GOODS ANTI-THEFT DEVICE

Abstract

The invention relates to an anti-theft device (100) configured for being attached to merchandise to be protected, in particular textile products, wherein the anti-theft device (100) comprises a housing (102) and a locking mechanism (130), which has a needle (106), wherein the needle (106) is adjustable between a locking position, in which it engages with the merchandise to be protected, and a release position, in which detachment and removal of the anti-theft device (100) from the merchandise to be protected are permitted, wherein the needle (106) has a curved, preferably arcuate shape and is accommodated in the housing (102) when in the release position.

Claims

1. Anti-theft device configured to be attached to merchandise to be protected comprising: a housing and a locking mechanism which has a needle, the needle being adjustable between a locking position, in which it engages with the merchandise to be protected, and a release position, in which detachment and removal of the anti-theft device from the merchandise to be protected are permitted, wherein the needle has a curved shape and is accommodated in the housing when in the release position.

2. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a catch that is configured such that it can be releasably engaged with the needle in order to hold the needle in the locking position and allow it to be transferred to the release position when actuated by a release element associated with the catch.

3. Anti-theft device according to claim 2, wherein the release element is made at least in part of a shape-memory alloy.

4. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism further comprises an actuation element configured to transfer the needle to the locking position when manually actuated by an operator.

5. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, wherein the needle is preloaded in the direction of its release position.

6. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a substantially circular and/or elliptical or polygonal contour.

7. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, wherein the housing further has a cut-out that extends substantially radially, the cut-out being configured to receive at least one part of the merchandise to be protected.

8. Anti-theft device according to claim 7, wherein the cut-out is substantially in the shape of a sector of a circle.

9. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply unit.

10. Anti-theft device according to claim 9, further comprising a signal-receiving unit 424 the anti-theft device being configured to cause the needle to be transferred to the release position when the signal-receiving unit receives a release-initiation signal.

11. Anti-theft device according to claim 10, wherein the anti-theft device is further configured to cause the needle to be transferred to the locking position when the signal-receiving unit receives a locking-initiation signal.

12. Anti-theft device according to claim 9, further comprising a storage apparatus the anti-theft device further being configured to receive a product information signal and store it on the storage apparatus.

13. Anti-theft device according to claim 10, wherein the signal-receiving unit is designed and intended to receive signals from a mobile terminal.

14. Anti-theft device according to claim 10, wherein the anti-theft device is assigned a unique identification code, for identifying the merchandise protected by the anti-theft device and/or for determining a location of the anti-theft device.

15. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, further comprises further comprising an indicator apparatus provided on an external surface of the housing.

16. Anti-theft device according to claim 1, further comprising a securing element configured to interact with an article surveillance system.

17. Anti-theft device configured to be attached to merchandise to be protected, the anti-theft device comprising: a housing and a locking mechanism which has a needle, the needle being adjustable between a locking position, in which it engages with the merchandise to be protected, and a release position, in which detachment and removal of the anti-theft device from the merchandise to be protected are permitted, wherein the housing has a substantially planar shape having a main plane, and the needle is configured so as to be arranged substantially in the main plane of the housing when in both the locking position and the release position.

18. Anti-theft device according to claim 5, wherein the needle is preloaded by means of a spring.

19. Anti-theft device according to claim 9, wherein the power supply unit is a battery.

20. Anti-theft device according to claim 15, wherein the indicator apparatus is a display.

Description

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment example of an anti-theft device according to the invention; and

[0041] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment example of the anti-theft device according to the invention.

[0042] FIG. 1 denotes an anti-theft device according to the invention in general as 100. In the embodiment example shown, the anti-theft device 100 comprises a housing 102, which is in the form of a substantially disk-shaped housing. The housing 102 is also provided with a cut-out 104, which extends radially inward from a circumferential edge of the housing 102 and, in the illustrated embodiment example, is substantially in the shape of a rounded sector of a circle. At this point, however, it should be noted that neither the shape of the housing 102 nor the shape of the cut-out 104 is limited to the embodiment example shown and may in principle be of any shape. For example, the shape of the cut-out 104 may also be the shape of a sector of a circle or a segment of a circle, or of a radially inwardly extending gap of constant width.

[0043] The anti-theft device 100 further comprises a needle 106, which, in the embodiment example shown, has an arcuate shape and is displaceable in the circumferential direction as indicated by a double arrow. In the embodiment example shown, the needle 106 is shown in a locking position, in which it can engage with, for example, a textile product to be protected (not shown) or another item of merchandise to be protected. By moving the needle 106 (in FIG. 1 substantially counterclockwise in its circumferential direction), the needle 106 can be transferred to a release position, in which it is preferably accommodated entirely within the housing 102 such that the needle 106 does not create any risk of injury for an operator handling the anti-theft device 100.

