KR0172100B1 - Method for tagging articles used in conjunction with an electronic article surveillance system and tags or labels - Google Patents

Abstract

Electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags (20) are attached to articles of merchandise, not at the store (16) using EAS equipment (18), but in conjunction with the manufacture (10) of these articles. At that stage, the tags (20) are not detectable by the EAS equipment (18). They are made detectable upon receipt by an EAS-using store (16). For swept frequency RF EAS equipment (18), the tags (20) are initially provided with two capacitors (24, 25) which make the tags (20) resonant at a first frequency not detectable by the store's EAS equipment (18). To activate them, one capacitor (24, 25) is disabled, thereby making the tags (20) resonant at a different frequency which is detectable. <IMAGE>

Description

[Name of invention]

How to tag products used in electronic product monitoring systems and tags or labels used therein

Detailed description of the invention

[Background of invention]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electronic product surveillance, and more particularly to a system that protects goods from unlawful catches such as theft by using electronically detectable tags or labels attached to the product.

In order to strengthen inventory management and expenses, the use of electronic product monitoring (EAS) systems is expanding. Such systems use tags or labels with electronic circuits (eg, resonant circuits) that work with an applied electromagnetic field (eg, sweep radio frequency). When the transmitter and the accessory antenna generate a magnetic field, nearby receivers and the accessory antenna detect a change in the received magnetic field caused by the presence of the tag. Such transmitting and receiving devices are installed at locations where the illegal detection of tagged products can be detected, for example at the outlet of a retail store. Tags attached to a product that are approved for movement (eg, because such product is properly checked out) are processed such that they are not physically removed or deactivated from the product to produce a detectable change in the receiving field. However, such a tag can be detected and an alarm signal can be generated by the device. EAS systems as described above are commercially available from manufacturers, such as Check Point Systems, Inc., Seerfair, New Jersey.

An important point in the use of these EAS systems is how detectable tags or labels are provided to the product to be protected. For example, some retailers want to tag all of the products that are in stock, while some retailers want to tag only certain products and leave others untaged. In addition, the selection of the kind of goods to be tagged can be changed by changing the storage location and over time in the same storage. Even within a cooperative group of retailers, such as chain members, these choices may vary from retailer to retailer. This diversity, associated with the lack of any practical technology to prevent local tag application, causes common behavior for users of the EAS system to locally tag the product at each EAS installation retailer.

However, tagging at such retail stores is time consuming and labor intensive. In addition, tagging at retail is often left to individuals with limited training or interest. This may include significant EAS effects depending on the proper tagging of the product to be protected.

In all these respects, it has been theoretically contemplated to give the possibility of performing the desired tagging of the product at any other point upstream from the retailer in the distribution chain, such as at the product manufacturing stage or at any intermediate stage of storage or distribution. This theoretical possibility cannot be gained from practical realization due to some powerful obstacles.

If a detectable tag is attached to a product at the manufacturing stage of a product, a given production line can be treated with two different types, with and without tagging. This separation can also be perpetuated through subsequent distribution channels. The reason for this is that many retailers never use EAS yet. These EAS-free retailers need to be supplied with non-tagged products, and the EAS tag is delivered to these retailers and sold with the EAS tag attached to the product, causing market pollution by the so-called EAS tag. In contrast, retail stores that use EAS may need to be supplied with tagged products, or EAS protection may become obsolete.

On the other hand, if the EAS tag is applied at an intermediate distribution stage, this requires parsing the bulk package commonly used at the retail store, handling each product, and repackaging it in volume. There is also a need for further separation of the tagged and unattached products.

[Summary of invention]

Therefore, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a technique for protecting a product by the EAS without applying the required detectable tag or label to the product in an actual EAS-enabled retail store.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tagging technique in which the retailer no longer needs to individually tag the product to be protected by the EAS.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tagging technique that can be performed without breaking the bulk package of the product to be protected by the EAS.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tagging technique that allows a retailer to attach to each product with respect to EAS detectable tagging without breaking the bulk package.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an EAS tagging technique that does not need to be made into two separate categories of the product upstream from a retail store where the same product is tagged and the non-tagged product is sold.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an EAS tag or label which is particularly suitable for carrying out the above-mentioned objects.

