EP1750235A1 - Theft protection device for electronic devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a detector (2) electrically connected to an alarm system by a cord (3), and a semi-shell (1) cooperating with a base (4) which cooperates with the detector. The semi-shell has recesses (17, 18) respectively provided in upper and lower lateral walls (12, 13) for permitting passage of an antenna (51) and supply connector of a mobile telephone (5), respectively. The semi-shell cooperates with the detector in a manner that the alarm system is triggered during the separation of the telephone from the detector.

Description

The present invention relates to an anti-theft protection device for electronic devices presented in a store, for example cell phones, MP3 players, cameras or the like.

Before making a purchase, a consumer usually wants to test and have electronic devices available for sale. It is therefore necessary that the electronic devices for sale are presented in a manner accessible to potential buyers, while limiting the risk of theft. Indeed, these electronic devices are often of a high price.

Anti-theft devices are known in the form of a detector connected by an electric circuit to an alarm center. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the appended drawings, the detector 2 comprises a flat surface 23 intended to be fixed on the electronic device 5 to be protected. It also comprises a control member 29 of a switch housed in the detector: in the alarm position, the control member protrudes relative to the flat surface of the detector; In standby state, the control member is retracted inside the detector. The attachment of the detector to the electronic device is usually provided by a double-sided adhesive. An alarm 6 is triggered by the control unit when the detector switches from the standby state to the alarm state. This corresponds to the separation or removal of the detector from the device to be protected. Alternatively and according to the patent FR-2752636 , the anti-theft device comprises a base 4 'intended to be fixed (for example glued) to said electronic device 5. The cylindrical detector 2 securely but removably engages the base. The base is provided with a central orifice so that the controller 29 of the detector passes through the base and comes into contact with the electronic device to be protected. The base is provided with a plurality of tabs 44 'elastic for clipping the base 22 of the detector. The latter is inserted by force into the base so that the elastic tabs momentarily deviate to let the base and return to their initial position once the detector properly housed in the base. The elastic tabs hold the detector while allowing it to be free to rotate about its axis.

There is a need today for electronic devices presented to the public to be usable. It is no longer a matter of presenting electronic devices in a fake way, but of presenting them in such a way that they can be used by the consumer. To be usable, the electronic device is provided with several removable elements. For example a mobile phone has a cover that can be lifted to access a battery pack, a SIM card, allowing communication over the telephone network, possibly other removable elements such as a memory card or equivalent.

There is therefore a need to protect against theft in addition to the electronic device itself the various removable elements that it can contain for a demonstration in working condition.

Some protection devices exist. It is known for example to have several detection heads on the removable parts of the device. For example, a first head on the housing of the mobile phone and a second head on the cover of the same phone. In addition to this lack of aesthetic appearance and may adversely affect the tests performed by the user, the fact of having a detector on the hood does not prevent the opening of the latter and theft of the battery. In addition, the dimensions of electronic devices being extremely reduced, it is impossible to house a sensor head inside the electronic device directly on the battery.

Another known device consists of a dab, mechanically acting in the image of a leaf spring, disposed inside the electronic device, under the hood of the mobile phone. But a problem electrical connection remains. Indeed the connection of the flounder to the alarm system is made by a cable that must exit the mobile phone. However, the hood opening system uses for example a system of fitted slides which does not allow the passage of an electric wire. In addition, the establishment of such a flounder is complex. Often the seller places it incorrectly: either it is incorrectly positioned and there is no alarm in case of theft, or it is incorrectly positioned and on the contrary, a large number of false alarms are generated during the manipulation of the electronic device.

There is therefore a need for an improved anti-theft protection device enabling, at lower cost, to present electronic devices so that they are operational. It is necessary that this protection device has a real effectiveness against the theft of the removable components of this electronic device. In addition, it is necessary that this device in addition to having a reduced production cost is extremely reliable and does not generate false alarms.

For this purpose the invention relates to an antitheft device for an electronic device, said electronic device having at least one removable element, characterized in that it comprises an alarm system, a detection assembly comprising a detector connected to said system alarm and a shell having a plurality of recesses arranged so that, in use, when said electronic apparatus is housed in said shell, said recesses are positioned in front of certain buttons and connectors of said electronic apparatus to allow operation thereof, said shell preventing the removal of said removable elements and cooperating with said detector so that said alarm system is triggered when the electronic device of said detector is moved away.

