WO1999010852A1

WO1999010852A1 - Security tag and method of making the tag

Info

Publication number: WO1999010852A1
Application number: PCT/GB1998/002561
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Gerrard Hancock
Original assignee: Norprint Labelling Systems Limited
Priority date: 1997-08-27
Filing date: 1998-08-26
Publication date: 1999-03-04
Also published as: ES2192784T3; GB2328836A; GB9718122D0; AU8872398A; ATE232627T1; EP1010155B1; DE69811375D1; DE69811375T2; EP1010155A1

Abstract

A security tag or label has a laminated construction in which at least one intermediate sheet (4, 5) is sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets (2, 3), and an alarm triggering device (10), preferably in a container (6), is concealed within a cavity (11) which is formed by registering apertures (7, 8) cut in the intermediate sheets (4, 5) and which is closed by the face sheets (2, 3).

Description

SECURITY TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE TAG

It is well known to protect merchandise against theft from a shop

or store by attaching to individual items of the merchandise a

device which is operative to cause a transmitter to emit an alarm

if the item is carried into a detection zone, usually at or near

the shop exit, without the device first having been removed or

de-activated. The device may be a simple metallic strip forming

an electromagnetic aerial, a radio frequency antenna circuit or,

more recently, an acousto-magnetic resonance device. The device

is usually mounted in a suitable carrier which is attached to the

item of merchandise in addition to the usual label or tag, and

is hence readily visible as well as constituting an additional

item to be attached to the merchandise.

It is known to incorporate electromagnetic and radio frequency

aerials in self-adhesive labels, but this is not always entirely

satisfactory and is also not particularly practical for acousto-

magnetic devices.

The invention provides a security tag or label having a laminated

construction in which at least one intermediate sheet is

sandwiched between a pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a cut-out area which

is covered by at least one of the face sheets to define a

concealed cavity within which is hidden an alarm triggering

device which will respond to a signal from a transmitter to cause

the transmitter to issue an alarm if the tag or label is carried

into the range of the signal without having been de-activated.

Since the thickness of the intermediate sheet or sheets can be

chosen such that the depth of the cavity produced will be at

least equal to the thickness of the alarm triggering device, the

construction in accordance with the invention enables a high

quality tag or label to be produced having a uniform thickness

and flat faces carrying high quality printing and/or graphics as

desired, while completely concealing the alarm triggering device

within it. Furthermore, the tag or label can be produced with

virtually any desired outline shape.

Usually the intermediate sheet or sheets will be made of stiff

cardboard, and the face sheets may be made of a suitable paper,

card or plastics material.

In order to reduce the ability to detect the presence of the

cavity, and hence the alarm triggering device, in the tag or label by pressing on the face sheets, the alarm triggering device

is preferably housed in a container which is received wholly

within the cavity, has a thickness substantially equal to the

depth of the cavity, and is preferably dimensioned to fit closely

within the cavity. Housing the alarm triggering device in a

container also serves to protect the device during handling, and

to facilitate placement of the device in the cavity during

manufacture of the tag or label .

Usually, the cut-out area defining the cavity will extend

completely through the or each of the intermediate sheets.

The alarm triggering device may be in the form of an

electromagnetic aerial or a radio frequency antenna circuit, but

is preferably an acousto-magnetic device. Furthermore, the tag

or label in accordance with the invention may also be provided

with a radio frequency identification device in the form of an

RFID chip concealed in a further cavity cut-out of the or at

least one of the intermediate sheets. The inclusion of such an

RFID device will facilitate tracking and inventory control of the

tagged or labelled merchandise.

In a variant of the tag or label in accordance with the invention, at least one of the sheets may extend beyond the

portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are

laminated together, so as to form a tab for attaching the tag or

label to an article.

Preferably such a tag or label will have a plurality of

intermediate sheets and the tab will be formed by at least one

of the intermediate sheets, which is preferably a flexible sheet

of a tear resistant material. This may be a fibre reinforced

plastics material such as tyvek.

