HK1116568B - Handheld electronic article surveillance (eas) device detector/deactivator with integrated data capture system - Google Patents

Description

Handheld Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) device detector/deactivator with integrated data acquisition system

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application relates to and claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No.60/654,095 entitled "mobile arm Management With Integrated EAS Tag Detection, Deactivation and Capture" filed on 18.2.2005, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to handheld portable devices for detection and deactivation of Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) devices, and more particularly to handheld EAS deactivation devices having an integrated data acquisition and alarm event recording system.

Background

Conventional methods of recording Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) device alarms rely on hand recordings (e.g., paper logs) or electronic recordings (e.g., recording terminals) near a detection point (e.g., a doorway of an inventory). EAS devices are typically labels or tags that are affixed to or placed on the articles to be monitored. When an EAS alarm occurs, the responsible employee must approach the customer, locate the EAS device that caused the alarm, deactivate the EAS device, and register the cause of the alarm. In most cases, the customer has several bags of items, which makes it difficult to locate the EAS device that caused the alarm.

The employee will direct the customer back to the EAS monitoring system and place each bag separately into the EAS monitoring system in order to locate the bag containing the active EAS device. Once the package containing the active EAS device is located, each item in the package must be inspected in order to locate the triggered EAS device. This secondary alarm of the same EAS device creates an additional alarm that needs to be registered. Once an EAS device affixed to an article is located, it must be deactivated on a deactivation device, which is typically located at a cash register. Finally, the employee must register the alarms and capture all relevant alarm details. This process can be time consuming and inefficient. The customer departure from the store is unnecessarily delayed, resulting in customer satisfaction problems.

As described above, some alarm logging systems have shifted from paper logs to electronic logs. Typically, store personnel register each alert electronically using a fixed terminal located at the store entrance or exit. In one conventional example, a stand-alone, portable EAS device detection and deactivation apparatus is used. However, such systems only address the detection and deactivation portion of responding to an EAS alarm. Furthermore, the EAS device detection, deactivation and data capture associated with the alarm registration process is still inefficient and may be time consuming. Thus, there is a need for a more efficient method of handling detection, deactivation and data capture associated with EAS alarms.

Disclosure of Invention

The following brief summary provides a basic overview of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. This summary is not intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its purpose is to present some simplified concepts related to the technology before the more detailed description that follows is presented.

Embodiments of the present invention overcome one or more deficiencies in known EAS systems by employing a portable device to locate an active device and manage the activation/deactivation status of the device. A portable, cordless handheld device for locating an active Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) device, managing the activation/deactivation status of the EAS device, and registering information related to alarm events triggered by the EAS device is disclosed. The device includes an EAS detector to detect the presence of an EAS tag or label, a state manipulator to manipulate the activation/deactivation state of the detected active EAS label, at least one data capture device for capturing data related to an alarm event, and a memory to store the captured data.

Drawings

For a better understanding of various embodiments of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a portable device for locating an active EAS device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the portable device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the portable device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the components of one embodiment of the portable device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention; and

fig. 7 is a flow chart of another method of the present invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

Detailed Description

For simplicity and ease of explanation, the invention will be described herein in connection with various embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that the features and advantages of the present invention may be implemented in a variety of configurations. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are presented by way of illustration.

In the embodiment depicted in fig. 1 through 5, a portable device, generally designated 21, is disclosed for locating an active Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) device 25 and managing the activation/deactivation status of the EAS device. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the EAS device 25 is typically present in one or two states, active or inactive. The EAS device 25 placed on the merchandise 29 in the store is normally set in an active state so that the EAS device can act as an indicator that the merchandise is not sold, triggering an alarm when, for example, an exit from the store is detected. Conversely, the EAS device 25 associated with the sold article may be deactivated, such as at a retail checkout, so that the article will not cause an alarm. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the management of the active or inactive status of such EAS devices 25 is an important and potentially time-consuming part of the retail industry. The EAS device 25 is also readily applicable to other inventory systems, such as warehouses.