In one embodiment, the detector is a magnetic detector, and in that said detection assembly further comprises a metal disk disposed on a support of said shell and said electronic device, said alarm system being triggered when moving said magnetic detector away from said metal disk.

In another embodiment, the detector is a mechanical detector comprising a detection member in contact with a support among said shell and said electronic apparatus, said alarm system being triggered upon the breaking of said contact.

Preferably, the shell comprises means for holding said electronic device.

Preferably, the electronic device forming said support, the shell comprises a fixing means of the detector.

More preferably, the detection assembly further comprises a base forming a means for fixing said detector, said base being fixed to said shell and receiving said detector in a removable and safe manner.

Preferably, the base is of cylindrical shape and comprises a plurality of axial resilient tongues provided with radially outwardly directed projections for fastening by clipping said base on said shell.

Preferably, the detector is generally of cylindrical shape and has an axial face facing said support and a lateral rim at said axial face, and in that said base is also cylindrical in shape and comprises a plurality of axial elastic tongues provided with projections oriented radially inward, adapted to maintain said detector inserted by clipping.

Preferably, the shell is a half shell whose dimensions are adapted to those of the electronic device to be protected when using said device.

Preferably, said shell is made of a rigid and / or transparent material, such as polycarbonate.

• La figure 1 représente un dispositif de sécurité selon l'art antérieur dans lequel le détecteur est engagé dans un socle collé directement sur l'appareil électronique à protéger ;
• La figure 2 est une vue de dessus du socle du dispositif de la figure 1 ;
• La figure 3 est une vue en perspective éclatée des différents éléments du dispositif de protection selon l'invention permettant de protéger un téléphone portable ;
• La figure 4a est une vue de face du dispositif de protection selon l'invention à l'intérieur duquel est logé un téléphone portable ;
• La figure 4b est une vue de dessous de l'assemblage de la figure 4a ; et,
• La figure 5 est une vue agrandie de la manière dont coopèrent les différents constituants du dispositif selon l'invention, dans le mode de réalisation actuellement envisagé.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the description given solely for illustrative and not restrictive with reference to the accompanying drawings. On these drawings:

• FIG. 1 represents a security device according to the prior art in which the detector is engaged in a base stuck directly on the electronic device to be protected;
• Figure 2 is a top view of the base of the device of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the various elements of the protection device according to the invention for protecting a mobile phone;
• Figure 4a is a front view of the protection device according to the invention inside which is housed a mobile phone;
• Figure 4b is a bottom view of the assembly of Figure 4a; and,
• FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the manner in which the various components of the device according to the invention cooperate in the embodiment currently envisaged.

Although the invention can easily be adapted to any type of electronic device comprising removable elements, the invention is particularly well suited to the case for which the electronic device is a mobile phone. To be presented in operation, the mobile phone must include a battery, a SIM card, allowing connection to a GSM network, and possibly other removable parts such as a memory card if the telephone is equipped with a built-in camera . New features available on mobile phones called "third generation" require that the mobile phone is powered by electricity, not by the battery that would be quickly exhausted, but by a power cord connected to the mains by a transformer. The power cord is attached to the mobile phone by means of a connector adapted to be fixed to the corresponding socket on the lower side of the phone.

Referring to Figures 3, 4A and 4B, the device according to the invention comprises an alarm system (not shown), a detector 2 electrically connected to the alarm system by an electrical cord 3; a base or soleplate 4 cooperating with the detector 2 having a front face 41 intended to be secured, for example by means of a double-sided adhesive, on a surface of the mobile phone 5 to be protected. The device according to the invention has a shell 1 cooperating with the base 4 and in which is housed the telephone 5.

In the embodiment shown, the shell 1 is in fact a half-shell comprising a bottom 11, an upper wall 12, a bottom wall 13, a left side wall 14, a right side wall 15. Preferably, the shell 1 is made by molding in a material such as polycarbonate which is both transparent and resistant without breaking although it is very slightly deformable.

The half-shell shape has the advantage of being feasible in a single step by molding in a mold consisting of two cavities. Advantageously, as it is small series, the mold can be made of aluminum. Those skilled in the art will thus understand that the cost price of such a protective shell is extremely low.