The tab may be provided with at least one slit or other aperture

to enable attachment of the tag or label to an article by

insertion of a portion of the article through the tab.

Alternatively, or in addition, at least a portion of the tab may

be provided with an adhesive coating on one side thereof, the

adhesive preferably being a pressure sensitive adhesive which is

protectively covered by a backing sheet of release paper.

In one embodiment the tab has a first portion in which the at

least one slit is provided, and a second portion on which the

adhesive coating is provided, the first portion being disposed

between the second portion and that portion of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated together.

One of the face sheets may extend a short distance over the tab

and be secured thereto to form a stiffer portion of the tab

adjacent the portion of the tag or label in which all of the

sheets are laminated together.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method of

making the security tag or label comprises the steps of providing

at least one intermediate sheet, cutting an aperture through the

or each intermediate sheet, sealing a first face sheet to one

face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover one side of the

aperture, placing an alarm triggering device into the aperture

to rest on the face sheet, sealing a second face sheet to the

opposite face of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover the

other side of the aperture and form a laminate containing a

concealed cavity housing the alarm triggering device, and die

cutting the laminate to obtain a tag or label of the desired

shape .

The invention also envisages providing a laminate from which a

plurality of security tags or labels in accordance with the

invention can be formed, the laminate comprising at least one intermediate sheet sandwiched between a pair of opposite face

sheets, the or at least one of the intermediate sheets having a

plurality of cut-out areas which are spaced apart in a regular

array and which are covered by at least one of the face sheets

to form a plurality of concealed cavities within the laminate,

and a plurality of alarm triggering devices hidden one in each

of the cavities.

Such laminates may be printed and cut into individual tags or

labels for supply to a user, but generally they will be supplied

unprinted and uncut to the manufacturer of the items to be

tagged. The manufacturer will then have the laminates printed

and cut as required, and for this purpose the laminates may be

supplied with a printer's template or guide, for example in the

form of a transparent plastics sheet, marked with the outline of

the laminate and dividing lines which represent the positions of

the bisectors between adjacent cavities and hence define the

boundaries of the individual tags to be produced. The template

will also indicate marginal edge portions of the laminate which

will be used to locate and grip the laminate during printing and

which will not form any part of the tags.

Various embodiments of a security tag in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the

accompanying drawings, in which :-

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a first embodiment the

tag (not to scale) showing the individual components of the tag

separated from each other;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the tag of Figure 1 showing the

components assembled, but with one of the face sheets cut away

to reveal part of the internal cavity containing the alarm

triggering device;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing a second

embodiment of the tag;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a third

embodiment of the tag;

Figure 5 is a side view (not to scale) of the third embodiment

showing the assembled tag; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the assembled tag shown in Figure 5. The tag shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a rectangular tag (1) formed

from two outer face sheets (2, 3), two intermediate sheets (4,

5), and a self-adhesive blister capsule (6) containing an

acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device (10) of a known

construction comprising a magnetic fixed pole and a movable pole

which will vibrate resonantly when excited by a predetermined

transmitter signal. The blister capsule containing the acousto-

magnetic device is obtainable under the trade name "sensortag"

from the Sensormatic Corporation, United States of America.

The two intermediate sheets (4, 5) are each made of cardboard and

have a combined thickness which is not less than, and preferably

substantially equal to, the thickness of the capsule (6)

containing the acousto-magnetic device. Each intermediate sheet

(4, 5) has an identically sized aperture (7, 8) cut through it

in a substantially central position, the apertures being of a

size and shape only slightly larger than the capsule (6) .

