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Timestamp: 2019-10-23 19:09:23
Document Index: 649097646

Matched Legal Cases: ['art\n1', 'arts 12', 'arts 12', 'art 13', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 12', 'art 12']

Unlatching tool for reusable security tag - Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
Unlatching tool for reusable security tag
United States Patent 4103572
A reusable security tag has an enclosure containing an element detectable by independent means and a cruciate sheet metal clutch lock. A pin for piercing a garment is secured at the end of a lever arm which is hinged to said enclosure for controlled movement into said clutch lock. Said pin is released from said clutch lock by application of a special tool to said enclosure for deforming said clutch lock to spread its jaws. Elliptical grooves around the shank of said pin increase the retentivity of said clutch lock without decreasing unnecessarily the tensile strength of said shank. This is a division of application Ser. No. 428,827, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,829 filed Dec. 27, 1973.
Humble, David Raymond (Plantation, FL)
Walters III, Harry Godfrey (Lancaster, PA)
05/599081
Sensormatic Electronics Corporation (Hollywood, FL)
G09F3/14; E05B73/00; G08B13/24; (IPC1-7): B23P19/04; B25B7/02
81/418, 81/419, 81/420, 81/425R, 81/426, 81/5.1R, 29/200H, 29/268, 29/200P
Download PDF 4103572 PDF help
3827125 THREADLESS FASTENER SYSTEM 1974-08-06 Matthews 292/H
2405779 Tool for installing nut plates or the like 1946-08-13 Davis 81/418
1923199 Battery cable terminal tongs 1933-08-22 Hackney 81/51
Watson, Leavenworth, Kelton & Taggart
1. An unlatching tool for a reusable security tag of generally flat rectangular configuration with opposite broad surfaces extending between substantially parallel side edges, comprising in operationally interconnected relationship a pair of confronting jaws spaced apart and arranged to straddle said tag with a close fit alongside said side edges, each jaw having a portion for disposition alongside a corresponding side edge and an inwardly directed lip projecting toward the other jaw but not connected thereto for overlying and engaging a given one of the broad surfaces of said tag to prevent movement of said tag from between said jaws in a direction past said lips, and a pair of spaced apart fingers mounted for oppositional movement relative to the lips of said jaws for engaging the other broad surface of said tag to apply pressure to said tag against the restraint of said jaw lips, said fingers being located in a plane passing between said jaws so as to engage said tag to points on a line which is spaced from and substantially parallel to said portions of said jaws.
In the copending patent application of John Welsh et al., Ser. No. 157,618 filed June 28, 1971, for "Article Surveillance", there is disclosed inter alia a system for maintaining secruity through a surveillance zone by establishing throughout said zone an interrogating radio wave field and affixing tags to articles under surveillance which are adapted to reradiate a discernible and distinguishable radio wave signal when passing through said zone. As described in said application, the active portion of the tag may take the form of a simple nonlinear impedance, e.g., a semiconductor diode, directly coupled to antenna elements. Such surveillance system is particularly useful when employed for cntrolling theft from retail stores or the like.
The present invention provides a reusable tag for securing a reradiating element, such as that disclosed in said copending applicaton, to an article to be maintained under surveillance. In particular, there is provided by the present invention a tag adapted to be secured to the fabric of a garment or to other material through which a pin can be passed.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invenion there is provided such a reusable tag which comprises a pin having a first end adapted to be urged through a portion of an article to be protected. The opposite end of the pin is provided with means for preventing said pin from passing through the article. Clutch lock means are provided for accepting facile insertion of said first end of the pin therein after the latter has passed through said article but resisting removal of an inserted pin. An enclosure for concealing said lock means is provided along with means for concealing a detectable element joined to at least one of said pin and said enclosure with said enclosure being constructed and arranged for permitting authorized nondestructive release of said pin from said lock means.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention here is provided an unlatching tool for a reusable security tag of the aforesaid type comprising a pair of confronting jaws arranged to straddle said tag with a close fit, each jaw having an inwardly directed lip for overlying and engaging a given surface of said tag to prevent movement of saig tag from between said jaws in a direction past said lips, and a pair of spaced apart fingers mounted for movement relative to said jaws for engaging another surface of said tag situated opposite said given surface to apply pressure to said tag against the restraint of said jaw lips.
The invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof with reference to he appended drawings in which:
FIG. 18 is an exploded view of the principal elements of a release tool about to be applied to a tag secured to a garment;
FIG. 25 is a view similar to FIG. 24 but with the lever of the tag in partially opened position;
FIG. 26 is a view of the right side of the tag shown in FIG. 25 with a portion of the sleeve broken away; and
FIG. 27 is a view similar to FIG.. 18, but with the principal elements of the release tool in operative position relative to the tag and with a portion of the garment broken away for clarity.
