Anti-theft gate system

An anti-theft security system for securing the entryway of a retail business comprising:

• a substantially cylindrical housing assembly with a closed base portion, a closed top portion, and a sidewall assembly having two oppositely facing flat portions of a width less than the diameter of the cylindrical housing assembly and adapted to abut at least one second housing assembly, the sidewall assembly having an open entrance portion disposed opposite an open exit portion, the entrance and exit portions adapted to allow a person to move through the housing assembly substantially unimpeded;
• at least one transparent portion of the at least one sidewall assembly disposed on each of the two oppositely facing flat portions;
• at least one interior sensor assembly disposed on the housing and adapted to detect at least one electronic tag assembly disposed on or within at least one product or packaging;
• a bilaterally divided entrance retractable door assembly and a bilaterally divided exit retractable door assembly adapted to independently or simultaneously be in an open or closed state along correspondingly vertical bilateral divisions;
• at least one control unit assembly and at least one electronic motor assembly electrically or wirelessly coupled to the at least one sensor assembly, the at least one electronic motor assembly coupled to the entrance and exit retractable door assemblies, wherein the retractable door assemblies are slidably movable along a track assembly disposed substantially within the sidewall assembly, an open front portion of the sidewall assembly further defining the open entrance portion of the housing assembly and an open back portion of the sidewall assembly further defining the open exit portion of the housing assembly, the at least one electronic motor assembly adapted to open and close at least one or more of the entrance retractable door assembly and the exit retractable door assembly;
• a control switch assembly adapted to control whether one or both retractable doors close when the sensor assembly detects at least one tag assembly;
• and
• at least one door release activator assembly adapted to be activated manually or automatically to allow the retractable door assemblies to be opened, further including at least one of an emergency button, a reset button, and a setting member to open one or more of the exit and entrance retractable door assemblies.

An anti-theft security method for securing the entryway of a retail business, the method comprising:

• providing a housing assembly with a closed base portion, a closed top portion, and at least one sidewall assembly, the sidewall assembly having an open entrance portion disposed opposite an open exit portion, the entrance and exit portions adapted to allow a person to move through the housing assembly substantially unimpeded;
• providing at least one transparent portion of the at least one sidewall assembly to allow viewing of the person within the housing assembly;
• detecting at least one active electronic tag assembly disposed on or within at least one product or packaging brought within the housing assembly via at least one sensor assembly disposed in the housing assembly;
• responding to data from the at least one sensor assembly to operate at least one control unit assembly and at least one electronic motor assembly electrically coupled to the at least one sensor assembly, the at least one electronic motor assembly coupled to an entrance retractable door assembly and an exit retractable door assembly, the retractable door assemblies slidably movable along a track assembly disposed internal to, external to, or within the sidewall assembly, the at least one electronic motor assembly adapted to open and close at least one retractable door assembly;
• using a control switch assembly to control whether one or both retractable doors close when the sensor assembly detects at least one tag assembly;
• independently or simultaneously rendering the entrance retractable door assembly and the exit retractable door assembly into an open or closed state based on data from the at least one sensor;
• and
• using at least one door release activator assembly adapted to be activated manually or automatically to allow the retractable door assemblies to be reopened.