SECURITY TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE TAG

Abstract: A security tag or label has a laminated construction in which at least one intermediate sheet (4, 5) is sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets (2, 3), and an alarm triggering device (10), preferably in a container (6), is concealed within a cavity (11) which is formed by registering apertures (7, 8) cut in the intermediate sheets (4, 5) and which is closed by the face sheets (2, 3).

Description: SECURITY TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE TAG It is well known to protect merchandise against theft from a shop or store by attaching to individual items of the merchandise a device which is operative to cause a transmitter to emit an alarm if the item is carried into a detection zone, usually at or near the shop exit, without the device first having been removed or de-activated. The device may be a simple metallic strip forming an electromagnetic aerial, a radio frequency antenna circuit or, more recently, an acousto-magnetic resonance device. The device is usually mounted in a suitable carrier which is attached to the item of merchandise in addition to the usual label or tag, and is hence readily visible as well as constituting an additional item to be attached to the merchandise. It is known to incorporate electromagnetic and radio frequency aerials in self-adhesive labels, but this is not always entirely satisfactory and is also not particularly practical for acousto- magnetic devices. The invention provides a security tag or label having a laminated construction in which at least one intermediate sheet is sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a cut-out area which is covered by at least one of the face sheets to define a concealed cavity within which is hidden an alarm triggering device which will respond to a signal from a transmitter to cause the transmitter to issue an alarm if the tag or label is carried into the range of the signal without having been de-activated. Since the thickness of the intermediate sheet or sheets can be chosen such that the depth of the cavity produced will be at least equal to the thickness of the alarm triggering device, the construction in accordance with the invention enables a high quality tag or label to be produced having a uniform thickness and flat faces carrying high quality printing and/or graphics as desired, while completely concealing the alarm triggering device within it. Furthermore, the tag or label can be produced with virtually any desired outline shape. Usually the intermediate sheet or sheets will be made of stiff cardboard, and the face sheets may be made of a suitable paper, card or plastics material. In order to reduce the ability to detect the presence of the cavity, and hence the alarm triggering device, in the tag or label by pressing on the face sheets, the alarm triggering device is preferably housed in a container which is received wholly within the cavity, has a thickness substantially equal to the depth of the cavity, and is preferably dimensioned to fit closely within the cavity. Housing the alarm triggering device in a container also serves to protect the device during handling, and to facilitate placement of the device in the cavity during manufacture of the tag or label . Usually, the cut-out area defining the cavity will extend completely through the or each of the intermediate sheets. The alarm triggering device may be in the form of an electromagnetic aerial or a radio frequency antenna circuit, but is preferably an acousto-magnetic device. Furthermore, the tag or label in accordance with the invention may also be provided with a radio frequency identification device in the form of an RFID chip concealed in a further cavity cut-out of the or at least one of the intermediate sheets. The inclusion of such an RFID device will facilitate tracking and inventory control of the tagged or labelled merchandise. In a variant of the tag or label in accordance with the invention, at least one of the sheets may extend beyond the portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together, so as to form a tab for attaching the tag or label to an article. Preferably such a tag or label will have a plurality of intermediate sheets and the tab will be formed by at least one of the intermediate sheets, which is preferably a flexible sheet of a tear resistant material. This may be a fibre reinforced plastics material such as tyvek. The tab may be provided with at least one slit or other aperture to enable attachment of the tag or label to an article by insertion of a portion of the article through the tab. Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the tab may be provided with an adhesive coating on one side thereof, the adhesive preferably being a pressure sensitive adhesive which is protectively covered by a backing sheet of release paper. In one embodiment the tab has a first portion in which the at least one slit is provided, and a second portion on which the adhesive coating is provided, the first portion being disposed between the second portion and that portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together. One of the face sheets may extend a short distance over the tab and be secured thereto to form a stiffer portion of the tab adjacent the portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together. According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of making the security tag or label comprises the steps of providing at least one intermediate sheet, cutting an aperture through the or each intermediate sheet, sealing a first face sheet to one face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover one side of the aperture, placing an alarm triggering device into the aperture to rest on the face sheet, sealing a second face sheet to the opposite face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover the other side of the aperture and form a laminate containing a concealed cavity housing the alarm triggering device, and die cutting the laminate to obtain a tag or label of the desired shape . The invention also envisages providing a laminate from which a plurality of security tags or labels in accordance with the invention can be formed, the laminate comprising at least one intermediate sheet sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a plurality of cut-out areas which are spaced apart in a regular array and which are covered by at