Acousto-magnetic anti-theft label with embossed features on the upper surface and method of manufacture

Abstract

An anti-theft AM label is formed with a housing that includes concave and/or convex patterns and wordings on the upper surface thereof. The concave and/or convex patterns and wordings provide a different appearance for anti-theft AM labels that can deter shoplifters from finding and removing the labels from the goods the labels are protecting. The concave and/or convex patterns can be the logo of the store in which the labels are used. The upper surface of the housing can be formed with a cold forming process or a hot forming process. The shape of the housing can be varied between square, rectangular, circular, sector and oval configurations, as desired by the customer. The depth of the patterns and words relative to a flat portion of the upper surface of the housing is in the range of 0.05-1.0 mm or, more preferably, in the range of 0.2-1.0 mm.

Claims

1. An acousto-magnetic (AM) anti-theft label comprising: a housing defining a resonating cavity having sidewalls formed as a smooth linear side surfaces and an upper surface formed with a concave and/or convex structure that forms a three-dimensional pattern into said upper surface, said three-dimensional pattern incorporating letters, numbers and/or identification symbols to provide an identification function with respect to the anti-theft label, said three-dimensional pattern being located on said upper surface spaced from said side surfaces without engaging any portion of said side walls, said three-dimensional pattern having a footprint located within a central portion of said upper surface wherein said footprint has an area smaller than a corresponding upper surface area of the housing, said three-dimensional pattern forming identification images and/or words into said upper surface; a resonator positioned within said resonating cavity; a bias positioned nearby the resonator; and a cover with a seal film secured to said housing to close said resonating cavity with said resonator and said bias being positioned proximate to one another.

2. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 1 wherein said concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface has a height difference in a range of 0.05-1.0 mm in relation to a flat portion of said upper surface adjacent said concave and/or convex structure.

3. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 2 wherein said height difference of said concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface has a range of 0.1-1.0 mm.

4. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 3 wherein said height difference of said concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface has a range of 0.2-1.0 mm.

5. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 1 wherein said upper surface has an area in a range of 2.0-30.0 square cm.

6. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 5 wherein the housing has a configuration-shaped as a square or a circle.

7. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 1 wherein said concave and/or convex structure is formed into said upper surface using a cold works forming process to form said concave and/or convex structure after the resonating cavity has been formed in said housing.

8. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 7 wherein said concave and/or convex structure is formed with cavity core tools used for the cold forming process and having concave and/or convex structure with height difference on flat surface in the range of 0.05-1.0 mm.

9. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 1 wherein said three dimensional pattern is formed into said upper surface simultaneously with formation of the resonating cavity using a hot works forming process.

10. The acousto-magnetic anti-theft label of claim 1 wherein said bias and said-resonator are positioned within the resonating cavity between the cover and the upper surface.

11. A method of manufacturing an acousto-magnetic (AM) anti-theft label comprising the steps of: forming a housing to define a resonating cavity, said housing having smooth linear side walls and an upper surface having a surface area dimension defined by a perimeter of said upper surface corresponding to said side walls; creating a concave and/or convex structure forming a three-dimensional pattern into said upper surface, said three-dimensional pattern covering an area less than said surface area of said upper surface and being spaced from, without engaging any portion of, said side walls along said upper surface perimeter, said three-dimensional pattern including letters, numbers and/or identification symbols to define an identification meaning with respect to the user and/or manufacturer of the anti-theft label, said three-dimensional pattern having a footprint located within a central portion of said upper surface wherein said footprint has an area smaller than a corresponding upper surface area of the housing, said three-dimensional pattern forming identification images and/or words into said upper surface; inserting a resonator into said resonating cavity; providing a bias proximate to said resonator; and placing a cover onto said housing to close said resonating cavity with said resonator enclosed within said resonating cavity.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said creating step creates concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface which has a height difference in a range of 0.05-1.0 mm in relation to a flat portion of said upper surface.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said creating step creates concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface which has a height difference in a range of 0.1-1.0 mm in relation to a flat portion of said upper surface.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said creating step creates concave and/or convex structure formed on said upper surface which has a height difference in a range of 0.2-1.0 mm relative to a flat portion of said upper surface.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said housing is formed with a configuration shaped as a square or a circle.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein said creating step is accomplished by using a cold works forming process to form said concave and/or convex structure.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein said forming step and said creating step is accomplished simultaneously by using a hot works forming process.