These and other objects can be carried out in accordance with the present invention by tagging the product in question at the upstream segment, preferably in manufacturing, not in each EAS installed retailer, but in the distribution channel. The tagging in the upstream portion is performed by a tag that cannot be sensed by the EAS device in that step, and has the ultimate purpose for the tag to be operated by the EAS device. In addition, these tags are undetected during subsequent distribution channels until they reach the fundamental decision that all tagged products in a given bulk package can be used at an EAS installed retail store. This can generally occur at the product reception facility of each retail store. In this step, the tag already attached to each product becomes detectable, and the product on which the attached tag is detectable is processed by the retailer in a conventional manner.

According to the treatment according to the invention, the time and labor required to attach the tag at the retail store is excluded and the safety of the tagging process is significantly increased. In addition, the tag can be attached to the product in a less visible manner, improving the protection provided by the EAS and overcoming the aesthetic as well as the functional purpose for the use of the visible EAS tag. .

For further details, reference is made to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[Brief Description of Drawings]

1 is a flowchart of an EAS tag processing technique embodying the present invention.

2 is a schematic plan view of a tag useful for carrying out the technique shown in FIG.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the tag of FIG. 2 taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the tag of FIG.

In the figure, like reference numerals designate like structures.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 1, block 10 represents a stage of manufacture of a product in accordance with the art embodying the present invention.

As indicated by block 11, in accordance with the present invention, an EAS tag is applied to a product at the time of manufacture.

In addition, according to the present invention, such a tag is in a state that cannot be detected by a particular type of EAS device designed to act ultimately.

Block 13 represents a distribution channel through which the tagged product is delivered to a retail store.

Block 14 represents a product receiving facility of one retail store.

Block 15 represents a means located in the retail facility's reception facility 14 to activate an EAS tag attached to a product arriving from the distribution channel 13 to the reception facility 14.

Block 16 represents a retail store that is displayed for sale of a received product with a detectable tag.

Block 17 represents a means in retailer 16 to deactivate a tag attached to a product that is approved for release from retailer 16 as the product is properly checked out.

Block 18 illustrates the operation of detecting tags that are not deactivated upon checkout with an EAS sensing device installed at retail store 16.

In the flow chart of FIG. 1, the manufacturing step represented by block 10 is completely conventional except that the EAS tag is applied to the product at that step. However, the application step may be performed in various ways, but is performed by known conventional means. For example, an EAS tag can simply be attached with an adhesive to each product itself or to a separate wrapper for the product. Since this EAS tag is similar in outer shape to one inch or two square thick paper and is coated on one side with a pressure sensitive adhesive, this action can simply adhere it to the surface of the product or to each wrapper. In this respect, the application process is carried out in the retail store itself by the same type of machine used in manufacturing to apply different tags or labels to the product, except that it can be carried out more effectively and reliably. It can be the same as can be.

The distribution path, represented by block 13 in FIG. 1, includes various transport means for moving goods to retail stores and warehouses to be stored. In this route, if the product is contained in a bulk package such as a cardboard case, each contains a number of individual product units. According to the invention, this case contains a product already attached with an EAS tag that cannot be detected yet.

The retailer's reception facility 14 may also be of known type and includes a material handling device used by a retailer and a conventional unloading site for receiving goods.

However, according to the invention, the receiving facility 14 is provided with means 15 for activating the non-sensing tag attached to the received product. This is described below in this specification.

The received product is processed the same as at other EAS device retailers. That is, they are processed through the retail store 16 in a conventional manner such as being displayed at a merchandise display location, selected by the consumer for purchase and then checked out. As part of the checkout operation, the EAS tag is detected by the EAS detection device 18 upon deactivation or illegal movement by the means 17. All of this can be done completely in a conventional manner by completely conventional means.