To assist in the management of such EAS devices 25, the portable device 21 includes a detector 35 (see fig. 1) for detecting the presence of an active EAS device. Such a detector 35 is useful in a typical retail setting, for example, when an EAS alarm occurs at a store exit prompting an employee to approach the customer with the portable device 21, thereby deactivating the EAS device 25 and leaving the store. The detector 35 allows an employee to quickly scan items 29 purchased by a customer at the store exit, rather than at a checkout counter. By scanning the purchased articles 29, the employee can easily determine which articles still contain the activated EAS device 25 without having to attempt to deactivate each article that appears to contain an EAS device.

In one embodiment, for example, the detector 35 may be an RFID tag detector for detecting an active EAS device 25 in the form of an RFID tag within the detector's operating range. The detector 25 may also be an acousto-magnetic or electro-magnetic marker detector. Activation of the EAS device 25 in a group of merchandise, either through a container (e.g., a gift box or shopping bag), or through clothing (e.g., under a jacket) can be easily detected using the detector 35, and those skilled in the art are familiar with detection of EAS devices 25 by passing them near EAS detectors (e.g., detection pedestals) that are typically located at the entrance and exit of a store, or using hand-held EAS detection devices. Accordingly, the operation of such devices will not be set forth herein.

Referring to fig. 1, 2 and 4, the portable device 21 may also include a detection indicator 39 for indicating detection of an active EAS device 25. In one example, the detection indicator 39 includes at least one of a visual indicator (e.g., a written message on the display 39A) and an audible indicator (e.g., an audible sound from the speaker 39B). In the warehouse example, the portable device 21 may be used to determine whether each item 29 is tagged with an active EAS device 25 prior to shipping the item 29 or placing the item on a store shelf. In the retail example, the detection indicator 39 can alert the user to scan multiple items 29 at once, so the user does not have to pause between each scanned item to verify that an active EAS device 25 has been detected.

According to aspects of the invention, the portable device 21 may also include a state manipulator 45 (see fig. 1) for manipulating the activation/deactivation state of the detected active EAS device 25. As mentioned above, EAS devices 25 typically exist in one or two states, active and inactive. The state manipulator 45 is capable of changing the state of the detected EAS device 25. In one example, the state manipulator 45 is for deactivating the detected active EAS device 25.

In another embodiment, the state manipulator 45 may be a deactivator or activator. With this alternative embodiment, the status of the EAS device 25 may operate from active to inactive or from inactive to active. The operation from the inactive to the active state is particularly useful in the warehouse example, where the inactive EAS devices 25 on the merchandise 29 require activation prior to shipment and/or sale. Those skilled in the art are familiar with activating or deactivating an EAS device 25 using, for example, a passive contact deactivation device, or an electronic deactivator device (as well as devices not specifically identified herein). Therefore, the operation of these devices will not be described herein. Accordingly, the operation of such devices will not be set forth herein.

The portable device 21 may also include at least one data capture device 55 for capturing data associated with the detected EAS device 25. The data capture device 55 may capture at least one of: (i) a detection time at which the EAS device 25 is activated, (ii) a detection location at which the detector 35 of the EAS device is activated (e.g., a store or warehouse), (iii) an identifier associated with the activated EAS device, (iv) an identifier of an item 29 associated with the detected activated EAS device (e.g., a product Universal Product Code (UPC)), (v) an identifier associated with a listing containing the item (e.g., a receipt barcode), (vi) an identifier used to identify a reason for the activation status of the EAS device, and (vii) an identifier associated with a point of sale transaction. Other types of data may also be captured without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The data capture device 55 may take various forms including, but not limited to, at least one of the following: manual data entry devices, bar code scanners, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag readers. For example, a barcode scanner may capture a SKU (stock keeping unit) code associated with the scanned item. In another example, an RFID tag reader may capture data associated with an RFID tag. In the case of manual data entry devices, several devices are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, including: a keyboard, a button or set of buttons, a touch screen, a joystick, and a stylus. Other means may be used without departing from the scope of the invention, and in the embodiment of fig. 1 to 4, a keyboard 57 may be included for manual data entry. Any manual data entry device may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. Other data capture devices may capture data automatically rather than requiring manual data entry. For example, the RFID tag reader of the portable device 21 may automatically collect data from the RFID tags associated with the articles 29 once the detector 35 detects an active EAS device 25.