The two outer face sheets (2, 3) are made of stiff card with

smooth surfaces and, in this example, are thinner than the

intermediate sheets (4, 5) . The outer face of at least one and

possibly both, of the outer sheets (2, 3) may be pre-printed as desired. On assembly of the tag, the two intermediate sheets (4, 5) are

first adhesively sealed together with the apertures (7, 8) in

registry with each other, and one of the outer sheets (2) (usually

the backing sheet) is adhesively fixed to one face of the

combined intermediate sheets (4, 5) so as to cover the

registering apertures (7, 8) on this side. The capsule (6)

containing the acousto-magnetic device is then placed into the

cavity (11) defined by the registering apertures (7, 8) so as to

rest on the inner surface of the face sheet (2) , as can be seen

in Figure 2, and the remaining face sheet (3) is then adhesively

sealed to the other face of the combined intermediate sheets (4,

5) so as to cover over the cavity (11) containing the capsule

(6) . The laminated assembly is then die cut to the required

external size and shape, and a hole (9) punched through it for

receiving a suitable tie for attaching the tag to an item of

merchandise. In the present example the tag is shown as being

rectangular, but other shapes are of course possible.

The tag (21) shown in Figure 3 is similar to that of Figures 1

and 2 insofar as it is formed by two outer face sheets (22, 23)

and two intermediate sheets (24, 25) which are adhesively sealed

together to form a laminated assembly. The two outer face sheets

(22, 23) are made of stiff card with smooth surfaces as in the first embodiment, and the intermediate sheet (24) is made of

cardboard and has a central aperture (27) cut-out of it to form

a cavity which receives as a relatively close fit a capsule (26)

containing an acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device, the

thickness of the capsule (26) being substantially equal to the

thickness of the intermediate sheet (24) . In this embodiment the

intermediate sheet (24) comprises a single cardboard sheet, but

may be formed by two separate sheets as in the first embodiment

if preferred.

The two face sheets (22, 23) and the intermediate sheet (24) all

have substantially the same peripheral shape and size, but the

second intermediate sheet (25) is much larger so that it has a

portion extending beyond one end of the remainder of the tag so

as to form a tab (28) attaching the tag to an article. For this

purpose the tab (28) may be provided with a slit or a plurality

of intersecting slits so that a portion of the article may be

pushed through the tab. Preferably the intermediate sheet (25)

which forms the tab is a flexible sheet of a tear resistant

material such as tyvek.

In the third embodiment shown in Figures 4 to 6 the tag (31) is

formed by two outer face sheets (32, 33), and three intermediate sheets (34, 35, 36), all adhesively laminated together as shown

in Figure 5. The two face sheets (32, 33) are made of stiff card

with smooth surfaces, and the central intermediate sheet (34) is

made of cardboard and is similar to the intermediate sheet (24)

of the second embodiment in having a central aperture (37) cut¬

out of it to form a cavity which receives a capsule (38)

containing an acousto-magnetic alarm triggering device. The

other two intermediate sheets (35, 36) sandwich the central

intermediate sheet (34) and are each formed by a thin flexible

sheet of tear resistant material, such as tyvek, having a

pressure sensitive coating on its face which is directed towards

the central sheet (34) . As shown, both of the intermediate

sheets (35, 36) extend beyond the rest of the sheets at one end,

with the sheet (35) projecting approximately twice as far as the

sheet (36) from the other sheets. If desired, the two sheets

(35, 36) may be formed by a single sheet which is wrapped round

the other end of the central sheet (34) .

On assembly the overlapping projecting portions of the sheets

(35, 36) are adhered to each other by means of their facing

adhesive coatings to form a tab (39) , and the exposed adhesive

coating on the outer end portion of the sheet (35) which is not

overlapped by the sheet (36) is covered by a backing sheet (40) of a suitable release paper. The face sheet (32) covering the

intermediate sheet (36) is slightly longer than the other face

sheet (33) so that it projects a short distance beyond the

portion of the tag (31) in which all of the sheets are laminated

together, so that the projecting tab (39) is stiffened by the

short projecting portion (41) of the face sheet (32) adjacent the

junction with the remainder of the sheets. The portion of the

tab (39) formed by the overlapping portions of the intermediate

sheets (35, 36) is provided with one or more slits as shown at

(42) in Figure 6.

