Closure for a compartment

• US 9,546,512 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2012
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telezygology, Inc. (TZ Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Telezygology, Inc. (TZ Ltd.)
• Inventors: Rudduck, Dickory, Goldspink, Lachlan Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER, WILLIAM L
• Application Number:
  US13/709,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20140040115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,500 Days
• Field of Search: 232 34- 36, 232/19, 232/17, 232/44, 702/77, 702/781, 702/80, 340/569, 340/568.1, 340/825.31, 340/545.6, 200/61.63, 109/38, 109/43, 246/06
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2029/1226 comprising electrical parts
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 29/1201 Letter-box assemblies for apartment buildings
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 29/1225 Signalling devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 29/124 Appliances to prevent unauthorised removal of contents
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 41/00 Locks with visible indication as to whether the lock is locked or unlocked indicator lights E05B17/10
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 47/0009 with thermo-electric actuators, e.g. heated bimetals
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/025 for lockers
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/77 using wireless control
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2999/00 Subject-matter not otherwise provided for in this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/62 Comprising means for indicating the status of the lock
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/45482 and operator therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/7062 Electrical type [e.g., solenoid]

Abstract

The invention provides a closures (106) for a compartment (100) having one or more walls (112, 114, 116, 118) and an opening (110) defined by at least one of the walls (112, 114, 116, 118). The closure (106) is associated with at least one fastener located inside the compartment (100). The fastener can hold the closure (106) in a first position (eg. closed) relative to the opening (110). The fastener is adapted to cause the closure (106) to assume a second position (eg. open) relative to the opening (110) upon receipt of a suitable signal. The closure (106) has at least one indicium (108) visible from outside the compartment (110). The indicium (108) is adapted to provide a visual indication of a status of the closure (106) or the compartment (110), such as closure open, closure closed, compartment empty, compartment occupied. Instead of indicium (108) or in addition to it, the closure of the invention can include in the fastener means for communicating to a remote device, a status of the closure or the compartment. The closure and the compartment may form an array with other closures and compartments having similar fasteners. In that event, the fastener in each compartment may be addressable.

Claims

1. A closure for a compartment having one or more walls and an opening defined by at least one of the walls, the closure being associated with at least one fastener located inside the compartment and adapted to hold the closure in a first position relative to the opening, the at least one fastener comprising means for communicating to a remote device information relating to the closure, the compartment or its contents, and the at least one fastener being adapted to cause the closure to assume a second position relative to the opening upon receipt of a suitable signal, wherein the compartment forms an array with other compartments having respective closures and fasteners, the at least one fastener is addressable and the signal is provided external to the compartment and capable of addressing the at least one fastener, the signal being provided using any one of:

entry of a code using a keypad;

a wireless link;

a radio link;

induction coupling;

infrared, microwave or visible light energy;

sound energy;

email;

voice recognition;

a smart card;

an ID chip;

a biometric scan;

optical image recognition;

or an RFID scan.

2. The closure of claim 1 wherein the information communicated to the remote device relates to the presence or absence of an item within the compartment.

3. The closure of claim 1, wherein the compartment is a mail box or locker having an internal opening for deposit of mail.

4. The closure of claim 1, having a slot provided at one end of or through the closure.

5. The closure of claim 1, wherein the closure is hinged to the compartment at the opening.

6. The closure of claim 1, wherein in the first position the closure closes the opening.

7. The closure of claim 6, wherein the at least one fastener located inside the compartment is adapted to hold the closure in the first position relative to the opening without input of energy.

8. The closure of claim 1, wherein in the second position the closure permits access to the opening upon receipt of the signal.

9. The closure of claim 1, wherein the closure is adapted to return to the first position from the second position by the application of pressure of the closure against the opening.

10. The closure of claim 1, the closure being associated with two or more fasteners.

11. The closure of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener is located on the closure.

12. The closure of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener is located on a wall of the compartment.

13. The closure of claim 1, where there is more than one fastener associated with the closure, but only one fastener is addressable.

14. The closure of claim 1, wherein the at least one fastener is encrypted.

15. The closure of claim 1, wherein the signal is provided by the smart card and the array is linked to a smart card reader for reading the smart card.

16. The closure of claim 15, wherein the smart card reader is configured to deduct a fee each time the smart card is read by the smart card reader.

17. The closure of claim 16, wherein the fee is deducted against a credit on the smart card or from a remote account.

18. The closure of claim 15, wherein the smart card is adapted to open another closure and/or to operate as a credit card.

19. The closure of claim 1, wherein in the array the fasteners are connected in series.

20. The closure of claim 1, wherein in the array each fastener is addressable on an individual basis or as part of a group.

21. The closure of claim 1, wherein the information is an identifying indicia of at least part of the contents and the remote device is a courier computer.

22. The closure of claim 21 wherein the identifying indicia is chosen from a radio frequency identification tag and a bar code.