Anti-theft system for thermometer
First Claim
1. A hand-held thermometer comprising:
- a housing sized and shaped to be held in a hand;
an input for taking in temperature data;
a microcontroller located in the housing and including a resettable anti-theft counter for recording a use-parameter of the thermometer, wherein the thermometer is disabled when the counter reaches a level as defined by the use-parameter, to set the thermometer in an anti-theft mode;
a solid-state sensor in communication with the microcontroller and having no moving parts, the sensor being capable of detecting a magnetic field with a predetermined flux density to signal to the microcontroller to reset the anti-theft counter, thereby enabling the thermometer for taking said temperature data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermometry assembly includes a thermometer and a mount for mounting the thermometer on a wall or other support structure. The thermometry assembly has an anti-theft system for deterring theft of the thermometer. The anti-theft system generally includes a counter that counts the number of uses of the thermometer during a period beginning from the time the thermometer was last on the mount. A microcontroller of the thermometer is programmed to disable further operation of the thermometer when a threshold number has been reached or exceeded by the counter. The counter is reset when the thermometer is returned to the mount. The anti-theft system includes a solid-state sensor that is activated by a magnet in the mount. The sensor signals to the microcontroller to reset the counter when it is activated by the magnet.
94 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A hand-held thermometer comprising:
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a housing sized and shaped to be held in a hand; an input for taking in temperature data; a microcontroller located in the housing and including a resettable anti-theft counter for recording a use-parameter of the thermometer, wherein the thermometer is disabled when the counter reaches a level as defined by the use-parameter, to set the thermometer in an anti-theft mode; a solid-state sensor in communication with the microcontroller and having no moving parts, the sensor being capable of detecting a magnetic field with a predetermined flux density to signal to the microcontroller to reset the anti-theft counter, thereby enabling the thermometer for taking said temperature data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification