Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Utility Patent
1999-05-04
2001-01-02
Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C360S125330, C360S125330, C361S149000, C700S225000
Utility Patent
active
06169483
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
N/A
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
N/A
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-checkout/check-in system incorporating radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic article surveillance (EAS), and more particularly to a self-checkout/check-in system for self-rental and/or purchase of audio and video products, libraries, and other asset or inventory tracking applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
EAS systems are well known for the prevention or deterrence of unauthorized removal of articles from a controlled area. In a typical EAS system, EAS markers or tags designed to interact with an electromagnetic field located at the exits of the controlled area are attached to articles to be protected. If an EAS tag is brought into the electromagnetic field or “interrogation zone”, the presence of the tag is detected and appropriate action is taken, such as generating an alarm. For authorized removal of the article, the EAS tag can be deactivated, removed or passed around the electromagnetic field to prevent detection by the EAS system. For check-in or return of the article to the controlled area, the EAS tag must be activated or re-attached to once again provide theft deterrence. Because of the desirability of source tagging, in which EAS tags are applied to articles at the point of manufacturing or distribution, it is preferable that the EAS tags are deactivatable and activatable rather than removed from the articles. In addition, passing the article around the interrogation zone presents other problems because the EAS tag remains active and can interact with EAS systems in other controlled areas inadvertently activating those systems.
In addition to EAS, there is presently a need to provide self-checkout and self-check-in of articles from controlled areas by automatically gathering data about the article and correlating that data with stored inventory, pricing, and authorization data. The data can be any data gathered, stored, or used pertaining to an article or object to be protected, monitored, retained, sold, inventoried, or otherwise controlled or distributed in some manner. For example, for self-checkout/check-in, a retail establishment, such as a video rental store, must gather information pertaining to article identification, price, and inventory, as well as checkout authorization and/or payment data. After capturing the relevant inventory data, the establishment must then activate or deactivate the EAS labels attached to the articles and update an inventory database.
There are presently systems known that provide for activation/deactivation of EAS labels tied to scanning and capture of data associated with an article for automated checkout applications. Capture of data is accomplished through the use of bar codes. Presently, bar codes can provide some of the data that is needed to be captured. However, bar codes can only provide a small amount of read only data and the bar code reader or scanner must be visually aligned with the bar code to properly read the bar code, slowing the checkout or inventory process, as well as creating problems when used for self-checkout/check-in.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,884, to Belka et al., discloses an article inventory and tracking system that can be used for self-checkout/check-in. The system of the '884 patent consists of a receiving compartment specifically designed to receive an article such as a videocassette in a specific orientation. The videocassette has a bar code and EAS label attached to known locations such as the top for the bar code and on a specific edge for the EAS label. When a cassette is placed within the receiving compartment, the bar code and the EAS label must always be positioned in the same known locations. A bar code reader or scanner can read the bar code data, and the EAS label can be activated or deactivated according to the particular transaction.
The bar code must be oriented in “line of sight” with the bar code reader for proper data capture. The bar code reader must be pre-positioned so that the bar code on the cassette will be in “sight” of the bar code when the cassette is positioned within the compartment. Only one bar code can be read at a time.
The EAS label utilized in the '884 patent, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,007, requires a relatively high magnetic field level for activation and deactivation, which can degrade prerecorded magnetic media. Activation and deactivation is accomplished by exciting a coil wound around a magnetic core. The air cap of the core is very small, producing a magnetic field that is very high at the gap and falls off rapidly away from the gap. The high gradient of the nonuniform magnetic field thus produced provides the ability to prevent harm to the videotape. If the EAS label is positioned in close proximity to the activator/deactivator antenna, the field levels can be adjusted high enough for activation/deactivation, and because the field level falls off rapidly, the videotape is not damaged.
Thus, the '884 disclosure contains several limitations. In the '884 disclosure, only one cassette at a time can be placed within the receiving compartment, in a fixed orientation, for bar code data capture and activation/deactivation of an EAS label. The use of bar code data capture limits the amount of data that can be captured and requires the bar code reader to be aligned with the bar code, which requires a specific position or location for bar code placement on the cassette, and a specific placement of the cassette.
The EAS label also must always be positioned in the same location on the cassette, and the cassette must be positioned in a specific orientation to activate/deactivate the EAS label and to prevent harm to the magnetic media from the activation/deactivation field. The EAS label must be positioned on the cassette so that the EAS label is proximate the EAS activation/deactivation antenna so the field can be high enough for activation/deactivation near the EAS label, and low enough near the magnetic media to prevent damage to the recording thereon. If the cassette is placed into the activation/deactivation electromagnetic field in an orientation other than with the EAS label proximate the EAS antenna, the magnetic media will be damaged due to the high field level that must be generated for activation/deactivation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect of the present invention, a self-checkout/check-in and EAS system is provided. For theft deterrence, an EAS tag is connected to an article. In a preferred embodiment, the article is a videocassette, but can be nearly any article in which theft deterrence and self-checkout/check-in are desired. The EAS tag interacts with an EAS interrogation zone that is typically disposed in a location suitable for theft deterrence, such as near the exits of a business establishment. The interrogation zone consists of an electromagnetic field formed by transmission from an EAS transmitter and antenna. An EAS receiver and receive antenna responsive to the interaction of the EAS tag detects an active EAS tag within the interrogation zone. For self-checkout and self-check-in the EAS tag is activatable and deactivatable.
An EAS activation antenna and an EAS deactivation antenna are located in suitable locations for check-in and checkout, respectively, of the article. The antennas are each connected to a conventional EAS transmitter or transmitters for generation of the activation and deactivation electromagnetic fields respectively. Alternately, one antenna can be utilized for both activation and deactivation.
An RFID tag is connected to the article for storage and communication of various tag data associated with the article, such as but not limited to, inventory, pricing, manufacturer authentication, purchase and return information. An RFID reader is located in a suitable location for reading the RFID tag during checkout/check-in, and derives a signal from the tag data.
RFID solves t
Copeland Richard L.
Ghaffari Touraj
Gruszynski James R.
Parker Philip J.
Shafer Gary M.
Comoglio Rick F.
Kashimba Paul T.
Lee Benjamin C.
Sensormatic Electronics Corporation
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