In particular, a conventional EAS device 18 used to detect an EAS tag that is not deactivated by means 17 may be of the so-called swept RF type. Briefly, this type of device sends a radio frequency (RF) signal whose frequency varies periodically between 7.4 and 9.0 MHz. The EAS tag for use with this type of device includes an inductor-capacitor (LC) circuit that resonates within a transmission band of about 8.2 MHz. The presence of the EAS tag distorts the RF signal, which is detected by a nearby receiver that provides an alarm.

Such sweep-frequency RF EAS-sensing devices are described in US Pat. Nos. 3,500,373, 3,810,147 and 3,828,337, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. With regard to the deactivation means 17 it can operate on a swept frequency RF basis within the range of 7.4 to 9.0 MHz. Such deactivation means are described in US Pat. Nos. 4,498,076 and 4,567,473, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Commercial EAS detectors, like these swept-frequency RF deactivators, are commercially available from Checkpoint Systems, Inc., Sofarfair, NJ.

Referring again to Figures 2, 3 and 4, there is schematically shown an EAS tag suitable for use in practicing the present invention associated with an EAS device of the swept frequency RF type described above.

This tag 20 includes a dielectric substrate 21 that may be made of polyethylene and holds conductive patterns 22 and 23 on each side, which may be aluminum.

As is particularly clearly shown in FIG. 2, each helical portion of the pattern 22 forms an inductor 22a and a central square portion forms one plate of the capacitor 24. The counter plate of the capacitor 24 is formed of a corresponding square portion of the pattern 23 shown in a virtual image by broken lines in FIG. One plate of the second similar capacitor 25 is formed in a triangular portion at the upper right end of the helical portion of the pattern 22. The opposing plate of this second capacitor 25 is formed by the corresponding triangular portion of the pattern 23 shown in phantom by dashed lines in FIG. Also in the pattern 23 a conduction path 26 (illustrated in broken lines by dashed lines in FIG. 2) connects to the plates of the capacitors 24, 25.

Referring to FIG. 4, the equivalent circuit of the EAS tag 20 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is composed of a resonant circuit formed by the inductor 22a and the capacitors 24 and 25. As shown in FIG.

According to the invention, the tag 20 is also provided with two concave surfaces 26a and 27. The concave surface 26a is formed in the capacitor 24, and the concave surface 27 is formed in the capacitor 25. However, in the present invention, the concave surface 27 in the other capacitor 25 is provided for the opposite purpose, ie for use with the activation tag 20 that could not be detected in the EAS detection step 18 of FIG.

The electronic device used in the activation step 15 of FIG. 1 with respect to the tag 20 may be the same as described and illustrated in US Pat. Nos. 4,498,076 and 4,567,473, with two exceptions.

One exception is that the operating frequency is in the range that includes the high frequency (about 18 MHz) at which the tag 20 initially resonates. This high range is between 16.5 and 19.5 MHz.

Another exception is that these electronic devices operate at substantially high power.

Since it operates in the high frequency range, the device can shorten the capacitor 25 by the concave surface 27. Operating at sufficiently high power, these tags may short-circuit the same capacitors in the plurality of tags 20 as may be present in a bulk package containing a plurality of articles attached in the manufacturing and tag application step 10 of FIG. Can be.

Since the capacitor 25 is so shorted, at the receiving facility 14 of FIG. 1 all tags 20 in the bulk package are activated and can be detected in step 18 in a conventional manner.

In addition, all the tags can be deactivated in step 17 in a conventional manner.

The detection in step 18 can occur simply by having an active tag 20 present in the swept frequency RF field, and distortion by this tag is detected by the EAS receiver to generate an alarm sound.

Deactivation in step 17 occurs by shorting capacitor 24 by concave surface 26 as described in US Pat. Nos. 4,498,076 and 4,567,473. By shorting the two capacitors 24, 25 (see FIG. 4) to the respective concave surfaces 26, 27, the tag 20 becomes undetectable in step 18 of FIG. 1.

