Patent ID: 8063735

Claim:
Remotely actuable refrigerator door lock for locking and unlocking a refrigerator which has a cabinet with a body and a door that closes against said body, with a body portion that mounts onto the body of the refrigerator cabinet and a door portion that mounts onto the door of the refrigerator cabinet to align with the body portion when the refrigerator door is closed; the door portion comprising an enclosure that mounts to the door; and a latch strike member within said enclosure; the body portion comprising an enclosure mounting to the body of the refrigerator cabinet; a latch member projecting from the enclosure to engage said latch strike member; a motor drive mechanism for selectively moving said latch member from engagement with said latch strike member to unlock the refrigerator; a data communications channel extending from the enclosure of the body portion for connecting with an external computer arrangement; and suitably programmed circuit means contained within the enclosure of the body portion for communicating over said data communications channel with said computer arrangement for receiving unlock commands specific to the refrigerator door lock, and the circuit means having a unlock facility to actuate said motor drive to move the latch member out of engagement with said latch strike member upon receipt of said unlock commands specific to said refrigerator door lock; a temperature monitor having a probe sensing temperature inside said refrigerator cabinet, the temperature monitor being coupled with said suitably programmed circuit means to transmit the sensed temperature thereto; and wherein said suitably programmed circuit means is operative to store at least one predetermined temperature limit, and to compare the sensed temperature with said at least one predetermined temperature limit, and is operative to disable said unlock facility if the sensed temperature is beyond said predetermined temperature limit so that the refrigerator door lock is prevented from being unlocked remotely.