The enclosure for the lock means, to be described in detail hereinafter, as well as the means for concealing the detectable element, comprises a common housing 11 formed of plastic material. The housing 11 has first and second mating parts 12 and 13, respectively, which when united provide a cavity 14 within to receive both the lock means 15 and the detectable element 10. As best seen in FIg. 9 of the drawings, the mating parts 12 and 13 of the housing are joined at 16 by a thin web or membrane forming a hinge. During assembly, after inserting the detectable element 10 and the lock means 15 in the corresponding sections of cavity 14, (see FIG. 2), the mating part 13 is folded over upon the part 12 such that the plurality of studs 17 in the part 12 pass through the slotted apertures 18 in the part 13, (see FIG. 3), whereupon the studs 17 are upended or hot-formed to produce a head thereon preventing withdrawal from said apertures 18, (see FIGS. 4 and 13).
The part 12 of th housing has a pintle 19 at one end positioned remotely from the end enclosing the lock means 15. This is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 9. Said pintle 19 receives the end 20 of a plastic lever 21 whose opposite end has secured thereto a pin 22 by means of retaining member 23.
Referring particularly to FIGS. 1, 7 and 10, it will be seen that the lever 21 has at its free end a zone 24 separated from the remainder of said lever 21 by frangible means in the form of the very thin radial spokes 25. Said pin 22 is joined to said zone 24 by passing therethrough, and the head 26 of said pin is keyed to aid zone 24 by having a noncircular configuration as shown, for example, in FIG. 7. Such keying of the pin to the zone 24 prevents rotation of the pin with respect thereto for a reason that will be apparent hereinafter.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1, 8 and 17, it will be seen that the clutch lock means 15 comprise a cruciate member with one pair of arms 29a and 29b at right angle to another pair of arms 30a and 30b and formed from spring sheet metal with opposing jaws 31 and 32 raised on one side thereof from its central region. The longitudinal axes of said jaws 31 and 32 are parallel to the axis of said one pair of arms 29a and 29b and arranged such that manipulation of said pairs of arms respectively in opposite directions in one direction will cause separation of said jaws 31 and 32. From FIG. 17, it will be seen that the entire cruciate member 15 is cylindrically curved with the concave side being on the same side as the opposing jaws 31 and 32. The jaws 31 and 32 are sprung apart when the arms 29a and 29bare urged in a direction toward the convex side of the member, while the arms 30a and 30b are urged in the opposite direction. Ribs 33 and 34 are provided to prevent flexure of said arms other than immediately adjacent said jaws 31 and 32 such that any flexing force applied to said arms is communicated directly to said jaws. The edges of the jaws are circularly notched, as best seen in FIG. 16, to cooperate with the grooves 28 in the shank of the pin 22.
Referring now to FIG. 18, there is shown the essential components of and unlatching tool 36 for the subject security tag. Only the operative elements of the tool are shown since the mechanism for manipulating the same may take many obvious forms. In particular, such mechanism may either be hand operable or machine operable. Specifically, said unlatching tool comprises a pair of confronting jaws 37a and 37b having inwardly directed lips for embracing the housing 11 of the tag adjacent the ends of one pair of arms 301 and 30b of the lock means 15. The tool further includes a pair of spaced apart fingers 38a and 38b mounted for oppositional movement relative to the confronting jaws 37a and 37b for engaging the housing 11 at 39 and 40 to effect deformation thereof adjacent the other pair of arms 29a and 29b of said lock means sufficient to cause manipulation of said arms to release said lock means. See particularly FIGS. 19, 20, 21, 22 and 27.
From the foregoing, it should be understood that the housing 11 for the tag should have a size, shape and rigidity relating to that of the lock means 15 such as to bar unassisted manual release of said lock means while communicating to said lock means sufficient force to effect releasing manipulation thereof upon the application to the housing of said unlatching tool 36.
Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the studs 17 towards one end of the housing are located adjacent one end of the slotted apertures 18, while at the other end of the housing the studs engage the opposite ends of said slotted apertures. This arrangement is such as to minimize stress on said studs if unauthorized bending assault is had upon said housing. It is comtemplated that an attempt might be made to destroy said tag by repeated bending. The particular plastic from which the tag is formed, namely, high impact polypropylene or equivalent material is capable of resisting repeated bending without fracture. It will be recognized that upon bending a tendency will arise for the respective parts of the housing to move in shear relative to each other. The arrangement of slotted apertures relative to studs will accommodate such shearing motion without undue development of stress.
A further aperture 49 is provided in housing part 13 for a purpose that may not be so evident. However, where different types of detectable elemens 10 having different response characteristics are used they may be color coded for identification. For example, see the shaded area 50 in FIG. 1. When the tag is assembled the color coding will always be visible through aperture 49 as best seen in FIG. 7.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 8, it should be observed that the cavity formed in housing part 12 for receiving the lock means 15 is proportioned to afford clearance at the ends 29cand 29d of arms 29a and 29b, respectively, while surrounding the arms 30a and 30b with a reasonably close fit. Said clearance at ends 29c and 29d accommodates outward movement of arms 29a and 29b as the lock means 15 is flattened during an unlocking manipulation. However, the close fit between the housing part 12 and arms 30a and 30b functions to center the lock means such that the opening in jaws 31 and 32 is maintained in proper registration for receiving pin 22.
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