Patent Publication Number: US-8542090-B2

Title: Anti-theft safety system for a portable, manually operated tool, and the adapted tool of the system

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is based on International Application Number PCT/IB2006/002855 filed Oct. 12, 2006, and claims priority from French Application Number 05 10 476 filed Oct. 14, 2005, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to portable tools used in the construction industry, such as tools for sealing, fastening, nailing, screwing, stapling, drilling, or other saws, punches, etc. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     These devices are now commonly sold in stores or commercial establishments also known as “superstores,” in order to satisfy a clientele composed of individuals or professionals. Such being the case, they are commonly the object of shoplifting. 
     In order to prevent this disadvantage, a rudimentary method has currently been adopted, which consists in “locking down” the tools, as is done for all electronic devices or electrical household appliances such as radios, telephones, etc. 
     This requires sellers to involve the customer interested in purchasing a tool to prepay for it at a cash register or check-out station before “unlocking” it, upon presentation of the sales slip, so that it can be carried away. The process is therefore bothersome for both the client and the seller. 
     It may be noted that the problem is the same in warehouses for storing tools. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The applicant has sought a more practical means of prevention against this type of theft and it is for this reason that the invention is herein proposed. 
     Therefore, the invention relates first of all to an anti-theft system for a portable, manually operated tool comprising, inside the tool, an electronic module for locking/unlocking the tool, in order to block or authorise its use and, inside a control station, a control module for the tool&#39;s locking/unlocking module designed to switch it from the locked state to the unlocked state. 
     The tool being blocked in the locked state before passing on to the control station, in this case a cash register or check-out station, it is only upon passing on to this control station that it is unlocked and that its use is authorised. 
     Preferably, the tool&#39;s locking module is designed to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state under the action of an electronic unlocking key loaded into the tool&#39;s module by the control station&#39;s control module. 
     In the preferred embodiment of the system and tool of the invention, the tool&#39;s locking/unlocking module comprises a microcontroller and a memory storage intended to receive the electronic unlocking key and to be read by the microcontroller in order to unlock the tool. 
     In the system of the invention, the unlocking key of the control station can be loaded into the tool by a wire or radio-link connection, thanks to a computer of the control station&#39;s control module. 
     The invention likewise relates to the adapted portable, manually operated tool  1  of the system, comprising an electronic locking/unlocking module for blocking or authorising the use of the tool, the module being designed to receive an electronic unlocking key and to switch the tool into the unlocked state. 
     The tool may comprise a diagnostic module for after sales service and, in this case, it is interesting that this connecting circuit ensures loading of the electronic unlocking key. 
     More preferably still, the tool&#39;s locking/unlocking module is, connected to a transponder for receiving the electronic unlocking key. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood in light of the following description of the anti-theft system for a portable automatic tool in accordance with the invention and of the single FIGURE accompanying it in which the preferred embodiment of the anti-theft system is shown as function blocks distributed over the tool and check-out station. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The portable tool  1  comprises a functional unit  2 , including, for example, a combustion chamber, its fuel supply, its piston for driving a fastening element, etc, in the case of a gas-operated fastening device. 
     In order to control the unit  2  and monitor its proper functioning, the tool comprises a control module  3 , which, in this case, is a microprocessor  3  connected to a manual control  4 . 
     In this case, the tool  1  also comprises a module  5  for electronic locking/unlocking of the microprocessor  3 . This module  5  comprises a memory  7  and a microcontroller  6 . 
     In the initial state I 1 , the memory  7  is empty or nil. In this initial state I 1 , or any other state I 2  except for a specific and unique unlocked state I 0 , the microprocessor  3  does not transmit any command issued by the manual control  4  to the unit  2 . The tool  1  remains locked and unusable in as much as the memory  7  is not in the state  10 . 
     In reality, the locking/unlocking module  5  is part of a system  10  which is an anti-theft tool  1  and, furthermore, this system  10  comprises a control module  8  external to the tool  1 , designed to shift the memory  7  from the state I 1 , or any other state I 2 , to the state I 0 . 
     The control module  8  may, for example, be built into a check-out or sales station  20 . 
     It comprises a computer  9 , making it possible, by means of the microcontroller  6 , to changer from the state I 1  or I 2  of the memory  7 , to the specific state  10 . 
     In order to accomplish this, according to a relatively simple first embodiment of the invention, the microcontroller  6  and the computer  9  are connected by a wireless connection by a transmitter  16  and a receiver  14 . For example, the module  5  is conventionally connected to a transponder circuit  14  and, when passing on to the station  20 , the computer  9  activates the transponder  14  by means of a transmitter  16  in order to transmit to it an unlocking key. The microcontroller  6  then changes the state of the memory  7  to the state  10 . The change is state is picked up by the microprocessor  3  which unlocks the tool  1 , which becomes usable. 
     Conversely, if the tool  1  is removed fraudulently, without passing through the check-out station  20 , the electronic key not being stored in memory  7 , it remains blocked and therefore unusable. 
     According to a more developed but preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool  1  comprises a diagnostic module  11  for after-sales service. 
     This module  11  records into the memory  7  the events impacting the tool  1  during use. At the same time, provision is made so that an after-sales station  12  might be able to read the recording of these events into this memory  1  during, a maintenance or troubleshooting operation, e.g., by means of a wire connection &lt;RS 432 or other connection) established by means of a record reading port  14  of the tool  1  that can be connected to a record data acquisition port  13  of the station  12 . 
     In this preferred embodiment the microcontroller  6  and the computer  9  are connected by the same wire connection as the one used by the station  12 , and the control module  8  comprises a port  16  provided to be connected to the reading port  14 . 
     In the example of the FIGURE, the locking/unlocking module S is part of the module  11 , which makes it possible to manage the locking of the tool  1  via station  12 . 
     The operation thus works in the same way as the one in the previously described simplified embodiment of the invention.