WO2014149834A1

WO2014149834A1 - Wireless security for retail display

Info

Publication number: WO2014149834A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/021124
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeffrey A. Grant; Gary A. Taylor; David N. Berglund
Original assignee: Invue Security Products Inc.
Priority date: 2013-03-15
Filing date: 2014-03-06
Publication date: 2014-09-25

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a merchandise display device for displaying an article of merchandise. For example, the merchandise display device may include a mounting member configured to be secured to an article of merchandise. In addition, the merchandise display device may include an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal. The merchandise display device may also include an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted signal. The inductive transmitter and the inductive receiver may be configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in order to detect an alarming condition based on the transmitted signal.

Description

WIRELESS SECURITY FOR RETAIL DISPLAY

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001 ] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 ,787,474, filed March 15, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No.

61 /789,665, filed March 15, 2013, the contents of which are each incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to devices for wirelessly securing articles of merchandise in a retail environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Retailers routinely display articles of merchandise, such as portable computers (e.g. notebooks, laptops, tablets, etc.), e-readers, media players, and the like for customers to evaluate before making a purchase. These articles of merchandise are continually being made smaller and lighter in weight due to advances in technology and materials. As a result, such merchandise is increasingly vulnerable and susceptible to theft. At the same time, the retail price and profit margin for such merchandise continues to decline. Accordingly, these articles of merchandise need to be secured by a security device that effectively and cost efficiently protects the merchandise from theft.

[0004] It is well known in the industry that electronic products such as cell phones are desired to be powered up when on display in a retail establishment in order to facilitate customer trial of the device. This is traditionally done by having an electronically conductive cable plugged into the phone, often terminated at the other end at a mounting member upon which the device is mounted. While this allows the user to pick up and use the device, the electronic cable is often in the way and creates a poor experience for the user. Conventional security devices also have disadvantages as being susceptible to being defeated. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved techniques for charging and securing an article of merchandise.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to merchandise display devices and methods for displaying an article of merchandise. For example, the merchandise display device may include a mounting member configured to be secured to an article of merchandise. In addition, the merchandise display device may include an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal. The merchandise display device may also include an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted signal. The inductive transmitter and the inductive receiver may be configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in order to detect an alarming condition based on the transmitted signal.

[0006] In one embodiment, the merchandise display device includes a mounting member configured to be secured to the article of merchandise and an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal. The merchandise display device may also include an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted signal for charging the article of merchandise. In some cases, the inductive transmitter and the inductive receiver are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in order to detect an alarming condition.

[0007] According to another embodiment, a method is provided for detecting an alarming condition of a merchandise display device for displaying an article of merchandise secured to a mounting member. In this regard, the method may include wirelessly transmitting a signal from an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and receiving the wirelessly transmitted signal with an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise. The method may further include detecting an alarming condition based on the transmitted signal.

BRI EF DESCRI PTION OF TH E DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic of a merchandise display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figures 2-12 illustrate graphs of data for implementing methods for detecting an alarming condition according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0010] Figures 13A and 13B illustrate a prototype of a merchandise display device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[001 1 ] Figure 14 illustrates a graph depicting data indicative of use of the prototype shown in Figures 13A and 13B.

[0012] Figures 15 and 16 illustrate views of a prototype battery pack according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRI PTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE I NVENTION

[0013] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. [0014] One or more embodiments of a merchandise display device 10 for charging an article of merchandise M are described below and shown in Figure 1 . In this embodiment, a mounting member 12 may be secured to the article of merchandise, such as with an adhesive. The article of merchandise M is typically a display model or an operational sample of electronic merchandise, such as portable computers (e.g. notebooks, laptops, tablets, etc.), e-readers, media players, and the like, for a customer to examine before making a decision to purchase the item. The article of merchandise M is typically displayed in a manner that permits a prospective purchaser to evaluate the operation and features of the merchandise, while protecting the merchandise from a potential thief.

[0015] Consumer electronic articles of merchandise M are beginning to use wireless charging, like the Qi standard, for recharging their internal batteries. As these articles of merchandise M become more prevalent, it is desirable in a retail environment to charge the electronic article of merchandise M using wireless power. The benefits are two-fold. First, the retailers would like to showcase this new technology on the electronic articles of merchandise M they are selling in order to facilitate a purchase by the consumer. Second, the wireless charging provides for a cleaner display by eliminating the conventional electronic cable that has been used to power the electronic articles of merchandise M while on display.