Advantageously, the inner shape of the shell is adapted to the mobile phone to be protected. The dimensions of the shell are such that they can receive a certain type of mobile phone adjusted. It will therefore be necessary to provide as many forms of hulls as types of mobile phones to present to consumers. But the adjusted form has the advantage that once the mobile phone is housed inside the half-shell and the assembly thus formed cooperates with the detection assembly composed of the detector 2 and its base 4 , the handling of removable parts of the mobile phone are prohibited. In addition, a shell adapting to the phone has the advantage of being extremely discreet. Its presence does not distort the impression that the user testing the product may have.

Advantageously, the walls and the bottom of the shell 1 are provided with different recesses to allow access to certain buttons and connections of the mobile phone. For example, the upper side wall 12 is provided with a recess 17 allowing the passage of the antenna 51 of the mobile phone during its insertion inside the shell 1. Similarly, the wall lower side 13 is provided with a recess 18 allowing the passage of the power connector of the mobile phone 5. If the mobile phone is equipped with an integrated camera whose lens is disposed on the rear face 52 of the mobile phone for to be positioned opposite the bottom 11 of the shell 1, the bottom 11 of this shell may be provided with a recess adapted to the use of the camera. But, since the shell is advantageously transparent, such a recess of the bottom is not necessary for the proper functioning of a camera.

It should be noted that not all buttons on the mobile phone are accessible. For example, the on / off button 53 of the mobile phone 55 can be masked by the left lateral rim 14 of the shell 1. The seller turns on the phone, then inserts it into the shell 1 so that it can handle it. The consumer can no longer turn off the mobile phone once set up in the hull 1.

In a first variant of the shell 1, other shapes than a half-shell could be envisaged. For example, the shell 1 could be provided with a cover protecting the front face 54 of the phone. This lid would then be provided with a series of recesses allowing access to the alpha-numeric keys 55, the phone 5. But such a more complex shell would require the realization of a second mold for the manufacture of this lid. Finally, if the electronic device to be tested is completely enclosed inside a shell, this can affect the interest of the test performed by the consumer. Finally, mobile phones are increasingly complex and they comprise for example front faces that can open around a hinge axis, or rotate around a pivot point, or slide along side rails. If one wishes that such a phone is protected while being usable, the shell 1 in half-shell has obvious advantages.

The use of the detection device according to the invention will now be described in detail. The bottom 11 of the hull 1 is provided with an orifice 16 adapted to cooperate with the sole 4. Preferably, the orifice 16 is of circular shape about an axis A and radius R1.

Referring more particularly to Figure 5, the base 4 of the device according to the invention comprises a bottom wall 42 and a flange 43 in crenellations. The flange 43 has 3 slots arranged regularly along the perimeter of the rim 43. The crenellations form tabs 44 slightly elastic. To increase the elasticity of the tabs 44, the bottom wall 42 of the base 4 has recesses 45 passing through the tabs 44.

Each tongue 44 has at its free end farthest from the bottom 42 an outer projection 44a oriented radially outwardly and an inner projection 44b oriented radially inwardly.

The base 4, whose bottom wall 42 has a diameter adapted to that of the orifice 16 of the shell 1, is fixed on the shell 1. The base 4 is inserted by force by acting on the elasticity of the tabs 44. In contact with the shell 1, the outer projections 44a cause the tabs 44 to move inwardly. The shell 1 can then cross the outer projections 44a and come into contact with the bottom wall 42 having a collar 46 having a radius greater than the radius R1 of the orifice 16 of the shell 1. Once the shell 1 in position, the tabs 44 return to their rest position, and the outer projections 44a hold the shell 1 and the base 4.

In use, a given mobile phone is inserted in the chosen shell 1 accordingly. The lower face 41 of the bottom wall 41 is glued to the mobile phone 5 by means of, for example, a double-sided adhesive 46.

Then the detector 2 is fixed on the base 4. As has been described in connection with the prior art, the detector 2 comprises a substantially circular housing provided with a base 22 having a radius R2 slightly greater than that of the housing 21. When the base 22 is presented towards the base 4, the base comes into 44b of the tabs 44. The force applied to the detector makes it possible to move the tongues 45 radially outwardly so that the base 22 crosses the internal projections 44b. Once the base 22 has protruded from the protrusions 44b, the elastic tongues 44 return to their initial position and allow the detector 2 to be held while allowing it to rotate about the main axis A. Once the detector 2 has been inserted, the tabs 44 can no longer be deformed being blocked externally by the shell 1 and internally by the detector 2, thus ensuring a secure assembly of the various elements of the device.

