Patent ID: 8269644

Claim:
An apparatus for tracking and indicating the status of a lock, comprising: (a) an at least three axis motion sensor that senses spatial movement and provides motion movement information about said spatial movement of a key with reference to three spatial axes for sensing movement of the key relative to said lock and providing movement information about said movement, wherein said movement information enables, a continuous tracking of the complete path of motion including the insertion, removal and rotation movements of the key in the lock and determining the direction of rotation of the key relative to the lock; (b) a controller for reception of said movements information about said movements, wherein said controller is configured to processing said information and identifying the direction of the insertion, removal and rotation movements of the key that are associated with the status of the lock, wherein the controller identifies the key rotation event by processing voltage signals from the motion sensor, said voltage signals reflect movement information relative to two axes that are perpendicular to axis that is defined by a key insertion direction; (c) an indication unit connected to said controller; providing an indication of the lock status according to control signals that are provided by said controller; and wherein said apparatus is attached to the key.