Fig. 5 schematically shows one embodiment of the components of the portable device 21. The apparatus 21 may include a processor 150 coupled to a memory device 153. The processor 150 can have an embedded operating system such as Windows CE. The device 21 may include an EAS module 156 that can be selected and configured for operation with a particular type of EAS system. The EAS module 156 can include a detector 151 for detecting the presence of an active EAS device. As is well known in the art, the detector can comprise, for example, a transmitter for transmitting an interrogation signal and a receiver for detecting an alarm pattern. The EAS module may include a state manipulator, such as deactivator 152, which may be operable to transition an active EAS device to an inactive state. Although the present invention is not limited in this regard, deactivator 152 may be, for example, a contact deactivator or a proximity deactivator. In embodiments using reusable EAS tags, the state manipulator may also be an EAS device activator/deactivator combination.

As mentioned above, the portable device 21 may include at least one integral data capture device 155. The data capture device 155 may be used to collect receipts related to alarm events triggered by EAS devices. The collected data may be stored in the memory 153 to provide an electronic alarm event log.

The portable device 21 may include any suitable I/O data transmission device 157 that can transmit logged alarm event data to a central server, where in a first mode of use the data is stored in the memory 153 and downloaded to the server periodically, and in a second mode of use the data can be transmitted to a remote server in real time. In the practice of the invention, the data may be stored in the memory 153 of the device 21 and also transmitted synchronously to a remote server.

For example, data transfer may be accomplished by electrically coupling the device 21 directly to the target server using any suitable conventional communication link, including, but not limited to: telephone lines, IEEE 1284 (serial port), ethernet, universal serial bus (e.g., USB and USB 2.0), IEEE 1394 (firewire), IrDA standard (infrared data association), optical fiber, and the like. Conventional port and cable connector arrangements may be used to implement the communication link between the device 21 and the target device. The present invention may also include a docking port for device 21 configured to initiate a communication link upon engagement. The device 21 may also include a removable flash memory card on which data is stored, which can be physically transferred to other devices. As described in detail below, data may also be transmitted to the LAN using a wireless data transmission device.

Referring again to fig. 1-5, the portable device 21 may also include a portable housing 65. The detector 35, the state manipulator 45, and the data capture device 55 may all be mounted on a portable housing 65. In one example, the portable housing 65 of the device 21 may be shaped and sized to be held in a user's hand, for example using the handle 69 depicted in FIGS. 1-4. In yet another example, the portable device 21 may be shaped and sized to be held in only one hand, so that the user's other hand may be used to handle the item 29 or perform other related tasks (e.g., using the keyboard 57). The portable housing 65 may take on virtually any configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention. The housing 65 may also include a window 71 (see fig. 3) for improving signal transmission through the housing while protecting the internal components of the portable device 21.

The portable device 21 is preferably cordless and may also include a base 75 (see fig. 1). The portable housing 65 may be releasably connected to the base 75 to allow storage of the housing when not in use. The base 75 may also serve as a charger for the internal battery of the portable device or a connection point for the portable device to a network (discussed below) enclosure, for example, for downloading data from the portable device 21 to the network in bulk. The portable device 21 communicates with the base 75 through a connector 77 mounted on the housing 65. The portable device 21 also includes an authentication system 81 for releasing the housing 65 from the base 75 after a valid authentication of the user and for securing the housing to the base upon an invalid authentication of the user. Authentication system 81 may take virtually any form, including but not limited to at least one of the following: a swipe card (swipe card) system, a proximity card (proximity card) system, and a password protection system.

