GB2270538A

GB2270538A - Improved garment security

Info

Publication number: GB2270538A
Application number: GB9319089A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Henry James Emblem; William James Edwards
Original assignee: MORPLAN
Current assignee: MORPLAN
Priority date: 1992-09-15
Filing date: 1993-09-15
Publication date: 1994-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-15
Also published as: GB9319089D0; GB2270538B; GB9219510D0

Abstract

A security labelling system for garments or like articles, the system including an attachment 1 and a security head 5 therefor, the security head receiving the 'T' end 4 of the attachment in use and providing a means whereby tampering with the attachment can be detected. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVED GARMENT SECURITY The present invention relates to garment security, and is particularly concerned with improving the security of garment labels and tickets to prevent labels and tickets from being removed and thereafter replaced.

It is common practice amongst chain stores and other retailers to offer replacements or refunds to customers who return garments as unwanted. There has, however, been a growing abuse of this facility by customers who purchase a garment, wear the garment a number of times, and thereafter return it or an inferior garment to the store requesting a refund or an exchange. In order to deter such a practice, chain stores have generally adopted a practice by which refund or replacement is refused if the garment labelling or ticketing has been removed. There is a growing suspicion, however, that customers are removing garment labels or tickets, wearing the garments and thereafter replacing the labels or tickets in order to obtain refunds or exchanges.

The present invention is intended as a further security measure, in that it is intended to prevent the undetected removal and replacement of garment labels or tickets, so as to prevent the customer from wearing the garment, replacing the labels or tickets and thereafter returning the garment or another garment to the store for a refund.

A widely-used method of fixing garment labels to garments is through the use of a plastics filament which has an enlarged head at each end. Such a fastening is widely known in the garment trade as an 'attachment' and a major supplier of such attachments is the Dennison Manufacturing Company of the USA.

A typical attachment comprises a central filament, to a first end of which.is attached a generally flat enlarged area known as the 'paddle end' and to the other end of the filament is attached a cylindrical rod arranged at 900 to the longitudinal axis of the filament. The end having the cylindrical rod is generally referred to as the 'T' end. The filament may be of 'standard' or 'fine' gauge, depending on its thickness.

The attachment is applied using a gun which has a hollow needle to receive the cylindrical rod, and having a longitudinal slot along one side to allow the filament to project laterally of the needle. In use, the needle is passed through the garment, and the 'T' end of the attachment is turned through 90" so that the filament comes to lie alongside the rod of the 'T' end. The rod is then passed down the centre of the needle until it emerges from the leading end of the needle, whereupon the natural resilience of the attachment causes the cylindrical rod to resume its position at 90" to the length of the filament. Withdrawing the needle from the garment leaves the attachment in place, with the filament exiting the needle via a radial slot to pass through the garment, and the 'T' end and the paddle end on opposite sides of the fabric.

Since such attachments are widely used and are of generally similar design, it has been known that customers simply remove the labels or tickets by cutting the attachment, and when the garment is to be returned, a new attachment is used to refix the original labels or tickets to the garment.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system including an attachment and a security head there for, the security head receiving the 'T' end of the attachment in use and providing a means whereby tampering with the attachment can be detected.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a security labelling system for garments or like articles, comprises an applicator and an attachment wherein the garment or article can be penetrated by an applicator needle for inserting an attachment through a part of the article and through a label to attach the label to the article, the attachment having a resiliently flexible central filament to a first end of which is attached an enlarged head and to the other end of which is attached a cylindrical rod arranged substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the filament, and wherein the applicator needle has an axial bore, an exit opening at one end, and a radial slot extending along the needle to the exit opening in communication with the bore, the cylindrical rod of the attachment being capable of passing along the bore of the needle and out of the exit opening with the filament of the attachment extending through the radial slot, the system further comprising a security head having a smoothly contoured body with a cavity therein of a size sufficient to receive the cylindrical rod of the attachment, access to the cavity being gained via an opening whose shape and size closely approximate the cross-sectional shape and size of the cylindrical rod of the attachment, and which opening is capable of cooperating with the leading end of the applicator needle in order to enable the cylindrical rod to pass axially of the needle into the cavity, the internal surfaces of the cavity adjacent the opening being so formed as to prevent egress of the cylindrical rod of the attachment when placed therein.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a security head for an attachment comprises a smoothly contoured body having a cavity therein of a size sufficient to receive the 'T' end of an attachment, access to the cavity being gained via an opening which allows ingress of the leading end of an attachment-applying needle to such an extent as to enable the 'T' end of an attachment to be placed within the cavity, the dimensions of the opening being such as to prevent egress of the 'T' head when the applicator needle is withdrawn.

