Locker system and method

• US 8,253,533 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Jones, Matthew Preston
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Knox, Kaleria
• Application Number:
  US12/570,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20110074541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/286.06, 340/573.1, 340/540, 702/76, 342/81, 235/382, 235/384
• US Class Current: 340/5.61
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 11/00 Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00174 Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys mechanical locks with electric permutation E05B49/00; arrangements for sensing or reading record carriers G06K7/00; electronic switching H03K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/12 comprising lockable containers, e.g. for accepting clothes to be cleaned

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a system for managing a plurality of lockers proximate a theme park attraction, the system having an electronically actuated lock disposed on the plurality of lockers, a guest identifier carriable on the guests person, the identifier usable as an electronic key configured to lock and unlock the lock, an egress sensor positioned at an exit of the theme park attraction and a processor in communication with the lock and the egress sensor and configured to unlock the lock subsequent to being signaled by the egress sensor. A method for using and managing a plurality of lockers is also described.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a plurality of lockers positioned within a theme park attraction area including an attraction;

an electronic lock disposed on at least one of the plurality of lockers, wherein the electronic lock is configured to be electronically actuated by a guest identifier that is carriable by a guest;

an egress sensor positioned at an exit of the theme park attraction area and configured to detect the guest identifier within an area proximate the egress sensor, wherein the plurality of lockers are positioned between the attraction and the egress sensor; and

a processor in communication with the electronic lock and the egress sensor, the processor configured to alert an operator when the egress sensor detects the guest identifier while the electronic lock has not been actuated to facilitate removal of an object stored in the at least one of the plurality of lockers after an initial actuation of the electronic lock to facilitate storage of the object in the at least one of the plurality of lockers.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one signaling device configured to communicate a message to an exiting guest.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the signaling device comprises an array of light emitting diodes configured to flash a message to the exiting guest or a speaker configured to emit an audio signal in response to a signal from the processor.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the egress sensor is configured to signal the processor when the guest identifier comes within a predetermined distance of the egress sensor and an object sensor is configured to signal the processor when the object sensor detects the presence of the object remaining in the at least one of the plurality of lockers.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein when the guest identifier is detected by the egress sensor, the egress sensor subsequently signals, through the processor, the electronic lock to be in an unlock state.

6. The system of claim 1, comprising the guest identifier, wherein the guest identifier comprises an RFID tag embedded in an entrance ticket, a barcode ticket, a magnetic strip ticket, a pin number, a credit card, or a cellular phone identifier.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of lockers comprises a pair of access doors on opposing sides of the locker, a first access door facing an entrance of the theme park attraction area and a second access door facing the exit of the theme park attraction area.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of lockers comprises an RFID reader configured to receive a signal from the guest identifier, the RFID reader further configured to signal the electronic lock into a lock or unlock state.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the egress sensor comprises an array of sensors positioned at the exit of the theme park attraction area.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a central keypad in communication with each of the plurality of lockers and configured to unlock the plurality of lockers based on authorized access.

26. The system of claim 1, comprising a signaling device configured to communicate a message to an exiting guest in response to a signal from the processor, wherein the processor is configured to provide the signal when the guest identifier is detected by the egress sensor and the at least one of the plurality of lockers corresponding to the guest identifier has not been emptied.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to provide an identity of the electronic lock corresponding to the guest identifier to the operator.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving a guest'"'"'s belongings in one of a plurality of lockers positioned within an attraction area between an attraction and an exit to the attraction area;

actuating a lock on the one of the plurality of lockers upon activation of a detector by a guest identifier;

detecting the guest identifier via an egress sensor positioned proximate the exit to the attraction area;

determining whether the lock on the one of the plurality of lockers has been unlocked and whether an object sensor indicates that the guest'"'"'s belongings are present in the one of the plurality of lockers; and

signaling, with a signaling device, that the guest'"'"'s belongings should be retrieved when the one of the plurality of lockers has not been unlocked at the time the guest identifier is detected via the egress sensor and the object sensor has indicated the guest'"'"'s belongings as being present in the one of the plurality of lockers.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of utilizing the guest identifier to unlock one of the plurality of lockers as the guest leaves the attraction.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising requiring placement of all loose belongings in one of the plurality of lockers upon entering an entrance cue of the attraction.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing an electronically actuated lock disposed on each of the plurality of lockers.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising communicating between the lock and the egress sensor with a processor configured to lock or unlock the lock when signaled by the egress sensor.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the processor alerts an operator that a guest has passed through the egress sensor without retrieving the guest'"'"'s belongings from the one of the plurality of lockers.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein signaling comprises activating an array of light emitting diodes configured to flash a message to a guest in response to a signal from a processor.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein signaling comprises activating a speaker configured for emitting an audio signal to a guest in response to a signal from the processor.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein when the guest identifier signals the egress sensor, the egress sensor subsequently signals, through the processor, the lock to be in a lock or an unlock state.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the guest identifier comprises an RFID tag embedded in an entrance ticket, a barcode ticket, a magnetic strip ticket, a pin number, a credit card, or a cellular phone identifier.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the guest'"'"'s belongings comprises receiving the guest'"'"'s belongings via a first access door of a pair of access doors on opposing sides of the locker, the first access door facing an entrance of the attraction area and a second access door facing the exit of the attraction area.

22. The method of claim 11, wherein actuating the lock on the one of the plurality of lockers upon activation of the detector by the guest identifier comprises activation of an RFID reader configured to receive a signal from the guest identifier.

23. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the guest identifier via the egress sensor comprises detecting the guest identifier with an array of sensors.

24. The method of claim 11, comprising actuating the lock via a central keypad in communication with each of the plurality of lockers.

28. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing an operator with an identity of the one of the plurality of lockers.

25. A method, comprising:

receiving an object into a locker via a first door facing an entrance queue to an attraction within an attraction area;

actuating a lock on the locker upon detection of an identifier;

detecting the identifier proximate an exit to the attraction area with an egress sensor;

determining, with a processor, whether the lock is unlocked via a lock sensor and whether the object has been removed from the locker via an object sensor;

activating an alert message, with the processor, when the lock has not been unlocked when the identifier is detected proximate the exit and the object has not been removed.