WO2005056958A1

WO2005056958A1 - Anti-theft device

Info

Publication number: WO2005056958A1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/003101
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bruno Bouan
Original assignee: Fors France
Priority date: 2003-12-02
Filing date: 2004-12-02
Publication date: 2005-06-23
Also published as: FR2862999A1; FR2862999B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an anti-theft device for articles, comprising: two bodies (1, 2) which can slide in relation to one another such as to enclose at least one article (6), and a locking system (3). The inventive device is characterised in that at least one part of the article (6) is placed in a first of the aforementioned two bodies (1) and, subsequently, the second body (2) slides inside the first body (1) along a slide axis, said locking system (3) blocking the second body (2) in relation to the first (1).

Description

ANTI-THEFT DEVICE

The present invention relates to the field of theft protection devices. The present invention relates more particularly to housings in which the article to be monitored is inserted and which has a system for blocking the article in the housing so that the article cannot be removed from the housing before the checkout.

The prior art already knows US Pat. No. 5,732,822 which describes an open parallelepiped box for placing an article, such as a CD or a DVD. This housing comprises a sliding lateral protuberance which allows, once the article has been inserted, to slide this protuberance to block the article in its housing, the housing having a system for locking the position for blocking the article. A similar system is known from patent JP 11193086.

These systems are effective and practical, but are not suitable for an article to be placed on a rod or the like in the shelving of a large distribution store. Furthermore, these systems are used for parallelepipedic articles of CD or DVD type, but do not work with articles having a more complex geometry without increasing the dimensions of this article, so that shelving placement is not always possible. . The present invention intends to remedy the shortcomings of the prior art by proposing a simple, inexpensive, reliable and resistant housing for the insertion of an article. To do this, the present invention relates to an anti-theft device for articles, comprising two bodies sliding with each other to enclose at least one article, and a locking system, characterized in that at least a part of said article is placed in a first of the two bodies then the second body slides in the first body along a sliding axis, the locking system coming to block the second body relative to the first body. Advantageously, the anti-theft device will comprise a means for locking the blocking system.

Preferably the locking means will comprise at least one blade and a counterweight.

However, it should be noted that the counterweight can be replaced by one or more flexible blades. We can also consider using a plurality of weights instead of using a single weight. In the following, we have chosen to illustrate the invention with a device comprising only one counterweight.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the blocking system will comprise a pivot axis perpendicular to the sliding axis of the two bodies in one another, the blocking system being able to occupy a blocking position and a position of release. Advantageously, when, in the blocking position of the blocking system, said blocking system will engage the locking means. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the engagement of the locking means will consist of the compression of the said blade and the positioning of the counterweight in a housing located in the locking system.

Advantageously, the blocking system may consist of a rotary flap, said flap extending parallel to the sliding axis of the two bodies when it is in the blocking position.

Advantageously, at least one of the two bodies will comprise at least one lateral slot to allow the passage of the lateral parts of the article, or more generally of its container.

In the following, we will often talk about the article to evoke the article itself with its container, that is to say its packaging. The packaging of the article conventionally comprises a cardboard rear part, in particular for displaying the advertisement relating to the article, and a transparent protruding part, generally made of plastic, relative to the cardboard part. This transparent part leaves, of course, the article apparent. By way of example of such articles, mention may be made of cosmetic or hygiene products, such as disposable razors, but of course very many other types of articles, having various packaging, can be secured using the device according to the invention. Preferably, each body, that is to say the upper body and the lower body, will have at least one lateral slit. Advantageously, the body or bodies will include / include a lateral slit on each of their lateral sides.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the two bodies and the locking system will be made of plastic.

Likewise, the bodies will be transparent or semi-transparent. Advantageously, the locking means will be unlockable by means of an unlocking means comprising at least one magnet capable of attracting the aforementioned counterweight. Advantageously, the device according to the invention will include anti-theft detection labels.

Advantageously, the sliding between the two abovementioned bodies will be possible over a distance of approximately 70 millimeters in the example chosen to illustrate the invention. Thus, the anti-theft device will have a height of between 115 and 185 millimeters.

