Pass-through convenience cabinet for hotel or similar public accommodation

• US 10,238,210 B1
• Filed: 09/18/2017
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S&S X-Ray Products Inc.
• Original Assignee: S&S X-Ray Products Inc.
• Inventors: Shoenfeld, Norman A
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, William L
• Application Number:
  US15/706,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20190082829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 232 434, 232 435, 232 19, 232 1 E, 232 44, 232 24, 232 25, 312286, 312405, 312209, 109 67, 109 68, 49 68, 220476
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2067/025 having safety means
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 67/02 Cabinets for shaving tackle, medicines, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 81/002 Corner cabinets; Cabinets designed for being placed in a corner or a niche corner cabinets provided with trays revolving on a vertical axis A47B49/006
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 96/00 Details of cabinets, racks or shelf units not covered by a single one of groups A47B43/00 - A47B95/00; General details of furniture doors E06B
• CPC Class Codes: E05G 1/005 Portable strong boxes, e.g. which may be fixed to a wall or the like E05G1/08, E05G1/14 take precedence; devices to prevent theft or loss of bags, trunks, baskets, or the like A45C13/18; coin boxes for coin freed apparatus G07F9/06
• CPC Class Codes: E05G 1/10 with alarm, signal or indicator E05G1/14 takes precedence; burglar, theft or intruder alarm per se G08B13/00; fire or explosion alarm per se G08B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/0069 actuated in a predetermined sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00904 for hotels, motels, office buildings or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like

Abstract

Pass-through convenience cabinet with controlled access for a public accommodation has a hallway-side door for delivery and pickup of food service items, linen exchange, or other items, without need for staff to disturb the occupant or to enter the room. The cabinet has one or more compartments with respective room-side door or doors that can be opened by the occupant or guest. A touch screen device on the room side of the cabinet frame allows the occupant or guest to open the respective compartments, and to communicate with hotel staff to order food items or request exchange of a towel or other item. An electronic record is kept of all requests, pickups, and deliveries which may be used for management purposes. A separate compartment accessible only from within the room may be used as a room safe. The cabinet can be configured to service a pair of adjacent guest rooms.

Claims

1. Pass-through convenience cabinet for a public accommodation wherein the public accommodation includes at least one hallway and a plurality of rooms along said hallway each having a common wall shared by the room and the hallway such that the common wall has a hallway side and a room side;

said cabinet comprising;

a cabinet body configured to be disposed on the room side of said wall at a penetration to said hallway side of said common wall, onto which the cabinet body is mounted;

a hall-side door mounted on the cabinet body on the hallway side of said common wall at said penetration and being controllably opened and closed;

a plurality of compartments on the room side of the cabinet body, each being accessible from the hallway side when said hall-side door is opened;

a plurality of room-side doors provided respectively for said compartments, and each said room-side door being openable and closeable from inside the respective room;

a control mechanism incorporated into said cabinet on said room side thereof and configured to permit a person within the room to open each said respective room-side door; and

an interlock mechanism for said hallway-side door and said room-side doors, permitting said hallway-side door to be opened only when all of said room-side doors are closed; and

permitting said room-side doors to be opened only one door at a time and only when said hall-way side door is closed.

2. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of compartments includes at least a first and second compartment arranged vertically one above the other.

3. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein at least one compartment of said plurality of compartments is adapted for receiving and holding a ready-to-eat food product.

4. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said compartments is adapted for holding a linen or toiletry product.

5. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said control mechanism includes a touch-screen mechanism including means for indicating that an item has been placed, via said hallway-side door, into one of said compartments, and means permitting a guest in said room to open the respective room-side door for said one of said compartments.

6. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 5 wherein said control mechanism includes a functionality that communicates with a guest-services computer of said public accommodation, and is adapted to permit the guest in said room to request food service or linen service from said touch-screen mechanism.

7. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said public accommodation includes at least one service cart for carrying a food item and/or a linen or toiletry item to one or more rooms of the plurality of rooms, said cart including a portable wireless device operative to permit a staff member to enter a code to open the hallway-side door of a respective one of said one or more rooms.

8. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said room-side doors are arranged at a right angle to the plane of said common wall.

9. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said control mechanism is an electronic control mechanism connected via an ethernet cable to a guest-services computer of said public accommodation;

and the cabinet is electrically powered via said ethernet cable.

10. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said hall-side door is substantially flush with said common wall.

11. Pass-through convenience cabinet for a public accommodation wherein the public accommodation includes at least one hallway and a plurality of rooms along said hallway each having a common wall shared by the room and the hallway such that the common wall has a hallway side and a room side;

said cabinet comprising;

a cabinet body configured to be disposed on the room side of said wall at a penetration to said hallway side of said common wall, onto which the cabinet body is mounted;

a hallway-side door mounted on the cabinet body on the hallway side of said common wall at said penetration and being controllably opened and closed;

at least one compartment on the room side of the cabinet body, the at least one compartment being accessible from the hallway side when said hallway-side door is opened;

a room-side door provided for said at least one compartment, and said room-side door being openable and closeable from inside the respective room;

a control mechanism incorporated into said cabinet on said room side thereof and configured to permit a person within the room to unlock and open the respective room-side door; and

an interlock mechanism for said hallway-side door and said room-side door, permitting said hallway-side door to be opened only when the room-side door for at least one compartment door is closed; and

permitting said room-side door to be opened only when said hallway-side door is closed.

12. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 11 wherein said at least one compartment includes a first shelf for receiving and returning food service items, and a second shelf for an item of linen or toiletries.

13. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 12 wherein said control mechanism is an electronic control mechanism operative to send a pickup notice signal to a guest-services computer of said public accommodation when a person in the room loads an item to be returned onto one of said shelves in said compartment, and closes the room-side door.

14. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 13 wherein said guest-services computer is operative to store an audit record of orders made by guests, all deliveries made to each said pass-through convenience cabinet, and each pickup made from each said cabinet.

15. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 12 wherein said control mechanism is adapted to communicate wirelessly with a hand-held device for opening said hall-side door.

16. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 11 wherein said control mechanism is an electronic control mechanism connected via an ethernet cable with a guest-services computer of said public accommodation;

and wherein the cabinet is powered through said ethernet cable.

17. Pass-through convenience cabinet for a public accommodation wherein the public accommodation includes at least one hallway and a plurality of rooms along said hallway each having a common wall shared by the room and the hallway such that the common wall has a hallway side and a room side, and to be shared by two adjacent rooms separated by a dividing wall;

said cabinet comprising;

a cabinet body configured to be disposed on the room side of said wall at a penetration to said hallway side of said common wall, onto which the cabinet body is mounted, and wherein said cabinet is situated in said dividing wall so as to extend into both rooms of said two adjacent rooms;

a hallway-side door mounted on the cabinet body on the hallway side of said common wall at said penetration and being controllably opened and closed;

at least two compartments on the room said of the cabinet body, each being accessible from the hallway side when said hall-side door is opened, and wherein at least one of said compartments is accessible only from one of said two adjacent rooms, and another of said compartments is accessible only from the other of said two adjacent rooms;

at least two room-side doors provided respectively for said compartments, and each said room-side door being openable and closeable from inside the respective one of said two adjacent rooms;

a control mechanism incorporated into said cabinet on said room side thereof and configured to permit a person within the respective room to open the respective room-side door; and

an interlock mechanism for said hallway-side door and said room-side doors, permitting said hallway-side door to be opened only when all of said at least two room-side doors are closed; and

permitting said room-side doors to be opened only one door at a time and only when said hallway-side door is closed.

18. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 17 wherein said control mechanism is an electronic control mechanism operative to send a pickup notice signal to a guest-services computer of said public accommodation when a guest in one of said two adjacent rooms loads an item to be returned into said cabinet, and closes the respective room-side door.

19. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 18 wherein said guest-services computer is operative to store an audit record of orders made by guests, all deliveries made to each said pass-through convenience cabinet, and each pickup made from each said cabinet.

20. The pass-through convenience cabinet according to claim 17 wherein said control mechanism is an electronic control mechanism connected via an ethernet cable with a guest-services computer of said public accommodation;

and wherein the cabinet is powered through said ethernet cable.