Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention relates to a devlce for securing artlcles,
particularly compac~ dlgital tCD) audio discs, to restrict
unauthorized removal of such articles from an enclosure or
cartridge, and further to protect such articles ayainst pilferage.
The recording medium conventionally referred to as a
compact diqital (CD) audio disc i~ yaining acceptance. However,
because o~ i.ts comparatively small size, it is ea~ily .stolen.
Such arkicles, and others similar in slze and shape, are known ~o
have been protected by a variety of methods includlng locked, but
transparent, display aases æometl~ne~ having ~mall access holes
allowing shoppers to handle the artlcles wi~hout removing them
from the cases. Other known technl~ues include securing the
article onto a bulky cardboard backing, making the packaged
article too large to be readily concealed.
Q mary of_the Invention
The presen~ invention addresses problems attendant to
such prlor techniques by provlding an anti-thef~ device ~or
res~ricting unauthorized removal of an article, ~uch as a
recording medium, a compact digital audlo disc or the like, ~rom a
cartridge having a mounting stud engaging a central openiny in the
article when said article is in position in the cartridge, said
device comprising a perforate plate having a plurality of holes
ex~ending ~herethrough, means ~or locking the plate ~o the
mounting stud oi said cartridge when said article is in position
between said perforate plate and cartridge, and unlocking means
having thereon pins for engaging said through-holes in the
perforate plate from the side thereof opposite the article to
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actuate said loc~siny means for releasing the plate and article
~rom the mounting stud.
The device of the present inventlon thu~ e~fectively and
efficiently protects compact discs or similar articles against
point of æale pilferage. The device is particularly desirable in
that au~horized sales personnel may assemble lt with conventional
compact discs and their cartridges ln a most slmple and rapid
manner. Advantageously, it is not possible to remove the antl-
theft devlce from a disc by simple manipulation on~e the device
has been assembled wi~h the compact dlsc, yet it may be removed by
authorlzed sales personnel in a very simple manner. Another
advantage is that the inventlve anti-theft device is very slmple
in construction and thus may be fabricated at very low cost.
Brief Description of the Drawintls
In order that the invention may be better understood,
various em~odiments thereo$ will now be explalned in detail under
reference to the attached drawings:
Eigure 1 shows a schematic view of a cartridge intended
to receive a compact disc, a compact dlsc and the anti-theft
device of the present invention prior to the assembly thereof with
the compact disc and its cartridge;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the inventive anti-theit
device; and
Figure 3 shows a further embodiment o~ a portion of the
inventive anti-theft device.
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Detailed Description
The present invention is based on the followiny
considerations. The theft of articles such as compact discs
may be prevented by providing an anti-theft device
constructed to lock the compact disc to an enclosure or
cartridge, within which is also preferably included means to
triyger the generation of a warning signal as the disc is
moved through a monitoring æone. Also, the following
conditions should be satisfied. It should be assured that
the anti-theft device can be assembled with the compact disc
and its cartridge by authorized per.sonnel only, and the means
for triggering the generation of a warning signal must itself
be secured to the anti-theft: device in a manner to be
protected against external interference.
In its most general form, the anti-theft device
comprises a flat perforate plate placed on the side of the
disc which faces away from the cartridge, with the means for
triggering the generation of an alarm signal being preferably
attached to the side of the perEorate plate which faces the
compact disc. To safely prevent removal of the alarm signal
triggering means, the perforate plate has an internal recess
within which the triggering means, which may comprise a strip
of magnetic material, may be placed. Such a means is thus
spaced from the surface of the compact disc and out of reach
of tools such as the blade of a knife.
It is desired for the anti-theft device to be
lockable to the mounting stud of the cartridge in a manner
such that the compact disc will be restrained between the
perforate plate and the cartridge surface facing that plate.
The lock is to be released only by authorized sales personnel
by introducing in through-holes in the perforate plate from
the side facing away from the compact disc the pins of a
release tool which are disposed in a specific coded
arrangement; the release mechanism is to be activated by such
introduction.
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Fig. 1 sllows a conventional cartridge 1 (preferabl~
made of a plastics material) for receiving a cornpact disc.
As has been known, cartridge 1 has a mounting stud 3 disposed
centrally in a recess 2. When placing a compact disc 4 into
the recess 2 of the cartridge 1, a central opening 5 of the
compact disc 4 is pushed over the stud 3 so that the stud 3
will project therethrough. Preferably, the receiving stud 3
comprises resilient stud fingers 6 uniformly spaced along its
periphery, said fingers 6 initially extending from the recess
2 in the axis direction of the stud 3, and having radially
inwardly projecting free ends. Gaps 7 are left between
adjacent stud fingers 6 and their end portions. With the
compact disc 4 placed in cartridge 1, the inwardly extending
ends of stud fingers 6 project over the surface which faces
away from recess 2 and lightly engage the central opening 5
to hold the disc ~ within the recess 2.
