Patent Publication Number: US-2018051509-A1

Title: Smart door system and method of use

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to doors, and more specifically, to a smart door and method of use. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Doors for providing entrance into a room are well known in the art and are effective means for protection. For example, in  FIG. 1  an exemplary conventional system  101  includes a building  103  with a door  105  that provides a person  109  entrance into the room disposed within building  103 . One the problems associated with building  103  is that no windows are provided and the party within the room has no means to visually identify the party  109 . 
     One method to overcome this problem is to utilize a hole  107  extending through the door, which in turn provides viewing access to the parties standing outside the door. However, the hole  107  has limitations. For example, the hole may not capture a wide enough viewing area to see the party  109  and/or the party  109  may simply cover the hold with a finger. 
     Accordingly, although great strides have been made in the area of doors and methods for protection, many shortcomings remain. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The novel features believed characteristic of the embodiments of the present application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the embodiments themselves, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified schematic of a conventional door; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a smart door system and method of use in accordance with one embodiment of the present application during operation; 
         FIG. 3  is a back view of the smart door system of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic of the smart door system in accordance with an alternative embodiment; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic of the control assembly of the smart door system of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     While the system and method of use of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Illustrative embodiments of the system and method of use of the present application are provided below. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions will be made to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     The system and method of use will be understood, both as to its structure and operation, from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system are presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless described otherwise. 
     The preferred embodiment herein described is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to enable others skilled in the art to follow its teachings. 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views,  FIGS. 2-5  depict various views of a smart door system  201  in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that system  201  overcomes one or more of the above-listed problems commonly associated with the conventional doors. 
     In the contemplated embodiment, system  201  includes one or more of door frame  203  having a door knob  205  and a control assembly  207 . In the preferred embodiment, the control assembly  207  is configured to protect the party within the room for potential treat created by dangerous third parties  109 , fire, and/or other dangerous events. For example, the system  201  could be utilized at a school wherein all doors to the classroom are closed and secured to prevent a shooter from entering into the classrooms. It will be appreciated that a plurality of applicable uses for system  201  are contemplated with the features discussed herein. 
     Control assembly  207  includes a computer  209  preferably disposed within the door and operably associated with one or more devices of system  201 . System  201  includes a camera  211 , a display  213 , one or more devices  215 ,  217 ,  219 ,  211 ,  223 , and  225  extending from a front surface  227 . The different types of devices are further discussed below with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     In one preferred embodiment, the system  201  is provided with a plurality of slide bolts  229 ,  231 ,  233 ,  235 , and  237  positioned around the periphery of the door and configured to slidingly engage with an opening disposed within the thickness of the door. An actuator disposed within the door could be utilized to actuate the slid bolts. In one embodiment, the system  201  could include a dog door  241  also having a slide bolt  239  associated therewith. In the exemplary embodiment, a second display  300  is secured to surface  301  of the door frame and in data communication with the display  213  on the opposing side of the door frame. The system  201  is further provided with one or more devices  303 ,  305 , and/or  307  that provide the party within the room one or more visual indicators. For example, a light may be lit if the presence of a fire is at the opposing side of the door frame. 
     In  FIG. 4 , a system  401  is shown utilizing the features of system  201  with a plurality of doors  405 ,  407 ,  409 , and  411  in data communication with and manipulated by a control computer  403 . For example, the control computer  403  could close all doors in the event of an emergency and monitor third party activities via one or more devices associated with each door. In one embodiment, a control station, e.g., a police station, security, and the like, could be used to monitor activity proximate to the door  203  via the control system and manipulate use of the door. 
     In  FIG. 5 , a simplified schematic of the control assembly  501  is shown in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the control assembly  207  discussed above could include one or more of the features of control assembly  501 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, one or more devices of control assembly  501  are disposed within the door frame  203  of system  201  and/or secured to an outside surface. In the contemplated embodiment, the features of control assembly  501  are utilized in control assembly  207 . For example, the device  215 ,  217 ,  219 ,  221  could be respective camera  505 , transceiver  513 , speaker  517 , smoke/CO2/Radon detector  531  and/or other devices shown and described in  FIG. 5 . 
     The assembly  501  includes a computer  503  in data communication with one or more of a camera  505 , storage device  507 , a display  509 , door knob  511 , transceiver  513 , audio jack  515 , speaker  517 , microphone  519 , actuator  523  that in turn is operably associated with one or more slide bolts  521 , a vibration sensor  525 , a door position sensor  527 , a proximity sensor  529 , a smoke/CO2/Radon detector  531 , and/or a power source  533 . 
     In one embodiment, the computer  503  includes the necessary software and hardware to control one or more devices operably associated therewith. The computer  503  could be configured to communicate with a central computer  403  discussed above. 
     The camera  505  could include a close-up camera and/or a wide-angle camera and is positioned on surface  227  and/or disposed within the thickness of door  203 . The camera  505  could be displayed on display  509  and/or transmitted to an external display (not shown) via transceiver  513 . 
     It will be appreciated that the devices associated with assembly  501  could be collect data and store the data within a storage, e.g., a flash memory stick, internal storage, and the like, for later retrieval. For example, picture identity of the third party  109  standing outside the door could be later retrieved for capture. 
     A display  509  could include the option of merely displaying information associated with the system and could include a finger touch option for manual manipulations. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it is contemplated having two touch screens  213 ,  300  in data communication with each other and/or manipulated separately. For example, the party  109  could attempt to communicate with the party within the room via the touch screen. 
     The transceiver  513  could be utilized to communicate with a central computer  403  and/or other remote computer system. The transceiver could include wireless features for communication networks such as WiFi, BLUETOOTH, cellular, and the like. The assembly is further provided with an audio jack  515 , speaker  517 , and a microphone  519  for communicating with the party  109 . 
     As depicted in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a plurality of slide bolts are positioned around the periphery of the door frame. One or more actuators  523  in data communication with the computer  503  could be utilized to secure the door in a locked position. 
     The assembly is also provided with a plurality of sensors and detectors such as a smoke/CO2/Radon detector  531 , a motion or proximity sensor  529  for detecting movement, and a door position sensor  527  to determine if the door is ajar or closed. 
     The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the embodiments may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variationDars are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. Although the present embodiments are shown above, they are not limited to just these embodiments, but are amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.