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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to locking license plate holders, and more
particularly pertains to a license plate holder which prevents
unauthorized removal of a license plate and also removal of the holder
from a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of locking license plate holders are known in the prior art.
A typical example of such a locking license plate holder is to be found in
U.S. Pat. No. 2,156,806, which issued to R. Ducey on May 2, 1939. This
patent discloses a license plate holder formed by two hingedly connected
cover plates which are securable together by a key actuated locking
mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 2,388,349, which issued to C. Storm et al on Nov.
6, 1945, discloses a license plate holder formed by a pair of slidably
overlapped plates having telescoped hook flanges to engage the edges of
the license plate. A rack and pin mechanism is provided for relatively
sliding the overlapped plates. U.S. Pat. No. 2,564,986, which issued to J.
Meyer on Aug. 21, 1951, discloses a locking license plate holder including
an elongated rod provided with a laterally disposed T formation adjacent
one end. The T formation has a head extending at right angles to the rod
and a lock including a case is disposed in interlocked condition with the
other end of the rod. U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,475, which issued to H. Salzmann
on June 14, 1955, discloses a locking license plate holder having a
transparent cover plate and including a key actuated locking mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,954, which issued to J. Ford on Mar. 18, 1969,
discloses a license plate holder having a transparent cover plate and a
backing plate disposed within a frame for securing a license plate
therein. An apertured flange on the backing plate is receivable through a
slot on the frame for engagement with a conventional padlock.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to locking license plate
holders, none of these devices disclose a locking license plate holder
which utilizes a rotary locking cylinder in conjunction with a pair of
linearly reciprocal locking rods selectively insertable through transverse
apertures provided in a pair of spaced retaining pins. Inasmuch as the art
is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of locking
license plate holders, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing
need for and interest in improvements to such locking license plate
holders, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need
and interest.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of
locking license plate holders now present in the prior art, the present
invention provides an improved locking license plate holder. As such, the
general purpose of the present invention, which will be described
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved locking
license plate holder which has all the advantages of the prior art locking
license plate holders and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, representative embodiments of the concepts of the present
invention are illustrated in the drawings and make use of a locking
license plate holder for mounting license plates on automobiles, trucks
and trailers which includes a frame having a channel formed therein
dimensioned for insertion of a license plate. The frame includes a
transparent cover plate provided with an elongated lock housing. Spaced
pairs of aligned apertures are formed through the frame, the license
plate, the cover plate and a side wall of the lock housing. A pair of
retaining pins are dimensioned for insertion through a vehicle mounted
license plate attaching bracket and through the pairs of aligned apertures
in the license plate holder. A key actuated rotary locking cylinder is
centrally mounted in the lock housing and includes a pair of transverse
locking rods connected to the rotary cylinder for simultaneous extension
and retraction. A pair of guide members in the housing constrains the
locking rods to reciprocal linear movement. A transverse aperture is
formed through each of the retaining pins for receiving the locking rods
in a locked condition.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,
additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter
and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In
this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those
skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this
disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing
of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several
purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the
claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as
they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the public
generally, and especially those who are not familiar with patent or legal
terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the
nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The
abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application,
which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to
the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder which has all the advantages of the
prior art locking license plate holders and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
locking license plate holder which may be easily and efficiently
manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder which is of a durable and reliable
construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder which is susceptible of a low cost
of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which
accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming
public, thereby making such locking license plate holders economically
available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder which provides in the apparatuses
and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while
simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated
therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder for preventing the unauthorized
removal of a license plate and a license plate holder from a vehicle.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder for securing license plates on
automobiles, trucks and trailers.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved locking license plate holder which utilizes a rotary locking
cylinder in conjunction with transversely reciprocal locking rods for
selective insertion through transverse apertures provided in a pair of
spaced retaining pins.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, 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 preferred embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set
forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the
following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference
to the annexed drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a locking license plate holder according to
a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating the lock housing of the license plate
holder of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 illustrates a locking license plate holder according to a slightly
modified embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates the locking license plate holder of FIG. 3 installed on
a conventional automobile.
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view, taken along line 5--5 of FIG.
2, and illustrating the constructional details of the locking mechanism.
