Patent ID: 7298240

Claim:
A system comprising (I) an electronic key that transmits a wireless coded signal; and (II) at least one tool that comprises (A) a first switch that enables the user of said tool to turn the tool on and off; (B) a second switch in series with said first switch; (C) a timer that opens said second switch after a predetermined amount of time; and (D) a receiver that receives said wireless coded signal, compares the wireless coded signal to a coded signal stored in said tool and, if the wireless coded signal matches the coded signal being stored, the receiver closes said second switch; wherein the tool includes at least a storage for storing a unique identifier and the tool is configured for performing a method including at least (i) when the tool is initially powered, a determination is made whether the predetermined amount of time has expired; (ii) if the predetermined amount of time has expired, the tool is disabled; (iii) if the predetermined amount of time has not expired, a determination is made whether the coded wireless signal is present; (iv) if the wireless coded signal is detected to be present, a determination is made whether the wireless coded signal contains a unique identification code by at least checking whether the wireless coded signal matches a signal stored in a storage in the tool; (v) if a match is found, a determination is made whether a disable signal is present; (vi) if the disable signal is present, the tool disables itself; (vii) if no match is found, a determination is made whether the predetermined amount of time has expired; (viii) if a disable signal is not present, a determination is made whether an enable signal is present; (ix) if an enable signal is present, the timer is reset, causing the tool to be activated; (x) if neither a disable signal nor an enable signal is present, a determination is made to determine whether the predetermined amount of time has expired; (xi) if the predetermined amount of time has expired, a determination is made whether an in-use flag is active, wherein an active in-use flag indicates that the tool is currently performing a function that should not be stopped; and (xii) if the in-use flag is active, deactivation of the tool is delayed until the in-use flag is no longer active.