Removable protector for locks

A removable protector for a locking mechanism, such as a door knob or window lock is disclosed. The protector comprises a magnetically attractive member, such as a circular base plate, surrounding the locking mechanism and a housing magnetically attached thereover to discourage access. The housing is dome shaped in configuration and has an aperture to receive a lever whereby the housing may be removed from the circular plate to allow full access to the lock.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a protective device for preventing unauthorized 
tampering with locking mechanisms and particularly is adopted for use with 
lock type door knobs to which access is generally easily possible by 
breakage of an adjacent window. 
Various devices are known for providing protection for locking mechanisms. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,996 describes a permanently attached, hinged cover for 
a door knob which can be secured by means of a key lock. The locking 
button of the door knob is accessible by means of a hole in the cover. 
Another door handle cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,210,972. The 
cover comprises a five sided box which is attached by applying the box 
over the door knob, then inserting the sixth side and locking with a key 
lock. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,956 describes a permanent tube type cover which allows 
a key to be inserted in the door knob but includes construction to prevent 
the prying off of the knob itself from the shaft. 
Another door knob protection device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 
2,458,002. 
Automotive keyhole covers are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,350, 
3,782,149 and 3,861,182. These devices completely cover the keyhole and 
protect the mechanism within the door from water and ice. They may be 
attached by magnets in the cover itself. Another keyhole protection is 
offered in U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,165. 
Even though considerable work has heretofore been undertaken in an effort 
to removably cover locks, a need exists for a cover which is completely 
removable, which need not be secured with a key lock and yet which 
effectively discourages tampering with the enclosed locking mechanism. An 
object of this invention is to provide a device utilizing such a cover. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A removable housing to protect a window or door lock from tampering is 
provided which is secured by one or more magnets in various configurations 
around the locking mechanism. 
The removable protector of the present invention comprises generally a base 
which is attached to the window or door construction in secure manner such 
as by employing screws. The base may be formed in the configuration of an 
annular ring or otherwise as may be necessary to peripherally surround at 
least a major portion of the window or door locking mechanism. 
The protector housing or cover is rounded and smooth to discourage easy 
removal and preferably is dome shaped in configuration to present a 
pleasing appearance while at the same time providing an external 
construction that is quite difficult to tightly grasp for removal 
purposes. Magnetic means are interposed between the base plate and the 
housing to magnetically secure the parts together. Preferably, the cover 
is formed to provide a small top opening of size to permit insertion of 
the hook or lever of a small hard tool which is suitably designed to apply 
sufficient separating forces to overcome the magnetically attractive 
forces to pull the cover from the base. 
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved 
removable protector for locks of the type set forth. 
It is another object if the present invention to provide a novel removable 
cover for locks comprising a base, a housing and magnetic means retaining 
the parts. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a protection device for a 
door knob or other locking mechanism which is adjacent to an outside 
window of a home or other building to prevent access to the locking 
mechanism from the outside by merely breaking the window. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a removable 
protection for locks comprising a base of magnetically attractive material 
permanently secured to the door or window construction, a dome shaped 
cover including a circumferential magnet to removably seat upon the base 
and a tool engagable upon the cover to pull the cover from the base when 
access to the lock is desired. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a removable cover 
for locks that is simple in design, rugged in construction and trouble 
free when in use. 
Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had by 
referring to the following description and claims of a preferred 
embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, 
wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts through the 
several views, and in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake 
of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular 
structure of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings and 
are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention. 
The removable protector 10 of the present invention comprises a base 12 
which is adapted to be secured about the object 16 to be protected and a 
cover or housing 14. The cover 14 may be magnetically removably attached 
to the base 12 and may be removed therefrom by utilizing a lever or other 
suitable tool which is engageable in a hole provided in the cover to pull 
the cover 14 from the base 12. 
The object to be protected may be virtually any three dimensional object. 
However, the invention is especially adapted for use with locking 
mechanisms which may be tampered with after breakage of an adjacent window 
pane. That is, burglars who seek to gain entry to a house may break a 
window, reach in and easily unlock a window lock or door lock. Thereafter, 
entry can readily be gained into the building interior through the 
unlocked window or door. However, it is recognized that even if such an 
entry-way cannot be absolutely secured against an unauthorized breaking 
and entering, devices which force the unauthorized person to expend more 
time at the breaking may cause the person to abandon the attempt. Thus, 
the device will be effective evn if it cannot totally prevent entry 
provided it causes so much additional time and effect that the would-be 
burglar will be discouraged and give up the attempt at unauthorized entry. 
