Security System

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to security systems and, more particularly, to a system for preventing unauthorized removal of portable consumer articles from a specified area.

2. Background Art

Prevention of theft of merchandise is an ongoing concern of business owners. This is particularly a problem with portable electronic articles such as cameras, tape and CD players, etc. This problem is even more acute in showrooms where portable electronic articles are displayed to be handled and operated by prospective customers.

As one example, video cameras are commonly mounted in a display area and hooked up to video monitors. The prospective customer is allowed to pick up different cameras and normally operate the camera. While this display technique is effective in allowing the prospective customer to test the feel of a camera and identify its operating characteristics and features, it also offers a temptation to a would-be thief.

Heretofore, various systems have been devised to prevent unauthorized removal of such displayed articles. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,667, commonly assigned with this invention, a mechanical restraint system is disclosed. A rigid body is mounted to the article to be monitored and fixedly captures an end of a cable. The other cable end can be suitably anchored at the display location. While this type of system has proven highly effective, the gauge and constitution of the cable may make it prone to being severed by a sophisticated thief who is then free to remove the associated article from the premises without detection.

An electronic version of the system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,667 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,124, also commonly assigned with the present invention. In the latter system, an electrically conductive path is established between the article being monitored and an apparatus for producing an audible and/or visual alarm signal. Attachment of the body to an article being monitored sets a switch to close the conductive loop. The loop is interrupted by the action of either removing the body from the article or severing the conductor/wire which defines the conductive path. This system has also been highly commercially successful.

While the latter system has been effective in preventing the unauthorized removal of consumer articles, the configuration of some articles which are being monitored introduces additional requirements. Some articles have separable parts, each of which is individually valuable. For example, digital cameras are generally constructed with a main body and a separable lens assembly. Attachment of the security system to the camera body alone leaves unprotected the lens which could be easily separated and removed from the premises without detection.

To defeat this activity, separate electrical and/or mechanical tethers could be employed, one each for the lens and camera body, and each extending back to a stationary anchoring base. In multiple camera displays, a maze of wires may result at the display area. This may introduce set up problems, potentially resulting in the improper activation of the security system. The numerous tethers may produce an unsightly appearance at the display area. Still further, the tethers may become entangled and may interfere with the inspection and operation of the article by a prospective purchaser.

In one form of the invention, a monitoring assembly has a body which is capable of being attached to an article to be monitored, a first sensor having a secured state and an unsecured state and capable of being attached to an article to be monitored, and a first elongate cord extending between the first sensor and body and having at least one conductor and a) mechanically connecting the first sensor to the body and b) defining a conductive path between the first sensor and the body. The first sensor is in the unsecured state with the conductive path between the first sensor and the body interrupted.

A bolt may be used to attach the body to an article to be monitored. In one form, the body has a substantially flat mounting surface and there is an opening extending through the mounting surface to accept the mounting bolt.

A mounting pin may be fixedly attached to the body to project in cantilever fashion therefrom.

The first sensor may have a housing with a light emitting element on the housing that is illuminated with the first sensor in one of the secured and unsecured states.

The body may have a second surface that is substantially flat and faces oppositely to the mounting surface with there being one piece that may define both the mounting and second surfaces.

A connector may be provided on the body to releasably connect to a connector on the second elongate cord to allow the second elongate cord to establish a conductive path between the at least one conductor and a control unit for monitoring the state of the first sensor.

In one form, the connector on the body is a phone jack.

The first sensor may have a switch thereon that is changeable between a first state and a second state, with the first sensor changing from the secured state into the unsecured state as an incident of the switch changing from the first state into the second state. The first sensor has a wall that is capable of being operatively attached to a first element to be monitored such that with the wall operatively attached to the first element to be monitored, the switch is maintained in the first state.

A second sensor may be provided and has a secured state and an unsecured state. The second sensor is capable of being attached to an article being monitored. A second elongate cord extends between the second sensor and body and has at least one conductor and a) mechanically connects the second sensor to the body and b) defines a conductive path between the second sensor and the body. The second sensor is in the unsecured state with the conductive path between the second sensor and the body interrupted.

An additional elongate cord can be provided with there being cooperating connectors on the body and additional elongate cords which can be coupled by press fitting to establish a conductive path, through the additional cord, between the at least one conductor and a control unit for monitoring the state of the first sensor.

In one form, the body defines first and second substantially flat transverse mounting surfaces for an article to be monitored.

The invention also contemplates the combination of a) an article to be monitored and b) a monitoring assembly. The monitoring assembly has a body, a fastener rigidly attaching the body to the article, a first sensor having a secured state and an unsecured state and attached to the article, and a first elongate cord extending between the first sensor and body and having at least one conductor and a) mechanically connecting the first sensor to the body and b) defining a conductive path between the first sensor and the body. The first sensor is in the unsecured state with the conductive path between the first sensor and the body interrupted.

In one form, the article has first and second separable elements, with the monitoring assembly having a second sensor similar to the first sensor, with the first sensor attached to the first element and the second sensor attached to the second element.

The combination may further include a control unit for monitoring the state of the first sensor.

The article may be a camera or other portable article.