[0016] Security has usually been provided to these electronic articles of merchandise M by means of security devices that utilize a pressure switch to detect the device on display. When the article of merchandise M is removed, an alarm sounds. These security devices have been problematic in the market for several reasons. First, the pressure switch is prone to false alarms if the article of merchandise M is not mounted correctly, or as the adhesive attaching the article of merchandise M starts to wear. Secondly, pressure switches are defeatable by thieves by sliding a thin piece of material such as a razor blade over the switch, allowing the thief to remove the article of merchandise M without triggering an alarm. Utilizing wireless charging circuitry to detect the removal of the article of merchandise M from its mounting member would be an improvement over current technology.

[0017] Therefore, embodiments of the present invention provide for wireless detection of various alarming conditions and signals, which may be indicative of removal of an article of merchandise M from its mounting member 12. In response to detecting an alarming condition or signal, an audible and/or visual alarm is capable of being generated. In some embodiments an inductive transmitter or coil 14 (e.g., a Qi transmitter) is configured to wirelessly communicate with an inductive receiver or receiver coil 16 (e.g. Qi receiver). For instance, the transmitter and receiver may be any suitable Qi compliant transmitter that satisfy the "Qi standard" or "Qi specification" (e.g. Texas Instruments BQ500210 transmitter and BQ51013 receiver). The inductive transmitter and receiver may be located in various locations for wireless communication. For example, the transmitter may be operably engaged with the mounting member, while the receiver is operably engaged with the article of merchandise. In another embodiment, the transmitter may be remotely disposed from the article of merchandise, such as in base or display surface. In this case, a tether or other conductive member may be configured to transmit one or more signals (e.g. electrical signals) from the transmitter to the receiver. In either case, the transmitter is configured to determine if an alarming condition has occurred, such as the mounting member has been removed, the article or merchandise has been swapped with another device or conductive material, or the tether has been cut, based on the detected signal (e.g. current flowing through the transmitter). The distance between the transmitter and receiver that continues to allow for communication therebetween may vary (e.g. about 5-10 mm). The transmitter may include an integrated circuit (IC), circuitry, controller, or the like that is configured to determine whether an alarming condition has occurred. However, where a tether is employed, the transmitter may be remotely disposed from the transmitter IC and circuitry, allowing for greater distances between the transmitter and the receiver. Moreover, the operation of the receiver may be independent of the operation of the article of merchandise such that powering up and down of the article of merchandise will not result in false alarms.

[0018] There are several possible techniques for detecting the removal of an article of merchandise M from its mounting member:

• Unanswered Ping: In this embodiment, an inductive transmitter or coil (e.g. a Qi transmitter) sends out a digital ping and listens for a response from a receiver or receiver coil (e.g. a Qi receiver). If a correct response is not received, an alarm is activated.

• Power Cycle: In this embodiment, the transmitter periodically cycles its power and then looks for a reestablishment of communication with the article of merchandise M. If communication is not established, an alarm is activated.

• Current limiting: Monitoring the current delivered to the article of merchandise M and when the current ceases, an alarm is activated. A potential problem with this approach is that when an article of merchandise M knows its battery is fully charged, it will cease the current flow. This would cause a false alarm. In order to avoid this, the transmitter may limit the amount of current flowing to the article of merchandise M so that the battery in the article of

merchandise M is always maintained at a below-full level such that the article of merchandise M will never cease attempting to draw power.

• Antenna Detection: The receiving coil could be wired to a tether that

connects the article of merchandise M to a base unit where the transmitter resides. This tether would act as an antenna to pick up signals from the transmitter even when the coils are not engaged with each other. Therefore the receiver is always receiving a signal unless the article of merchandise M is removed from the mounting member, in which case an alarm would be activated.

• Transmitter Security Signal: The transmitter could periodically send a signal to the receiver telling it not to alarm. If the transmitter misses a signal, it would generate an alarm. [0019] Figures 2-14 illustrate various examples for implementing embodiments of the present invention. Generally, the graphs illustrate waveforms of current over time. For example, Figure 2 depicts the instance where the inductive transmitter is powered up and operating normally. The removal of the article of merchandise M can be detected by monitoring the transmitter coil current. When the phone is removed from the transmitter, a dual pulse waveform 18 is shown corresponding to an unanswered digital "ping". If this occurs, the transmitter may send a digital ping to confirm that the article of merchandise M is no longer present. If the wires to the coil were cut, a sudden lack of power would be detected.

