Antitheft device which attach to an automobile steering wheel have been known heretofore, as shown lately in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,127 to Johnson. Such antitheft devices for attachment to a steering wheel of an automobile includes an elongated body member having a passage extending along an axis therethrough, an elongated rod member adapted to move in telescopic fashion in the passage way of the body member along the axis, opposed hooks for engaging the inside portion of the steering wheel and lock means associated with the body member engaging the rod within the passage for locking the rod within the passage for fixedly securing the rod to the body member at any of a plurality of positions. While the antitheft device described above is functional, it includes several defects. For example, both in and out of telescopic movements of the rod member there is needed a key to unlock the lock means. Another problem with such devices is that they provide pry points wherein a rigid pin or arcuate ruler-like thin objects can be inserted through a gap between the passage and periphery of the rod member to reach a spherical bearing of the lock means and further press it down by overcoming the bias force of a spring member thereon to release it from engaging the rod member in a groove thereof that renders an unlocking of the device.
It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide an automobile steering lock that overcomes the foregoing defects associated with the prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automobile steering lock that performs a non-return, extension only function in the locking condition.
A further object of this invention is to provide a locking device wherein the locking mechanism is totally enclosed therein and includes no area susceptible to prying by a crowbar, rigid pin or the like.
A yet further object of this invention is to provide an automobile steering lock having a mechanism for preventing a rod member thereof from being released therefrom.