Patent Application
20060138818
The present invention relates to seat locks, and in particular to a seat lock that inhibits an unauthorized person from occupying a seat.
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At public events there are seats, or areas of seats, reserved for specific ticket holders. Many of these seats, if not all, are not secured to prevent a person from occupying a seat reserved for another. Thus, the actual ticket holder is put in the uncomfortable position of having to confront the person occupying the seat, and asking him or her to move.
The unique invention disclosed herein provides a solution to inhibit an unauthorized person from occupying a seat.
The present invention is directed to a device that inhibits an unauthorized person from occupying a seat. According to one aspect of the invention, a lock is operatively attached to the seat and back of a foldable chair to prevent unfolding of the chair. Further, an electronic means is operatively coupled to the lock wherein the lock allows the chair to unfold upon obtaining an input code that matches an unlock code.
According to another aspect of the invention, a blocking member is positioned to block a person from sitting in a chair. Further, an electronic means is provided for allowing, upon activation, the blocking member to be repositioned to unblock the person from sitting in the chair. The electronic means can be activated upon obtaining an input code that matches an activation code.
Other embodiments, systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be, or will become, apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages included within this description be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The invention may be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The following descriptions of detailed embodiments are for exemplifying the principles and advantages of the inventions claimed herein. They are not to be taken in any way as limitations on the scope of the inventions.
In the FIGURES, the following reference numbers are used to depict corresponding elements wherein reference numbers having the same last two digits correspond to like elements:
As used herein and in the claims, the term “electronic means” includes structure comprising at least one of the following: an electronic reader, a solenoid, and/or a microcontroller.
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The chair 10 can be installed or mounted in a stadium, arena, theater, or other venue wherein seats are leased for attending an event. Typically, but not necessarily, the patrons purchase a ticket for the event with the location of the seat printed on the ticket.
The biasing mechanism 18 is operatively attached in a conventional manner to the seat 14 to move the seat towards the back 16, and thus into the closed position (i.e.,
In an embodiment, the locking system 12 includes a lock 22 and an electric reader 28. The lock 22 includes a latch or catching mechanism 24 and an attachment member or arm 26. Preferably, but not necessarily, the catching mechanism 24 is attached (e.g., bolts, rivets or other conventional means) to the seat 14 and the attachment member 26 is attached (e.g., bolts, rivets or other conventional means) to the back 16 or frame 20. The attachment member 26 can be a straight or curvilinear bar or rod with a notch or bore 30 for receiving a locking pin 38 (
Accordingly, the locking mechanism 24 includes a metal or metal alloy housing 32 with a bore 34 extending therethrough. Turning to
Preferably, but not necessarily, the reader 28 can be a conventional bar code reader, magnetic strip reader, or radio frequency identification (RFID) reader. The reader 28 can be connected to the chair 10, such as the underneath portion of the seat 14 by conventional means such as, but not limited to, bolts or rivets. The reader 28 is operatively connected to the lock 22 by a signal path 40 for providing a signal to the lock that contains the data (i.e., input code) read by the reader from a magnetic strip or bar code 60 located on a ticket 62 or from an RFID tag (not shown).
In an embodiment, the lock 22 can include a microcontroller 42 or other computer means for comparing the input code, read from the ticket, with an access code. Accordingly, the microcontroller can have a non-volatile memory 44 for storing the access code. If the input code matches the access code, then the microcontroller 42 sends a signal to unlock the lock wherein the pin 38 is removed from the bore 34 in the attachment member or arm 26. Thus, when the lock is unlocked, the chair 10 can be unfolded and the seat occupied.
The microcontroller 42 can be operatively connected to a remote computer (not shown) or the like, via a signal path 46. In an embodiment, the central computer can remotely unlock, lock, and change the access code stored by the lock memory 44. In yet another embodiment, the microcontroller 42 can be replaced by the central computer wherein the central computer receives the input code from the reader 28, compares the input code to an access code for the chair 10, and sends a command to unlock the chair if the input code read from the ticket 62 matches the access code for the chair.
In another embodiment, the chair 10 can receive a signal from a remote computer to unlock the chair once the corresponding ticket holder has entered the venue (i.e., stadium, arena, theater, or other venue wherein seats are leased for attending an event). Accordingly, an electronic reader can be located at an entrance to the venue wherein, upon reading the seat location of the ticket holder, a signal is generated to unlock the chair 10 associated with the ticket holder.
As will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art, the electronics mounted to or about the chair are powered by an alternating current source, a solar energy cell mounted to the seat and/or back of the chair, a battery, or the like.
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The locking system 112 includes a lock 122, an electronic reader 128, and a blocking member or barrier 154. In an embodiment, the blocking member 154 is a rectangular panel that is pivotally mounted to the chair 110 about the seat 114 and one of the armrests 150,152.
Preferably, the blocking member 154 can pivot such that in one position (
The lock 122 includes a latch or catching mechanism 124 and an attachment member or arm 126. Preferably, but not necessarily, the catching mechanism 124 is fixedly secured to the seat, armrest, and/or frame 120 of the chair. The attachment member 126 is attached to the blocking member 154 and can be a curvilinear metal, or metal alloy, rod or strip having one or more openings or notches for mating with a locking pin 38 (
Accordingly, the catching mechanism 124 includes a housing 132 containing a solenoid 36 (
In an embodiment, the reader 128 is attached to the non-pivoting end of the blocking member 154. As stated previously, the reader 128 can be a conventional bar code reader, magnetic strip reader, or radio frequency identification (RFID) reader. The reader 128 is operatively connected to the lock by a signal path 140 for providing a signal to the lock that contains the data (i.e., input code) read by the reader from a bar code or magnetic strip on a ticket or the like such as an RFID tag.
As stated previously, the lock 122 can include a microcontroller or other computer means for comparing the input code with an access code. Accordingly, the microcontroller can have a non-volatile memory for storing the access code. If the input code matches the access code, then the microcontroller sends a signal to unlock the lock wherein the pin 126 is removed from the opening 30 in the locking mechanism 124. Thus, when the lock is unlocked, the blocking member 154 can be moved to provide access to the seat. Further, when the blocking member 154 is moved out of the way, the microcontroller can command the pin 126 into another opening (not shown) in the attachment arm 126 to prevent the blocking member 154 from moving back into the extended state (i.e., the state depicted in
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are possible examples of implementations merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without substantially departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention, and protected by the following claims.