[0020] Another example is shown in Figures 3 and 4, where the transmitter coil is periodically powered and monitored to detect the establishment of communication with the receiver. On power up, the transmitter attempts to initiate communication with the receiver. Depending on the state of the charge of the receiver, it may charge or may not. In either case, the establishment of communication can be detected based on the current in the transmitter coil as illustrated (e.g., Figure 3: phone present; Figure 4: phone absent). If the wires to the coil were cut, a sudden lack of power would be detected.

[0021 ] Figure 5 illustrates a digital ping when the article of merchandise is removed from the transmitter while the article of merchandise was actively charging. For example, a thief may attempt to remove the article of merchandise from the transmitter or replace the transmitter with a conductive piece of metal. When either case occurs, a distinct digital ping occurs as two large peaks shown in Figure 5.

[0022] Figure 6 shows an example of an attempted theft by cutting a tether in communication with the transmitter and receiver. When the transmitter or receiver coils are cut, a distinct digital ping is shown in Figure 6. In this instance, the article of merchandise was at full charge when the coil was cut.

[0023] Figure 7 illustrates a further example where an attempted theft occurs by replacing the article of merchandise with a cloned device having the same "Qi" device ID. It is possible to replace the article of merchandise with another Qi device that has been cloned to have the same Qi device ID. If the Qi communication is not encrypted, it would be possible to use a "Qi sniffer" to read the device ID of the secured article. This information could then be used to program a "dummy" receiver with matching device IDs. Figure 7 illustrates that a distinct dip in the current is detectable if the article is attempted to be swapped quickly with a cloned device.

[0024] Figures 8 and 9 depict an example where an attempted theft occurs by replacing the article of merchandise with another "Qi device". In order to do so, a thief would need to detach the transmitter coil from the secured article of merchandise without triggering an alarm, which may be dependent on the distance allowed between the transmitter coil and receiver before losing a connection. Figures 8 and 9 illustrate examples where a swap is detected, which is shown as a distinct dip in the current.

[0025] The operation of the receiver is generally independent of the article of merchandise. Figures 10-12 illustrate that signals are unaffected by the powering up or down of the article, thereby limiting incidences of false positives. Figure 10 shows the signal for a phone powering off during an active charge, Figure 1 1 shows the signal for a phone powering on during an active charge, and Figure 12 shows the signal for a fully charged phone being powered on. None of the detected signals demonstrates a significant enough change to result in an alarming signal.

[0026] Figures 13A and 13B illustrate one example of a prototype merchandise display device. The prototype device includes a mounting member 12 attached to an article of merchandise M. The mounting member includes a transmitter coil 14 and ferrite pad disposed within an acrylic enclosure that is configured to be secured to an inductive receiver 1 6. Coiled wire was attached to the transmitter coil and routed through a cable 18 to a controller or similar evaluation unit for analyzing the signals communicated between the transmitter and receiver coils. Figure 14 shows that the prototype was able to communicate with a phone and receiver, as well as inductively charge and sense various alarming signals as discussed above. In particular, Figure 14 shows a detected sense waveform of the phone arriving (analog pings), charging, and then leaving (dual pings).

[0027] An additional embodiment of the present invention is directed to a device 20 for charging an article of merchandise M. More particularly, Figures 15 and 16 illustrate embodiments of a prototype battery pack for wirelessly charging an article of merchandise. In this embodiment, the battery housing 22 is sized and configured to fit inside the existing battery cavity of the article of merchandise M. The battery pack includes circuitry, PCB 28, or the like configured to facilitate functionality with the article of merchandise M, as well as an inductive coil 24. The battery pack includes a battery 26 configured to hold enough charge to allow the users a reasonable amount of time to interact with the article of merchandise M. The battery pack could further include battery contacts 30 for facilitating transfer of power from the battery pack to the article of merchandise. Therefore, one embodiment is to replace the existing battery pack that comes with the article of merchandise M with a custom pack that includes inductive charging circuits provided therein. In this embodiment, either a display stand or a housing mounted directly to the back of the article of merchandise M would incorporate a transmitting inductive coil that would deliver power wirelessly to the receiver coil 24 in the custom battery pack. The battery disposed within the battery pack would store this power for delivery to the article of merchandise M if and when the transmitting and receiving coils were not in close enough proximity to deliver power (such as if the device were picked up off a stand that was delivering the power). While the battery may not provide enough power to operate an article of merchandise M for any significant length of time, the battery would be sufficient to power the article of merchandise M for a sufficient amount of time for a trial use by a retail customer. [0028] In another embodiment, an add-on pack could be attached to an external surface of the article of merchandise M. This pack would look and feel much like standard battery packs that give extended battery life to an article of merchandise M, but instead of containing a battery, this pack would contain the inductive coil and other electronic components in order to facilitate inductive charging. In this embodiment, the battery in the article of merchandise M itself would be charged by the add-on pack. A transmitter in the display stand would deliver power to the receiver in the pack which would then deliver power to the article of merchandise M. In one embodiment, the pack is plugged directly into the power input jack of the article of merchandise M. Alternately, a short cable could connect the pack to the article of merchandise M.

