bike lock system design

indieosa

Hi
My names jon and i am doing my final piece of my BSc product design course at the university of portsmouth.

My concept idea for my course is to have a new security system that is permeanantly attached to a part of the bike and this system will have an alarm and GPS for if the bike is stolen

what i really need is anyone to fill out my short survey so that i can change my designs accordingly.

here is a picture of concept ideas that i currently have been working on:

http://i54.tinypic.com/wjhqbp.jpg



Thankyou for your time

alfablue

Hi Jon

My first thoughts are that the seatpost is a removeable part (albeit with a bolt of some sort), and it is also designed to be adjustable (you may not adjust it once it is "right" but it takes fine-tuning initially, and can need changing if for examople, you change shoes or pedals).

Blue Meanie

Some Hire Bikes (leen fiets) in Holland have the frame number on a gusset/bridge between downtube and seattube. Meaning, if stolen this has to be altered, and it can't without compromising the frame.
An inspired idea from the land of bike theft.

You should try polling the Dutch blogs.

I agree with alfa blue, they'll nick your bike sans seat and post.

ride_whenever

The alarm idea is useless unless it secures your bike or is so loud it permanently injures anyone close. I use a motorbike disc alarm lock that locks the crank to the chainring (it's a mini d-lock type one) when i'm in the shops. It's enough to slow them down whilst i'm getting stuff, and will alert me if anything comes.

My suggestion would be something that wraps round the downtube using the bottlecage mounts to secure. Then alarmed etc.

Mr Plum

Totally agree with the above comments - the seatpost idea is too easy to get around. You may be massively overcomplicating the issue with an integrated GPS as well - you'll have the hassle of keeping it charged up and if your bike does get nicked then you have to hope that the thief hasn't smashed it to bits by the time that you've realised it's been stolen and managed to get to a computer with internet access... that's another point, how would/could you monitor the GPS? I know systems are available, but to integrate them into a consumer product that is affordable seems like it would be a mean feat.

There are other major issues with the GPS idea, such as the fact that as soon as the thief gets the bike indoors you will have no GPS signal, etc...

PS - link us up to your survey.

alfablue

Blue Meanie wrote:

Some Hire Bikes (leen fiets) in Holland have the frame number on a gusset/bridge between downtube and seattube. Meaning, if stolen this has to be altered, and it can't without compromising the frame.
.

Yes, it is the Batavus "Personal" - every bike has a unique number, not just for hire. A great idea, not sure if it works but it should do.

I have ridden one of these in the Netherlands, loved the bike, its comfort and simplicity, and no hills

MichaelW

You can already get GPS tracking devices the size of a 9v battery:
Spark Nano Real-Time GPS Tracking Device
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10199196-1.html

You would need a system to top up the battery continuously (eg from a lamp battery or dynamo or solar cell) and a smart switch that only starts tracking and sending after theft activity.

Trying to integrate 2 devices into one is a common tactic for design students and a misguided one. Bike locks get abused, dropped etc and anything integrated will have a rough time.
Putting one inside a seat tube may be sensible since seatposts often get stolen on their own.
An ideal application would be to blitz an area with bikes containing tracker devices. Wait till they are stolen then round up all the miscreants. This has many advantages for police:
Bike theives usually engage in other crime.
They store bikes in places with lots of other stolen property , leading to lots more solved crime.
Tracking stolen bikes lead to the identification of fences and others up the crime food chain with undeniable evidence of crime.

bobs bikes

hi indieosa, hopefully i can be a bit of help.
after spending the past 10 years as a security connsultant, designing electronic products e.g cameras, alarms, fire sensors etc. i have come across an issue which you should look at.

1. the gps system will have to be powered at all times, the system has to be charged using massive currents and will need large capacity batteries. for security and insurance aproval, the system has to be ran under its own produced power and cannot be plugged in to charge. by using a dynamo unit the maggnets will not allow the pedals to turn.
2. the gps signal will eat power when the system is in active mode, the system will be powered for only a couple of minutes with batteries small enough to be practical.
3.for the system to be classed as an insurance approved security product, the system cannot be defeated without dismantling the frame. this includes all charging ports, arials and batteries. by keeping everything internal in a steel frame, the signal cannot travel beyond the steel, rendering it useless.

hope this helps. feel free to ask any questions if you need to.

shouldbeinbed

how do those of us with a saddle bag.SQR system anything attached to the rails fare?
do we have to bolt the security lump on each time? If i can bolt it on why cant someone else bolt it off - albeit screeching but how many people will ever intervene?

& its unclear form your drawing what sort of lock you envisage going into the holes, Cable,solid metal, looping a common or garden chain through?

It also looks on the pic with the (assume GPS box) bolted under the saddle that the lock pokes out directly over the back wheel. for the level of D lock security I want and use, that would be absolutely useless as 99.99% of decent quality bike stands are side on to the bike as per sheffield stand.

is it utterly water & shock proof, you've engineered lots of little bits that could individually fail and render the entire package useless.

not for me thanks