Patent Publication Number: US-2004045197-A1

Title: Key and corresponding lock identification kit and associated method and system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The invention relates to a kit, method and system for identification of a key and its corresponding lock and more particularly it relates to a kit, method and system for the identification of a key and its corresponding lock through the placement of stickers that have identical identification aspects.  
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART  
       [0002] Many doors are secured by use of a lock and key. The lock itself secures the door, whereas the key actuates the lock. The secured door may be part of a home, such as a front door or a door to an individual room, or may be part of an automobile, etc.  
       [0003] Also, a lock and key may be used to secure many other items. The lock may be integrated into an item. For example, a vehicle, such as an automobile or a boat, may have a lock, such as an ignition lock. Also, the lock may be freestanding. For example, a pad lock may be used to secure just about anything.  
       [0004] Often, a multitude of keys are carried, each fitting its corresponding lock. Given the multitude of keys and the fact that the appearance of a key alone is frequently insufficient to enable the user to identify the key for the corresponding lock, the user often must employ the tedious process of testing each key to determine which key actuates the corresponding lock. This process is time intensive. Therefore, it would be useful to provide a kit and method for the identification of a key and a corresponding lock.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005] In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a kit for the identification of keys and corresponding locks. The kit includes a plurality of stickers. The plurality of stickers includes at least one pair of stickers that have the same identification aspect. The plurality of stickers are adapted for application to keys and corresponding locks.  
       [0006] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a method for identifying a key with a corresponding lock. A first sticker is placed on the key. A second sticker is placed such that the second sticker is associated with the corresponding lock. The first and second stickers have an identical identification aspect to provide for identification of the key and the corresponding lock.  
       [0007] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a system for the identification of a key and a corresponding lock. The system includes a first sticker on the key and a second sticker on the lock. The first and second stickers have an identical identification aspect to provide for identification of the key and the corresponding lock. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0008]FIG. 1 is a view of a key with a first sticker affixed thereto in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;  
     [0009]FIG. 2 is a view of a lock, corresponding to the key of FIG. 1, with a second sticker affixed thereto;  
     [0010]FIG. 3 is a view of a chart for recording the identification aspect of the first sticker of FIG. 1 and the second sticker of FIG. 2, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;  
     [0011]FIG. 4 is a view of a sticker sheet that retains the first sticker of FIG. 1 and the second sticker of FIG. 2, respectively;  
     [0012]FIG. 5 is a view of a kit in accordance with the present invention; and  
     [0013]FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the kit of FIG. 5, showing the opened folder, which has the chart of FIG. 3, and the sticker sheet of FIG. 4. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
     [0014] Disclosed herein is a kit  150  (FIG. 5) and method for the identification of a key  100  (FIG. 1) and a corresponding lock  105  (FIG. 2). The key  100  and the corresponding lock  105  are defined as a complimentary key and lock set. The kit and method involve use of the key  100 , the corresponding lock  105 , a first sticker  104   a  (FIG. 1) and second sticker  104   b  (FIG. 1), wherein the first sticker  104   a  is placed on the key  100  and the second sticker  104   b  is placed on the corresponding lock  105 .  
     [0015] With reference to FIG. 1, the example key  100  is comprised of a blade  102 , a head  101  and a ring eyelet  103 . The blade  102  is the aspect of the key that engages a lock mechanism (not shown) of the lock  105 . The head  101  is attached to an end of the blade  102  distal to an end of the blade  102  that enters the lock. The head  101  is the section of the key  100  grasped by a user to lock and unlock a lock. The ring eyelet  103  is a hole in the head  101  of the key  100  that provides a means for securing the key  100  to a key ring (not shown); however, ring eyelet  103  may be absent. It is understood that only one embodiment of a key is shown and that there are other alternatives for the shape and configuration of a key  100  known in the art.  
     [0016] With reference to FIG. 2, the example lock  105  includes a handle  107 , an escutcheon  108  and a key hole  106 . The handle  107  is an element of the lock  105  that is turned by a user to open the door (not shown). The handle  107  may be in the form of a knob (as shown) or may be a lever (not shown) or any other form known in the art. The escutcheon  108  is an element of the lock  105  that contributes to the securing of the lock  105  to a door (not shown). The key hole  106  is an aperture through which a user inserts the key blade  102 . It is understood that one embodiment of a lock is shown and that there are other alternatives for the shape and configuration of a lock known in the art. For example, the lock may be an ignition lock, a freestanding lock (e.g., a pad lock).  
     [0017] Each sticker  104   a,    104   b  is a slip of paper comprised of two sides, an adhesive side and a non-adhesive side. The adhesive side enables the sticker (e.g.,  104   a ) to be fastened to a surface, such as the key head  101 . The non-adhesive side or the entire sticker, according to the invention, has at least one identification aspect that provides for easy identification of the key  100  and the corresponding lock  105 . The identification aspect is a color, a shape, or both a color and a shape. Thus, for example, a user, to identify a key  100  and a corresponding lock  105 , may select a first red sticker as the first sticker  104   a  and a second red sticker as the second sticker  104   b,  from among stickers of different colors, with the identification aspect being the color red. Alternatively, the user may select a first circular sticker as the first sticker  104   a  and a second circular sticker as the second sticker  104   b,  from among stickers of different shapes, with the identification aspect being the circular shape. Further, the user may select a first red circular sticker and a second red circular sticker, with the identification aspects being the red color and the circular shape. The above examples are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.  
