is fitted into the hole 23c located approximately in the center. In the normal state, this pin 23 is pressed to the left by the pressing force of the spring 26, as shown in FIG.
It stands out within 1. Insert the key 27 into the lock body 25 and turn the spring 26 counterclockwise until it reaches the off position (Fig. 4).
When the pin 23 is rotated against this force, the tip 23a of the pin 23 is inserted into the hole 21b of the socket 23.

The power supply case 30 is removably attached to the housing 20a, and can house a power supply 31 such as a battery. Between the power supply case 30 and the socket 21, there is a locking mechanism 24 (a fourth locking mechanism) that cooperates with the plug 5 to lock the power supply case 30 to the housing 20a.
) is provided, and the plug 5 is inserted into the socket 21.
In the illustrated state in which the plug 5 is not inserted, the lock is released and the power supply case 30 can be freely removed from the housing 20a, and in the state in which the plug 5 is inserted, the outer periphery of the plug 5 locks the locking pin (not shown). It is pressed and fitted into a notch (not shown) in the power supply case 30, and is locked and fixed to the housing 20a so that it cannot be removed.

The electric circuit 33 (FIG. 6) includes a transmission circuit 33a, a reception circuit 33b, a disconnection detection circuit 33c, and a drive circuit 3.
3d, and the transmission circuit 33a is, for example, a pulse oscillation circuit that outputs a pulse signal Pa of a predetermined period. The light emitting element 9 converts an electrical signal into a corresponding optical signal, and operates in response to a pulse signal Pa.
The light pulse signal Ph is emitted and output. This optical pulse signal Ph is transmitted through the optical fiber 2. The light receiving element 15 converts an optical signal into a corresponding electric signal, and receives an optical pulse signal input from the optical fiber 2.
Outputs an electric pulse signal Pb according to Ph. The receiving circuit 33b receives and detects the signal Pb from the light receiving element 15 and outputs a corresponding pulse signal Pc. The disconnection detection circuit 33c includes the transmitting circuit 33a and the receiving circuit 3.
This is to detect a break in the optical fiber 2 using the pulse signals Pa and Pc output from 3b.
An AND condition is taken between Pa and Pc, and if the condition is satisfied, it is determined to be normal, and if not, it is determined to be abnormal, and an abnormal signal Pd is output when the condition is not satisfied. Moreover, this disconnection detection circuit 33c
determines the connection state between the connector 10 of the plug 5 and the connector 22 of the socket 21 of the housing 20a, and when they are connected, that is, when the plug 5 is attached to the socket 21, turns on the power supply 31;
The power supply 31 is configured to be turned off when there is no connection, that is, when the plug 5 is removed from the socket 21. The drive circuit 33d is for operating the alarm 34, and receives an input signal.
Outputs a drive signal Ps according to Pd. Alarm device 34
For example, a buzzer is activated in response to the drive signal Ps to generate an alarm. This housing 20a is firmly fixed at a predetermined position of a vehicle (not shown), such as a motorcycle.

When using a vehicle anti-theft device with such a configuration, first, the flexible strip 1 is wrapped around a strong structure (not shown) such as a utility pole, and then the plug 5 is inserted into the socket 21 of the housing 20a. insert. plug 5
During insertion, the pin 23 is pushed into the wall by the outer periphery of the plug. Then plug 5 is in socket 2
1, the pin 23
is projected and fitted into the notch 5c of the plug 5 by the spring force, and the plug 5 is inserted into the socket 21, that is, the housing 20.
It is locked and fixed to a. In this way, the flexible member 1 is formed into a loop shape to firmly connect the vehicle to the telephone pole or the like.

In the state where the plug 5 is completely attached to the housing 20a, the electric circuit 33 is in operation;
A light pulse signal Ph is transmitted through the optical fiber 2. When the flexible strip 1 is not cut, the optical pulse signal Ph is transmitted to the light receiving element 15, and the light receiving element 15 outputs the signal Pb.
Therefore, the AND condition of the signals Pa and Pc described above is satisfied, the signal Pd is not output from the disconnection detection circuit 33c, and the alarm 34 is not activated.

However, when the flexible strip 1 is cut with a wire cutter or the like, the optical fiber 2 is also cut. Then, the output signal Pb of the light receiving element 15 becomes 0,
The disconnection detection circuit 33c determines that there is an abnormality and outputs a signal Pd. The drive circuit 33d outputs a drive signal Ps corresponding to the signal Pd to activate the alarm 34 and generate an alarm.

When the driver removes the flexible strip 1 from the housing 20a, insert the key 27 (Fig. 5) into the keyhole 25a of the lock body 25 (Fig. 4) of the main body 20, and move it to the off position (4th (Figure). In this off position, the locking pin 23 is inserted into the notch 5c of the plug 5.
The plugs 5 are pulled into the wall of the socket 21, and the locking relationship between the plugs 5 and the socket 21 is released. Therefore, the plug 5 can be removed from the socket 21, that is, the housing 20a. Further, at this time, as described above, the power supply 31 is turned off and the alarm 34 is not activated. In this way, theft is prevented.

In this example, the case where the light emitting element is arranged on the plug side of the flexible strip and the light receiving element is arranged on the casing (main body) side is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the light receiving element is arranged on the plug side. Of course, the light emitting element may be disposed on the housing side.

Further, in this embodiment, a case is described in which a wire is used as the flexible strip, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a bendable tube body formed of a hard metal and having a substantially bellows shape may be used. You may.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is extremely difficult to form a detour to detect cutting of a flexible strip using light, and the cutting of the flexible strip is ensured. can be detected. Also,
One end of the flexible strip is fixed to the main body and a plug is fixed to the other end to electrically connect to the main body, making it easy to handle and more resistant to dirt etc. than optical coupling. Moreover, it has the advantage that it is extremely difficult to disassemble the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of the vehicle anti-theft device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the plug shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a flexible strip shown in FIG. 1. 4th cross-sectional view showing how the body is fixed to the housing on the main body side.
The figure is an external view showing an embodiment of the main body of the device of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the main body shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the electric circuit of the apparatus of the present invention. 1... Flexible strip, 2... Optical fiber, 3...
Wire, 4... Cover, 5... Plug, 8, 14...
... Support body, 9 ... Light emitting element, 10, 22 ... Connector, 15 ... Light receiving element, 20 ... Main body, 21 ...
...Socket, 25...Lock body, 27...Key, 33...
...Electric circuit, 34...Alarm.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An anti-theft device for a vehicle that connects a vehicle to an appropriate structure using a flexible strip that can be attached and detached by key operation, and an optical fiber is inserted into the flexible strip and is fixed to the vehicle. One of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element is provided in the housing, the other element is arranged at one end of the flexible strip to face the corresponding end of the optical fiber, and the other end of the flexible strip is arranged opposite to the corresponding end of the optical fiber. One element is fixed to the housing so as to face the corresponding end of the optical fiber, while one end of the flexible strip is connected to the housing and the light emitting element housed within the housing via a connecting means. A theft prevention device for a vehicle, characterized in that the device is detachably connected to an electric circuit that drives the optical fiber, detects the disconnection of the optical fiber based on the accompanying signal from the light receiving element, and activates an alarm. Device.