In the conventional attachment fastening gun, the needle is so shaped that after passing down the needle, the cylindrical rod 4 of the attachment is ejected laterally from the needle, at a position adjacent the penetrating point of the needle. If a conventional gun is to be used with the present system, the opening and cavity of the security head will have to be so dimensioned as to permit the needle to enter the cavity sufficiently far to bring the ejection position into the cavity, in order to deposit the cylindrical rod of the 'T' end within the cavity.

Alternatively, if the needle is so configured that the cylindrical rod of the 'T' end of the attachment is ejected axially of the needle from the leading end thereof, it is not necessary for the leading end of the needle to enter the cavity itself in order to place the attachment correctly. The leading end of the needle may enter the opening so as to extend up to the boundary of the cavity, or to a lesser extent depending on the shaping of the opening. For example, if the opening is configured so that it can form an extension of the axial bore in the needle when coaxial therewith, then the rod may be inserted into the cavity through the opening without the needle having to enter the cavity.

Preferably, the security head is moulded from transparent plastics material, or has a viewing window incorporated therein so that the cavity and its contents may be clearly seen. Any tampering with the security head by cutting and gluing the parts together, or the use of a second attachment, will also be readily apparent if the head is formed from transparent material.

The security head may be provided with identifying indicia such as lettering or numerals formed on the security head by embossed or recessed areas of the moulding, or the security head may provide a surface on which an adhesive label may be applied. Such a surface may be recessed to prevent abrasion of the label. Alternatively, the security head may provide a surface receptive to writing, so that an individual may sign or otherwise mark the security head for later identification.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the dimensions of the cavity of the security head are so arranged that only a single 'T' end may be accommodated within the cavity, the presence of a 'T' end within the cavity being sufficient to prevent the ingress of an applicator needle to the extent necessary to eject a second 'T' end into the cavity.

It is envisaged that the security head may be used with conventional 'fine gauge' attachments, but equally that in enhanced security applications, attachments may be provided which have identifying indicia or a characteristic shaping of the paddle end of the attachment, or a characteristic colour coding of the attachment to identify a particular user, or a particular line or range of garments. A different head may be used to accept 'standard' attachments, with the opening in this case being of a larger diameter.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional attachment; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the security head of a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, showing an alternative security head with a stepped opening and an attachment during the setting operation; Figure 6 is a partial section taken on line C-C of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of a device for applying a security head to an attachment already set in a garment.

Referring now to the Figures, Figure 1 shows an attachment 1 having a central flexible filament 2, a paddle end 3 and a 'T' end 4. The paddle end 3 is a substantially planar area, shown in Figure 1 as being substantially rectangular. The 'T' end 4 comprises a substantially cylindrical rod extending perpendicularly to the axial direction of the filament 2. In applying the attachment, the 'T' end 4 is positioned with the axis of the cylindrical rod aligned with the axis of the filament, and the 'T' is passed along an applicator needle extending through the garment to which the attachment is to be fixed.The applicator needle has an axial bore, an exit opening at its leading end, and a radial slot extending along the needle to an exit opening in communication with the bore, the cylindrical rod of the attachment being capable of passing along the bore of the needle and out of the exit opening with the filament of the attachment extending through the radial slot. An ejector pin urges the cylindrical rod towards the leading end of the needle. As the cylindrical rod emerges from the exit opening at the leading end of the needle, its resilience brings it back to a position at right angles to the filament 2, and withdrawal of the applicator needle from the garment leaves the attachment set in the garment with the filament 2 passing through the garment, the paddle end 3 on one side of the fabric and the 'T' end 4 on the other side of the fabric.

Figure 2 shows a security head for use with the attachment of Figure 1, the security head comprising a generally lozenge-shaped body 5 having an internal cavity 6 accessible by means of an opening 7. The security head is formed from transparent material, such as synthetic plastics material. The exterior surface of the security head is smoothly contoured to avoid any snagging on the fabric of garments, and although shown as a lozenge shape in the Figures, it should be understood that the exterior configuration of the security head may have any convenient shape such as circular, elliptical, polygonal, spherical or any other shape found suitable. The principal feature of the external surface of the security head is that it must be sufficiently smooth so as not to snag garments.By giving the security head an appropriate shape, the position of the opening 7 may be easily located by the user. For example, when a trapezoidal shape is used, the opening may be positioned on one of the parallel faces of the security head. The position of the opening can then easily be found by touch.