[0029] In an additional embodiment, a super-capacitor to store energy is employed. This super-capacitor could reside in a replacement battery or inside an add-on pack, as described above. In either case, the capacitor is charged by a receiver coil attached to the article of merchandise M which receives its power from a transmitter in the display stand or in a housing mounted directly to the back of the article of merchandise M.

[0030] The foregoing has described one or more embodiments of devices for wirelessly charging and securing articles of merchandise. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that numerous variations and modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.

Claims

That which is claimed is:

1 . A merchandise display device for displaying an article of merchandise, the merchandise display device comprising: a mounting member configured to be secured to an article of merchandise; an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal; and an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted signal, wherein the inductive transmitter and the inductive receiver are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in order to detect an alarming condition based on the transmitted signal.

2. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is operably engaged with the mounting member.

3. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive receiver is operably engaged with the mounting member.

4. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is operably engaged with the article of merchandise.

5. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive receiver is operably engaged with the article of merchandise.

6. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is configured to wirelessly deliver power, and wherein the inductive receiver is configured to receive the wirelessly delivered power for charging the article of merchandise.

7. The merchandise display device of Claim 6, wherein the inductive receiver is disposed within a battery pack of the article of merchandise, and wherein the inductive transmitter is configured to transmit power for charging the battery pack.

8. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , further comprising a tether coupled to the mounting member, wherein the tether is configured to transmit a signal from the inductive transmitter.

9. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is configured to intermittently transmit a wireless signal and determine whether communication is established with the inductive receiver.

10. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is configured to limit power provided to the inductive receiver such that the article of merchandise is constantly maintained below full power.

1 1 . The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the inductive transmitter is configured to determine when the mounting member has been removed from the article of merchandise based on a current detected in the inductive receiver.

12. The merchandise display device of Claim 1 , wherein the alarming condition is indicative of the mounting member being removed from the article of merchandise.

13. A method for detecting an alarming condition of a merchandise display device for displaying an article of merchandise secured to a mounting member, the method comprising: wirelessly transmitting a signal from an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise; and receiving the wirelessly transmitted signal with an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise; and detecting an alarming condition based on the transmitted signal.

14. The method of Claim 13, further comprising wirelessly transmitting power from the inductive transmitter to the inductive receiver for charging the article of merchandise.

15. The method of Claim 1 , wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises intermittently transmitting a wireless signal and determining whether communication is established with the inductive receiver.

16. The method of Claim 1 , wherein detecting comprises determining when the mounting member has been removed from the article of merchandise based on a current detected in the inductive receiver.

17. A merchandise display device for displaying an article of merchandise, the merchandise display device comprising: a mounting member configured to be secured to the article of merchandise; an inductive transmitter operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal; and an inductive receiver operably engaged with the mounting member or the article of merchandise and configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted signal for charging the article of merchandise, wherein the inductive transmitter and the inductive receiver are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in order to detect an alarming condition.

18. The merchandise display device of Claim 17, wherein the inductive receiver is disposed within a battery pack of the article of merchandise.

19. The merchandise display device of Claim 18, wherein the battery pack is positioned within the article of merchandise.

20. The merchandise display device of Claim 18, wherein the battery pack is attached to an external surface of the article of merchandise.

21 . The merchandise display device of Claim 18, wherein the battery pack comprises a capacitor for storing the wirelessly delivered power.