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OwnerDavid G Rhys Jones, Paul G Cox +1inventors
InventorsDavid G Rhys Jones, Paul G Cox, Ronald B Easter
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Magnetic security tags/labels require to be activated/deactivated by magnetic/demagnetization and to enable this to be effected in bulk, with tagged products packed in a crate or stacked on a pallet, the invention proposes the provision of bulk magnetization/demagnetization coils generating a powerful magnetic field which is applied to the crate or pallet with a particular orientation which ensures that regularly shaped (e.g. rectangular) packages packed/stacked together and each carrying a security tag/label will each be subjected to a magnetic field component directed appropriately for magnetization/demagnetization of the respective tag/label irrespective of the particular orientation of the tag/label on the particular package. One embodiment uses spaced-apart coils (6-1, 6-2) with an enclosure (2) therebetween into which a rectangular crate/pallet can be placed, the enclosure (2) constraining the crate/pallet to a particular orientation within the enclosure, and the coils (6-1, 6-2) having a particular orientation with the enclosure.
Apparatus for the bulk activation/deactivation of magnetic tags/labels provided on products which are stacked so that the tags/labels adopt a finite number of preferential/orientations in the stack, the apparatus comprising coil means for generating a magnetic field having a predetermined field direction in an operational zone, and means provided in said zone for accepting such a stack of products with the stack oriented in a predetermined orientation relative to said magnetic field direction.
Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims including means for conveying a stack of products as aforesaid to and from said operational zone.
Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein said operational zone is of such a size as to accommodate a stack of products as aforesaid having a volume of the order of 1×109 mm3.
Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the coil means is adapted to produce a magnetic field strength of the order of at least 4×104 Am−1 in each of said finite number of preferential orientations.
Apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims including drive means for powering said coil means in a pulsed magnetization mode and/or a diminishing alternating demagnetizing mode.
A method of activating/deactivating magnetic tags/labels by subjecting the same to a magnetic field having a predetermined alignment relationship with the tag/label structure, wherein, for bulk activation/deactivation of tags/labels affixed to products stacked with a predetermined multi-alignment relationship, a magnetic field is applied to the stacked products in a direction selected such that magnetic field components in directions corresponding to the alignment of products in the stack are generated which have sufficient magnetic strength to activate/deactivate the respective tags/labels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.