Patent ID: 8477032

Claim:
A system for detecting electronic article surveillance (“EAS”) marker shielding, the system comprising: an EAS subsystem, the EAS subsystem detecting an EAS marker in an interrogation zone; a metal detector, the metal detector detecting a metal object in the interrogation zone; an object detector, the object detector detecting objects located proximate to an entry point of the EAS subsystem; a timer programmed to start a countdown sequence upon receiving a signal generated by the object detector; a cart detection subsystem including a sensor array, the cart detection subsystem operable to detect a wheeled device passing through the interrogation zone based on an output of the sensor array; and a processor electrically coupled to the EAS subsystem, the metal detector, the object detector, the timer and the cart detection subsystem, the processor programmed to receive a signal from the object detector and the timer to initiate gathering information outputted from the cart detection subsystem and information outputted from the metal detector to determine whether to generate an alarm signal based on a presence of EAS marker shielding.