U.S. patent number 3,828,922 [Application Number 05/276,657] was granted by the patent office on 1974-08-13 for anti-theft packaging device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to J.L. Marsh, Incorporated. Invention is credited to Howard P. Holkestad.
United States Patent |
3,828,922 |
Holkestad |
August 13, 1974 |
ANTI-THEFT PACKAGING DEVICE
Abstract
An anti-theft packaging device is disclosed including an
enclosure having an opening for insertion of the article to be
packaged with the enclosure including a lip extending the
dimensions of the enclosure and thus the article to be packaged and
including resilient projections around and about the opening of the
enclosure with the projections allowing the insertion of the
article into the enclosure and preventing ease of withdrawal of the
article from the enclosure without the use of a removal tool. The
removal tool allows the simultaneous bending of all resilient tabs
to thus allow removal of the article from the anti-theft
device.
Inventors: |
Holkestad; Howard P.
(Minnetonka, MN) |
Assignee: |
J.L. Marsh, Incorporated
(Minneapolis, MN)
|
Family
ID: |
23057571 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/276,657 |
Filed: |
July 31, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/1.5; 70/63;
206/387.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05B
73/0023 (20130101); Y10T 70/5031 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
E05B
73/00 (20060101); B65d 055/04 (); B65d
085/67 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/1.5,387 ;70/63
;24/3F |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Summer; Leonard
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wicks & Nemer
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Anti-theft device for packaging small articles, comprising in
combination: an article; means enclosing the article, with the
enclosure including an enclosure opening for allowing insertion and
withdrawal of the article; means attached to the enclosure for
extending the enclosure to enlarge the enclosure means beyond the
dimensions of the article; means positioned on the means for
extending the enclosure, outside of, and adjacent the enclosure
opening for releasably maintaining the article within the
enclosure, comprising: resilient projections having free ends
arranged adjacent, outside of, and projecting from the extension
inwardly into the enclosure opening and blocking the opening from
the inside of the enclosure for allowing the insertion of the
article into the enclosure and for preventing the manual withdrawal
of the article from the enclosure without use of a tool by abutment
of the free ends with the article.
2. The anti-theft device of claim 1, wherein the resilient
projections comprise tabs, with each tab having a first fixed end
joining the enclosure adjacent to the enclosure opening and having
a second free end arranged to project into the enclosure opening,
and with each tab resiliently bendable into the enclosure to allow
insertion of the article into the enclosure and to allow the return
of the free end of the tabs into the enclosure opening to obstruct
the enclosure opening and thus prevent the withdrawal of the
article from the enclosure.
3. The anti-theft device of claim 2, including at least five tabs
to thus exceed the number of human fingers available for depressing
the tabs.
4. The anti-theft device of claim 2, wherein the enclosure
comprises a hollow parallelepiped including two parallel faces, two
parallel ends perpendicular to the faces and joining the faces, and
one side mutually perpendicular to both the faces and the ends and
joining the faces and the ends to form an open-sided enclosure, and
wherein the extension means comprises at least one extension lip on
the enclosure extending from at least one of the faces and ends to
enlarge the enclosure beyond the dimensions of the article to be
packaged.
5. The anti-theft device of claim 4, including at least five tabs
to thus exceed the number of human fingers available for depressing
the tabs.
6. The anti-theft device of claim 5, wherein at least one tab is
positioned adjacent one end of the enclosure, wherein at least one
tab is positioned adjacent the other end of the enclosure, and
wherein at least three tabs are positioned in spaced relation
adjacent another portion of the enclosure interconnecting with an
extension lip.
7. The anti-theft device of claim 2, wherein the enclosure
comprises a hollow parallelepiped including two parallel faces, two
parallel ends perpendicular to the faces and joining the faces, and
one side mutually perpendicular to both the faces and the ends and
joining the faces and the ends to form an open-sided enclosure, and
wherein the extension means comprises at least one extension lip on
the enclosure extending from at least one of the faces and ends to
enlarge the enclosure beyond the dimensions of the article to be
packaged.
8. The anti-theft device of claim 7 wherein the resilient
projections include at least five tabs to thus exceed the number of
human fingers available for depressing the tabs.
9. The anti-theft device of claim 8, wherein at least one tab is
positioned adjacent one end of the enclosure, wherein at least one
tab is positioned adjacent the other end of the enclosure, and
wherein at least three tabs are positioned in spaced relation
adjacent another portion of the enclosure interconnecting with and
extension lip.
10. Anti-theft device for packaging small articles, comprising in
combination: means for enclosing the article, with the enclosure
including a hollow parallelepiped including two parallel faces, two
parallel ends perpendicular to the faces and joining the faces, one
side mutually perpendicular to both the faces and the ends and
joining the faces and the ends to form an open-sided enclosure, and
an enclosure opening for allowing insertion and withdrawal of the
article; means attached to the enclosure for extending the
enclosure including an extension on the enclosure extending from
one of the faces and the adjacent ends to enlarge the enclosure
beyond the dimensions of the article to be packaged; and means
positioned adjacent the enclosure opening for releasably
maintaining the article within the enclosure means, comprising: at
least five resilient tabs on the extension having free ends
arranged adjacent and projecting from the extension upwardly into
the enclosure opening for allowing the insertion of the article
into the enclosure and for preventing the manual withdrawal of the
article from the enclosure without use of a tool by abutment of the
free ends with the article, wherein at least one tab is positioned
upon the extension adjacent one end of the enclosure, wherein at
least one tab is positioned upon the extension adjacent the other
end of the enclosure, and wherein at least three tabs are
positioned in spaced relation upon the portion of the extension
interconnecting with the enclosure face.
11. The anti-theft device of claim 10, wherein each tab has a first
fixed end joining the extension adjacent to the enclosure opening
and having a second free end arranged to project into the enclosure
opening, and with each tab resiliently bendable into the enclosure
to allow insertion of an article into the enclosure and to allow
the return of the free end of the tabs into the enclosure opening
to obstruct the enclosure opening and thus prevent the withdrawal
of the article from the enclosure.
Description
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates generally to packaging devices and
more specifically to anti-theft packaging devices for small, easily
stolen articles.
With the increasing merchandising of small, easily stolen articles,
an increasing need has arisen for methods and apparatus to prevent
such theft.
For example, cassette tapes have become quite a popular medium for
the recording of music and the spoken word in general. Cassette
tapes are generally of small dimension, one popular tape case being
approximately 4 3/4 inches in length, 2 3/4 inches in width, and
approximately five-eighths of an inch in height. As can be easily
recognized, a case of this size may be easily slipped into the
pocket or purse of a thief or further concealed in packages or
outer garments.
Previous anti-theft packaging techniques have included a general
approach of attempting to make the small item larger by excessively
dimensioning the packaging in which the small article is inserted.
This makes theft more difficult but generally requires a
non-reuseable package and an additional packaging step to firmly
seal the small article to be merchandised within the enlarged
packaging, generally performed at a manufacturing level.
SUMMARY
The present invention provides a simple, low cost, easily usable,
re-usable, anti-theft packaging device which, in the preferred
embodiment, includes a hollow parallelepiped with one open side. An
extension of the parallelepiped adjacent the open side gives added
dimension to the entire package. Adjacent the opening of the
parallelepiped, the preferred embodiment of the present invention
includes five resilient tabs arranged to project into the opening
in a manner to allow insertion of an article to be packaged into
the parallelepiped enclosure and allow the free end of the tabs to
return into the enclosure opening and prevent the withdrawal of the
article.
A removal tool is also provided for use with the anti-theft
packaging device of the present invention which includes a lip and
a handle for allowing the insertion of the lip between the article
and one face of the enclosure to simultaneously depress all tabs
and allow the removal of the packaged article.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a novel
anti-theft packaging device.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel
anti-theft packaging device which releasably maintains articles
within an enclosure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel
anti-theft packaging device which releasably maintains articles
within an enclosure by means of resilient projections.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel
anti-theft packaging device and a tool to allow removeability of
articles to be packaged.
These and further objects and advantages of the present invention
will become clearer in the light of the following detailed
description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention
described in connection with the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an anti-theft
packaging device according to the present invention in association
with an article to be packaged and the tool to allow removal of the
article.
FIG. 2 shows a top view of the anti-theft device according to the
present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a front elevational view of the anti-theft device
according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the anti-theft device
according to the present invention taken according to section lines
4--4 in FIG. 1 with an article in place within the device.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 4 which is
useful in illustrating the use of the removal tool according to the
present invention to remove an article from the anti-theft device
of the present invention.
For use in the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals
designate the same similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms
"vertical," "horizontal," "front," "back," and similar terms are
used herein, it should be understood that these terms have
reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would
appear to a person viewing the drawings and are utilized only to
facilitate describing the invention.
DESCRIPTION
In the Figures, an anti-theft device for the packaging of small
articles, generally designated 10, is shown in the form of an
enclosure, designed 12, including an extension 14 extending
therefrom to extend and enlarge the enclosure 12 beyond the
dimensions of the article to be packaged. Five resilient
projections or tabs, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 are shown on enclosure
12.
In particular, enclosure 12 comprises a hollow parallelepiped
including two parallel faces 22 and 24, two parallel ends 26 and
28, arranged perpendicularly to the faces 22 and 24 and joining the
faces, and one side 29 mutually perpendicular to both the faces 22
and 24 and the ends 26 and 28 and joining the faces and ends to
form an open sided enclosure with the open side generally
designated 30.
Extension 14 further includes an extension lip 31 lying in the
plane of face 24 integrally formed therewith and forming an
extension thereof. Further, extension 14 includes sides 32 and 33
lying in the planes of sides 26 and 28, respectively, and
integrally formed therewith and forming an extension thereof.
Top face 22 of enclosure 12 is more particularly formed of two
spaced ribs 34 and 36 and bottom face 24 is similarly formed of two
spaced ribs 38 and 40. The ribs 38 and 40 are vertically staggered
from the ribs 34 and 36 such that the rib 38 underlies the space
between the ribs 34 and 36 and the rib 40 underlies the space
between rib 36 and side 29. The use of ribs and the staggering
thereof is intended to facilitate the preferred method of
fabricating the enclosure of the present invention, that is by
injection molding.
Side 29 includes a notch designated 41 formed therein for the
purposes explained hereinafter.
Tabs 16-20 are formed out of the material of enclosure 12 adjacent
the opening 30 of enclosure 12, and in particular each of the tabs
16-20 includes a first fixed and end 42-46, respectively, the fixed
end 45 of tab 19 being specifically shown in section in FIG. 4, and
each of the tabs 16-20 includes a second free end 47-51,
respectively, the free end 50 of tab 19 specifically shown in
section in FIG. 4. Thus, tabs 16-20 include free ends 47-51,
respectively, arranged to project into the enclosure opening 30
with the interconnection of the first fixed ends 42-46 of the tabs
allowing each tab to be resiliently bendable into the enclosure 12
to allow the insertion of an article generally designated 52 into
the enclosure 12 and allow the return of the free ends 47-51 of the
tabs 16-20 into the enclosure opening 30 to obstruct the enclosure
opening and thus prevent the withdrawal of the article 52 from the
enclosure 12, as is best seen in FIG. 4. In particular, tab 16
extends horizontally into enclosure opening 30 from the plane of
face 26 while tab 20 similarly extends horizontally into the
enclosure opening 30 from the plane of face 28. Tabs 17, 18, and 19
extend from the plane of face 24 and extend vertically into the
enclosure opening 30.
Tabs 16-20 include a thickening of material toward the fixed end
thereof, the thickening designated 53-57, respectively, and best
illustrated in FIG. 4 by thickening 56 at the first fixed end 45 of
tab 19. The thickening of material is intended to aid in the
resiliency of each of the tabs and strengthen the tabs to avoid the
breaking of the tabs by a person attempting to extract the article
52 from enclosure 12 by means other than explained hereinafter.
A further strengthening is to be seen in the rounded nature of the
aperture 58 from which tab 16 extends and in the rounded nature of
aperture 60 from which tab 20 extends and to thus strengthen the
area immediately adjacent these tabs.
As best seen in FIGS. 4, and 5 the length of each tab as measured
from the interconnection of the fixed ends to the termination of
the free ends is such that upon the bending of the tabs, the free
ends thereof descend into the apertures immediately beneath the
tabs to allow the removal of the article to be packaged as will be
more fully explained hereinafter.
In FIG. 1 the article to be packaged, for example a cassette tape,
or the case therefor, is generally designated 52 and is shown as
positioned before the enclosure opening 30. Article 52 includes a
front or leading edge 53 and a back or trailing edge 54.
Also shown in FIG. 1 is the removal tool for use of the present
invention and generally designated 62. Removal tool 62 comprises a
lip portion 64 and a handle portion 66. The lip portion 64 of
removal tool 62 is of a size to allow the simultaneous bending of
all tabs 16-20 and is of a thickness to allow the insertion of lip
64 between the article 52 to be contained within the enclosure 12
and face 24 of enclosure 12.
OPERATION
In using the anti-theft packaging device of the present invention,
the user would first insert an article 52 to be packaged into the
anti-theft device 10 by inserting the leading edge 53 thereof,
adjacent the enclosure opening 30, into enclosure opening 30 past
ribs 34, 36, 38, and 40 to end 29.
It can now be understood that in so inserting article 52, the
dimensions of article 52 themselves depress tabs 16-20 into the
openings beneath these tabs. That is, because each of the tabs
16-20 is pointed into the opening 30 of enclosure 12, the exterior
casing of article 52 rides up the slope presented by the tabs 16-20
to an article exterior of enclosure 12 and the exterior dimensions
of article 52 cause the bendings of the free ends 47-51 of tabs
16-20 into the enclosure opening and into the space beneath the
tabs to thus allow the passage of article 52 over the tabs.
As can best be seen in FIG. 4, the dimensioning of enclosure 12 is
designed to fit the exterior dimensioning of article 52 to be
packaged, and as leading edge 53 of article 52 reaches end 29 of
enclosure 12, the free ends 47-51 of tabs 16-20 are no longer held
in a depressed condition by the exterior dimensions of article 52,
and the free ends return to their normal position obstructing the
enclosure opening 30 to thus prevent the withdrawal of article 52
from the enclosure 12.
That is, because the free ends 47-51 of tabs 16-20 resiliantly
return to their normal position extending into enclosure opening
30, the free ends 47-51 abut back edge 54 of article 52 and hold
article within enclosure 12.
To remove article 52 from enclosure 12, the user grasps handle 66
of removal tool 62, inserts lip 64 between article 52 and face 24
of the enclosure to cause a simultaneous bending of all tabs 16-20
in the like manner to the insertion of articles. In inserting lip
64 the user must use some care to avoid ribs 38 and 40. As is best
seen in FIG. 5.
Once the lip 64 of removal tool 62 is fully inserted to back wall
29 of enclosure 12, the user can begin to push back edge 54 of
article 52 outward through enclosure opening 30 by light finger
pressure through notch 41 formed in side 29 of enclosure 12.
Now that the basic teachings of the present invention have been
explained, many extensions and variations will be obvious to the
one having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the extent and
placement of the enlargement provided by extension 14 may be varied
to suit the taste of the designer In fact a second extension in the
plane of face 22 and extending therefrom may be found advantageous,
or further lips or sides extending from any of the sides of faces
may provide the extension necessary on enclosure 12 to enlarge the
enclosure 12 beyond the dimensions of the article to be
packaged.
Also, while five tabs are preferred because five is a number
exceeding the number of fingers, exclusive of the thumb, available
to simultaneously depress the tabs an attempt to extract the
article to be packaged from the enclosure surreptitiously, no
limitation to this number of tabs is intended. Fewer or greater
numbers of tabs are envisioned.
Additionally, while the placement of three tabs on face 24, a tab
on end 26, and a tab on end 28, are deemed most advantageous, again
to provide a maximum difficulty in manipulating the tabs and to
thus foil attempts to surreptitiously remove the article 52 to be
packaged from the enclosure without the use of the removal tool, it
is envisioned that once the present invention has been explained,
other placements are within the skill of the art.
Further, while a slatted design dictated primarily by fabrication
techniques has been presented, enclosure 12 may as well have solid
faces. In fact, enclosure 12 is strengthened by including solid
faces.
Furthermore, notch 41 may be less extensive in nature to again
provide less opportunity for a surreptitious removal of an article
from enclosure 12, i.e., notch 10 may take the form of a simple
circular hole.
Thus, since the invention disclosed herein may be embodied in other
specific forms without departing from the spirit or general
characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated,
the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all
respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the
invention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the
foregoing description, and all changes which come within the
meaning the range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be
embraced therein.
* * * * *