Apparatus for protecting and preventing theft of in-dashboard mounted radios and the like

Claim 1

Apparatus for protecting and preventing theft of a radio instrument and the like adapted to be mounted in a dashboard; said dashboard having a relatively accessible front side and a relatively inaccessible back side, the combination comprising: an instrument to be protected including a body adapted to be positioned in back of the dashboard, a nose portion adapted to be visable from the front of the dashboard, a pair of hollow threaded shafts adapted to also extend through said dashboard, a pair of instrument control shafts extending through said hollow threaded shafts, a pair of nuts carried by said hollow threaded shafts on the front side of said dashboard for releasably drawing said body tightly against the back side of said dashboard, and control knobs attached to said control shafts; and protection means including a back plate defining an opening corresponding in size and position to said nose piece and a pair of apertures corresponding in size and position to said pair of hollow threaded shafts, said back plate being adapted to be secured between the front of said dashboard and said nuts whereby said back plate is retained in position by the same threaded hollow shafts and nuts as retain said instrument in position, cover means attached to said back plate for selectively enclosing and exposing said nose portion, said nuts, and said control knobs and means for locking cover means to said back plate in its position enclosing said nose portion, said nuts and said control knobs.