least one of the face sheets to form a plurality of concealed cavities within the laminate, and a plurality of alarm triggering devices hidden one in each of the cavities. Such laminates may be printed and cut into individual tags or labels for supply to a user, but generally they will be supplied unprinted and uncut to the manufacturer of the items to be tagged. The manufacturer will then have the laminates printed and cut as required, and for this purpose the laminates may be supplied with a printer's template or guide, for example in the form of a transparent plastics sheet, marked with the outline of the laminate and dividing lines which represent the positions of the bisectors between adjacent cavities and hence define the boundaries of the individual tags to be produced. The template will also indicate marginal edge portions of the laminate which will be used to locate and grip the laminate during printing and which will not form any part of the tags. Various embodiments of a security tag in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a first embodiment the tag (not to scale) showing the individual components of the tag separated from each other; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the tag of Figure 1 showing the components assembled, but with one of the face sheets cut away to reveal part of the internal cavity containing the alarm triggering device; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing a second embodiment of the tag; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a third embodiment of the tag; Figure 5 is a side view (not to scale) of the third embodiment showing the assembled tag; and Figure 6 is a plan view of the assembled tag shown in Figure 5. The tag shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a rectangular tag (1) formed from two outer face sheets (2, 3), two intermediate sheets (4, 5), and a self-adhesive blister capsule (6) containing an acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device (10) of a known construction comprising a magnetic fixed pole and a movable pole which will vibrate resonantly when excited by a predetermined transmitter signal. The blister capsule containing the acousto- magnetic device is obtainable under the trade name "sensortag" from the Sensormatic Corporation, United States of America. The two intermediate sheets (4, 5) are each made of cardboard and have a combined thickness which is not less than, and preferably substantially equal to, the thickness of the capsule (6) containing the acousto-magnetic device. Each intermediate sheet (4, 5) has an identically sized aperture (7, 8) cut through it in a substantially central position, the apertures being of a size and shape only slightly larger than the capsule (6) . The two outer face sheets (2, 3) are made of stiff card with smooth surfaces and, in this example, are thinner than the intermediate sheets (4, 5) . The outer face of at least one and possibly both, of the outer sheets (2, 3) may be pre-printed as desired. On assembly of the tag, the two intermediate sheets (4, 5) are first adhesively sealed together with the apertures (7, 8) in registry with each other, and one of the outer sheets (2) (usually the backing sheet) is adhesively fixed to one face of the combined intermediate sheets (4, 5) so as to cover the registering apertures (7, 8) on this side. The capsule (6) containing the acousto-magnetic device is then placed into the cavity (11) defined by the registering apertures (7, 8) so as to rest on the inner surface of the face sheet (2) , as can be seen in Figure 2, and the remaining face sheet (3) is then adhesively sealed to the other face of the combined intermediate sheets (4, 5) so as to cover over the cavity (11) containing the capsule (6) . The laminated assembly is then die cut to the required external size and shape, and a hole (9) punched through it for receiving a suitable tie for attaching the tag to an item of merchandise. In the present example the tag is shown as being rectangular, but other shapes are of course possible. The tag (21) shown in Figure 3 is similar to that of Figures 1 and 2 insofar as it is formed by two outer face sheets (22, 23) and two intermediate sheets (24, 25) which are adhesively sealed together to form a laminated assembly. The two outer face sheets (22, 23) are made of stiff card with smooth surfaces as in the first embodiment, and the intermediate sheet (24) is made of cardboard and has a central aperture (27) cut-out of it to form a cavity which receives as a relatively close fit a capsule (26) containing an acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device, the thickness of the capsule (26) being substantially equal to the thickness of the intermediate sheet (24) . In this embodiment the intermediate sheet (24) comprises a single cardboard sheet, but may be formed by two separate sheets as in the first embodiment if preferred. The two face sheets (22, 23) and the intermediate sheet (24) all have substantially the same peripheral shape and size, but the second intermediate sheet (25) is much larger so that it has a portion extending beyond one end of the remainder of the tag so as to form a tab (28) attaching the tag to an article. For this purpose the tab (28) may be provided with a slit or a plurality of intersecting slits so that a portion of the article may be pushed through the tab. Preferably the intermediate sheet (25) which forms the tab is a flexible sheet of a tear resistant material such as tyvek. In the third embodiment shown in Figures 4 to 6 the tag (31) is formed by two outer face sheets (32, 33), and three intermediate sheets (34, 35, 36), all adhesively laminated together as shown in Figure 5. The two face sheets (32, 33) are made of stiff card with smooth surfaces, and the central intermediate sheet (34) is made of cardboard and is similar to the intermediate sheet (24) of the second embodiment in having a central aperture (37) cut¬ out of it to form a cavity which receives a capsule (38) containing an acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device. The other two intermediate sheets (35, 36) sandwich the central intermediate sheet (34) and are each formed by a thin flexible sheet of tear resistant material, such as tyvek, having a pressure sensitive coating on its face which is directed towards the central sheet (34) . As shown, both of the intermediate sheets (35, 36) extend beyond the rest of the sheets at one end, with the