The portable device 21 may also include a network access provider 85 for providing communication between the portable device and a network 89, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), for sending data to and receiving data from the network (see fig. 1). The LAN89 may also be connected to a wide area network 91(WAN) for further data communication with client computers 93 accessing the WAN. In the example depicted in fig. 1, the network access provider 85 may be a wireless network access provider. Using the wireless network access provider 85, the data captured by the data protection device 55 may be wirelessly transmitted using essentially any wireless technology, including but not limited to: WiFi (e.g., 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.1Ig), bluetooth, GSM (global system for mobile communications), GPRS (general packet radio service), 2.5G (enhanced GSM), 3G (third generation mobile phone technology), and others. Using the wireless network access provider 85, the portable device 21 can be directly connected to a retailer's in-store, wired or wireless network (e.g., LAN) for real-time communication and decision making. In the retail example, wireless networking allows the portable device 21 to be used virtually anywhere in the user's store, speeding up EAS alarm processing at the exit, enabling customers to move faster while shopping, replacing inefficient and inaccurate paper logs, and providing data for evaluating and improving retail operations.

Another embodiment of the present invention depicted in fig. 6 includes a method, shown generally at 101, for identifying and deactivating a previously detected active EAS device 25 using a portable device 21, the active EAS device 25 being located in a container for one or more items of merchandise 29 (see fig. 1). The method comprises the following steps: at 107, the step of scanning at least one of the containers 103 using the portable device 21 to confirm whether the active EAS device 25 is placed in the scanned container. The method may further comprise: at 111, at least one of the containers 103 containing an activated EAS device 25 is identified. The step of scanning 107 at least one of the containers 103 to identify 111 the container containing the active EAS device 25 includes: scanning at least one of a shopping bag, a shopping cart, a shipping container, a storage container, an automobile, and a storage compartment. Other containers 107 not listed herein are also considered to be within the scope of the present invention. In one example in the retail industry, an employee can use the portable device 21 to immediately scan the customer's bag 103 in order to quickly identify the bag containing the item 29 that caused the alarm. If the scanning 107 of the container 103 does not result in a location to activate the EAS device 25, then the customer's personal items, such as: a purse, handbag, pocket, or coat may also be scanned by security personnel to determine if the active EAS device is in another location. More generally, security personnel may scan any number of items using the portable device 21 to confirm the location of the active EAS device 25, such as to identify a misplaced or stolen item.

The method further comprises the following steps: at 119, the articles 29 contained in at least one of the identified containers 103 are each scanned using the portable device 21 to determine which of the articles in the identified container is associated with the active EAS device 25. The method may further comprise: at 125, the active EAS device 25 is identified. In the retail example, the employee scans 119 the items 29 in the customer bags 103 individually until an active EAS device 25 is identified 125. The method further comprises the following steps: at 131, the identified active EAS device 25 is deactivated using the portable device 21. The method may further comprise: at 137, a step of capturing data associated with the deactivated EAS device 25 using the portable device 21. Once captured at step 137, the data may be sent to the network 89, 91 in real time (as the data is collected) or in bulk (e.g., when the portable device 21 is connected to the base 75).

In yet another embodiment of the present invention depicted in fig. 6, a method, shown generally at 201, is disclosed for identifying one or more previously detected active EAS devices 25 associated with one or more individual articles (e.g., in one or more containers 103) using a portable device 21. The method 201 comprises: at 207, a step of loading an identifier of the library listing associated with one of the one or more items 29 into the portable device 21. In one example, the step 207 of loading the identifiers of the library list includes: also at 207, the barcode identifiers of the library listings associated with the items 29 are scanned. In the retail example, this loading 207 or scanning may be a scanning of a bar code associated with an invoice listing purchased goods 29.

