Anti-theft locking bolt assembly
An anti-theft locking bolt assembly is disclosed. The assembly comprises an anti-theft bolt threadedly attachable to an article to be protected, a bolt cap snugly fitting into a bore on the head of the anti-theft bolt, a lock cylinder housing rotatably connected to the head of the anti-theft bolt via one or more ball bearings, the lock cylinder housing configured to cover the bolt cap and a locking cylinder and to provide means to prevent removal of the bolt cap. The anti-theft locking bolt assembly is suitable to lock a vehicle wheel and also to replace a spark plug of an combust engine to prevent unauthorized use of the vehicle.
1. An anti-theft locking bolt assembly comprising:
an anti-theft bolt, a bolt cap, a lock cylinder housing, and a lock cylinder;
the anti-theft bolt comprising a shaft and a head,
the shaft having an external threading configured to match a threating of an article to be protected, and an inner channel,
the head having a generally flat upper surface comprising a center bore having a noncircular perimeter, and at least one indentation on the flat surface around the central bore configured to adapt at least one ball bearing;
the bolt cap having a top part, a bottom part, and a central hole extending through the top and bottom parts,
the top part having a perimeter larger than a perimeter of the bottom part thus forming a lip, the top part having at least one straight part on its perimeter, and
the bottom part having a non-circular perimeter matching with the non-circular perimeter of the center bore, and the bolt cap being configured to be attached with attaching means onto the anti-theft bolt through the central hole when the bottom part of the bolt cap is inserted into the central bore;
the cylindrical lock housing configured to cover the lock cylinder and the bolt cap and having at least one inner slot for adapting a lock stud and the lip of the bolt cap to provide a locking medium for the lock cylinder and the bolt cap, and the lock cylinder housing configured to rotatably rest on top of the anti-theft bolt head such that a lower end of the lock cylinder housing is on top of the ball bearings inserted into the at least one indentation;
wherein the anti-theft bolt lock assembly is in locked position when the lock cylinder housing is connected from its lower end with the anti-theft bolt with the ball bearings, the bolt cap is inserted through the upper opening of the housing such that the bottom part of the bolt cap snugly fits into the central bore, the lip of the upper part rests on a lower inner edge of the at least one slot of the lock cylinder housing, and the lock cylinder is inserted through the upper opening into the lock cylinder housing and turned such that the stud extends into the slot and is blocked by an upper inner edge of the slot.
2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the non-circular perimeter of the bottom part and of the center bore has a polygonal pattern.
3. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the inner channel of the shaft opens into the bottom of the center bore.
4. The assembly of claim 3 , wherein the means for attaching is a screw and the inner channel is threated.
5. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the means for attaching is at least one pin.
6. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bolt cap has a middle part between the bottom and the top parts.
7. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lower end of the lock cylinder housing has a circular groove to adapt the at least one bearings.
8. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one indentation on the flat surface of the anti-theft bolt head is a circular groove.
9. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one indentation on flat surface of the anti-theft bolt is several half sphere indentations each configured to adapt at least one bearing.
10. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the assembly has multitude of locking combinations depending on length of the lock cylinder.
11. The assembly of claim 10 , wherein the multitude of locking combinations is at least 60,000.
12. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the outer threading of the anti-theft bolt mates with threads on a vehicle wheel hub and the assembly is configured to prevent unauthorized removal of a vehicle wheel.
13. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the outer threading of the anti-theft bolt mates with a threading of combustion engine spark plug slot and the assembly is configured to prevent unauthorized starting of the engine by replacing a spark plug with the assembly.
14. A method to prevent unauthorized removal of an article, the method comprising attaching the anti-theft lock assembly of claim 1 onto the article.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the article is a vehicle wheel and the anti-theft lock assembly is attached on vehicle wheel hub.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the article is a vehicle having a combustion engine and the lock assembly is attached in place of a spark plug.