The base 12 of device 10 may be circular, square, rectangular or any 
irregular shape as long as it extends peripherally outwardly from the 
locking mechanism to be protected. The base 12 is permanently attached to 
the lock mechanism support such as the door 26 to which a door knob 16 is 
attached. Attachment of the base 12 may be with conventional screws 20, 
epoxy glue or any other suitable means. The base can be fabricated of any 
material such as steel or iron which is attracted by magnets, such as the 
circular magnets 18 contained in the dome shaped housing 14. 
Alternatively, the base 12 may be a laminate of metals, plastics or other 
materials as long as the exposed surface is attractive to the magnet. 
If desired, the magnet 18 could be contained in the base 12 and the housing 
could be adapted to have a metallic surface which was attractive to the 
magnet in the base. 
In another embodiment of the invention, both the base and the housing could 
have magnetic parts which seat onto and come into contact with each other 
when the cover is applied over the base. In this embodiment, the magnets 
are adapted so that the cover can be secured to the base by magnetic 
attraction, with the respective magnetic poles in magnetically attractive 
orientation. 
Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the device 10 is illustrated as applied 
directly to a door construction 26 and to a window assembly 30. In each 
instance, the respective base 12, 36 is secured about the lock 16, 38 by 
inserting screws 20, 40 or other known fasteners. The housing 14, 34 in 
FIGS. 1 and 4 contains magnetic portion 18 which may be an integral part 
of the cover or may be a separate magnet which has been attached with 
screws or glue or other means to the housing. The housing or cover 14, 34 
may be of any shape, such as cylindrical or hemispherical, and may have a 
decoration applied thereon. However, since the prying off of the housing 
from the base should only be easily accomplished with the use of a 
separate tool, for example a lever tool 22, its shape should not be easy 
to grasp. Thus, the shape is preferably hemispherical in configuration. 
The housing 14 may be fabricated of metal, plastic or any material adapted 
to hold the circular magnet 18. 
A housing removal means in the form of an aperture 24 is provided in the 
cover 14 and preferably is only wide enough to allow insertion of the hook 
portion of the special lever tool 22. Thus, the aperture 24 will be too 
narrow for insertion of a screwdriver or other tool which a burglar might 
be expected to carry. The lever tool 22 has an extension portion 23 which 
terminates a perpendicular bend or hook portion which when inserted into 
the aperture 24, can exert sufficient pressure against door knob 16 or 
which may permit the application of pulling forces sufficient to dislodge 
the housing 14 to expose the door knob 16. 
FIG. 2 depicts a door 26 having a window pane 28 in close proximity to the 
door knob 16 over which the device 10 is attached. FIG. 3 shows a window 
30 having a modified device 32 of the invention adapted to be attached 
over a standard window lock. As shown in FIG. 4, the window device 32 
comprises a dome shaped housing 34 and base 36 which is attached by screws 
40 into the window frame to the window lock 38. 
In other embodiments of the invention, either the housing or the base may 
be provided with a flange in order to make sideways movement of the 
housing relative to the base more difficult. As illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 
and 7, side views of other embodiments of hemispherical housing and 
circular base assemblies are shown wherein the respective bases 42, 52 and 
60 have flanges 44, 54 and 62 which project outwardly from the bases and 
wherein the bases are fabricated of magnetic attractive material such as 
iron or steel. The cooperating respective housings 46, 56 and 64 are 
equipped with magnets 48, 58 and 66 which are mechanically secured thereto 
in any known, reliable manner. As indicated previously, either the 
housings or the bases may be magnetic and in reference to the embodiments 
illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, this could simply be effected by 
fabricating the respective bases 42, 52 and 60 with permanent magnetic 
materials. 
FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 depict other embodiments of the invention wherein the 
base 68 is fabricated to an annular configuration of magnetic material and 
the housings 70, 74 and 78 are formed with cooperating flanges 72, 76 and 
80, respectively, to prevent sideways movement of the housings relative to 
the bases when magnetically attached to the bases. The invention may be 
further modified by providing flanges on both the base and the housing if 
so desired. 
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the 
particular embodiments herein set forth, it is understood that the present 
disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes 
in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from 
the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the invention 
should not be limited by the foregoing specification, but rather only by 
the scope of the claims appended hereto.