The inventive anti-theft device substantially
Gomprises a perforate plate a, a lock spring 9, a lock gear
10, and a release tool 12.
Preferably, an alarm triggering device 11 is also
included~ Such a device 11 preferably comprises at least one
strip of high permeability, low coercive force magnetic
material secured to the cartridge 1 in a manner such as to
preclude removal by simple manipulation. Other known
antipilferage devices such as tuned resonant
inductive-capacitive circuits may also be used. A compact
disc provided with a security strip 11 of this kind cannot be
moved through a monitoring zone as may be provided short of
the exit from a point of sale without triggering the
generation of an alarm signal. Authorized personnel thus
provide the compact discs with the inventive anti-theft
devices containing the aforesaid security strips prior to
placing them on sale, and remove the devices using the
release tool 12 as the customers leave the point of sale
premises through assigned exits where cash registers are set
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up. Those exits where no cash registers are set up are
protected by the aforesaid monitoring zones, and if an
anti-theft device including a sensitized security strip is
still attached to the article, appropriate alarms, lockable
gates, or the like will be actuated.
The detailed design of portions of the inventive
anti--theft device will now be described under reference to
Fig. 2. The aforesaid lock gear 10 has a central opening 13
and peripheral tooth-like projections 1~ which are spaced and
dimensioned to pass through gaps 7 in the mountiny stud 3 on
the cartridge 1 as the anti-theft ~evice is placed thereon in
an unlocked position. At that time, lock gear 10 is within
the space enclosed by stud fingers 6 and their end portions.
In order to facilitate the introduction of lock gear 10 into
~lounting stud 3, bevels 15 may be provided (Fig. 3) on the
slde of lock gear 10 which faces towards the compact disc.
These bevels preferably are at ~5 angles from a plane
perpendicular to the axis of the lock gear 10 so that the
gear tapers towards the side of the compact disc 4.
A lock spring 9 is provided between the lock gear
10 and the perforate plate 8, and essentially comprises a
ring portion 16 which preferably is circular. From the ring
portion 16, strip-shaped projections or tabs 17 extend
radially inwardly, and additional strip-shaped projections or
2S tabs 18 extend radially outwardly. Preferably, the ring
portion 16 has therethrough an elongated slot 19, of which
the function will be explained below. With the lock gear 10
secured to the perforate plate 8, the radially inwardly
extending tabs 17 resiliently engage the surfaces of the lock
gear 10 that face them. This way, the surfaces of the tabs
18 which ace the perforate plate 8 are urged resiliently
against the opposite surface of the perforate plate 8. ~his
surface of the perforate plate 8 has therein elongated
recesses 20 which receive the radially outwardly extending
tabs 18 when the plate 8 has been turned into a predetermirled
locked position relative to the lock spring 9.
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The lock gear 10 is secured such as by being welded
or bonded, for example, to a stud 21 on the perforate plate 8
so that those members may be rotated as a single unit.
Preferably, the stud 21 is shaped, as evident in Fig. 2, to
have a cylindrical boss 22 and a shaped projection 23
extending therefrom to engage a complementary opening in the
lock gear 10. The shaped projection 23, which may be
rectangular or triangular in shape, prevents the lock gear 10
from being rotated relative to the stud 21 and is aligned
relative to the perforate plate 8 and lock spring 9. As the
shaped projection 23 is smaller than the sur~ace of the
cylindrical boss 22 which faces away from the perforate plate
8, the surface o~ the lock gear 10 which faces the perforate
plate a at least partially engages the surface of cylindrical
boss 22 which faces towards the lock gear 10 so that the lock
gear 10 is spaced from the perforate plate 8 by the
cylindrical boss 22. The inner edges of the inwardly
projectinq strip-shaped tabs 17 of the lock spring 9 thus
engage the peripheral surface of the cylindrical boss 22.
The aforesaid security strip 11, which may comprise
at least one magnetic strip, but preferably comprises two
such strips placed at right angles to each other, is attached
- preferably bonded - to the inner surface of perforate plate
8 which faces lock gear 10, and is hidden from access by the
flange 27 ~ormed along the periphery of the plate.
As to their number and the angles between them, the
outwardly exkending strip-shaped tabs 18 of the lock spring 9
are non-uniformly distributed along the periphery of the ring
portion 16 of the lock spring 9 in accordance with a
pre-selected code. The same applies in analogy to the
recesses 20 in the inner surface of the perEorate plate 8.