     [0018] The kit  150  (FIG. 5) is for the identification of the key  100  (FIG. 1) with a corresponding lock  105  (FIG. 2). The example kit  150  (FIG. 6) includes a folder  155 , a sticker sheet  115  (FIG. 4) and a chart  110  (FIG. 3). As shown in the example of FIG. 6, the folder  155  houses and contains the sticker sheet  115  and the chart  110 . The chart  110  may be printed on the folder  155  itself, as shown in FIG. 6, and the sticker sheet is tucked inside the folder.  
     [0019] As shown in FIG. 4, the example sticker sheet  115  contains a plurality of stickers  104   a  and  104   b.  The sticker sheet  115  is constructed of a material that will retain the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b  and allow removal of the stickers  104   a,    104   b,  while preserving the adhesive material present on the adhesive side of the stickers  104   a,    104   b.  The plurality of stickers  104   a,    104   b  comprises at least two stickers with the same identification aspect. Further, the sticker sheet  115  may contain several sets of two stickers, wherein each set of two stickers has a different identification aspect, than the other sets of stickers.  
     [0020] At least two stickers  104   a  are provided for convenience and to facilitate identification when more than one key is present for the corresponding lock. Further, sticker sheet  115  contains a first sticker  104   a ′ and a second sticker  104   b ′. First sticker  104   a ′ and second sticker  104   b ′ are associated with a different identification aspect than the identification aspect associated with the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b.    
     [0021] With reference to FIG. 3, the example chart  110  includes a grid with a plurality of columns  114   a,    114   b  and a row  130 . The grid of the example chart  110  includes a box  131  for recording the identification aspect of either the first sticker  104   a  applied to the key  100  or the second sticker  104   b  applied to the lock  105 . It is unimportant whether the identification aspect of the first sticker  104   a  or the identification aspect of the second sticker  104   b  is recorded because both are identical. The grid of the example chart  110  also includes a box  132  for recording a descriptor of the second sticker  104   b  applied to the corresponding lock  105 , the identification aspects of which sticker  104   b  was indicated in the box  131 . The descriptor will include information relating to the physical location of the corresponding lock  105 . Thus, according to the example chart  110  and one embodiment of the invention, a user will place the first sticker  104   a  on the key  100 . The user will then place the second sticker  104   b  on the corresponding lock  105 . Once the stickers are placed, the user will record the identification aspect of the stickers  104   a,    104   b  in box  131  and will record a descriptor of the second sticker  104   b  in box  132 . Although the chart  110  is shown in FIG. 3 as being able to accommodate the recordation of information relating to one set of the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b,  it is understood that the chart  110  can be expanded to accommodate the recordation of any number of stickers.  
     [0022] Also disclosed is a method for the identification of the key  100  with the corresponding lock  105  through the use of the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b.  According to the method a user will remove the first sticker  104   a  associated with an identification aspect from the sticker sheet  115  and place the first sticker  104   a  on the key  100 . In one example, the first sticker  104   a  will be placed on the key head  101  of the key  100 . However, the first sticker  104  may be placed on any spot of the key  100  that is convenient. The user then removes the second sticker  104   b  from the sticker sheet  115  and places the second sticker  104   b  on or near the corresponding lock  105  for the key  100 . The user selects the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b  so that the identification aspect of the first and second stickers  104   a  and  104   b  will enable the user to identify the key  100  and the corresponding lock  105  (e.g., the user selects a pair of stickers having the same identification aspect such as the same color, the same shape or both the same color and the same shape).  
     [0023] The method for the identification of the key  100  with the corresponding lock  105  through the use of the first sticker  104   a  and the second sticker  104   b  further includes the recordation in box  131  of the chart  110  the identification aspect of the first sticker  104   a  placed on the key  100  and the second sticker  104   b  placed on the corresponding lock  105 . The method further comprises the recordation in box  132  of the chart  110  the descriptor of the second sticker  104   b  placed on the corresponding lock  105 .  
     [0024] One benefit of the kit and method is to enable a user holding a set of keys to quickly identify a key and its corresponding lock. Thus, according to the invention, the user&#39;s keys will each have affixed thereto a sticker associated with an identifier. The corresponding locks for each of the keys will also have affixed thereto or nearby a sticker associated with an identifier. Each key and its corresponding lock will bear a sticker associated with the same identifier; alternatively, the user may select any combination of stickers according to the user&#39;s preferences. By observing the stickers, the user will be able to quickly and easily select the appropriate key when presented with the corresponding lock.  
     [0025] Although the preferred embodiments have been described, it is understood that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed and claimed herein.