Patent Publication Number: US-6215400-B1

Title: Electronic security tag system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an electronic security tag system for preventing the theft of portable articles such as consumer electronics. In particular, this invention relates to an electronic security tag system having an adhesive electronic tag affixed to an article to be monitored and connected to an electronic monitoring system that sounds an alarm if the tag is broken or disconnected from the system. 
     2. The Prior Art 
     It is known to protect articles against theft by attaching an anchor to the article and attaching one end of a cable or cord to the anchor. The other end of the cable or cord is attached to a fixed support so that the article can only be moved a limited distance from the fixed support. The anchor is usually plastic and has an adhesive backing layer to attach the anchor to the article. The adhesive is strong enough so that a thief cannot readily peel the anchor from the article to detach the cable from the article. If the anchor cannot be readily peeled away from the article within 30-60 seconds, then this deters most thieves from trying to remove the anchor and steal the article. 
     The problem with this type of system is that a thief can still easily steal the article by cutting the cord attached to the anchor. An electronic sensor system connected to an anchor is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/378,040 to Rand et al. This system has a hexagonal anchor attached via a wire to an electronic alarm system. If the anchor is removed or the wire is cut, an alarm sounds from the alarm system. The alarm system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,857 to Rand, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     While this system is effective for protecting larger items having irregular surfaces, it would be desirable to have an electronic security monitoring system of this type in which the sensor part of the mechanism can be wrapped around the article to be monitored. In addition, it would be desirable to have a system that could prevent not only theft of the item but also prevent thieves or vandals from opening certain items such as cameras. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic security system that can be adhered to both flat and curved surfaces. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic security system that sounds an alarm if any part of the system tampered with. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electronic security system that can be used to secure items having curved or compound surfaces, or to protect multiple locations on the same product. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an electronic security system that can prevent the opening or tampering with the item to be monitored. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a security anchoring system that is simple to manufacture and easy to install. 
     These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by an electronic security tag system comprising a security anchor having an aperture therethrough. A security wire is threaded through the aperture in the anchor and is held securely within the aperture. A PC Board (PCB) assembly, which includes a presence detection diode and means for connecting a security tag, is connected to an end of the security wire threaded through the aperture. An adhesive electronic tag is connected to the PCB and diode through the other end of the anchor. The tag is flexible and can be wrapped around items of contoured shape or used to seal an item closed. The tag contains circuitry which is in contact with the diode so that any breaking of the circuit in the tag will be detected. The tag can be any suitable electronic security tag, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,488 to Ephraim, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. This tag is a bendable sheet having an electric circuit thereon. The circuit comprises a closed loop. The tag is coated with an adhesive covered by a protective sheet which is removed when the tag is placed on the object to be monitored. The tag also incorporates conductive connection pads at one end for attachment to the rest of the system. The tag is preferably attached to the PCB and diode using friction. A rubber insert holds the tag&#39;s connection pads in contact with the PCB. 
     The anchor preferably comprises a plurality of flexible wings surrounding the aperture. Each wing is separated by a wing slot. One wing slot communicates with the aperture. There is a hinge area for each wing located between the adjacent pair of wing slots to allow one wing to flex independently of another wing. A suitable anchor is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/378,040 to Rand et al., or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,591 to Kane, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     There is an electronic alarm system connected to an end of the wire not threaded through the aperture, which sounds an alarm when the circuit in the tag is broken or if the wire is cut. This way, the alarm will sound if a thief attempts to steal or tamper with the article either by cutting the wire or by prying off or cutting the tag. The diode monitors the status of the tag and indicates the presence of the electronic tag system to the alarm system. The electronic alarm system can be any type of system that can monitor several different items and sound an alarm if any of the items is stolen, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,857 to Rand, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     The wire is optionally coated with a flexible sheath made of an elastomeric material. 
     The wire is preferably maintained in the aperture by an assembly comprising an upwardly extending wall surrounding the aperture on the anchor and having a slit along one side. The slit extends out to the edge of the anchor to allow the wire to be inserted in the aperture through the slit. There is an enclosure surrounding the diode. The enclosure has a lower portion extending through the aperture and disposed within the wall, and an upper bifurcated portion extending beyond the wall. A retainer cone surrounds the wire, above the wall. The retainer cone has an internal circumference slightly smaller than the circumference of the bifurcated portion of the enclosure, so that sliding the retainer cone over the enclosure squeezes the enclosure inward and holds the wire within the anchor. The lower portion of the enclosure has a longitudinally extending protrusion that fits within the slit in the wall to fill in the gap created by the slit and give added mechanical rigidity. 
