System and method for authenticated detachment of product tags

1. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article only upon the sale of the article, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads the security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a point of sale (POS) machine, in communication with said reader, that verifies if the article is ready for sale; and

a detacher, in communication with, and controlled by, said POS machine, said detacher being commanded to release the security tag from the article only if said POS machine verifies that said article is ready for sale, wherein said article is ready for sale if the article has a corresponding record entered into a memory of said POS machine and wherein said article is ready for sale if said corresponding record includes a data field that indicates that the article is not located at a particular store location.

2. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article only upon the sale of the article, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads the security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a point of sale (POS) machine, in communication with said reader, that verifies if the article is ready for sale;

a detacher, in communication with, and controlled by, said POS machine, said detacher being commanded to release the security tag from the article only if said POS machine verifies that said article is ready for sale;

the security tag comprising a locking mechanism that can only be activated by said detacher, independent of any human intervention, and wherein said locking mechanism comprises displaceable components containing small amounts of ferromagnetic material, said displaceable components being movable to release said locking mechanism only when subjected to a magnetic field from said detacher that can interact with said ferromagnetic material to cause said components to be displaced; and

wherein said detacher comprises a displaceable permanent magnet, and wherein said permanent magnet comprises a weight that requires the use of a mechanism to move said permanent magnet proximate said security tag when said detacher is commanded to release the security tag.

3. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article only upon the sale of the article, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads said security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a database, in communication with said reader, that verifies if the article is ready for sale;

a detacher, in communication with, and controlled by, said database, said detacher being commanded to release said security tag from the article only if said database verifies that said article is ready for sale; and

a POS machine, in communication with said database, said database conveying the article identity and sales information to said POS machine upon said release of the security tag from the article.

4. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article only upon the sale of the article, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads said security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a database, in communication with said reader, that verifies if the article is ready for sale;

a detacher, in communication with, and controlled by, said database, said detacher being commanded to release said security tag from the article only if said database verifies that said article is ready for sale, said read item being ready for sale if the article has a corresponding record entered into said database and wherein said read item is ready for sale if said corresponding record includes a data field that indicates that the article is not located at a particular store location; and

a point of sale (POS) machine, in communication with said database, said database conveying the article identity and sales information to said POS machine upon said release of the security tag from the article.

5. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article only upon the sale of the article, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads said security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a database, in communication with said reader, that verifies if the article is ready for sale;

a detacher, in communication with, and controlled by, said database, said detacher being commanded to release said security tag from the article only if said database verifies that said article is ready for sale;

a point of sale (POS) machine, in communication with said database, said database conveying the article identity and sales information to said POS machine upon said release of the security tag from the article;

the security tag comprising a locking mechanism that can only be activated by said detacher, independent of any human intervention, and wherein said locking mechanism comprises displaceable components containing small amounts of ferromagnetic material, said displaceable components being movable to release said locking mechanism only when subjected to a magnetic field from said detacher that can interact with said ferromagnetic material to cause said components to be displaced; and

wherein said detacher comprises a displaceable permanent magnet, and wherein said permanent magnet comprises a weight that requires the use of a mechanism to move said permanent magnet proximate said security tag when said detacher is commanded to release the security tag.

6. A method for automatically releasing a security tag from an article upon the sale of the article at a point of sale, said method comprising the steps of:

reading identification data from said security tag associated with the article to identify said security tag;

verifying if the article is ready for sale by communicating with a database that includes a corresponding record for the security tag associated with the article, wherein the article is ready for sale if said corresponding record includes a data field that indicates that the article is not located at a particular store location;

activating a detacher, by said database that has verified that the article is ready for sale, to release said security tag if the article is ready for sale.

7. A method for automatically releasing a security tag from an article upon the sale of the article at a point of sale, said method comprising the steps of:

reading identification data from said security tag associated with the article to identify said security tag;

verifying if the article is ready for sale by comparing said read identification data against a memory corresponding to said security tag and wherein said memory comprises a database that is coupled to a point of sale (POS) machine, said database activating a detacher if the article is ready for sale and releasing said identification data to said POS machine if the article is ready for sale;

activating said detacher, independently of human intervention, to release said security tag if the article is ready for sale; and

wherein a plurality of readers are dispersed within a store for interrogating said security tag as the article is moved within the store, said record further comprising indicia stored therein corresponding to the present location of the article within a store area, and wherein said step of verifying if the article is ready for sale comprises determining if said indicia corresponds to a location in the store that is not the point of sale.

8. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article at a point of sale, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads the security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a detacher, in communication with said reader, said detacher releasing the security tag from the article once said reader has read the security tag; and

a database, in communication with said reader, which stores the identity of said detacher when said detacher releases the security tag.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said database stores the date and time when said detacher releases the security tag.

10. A system for the automatic detachment of a security tag from an article at a point of sale, said system comprising:

a reader located at the point of sale that reads the security tag to identify the article being purchased;

a detacher, in communication with said reader, said detacher releasing the security tag from the article once said reader has read the security tag;

the security tag comprising a locking mechanism that can only be activated by said detacher, independent of any human intervention, and wherein said locking mechanism comprises displaceable components containing small amounts of ferromagnetic material, said displaceable components being movable to release said locking mechanism only when subjected to a magnetic field from said detacher that can interact with said ferromagnetic material to cause said components to be displaced;

a database, in communication with said reader, which stores the identity of said detacher when said detacher releases the security tag; and

wherein said detacher comprises a displaceable permanent magnet and wherein said permanent magnet comprises a weight that requires the use of a mechanism to move said permanent magnet proximate said security tag when said detacher is commanded to release the security tag.