Preferably, the so-called upper body will comprise a protruding tab having at least one orifice for the passage of a rod or the like in order to fix said device and its article therein. Thanks to the invention, users have an easily mountable anti-theft box capable of enclosing an article between two sliding bodies between during assembly, this making it possible, thanks to the locking system, to adjust the fixing distance between the two bodies. so that the anti-theft case adapts to all the dimensions of articles, both in height thanks to said adjustment and in width thanks to the lateral slots present on the body or bodies. Furthermore, thanks to the device of the invention, it is possible to scan, or read, the bar codes present on the article regardless of their location. In fact, the box according to the invention, in addition to being made of transparent or semi-transparent plastic, does not have any edges, or geometric shape, capable of masking the bar code of the article.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the description, given below for purely explanatory purposes, of an embodiment of the invention, with reference to the appended figures: FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the body lower, upper body and the article to be fixed between the two bodies; FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the closed device in which an article is located; Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view of the lower body with its flap, that is to say the locking system, in the non-locking or unlocking position; Figure 4 illustrates a schematic view illustrating the lower body with an article being introduced therein, these two elements being partly transparentforvisual iserleurf onnctionation / use; Figure 5 illustrates a schematic view, identical to Figure 4, of the lower body with an article, the upper body being positioned above this assembly and ready to be slidably mounted on the lower body; FIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view of the upper and lower bodies fixed between them and of an article trapped in said bodies, the locking system being in the unlocking or non-locking position; and FIG. 7 is identical to FIG. 6 but the blocking system is here in the blocking position. The housing according to the invention essentially comprises two bodies, one called lower 1 and the other called upper 2. This housing only comprises three plastic parts, namely the lower body 1, the upper body 2 and the locking system. 3, as well as in the example chosen to illustrate the invention, a metal leaf spring 4, a counterweight 5 and a spring, not visible in the appended figures. This box is therefore of particularly simple design, and saves time during assembly. The housing makes it possible to best marry article 6 intended to accommodate it. The anti-theft case of the invention generally does not exceed more than 8 millimeters from the general height of the product 6, when the adjustment distance between the upper body 2 and the lower body 1 is almost minimum or minimum. Indeed, in this case, only the lower end of the lower body 1 constitutes a protuberance with respect to the lower end of the article 6, the latter coming into abutment against the lower wall 7 of the lower body. In Figure 1 are shown the lower body 1 with its locking flap 3 in an inclined position, the article 6 to be inserted in the lower body 1 and the upper body 2. The three elements 1, 2, 6 are ready to be inserted. one inside the other and fixed together in the following order: article 6 is inserted in the lower body 1, the upper body 2 slides in the lower body 1 by means of guide grooves and a serrated part 8 on the upper body 2, the locking flap 3 is turned to the locking position, engaging the locking of the locked position. The lower body 1 is in the form of a parallelepipedal block comprising an upper opening and the other sides, side and bottom of which are closed. The lower body 1 comprises two parallel parts 9, 10 each extending longitudinally, that is to say in the direction of sliding between the two bodies 1, 2.

The first part 9 of the lower body 1 is intended to house the article 6. It consists of a large parallelepiped housing the lateral walls of which are those of the external walls of the said body 1 with the exception of the internal wall 11 common with the second part 10. Near the inner wall 11 are the two lateral slots 12 extending from the underside 7 of the body 1 to its upper opening, said slots 12 being open on the side of the opening face or insertion of article 6. These parallel slots 12 are intended to allow the passage of the wings or lateral protuberances present on articles 6, generally formed by the lateral edges of the packages of said articles 6. These two slots 12, located on the two short sides of the lower body 1, extend linearly, but a slightly inclined axis could be provided so that, for example, the package of the article 6 to be monitored comes to be wedged against the edges of the slots 12.

Provision may also be made for the lower body 1 and the upper body 2 to have no lateral slit in cases where it is not necessary to allow the lateral parts of article 6 to pass. In the same way, a variant could consist in the single embodiment of a slot on the upper face of the upper body 2 intended to allow a protruding upper part of the article 6 to pass.

We can also consider making the inner wall 11 in a perforated manner, that is to say only side edges forming a U and the central part will be left open. The function of this wall 11 will remain the same, namely to authorize the placement of article 6 and also the delimitation of compartments 9 and 10. In this case, the blade 4, or a spring having the same function, will take its support not more on the solid face of the wall 11 but on one face of the upper body 2. It will also be noted that in the embodiments illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it is perfectly possible and conceivable that the segment 19 of the blade 4 comes to bear against said upper body 2.

The second part 10 constituting the lower body 1 comprises a housing for the locking flap 3 when the latter is in the position for blocking the position of the upper body 2 on the lower body 1. Furthermore, this second part 10 comprises, at its lower end, at least one housing 13 for housing a counterweight 5. The counterweight 5 is made of material capable of being attracted by a magnet, for example of iron. The counterweight 5 has a cylindrical shape and has a protuberance 24, located on its upper face, substantially T-shaped. Under the counterweight 5, in the above-mentioned housing 13, is a spring, not visible in the figures, suitable to exert a vertical thrust of said counterweight 5 out of the housing 13. The counterweight 5 will be attracted downwards, that is to say in compression of the spring, as soon as a magnet is brought close to the lower face 7 of the lower body 1.