     A bi-color LED may be mounted on the enclosure and connected to the security wire and diode to indicate the status of the system. One color, i.e., green, indicates that the tag and anchor are mounted and secure on a product. The other color, i.e., red, indicates that the tag or wire has been tampered with and indicates an alarm condition. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views: 
     FIG. 1 shows an exploded view looking from the top of the electronic tag system according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the electronic tag system as assembled; 
     FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the anchoring system according to the invention; 
     FIG. 4 shows a side cross-sectional view of the electronic tag system according to the invention; and 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the security tag and PCB according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now in detail to the drawings and, in particular, FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown the security tag system according to the invention. The system comprises an anchor  10 , having wings  12  separated by wing slots  13  and a wall portion  11 , and an enclosure  35 . There is a hinge area  16  for each wing  12  located between an adjacent pair of wing slots  13  to allow one wing to flex independently of another wing. Anchor  10  is connected to a security wire  30  via enclosure  35 . Wire  30  is encased in an elastomeric coating  31 . A retainer cone  40  is slid down over enclosure  35  to keep the assembly together, as explained in further detail below. The other end of security wire  30  is connected to a telephone modular plug connector  80 , which is then connected to a security alarm system  50 , which is shown in FIG.  4 . 
     A PC Board (PCB)  90  is connected at one end to wire  30 . PCB has a diode  92  and electronic contact pads  91 . An adhesive electronic tag  70  is inserted into the anchor and is connected to PCB  90  via friction. Tag  70  has electronic contact pads  71  and electrically conductive ink  72 , which create a closed circuit when tag  70  is connected to PCB  90 . Contact pads  71  of tag  70  touch contact pads  91  of PCB  90  when tag  70  is inserted next to PCB  90  within anchor  10 . Tag  70  is kept in place next to PCB  90  in anchor  10  by a rubber connector  60  that fits within enclosure  35 . Conductive ink  72  creates a closed circuit when tag  70  is connected to wire  30  via PCB  90 . The circuit is broken any time tag  70  is tampered with, such as by attempts to pry tag  70  off of the article to which it is attached. This triggers the alarm and alerts store personnel of an attempted theft. In addition, there is an LED  19  connected to wire  31  and diode  92 . LED  19  glows one color when the wire and circuit are intact and glows another color when the wire or circuit is cut. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, anchor  10  consists of a wall portion  11  and a plurality of wings  12  separated by wing slots  13 . Wall portion  11  has an aperture  15  extending therethrough and a slit  14  to allow the insertion of wire  30 . 
     An adhesive pad  20  is affixed to the bottom of anchor  10 . Adhesive pad  20  has double-sided adhesive so that it adheres to both anchor  10  and the surface of an article (not shown). Adhesive pad  20  has a center hole  21  therethrough. Aperture  21  is larger than ledge  39  of enclosure  35 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, wire  30  is retained in place within aperture  15  by enclosure  35 , which consists of a hexagonal lower portion  36  and a bifurcated upper portion  37 . Hexagonal lower portion  36  fits snugly within wall portion  11  of anchor  10  and keeps the end of wire  30  from pulling out of anchor  10 . Lower portion  36  has a longitudinal protrusion  38  that fits within slit  14 . 
     Retainer cap  40  is slid down wire  30  and placed over bifurcated upper portion  37  to hold wire  30  in place. As shown in FIG. 4, retainer cap  40  squeezes bifurcated upper portion  37  inward to securely grip wire  30  in between. Cap  40  thus has an inner diameter that is smaller than the diameter of bifurcated upper portion  37 . 
     This arrangement keeps wire  30  with PCB  90  and diode  92  securely retained within anchor  10 . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, enclosure  35  has a protruding ring-shaped ledge  39  disposed on its bottom surface. Ledge  39  fits into center hole  21  of adhesive pad  20 . As shown in FIG. 4, ledge  39  extends only partially into center hole  21 , so as not to disrupt the seal between adhesive pad  20  and the article to be secured. Ledge  39  prevents a thief from prying enclosure  35  and thus anchor  10  away from adhesive pad  20  to steal the secured article. A knife inserted between enclosure  35  and adhesive pad  20  will be stopped by ledge  39  before it can be inserted sufficiently to remove anchor  10  from adhesive pad  20 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, wire  30  is connected to a central alarm control box  50 , which sends an audible alarm throughout the premises if the anchoring system is tampered with. The system works as follows: After the system is assembled as shown in FIG. 4, tag  70  is applied to a section of an article to be secured. Anchor  10  is then mounted to the article as well. Tag  70  is typically used to seal a portion of the article that could be opened or removed. Anchor  10  provides additional security to the article by preventing a thief from easily ripping tag  70  off of the article. 
     The alarm in control box  50  will be triggered if the tag is tampered with to disrupt the circuit within the tag or if any one of the wires  30  are cut or disconnected. Several security anchoring systems may be connected to a single control box  50 , which can monitor multiple articles. 
     FIG. 5 shows a top view of the tag  70  and PCB  90  according to the invention. Tag  70  has electrically conductive ink  72  connected via electric contact pads  71  to electric contact pads  91  of PCB  90  when tag  70  and PCB  90  are inserted into anchor  10 . 
     Accordingly, while only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.