Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Check – label – or tag
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2001-12-18
Green, Brian K. (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Check, label, or tag
C040S316000, C070S057100, C351S158000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330758
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to merchandise tags, particularly electronic article surveillance tags, and more particularly to an apparatus for attaching an electronic article surveillance device to a pair of eyeglasses and the method for attaching the electronic article surveillance device to the eyeglasses.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The theft of small articles such as eyeglasses in retail establishments is a prevalent problem which costs merchandisers millions of dollars every year in losses. Since a thief can simply wear or conceal eyeglasses in order to remove them from an establishment without paying for them, controlling this type of theft can be very difficult.
There have been a number of attempts to thwart this type of theft through the use of electronic surveillance tags (hereinafter “EAS tags”) which are attached to the eyeglasses. While the use of EAS tags is an effective deterrent, the attachment of the EAS tags to the eyeglasses can be problematic due to the limited areas on which to place an EAS tag.
There are several devices which attempt to attach EAS tags to eyeglasses in order to reduce the aforementioned losses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,540 to Narlow et al. discloses a tag having an adjustable loop for attachment to the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses. The tag includes a wedge device which secures the tag to the temple piece. U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,652 to Costa discloses a tag which is folded over the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses and locked into place using a special locking element that must be broken to remove the tag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,820 to Holmgren discloses a tag which is attached to the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses and held in place by means of a threaded screw device. While these devices may be effective in deterring the theft of eyeglasses, due to the complexity of the devices and the ways that they are attached to the eyeglasses, they are expensive to manufacture and therefore require that the salesperson remove the devices at the point of sale. This removal requires special tools, so as to prevent the removal of the tags by a potential thief, and results in increased checkout times. U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,172 discloses a security hanger for eyeglasses which is secured to the bridge of the eyeglasses. This device also requires a special tool for removal and hampers the customer's ability to try on the eyeglasses, as the tag makes it virtually impossible to properly seat the glasses on the customer's face.
What is needed therefore is an electronic article surveillance tag which is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to secure to the frame of a pair of eyeglasses without interfering with the ability of the customer to try on the eyeglasses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a tag which is capable of housing an electronic article surveillance (EAS) device. The tag includes a cavity into which the EAS device is concealed behind an adhesive label which is placed over the cavity and a number of prongs over which a sleeve of shrink wrap is placed. The temple piece of the eyeglass is then inserted into the sleeve of shrink wrap, preferably until the shrink wrap covers a portion of the hinge of the eyeglasses. Then shrink wrap is then heated, thereby shrinking the sleeve such that it tightly secures the tag to the eyeglasses. Due to the nature of the shrink wrap, once the tag is secures to the eyeglasses, it is very difficult to remove, requiring the sleeve to be cut in order to remove the tag. The invention discourages the theft of the eyeglasses while allowing a customer to comfortably try them on. Furthermore, the invention is very inexpensive to manufacture and attach to the eyeglasses, thereby eliminating the need for a salesperson to remove the tag at the point of sale.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for securing a tag to a pair of eyeglasses is disclosed. The apparatus includes a tag having a body and at least one prong extending longitudinally across the body so as to define an aperture between the body and the at least one prong and a tube constructed from a material which shrinks when subjected to heat. The prong and the temple piece are disposed within the tube and the tube is subjected to heat, thereby shrinking the tube to secure the prong to the temple piece of the eyeglasses. The body includes a front surface, a rear surface, a top edge, a bottom edge and opposing side edges, the at least one prong being attached to the body proximate a side edge thereof and extending toward the other side edge along the top edge, so as to define the aperture between the top edge and the prong. The body includes a recess formed in the front surface, the recess being constructed and arranged for receiving an electronic article surveillance device and a label which is attached to the front surface of the body, so as to conceal the recess.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a method for attaching a tag to a pair of eyeglasses is disclosed. The method includes the steps of inserting a prong of the tag and the temple piece of the eyeglasses into a tube of a material which shrinks when heated and applying heat to the tube, causing the tube to shrink, thereby securing the prong to the temple piece.
Other features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.
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Display Technologies Inc.
Green Brian K.
Hewitt James M
Salter & Michaelson
LandOfFree
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