Vehicle activity recording device

Claim 2

An activity recording device for attachment to a vehicle to record distinctly the respective periods of time in which the vehicle is standing, in motion, and/or certain doors thereof are open or closed, said device comprising a disk having certain indicia thereon, planar platen means for supporting said disk, a horizontally disposed shaft, said platen means and said disk each being provided with a concentric aperture which receives said shaft, said platen means being disposed in a vertical plane and being attached to said shaft, clock means coupled to said shaft for rotatably driving said disk at a predetermined rate, pointed marking instrument means for engaging and marking said disk, marking instrument arm means including vibration sensitive means for supporting said marking instrument means, helix drive means for gradually moving said marking instrument arm means ever closer to said shaft as said platen means rotates, means for limiting the vibration of said marking instrument means between a first position wherein said marking instrument is a predetermined radial distance from said shaft and a second position wherein said marking instrument is further away from said shaft, and means responsive to the opening of certain doors of the vehicle for rapidly moving said marking instrument vertically between said first position and a third position wherein said marking instrument is closer to said shaft than said predetermined distance, said marking instrument scribing said disk with ever decreasIng concentric circles as said platen means rotates and with radial scribe marks corresponding to the vertical movement of said marking instrument.

Claim 3

An activity recording device for attachment to a vehicle to record distinctly the respective periods of time in which the vehicle is standing, in motion, and/or certain doors thereof are open or closed, said device comprising a disk having certain indicia thereon, planar platen means for supporting said disk, a horizontally disposed shaft, said platen means and said disk each being provided with a concentric aperture which receives said shaft, said platen means being disposed in a vertical plane and being attached to said shaft, clock means coupled to said shaft for rotatably driving said disk at a predetermined rate, pointed marking instrument means for engaging and marking said disk, marking instrument arm means including vibration sensitive means for supporting said marking instrument means, helix drive means for gradually moving said marking instrument arm means ever closer to said shaft as said platen means rotates, means for limiting the vibration of said marking instrument means between a first position wherein said marking instrument is a predetermined radial distance from said shaft and a second position wherein said marking instrument is further away from said shaft, and means responsive to the opening of certain doors of the vehicle for rapidly moving said marking instrument vertically between said first position and a third position wherein said marking instrument is closer to said shaft than said predetermined distance, said marking instrument scribing said disk with ever decreasIng concentric circles as said platen means rotates and with radial scribe marks corresponding to the vertical movement of said marking instrument.

Claim 4

An activity recording device for attachment to a vehicle to record distinctly the respective periods of time in which the vehicle is standing, in motion, and/or certain doors thereof are open or closed, said device comprising a disk having certain indicia thereon, planar platen means for supporting said disk, a horizontally disposed shaft, said platen means and said disk each being provided with a concentric aperture which receives said shaft, said platen means being disposed in a vertical plane and being attached to said shaft, clock means coupled to said shaft for rotatably driving said disk at a predetermined rate, pointed marking instrument means for engaging and marking said disk, marking instrument arm means including vibration sensitive means for supporting said marking instrument means, helix drive means for gradually moving said marking instrument arm means ever closer to said shaft as said platen means rotates, means for limiting the vibration of said marking instrument means between a first position wherein said marking instrument is a predetermined radial distance from said shaft and a second position wherein said marking instrument is further away from said shaft, and means responsive to the opening of certain doors of the vehicle for rapidly moving said marking instrument vertically between said first position and a third position wherein said marking instrument is closer to said shaft than said predetermined distance, said marking instrument scribing said disk with ever decreasIng concentric circles as said platen means rotates and with radial scribe marks corresponding to the vertical movement of said marking instrument.

Claim 5

The device of claim 1 in which is included drive arm means, said drive arm means and said marking instrument arm means each having inner and outer ends thereto, enclosure means including a base, arm support means for supporting said marking instrument arm means and said drive arm means, said arm support means being attached to said base, first pivot means for pivotally attaching the inner ends of said marking instrument arm means and said drive arm means to said arm support means, said first pivot means being disposed parallel with said shaft, said marking instrument arm means and said drive arm means normally being parallel one with the other, said platen means includes a planar face side and a back side, said helix drive means includes providing said back side of said platen means with an elongated helical groove, drive pin means attached to the outer end of said drive arm means for engaging said helical groove, said drive arm means being pivoted about said first pivot means as the outer end thereof gradually moves ever closer to said shaft, and means for coupling said marking instrument arm means to said drive arm means to cause said marking instrument arm means to move in unison with said drive arm means, the outer end of said drive arm means being adjacent said back side of said platen means and said marking instrument arm means being adjacent said face side thereof.

Claim 6

The device of claim 2 in which is included second pivot means for pivotally attaching said marking instrument arm means to said first pivot means, said first pivot means being provided with a transverse aperture adjacent the outer end thereof which receives said second pivot means, said marking instrument arm means being provided with a transverse aperture which also receives said second pivot means, said marking instrument arm means being free to be manually pivoted substantially vertically about said second pivot means between marking instrument engaged and marking instrument disengaged positions, moving said marking instrument arm to said marking instrument disengaged position being effective to disengage said means coupling said marking instrument arm means to said drive arm means.

Claim 7

The device of claim 3 in which is included spring means for urging said outer end of said drive arm means radially away from said shaft.

Claim 8

The device of claim 4 in which is included means for overpowering said spring means when said marking instrument arm means is in said marking instrument engaged position to allow said marking instrument arm means and said drive arm means to gradually gravitate toward said shaft as said drive pin means of said drive arm means tracks said helical groove.

Claim 9

The device of claim 5 in which said enclosure means includes a cover hingedly attached to said base, said cover having open and closed positions thereto, and which device includes means for engaging said closed cover to prevent said marking instrument arm means from moving away from said marking instrument engaged position, said cover engaging means being attached to said marking instrument arm means.

Claim 10

The device of claim 6 in which is included means for selectively adjusting the sensitivity of said vibration sensitive means.

Claim 11

The device of claim 3 in which said means responsive to the opening of certain doors of the vehicle includes bellcrank means pivotally attached to said arm support means and being free to pivot about a vertical axis, horizontal pin means, said arm support means being provided with a horizontally extending aperture, said horizontal pin means being slidably received in said horizontal aperture, spring means for urging said horizontal pin means towards said drive arm means, said drive arm means includes cam bar means having inner and outer ends thereto with said inner end being pivotally attached to said drive aRm means intermediate thereof and being free to pivot about a substantially vertical axis, said horizontal pin means having one of the ends thereof resting against said outer end of said cam bar means with the opposite end resting against said bellcrank means, said means for coupling said marking instrument arm means to said drive arm means includes canted pin means for engaging said cam bar means, said canted pin means being fixedly attached to said marking instrument arm means adjacent said inner end thereof and projecting upwardly in a non-horizontal non-vertical axis towards said drive arm means, said drive arm means being provided with an enlarged aperture for allowing said canted pin means to freely pass therethrough, said outer end of said cam bar means being provided with an elongated canted aperture having the major axis thereof extending parallel with said cam bar means and the minor axis thereof being canted upwardly in a non-horizontal non-vertical axis towards said bellcrank means, said canted aperture slidably receiving said canted pin means selectively when said marking instrument arm means is in said marking instrument engaged position, and cable means for fractionally rotating said bellcrank means, one end of said cable means being attached to said bellcrank means and the opposite end thereof being adapted for attachment to the door of the vehicle whereby opening the door thereof being effective to cause said bellcrank means to rotate.