Patent ID: 7703308

Claim:
A security device for locking a merchandise display rod having an upper rod and a lower rod to prevent unauthorized removal of items of merchandise displayed on the lower rod, said device comprising: a housing defining a substantially horizontally oriented passageway having a length and adapted to receive the upper rod therein; said housing further defining an interior chamber disposed perpendicularly to said passageway and having a magnetically attractable locking member biased by a spring within the chamber towards a notch formed in the lower rod and linearly moveable against a biasing force of the spring within the chamber between a locked position where the locking member engages the notch in the lower rod and an unlocked position where the locking member does not engage the notch in the lower rod; and a recess formed in the housing and extending substantially parallel to the passageway and inwardly from an exterior surface thereof into the interior of the housing and terminating proximate the chamber; said recess being adapted to receive a dipole magnet therein for moving the locking member from the locked position to the unlocked position against the biasing force of the spring such that the housing is movable a distance substantially equal to the length of the passageway to thereby permit removal of the items of merchandise displayed on the lower rod.