As described above, in order to perform simultaneous activation of tags attached to all products in the bulk package state of the goods, according to the invention, activation is performed at higher power than the deactivation means 17 used to deactivate only one tag. It is necessary to operate the means. This high power may exceed the limits set by coordinating authorities such as the United States Federal Communications Commission. In that case, a simple process provides a closure that is large enough to contain the EAS tag maintenance product in the bulk package with the RF field generated by the activation means. Such a closure may take one of several conventional forms, such as a metal barrel. The process, i.e. the closure of the activation means and the bulk package, can be used where the frequency range over which the activation signal is conveyed presents a problem that is a prescribed condition. This frequency range is preferably chosen so as to not include the full multiple of the frequency range over which the deactivation signal is delivered. It is to prevent the possibility that the activation signal can cause the deactivation of the active tag because of false resonances that may occur at multiple resonant frequencies of the active tag.

As described above, in order to activate the tag 20 by varying the resonant frequency from an initial value (e.g., about 18 MHz) to a second value (e.g., about 8.2 MHz), the capacitor 25 has an initial frequency. Is shortened by the application of a sufficiently strong field at. The total voltage extended by the applied field may appear across the series mixing of capacitor 25 and capacitor 24 (FIG. 4). However, this total voltage can be distributed between the capacitors inversely proportional to the size of the plate. By making the capacitor 25 substantially smaller than the capacitor 24, the voltage across the capacitor 25 can always be greater than that across the capacitor 24. In view of the above, and from the viewpoint that the concave surfaces in the two capacitors can be similarly formed, the capacitor 25 can be destroyed in front of the capacitor 24 as necessary.

By the treatment process according to the invention, it is not necessary to distinguish a product that is delivered to a retail store equipped with an EAS during manufacture or distribution. All products can be tagged and EAS-installed retailers can activate their own tags, while other retailers do not need to do anything.

Such a tag may also be applied to each product in a manner that is inappropriate for the retailer to attach the tag. For example, it is not a problem to provide an EAS tag during manufacture and in the tag application step (10, 11 in FIG. 1) on the inside of the bubble pack or on the inside of a cardboard box containing a particular product. This has the advantage of hiding the EAS tag so that the buyer will not know that this particular product is protected.

It can be seen that various changes can be made in accordance with the present invention without departing from the concept of the invention.

For example, the invention is not limited to use with products sold in retail stores. Other uses may also be advantageous, such as bookstores, video stores, and the like.

In another embodiment, the initial value change at the tag resonant frequency does not need to have a recess in the capacitor, such as the recess 27 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to activate the tag.

As detailed in US Pat. No. 3,967,161, which is incorporated herein by reference, the tag may install two sets of capacitors connected by flexible links. The flexible link is opened in the active step 15 in FIG. 1 to change the frequency so that it can be detected by the retail EAS system. The relatively high power needed to open this flexible link is treated as a closure in the RF confinement box as described above.

In addition, although the preferred application of the present invention is that all the tagged products in the bulk package operate simultaneously, the same technique can be used to activate these products after they have been subdivided into small quantities or one at a time. Another advantage of attaching the tag at the time of manufacture is that it can be applied as before.

Therefore, it is preferable that the scope of the present invention be limited only by the claims.

Claims (24)