FIG. 6 is a detail view illustrating the manner of operation of the locking
mechanism of the license plate holder of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional view, illustrating the locking
mechanism within the lock housing of the license plate holder according to
the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, a
new and improved locking license plate holder embodying the principles and
concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the
reference numeral 10 will be described.
More specifically, it will be noted that the first embodiment 10 of the
invention includes a frame having a back wall 12, side rails 14 and 18,
and a bottom rail 16. Slots 20 and 22 formed in the side rails 14 and 18
and a similar slot formed in the bottom rail 16 are dimensioned for
insertion of a conventional license plate 30. Thus, a channel is formed
within the frame for the sliding insertion of a conventional license
plate. A transparent cover plate 24 is preferably formed from an impact
resistant plastic material and has an elongated lock housing 26 secured
thereon. At least one retaining pin 21 is insertable through aligned
apertures formed through the back plate 12, the license plate 30, the
cover plate 24 and a back wall of the lock housing 26. The retaining pin
21 includes an enlarged head 25 which bears against the exterior surface
of the back plate 12, upon full insertion of the pin 21. A transverse
aperture 23 is formed through an inner end of the pin 21 and is
dimensioned for insertion of a transverse locking rod slidably disposed
within the lock housing 26. The transverse locking rod is actuated by a
conventional key actuated rotary locking cylinder 28. Preferably, a pair
of spaced sets of aligned apertures are utilized in conjunction with a
pair of spaced retaining pins 21. Although the invention has been
described with the lock housing 26 secured to the front surface of the
cover plate 24, it should be understood that the lock housing 26 may be
provided on the exterior surface of the back plate 12 to allow insertion
of the retaining pins 21 through the cover plate 24. To utilize the
locking license plate holder 10 of FIG. 1, the retaining pin 21 is also
inserted through an aperture tab of a conventional vehicle mounted license
plate bracket.
FIG. 2 illustrates the back side of the lock housing 26 and illustrates
apertures 27 and 29 formed through the back wall of the housing 26. The
retaining pin head 25 obscures one of the apertures 27. The apertures 29
may be utilized to secure the lock cylinder housing 26 to the cover plate
24 or the backing plate 12 illustrated in FIG. 1, by suitable threaded
fasteners.
FIG. 3 illustrates a slightly modified second embodiment 10' of the present
invention in which the cover plate 24' is formed integrally with the frame
of the holder. In this connection, the entire frame may be formed from an
integrally molded or thermally bonded transparent plastic material and
provided with a hollow interior communicating with a slot formed through a
top wall of the holder for insertion of a conventional license plate 30.
As shown, conventional apertures 31 are formed through the license plate
30 and are utilized to receive the retaining pins 21, as shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 illustrates the license plate holder 10' mounted on a conventional
automobile A. The license plate 30 and holder 24' cannot be removed from
the automobile A, without utilizing a key for the locking cylinder 28.
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view, taken along line 5--5 of FIG.
2. The retaining pin 21 is receivable through a circular aperture 27
formed in a back wall of the hollow rectangular elongated lock housing 26.
A frusto conical seat 19 is formed in an interior side of the front wall
of the housing 26 and is dimensioned for engagement with a complementary
formed inner end of the retaining pin 21. The transverse aperture 23
formed through the retaining pin 21 is dimensioned for the selective
insertion of a transversely reciprocal locking rod 37 operably connected
for actuation by a conventional key actuated locking cylinder 28. A
conventional key 35 is utilized to rotate the locking cylinder mechanism
28.
As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of transverse locking rods 37 and 39 are
preferably connected to the rotary locking cylinder 28, as shown. A pair
of spaced retaining pins 21 are utilized in this arrangement. Upon
rotation of the locking cylinder 28 as indicated by arrows A, the locking
rods 37 and 39 will be linearly retracted as indicated by arrows B, to be
released from engagement through the transverse apertures formed in the
retaining pins 21. This allows the retaining pins 21 to be withdrawn to
allow for removal of the license plate and license plate holder.
FIG. 7 illustrates a longitudinal cross sectional view of the lock housing
26. The transverse reciprocal locking rods 37 and 39 are supported by a
pair of guide members 40 and 41 which constrains the free end portions of
each of the locking rods 37 and 39 to linear movement. The retaining pins
21 are inserted through the spaced apertures 27 provided in the housing
26.
As may now be understood, the present invention provides a locking license
plate holder for the secure and expedient connection of both a license
plate holder and license plate to a motor vehicle.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are
intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
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