Anti-theft and identification devices for concealing in articles

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of this invention is to provide means for providing antitheft alarms as well as codes to be concealed within any item that might require identification.
In particular, the code is concealed so that upon theft and recovery of the stolen item, the authorities can read the hidden code to determine the identity of the rightful owner whereupon the item can be returned appropriately.
Also, alone or in combination with the identity code, a code which verifies the authenticity (manufacturer, for example) of the object can be provided.
Concealment has the intended purpose of making it difficult to destroy the identifying code since, for example, a typical optically scanned bar code can be easily removed because it is not concealed.
However, with concealment, the thief will not be able to destroy the code readily.
In certain smaller items, where the code can only occupy a very limited region, destroying the code will also destroy the item.
This is particularly true for concealment in electronic and computer components, one of the main directions toward which this invention is focused.
Other items can also be protected and recovered using the invention to be described including such diverse items as automobiles and critical automobile parts to mention but a few.
Several means for providing and detecting a buried pattern that can be sensed and interpreted to give an identification code are provided by the present invention.
The pattern is buried for the sake of concealment in a manner that makes it difficult for unauthorized persons to read, tamper with or alter the code.
An important application, though not an exclusive one, pertains to concealing these patterns in computer boards, single in-line memory modules (SIMMs), computer chips and the like.
In addition, the invention includes the use of an antitheft element designed to reduce theft of the item by triggering an alarm when the item is taken past a security gate.
This element is also concealed near the concealed code region or may be made an integral part of the aforementioned concealed code