Object container and location tracking system with randomized internal object storage location

• US 6,880,754 B1
• Filed: 05/30/2003
• Issued: 04/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Handytrac Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Handytrac Systems LLC
• Inventors: Lie-Nielsen, John, Szenti, Tibor
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Seung H
• Application Number:
  US10/449,286
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 235/381, 235/383
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 29/10 Key holders; Key boards key cases A45C11/32
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00936 for key cabinets
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00896 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0042 for hiring of objects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A storage and location tracking system for objects, such as keys, with at least one storage container having a selectively accessible interior with a plurality of object holders therein, and each of the holders can store one or more objects. An access control tracks the storage and removal of objects from the plurality of holders and randomly assigns a holder for storage of objects such that an object is not consecutively stored at the same holder within the container.

Claims

1. An object storage and location tracking system, comprising:

at least one storage container having a selectively accessible interior thereof, the container selectively providing access to one or more objects stored therewithin, each object uniquely identifiable;

a plurality of discrete and identifiable object holders within the container, each holder selectively storing at least one object, and each object being selectively stored at and removed from a holder; and

an access control that at least tracks the location of each object at any of the plurality of holders within the container and if an object is removed from a holder, the control assigning one of the plurality of holders for storage of a specific object, the control further randomly assigning a holder to an object such that the object is not consecutively stored at the same holder within the container.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the object is a key.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the object is identifiable through having an attached data store.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the attached data store is a barcode and the access control includes an optical reader to scan the bar code and obtain the data for the object.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the attached data store is a magnetic strip and the access control includes a magnetic reader to scan the magnetic strip and obtain the object data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of holders stores a plurality of objects and the access control tracks the plurality of objects stored at that holder.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the holder is a hook with one or more alphanumeric characters proximate to the hook such that the hook is discretely identifiable.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the object holders include a plurality of displays each respectively proximate to a holder and the displays are controlled by the access control such that identifying data for each holder can be randomly assigned by the access control.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the object holders are discrete and identifiable holder-containers within the storage container, and the holder-containers selectively holding at least one object.

10. An object storage and location tracking system, comprising:

a storage means for selectively storing one or more uniquely identifiable objects;

a plurality of holding means within the storage means for storing a plurality of discrete and identifiable objects; and

a control means for controlling access to the objects stored at the plurality of holding means, the control means at least tracking the location of each object at any of the holding means and assigning one of the plurality of holding means for storage of a specific object, the control means further randomly assigning a holding means to an object such that the object is not consecutively stored at the same holding means within the storage means.

11. A method for preventing a correlation between a stored object and the location of a specific one of a plurality of object holders within a storage container, comprising the steps of:

inputting into an access control the identifying data of a uniquely identifiable object that is about to be stored at one of a plurality of object holders within a storage container, the storage container having a selectively accessible interior thereof with a plurality of discrete and identifiable object holders, each of which selectively holds at least one object;

determining at least the prior object holder that stored that object;

randomly assigning an object holder to store that object wherein that object is not consecutively stored at the same holder within the container; and

storing the object at the assigned holder within the storage container.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of tracking with the access control the location of each object at any of the plurality of holders within the container and whether an object is removed from an object holder.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

removing an object from one of the plurality of object holders; and

inputting into an access control the identifying data of that removed object.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the steps of method store a key.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of attaching a data store to the object to thereby identify the object.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of scanning the data store to obtain the data for the object.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of storing a plurality of objects at one of the plurality of object holders.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of displays are proximate to each of the object holders and further comprising the step of randomly assigning the identifying data for each holder through the access control altering the displays.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein a plurality of the object holders are discrete and identifiable holder-containers within the storage container, and the step of storing the object is storing the object within one of the holder-containers.

20. A method for preventing a correlation between a stored object and the location of a specific one of a plurality of object holders within a storage container, comprising:

a step for inputting the identifying data of a uniquely identifiable object that is about to be stored at one of a plurality of object holders within a storage container;

a step for determining at least the prior object holder that stored that object; and

a step for randomly assigning an object holder to store that object such that the object is not consecutively stored at the same holder within the container.