Article surveillance security system with self-alarm

Details Article surveillance security system with self-alarm Article surveillance security system with self-alarm

2000-07-21

2002-01-15

Trieu, Van T (Department: 2632)

Communications: electrical

Condition responsive indicating system

Specific condition

C340S572400, C340S572500

Reexamination Certificate

active

06339377

ABSTRACT:

TECHNOLOGY AREA
This invention relates to an article surveillance security system with self-alarm to be attached to articles or goods so that they can be protected against shoplifting in a common retail shop, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional article surveillance security system contains a passive paper tag without a built-in power supply. The paper tag is attached to articles or goods, reacts and sounds an alarm at an entrance gate when it is taken out of a retail shop without permission, that is to say when it is passing by a transmitter mounted at an entrance gate, etc. of the shop, Thereby it protects the articles or goods against shoplifting. Although a passive paper tag is cheap in cost, it cannot correctly distinguish the shoplifter when a plurality of shoppers simultaneously pass by the gate. Therefore, it is hard to catch the shoplifter in flagrante delicto. In addition, if a shoplifter tries to run away from the alarm, a shopman cannot successfully catch the shoplifter because the shopman cannot immediately locate the paper tag by which an alarm is sounded.
The above described problem has been solved by an article surveillance security system with self-alarm which contains a power supply, and makes a tag itself sounding an alarm when it receives an radio wave from a transmitter mounted at an entrance gate of a shop. For example, in the case of a CD(compact disk), the article surveillance security system with self-alarm of this type is provided with a clear case
9
made of synthetic resin, a circuit substrate
10
, an alarm operation switch
11
, and a buzzer
12
as shown in FIG.
11
. The clear case
9
contains a cassette
8
storing a CD(compact disk). The buzzer
12
is controlled by the circuit substrate
10
and the alarm operation switch
11
. If the cassette
8
does not exist in the clear case
9
, then the alarm operation switch
11
sounds the buzzer. Otherwise, if the article surveillance security system with self-alarm passes through the gate, the circuit sounds the buzzer. In a shop, the cassette
8
containing a CD (compact disk) is put in the clear case
9
with the article surveillance security system with self-alarm, and displayed. When a salesperson sells the CD to a shopper, the salesperson first sets the buzzer
12
in an inactive state, then takes the cassette
8
out of the clear case
9
, and delivers the CD to the shopper in exchange for charge. The article surveillance security system with self-alarm can be repeatedly used after the cassette
8
has been taken out.
In the above described article surveillance security system with self-alarm, when a shopper takes out the cassette
8
illegally from the clear case
9
with the article surveillance security system with self-alarm, the alarm operation switch
11
detects the absence of the cassette
8
in the clear case
9
and issues an alarm instruction to the buzzer
12
to make it sounding upon receipt of the alarm instruction. Thus, a salesperson can be informed that the cassette
8
has been illegally taken out of the clear case
9
. In addition, if a shopper tries to take out a cassette
8
contained in a clear case
9
with an article surveillance security system with self-alarm as it is, the receiving circuit of the article surveillance security system with self-alarm receives a signal from a transmitting circuit provided at the entrance gate, etc., and issues an alarm instruction to the buzzer
12
. The buzzer
12
receives the alarm instruction and sounds. Thus, the salesperson can be informed that the compact disc is being illegally taken out of the shop.
Furthermore, as shown in
FIG. 12
, a tag
15
of an article surveillance security system can also be individually attached to articles or goods by using a tape, etc. in other embodiment. This type of tag has been already suggested by the same applicant. The above described case also contains the circuit of the article surveillance security system with self-alarm. In
FIG. 12
,
16
is a LED(light emission diode).
FIG. 13
is a detailed analytic view of FIG.
12
. FIG.
13
(
a
) is a view from the bottom of a tag case
15
shown in FIG.
12
. FIG.
13
(
b
) is a view of the printed substrate contained in the tag case, when it is taken out of the tag case. FIG.
13
(
c
) is a view of FIG.
13
(
a
) without the bottom plate.
In FIG.
13
(
c
),
31
is a display window of the LED(light emission diode) corresponding to the LED(light emission diode)
16
shown in FIG.
12
. In FIG.
13
(
c
), there are a plastic case
18
, which has a shape of a turned boat as shown in
FIG. 12
, a printed substrate
19
stored in the case, a buzzer
20
, a battery
21
, a long hole
22
made in the printed substrate, a switch
23
, a male lock material
24
, a female lock material
25
, a lock pin
26
, a bottom plate
27
, a snap switch
28
, a hole
29
in the bottom plate, and an actuating chip
30
of the snap switch
28
. The above described self-alarm tag case has the shape of a turned boat of 9 cm long and 2 cm wide. The actuating chip
30
of the snap switch
28
projected from the hole in the bottom plate
29
of the case is pressed against articles or goods, and is fixed to the articles or goods by using a tape, etc. In this type of tag, the buzzer does not sound while the actuating chip is pressed against articles or goods. However, if the tag is illegally removed from the articles or goods, the operation chip
30
is turned ON, and accordingly the buzzer sounds. Additionally, in this type of tag, if articles or goods is illegally taken out of the entrance gate without permission before releasing a lock, the tag receives a radio wave from the transmitter provided at the entrance gate, thereby sounding the buzzer.
Since articles or goods sound an alarm by itself by using the article surveillance security system with self-alarm, the shoplifter can be easily specified, and the shoplifter can be more effectively caught in flagrant than using the above described passive paper tag. However, the paper tag is 10 through 60 yen apiece while the self-alarm tag is 400 through 600 yen apiece. Therefore, the self-alarm tag is much more expensive, and is hard to be used in large quantities. The paper tag is commonly a bar code printed paper containing a printed tuning circuit comprising LC, which is operated at a frequency of 8.2 MHz. A frequency of 8.2 MHz is appropriate for the above described LC to be made in size of 2 through 3 cm in length and width. Another paper tag operated at a frequency of 58 KHz has also become popular. The above described LC circuit at 58 KHz is too large to be practical, and the paper tag at 58 KHz uses a special capacitor. In general, a higher-quality function can be obtained at a low frequency of 58 KHz. However, since a generally used LC circuit can be adapted at a frequency of 8.2 MHz, the paper tag at 8.2 MHz is more costly.
The above described self-alarm tag is already known to be operated at frequencies 22 KHz, 37.5 KHz, and 31.5 KHz. However, if the self-alarm tag is operated at the same frequency as that of the above described passive paper tag, then the transmitter for the paper tag can be used simultaneously for the self-alarm tag as it is. Therefore, both type of tags can be easily used in the passive paper tag system which has been widely used. That is, the expensive self-alarm tag has a strong effect for protecting articles or goods against shoplifting only by using even one in ten tags. Accordingly, if the passive paper tag and self-alarm tag can be commonly used at the same frequency, then the transmitter provided at the entrance gate, etc. of a shop can also be commonly used, thereby contributing to be popularized.
That is, it is desired that the above described self-alarm tag is designed for 58 KHz or 8.2 MHz which is the common frequency with that of the paper tag. However, the radio wave emitted from the transmitter has a very low power emission of radio wave according to the rule of the Radio Wave Law, and the power supply is a small lithium ion battery (3V) which should work for about 4 ye

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