Claims:We claim:

1. An anti-theft apparatus (100) for a bicycle (110), said anti-theft apparatus (100) comprises a controller (102) , said controller (102) is connected to a portable electronic device (104), said controller (102)
? receives a lock command from said portable electronic device (104) for locking said bicycle (110); and
? controls an actuator (106) of a gear shifter (108) to change gears of said bicycle (110) continuously to avoid theft of said bicycle (110) upon receiving said lock command from said portable electronic device (104).

2. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) is connected to said portable electronic device (104) through a wireless communication channel.

3. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said portable electronic device (104) is selected from one of a portable phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a smart watch, a cyclo-computer and the like.

4. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) is detachedly mounted on said bicycle.

5. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) changes the gears frequently to avoid free movement of said bicycle during a lock mode.

6. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) alerts about unauthorized movement of said bicycle (110) to a authorized bicycle user during the lock mode of said bicycle (110) through said portable electronic device (104).

7. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) informs about location of said bicycle (110) to said authorized bicycle user through said portable electronic device (104) during said lock mode.

8. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 1, wherein said controller (102) changes to an unlock mode upon receiving an unlock command from said portable electronic device (104).

9. The anti-theft apparatus (100) of claim 9, wherein said controller (102) changes the operation condition of gears to normal state to facilitate free movement of said bicycle (110).

10. A method of preventing theft of a bicycle (110), said bicycle (110) comprises a controller (102) , said controller (102) is connected to a portable electronic device (104), said method comprises
? receiving a lock command from said portable electronic device (104) by said controller (102) for locking said bicycle (110); and
? controlling an actuator (106) of a gear shifter (108) to change gears of said bicycle (110) continuously to avoid theft of said bicycle (110) upon locking of said bicycle (110) by said portable electronic device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said command is received from said portable electronic device (104) through a wireless communication channel.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprises changing to an unlock mode upon receiving an unlock command from said portable electronic device (104).

13. The method of claim 10, further comprises changing operation condition of gears to normal to facilitate free movement of said bicycle (110).
, Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
Field of the invention:
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for preventing theft of a bicycle.

Background of the invention:
[0002] A PCT patent publication WO11056015A2 discloses an anti-theft device. The anti-theft apparatus includes a control device, which detects the theft of the bicycle or components of the bicycle based on the result of detection by sensors. It monitors changes in the location of the bicycle from the parked location of the bicycle using GPS, and uploads the result of the detection and monitoring over a wireless communication network.

[0003] Nowadays, physical locks are also prone to easy unlocking or breaking by the bicycle thieves. Hence, there is a need for a reliable antitheft apparatus, which would kill the intention of riding a bicycle by an unauthorized user or a thief.

Brief description of the invention:
[0004] An apparatus and a method for preventing theft of a bicycle is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a controller, which is connected to a portable electronic device. The controller receives a lock command from said portable electronic device for locking said bicycle. The controller controls an actuator of a gear shifter to change gears of said bicycle continuously to avoid theft of said bicycle upon receiving said lock command from said portable electronic device.

[0005] The controller is connected to the portable electronic device through a wireless communication channel such as Bluetooth.

[0006] The portable electronic device is selected from one of a portable phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a smart watch, a cyclo-computer and the like.
[0007] In an embodiment of the invention, the controller is detachedly mounted on said bicycle. The controller changes the gears frequently to avoid free movement of said bicycle during a lock mode.

[0008] The controller alerts about unauthorized movement of said bicycle to an authorized bicycle user during the lock mode of said bicycle through said portable electronic device. The controller informs about location of said bicycle to said authorized bicycle user through said portable electronic device during said lock mode.

[0009] Since the gears are changed continuously during the lock mode, the thief cannot move the bicycle freely beyond a certain distance and thus intention of stealing the bike is killed. Need for physical lock is also avoided.

[0010] The controller changes to an unlock mode upon receiving an unlock command from said portable electronic device, and changes the operation condition of gears to normal to facilitate free movement of said bicycle during the unlock mode.

[0011] The method of preventing theft of a bicycle, involves receiving a lock command from said portable electronic device by a controller for locking said bicycle. The method also involves controlling an actuator of a gear shifter to change gears of said bicycle continuously to avoid theft of said bicycle upon locking of said bicycle by said portable electronic device. The method further comprises changing to an unlock mode upon receiving an unlock command from said portable electronic device. The operation condition of gears is changed to normal to facilitate free movement of said bicycle by said controller during unlock mode.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0012] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawing,
[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an anti-theft apparatus for a bicycle, according to an embodiment of the present invention,
[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a bicycle having an anti-theft apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
[0015] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart for a method for preventing theft of a bicycle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0016] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an anti-theft apparatus for a bicycle, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The anti-theft apparatus 100 for a bicycle 200 comprises a controller 102. The controller 102 can be a microcontroller or an Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

[0017] The controller 102 is connected to a portable electronic device 104 through a wireless communication channel, including but not limited to, Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra wide band, etc. An authorized user or the owner of the bicycle 200 pairs the portable electronic device 104 with the controller 102 by well-known methods.

