Key Fob Drawer Layout for Orientation-Free Secure Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for tracking and storing security fobs face challenges such as difficulty in locating open slots, orientation issues during insertion, mechanical support failures, and contamination of electronic components due to air gaps between panels.
Innovation Solution
A system with symmetrically shaped key fobs and dress plates, electromechanical switches, and bi-directional communication between a computer and storage drawers, featuring staggered slot arrays for easier key fob placement, symmetrical slots for orientation-independent insertion, and downward metal contacts for electrical connection without mechanical support, along with an illumination scheme using LEDs to locate key fobs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vertically protruding metal contacts are used to provide mechanical support for key fobs, then electrical connection is achieved, but mechanical stress causes premature contact failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the support function into two separate components: the dress plate provides mechanical support for the key fob, while the metal contacts exclusively provide electrical connection. This segmentation eliminates the dual burden on metal contacts, preventing premature failure from excessive mechanical stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical support function is extracted from the metal contacts and transferred to the dress plate. The metal contacts are now relieved of mechanical support duties and focus solely on electrical connection, significantly improving their reliability and lifespan.
2Ease of manufacture
If an air gap exists between the panel board and printed circuit board, then assembly is simplified, but dirt and debris can contaminate electronic components
Solution Approach 1:
The dress plate serves as an intermediary component between the panel board and the printed circuit board. It fills the air gap and provides a protective barrier that prevents dirt and debris from reaching electronic components while maintaining the simplified assembly structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The dress plate acts as a protective thin film or shell that seals the interface between the panel board and PCB, preventing contamination without requiring complex sealing mechanisms or eliminating the air gap entirely.
3Loss of information
If asymmetrical slot indicia are used to indicate proper insertion orientation, then key fob identification is improved, but insertion becomes difficult when slots are blocked by surrounding key fobs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains asymmetrical key fob shapes and indicia for proper identification and orientation. The asymmetry is preserved in the key fob design itself rather than relying solely on slot indicia, allowing users to identify the correct key fob by its unique shape and markings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds LED illumination as a new dimension to the identification system. LEDs provide active visual cues that illuminate the correct slot and key fob, making identification possible even when surrounding slots are blocked or hard to see, thus solving the insertion difficulty problem.
4Extent of automation
If users must manually locate row and column numbers on the computer screen and corresponding slots, then tracking control is achieved, but the operation becomes clumsy and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements LED feedback that directly illuminates the slot corresponding to the key fob location. This visual feedback eliminates the need for users to manually cross-reference computer screens with physical slots, as the system automatically indicates the correct location through LED illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of locating slots by visual inspection and manual coordination with an automated optical indication system. LEDs provide automatic visual guidance, substituting the clumsy manual operation with an automated light-based indication system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances key fob tracking and storage by simplifying slot location, reducing mechanical stress on contacts, preventing contamination, and improving user accessibility while maintaining security and reducing manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more light emitting diodes, LEDS, are lit along the user desired key fob.
Implementation Method 2
The key fob is constructed of a translucent material such as acrylic. When a user desires to locate a key fob in the array, a LED lights the desired slot in the array, the light reflects off at least one outside surface of the memory device, traveling through the translucent material key fob, and lighting the edges of the translucent material for one or more key fobs.
Data Source
AI summary
The object control and tracking system of the present invention includes a computer, a system controller, and at least one object storage drawer housed within a security cabinet. The system controller provides a bi-directional communication link between the computer and a printed circuit board located within the object storage drawer. The objects are symmetrically shaped acrylic key fobs each containing a touch memory device to store information about as set of keys or other valuable objects associated with the fob. A dress plate, incorporating a plurality of slots for interfacing with the fobs, is within the drawer and provides the mechanical support for the key fobs. The key fobs are generally symmetrically shaped to fit into the slot. The slot spacing is staggered in the array so that it is easier for a user to replace or to locate the key fob if the array is almost fully occupied. The slots of the array are symmetrical in nature so that a user can insert the tongue of the key fob in either orientation into the slots of the array. The top side of a PCB board is in immediate contact with the bottom side of the dress plate. Symmetrical slots are cut through the PCB and are in alignment with the dress panel slots. On the bottom side of the PCB board, each slot contains pairs of downward, vertically extending, biased metal contacts. Each slot incorporates an LED for providing a visual indication to a user of the location of an empty slot or the location of an inserted fob.