sheet (35) projecting approximately twice as far as the sheet (36) from the other sheets. If desired, the two sheets (35, 36) may be formed by a single sheet which is wrapped round the other end of the central sheet (34) . On assembly the overlapping projecting portions of the sheets (35, 36) are adhered to each other by means of their facing adhesive coatings to form a tab (39) , and the exposed adhesive coating on the outer end portion of the sheet (35) which is not overlapped by the sheet (36) is covered by a backing sheet (40) of a suitable release paper. The face sheet (32) covering the intermediate sheet (36) is slightly longer than the other face sheet (33) so that it projects a short distance beyond the portion of the tag (31) in which all of the sheets are laminated together, so that the projecting tab (39) is stiffened by the short projecting portion (41) of the face sheet (32) adjacent the junction with the remainder of the sheets. The portion of the tab (39) formed by the overlapping portions of the intermediate sheets (35, 36) is provided with one or more slits as shown at (42) in Figure 6. With this embodiment a portion of an article, such as one arm of a pair of spectacles, is pushed through the slit (42) in the tab (39) and, after removing the backing sheet (40) from the adhesive coating of the outer portion of the tab, the tab and the stiff portion of the tag are folded towards each other so that the outer portion of the tab is adhered to the stiff portion of the tag so as to secure the tag on the article.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A security tag or label having a laminated construction wherein at least one intermediate sheet is sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a cut-out area which is covered by at least one of the face sheets to define a concealed cavity within which is hidden an alarm triggering device which will respond to a signal from a transmitter to cause the transmitter to issue an alarm if the tag or label is carried into the range of the signal without having been de-activated. 2. A tag or label according to claim 1, in which the cut-out area defining the cavity extends completely through the or each of the intermediate sheets. 3. A tag or label according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the alarm triggering device is housed in a container which is received wholly within the cavity. 4. A tag or label according to claim 3, in which the container has a thickness substantially equal to the depth of the cavity so as to reduce the ability to detect the presence of the alarm triggering device by pressing on the faces of the tag or label . 5. A tag or label according to claim 3 or claim 4 , in which the container has a size and shape such that it is a close fit within the cavity. 6. A tag or label according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the alarm triggering device is an acousto-magnetic device . 7. A tag or label according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the two face sheets are made of stiff card having smooth surfaces, and there are two intermediate sheets made of cardboard secured together and sandwiched between the two face sheets . 8. A tag or label according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , in which at least one of the sheets extends beyond the portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together, so as to form a tab for attaching the tag or label to an article. 9. A tag or label according to claim 8, in which there are a plurality of intermediate sheets, and the tab is formed by at least one of the intermediate sheets. 10. A tag or label according to claim 9, in which the intermediate sheets comprise at least one sheet in which the cavity is formed and at least one flexible sheet of a tear resistant material which forms the tab. 11. A tag or label according to any one of claims 8 to 10, in which the tab is provided with at least one slit to enable attachment of the tag or label to an article by insertion of a portion of the article through the tab. 12. A tag or label according to any one of claims 8 to 11, in which at least a portion of the tab has an adhesive coating on one side thereof . 13. A tag or label according to claim 12, in which the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive and is protectively covered by a backing sheet of release paper. 14. A tag or label according to claim 12 or 13 when dependent on claim 11, in which the tab has a first portion in which the at least one slit is provided, and a second portion on which the adhesive coating is provided, the first portion being disposed between the second portion and the portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together. 15. A tag or label according to claim 10 or any one of claims 11 to 14 when dependent on claim 10, in which one of the face sheets extends a short distance over the tab and is secured thereto to form a stiffer portion of the tab adjacent the portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together. 16. A method of making a security tag or label according to claim 1, comprising the steps of providing at least one intermediate sheet, cutting an aperture through the or each intermediate sheet, sealing a first face sheet to one face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover one side of the aperture, placing an alarm triggering device into the aperture to rest on the face sheet, sealing a second face sheet to the opposite face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover the other side of the aperture and form a laminate containing a concealed cavity housing the alarm triggering device, and die cutting the laminate to obtain a tag or label of the desired shape and size. 17. A laminate for forming a plurality of security tags or labels according to claim 1, the laminate comprising at least one intermediate sheet sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a plurality of cut-out areas which are spaced apart in a regular array and which are covered by at least one of the face sheets to form a plurality of concealed cavities within the laminate, and a plurality of alarm triggering devices hidden one in each of the cavities.

Inventors: HANCOCK THOMAS GERRARD, HANCOCK, THOMAS, GERRARD
Applicants: HANCOCK THOMAS GERRARD, NORPRINT LABELLING SYSTEMS LIM, HANCOCK, THOMAS, GERRARD, NORPRINT LABELLING SYSTEMS LIMITED
Application year: 1998
Main classification: G08B13
IPC codes: G08B13