1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic article surveillance (EAS) and more particularly to a portable apparatus that resets the security features of an EAS device to a preselected configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
EAS systems are well known for the prevention or deterrence of unauthorized removal of articles from a controlled area. In a typical EAS system, tags designed to interact with an electromagnetic field located at the exits of the controlled area are attached to articles to be protected. If a tag is brought into the electromagnetic field or “interrogation zone”, the presence of the tag is detected and appropriate action is taken. For a controlled area such as retail store, the appropriate action taken for detection of an EAS tag may be the generation of an alarm. Some types of EAS tags remain attached to the articles to be protected, but are deactivated prior to authorized removal from the controlled area by a deactivation device that changes a characteristic of the tag so that the tag will no longer be detectable in the interrogation zone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,489 illustrates one such EAS system.
The majority of EAS tag deactivation devices are fixed at a specific location, such as adjacent a point-of-sale (POS) station in a retail environment. If an article is purchased, and for whatever reason the attached EAS tag is not deactivated at the deactivator adjacent the POS station, the EAS tag will set off an alarm at the store exit. To then deactivate the EAS tag, the article must be brought back to the deactivator adjacent the POS station, which causes confusion and customer embarrassment. Handheld deactivators for RF type EAS tags, which are part of a handheld bar-code scanner, are known, but still require the EAS tag to be brought near the POS station, within range of the handheld scanner/deactivator cord, for deactivation.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/723,641, filed Nov. 27, 2000, a cordless, handheld deactivator that deactivates EAS tags when they are away from or “remote” from the hardwired deactivator near the POS station is disclosed. Operation of that device, and many other devices, require storing a security code, or personal identification code, into the device that must be input to activate the device, much like a password permits access to a computer. Upon initial use of the device, a security code is selected by the user and must be input before the device can be activated. If the selected security code is forgotten, the device cannot be activated. A service call must be made to reinitialize or reset the device to the initial factory configuration. Once the device is initialized, the user can select a new security code for operation. An apparatus is needed that provides a secure method to enable a user to reinitialize the device so that a new security code can be stored therein. Presently, re-initialization requires a service call for security reasons. Otherwise, a stolen portable deactivator, or similar device, could be reinitialized and used by a thief, even though the thief does not know the security code that was initially used to activate the device.
Certain devices may have other user-defined settings, which would be lost upon reinitializing the device. A reinitializing apparatus could be used to read and temporarily store the user-defined settings and restore the device to those settings upon reinitialization. Thus, a technician performing service call to work on such a device will be able to reset the device to user-specified settings rather than to default factory settings after servicing the device.