Network of fully automatic self-service key duplicating kiosks
CAFCFirst Claim
1. A network of self-service, fully-automatic kiosks for duplicating keys, said network comprisinga multiplicity of said kiosks at different locations,a remote central server coupled to said kiosks for receiving information from and sending information to said kiosks,each of said individual kiosks comprising:
- a kiosk housing having a customer interface for receiving payment from a customer for the purchase of at least one duplicate of the customer'"'"'s key,a key-receiving entry in said housing for receiving at least a portion of the customer'"'"'s key to be duplicated,a key analysis system within said housing for analyzing the blade of a key inserted in said key-receiving entry to determine whether the inserted key matches one of a group of preselected key types and, if so, which preselected key type is matched,a key blank magazine within said housing for storing key blanks for each of said preselected key types,a key blank extraction system for extracting from said magazine a key blank for the preselected key type matched by the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry,a key duplicating system within said kiosk for replicating the tooth pattern of the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry, on the blade of said extracted key blank,a processor within said kiosk and coupled to at least said customer interface, said key analysis system and said key blank extraction system, anda communications port coupled to said processor for communicating with said remote central server in communications that include at leastinformation from said kiosk regarding the purchases made and attempted in said kiosk,information regarding the key blanks contained in said key blank magazine in said kiosk, andalert signals generated in response to operations conducted within the kiosk.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A self-service, fully-automatic kiosk for duplicating keys includes a kiosk housing having a customer interface for receiving payment from a customer for the purchase of at least one duplicate of the customer'"'"'s key. A key analysis system within the housing analyzes the blade of a key inserted in the key-receiving entry to determine whether the inserted key matches one of a group of preselected key types and, if so, which preselected key type is matched. A key blank extraction system extracts from a magazine within the kiosk a key blank for the preselected key type matched by the blade of the key inserted in the key-receiving entry. Then a key duplicating system within the kiosk replicates the tooth pattern of the blade of the key inserted in the key-receiving entry, on the blade of the extracted key blank.
145 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A network of self-service, fully-automatic kiosks for duplicating keys, said network comprising
a multiplicity of said kiosks at different locations, a remote central server coupled to said kiosks for receiving information from and sending information to said kiosks, each of said individual kiosks comprising: -
a kiosk housing having a customer interface for receiving payment from a customer for the purchase of at least one duplicate of the customer'"'"'s key, a key-receiving entry in said housing for receiving at least a portion of the customer'"'"'s key to be duplicated, a key analysis system within said housing for analyzing the blade of a key inserted in said key-receiving entry to determine whether the inserted key matches one of a group of preselected key types and, if so, which preselected key type is matched, a key blank magazine within said housing for storing key blanks for each of said preselected key types, a key blank extraction system for extracting from said magazine a key blank for the preselected key type matched by the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry, a key duplicating system within said kiosk for replicating the tooth pattern of the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry, on the blade of said extracted key blank, a processor within said kiosk and coupled to at least said customer interface, said key analysis system and said key blank extraction system, and a communications port coupled to said processor for communicating with said remote central server in communications that include at least information from said kiosk regarding the purchases made and attempted in said kiosk, information regarding the key blanks contained in said key blank magazine in said kiosk, and alert signals generated in response to operations conducted within the kiosk. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of duplicating keys in a network of self-service, fully-automatic kiosks at different locations, each having a customer interface for receiving payment from a customer for the purchase of at least one duplicate of the customer'"'"'s key, and a remote central server coupled to said kiosks for receiving information from and sending information to said kiosks,
said method comprising: -
receiving at least a portion of the customer'"'"'s key to be duplicated in a key-receiving entry in said kiosks, analyzing the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry and determining whether the inserted key matches one of a group of preselected key types and, if so, which preselected key type is matched, storing key blanks for each of said preselected key types in a key blank magazine within said kiosks, extracting from said magazine a key blank for the preselected key type matched by the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry, replicating the tooth pattern of the blade of said key inserted in said key-receiving entry, on the blade of said extracted key blank, within said kiosks, providing customer access to the key with the replicated tooth pattern for removal from the kiosks, and communicating with said remote central server remote from each of said kiosks to provide said remote central server with at least information from each of said kiosks regarding the purchases made and attempted in said kiosks, information regarding the key blanks contained in said key blank magazine in each of said kiosks, and alert signals generated in response to operations conducted within each of the kiosks. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification