Reservation system and apparatus for reserving occupancy of a communal item and method of use
First Claim
1. A reservation system for reserving occupancy of a communal item, comprising:
- a communal item placement area;
a communal item disposed in said communal item placement area;
a reservation device which is connectable to said communal item, said reservation device including;
an available state in which said communal item is available for use;
a reserved state in which said communal item is reserved;
a timer which runs for a period of time; and
,a timer activator which starts said timer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A reservation system, apparatus, and method allows a user to reserve occupancy of a communal item. To do so, a reservation device which is connectable to the communal item includes an available state in which the communal item is available for use, and a reserved state in which the communal item is reserved. The reservation device includes a motion sensor which senses when the communal item is occupied. If the user vacates the communal item for a time interval, a timer starts counting off a time period. If the user does not reoccupy the communal item before the time period elapses, the reservation device changes from the reserved state to the available state. The reservation device also allows the user to make service requests.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A reservation system for reserving occupancy of a communal item, comprising:
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a communal item placement area; a communal item disposed in said communal item placement area; a reservation device which is connectable to said communal item, said reservation device including; an available state in which said communal item is available for use; a reserved state in which said communal item is reserved; a timer which runs for a period of time; and
,a timer activator which starts said timer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. Apparatus for reserving occupancy of a communal item which is disposed in a communal item placement area, the apparatus comprising:
a reservation device which is connectable to the communal item, said reservation device including; an available state in which the communal item is available for use; a reserved state in which the communal item is reserved; a timer which runs for a period of time; and
,a timer activator which starts said timer. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for a user to reserve occupancy of a communal item, comprising:
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(a) providing a communal item placement area; (b) providing a communal item disposed in said communal item placement area; (c) providing a reservation device which is connected to said communal item, said reservation device including; an available state in which said communal item is available for use; a reserved state in which said communal item is reserved; a timer which runs for a period of time; a timer activator which starts said timer; a reserve activator which when activated (1) causes said reservation device to enter said reserved state, and (2) causes said timer activator to be enabled; a system status display which when said communal item is available displays an available message, and when said communal item is reserved displays a reserved message; (d) the user ensuring that said reservation device is in said available state by observing that said system status display displays said available message; (e) the user activating said reserve activator thereby causing said reservation device to enter said reserved state, causing said timer activator to be enabled, and causing said reserved message to appear on said system status display; and
,(f) the user occupying said communal item. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A timer for reserving occupancy of a communal item, comprising:
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a timing mechanism which is settable to run for a period of time; a timer control which is used to set said period of time; a communal item available indicator which is positionable to (1) a retracted position during said period of time, and (2) to an extended position after said period of time has expired; a control mechanism which, when said period of time has expired, causes said communal item available indicator to move to said extended position; and
,said timer connectable to the communal item.
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Specification