Patent Application
20200082240
The present invention relates to windows and doors which have tags provide with smart chips hidden within their frames. The smart chips contain information relating to the respective windows and doors which may be addressed through appropriate cooperating electronic equipment operatively associated with the smart tag and associated methods. More specifically, the smart tag may contain a wide variety of information related to the fabrication, installation and user desired information.
Under prior practices, information provided to the installer and end user was generally provided in hard copy, such as in paper form, and was limited as to content. One of the difficulties with such prior art practices is that there was the need to file the documentation as to each window in a safe storage place with reasonable retrieval of the same. Often, such paper materials were inadvertently discarded, lost or destroyed. Even when they were not destroyed, they presented the need to be involved with cumbersome, unreliable information storage and retrieval systems.
Such prior practices often involved an identification label placed on the exterior of a portion of the frame of the window or door, but this provided little or no helpful information.
There remains, therefore, a very real and substantial need for providing enhanced information for storage and/or retrieval by, in an efficient, economically practical manner by multiple levels of people involved with the specific window or door.
The present invention has met the above described need.
The present invention has provided a hidden tag having a smart chip which is not visible to the naked eye from the exterior of the window frame or door frame. Information contained on the smart chip may be obtained through authorized means such as a suitable app on a cell phone which is held in close proximity to the location where the tag is concealed and secured to the interior of the frame.
The chip is capable of providing huge amounts of information which may be stored digitally on the smart chip and retrieved by authorized individuals using apps which will communicate with the smart chip. The information may include multiple tiers of users such as the fabricator providing detailed window or door identification and specifications for the specific window or door, installation guidance for use by the window or door installers, warranty and other information of interest to the end user of the specific window or door.
The window or door frame preferably has indicia provided on the exterior of the frame facing the interior of the building in which it is installed so as to inform one seeking to access the information contained on the smart chip precisely where to position the equipment outside of the frame, such as a cell phone, in accessing the information. In general, such devices will be held very close to the frame.
The information is generally accessible from the frame interior which contains the hidden smart chip and back through the frame to the exterior thereof.
The frame or frame portion adjacent the smart chip will be composed of a material which will permit radio frequency communication therethrough. It may, for example, be composed of a vinyl extrusion, such as polyvinyl chloride.
The fabricator of the window or door would normally program the original software and, if desired, the installer may be provided with limited ability to add to the data in the field.
An RFID (radio frequency identification) chip may be employed advantageously in the system. The preferred chip is an NFC chip (near-field communication chip).
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient means for securely providing and accessing information regarding a door or window with a hidden smart chip with authorized access being to multiple levels of commerce.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a system wherein the fabricator of the window or door may provide in digital form on the smart chip secured to a tag, substantial amounts of information which may be accessed and, in some instances, added to by the window or door installer and may be readily accessed by the user of the window or door.
It is a further object of the present invention which eliminates numerous disadvantages of the prior hard copy storage or label information by providing enhanced security and more extensive information readily accessible at several levels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a system which employs a hidden intelligent radio chip stored securely within a frame of a door or window while preserving ready communication access by authorized individuals from the frame exterior.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system which facilitates rapid access to data stored on an embedded smart chip disposed within a window and door in a manner which permits downloading of important information in a rapid manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide embedded intelligence within a window or door frame through the use of an integrated radio chip which can receive and store data and communicate the same through an authorized external piece of equipment such as a smart phone, for example.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the drawings appended hereto.
As employed herein, the term “smart chip” will refer to a chip which is capable of storing digital information of value to multiple levels of those involved in the fabrication, installation and end users of windows and doors with this being accomplished by storage of data on the smart chip and permitting access thereto by an external device such as a smart phone having access thereto through an appropriate app. Among the chips which may be employed are RFID chips with the preferred smart chip being an NFC chip.
By way of example, the fabricator of the window may, for example, store on the smart chip information regarding the specification for the particular window including profile, fittings, glass, dimensions, and type of window, as well as other documentation such as test certificates, warranty information, fire protection certificates, U-value calculations and installation procedures. The installer will, through the installer app, be provided with the detailed window information and installation details and, in some instances, may have the opportunity to add information to the smart chip. The customer/end user will be provided with detailed information regarding the specific window and can readily download the desired information by employing the appropriate window app.
Referring to
Referring to
As shown in the exploded views of
Referring to
Whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein for purposes of illustration, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details may be made without departing from the invention as described in the appended claims.
