Patent No. 4395600 Auditory subliminal message system and method

 

Patent No. 4395600  Auditory subliminal message system and method (Lundy, et al., Jul 26, 1983)

Abstract

Ambient audio signals from the customer shopping area within a store are sensed and fed to a signal processing circuit that produces a control signal which varies with variations in the amplitude of the sensed audio signals. A control circuit adjusts the amplitude of an auditory subliminal anti-shoplifting message to increase with increasing amplitudes of sensed audio signals and decrease with decreasing amplitudes of sensed audio signals. This amplitude controlled subliminal message may be mixed with background music and transmitted to the shopping area. To reduce distortion of the subliminal message, its amplitude is controlled to increase at a first rate slower than the rate of increase of the amplitude of ambient audio signals from the area. Also, the amplitude of the subliminal message is controlled to decrease at a second rate faster than the first rate with decreasing ambient audio signal amplitudes to minimize the possibility of the subliminal message becoming supraliminal upon rapid declines in ambient audio signal amplitudes in the area. A masking signal is provided with an amplitude which is also controlled in response to the amplitude of sensed ambient audio signals. This masking signal may be combined with the auditory subliminal message to provide a composite signal fed to, and controlled by, the control circuit.

Notes:

In a specific anti-shoplifting application, an auditory subliminal message signal designed to encourage honesty is provided. One such signal comprises the phrase "I am honest, I will not steal". This auditory subliminal message signal is combined with a white noise masking signal to provide a composite signal input to the control circuit 12. The amplitude of this composite signal is then adjusted within control circuit 12, as explained above, in response to changes in the amplitude of ambient audio signals detected within the shopping area of a store. The amplitude controlled composite signal is then transmitted to the shopping area so that the subliminal message is subconsciously perceived by individuals within the store.

It has now been experimentally determined that, although shoplifting and theft are not completely eliminated, significant reductions in these losses have resulted in such an application of the system of this invention.

Having illustrated and described the principles of our invention with reference to several preferred embodiments, it should be apparent to those persons skilled in the art that such embodiments may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. We claim as our invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the following claims.