The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 07, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 16, 1995
Anthony M Belka, Stillwater, MN (US);
Thomas J Brace, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
An article inventory tracking and control system tracks and controls removal of articles from a secured facility. Exemplary facilities in which the system may be useful include libraries, rental stores and retail stores. Each article is marked with an EAS marker to prevent unauthorized removal. In the system, each user of a facility and each article in the facility is uniquely identifiable. Upon receiving the user and article information, the system queries a central database to ensure that the user is a valid user and that the desired transaction is authorized. A receiving compartment is specifically designed to receive a particular type of article, such as a video or audio cassette. Sensors in the receiving compartment ensure that the article is properly placed within the receiving compartment. Proper placement of the article within the receiving compartment ensures that the marker is properly re/desensitized, and also ensures that only one transaction on one article can be performed at a time.