Device to prevent removal of fuel and oil caps

Abstract

A device to prevent removal of fuel and oil caps includes: a pin having a shaft, a flat head at an end of the shaft, and an aperture through the shaft; a washer that fits over the shaft of the pin and retains the head of the pin; an adhesive that fixes the washer to the cap; a cover that is rotatably retained over the cap by the pin; and a lock that engages with the aperture in the shaft, thereby rotatably retaining the cover over the cap and deterring removal of the cap. The adhesive may be sticky tape. A kit also includes sandpaper to clean the cap.

1 . A device to deter removal of a cap, comprising:
 a pin having a shaft, a flat head at an end of the shaft, and an aperture through the shaft;   a washer that fits over the shaft of the pin and retains the head of the pin;   an adhesive that fixes the washer to the cap;   a cover that is rotatably retained over the cap by the pin; and   a lock that engages with the aperture in the shaft, thereby rotatably retaining the cover over the cap and deterring removal of the cap.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the washer rotatably retains the pin so that both the cover and the pin rotate relative to the cap. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the lock is a padlock having a bolt that releasably passes through the aperture in the shaft so that, when the padlock is locked in place, the cover cannot be removed from the pin, and when the padlock is released, the cover can be removed from the pin, thereby allowing removal of the cap. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a tape having a sticky side, adapted to be placed over the washer to adhere the washer to the cap. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a tape that fixes the washer to the cap so that, if the tape is removed from the cap, the removal will be detectable by a user of the device. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a kit including an abrasive to clean the cap before the washer is fixed to the cap with the adhesive.   
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the cap is round, and the cover is round and larger than the cap, thereby allowing the cover to cover the cap and rotate around the cap. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an aperture in the cover, wherein the shaft of the pin passes through the aperture in the cover so as to rotatably retain the cover to the shaft.   
     
     
         9 . A method for deterring removal of a cap, comprising:
 utilizing an adhesive to rotatably fix a pin to the cap;   placing a cover around the pin and over the cap, so that the cover covers the cap and rotates relative to the cap; and   releasably locking the cover to the pin;   thereby deterring removal of the cap.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the lock is a padlock that releasably locks through an aperture in the pin, thereby preventing the cover from being removed from the cap when the padlock is in place and allowing the cover to be removed when the padlock is released.