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The present invention relates to an anti-theft device, __ primarily intended for articles of clothing or garments.

5 Anti-theft devices for this purpose are known to the art. Known devices which include means with which such articles or garments are securely locked or held are, however, both clumsy and impractical. Anti-theft devices are also known which include a security clip or some like device which 10 can be detected if carried through the exit of a store, or some corresponding passageway. Devices of this kind, however, afford a thief too much leeway.

The present invention relates to an anti-theft device 15 which affords considerable advantages over the known tech¬ nique. For example, articles of clothing to which the inventive device is applied can be held in the store, or like establishment, without the security components of the anti-theft device presenting an obstacle when trying on a 20 garmen .

The invention thus relates to an anti-theft device which is intended primarily for articles of clothing.

The anti-theft device is mainly characterized in that an elongated connector, such as a wire or corresponding ele-

25 ment, is arranged to co-act with an attachment device which is intended to be fastened to the garment and therewith be locked in position thereon, and also with a locking device in which said connector is intended to be detachably se¬ cured and therewith connected to alarm devices incorporated

30 in the locking device; in that the connector forms part of

an electric cicuit; and in that the alarm devices are so arranged that when placed in an active or ready state, an alarm will be signalled at least when said connector is disturbed in a manner to break the circuit, e.g. is sev- ered.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to embodiments thereof and to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 illustrates schematically an embodiment of an attachment device and a connector according to the inven¬ tion, attached to the button-hole of a garment;

Figure 2 illustrates the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1 when seen from the lef in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line A-A in Figure 2;

Figure 4 illustrates one embodiment of a connector accord¬ ing to the invention;

Figure 5 illustrates schematically a locking arrangement according to the invention, seen towards one long side thereof that has attachment openings provided therein;

Figure 6 illustrates the locking arrangement of Figure 5, seen from the lef in Figure 5, and shows the presence of connectors, which are not shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 illustrates schematically and in vertical section an arrangement according to Figure 5 in which there is provided an electrical contact plate;

Figure 8 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of an anti-theft device according to the invention; and

Figure 9 is a schematic side view of a fastening clip, which is intended to be secured to, e.g., an article of clothing.

In Figure 1 the reference 1 designates part of an article of clothing, hereinafter referred to as garment, which incorporates a button-hole 2. The reference 3 designates an elongated connector, such as acable or corresponding device, which is arranged to co-act partly with an attach¬ ment device 4 and therewith a hole, such as the button¬ hole 2, in the garment 1 , and herewith in the firmly locked or secured position of the garment is passed through said hole 2, and partly with a locking device 5 which will be described in more detail hereinafter. The connector 3 is intended herewith to extend between the attachment device and the locking device, while co-acting at one end 3 ' with the attachment device 4 and at the other end 3 ' ' with the locking device 5.

The attachment device 4 comprises at least one plate 4 ' ' which incorporates at least one hole 4 ' and which is in¬ tended to serve as a stop plate and which co-acts, to this end, with an end stop 3 ^• ' ' located on the end 3' of the connector 3, the stop plate being located between the end stop 3''' and the hole in said garment, as illustrated in Figures 1-3, and the end 3 ' ' of the connector 3 being inserted first through a hole 4 ' in the plate and then through the hole 2 in the garmen . According to one preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-3, the at- tachment device comprises a stirrup-like device of sub¬ stantially U-shaped cross-section and has two mutually opposing and mutually spaced plates 4 ' ' , 4 ' ' ' each having

at least one hole 4 ' provided therein and being intended to embrace that part of the garment which presents the aforesaid hole 2, the connector 3 being intended to pass through the holes 4 ' in respective plates 4 ' ' , 4 ' ' ' and also through the hole 2 in that part of the garment lo¬ cated between said plates.

The reference 5 in Figure 5, and in other Figures, desig¬ nates a locking device which is incorporated in the in¬ ventive anti-theft device and in which the aforesaid con- nector 3 can be detachably secured and therewith connected to alarm signalling devices 6 included in the locking de¬ vice, these alarm signalling devices being illustrated highly schematically in the Figures. As illustrated in Figure 8, the connector 3 forms in this regard part of an electric circuit. When the alarm signalling devices 6 • are in an active or ready state they will cause an alarm to be signalled at least when the connector 3 is inter¬ fered with in a manner to break the electric circuit, e.g. if the connector is severed. The locking device 5 is intended to be fastened and connected by at least two, preferably more connectors 3.

According to preferred embodiments the connector 3 in¬ cludes a fastener device 7, such as a part-spherical or ball-shaped head as in the Figure 4 embodiment, which de- vice 7 functions as a means for establishing an electrical connection to the alarm signalling devices 6 and which incorporates two contact elements 7 ' , 7 ' ' which are iso¬ lated electrically one from the other and each of which is connected to a respective electrical conductor 8, 9 which extend insulated from one another, to the opposite end-part 3 ' of the connector 3, this end-part 3 ' being intended to be placed adjacent to or contiguous with the garment 1 and are there connected preferably to the end

stop 3''' or the like.

The contact elements 7 ' , 7 ' ' are connected electrically ^Λ to the aforesaid electric circuit, as illustrated in

Figure 8, so that when the alarm devices 6 are in their

5 active state, an electric current will flow between the fastener device 7 and the end-part 3' of the connector.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment the locking device 5 includes a container 5 ' , such as a parallelepi- pedic elongated box which has one long side missing.

