There has been a increasing tendency for automobile owners to install expensive stereo sound systems within their automobiles. This has included AM/FM stereo radios, tape players, equalizers and related electronic components for enhanced listening enjoyment. The presence of this equipment within unattended automobiles was susceptible to the unauthorized removal especially since access to the interior of the car was relatively easy. Consequently, security devices have been developed to thwart thieves. Such devices included alarm systems and locking apparatus as typically shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,995. A shortcoming of those devices, however, was that an automobile alarm and/or cable lock could be defeated without great difficulty and thus did not provide an effective deterrent.
Another approach to discourage theft was to conceal the stereo equipment by use of a "false" front which simulated an inexpensive radio such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,280. The scope of protection provided by that device was limited to the extend that a thief would be deceived.
Additional radio protection devices included a double housing mounted within a dashboard which was designed for slidably holding a stereo radio and/or tape player with plug-socket connection so that the equipment could readily be slipped out by the owner when leaving the car. Such a device is typically sold under the name Bensi Box. A deficiency of this last mentioned device was that it was not convenient to continually insert and remove the radio unit. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this device was dependent in part upon the reliability of the repeated plug and socket interconnections.
Still another concept related to a locking box or cover as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,248,069, and Pat. No. 3,699,787. The problem with those cover devices was that they did not prevent one from attacking the surrounding dashboard, which are frequently made of friable materials, and thus being able to remove the radio equipment with the cover in place.
The theft prevention device of this invention in contrast, provides an armament for audio equipment which includes a positive securement to a structural portion of the automobile.