[0018] Examples of the portable electronic device 104 can be portable or a smart phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a smart watch, a cyclo-computer and the like.

[0019] In an embodiment of the invention, the controller 102 is detachedly or removably mounted on said bicycle 200 by various known fixtures. As shown in the Figure 2, the controller 102 is mounted on to a central body frame of the bicycle 200.

[0020] The authorized user locks or unlocks the bicycle 200 using his/her portable electronic device 104. The authorized user can use hard/soft keys of the portable electronic device 104 or use an application program (app) to send a lock command or an unlock command to lock or unlock the bicycle 200.
[0021] For example, the authorized user or owner after parking the bicycle 200 in a suitable place, he/she can lock the bicycle 200 using his portable electronic device 104, instead of locking the bicycle manually and physically.

[0022] When the controller 102 receives the lock command from the portable electronic device 104, a lock mode is activated. The controller 102 controls an actuator 106 of a gear shifter 108 of the bicycle 200 to change gears 108 of the bicycle 200 continuously during the lock mode. The controller 102 is connected to the actuator 106 through a cable or a wire or wireless. The actuator 106 can be a motor or other a drive unit. The actuator 106 drives the gear shifter 108 such as a rear derailleur (RD) to change gears 110 continuously to avoid the theft of the bicycle 200.

[0023] In the figure 2, rear derailleur is shown as a gear shifter 108. However, the gear shifter 108 can also be a front derailleur. During lock mode, when the bicycle 200 is moved, the controller 102 controls the rear derailleur 108 so that it shifts a chain of the bicycle 200 between different sprockets, thus changing gears 110 continuously. Because of this frequent change of gears 110, it is very difficult to move the bicycle. Therefore, theft of the bicycle 200 is prevented effectively. When a thief or an unauthorized user tries to ride the bicycle 200 during the lock mode, the riding becomes extremely difficult; thereby the intention of stealing the bicycle 200 is killed effectively.

[0024] During the lock mode, the controller 102 alerts about the unauthorized movement of the bicycle 200 to the authorized/registered bicycle user through the portable electronic device 104.

[0025] For example, a SMS or message through personal messenger can be sent to the portable phone 104 of the authorized user to alert the theft or unauthorized movement of the bicycle 200. In another example, the controller 102 operates a buzzer or emits a warning sound upon detecting the unauthorized movement of the bicycle 200.

[0026] In an embodiment of the invention, a controller 102 is also connected to a GPS unit. The controller 102 retrieves the location co-ordinates of the bicycle 200 using the GPS unit and sends it to the portable phone 104 of the registered user. The controller 102 stores the location co-ordinates of the bicycle 200 in a memory after receiving a locking command from the registered user through the portable phone 104. When the thief or unauthorized user moves the bicycle 200 during the lock mode, the controller 102 compares the stored location co-ordinates and the present location co-ordinates and informs the registered user about the current location of the bicycle 200.

[0027] As the controller 102 informs about the location of the bicycle to the authorized bicycle user using a GPS unit, detection and arrest of the thief becomes easy.

[0028] When the registered user wants to use the bicycle, he sends an unlock command with the help of the portable electronic device 104. The controller 102 changes to the unlock mode upon receiving the unlock command. The controller 102 changes the operation condition of the gears 108 to normal state to facilitate the free movement of the bicycle 200. Thus, it improves the safety as well as convenience of usage of the bicycle 200.

[0029] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the controller 102 can help in guiding the registered user towards the bicycle 200, especially in a crowded parking area, when he/she sends an unlocking command. For example, the controller 102 sends the last parked location co-ordinates of the bicycle 200 to the portable electronic device 104. The application program installed in the portable electronic device 104 shows audio/video guidance to the registered user towards the parked bicycle 200.

[0030] In another embodiment of the invention, the controller 102 emits a sound or a light to indicate to the registered user about the parked location, when he/she sends the unlocking command. Thus, the invention improves the convenience of the users.

[0031] Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart for a method for preventing theft of a bicycle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0032] The method of preventing theft of a bicycle 200, involves receiving a lock command from portable electronic device 104 by a controller 102 for locking the bicycle 200, at step S1. At step S2, an actuator 106 of a gear shifter 108 is actuated to change gears 110 of the bicycle 200 continuously to avoid theft of the bicycle 200 upon locking of the bicycle 200 by the portable electronic device 104. The method further comprises changing to an unlock mode upon receiving an unlock command from said portable electronic device 104. The operation condition of gears is changed to normal to facilitate free movement of said bicycle by said controller during unlock mode.

[0033] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.