10 The container 5' has provided therein at least one key¬ hole-like opening 10 which presents a substantially cir¬ cular part 10' and a narrow slot-like part 10'" which connects with the circular part, so that a fastener de¬ vice 7, such as the ball-shaped head, on the connector

15 3 can be inserted through the circular part 10' but can¬ not be withdrawn through the narrower part 10''. The reference 5 ' ' designates a lid or the like which is in¬ tended to be fitted over the container 5' so as to cover, or substantially cover the circular part 10' of the open-

20 ing 10, wherewith a fastener device 7 inserted in a respective opening 10, and therewith also the connector 3, is retained in the locking device 5.

According to one embodiment, Figure 7, the locking device 5 includes internal electrical contacts in the form of at 25 least one electrical contact plate 11 or the like which is preferably sprung or likewise resilient and which is arranged to co-act with at least one fastener device 7 so as to establish an electrical contact therewith. The alarm devices 6 are preferably arranged to be placed in _* 30 their active and inactive states with the aid of a lock¬ ing arrangement 12, Figures 5 and 6, or the like, which is intended to be manipulated by means of a key 13 or the

like. The arrangement is preferably constructed in the manner illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 , such that the arrangement for activating the alarm devices 6 will also serve, at the same time, as a lock for securing the lid 5 ' ' to the container 5 ' . In this regard the arrangement may, for instance, incorporate locking rings 12' for co- action with locking shoulders 13" on the container, said locking rings 12 ' and locking shoulders 13' forming elec¬ trical contact elements or the like for activating and de-activating the alarm signalling devices.

In order to enable solely some of the openings 10 or the like to be used for securing connectors 3 while still retaining efficient functioning of the anti-theft device, the locking arrangement includes detection means, such as electrical pins 14 or the like, for detecting the presence of a fastener device 7 included in each respective elec¬ trical connection, so that modes which correspond to an attached connector or to the absence of a connector at existing attachment locations can be distinguished one from the other.

The connector 3 may have various forms. According to one embodiment the connector comprises a length of steel wire which is enclosed in an electrically insulated casing (not shown in Figure 4) and in which a conductor 8 insu- lated from the steel wire extends and is electrically connected to the wire 9 at the end 3' of the connector 3, preferably at the end-stop 3 ' ' ' , as in the illustrated embodiment.

It will be understood that the alarm signalling device 6 may comprise various types of alarm signalling means.

Figure 5 illustrates schematically an acoustic device 6 ' which is located externally of the locking device 5 but

which is still a part of the device. Means 6' have been indicated in Figure 8. Other alternative alarm signalling means include flashing lights, e.g. lamps included in a cupula-type monitoring mirror.

Naturally, other fastener devices can be used than those which utilize a hole in the garment through which the connector 3 is passed. For example, Figure 9 •illustrates a conceivable embodiment in which the connector is provid¬ ed with a clip-type fastener 15. The clip fastener 15 is shown in its closed position in full lines and in its open position in chain lines, and is intended to be clipped to the garment or the like to be protected. The clip pref¬ erably includes electrical contact devices, such as a pin 16 and a corresponding recess 17, by means of which an electrical circuit can be completed when the clip is closed, each of the contact devices having connected thereto a respective conductor 8 ' , 9 ' which extends to the•fastener device 7 in a corresponding manner to, and for the same purpose as, the aforementioned conductors 8, 9. The clip 15 is preferably provided with some form of lock means that can be opened solely by authorized per¬ sonnel. One example of such lock means is found in those used with clips, or clamps, of the kind which initiate an alarm if carried through a guarded store exit, and which incorporate an internal .system of balls which interact lockingly with one another when the clip is closed, such that the clip can only be opened with the aid of a mag¬ netic actuator, which moves the balls so as to break their locking interaction.

The method in which the inventive system operates will be understood essentially from the aforegoing. Thus, the connector 3 connects the garment to a locking device. When one end of the connector has been fastened in the locking device, the arrangement of the attachment means 4

and the hole in the garment in conjunction therewith prevent the garment from being removed. The connector 3 forms part of an electrical circuit, so that if the con¬ nector is severed, the alarm devices will signal an alarm. The same is also true if the connection 6 ' * with associated alarm signalling devices is broken or if serious damage is caused to hidden elements, such as the lid 5 ' ' . Means may be provided for creating an electric bridging connection across those holes 10 through which no connector is inserted, so that no alarm will be sig¬ nalled when the alarm devices are set to their active or ready state. The devices 14 effective for detecting the presence of a fastener device 7 or the like will render these bridging connections inoperative and allow the cir- cuit completing function thereof to be taken over by the connector 3. The detecting devices 14 may be of any suitable kind, such as optical, electrical, or mechanical.

It will be evident from the aforegoing that the invention provides a particularly effective anti-theft device, which despite its efficiency is nevertheless of simple and in¬ expensive construction and can be used without difficulty. An alarm is signalled immediately upon misappropriation.

Although the invention has been described with reference to selected embodiments thereof, it will be understood that other embodiments are conceivable and that minor modifications can be made without departing from the con¬ cept of the invention.

For example, the connectors 3, the fastener device 7, the end-stop 3 ' ^• ' , and the attachment device 4 may have forms other than those illustrated and described here. The attachment device 4 of the embodiment illustrated in Fig¬ ures 1-3 has duplicate holes 4' so that the position of .

the device can be adapted to variations in the location of the hole in the garment.

It will also be understood that the alarm signalling de¬ vices 6 having electronic means for detecting a break in the circuit and therewith initiate an alarm may have any one of a number of suitable forms. The anti-theft device is suitably operated by batteries.

The invention is thus not restricted to the aforedescribed embodiments, and modifications can be made within the scope of the following Claims.