The invention further contemplates a monitoring assembly having a body which is capable of being attached to an article to be monitored, a first sensor capable of being attached to an article to be monitored, and a first elongate cord extending between the first sensor and body and mechanically connecting the first sensor to the body.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a monitoring system with a monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, operatively connected to a digital camera;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a body on the mounting assembly of FIG. 1 that is directly attached to the camera;

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic representation of the monitoring system of FIG. 1 and showing an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the body taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1 with a cord and sensor operatively connected thereto;

FIG. 4 is a partially schematic representation of the monitoring system of FIG. 1 and showing an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the body taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3 with a cord and sensor operatively connected thereto;

FIG. 5 is a partially schematic representation of a monitoring system showing a side elevation view of a modified form of monitoring assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of a modified form of body useable with the monitoring assemblies in FIGS. 1 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a modified form of monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, with a body thereon operatively attached to a camera and with a sensor unattached to the camera;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the monitoring assembly of FIG. 7 with the sensor attached to the camera;

FIG. 9 is bottom view of the body in FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic, side elevation view of the monitoring assembly in FIG. 5 operatively connected to an article and supported on a pedestal; and

FIG. 11 is a schematic, side elevation view of a modified form of monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, operatively connected to an article to be monitored.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-4, one form of monitoring system, according to the present invention, is shown at 10. The monitoring system 10 includes a mounting assembly 12 which is operatively connected to an article to be monitored, in this case a handle holdable digital camera 14. The inventive concept can be used to monitor virtually any type of portable consumer article.

The, mounting assembly 12 consists of a disk-shaped body 16 having a flat mounting surface 18 which can be facially abutted to a flat surface 20 on the bottom of the camera 14. In this particular embodiment, the body 16 has a cup-shaped portion 22 with a stepped, outer rim 24 which seats a flat disk 26 that defines the mounting surface 18 in conjunction with an outer edge 28 of the rim 24. A central boss 30 defines a stepped through bore 32 to accept a mounting bolt 34. A bore 36 in the disk 26 is coaxial with the through bore 32.

The bolt 34 preferably is of a size and thread to mate within a blind bore 38 in the camera 14 that accommodates a conventional tripod bolt (not shown). The bolt 34 is directed through the bores 32, 36 and into the camera bore 38. The enlarged head 40 of the mounting bolt 34 abuts to a recessed shoulder 42 on the boss 30. By tightening the bolt 34 into the camera bore 38, the body 16 is borne positively against the camera surface 20 to thereby rigidly mount the body 16 on the camera 14 so that the body 16 and camera 14 are movable as one piece.

Optionally, a thin rubber sheet 44 is interposed between the body mounting surface 18 and the camera surface 20. With the body 16 drawn positively against the camera 14, the sheet 44 compresses slightly to thereby increase the coefficient of friction between the rubber sheet and each of the camera surface 20 and the body surface 18. At the same time, the sheet 44 prevents scratching of the camera surface 20 by the body 16.

A sensor 48 is attached to the camera 14 using a double-sided adhesive layer 50. The sensor 48 is mechanically connected to the body 16 through an elongate, flexible cord 52, which in this case has four conductors/wires 54, 56, 58, 60 which define conductive paths between the sensor 48 and a connector 62 on the body 16. The sensor 48 has a housing 64 to which are mounted first and second light emitting diodes (LED's) 66, 68 which are electrically connected to the conductors 56, 58.

Through a separate elongate cord 70, conductive paths between the conductors 54, 56, 58, 60 on the body 16 and a control unit 72 are established. To electrically couple the cord 70 to the cord 52, phone jack connectors are used. In this case, the connector 62 is a female phone jack with a male phone jack/connector 74 being attached to the elongate cord 70. The cord 52 is attached to the housing 64 so that the conductors/wires 54, 56, 58, 60 are in fixed relationship to each other at the housing 64. The connectors 62, 74 can be releasably, electrically coupled by a press fit step. With this arrangement, the body 16 can be pre-attached to the camera 14 after which the connector 74 can be press fit into the connector 62.

On the sensor housing 64, a switch 75 is mounted. The switch 75 includes a movable element depressible button 76 which is normally spring biased to the solid line position in FIG. 3. The button 76 is depressible to the dotted line position in FIG. 3 against the spring bias force. The details of operation of all of the circuitry heretofore generally described are set out fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,124, which is incorporated herein by reference. It suffices to say that the sensor 48 has a secured electrical state and an unsecured electrical state. In the secured state, the button 76 is depressed to a first state, which is sensed by the control unit 72 through the conductive paths between the sensor 48 and the control unit 72, so long as these paths are interrupted. In an exemplary system configuration, with the sensor 48 attached to the camera 14, the captive button 76 becomes depressed. In response, the control unit 72 causes illumination of one of the LED's 66. In the event that the sensor 48 is removed from the camera 14 so that the button 76 springs out to the solid line position of FIG. 3, or one of the cords 52, 70 is severed, there is an interruption in one of the conductive paths which is sensed by the control unit 72 and causes an audible or visual alarm signal to be produced. The control unit 72 may include an alarm 80 which is triggered by this tampering. The other LED 68 may illuminate to indicate that there has been a breach in the security. In more sophisticated versions, the control unit 72 may cause the light 68 to blink even if the button 76 is depressed after the sensor 48 is removed from the camera 14.

The body 16 may also include a locating pin 84 which projects into a blind bore 86 in the camera 14, which bore 86 is conventionally radially offset from the bore 38. This arrangement prevents rotation of the body 16 as might allow its unauthorized release. Typically, the head 40 of the mounting bolt 34 has a fitting 88 to accommodate a special tool so as to prevent tampering. By preventing rotation of the body 16, turning of the bolt 34 by manipulation of the body 16 is prevented.

The body 16 has a flat surface 92 facing oppositely to the mounting surface 18. A pin 94 projects in cantilever fashion from the surface 92. The pin 94 may fit into a pedestal 96 which is fixed to a stationary support 98 to normally situate the camera 14 in a ready position for the prospective customer. The body 16 can be locked to the pedestal 96 as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,124 or can be freely removable therefrom to allow the camera 14 to be picked up, repositioned freely, and operated. In the latter case, the cord 70 serves as a mechanical restraint to limit the distance that the camera 14 can be moved away from the support 98.

In a preferred form, the body 16 is made from metal. For integrity purposes, one piece can be formed to define both the mounting surface 18 and the oppositely facing surface 92. The body 16 can be made hollow or made from a solid piece with material removed as required to accommodate the mounting bolt 34, the connector 62, and the cord 52.

In FIGS. 5 and 11, a modified form of monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, is shown at 110. The monitoring assembly 110 has a body 16' with substantially the same configuration as the body 16. The body 16' has the female connector 62 attached thereto to electrically connect to the sensor 48 through the cord 52. The body 16 is attached to the article to be monitored through the bolt 34.

The principal difference between the monitoring assembly 110 and the monitoring assembly 10 is that the monitoring assembly 110 includes an additional sensor 48' connected both electrically and mechanically to the body 16' through a cord 52'. The sensor 48' and cord 52' may have the same construction as the sensor 48 and cord 52. The conductors in the cord 52' are electrically connected to the control unit 72 through the connectors 62, 74 and cord 70.

The monitoring assembly 110 is particularly adaptable to an article as shown at 112 in FIG. 11 consisting of joined and separable first and second elements 114, 116. As an example, the article 112 may be a camera with the first element 114 being the body of the camera and the second element 116 being a removable lens. With the dual sensor 48, 48' arrangement, through the single body 16', separate monitoring of the body 114 and lens 116 can be carried out. If simply the camera body 114 were monitored, the lens 116, which is potentially quite valuable, could be removed without detection by the system.

In FIG. 10, a modified form of monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, is shown at 130. The monitoring assembly 130 consists of a body 16" which car be attached to an article 132 in the same manner a attached, as previously described. The body 16" is supportable on the pedestal 96.

The mounting assembly 130 has two sensors 134, 136 which are mechanically fixed to first and second separable elements 138, 140 defining the article 132. The sensors 134, 136 are mechanically coupled to the body 16" through cords 142, 144, respectively. In this version, the monitoring is strictly a mechanical monitoring. That is, the cords 142, 144 are made from wire cable that may be hardened. The security system is as effective as is the tenacity of the engagement between the sensors 134, 136 and the article 132 and the integrity of the cords 142, 144. Details of suitable mechanical parts and connectors are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,667, incorporated herein by reference.

It should be understood that the invention also contemplates the combination of both mechanical and electrical monitoring. That is, either of the sensors 134, 136 could be an electrical sensor as previously described and connected to the aforementioned control unit 72.

In FIG. 6, a further modified form of body 16"' is disclosed. The body 16"' differs from the bodies 16, 16', 16" previously described primarily by reason of the connector 62 being mounted through the peripheral wall 150 of the body 16"' so that the connector 74 is coupled thereto by radial movement of the connector 74 relative to the connector 62. The particular application will dictate the preferred location of the connector 62.

In FIGS. 7-9, a further modified form of monitoring assembly, according to the present invention, is shown at 160. The monitoring assembly 160 has a modified body which includes a generally flat wall 162 which attaches to the peripheral wall 164 on the aforementioned body 16, 16', 16". To effect this connection, a flat surface 166 may be firmed on the peripheral wall 164 to allow flush engagement with a mounting surface 168 on the wall 162. Screws 169 maintain the wall 162 in assembled relationship.

With this arrangement the planes of the mounting surface 168 on the wall 162 and the mounting surface 18 are at right angles to each other to cooperatively define a seat, for in this case a relatively thin profile camera 170. In the absence of this separate wall 162, the camera 170 would have to be attached along the narrow peripheral edge 172 thereof. Alternatively, one of the large area oppositely facing flat surfaces 174, 176 would have to be bonded to the body surface 18, which would potentially interfere with testing of the camera 170 by a user.

The sensor 48 is attached to the camera 170 and operates in the same manner as previously described. This version also contemplates that the multiple sensors can be used and that the sensors can either be mechanical, electrical, or a combination thereof.

The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is intended to be illustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.