Multifunctional Portable Detachable Security Devices with Take-Home Components (18-Dec-2009)
To secure retail products at risk of theft, a variety of security devices are known such as keepers, savers, or hardtags that are securely attached to the retail product and are detached by an authorized person, typically after the product is purchased. In the past, all or part of the detached security device has been returned to its manufacturer for recycling and subsequent use, typically imposing challenges for the retailer in terms of labor and logistics. Here we discuss alternatives in which at least a portion of the security device is designed to be taken home by a purchaser to add value to the product and decrease demands on the retailer.
Multifunctional Portable Detachable Security Devices with Take-Home Components
ABSTRACT
To secure retail products at risk of theft, a variety of security devices are known such as keepers, savers, or hardtags that are securely attached to the retail product and are detached by an authorized person, typically after the product is purchased. In the past, all or part of the detached security device has been returned to its manufacturer for recycling and subsequent use, typically imposing challenges for the retailer in terms of labor and logistics. Here we discuss alternatives in which at least a portion of the security device is designed to be taken home by a purchaser to add value to the product and decrease demands on the retailer.
INTRODUCTION
A variety of security systems are used in retail and other settings to prevent theft or unauthorized removal of objects. Many of these systems comprise a removable, portable enclosure of some kind that physically restrains an object with a locking mechanism present that secures the object within the portable enclosure. When the locking mechanism is released with a key or other authorized releasing means (often called "removers" or "detachers"), the object can be separated from the enclosure and removed. In retail settings, the removable, portable enclosures are commonly known as "keepers" or "savers." Related portable, removable hardware products for preventing theft include hardtags, which are bulky tags that can attach to apparel or other items and help trigger or emit an audible alarm or deliver other anti-theft measures if removed without authorization. Spider wraps are a related security means in which a form of a hardtag is attached to a product which cables or bands that wrap around the product such that hardtag cannot be readily removed without damaging the product or its packaging or without triggering an alarm unless proprietary unlocking means are applied. Anti-theft locking cables and other systems are also known for securing a retail product while also allowing some degree of mobility such that a shopper can handle and examine the object from all sides. All such systems, namely, portable or moveable and detachable security systems suitable for securing objects in retail or other settings, may be considered in this paper within the scope of the term "portable detachable security devices" (PDSDs).
An example of health and beauty product keepers are shown in Figure 1 below, taken from the Alpha Security Catalog for health and beauty systems (Alpha High-Theft Solutions, Charlotte, NC).
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1See http://www.alphaworld.com/pdf-01/Health&BeautyKeepers_SellSheet%20rev%205.06.09.pdf , accessed Nov. 20, 2009.
Multifunctional PDSDs 2
Figure 1. Sample of commercial PDSDs for health and beauty products from Alpha Security Systems.
Other examples of existing keep...
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