In addition, the lower body 1 comprises a rotary shutter 3 having a fixed axis of rotation 14 at its upper end, near the upper face of the lower body 1. This shutter 3 comprises a leaf spring 4 intended to exert a lateral thrust of said flap 3, that is to say tending to spread the flap 3 away from the lower body 1. This flap 3 therefore extends in an inclined manner relative to the longitudinal plane of the lower body 1, when it is not in the locked position and the flap 3 extends in the longitudinal plane of the lower body 1 when it is in the locked position. The leaf spring 4 consists of a flat blade having two points of curvature 15, 16, or bending, the three segments 17, 18, 19 having the shape of a hairpin when the shutter 3 is in the locked position. A segment 17 of the blade 4, constituting one end, extends against the face of the flap 3 and is fixed to said flap 3, by its end, while another segment 19 of the blade 4, constituting the other end of said blade 4 comes into parallel contact with the face of the inner wall 11 of the lower body 1. Thus, when the counterweight 5 is released from its position locking the shutter 3 by a magnet, or the like, then the leaf spring 4 pushes said shutter 3 out of its locked position automatically. Of course, it could also be envisaged that the blade 4 has only one preformed point of curvature 15, the other points of curvature being liable to appear during use. The locking position of the counterweight 5 is obtained by insertion of the upper protuberance of said counterweight 5 in a suitable housing 20 present at the lower end of the flap 3. Thus, when the flap 3 is turned towards the inner wall 11 of the body lower 1, the counterweight 5 engages naturally, under the thrust of the spring, in the housing 20 of the shutter 3; this positioning being facilitated by the presence of an inclined plane tab 21 which slides on the upper protuberance of the counterweight 5 until the penetration of the counterweight 5 into the housing of the shutter 3.

It will be noted that the upper end of the flap 3 comprises a small hook 22 intended on the one hand to stiffen the locking system of the device according to the invention by serving as reinforcement for the external wall of the lower body 1 and to prevent the engagement of 'A blade, or the like, for illegally forcing the opening of the case.

The upper body 2 also comprises two parts, one for housing the article 6 and the other for concomitantly with the second part 10 of the lower body 1. It will be noted that the upper body 2 has dimensions slightly greater than those of the lower body 1 so that the sliding of the two bodies 1, 2 can be achieved while not allowing any play between the two bodies 1, 2. Of course, provision could also be made for the dimensions of the lower body 1 to be greater than the dimensions of the upper body 2.

The upper body 2 comprises, at its first part 9, a lower opening while its upper face is closed. The second part, parallel to the first part, is open because it is only used for its sliding with the second part 10 of the lower body 1. Furthermore, it will be noted that in the example chosen to illustrate the invention, the second part 10 of the lower body 1 has larger dimensions than the second part of the upper body 2. The second part of the upper body 2 comprises two parallel wings 23 extending longitudinally. These two wings 23 each have on their internal faces opposite a serrated part 8 to ensure the fixing of the upper body 2 on the lower body 1, which has also serrated or grooved parts, not visible in the accompanying figures.

Finally, the upper body 2 comprises a tab 34 extending longitudinally from its upper face. This tab 34 has an orifice for the passage of a rod so as to hang said article 6 and its anti-theft box on a store display. In the case of a special attachment of the upper body 2 to the lower body 1, provision may be made for the orifice of the upper tab 34 to be concomitant with the upper orifice of the packaging 6, as shown in FIG. 2.

The invention is described in the foregoing by way of example. It is understood that the skilled person is able to realize different variants of the invention without going beyond the scope of the patent.

Claims

1. Anti-theft device for articles, comprising two bodies (1, 2) sliding with each other to enclose at least one article (6), and a blocking system (3), characterized in that at least one part of said article (6) is placed in a first of the two bodies (1) then the second body (2) slides in the first body (1) along a sliding axis, the locking system (3) coming to block the second body (2) relative to the first body (1).

2. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a locking means (4, 5) of the locking system (3).

3. Anti-theft device according to claim 2, characterized in that the locking means comprises at least one blade (4) and a counterweight (5).

4. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking system (3) comprises a pivot axis (14) perpendicular to the sliding axis of the two bodies (1, 2), one in the other, the locking system (3) being able to occupy a locking position and an unlocking position.

5. Anti-theft device according to claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, when in the blocking position of the blocking system, said blocking system (3) engages the locking means (4, 5).

6. Anti-theft device according to claim 5, characterized in that the engagement of the locking means (5) consists of the compression of the said blade (4) and the positioning of the counterweight (5) in a housing (20) located in the locking system (3).

7. Anti-theft device according to claim 4, characterized in that the locking system (3) consists of a rotary shutter, said shutter (3) extending parallel to the sliding axis of the two bodies (1, 2) when '' it is in the locked position.

8. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the two bodies (1 or 2) comprises at least one lateral slot (12) to allow the passage of the lateral parts of the article (6).

9. Anti-theft device according to claim 8, characterized in that each body (1, 2) has at least one lateral slot (12).

10. Anti-theft device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the body or bodies (1, 2) comprises / comprise a lateral slot (12) on each of their lateral sides.

11. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two bodies (1, 2) and the locking system (3) are made of plastic.

12. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bodies (12) are transparent or semi-transparent.

13. Anti-theft device according to any one of claims 2 to 12, characterized in that the locking means (4, 5) is unlockable by means of an unlocking means comprising at least one magnet capable of attracting the said flyweight (5) .

14. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises anti-theft detection labels.

15. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding between the two above-mentioned bodies (1, 2) is possible over a distance of approximately 70 millimeters.

16. Anti-theft device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body (2) comprises a protruding tab (24) having at least one orifice for the passage of a rod or the like in order to fix it said device and its article (6).