METHOD FOR SEALING RECORDS AND TAPE CASSETTES

Abstract: A method for sealing records and tape cassettes to prevent unauthorized use of the record or the cassette tape. An element (12) is passed through the aperture (11) for the centre pin in the record (10) and/or through the cover thereof or through one of the pin apertures of the cassette. The element extends between opposite sides of the record, the record cover or the cassette and is locked permanently against withdrawal. By this arrangement it will be necessary to break or cut the element in order to remove such element from the record, the record cover or the cassette.

Description: METHO D FOR S EAL I NG RECORDS AND TAPE CASS ETTES The invention relates to a method for sealing records and tape cassettes to prevent unauthorized use of the record or the cassette tape. The method for sealing records, which is most commonly used for the time being, is that the slot-like opening at one edge of the record cover is taped by means of a paper seal which cannot be removed from the cover without being broken. The seal is broken by cutting off same along the slot-like opening. Often, the seal is given different colours depending on the price category to which the record is referred. However, it is not unusual that non-scrupulous persons remove a record from a sealed cover by opening the cover at the edge which is opposite to the slot-like opening where the cover is sealed. -Then, another record is inserted into the cover in order to obtain an illegitimate profit at purchase by the record now inserted into the cover being more expensive than indicated by the seal , or at exchange by a cheaper or used record being returned while the record contained in the cover at the purchase is retained by the purchaser. The object of the invention is to prevent manipula¬ tion of the type referred to above and to provide a method for sealing records, by which the seal cannot be circumvented without this being discovered when the seal is examined, and, moreover, the record cannot be removed from the cover or be used without the seal necessarily being broken. Even if cheating with regard to sealed cases does not take place to the same extent as far as tape cassettes are concerned as happens with records, although it can occur in this case that the cassette box is opened at the hinge and that the tape cassette OMPI is exchanged without the sealing of the cassette box being broken, it is intended to make possible by the invention that also a cassette tape is sealed in a reliable manner. For the object mentioned above the method of the invention has obtained the characteristics appearing from claim 1, and in order to explain the invention in more detail an embodiment thereof, will be described below, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a plan view of a record, illustrating one application of the method of the invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a record and illustrates another application of the method of the invention, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view along line III - III in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tape cassette and illustrates the application of the invention to such a cassette, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a record cover 'il 1 ustrat- ing how the method of the invention can be applied to the cover proper, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of a record cover, which discloses a modification of the application accord- ing to FIG. 5. • Referring to FIG. 1, a strap 12 of plastic material is passed through the centre aperture 11 of the record 10, the strap being passed around the edge of the record and the ends thereof being interconnected at a lock 13. This lock should be constructed such that it can be locked once only and thus does not allow that the ends of the strap are withdrawn from the lock and then are inserted therein again to be locked once more. E.g. the lock 13 can be constructed for interconnecting the ends of the strap in the lock by heat or ultrasound welding or also by some type of deformation. The strap 12 forms an effective obstacle for playing the record. This cannot be done until the strap has been cut off and has been removed from the record, and when this has been done the strap cannot be applied again to the record. When the strap has been removed it is no longer possible to return the record asserting that the record has not been used. Usually, the record is placed in a bag of thin plastic material or paper inside the outer record cover and in that case it is suitable that the strap is passed through this bag and is located on the outside thereof such that the record cannot even be removed from the bag without the seal formed by the strap first being broken. It is also conceivable that the strap is passed through the outer record cover to surround the cover at the slot-like opening thereof such that it can be observed already externally of the cover if the seal is unbroken, but from an aestheti cal . poi nt of view this application may be less suitable. At the application according to FIGS. 2 and 3, the strap 12 is replaced by a rivet 14 of the type consist¬ ing of two parts having a flat head 15 and 16, respect¬ ively. A shaft of one part can be slid into a socket shaft of the other part, then to be maintained in the socket shaft by members allowing the insertion but not the withdrawal. Thus, in order to remove the rivet 14 it is necessary to cut off one head from the rivet. The record cannot be played without the rivet having been removed, and when this has been done the seal of the record is irrevocably broken. It is possible to interconnect the two parts of the rivet by heat or ultrasound welding to obtain a permanent interconnection of the same type of the parts. Also in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 the rivet can extend through a bag of paper or plastic material and it can also extend through the outer record cover. FIG. 4 discloses the application to a tape cassette 17, a tape 12 of the same type as that in FIG. 1 being passed through the aperture for one drive shaft in the cassette player. The only way of playing the tape in the tape cassette is that the strap 12 is initially cut off. The strap may extend through apertures in the cassette box and thus be located on the outside of the cassette box which then cannot even be opened without the strap 12 being cut off. FIG. 5 discloses an application of the method of the invention wherein the slot-like opening of the record cover only has been sealed. Then, a strap 12 passes through the record cover 19 and extends over the slot-Tike opening 20 of the record cover, the strap being interconnected in the same manner as previously described with reference to FIG. 1. In the application of FIG. 5, the modification is made that the strap 12 does not extend over the slot- -like opening 20; it passes instead twice through the record cover. In the applications according to FIGS. 5 and 6, the strap 12 can be replaced by a rivet 14 of the same type as that in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Method for sealing records and tape cassettes to prevent unauthorized use of the record or the cassette tape, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that an element (12; 14) is passed through the aperture (11) for the central pin in the record (10). and/or through the cover (19) thereof or through one of the pin apertures (18) of the cassette (17), extending between opposite sides of the record, the record cover or the cassette, and that said element is locked permanently against withdrawal so as to make necessary that the element is broken or cut to be removed from the record, the record cover or the cassette. 2. Method as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that the element (12) is in the form of a strap or string and is interconnected to form an endless loop extending over the edge of the record (10), the record cover (19) or the cassette (17). 3. Method as claimed in claim V, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d in that the element comprises a rivet (14) attached with heads (15, 16) engaging opposite sides of the record (10), the record cover (19) or the cassette (17) .

Inventors: WETTLE PER, WETTLE, PER
Applicants: WETTLE PER, WETTLE, PER
Application year: 1983
Main classification: G11B23
IPC codes: G11B23