In a method for providing a retail store 16 with a product to which the device 20 is attached, which can be detected by a product monitoring device 18 installed in the retail store 16, the product cannot be detected by the product detecting device. Attaching the device 20 to the product before the product arrives at the retail store 16, supplying the product to the retail store 16, and receiving the retail store 16. Activating (15) the device (20). The method according to claim 1, wherein the attaching step is performed during the manufacturing step (10) of the product. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said supplying step consists of a bulk package containing a plurality of product units. 4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the activation step (15) is performed in a bulk package state. 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the device (20) is resonant at a first frequency when supplied to a retail store (16) and is configured to resonate at a second frequency by the activating step (15) when reaching the retail store (16). And a circuit. 6. The circuit of claim 5, wherein the electronic circuit resonant at a first frequency is resonant at a first frequency that cannot be detected by the electronic product monitoring device 18, but the circuit resonating at a second frequency is applied to the product monitoring device. Which can be sensed by means of a method. In a system for supplying a retail store 16 with an attached product 20 that can be detected by the product monitoring device 18, it cannot be detected by the product monitoring device and can be activated to be detected. Means for attaching a removable device 20 to the product before the product arrives at the retail store, means 13 for supplying the product to the retail store 16, and upon reaching the retail store 16, the device ( 20) means for activating (15). 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said supply means comprises means for receiving a plurality of product units to which said apparatus is attached in a bulk package. 10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said activation means (15) operate said device when the product is in a bulk package. 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the device comprises an electronic circuit that resonates at a first frequency when supplied to a retail store, and the activation eye 15 has means for resonating the circuit at a second frequency. system. 11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the electronic product monitoring device (18) comprises means for detecting a circuit resonating at a second frequency. 8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the retail store (16) is a retail store and the product is a product for the retail store. 13. The system according to claim 12, wherein said supply means (13) is a distribution channel for said retail store goods. In an apparatus 20 for use in the system of claim 10, the apparatus comprises a resonant circuit having two capacitors 24 and 25 and a means for selectively disabling at least one of the capacitors 24 and 25. 15, 26a, 27), the circuit resonates at a first frequency and is capable of resonating at a second frequency as well. 15. The capacitor (24) of claim 14, wherein the capacitors (24, 25) are of different sizes, and the means for making the deactivation are provided with recesses (26a, 27) on one of the capacitors (24, 25). Device. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the other of said capacitors (24, 25) is provided with a concave surface (26a, 27). In device 20 for interacting with electronic product monitoring system 18, device 20 includes a resonant circuit responsive to an applied radio frequency field, the resonant circuit operating frequency of the electronic product monitoring system. The electronic product monitoring system 18 in a first operating mode configured to resonate at a first frequency and in a second operating mode in which the resonant circuit is configured to resonate at a second frequency that is different from the operating frequency of the electronic product monitoring system. Means for interacting, said interaction means being able to interact with the electronic product monitoring system for activation, said interaction means having means for changing from a second mode of operation to a first mode of operation; And the means for changing operates at a second frequency. 18. The circuit according to claim 17, wherein the resonant circuit is composed of etching circuit portions 22, 23 formed on opposite sides of the substrate 21, and the changing means is disposed between the etching circuit portions 22, 23 at a first selected position. And a concave surface (26a, 27) formed at a first selected position along one of the etching circuit portions (22, 23) to form a narrow space. 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the first selection position is selected to include a series resonant circuit operating at a first frequency as a result of the exposure of the device 20 to an applied radio frequency field at a second frequency. Device. 20. Device according to claim 19, characterized in that the device (20) also comprises means (17) for deactivating the resonant circuit as a result of the exposure of the device (20) to the applied radio frequency field at the first frequency. . The deactivation means (17) according to claim 20, wherein the deactivation means (17) is formed at the second selection position along one of the etching circuit portions (22, 23) to form a narrow space between the etching circuit portions (22, 23) at the second selection position. Apparatus characterized in that the concave surface (26a, 27). 22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the second position is selected to generate a short circuit in a series resonant circuit as a result of the exposure of the device (20) to a radio frequency field applied at a first frequency. 23. The apparatus as set forth in claim 22, wherein the concave surfaces (26a, 27) provided in said second position operate to generate a short circuit in a series resonant circuit upon exposure of said device (20) to a radio frequency field applied at a second frequency. Before this, the device (20) is characterized in that the device (20) is formed such that the concave surface (26a, 27) provided in the first position is operable to complete the series resonant circuit. 22. The series resonance circuit of claim 21, wherein the series resonant circuit has two capacitor members (24, 25) forming a first position for the concave surfaces (26a, 27) and a second position for the concave surfaces (26a, 27). And wherein the first member of the capacitor member (27) comprises a smaller plate portion than the plate portion having a second member of the capacitor member (24).