The Applicant has found that, in this embodiment, the number of false alarms generated by the detector and its base is reduced compared to the case of the device has no shell. Indeed, during handling by the user, the force that is necessary to unwind the electrical cord connecting the detector 2 to the alarm system is not applied to the electronic device on the base 4, but the hull 1 on the base 4. As a result, the connection between the base 4 and the device 5 is no longer subjected to efforts. Even if the base 4 was poorly fixed by the seller on the electronic device, its maintenance is satisfactory. In a way, the shell 1 takes the efforts that are necessarily exerted on the cord 3.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, it is not limited to this embodiment. It comprises in all, the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations that fall within the scope of the invention.

Thus, the outer shape of the base 4 could be modified by removing the collar 46. The shell 1 would then no longer be maintained between the flange 46 and the outer projections 44a in a kind of toric recess, but would be maintained in "sandwich" between the electronic apparatus 5 and the outer projections 44a. The detector could be clipped not internally to the base but externally to it.

In yet another embodiment, the electronic device could be clipped inside a fitted shell. The latter would then include holding means such as resilient claws to maintain the electronic device to protect. In this embodiment, the control element 29 of the detector could be in contact with the shell and no longer in contact with the electronic device. It would then trigger an alarm when detecting the distance of the shell assembly / electronic device of the detector. Those skilled in the art will see the need to use a drawer mold to manufacture a shell having such holding claws, and therefore a cost a little higher cost of the clipping shell.

In yet another variant, the detector used could be, not a mechanical detector, but a magnetic detector. A metal disk is attached to the electronic device. The magnetic detector is positioned facing the metal disk, either directly on the metal disk, the detector then being housed in an orifice which is provided with the shell, or through the shell whose thickness is adapted.

Alternatively, the detector could be magnetically coupled to the metal disk but be of the mechanical detection type. It then comprises a control member for detecting the breaking of the contact between the detector and the electronic device (or shell).

It should be noted that the magnetic force between the detector and the metal disk must be strong enough to allow the manipulation of the electronic device without the detector becoming detached from it, but weak enough so that when one seeks to deform the hull to access the removable elements of the device, the breakage of the magnetic link is done so as to generate an alarm. Alternatively, if the telephone device is clipped into the shell, the metal disk can be fixed directly on the shell.

The implementation of the device according to the invention was presented by fixing the base on the shell, for example by removing a plastic film protecting the adhesive under the base, by sticking the base on the telephone device, and finally in coupling the detector on the base. But other implementations are conceivable, for example, by removing the plastic film and pasting the base on the electronic device, then associating the shell and the detector.

Claims (10)

Anti-theft protection device for an electronic device, said electronic device having at least one removable element, characterized in that it comprises an alarm system, a detection assembly comprising a detector connected to said alarm system and a shell comprising a plurality recesses arranged so that, in use, when said electronic apparatus is housed in said shell, said recesses are positioned in front of certain buttons and connectors of said electronic apparatus to allow operation thereof, said shell preventing the removal of said removable elements and cooperating with said detector so that said alarm system is triggered when the electronic device is moved away from said detector. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said detector is a magnetic detector, and in that said detection assembly further comprises a metal disk disposed on a support among said shell and said electronic apparatus, said alarm system triggering upon removal of said magnetic sensor from said metal disk. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said detector is a mechanical detector comprising a detection member in contact with a support of said shell and said electronic device, said alarm system being triggered upon the breaking of said contact. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said shell comprises means for holding said electronic device. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that , said electronic device forming said support, said shell comprises means for fixing said detector. Device according to claim 2 to 5, characterized in that said detection assembly further comprises a base forming a means of fixing said detector, said base being fixed to said shell and receiving said detector removably and safely. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said base is of cylindrical shape and comprises a plurality of axial resilient tongues provided with radially outwardly directed projections for fastening by clipping said base on said shell. Device according to claim 6 or claim 7, characterized in that said detector is generally cylindrical in shape and comprises an axial face facing said support and a lateral rim at said axial face, and in that said base is also of cylindrical shape and comprises a plurality of axial resilient tongues provided with projections oriented radially inwards, able to maintain said detector inserted by clipping. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said shell is a half shell whose dimensions are adapted to those of the electronic device to be protected during use of said device. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said shell is made of a rigid material and / or transparent, such as polycarbonate.

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