Deactivatable electronic article surveillance markers using short semi-hard magnetic wires

• US 5,191,315 A
• Filed: 12/31/1990
• Issued: 03/02/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Cordery, Robert A., Murphy, Charles F. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oda, Christine K.
• Application Number:
  US07/636,155
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 340/551, 340/572
• US Class Current: 340/572.6
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2411 Tag deactivation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2437 Tag layered structure, processes for making layered tags
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2442 Tag materials and material properties thereof, e.g. magnetic material details

Abstract

A deactivatable electronic article surveillance marker is produced by placing elongated magnetically soft elements on a support and aligning short sections of magnetically semi-hard wires parallel to one another in bands with the bands being perpendicular to the elongated ferromagnetic materials. In another embodiment a criss-cross configuration of magnetically soft elements are provided and the bands of magnetically semi-hard wires are placed diagonally relative to the criss-cross elongated soft magnetic elements.

Claims

1. An electronic article surveillance marker comprising:

a support member,

a plurality of elongated magnetically soft elements supported by said support member in a generally parallel configuration, and

a plurality of magnetically semi-hard wires supported by said support member adjacent to an intermediate said elongated magnetically soft elements, said magnetically semi-hard wires being individually generally parallel to one another.

2. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 1 wherein said magnetically semi-hard wires are formed in a plurality of bands said bands extending perpendicular to said elongated magnetically soft elements, the magnetically semi-hard wires within each band being generally parallel to one another and to the magnetically soft elements.

3. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 2 wherein said magnetically semi-hard wires have a coerciveness of 50 to 300 O_e and a reminence of 8,000 to 12,000 Gauss.

4. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 3 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are fibers.

5. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 3 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are strips.

6. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 3 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are wires.

7. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 3 wherein the weight of said magnetically semi-hard wires is 1.5 to 4 times the weight of said elongated magnetically soft elements.

8. An electronic article surveillance marker comprising:

a support member,

two sets of a plurality of parallel elongated magnetically soft elements supported by said support member with said sets being generally perpendicular to one another, and

a plurality of bands of magnetically semi-hard wires supported by said support member diagonally relative to said sets, each band comprising a plurality of magnetically semi-hard magnetic wires that are generally parallel to one another.

9. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 8 wherein said magnetically semi-hard wires have a coerciveness of 50 to 300 O_e and a reminence of 8,000 to 12,000 Gauss.

10. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 9 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are fibers.

11. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 9 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are strips.

12. The electronic article surveillance marker of claim 9 wherein said elongated magnetically soft elements are wires.