BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a remotely operable door lock interface system, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the stationary controller shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is front-elevational view of the stationary controller shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the stationary controller shown in FIG. 3, taken along line 4-4;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the base station shown in FIG. 1, showing the portable controller and the rechargeable batteries within their respective charging bays;
FIG. 6 is a side-elevational view of the base station shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a front-elevational view of the base station shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a front-elevational view of the portable controller and the rechargeable batteries shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the elongated and rectilinear bolt, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the bolt shown in FIG. 9, showing the automatic extending and retracting mechanism attached thereto;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the elongated and rectilinear bolt shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the bolt shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a side-elevational view of the bolt shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 14 is a front-elevational view of the bolt shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 15 is a rear-elevational view of the bolt shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic extending and retracting mechanism shown in FIG. 10;
FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view of the elongated and rectilinear bolt and the automatic extending and retracting mechanism shown in FIG. 10;
FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the portable controller shown in FIG. 1, showing the portable controllers during operating conditions; and
FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of the system shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the figures.
The system of this invention is referred to generally in FIGS. 1-19 by the reference numeral 10 and is intended to provide a remotely operable door lock interface system. It should be understood that the system 10 may be used to remotely operate many different types of locks and should not be limited in use to only deadbolt door locks.
Referring initially to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 19, the system 10 includes a stationary controller 20. Such a stationary controller 20 is mounted to a support surface 13 located at an interior of a building 11 that houses the door 12. The stationary controller 20 includes a transceiver 21, a processor 22, a speaker 23, a plurality of LED's 24, and a memory 25 including software instructions that cause the stationary controller 20 to decode the coded input signal 39 (described herein below) for verifying an authorized user.
Referring to FIG. 19, the software instructions include the steps of detecting an identification data stream embedded within the coded input signal 39, comparing the identification data stream with an authorization data stream, and instructing the stationary controller 20 to perform predetermined tasks associated with verified and unverified identification data streams. One of the predetermined tasks emits audible and visual alert signals by means of the speaker 23 and LED's 24, respectively, when the identification data stream is unverified.
A coded output signal 26 is generated and transmitted by the stationary controller 20 based upon instructions received from the coded input signal 39. Such a coded output signal 26 is wirelessly transmitted to the internal controller 50 (described herein below), which is crucial for conveniently and effectively instructing the electric motor 48 (described herein below) to rotate in the clockwise and counter clockwise directions during operating conditions.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 18 and 19, a portable controller 30 is in wireless communication with the stationary controller 20. Such a portable controller 30 includes a transceiver 31, an analog to digital converter 32, and a user interface 33. The user interface consists of a display screen 34 and a plurality of control buttons 35. Such control buttons 35 includes an AUTO OPEN button 35A to activate the system 10, a PANIC button 35B for alerting the authorities in case of an emergency, various NUMERIC buttons 35C for entering a personal identification code, and a POWER button 35D for toggling the portable controller 30 between operating and non-operating modes.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8, the portable controller 30 further includes a base station 36 that is electrically coupled to an external power source 14. Such a base station 36 includes a first charging bay 37A that is important for receiving the portable controller 30 thereon. A second charging bay 37B is included and is vital for conveniently and effectively receiving a plurality of rechargeable batteries 38 therein. A coded input signal 39 is effectively generated and transmitted by the portable controller 30 based upon a user input.
Referring to FIGS. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19, an elongated and rectilinear bolt 41 is positioned through a slot 15 of a door 12. Such a bolt 41 is spaced from the stationary 20 and portable 30 controllers. A mechanism 40 is included for automatically retracting and extending the bolt 41 along a parallel and horizontal path, which is essential and convenient such that the bolt 41 becomes adapted between disengaged and engaged positions when unlocking and locking the door 12. Such an automatic retracting and extending mechanism 40 includes a stop member 42 that is directly conjoined, without the use of intervening elements, to an interior distal end 43 of the bolt 41 and is seated between opposed faces 16 of the door 12.
An elongated and rectilinear rod 44 is statically conjoined directly, without the use of intervening elements, to the stop member 42 and extends horizontally inwardly away from a jam side 17 of the door 12. Such a rod 44 has a serrated distal end 45 oppositely facing the bolt 41, wherein the serrated distal end 45 faces downwardly. A drive gear 46 has a toothed outer surface 47 interlocked with the serrated distal end 45, which is important such that the rod 44 linearly travels along the horizontal path when the drive gear 46 rotates clockwise and counterclockwise respectively. An electric motor 48 and a drive shaft 49 are directly conjoined, without the use of intervening elements, thereto. Such a drive shaft 49 is directly coupled, without the use of intervening elements, to the drive gear 46 and is responsive to the stationary 20 and portable 30 controllers respectively for effectively causing the drive gear 46 to rotate in the clockwise and counter clockwise directions.
Referring to FIG. 19, the automatic extending and retracting mechanism 40 further includes an internal controller 50 that is electrically coupled to the motor 48. Such an internal controller 50 includes a transceiver 51, a motor interface 52, a processor 53, and a memory 54 including software instructions that cause the internal controller 50 to decode the coded output signal 26 for verifying an authorized user. The software instructions include the steps of detecting an identification data stream embedded within the coded output signal 26, comparing the identification data stream with an authorization data stream, and instructing the internal controller 50 to perform predetermined tasks associated with verified and unverified identification data streams.
Referring to FIGS. 9, 10, 11, 13 and 17, a mechanism 60 is included for bypassing the automatic retracting and extending mechanism 40, which is crucial and advantageous such that the user can manually retract and extend the bolt 41 when unlocking and locking the door 12 respectively. Such a bypassing mechanism 60 includes a keyed slot 61 formed directly through the stop member 42. A key 62 is associated with the keyed slot 61 so that a user can manually extend and retract the shaft 49 about the drive gear 46 to thereby effectively cause the bolt 41 to extend and retract along the horizontal path and adapt the door 12 between locked and unlocked positions.
Referring to FIGS. 1, and 9, a security panel 70 is directly affixed, without the use of intervening elements, to one side 16A of the door 12. Such a panel 70 is essential and advantageous for covering one of the door cavities 18 and effectively prohibiting unauthorized access thereto, thus preventing unauthorized persons from tampering with the system 10. The security panel 70 is provided with a plurality of coextensively shaped annular openings 71 that are important for advantageously allowing a door handle 19A and a deadbolt housing 19B to be operably connected directly, without the use of intervening elements, to the door 12 while conveniently maintaining the automatic extending and retracting mechanism 40 hidden from the environment.
While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the present invention may include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation. The assembly and use of the present invention are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art.
Patent Application
20080011032