18. An acousto-magnetic (AM) anti-theft label comprising: a housing defining a resonating cavity having sidewalls formed as a smooth linear side surfaces and an upper surface having a surface area dimension defined by a perimeter formed by said side surfaces; a three-dimensional pattern formed by concave and/or convex structure formed into said upper surface by utilizing a cold works process, said three-dimensional pattern covering an area less than said surface area of said upper surface and spaced from said side surfaces at the perimeter of said upper surface without engaging any portion of said sidewalls and including letters, numbers and/or identification symbols to provide an identification meaning relating to said anti-theft label, said three-dimensional pattern having a footprint located within a central portion of said upper surface wherein said footprint has an area smaller than a corresponding upper surface area of the housing, said three-dimensional pattern forming identification images and/or words into said upper surface; a resonator positioned within said resonating cavity; a bias positioned nearby the resonator; and a cover with a seal film secured to said housing to close said resonating cavity with said resonator and said bias being positioned proximate to one another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is schematic drawing for the structure of this invented label;

(3) FIG. 2 is schematic drawing for the 3-D structure of this invented label;

(4) FIG. 3 is schematic drawing for the 3-D structure of the label in embodiment 4;

(5) FIG. 4 is schematic drawing for the 3-D structure of the label in embodiment 4;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of a female tool for forming the concave and/or convex structure on the upper surface of the label housing;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic drawings of a male tool cooperable with the female tool to form the concave and/or convex structure on the upper surface of the label housing; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing representing the process of the placement of the concave and/or convex structure into the upper surface of the anti-theft label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(9) Referring now to the drawing, an acousto-magnetic label incorporating the principles of the instant invention can best be seen. The technique used in following embodiments, unless specifically stated, all are conventional technique by the arts in the field. All instrument and equipment, unless specifically stated, are can all be obtained from public knowledge by the art in the field.

Embodiment 1

(10) As shown in FIG. 1, an anti-theft AM label 10 with concave and/or convex patterns or words on its upper surface can include an elongated housing 3, a resonator 2 and a bias 1. The housing has a cover made with double tape 5 and seal film 4. The housing and cover form a closed a resonating cavity 6, with the aforementioned resonators 2 and bias 1 being placed inside the resonating cavity 6. In this embodiment, the anti-theft label 10 is formed with three resonators and one bias.

(11) The housing 3 has an upper surface 7 formed with concave and/or convex structure 8. The concave and/or convex structure 8 is on the upper surface 7 for an identification function. The concave height and convex height of the aforementioned concave and/or convex structure 8 are 0.05 mm in relation to the flat portion of the upper surface 7.

(12) This anti-theft AM soft label 10, as depicted in FIG. 1, can be manufactured by using cold work to form concave or convex patterns and wordings on its upper surface 7. This method includes steps to cold form the flat upper surface on pre-formed housing, using cavity and core tools.

Embodiment 2

(13) An AM anti-theft label 10 with concave and/or convex patterns or words on its upper surface 7, including an elongated housing 3, a resonator 2 and a bias 1. The housing 3 has a cover made with double tape 5 and seal film 4. The housing 3 and cover form a closed resonating cavity 6 with the resonators 2 and bias 1 being placed inside the resonating cavity 6. This embodiment can also be formed with three resonators 2 and one bias 1.

(14) The housing 3 has an upper surface 7 with concave and/or convex structure 8. The concave and/or convex structure 8 is on the upper surface 7 is for an identification function. The concave height and convex height of the aforementioned concave and/or convex structure 8 are 0.1 mm in relative to flat surface portion of the upper surface 7.

Embodiment 3

(15) As shown in FIG. 2, an anti-theft AM label 10 with concave and/or convex patterns or words on its upper surface 7 includes an elongated housing 3, resonator 2 and bias 1. The housing 3 has a cover made with double tape 5 and seal film 4. The housing 3 and cover form a closed resonating cavity 6 with the aforementioned resonators and bias being placed inside the resonating cavity 6. This embodiment can be formed with three resonators 3 and one bias 1.

(16) The housing 3 has an upper surface 7 with a concave and/or convex structure 8. The concave and/or convex structure 8 is formed on the upper surface 7 for identification purposes. The concave height and convex height of the aforementioned concave and/or convex structure 8 are 0.2 mm in relative to flat portion of the upper surface 7. The area of the upper surface 7 of this label 10 is 2.0 square cm with the projected footprint of the label 10 being 3.1 square cm.

(17) This anti-theft AM soft label 10 can be manufactured using hot work, having modified the original flat tools into cavity and core tools, to form the concave or convex patterns and wordings on the upper surface 7. This method of manufacturing includes steps to hot press to form the housing, having the flat upper surface formed with concave or convex patterns and wordings on it. One of the goals of this invention is to make a label 10 with a new appearance so as to be different from the appearance of conventional AM label 10s, so that potential shoplifters would not easily recognize such AM labels when concealed on the product being protected.

Embodiment 4

(18) As shown in FIG. 3, an anti-theft AM label 10 with concave and/or convex patterns or words on its upper surface includes a squared housing 3, a resonator 2 and a bias 1. The housing 3 has a cover made with double tape 5 and seal film 4. The housing 3 and cover form a closed resonating cavity 6 with the aforementioned resonators 3 and bias 1 being placed inside the resonating cavity 6. This embodiment can also be formed with three resonators 3 and one bias 1.

(19) The housing 3 has an upper surface 7 with concave and/or convex structure 8. The concave and/or convex structure 8 is formed on the upper surface 7 for the function of identification. The concave height and convex height of the aforementioned concave and/or convex structure 8 are 0.8 mm in relation to flat portion of the upper surface 7. The area of the upper surface of the label 10 is 3.5 square cm with the projected footprint of the label 10 being 25.0 square cm.

Embodiment 5

(20) As shown in FIG. 4, an anti-theft AM label 10 is formed with concave and/or convex patterns or words on its upper surface, including an oval shaped housing 3, a resonator 2 and a bias 1. The housing 3 has a cover made with double tape 5 and seal film 4. The housing 3 and cover form a closed resonating cavity 6, with the aforementioned resonators 2 and bias 1 being placed inside the resonating cavity 6. This label 10 can be formed with three resonators 2 and one bias 1.

(21) The housing 3 has an upper surface 7 with concave and/or convex structure 8 formed on the upper surface 7 for the purpose of providing an identification function. The concave height and convex height of the aforementioned concave and/or convex structure 8 are 1.0 mm in relation to the flat portion of the upper surface 7. The projected footprint of the label 10 is 15.8 square cm.

(22) Manufacturing Process:

(23) The embossed concave and/or convex structure 8 forming patterns and/or words into the structure of the upper surface 7 of the housing 3 can be accomplished through cold works or through hot works.

(24) Cold works or cold forming means that the plastic film is pressed between a set of cavity and core tools to coin or press the pattern or wording into the upper surface of the plastic film forming the housing 3 at room temperature without utilizing any heating process applied to the plastic film. When the embossing is formed through cold works, the housing 3 is first formed with a flat upper surface by hot forming (either non-vacuum or vacuum) the plastic film and allowed to cool to room temperature (about 25 degrees centigrade). After cooling, the housing 3 is placed into a set of cavity core tools 12, 13, depicted schematically in FIGS. 5-7, and the tools 12, 13 are pressed together with the upper surface 7 of the housing therebetween. With the male tool 13 pressing the plastic of the housing 3 into the female tool 12, the embossed pattern and/or words are produced. Thus, the cold works process of embossing the pattern and/or words into the upper surface 7 of each housing 3 is a two-step process in which the housing is formed in the first step and the cold works embossing is accomplished in the second step. One skilled in the art will recognize that the housings 3 are formed in a sheet form with many housings 3 formed on a single sheet of plastic material. Accordingly, the cavity core tools 12, 13 would preferably be formed to process an entire sheet of housings 3 simultaneously.

(25) Hot works or hot forming means that the plastic film is pressed between a set of cavity and core tools to form the embossed upper surface while the resonating housing 3 is being formed. In this hot works process, the plastic film is pre-warmed and then pressed by a set of cavity and core tools 12, 13, which have a temperature of approximately 80-120 C (e.g. at 95 C or 115 C depending on forming speed, tool sizes, and holding mechanism, etc.) and released at a hot state, resulting in an embossed upper surface, meanwhile the resonating house is made at the same time, too. Thus, in the hot works process, only a single step is required to produce the housings 3 with the concave and/or convex structure 8 formed therein. The sheet of embossed housings 3 is then allowed to cool for the placement of the resonators 2 and the bias 1 into the resonating cavity 6 and then sealed with the seal film 4 and the double tape 5.

(26) One skilled in the art will recognize that forming the concave and/or convex structure 8 through cold works can subject the upper surface 7 to cracking during the formation of the concave and/or convex structure 8. Furthermore, the cold works process is less flexible for use in fine details if desired by the customer. Accordingly, the hot works process is preferable in the formation of labels 10 having concave and/or convex structure 8 forming patterns and/or words into the upper surface 7 of the housing 3.

(27) The above-described embodiments are preferred solutions for the instant invention, which is not intended to limit this invention in any form. One skilled in the art will recognize that other alternative and modified solutions can be provided within the claimed scope of the invention.