The cavity 6 within the security head is accessible by means of an opening 7, the dimensions of the opening 7 being preferably substantially equal to the external dimensions of an applicator needle. The opening 7 is thus made no larger than is strictly necessary for the insertion of the needle of a conventional applicator tool to a sufficient extent to deposit the 'T' head of an attachment into the cavity 6 through the opening 7.

In the embodiment of Figure 5, there is shown a security head for use with a modified attachment setting tool wherein the cylindrical rod 4 of the 'T' end of the attachment passes down an applicator needle to exit the needle axially at the leading end thereof. In this security head the opening 7 is formed as a stepped bore, the outer portion of the bore having dimensions equal to the external dimensions of an attachment-applying needle 8, and the portion 7b of the bore adjacent the cavity 6 having dimensions substantially equal to the internal dimensions of the attachment-applying needle 8.In such a case, the portion of the bore 7b adjacent the cavity 6 acts as a continuation of the lumen of the attachment-applying needle 8, and the ejector pin 9 of the attachment-applying tool is elongated so that the 'T' end of the attachment is ejected from the attachment-applyinq needle slightly further in the axial direction than is the case in conventional applicator tools.

In this embodiment, a groove 10 extends alongside the bore 7b to accommodate the filament 2 of the attachment, the groove 10 being made as small as is practicable. Thus, the opening into the cavity is so small as not to permit any tool to be introduced into the cavity for the purpose of removing the 'T' end of a fastener.

Advantageously, the depth dimension D shown in Figure 3 of the cavity is substantially equal to the length L of the cylindrical rod 4 at the 'T' end of the attachment. By adopting this configuration, with the height H of the cavity likewise approximating the diameter of the rod 4, it becomes impossible to remove the security head from an attachment by simply snapping the filament 2 of the attachment and replacing the attachment by a new attachment, since the presence of the 'T' head of the first attachment within the cavity 6 will restrict or prevent the 'T' head of the second attachment from entering the cavity to a sufficient extent that it can rotate to its normal position perpendicular to the axis of the filament 2, and thus it will be impossible to fix a second attachment to the security head if a first attachment has been broken off with its 'T' end remaining within the cavity 6 of the security head 5.

Likewise, the width dimensions W of the cavity 6 may be made smaller than the length of the cylindrical rod 4, so that the rod 4 lies within the cavity 6 at an angle to the axis of opening 7, held against the cavity walls by the resilience of the filament.

In a further advantageous development of the security head, the cavity 6 may be formed with frangible projections extending inwardly adjacent the opening 7, so that tensile forces on the attachment filament which are larger than a predetermined force will cause the 'T' end 4 of the filament to deform or break the frangible projections, giving clear evidence of tampering. Alternatively or additionally, the edge where the opening 7 enters the cavity 6 may be configured as a cutting edge to sever the filament 2 or the cylindrical rod in the event of even a light tension on the filament 2. To further enhance security against tampering, a frangible tubular extension may be formed to extend outwardly in communication with the opening 7, the attachment being applied by inserting the applicator needle through the tubular extension into the cavity.Any breakage of the extension will be evidence of tampering with the attachment.

The security head 5 is preferably moulded from synthetic plastics material, and may be formed on any of its surfaces with embossed or recessed indicia during the moulding process.

Alternatively or additionally, the head 5 may be formed with an area to which an adhesive label may be applied, or which can accept writing, and such an area may be recessed with relation to the surrounding parts of the security head to afford protection to the adhesive label or the written area.

To facilitate insertion of an attachment into the security head, a plurality of security heads may be formed together, fixed either to each other or to a spine by means of frangible connections. It is envisaged that such a series of security heads may be placed in a holder, and sequentially fed to an attachment setting tool in order to align the opening 7 with the attachment-applying tool needle at each operation of the tool. Once an attachment has been applied to the security head, the security head is released by breaking its frangible connections, and the next sequential security head is advanced to the operating position.

In order to provide even greater levels of security, it is envisaged that the attachment may have its paddle end 3 marked with identifying indicia and/or formed in a characteristic shape to identify a particular user. The attachments 1 may also be colour coded to conform to the house colours of a user.

To enable a number of security heads to be applied to the same attachment at the point of initial labelling of the garment, the security head 5 may be formed with two aligned openings 7 communicating with the cavity 6. In such a case, the attachment-applying needle may be passed first through the garment, thereafter through a first security head and into a second security head where the 'T' end oE the attachment is positioned within the cavity. The security heads may carry size and/or style information relating to a garment, and may be used to replace tickets fixed to the garment by the attachment.