Each recess has therein a through-hole 24 through which a pin
may be introduced from the side of the perforate plate 8
which faces away from the gear 10, so as ko push the
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corresponding strip-shaped tab 18 from its recess 20 towards
the lock gear 10.
Release tool 12 preferably is in the form of a knob
having on a surface facing the outside of the perforate plate
8 pins 25 arranged in accordance with the aforesaid
pre-selected code. By placing release tool 12 in a
predetermined position in which each one of the pins 12
extends into a recess 20, all of the strip-shaped tabs 18 may
be pushed from the associated recesses 20 towards the lock
gear 10. Release tool 12 has a central pinion 26 adapted to
be introduced into an opening provided in the cylindrical
boss 22, and shaped projection 23 and, optionally, in the
lock gear 10. Once the release tool 12 has thus been
introduced, so that the pins 25 push all of tabs 18 from
their recesses, the tool 12 and the plate 8 and gear 10 may
be turned relative to the lock spring to the second or
unlocked position. The teeth 14 of the gear may then be
withdrawn through the gaps 7 in the mounting stud 3 of the
cartridge and the plate 8 removed, allowing the disc 4 to
also be removed.
For limiting rotation of the perforate plate 8
relative to the lock spring 9, a stop pin 30 provided on the
inner surface of the perforate plate B engages the
aforementioned elongated slot 19 in lock spring 9. Rotation
of the plate 8 relative to the spring 9 in either direction
is limited by the stop pin 30 engaging either end of
elongated slot 19. This way, each tab 18 will engage its
assigned recess 20 when the stop pin 30 engages one end of
the slot, whereas, when the stop pin 30 engages the other end
of the slot 19, the tabs 18 do not engage their assigned
recesses and come to lie in a position at least partly
laterally offset from their assigned recesses.
The operation of the inventive anti-theft device
will now be explained in detail. Prior to attaching the
anti-theft device, a compact disc 4 is placed inside a
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cartridge 1 in a manner such that the central opening 5 o~
the compact disc 4 is seated on the mounting stud 3 in the
cartridge 1, which stud comprises stud portions 6 and gaps 7.
To place the anti-theft device in position, the unit
comprising the lock gear 10, lock spring 9 and perforate
plate B is placed over the free end of mounting stud 3 on
cartridge 1. At that time, the stop pin 30 engages one end
of the slot 19, tabs 18 do not engage recesses 20 and each
one of the tabs 17 is located behind one of the teeth 14 on
the lock gear 10. In the process of so assembling the
anti thet device with the compact disc, the teeth 14 on the
lock gear 10 move through the gaps 7 between skud fingers 6
of the mounting stud 3 so that the lock gear come to lie
axially behind the ends of the fingers 6 of the mounting stud
3. Also, the inwardly projecting tabs 17 of the lock spring
9 move into corresponding gaps 7 so that the spring is
prevented from rotating. Then, the perforate plate ~ and
lock gear 10 are rotated together relative to the mounting
stud 3 and lock spring 9 into the locked position at which
the stop pin 30 abuts the other end of slot 19, tabs lB enter
recesses 20 and teeth 14 on the lock gear 10 reach positions
behind the ends of the fingers 6 on the mounting stud 3. In
the locked posltion, the anti-theft device cannot be
withdrawn axially from the cartridge 1 and compact disc 4.
, 25 Such withdrawal will not.be possible unless release tool 12
has been applied such that the pins 25 move through the holes
24 into recesses 20 so as to push elongated tabs 18 f rom
their recesses 20 towards lock gear 10. Release tool 12 may
then be rotated until the stop pin 30 engages the other end
of the slot 19. The teeth 14 of the lock gear 10 will then
be aligned with corresponding gaps 7 in the mounting stud 3
: so that the entire anti-theft device may be withdrawn from
the mounting stud 3.
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Advantageously, the entire anti-the~t device has
axial dimensions so small that the conventional cartridges 1
available for compact discs 4 will readily accommodate it.
Anti-theft devices of the aforesaid type will, as
described, be attached by authorized sales personnel to all
of the compact discs and their cartridges which are
accessible to customers at a point of sale. Also, as
descrihed below, authorized personnel such as a cash register
attendant may remove the inventive anti--theft device by usiny
the aforesaid release tool. As each exit which does not have
a cash register installed thereat is provided with one of the
aforesaid monitoring zones including means responsive to the
magnetic strips, the compact discs cannot be stolen any
longer.
Also, advantageously, once removed from compact
discs that were paid for, the inventive anti-theft devices
may be reused, i.e., they may be newly attached to other
compact discs to be offered for sale.