With this embodiment a portion of an article, such as one arm of

a pair of spectacles, is pushed through the slit (42) in the tab

(39) and, after removing the backing sheet (40) from the adhesive

coating of the outer portion of the tab, the tab and the stiff

portion of the tag are folded towards each other so that the

outer portion of the tab is adhered to the stiff portion of the

tag so as to secure the tag on the article.

Claims

1. A security tag or label having a laminated construction

wherein at least one intermediate sheet is sandwiched between a

pair of opposite face sheets, the or at least one of the

intermediate sheets having a cut-out area which is covered by at

least one of the face sheets to define a concealed cavity within

which is hidden an alarm triggering device which will respond to

a signal from a transmitter to cause the transmitter to issue an

alarm if the tag or label is carried into the range of the signal

without having been de-activated.

2. A tag or label according to claim 1, in which the cut-out

area defining the cavity extends completely through the or each

of the intermediate sheets.

3. A tag or label according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the

alarm triggering device is housed in a container which is

received wholly within the cavity.

4. A tag or label according to claim 3, in which the container

has a thickness substantially equal to the depth of the cavity

so as to reduce the ability to detect the presence of the alarm triggering device by pressing on the faces of the tag or label .

5. A tag or label according to claim 3 or claim 4 , in which the

container has a size and shape such that it is a close fit within

the cavity.

6. A tag or label according to any one of the preceding claims,

in which the alarm triggering device is an acousto-magnetic

device .

7. A tag or label according to any one of the preceding claims,

in which the two face sheets are made of stiff card having smooth

surfaces, and there are two intermediate sheets made of cardboard

secured together and sandwiched between the two face sheets .

8. A tag or label according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , in

which at least one of the sheets extends beyond the portion of

the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated

together, so as to form a tab for attaching the tag or label to

an article.

9. A tag or label according to claim 8, in which there are a

plurality of intermediate sheets, and the tab is formed by at least one of the intermediate sheets.

10. A tag or label according to claim 9, in which the

intermediate sheets comprise at least one sheet in which the

cavity is formed and at least one flexible sheet of a tear

resistant material which forms the tab.

11. A tag or label according to any one of claims 8 to 10, in

which the tab is provided with at least one slit to enable

attachment of the tag or label to an article by insertion of a

portion of the article through the tab.

12. A tag or label according to any one of claims 8 to 11, in

which at least a portion of the tab has an adhesive coating on

one side thereof .

13. A tag or label according to claim 12, in which the adhesive

is a pressure sensitive adhesive and is protectively covered by

a backing sheet of release paper.

14. A tag or label according to claim 12 or 13 when dependent

on claim 11, in which the tab has a first portion in which the

at least one slit is provided, and a second portion on which the adhesive coating is provided, the first portion being disposed

between the second portion and the portion of the tag or label

in which all of the sheets are laminated together.

15. A tag or label according to claim 10 or any one of claims

11 to 14 when dependent on claim 10, in which one of the face

sheets extends a short distance over the tab and is secured

thereto to form a stiffer portion of the tab adjacent the portion

of the tag or label in which all of the sheets are laminated

together.

16. A method of making a security tag or label according to

claim 1, comprising the steps of providing at least one

intermediate sheet, cutting an aperture through the or each

intermediate sheet, sealing a first face sheet to one face of the

intermediate sheet or sheets to cover one side of the aperture,

placing an alarm triggering device into the aperture to rest on

the face sheet, sealing a second face sheet to the opposite face

of the intermediate sheet or sheets to cover the other side of

the aperture and form a laminate containing a concealed cavity

housing the alarm triggering device, and die cutting the laminate

to obtain a tag or label of the desired shape and size.

17. A laminate for forming a plurality of security tags or

labels according to claim 1, the laminate comprising at least one