The security head of the present invention may also be applied to an attachment which is already in place in a garment/ticket assembly, using the applicator tool shown in Figure 7. The tool comprises a cup 15 to receive the security head, a tube 16 slotted at 17 to allow the cylindrical rod of the 'T' end oE an attachment to be placed in the tube 16, and a plunger 18 axially movable to displace the 'T' end into a security head held in the cup 15 with its opening 7 aligned with the tube 16.

Such a device can be used to apply the security head at the point of sale, or to apply security heads to garments purchased as stock and already ticketed using attachments.

Claims

1. A security labelling system for garments or like articles, wherein the garment or article can be penetrated by an applicator needle for inserting an attachment through a part of the article and through a label to attach the label to the article, the attachment having a resiliently flexible central filament to a first end of which is attached an enlarged head and to the other end of which is attached a cylindrical rod arranged substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the filament, and the applicator needle having an axial bore, an exit opening at one end, and a radial slot extending along the needle to the exit opening in communication with the bore, the cylindrical rod of the attachment being capable of passing along the bore of the needle and out of the exit opening with the filament of the attachment extending through the radial slot, the system further comprising a security head having a smoothly contoured body with a cavity therein of a size sufficientto receive the cylindrical rod of the attachment, access to the cavity being gained via an opening whose shape and size closely approximate the cross-sectional shape and size of the cylindrical rod of the attachment, and which opening is capable of cooperating with the leading end of the applicator needle in order to enable the cylindrical rod to pass axially of the needle into the cavity, the internal surfaces of the cavity adjacent the opening being so formed as to prevent egress of the cylindrical rod of the attachment when placed therein.

2. A security labelling system for garments or like articles according to Claim 1, wherein the applicator needle has a radial exit opening adjacent the leading end of the needle, and wherein the opening and cavity of the security head are so dimensioned as to permit the leading end of the needle to enter the cavity up to the exit opening, in order to deposit the cylindrical rod of the attachment within the cavity.

3. A security labelling system for garments or like articles according to Claim 1, wherein the applicator needle has an axial exit opening at the leading end of the needle, and wherein the opening of the security head is so dimensioned as form a continuation of the bore of the needle, in order to deposit the cylindrical rod of the attachment axially into the cavity.

4. A security labelling system for garments or like articles according to Claim 3, wherein an ejector pin urges the cylindrical rod towards the leading end of the applicator needle, the ejector pin protruding beyond the leading end of the applicator needle in its fully advanced position.

5. A security head for an attachment having a resiliently flexible central filament to a first end of which is attached an enlarged head and to the other end of which is attached a cylindrical rod arranged substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the filament, the security head comprising a smoothly contoured body having a cavity therein oE a size sufficient to receive the cylindrical rod, access to the cavity being gained via an opening whose shape and size closely approximate the cross-sectional shape and size of the cylindrical rod of the attachment, and which cooperates with the leading end of a hollow attachment-applying needle in order to enable the cylindrical rod to pass axially into the cavity, the internal surfaces of the cavity adjacent the opening being so formed as to prevent egress of the cylindrical rod of the attachment when the applicator needle is withdrawn.

6. A security head for an attachment according to claim 5, wherein the dimensions of the cavity of the security head are so arranged that only a single 'T' end may be accommodated within the cavity, the presence of a 'T' end within the cavity being sufficient to prevent the ingress of an applicator needle to the extent necessary to eject a second 'T' end into the cavity.

7. A security head for an attachment according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the cavity is formed with frangible projections extending inwardly adjacent the opening.

8. A security head for an attachment according to claim 5, claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the edge where the opening enters the cavity is configured as a cutting edge.

9. A security head for an attachment according to any of claims 5 to 8, wherein a frangible tubular extension is formed to extend outwardly in communication with the opening, the attachment being applied by inserting the applicator needle through the tubular extension into the cavity.

10. A security labelling system for garments or like articles, substantially as herein described.

11. A tool for applying a security head to an attachment already set in a garment or the like, comprising means to receive the security head, a slotted tube having an aperture to allow the cylindrical rod of the 'T' end of an attachment to be placed in the tube, and a plunger axially movable to displace the 'T' end into a security head held in the receiving means with its opening aligned with the tube.

12 Any novel feature disclosed herein, alone or in combination with any other feature, novel or otherwise.