Anti-theft pedestal suspension system

1. A pedestal for an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) system, comprising:

a frame;

at least one antenna disposed in or coupled to the frame;

a mechanism directly coupled to the frame so as to mechanically support the pedestal in a vertical position when in use, and comprising at least two resilient members configured to:

allow the frame to transition from the vertical positon to an angled position when a force is applied to the frame by an external object, and

automatically return to the vertical position when the force is no longer being applied to the frame by the external object,

wherein a first resilient member of the at least two resilient members is vertically stacked above at least a portion of the frame and a second resilient member of the at least two resilient members when the pedestal is in the vertical position, and the first and second resilient members (a) are separate and distinct components, (b) are separated from each other by the portion of the frame above which the first resilient member resides and below which the second resilient member resides, and (c) are of different types or have at least one different characteristic.

2. The pedestal according to claim 1 , wherein the antenna is configured to transmit an electromagnetic exciter signal field or receive a signal generated by an EAS security tag in response to the electromagnetic exciter signal field.

3. The pedestal according to claim 1 , wherein the pedestal creates a surveillance zone in which active EAS security tags can be detected by the EAS system.

4. The pedestal according to claim 1 , wherein the mechanism comprises:

a support structure directly coupled to the frame and having a plurality of first apertures formed therethrough;

a plurality of couplers passing through the plurality of first apertures; and

a plurality of third resilient members respectively disposed along an elongate length of the plurality of couplers so as to reside below a horizontal member of the support structure,

wherein the plurality of third resilient members are configured to be deflected or compressed when the force is being applied to the frame by the external object.

5. The pedestal according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of third resilient members comprise coils.

6. The pedestal according to claim 4 , wherein the mechanism further comprises a plurality of fourth resilient members respectively disposed along the elongate length of the plurality of couplers so as to reside above the horizontal member of the support structure.

7. The pedestal according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of third resilient members are of the same type or different type as the plurality of fourth resilient members.

8. The pedestal according to claim 7 , wherein the plurality of fourth resilient members and the plurality of third resilient members have at least one different physical characteristic.

9. A pedestal for an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) system, comprising:

a frame;

at least one antenna disposed in or coupled to the frame; and

a mechanism directly coupled to the frame so as to mechanically support the pedestal in a vertical position when in use, and configured to

allow the frame to transition from the vertical positon to an angled position when a force is applied to the frame by an external object, and

automatically return to the vertical position when the force is no longer being applied to the frame by the external object,

wherein the pedestal further comprises a switch coupled to the mechanism and adapted to disconnect the pedestal from an external power source when the force is applied to the frame by the external object.

10. A pedestal for an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) system, comprising:

a frame;

at least one antenna disposed in or coupled to the frame;

a mechanism directly coupled to the frame so as to mechanically support the pedestal in a vertical position when in use, and configured to:

allow the frame to transition from the vertical positon to an angled position when a force is applied to the frame by an external object, and

automatically return to the vertical position when the force is no longer being applied to the frame by the external object; and

a sensor configured to detect a position of the frame and communicate a notification to a remote device when a detection is made that the pedestal is in the angled position.

11. A method for operating an antenna pedestal of an Electronic Article Surveillance (“EAS”) system, comprising:

structurally supporting a frame of the antenna pedestal in a vertical position using a mechanism directly coupled to the frame, wherein an antenna is disposed in or coupled to the frame;

performing operations by the antenna to create a surveillance zone in which active EAS security tags can be detected by the EAS system;

using the mechanism to mechanically transition a position of the frame from the vertical positon to an angled position in response to an application of force to the frame by an external object;

using the mechanism to automatically return the antenna pedestal to the vertical position when the force is no longer being applied to the frame by the external object; and

operating a switch to disconnect the antenna pedestal from an external power source when the force is applied to the frame by the external object.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the mechanism comprises:

a plurality of first apertures formed therethrough;

a plurality of couplers passing through the plurality of first apertures; and

a plurality of first resilient members respectively disposed along an elongate length of the plurality of couplers so as to reside below a horizontal member of the support structure,

wherein the plurality of first resilient members are configured to be deflected or compressed when the force is being applied to the frame by the external object.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of first resilient members comprise coils.

14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the mechanism further comprises a plurality of second resilient members respectively disposed along the elongate length of the plurality of couplers so as to reside above the horizontal member of the support structure.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the plurality of first resilient members are of the same type or different type as the plurality of second resilient members.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the plurality of second resilient members and the plurality of first resilient members have at least one different physical characteristic.

17. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising communicating a notification to a remote device when a detection is made that the antenna pedestal is in the angled position.