Smart cabinets
First Claim
1. Installable apparatus for controlling access by different persons to the contents of one or more pre-existing containers each having at least one movable access door comprising, in combination, a locking mechanism attached to each given one of said one or more pre-existing containers, said locking mechanism preventing access to the contents of said container in response to a locking signal and permitting access to the contents of said given one of said containers in response to an unlocking signal, ‘
- an input device for acquiring identification data uniquely identifying a particular one of said different persons who desires to access said contents, and a programmable processor including a timing clock for transmitting locking and unlocking signals to said locking mechanism in response to said identification data to permit access to said contents by said particular one of said different persons only at predetermined times.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for managing the content of containers, such as existing kitchen cabinets, refrigerators, storage rooms and lockers, and medicine cabinets. Controllable latching modules and/or cameras are attached to the containers to control access to and/or record changes to the contents of the containers. The latching modules include an electromechanical device controlled by a microprocessor or responsive to electronic signals from an external source to permit or deny access to the container at predetermined times, or permit or deny access to specific persons, or under other conditions specified by a rule based control system. In addition, the camera may be used to reveal changes in the contents when the door to the container is open.
110 Citations
30 Claims
-
1. Installable apparatus for controlling access by different persons to the contents of one or more pre-existing containers each having at least one movable access door comprising, in combination,
a locking mechanism attached to each given one of said one or more pre-existing containers, said locking mechanism preventing access to the contents of said container in response to a locking signal and permitting access to the contents of said given one of said containers in response to an unlocking signal, ‘ - an input device for acquiring identification data uniquely identifying a particular one of said different persons who desires to access said contents, and
a programmable processor including a timing clock for transmitting locking and unlocking signals to said locking mechanism in response to said identification data to permit access to said contents by said particular one of said different persons only at predetermined times. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
- an input device for acquiring identification data uniquely identifying a particular one of said different persons who desires to access said contents, and
-
19. The method for controlling access to the contents of an existing container comprising, in combination, the steps of:
-
attaching an electrically controllable locking module to said existing container, said locking module comprising a lock and a controller for placing said lock in a locked state in response to a locking command that prevents access to said contents and for placing said lock in an unlocked state in response to an unlocking command the permits access to said contents, recording a stored access code value in a data memory, acquiring a submitted access code value from a person who desires access to said contents, comparing said submitted access code value with said stored access code to produce an authorization signal when a predetermined correspondence exists between said submitted access code and stored access code value, employing a processor for transmitting an unlocking command to said locking module to permit access to said contents when one or more predetermined conditions are satisfied, said predetermined conditions including the production of said authorization signal. said predetermined conditions including when a submitted data value acquired from a person desiring access to said contents matches said stored access data value - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. Apparatus for managing the contents of a container having an access opening that is normally closed and opened to permit access to said contents, said apparatus comprising, in combination,
a digital camera for capturing image data representing a sequence of images of said contents at different times, a processor coupled to said camera for storing said image data, and image rendering means for presenting said images to a user to depict the history of said contents at different times.
Specification