Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-30
2004-09-07
Hofsass, Jeffery (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S572100, C235S383000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06788205
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to article surveillance tags and, more particularly, to the deactivation of article surveillance tags at checkout stations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Self-checkout stations at grocery stores and other retail stores are well known. The stations permit a consumer to scan articles for purchase so the station may identify the articles and a corresponding price. When the consumer indicates all articles for purchase have been presented to the terminal, a sub-total is accumulated, any taxes and discounts are computed, and a total amount due is displayed for the consumer. The station then allows the consumer to select a payment method. The station presents menu selections to the consumer so funds may be transferred to the retailer's account. Upon confirmation of payment, the articles are released to the consumer.
A self-checkout station typically includes a terminal, a scanner and scales for reading unit price codes (UPC) and determining article weight, a cashier keypad and display, a POS terminal for payment entry, a receipt printer, a change unit, and a checkout area for holding articles once they have been scanned. The terminal also includes a display, a processor, memory, programmed instructions, and data peripherals to control the operations of the station. The programmed instructions may contain modules for querying for article prices, computing totals and performing other functions related to the purchase of articles through a self-checkout station. Some checkout stations may also include a security application program that uses data from sensors such as scales to reduce the likelihood that the consumer leaves without scanning all of the articles or exchanges scanned articles with more expensive articles that have not been scanned.
Typically, two or more self-checkout stations are located proximately to one another with a checkout attendant station nearby. The checkout attendant may help consumers who may be using a self-checkout station for the first time, who are having trouble with scanning an article, or who are having difficulty with a payment method or the like. That is, the primary duty of the attendant is to provide assistance to customers who are using the self-checkout stations so they are efficiently used and quickly process customers with their checkouts. Although these attendants are available to assist in security monitoring, such duties actually detract from the performance of their primary duty.
In some retail stores, electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are used to detect the unauthorized removal of merchandise from the store. EAS systems include surveillance tags that may be attached to articles of merchandise and detection devices that sound an alarm upon detection of a tag. The detection devices are typically located at the doorways of the retail store to reduce the likelihood that the articles are removed from the store without authorization. For articles bearing such tags that are properly purchased at a self-checkout counter, the consumer may present the articles to a checkout attendant who either deactivates the tag or mechanically removes the tag from the article. The removal or deactivation of the tag from a purchased article allows the consumer to proceed past the detection device located at a store exit without activation of an alarm unless the consumer has concealed articles having tags for which the consumer did not pay.
The tags that may be attached to articles of merchandise are well-known and include radio frequency tags, magnetic tags, microwave tags, and resonant tuned tags. The radio frequency, microwave, and resonant tuned tags typically include a fusible link that may be disconnected to deactivate the tag by altering the characteristics of the electrical circuit in a tag. At least two known methods are used to rupture fusible links. One method radiates the tag with radio frequency energy at a power level sufficient to rupture the fusible link while the other method uses a deactivation frequency to open the fusible link in a multifrequency resonant tag circuit. These methods may be used to deactivate a tag that uses a radio frequency circuit. Other tags may use magnetic components and appropriate degaussing methods may be used to deactivate such tags. Typically, magnetic tags include two magnetic circuit components and one of the magnetic circuit components may be selectively magnetized or degaussed. A magnetic EAS tag deactivator may degauss or magnetize the circuit component that has the alterable magnetic characteristic so that the tag no longer responds to the tag interrogation signal emitted by a tag detection device. Of course, tags may also be deactivated by methods that physically remove a tag from an article.
Previously known systems have included tag deactivators in checkout counters for deactivating EAS tags during checkout. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,135 discloses a bagging area in which a scanner is proximately mounted at the opening of the bag well and a tag deactivator is located at the bottom of the bagging area. When the checkout attendant reaches a hand towards the bag rails extending outwardly from the bag well to remove the bag being filled, a capacitor in a circuit associated with the bag rail senses the attendant's approach and triggers the deactivator. In response, the energized deactivator applies the signal that deactivates the EAS tags attached to articles in the bag above the tag deactivator. U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,290 requires the deactivator to include an indicia reader so that an identification code located on the EAS tag being deactivated may be compared to an identification code on a hanger tag. This comparison verifies that the tag being deactivated is indeed the one attached to the last article scanned. U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,951 is directed to an integrated barcode scanner and tag deactivator that may be coupled to one another to make sure that the data capturing and tag deactivation functions are completed before an article is given to a consumer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,125 describes an EAS tag detector that generates a signal to activate an EAS tag deactivator in response to detection of an EAS tag and that helps one orient the EAS tag for effective deactivation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,290 discloses a system that selectively enables EAS tag deactivation so tag deactivation cannot occur until the bar code corresponding to the tagged article has been scanned at the self-checkout station. The enabling of the EAS deactivation device requires correspondence between a symbol read from a hanger tag and a symbol read from the surveillance tag. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,692 is directed to a system that uses data scanned from an article to query a database and determine whether a surveillance tag should be deactivated. The deactivator is energized in response to the database indicating the scanned article should have a surveillance tag. Deactivations are counted and discrepancies between the number of tagged articles scanned and the number of deactivations performed is sent to an in-store processor for storage and audit processing.
While all of these patents address the deactivation of EAS tags after the articles to which the tags are attached are scanned for product information, they do not necessarily assure the complete deactivation of an EAS tag attached to an article that remains under a consumer's control. For example, a consumer using a station embodying the system of the '125 patent could simply remove the article from the detection field before deactivation is complete and continue with the checkout process. Likewise, the system of the '951 patent assumes the checkout station operator continues to hold the EAS tag in operational range of the deactivator until the audible signal indicating an EAS tag is in range of the deactivator ceases. However, a consumer at a self-checkout station, unaware of the purpose for the audible signal, may simply remove the article and drop it in the bagging area so the consumer may continue
Mason Timothy E.
Sadler Robert F.
Hofsass Jeffery
Lai Anne V.
Maginot Moore & Beck LLP
Martin Paul W.
NCR Corporation
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