[0044] While the needle 106 is in its release position, the merchandise to be protected can be inserted into the cut-out 104 and then engaged with the merchandise to be protected by transferring the needle 106 to the locking position shown in FIG. 1. If the merchandise to be protected is a textile product, the needle 106, which in that case may be configured to be relatively thin to protect the textile product, may pierce said textile product in order to be then securely attached to the textile product to be protected. However, the needle 106 need not necessarily pierce the merchandise to be protected, but rather may also, in order to be attached, engage with a loop and/or tab provided on the merchandise to be protected.

[0045] An actuation element 108 may further be provided on the housing 102 for moving the needle 106, the actuation element being designed and intended to be actuated, for example, by a thumb of an operator such that the needle 106 can be transferred from its release position to the locking position shown. As soon as the needle 106 is in the locking position, it can further engage or latch with a catch (not shown in FIG. 1), which will be described in more detail below, in order to be securely held in the locking position so as to prevent unauthorized opening or removal of the anti-theft device 100 from the merchandise to be protected.

[0046] The anti-theft device 100 further comprises an indicator apparatus 109, which, in the embodiment example shown, is in the form of a display 109. The display 109 may be configured to display one or more pieces of product information, such as a price and/or an article/manufacturer name of the merchandise protected by the anti-theft device 100.

[0047] To indicate a status of the anti-theft device 100, an LED light source 110 is further provided on the housing 102, which LED light source may be configured as a colored LED light source, for example. By way of example, it is conceivable that the LED light source 110 illuminates in the color red to indicate a locked state of the anti-theft device 100, whereas the color green may be selected as the illuminating color to indicate an unlocked state. However, it goes without saying that any such LED light source 110 may also have a plurality of other illumination states/colors that may be used, for example, to indicate other operational states of the anti-theft device 100.

[0048] With reference to FIG. 2, which is a sectional view of the anti-theft device 100 from FIG. 1, a receiving space 112 located in the housing 102 can be seen, said receiving space being configured to receive the needle 106 which has been transferred to the release position. To lock the needle 106 in the locking position, the anti-theft device 100 further comprises a catch 114, which is configured to engage with the needle 106 such that the needle is no longer displaceable in the circumferential direction once it latches with the catch 114, for example after being displaced by means of the actuation element 108. To open the catch 114, the catch is operatively connected to a release element 116, which, in the embodiment example shown, is in the form of a wire 116 made of a shape-memory alloy. The wire 116 is connected to a chip unit 120, which heats said wire by applying electrical power. Furthermore, the wire 116 is operatively connected to the catch 114 such that the catch 114 can be moved inwardly substantially in the radial direction and opened as a result of the wire 116 contracting. For as long as the catch 114 is displaced inward in the radial direction, as shown in FIG. 2, the needle 106 can be displaced in its circumferential direction, by means of actuation of the actuation element 108, and transferred to its release position.

[0049] To enable particularly convenient opening, the needle 106 is further associated with a spring 105, which is also accommodated in the housing 102 and is designed and intended to move the needle 106 in the direction of its release position as soon as the catch 114 is moved radially inward and the needle 106 is released. Furthermore, to transfer the needle 106 entirely into the housing 102 or the receiving space 112, the actuation element 108 may, if desired, be actuated accordingly.

[0050] Once the wire 116 has subsequently cooled and thus expanded, the catch 114 can move (in the embodiment example shown with assistance from a further spring 118 connected to the housing 102) radially outwardly again such that the catch 114 can latch with the needle 106 again when said needle is transferred back to the locking position.

[0051] Consequently, in the embodiment example shown the needle 106, the actuation element 108, the catch 114, the wire 116, and the spring 118, together with the chip unit 120, form a locking mechanism 130 of the anti-theft device 100.

[0052] To provide the power required to operate the chip unit 120 and thus heat the wire 116, the anti-theft device 100 is further provided with a battery 122, which is also arranged in the housing 102.

[0053] The chip unit 120 may further be equipped with a signal-receiving unit and/or a signal-transmitting unit, which is/are configured preferably to communicate with a mobile terminal of a customer. By way of example, it is thus possible for the chip unit 120 to cause the wire 116 to be heated only after a locking-initiation signal is received by the signal-receiving unit included in the chip unit 120. The locking-initiation signal is preferably not sent by the mobile terminal to the signal-receiving unit until the customer has successfully completed a payment process.

[0054] Lastly, the chip unit 120 may further comprise a memory unit, which is preferably integrated therein and configured to store, inter alia, the product information relating to the merchandise to be protected, which information may be displayed on the display 109.

[0055] It should be added that the anti-theft device 100 can further comprise an electronic article surveillance element (EAS element) (not shown in FIG. 2) which is configured to interact with an electronic article surveillance system (not shown either) such that when a customer attempts to remove protected merchandise to which the anti-theft device 100 is attached from a store, for example, without authorization, an acoustic and/or visual alarm signal is emitted as soon as the merchandise passes a detector unit associated with the electronic article surveillance system.