The method may further comprise the steps of: at 215, the identifier from the portable device 21 is transmitted to a network (e.g., LAN89), and at 221, a list of at least one of the one or more items 29 associated with the manifest, which may be associated with one or more previously detected EAS devices 25, is received from the network at the portable device. Returning to the retail example, the list of at least one of the one or more items 29 may be an inventory of items purchased by customers having an EAS device 25 associated therewith, so employees may focus their efforts on those items most likely to have an active EAS device. That is, the method further comprises the steps of: (i) at 227, the one or more items 29 identified in the list are scanned, respectively, to determine whether any of the items in the list are associated with the one or more active EAS devices, and (ii) at 233, if the one or more items in the list are associated with the one or more active EAS devices, the one or more active EAS devices are identified.

The method further comprises the following steps: at 251, if the items identified in the inventory are not associated with the one or more active EAS devices, any of the one or more items not identified in the inventory are scanned, respectively, to determine if any items not in the inventory are associated with the one or more active EAS devices. In other words, if scanning the item 29 in the inventory does not identify an item associated with an active EAS device, security personnel may scan other items not included in the inventory at the direction of the customer. This additional scanning can identify items that have not been scanned by the cashier either accidentally or due to "mindset" behavior of the cashier-helping the customer to steal by not charging for one or more items purchased by the customer. Additionally, if one or more items not identified in the inventory are each associated with an active EAS device, the security personnel may then identify the one or more active EAS devices at step 253. This enables the security employee to identify the particular item 29 that was not purchased so that the customer can purchase the item. The method further comprises the following steps: at 245, data associated with one or more identified EAS devices is captured using the portable device. It may include any digital data including an identifier of an item that was not scanned, a cashier who failed to scan the item, and the store where the failure of the scan occurred, among others. Over time, by tracking the data, the root cause or causes of item loss due to failure to scan items may be determined and addressed.

The method may further comprise: at 241, the one or more identified active EAS devices 25 are deactivated using the portable device 21, and at 245, data associated with the one or more deactivated EAS devices is captured using the portable device. In the retail example noted above, deactivation 241 deactivates the activated indicia so the customer can leave the store without an alert and capture 245 captures data relating to the item 29, the customer, or other aspects of the method.

Those skilled in the art will note that the order of completion or performance of the methods illustrated or described herein is not essential, if not otherwise specified. That is, the inventors have contemplated that the elements of the method may be performed in any order, if not otherwise specified, and that the method may include more or less elements than those disclosed herein.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope thereof. It is also to be understood that the scope of the invention is not to be interpreted as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but only in accordance with the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which the foregoing disclosure is entitled.

Claims (6)

1. A method of identifying one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices associated with one or more respective articles of merchandise using a portable device, the method comprising:

loading an identifier of a library listing associated with at least one of the one or more respective items into the portable device;

transmitting the identifier from the portable device to a network;

receiving, at the portable device from the network, a manifest of at least one of the one or more respective items associated with the library listing, the manifest associated with the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices;

scanning the one or more corresponding items identified in the inventory to determine whether any of the items in the inventory are associated with the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices, respectively; and

identifying the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices if one or more respective articles of merchandise in the inventory are associated with the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deactivating one or more identified previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices using the portable device; and capturing data relating to the one or more deactivated electronic article surveillance devices using the portable device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein loading an identifier of a library list associated with at least one of the one or more respective items into the portable device comprises scanning a barcode identifier of the library list associated with the item.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein loading the portable device with an identifier of a library listing associated with at least one of the one or more respective merchandise includes scanning a barcode printed on a retail check-in invoice using a barcode reader to capture data therefrom.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: if an item in the inventory is not identified as being associated with the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices, scanning, respectively, any of the one or more corresponding items not identified in the inventory to determine if any items not in the inventory are associated with the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices; and

identifying the one or more previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices if one or more corresponding articles not identified in the inventory are associated with a respective activated electronic article surveillance device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising capturing data associated with one or more identified previously detected activated electronic article surveillance devices using the portable device.