FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to secure, vault-grade electronic key based locking device, and more particularly to re-usable internet based electronic locking device that utilize electronic keys to safely store and retrieve valuables.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Personal loan against gold is a very common practice in many countries. User visits the office of the loan provider, deposit gold and avail cash loans with certain interest. This process works well when the loan receiver has planned to avail loan. There are situations, where loan is needed in emergency situations (e.g. hospitalization). In such cases, visiting a loan provider's office could cost dearly, when money is required urgently. Hence, it makes sense to have a locker kiosk in required places.
Primarily, various types of lockers have been used before. For many years, banks maintain deposit boxes which includes a pair of locks in which one is opened by key carried by the user and the other with key retained in the bank. Even though these lockers provide secure protection, they take time in processing the request and they cannot be used immediately to avail loan during emergency situations.
Additionally, there are a number of cases, where a locking device is required to safely keep ones belongings for a limited period of time e.g. airports, railway stations, gymnasium lockers, sports complexes. In all these cases, as of today, a key is provided to the user and sometimes, a duplicate key is present with the representative who manages the locker. However, it is not advisable to give the key either to the user, or to the representative, or to the both. Hence, there arises a need to safely protect the valuables without resulting in chances of fraud and theft.
Indeed, a number of different lockers have been designed based on biometric authentication, temporal/spatial authentication, RFID authentication. These identification systems use

specific identifiers to map the user of the valuable item. And, portable lockers have also been placed in public places like airports, railway stations etc.
There are lockers designed for personal use that work on electronic key and sometimes send an SMS on unauthorized access.
Despite the foregoing methods and systems, there is still a salient need for a flexible and efficient locking device that provides the user with a highly configurable and modular system that can be readily adapted to a number of different paradigms. The above mentioned systems do not provide means for complete security of the valuables. Also/ during emergency situations, loans cannot be easily / readily/ competently availed with the help of such systems. Hence, the present invention provides a solution for constant 24 x 7 remote monitoring of locking device and its contents by authorized personnel via Internet of Things (IOT) locking device based on secure and integrated locking device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
The objective of the invention is to design a re-usable internet based locking device that utilizes electronic keys for securing the valuables
The present invention conceives an electronic key based locking device that is used for . different purposes with different settings. It also provides a mechanism where the locking device as well as its contents is remotely monitored for 24x7 by authorized personnel. The locking device is also integrated with different kinds of key mechanism (e.g. SMS based, fingerprint based).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the internet based locking device can be used as Gold loan kiosk. An electronic key can be given to the kiosk agent, the user and a remote office of the loan company. A combination of all the three can only open the locking device.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in common areas like airports, railway stations, gymnasium, sports complexes where people congregate mainly, the user can deposit costly artifacts on the airport, acquire an electronic password (key) and can travel to long places. Once they are back, they can open the locking device and retrieve the items, thus providing zero possibility of losing the key.
According to the present invention, these highly secure kiosk are operated in places that have the security level that exceeds bank ATM. Users operate the locking device to store and retrieve the valuables with multi-factor authorization mechanism to ensure that unauthorized access cannot open the locking device. A linkage to the user record system of the institution also ensures the tracking of persons using the facility. Moreover, an optional visual tracking mechanism is provided to allow the users to view the contents of their locking device. A peripheral surveillance system alerts the central monitoring station of the institution, in case if any distress is detected on or around the kiosk.
Further, the design principle involved in the locking device of the present invention is to make a modular hardware which is customized using software to control locker access. The modular hardware remains the same, whereas the software changes depending upon various usages, the hardware design of the locking device includes various parts like motherboard, electronic lock, status display, vibration sensor, door sensor, SD card, buzzer/speaker, and camera.
Thus, the present invention enables the institutions to offer highly secure, vault-grade locking device to their user in public places.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The objective of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates an overall locking device design.

REFERENCE NUMERALS
Front panel (1)
Buzzer hole (2)
Notch (3)
Manual override keyhole (4)
Spring (5)
Tactile switch (6)
Back panel (7)
Control board container (8)
FRC connector socket (9)
Storage compartment base (10)
Storage compartment channel (11)
FRC cable (12)
Electromagnetic lock (13)
Camera (14)
Camera cable ' * (15)
Screws (16)
Locking device ' (17)
Status display (18)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Aspects of the present invention described herein, discloses a re-usable internet based locking device (17) as shown in FIG. 1 that utilizes electronic keys to secure valuables of a user. The features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the invention.
In accordance with the present invention, the kiosks are operated in environments and locations that have security and surveillance levels that match the bank ATMs. User walks into such locations and operates the locking device to store and retrieve the valuables. This

kiosk uses secure multi-factor authorization mechanism that prevents unauthorized access from opening the locking device (17) either by mistake or through criminal intent. A linkage may be provided to the institution's user records system to ensure that the persons using the facility are tracked in a similar manner as a bank tracks its user through KYC process. This ensures that the locking device (17) is not used for illegal purposes. An optional visual tracking mechanism allows the user to view the contents of their locking device (17) which gives them additional comfort regarding the safety of their valuables in the locking device (17). A peripheral surveillance system with internal power backup and wireless internet connectivity is capable of alerting a central, monitoring station if any distress (vibration, heat from blow-torch, hammer impact etc.) is detected on or around the kiosk.
Further, in a preferred embodiment, the system merges enterprise applications such as CRM, loan management systems etc. with IOT based secured and integrated locking device to provide kiosk type facilities for authorized storage and retrieval of valuables. This enables institutions to provide such services to their users.
FIG. 1 illustrates the locking device (17) box design with all the features and components depicted. The design principle used in the locking device (17) is to make a modular hardware that is customized using a software to control locker access. The modular hardware is arranged in any combination to be re-purposed for different needs. The software changes the access and monitoring mechanism for various use cases. The locking device (17) design is like a PC with or without the Operating System (OS). By changing the software, the modular hardware plays different roles. It either works as a super-secure gold deposit requiring multiple key combinations from multiple stakeholders for access or it could be a simple single stakeholder based access.
Referring to the invention in more detail as shown in FIG. 1, the various parts of the locking device are disclosed below.
The locking device (17) electronics is controlled by a microcontroller based design (i.e.) motherboard which acts as the CPU. The motherboard is connected with a central command either directly or via an intermediary for information exchange. The communication with the

central command happens over any media (e.g. wired, wireless) and using any protocol (e.g. HTTP, CoAP). Thus, each locking device (17) is remotely monitored and controlled from a remote location at all times. Furthermore, each locking device (17) has the capability to create unique digital signature that cannot be copied or cloned. In that way, no one can generate electronic, signals to access the locking device (17).
Additionally, the locking device (17) hardware has a status display (18) at the front panel (1) that displays the status of the locking device (17) at all times. The status display (18) can be an LCD text/graphic display or a simple LED display with color indications. The kind of display is based on the given' use case. Moreover, the locking device (17) uses "Electromagnetic lock mechanism" to physically lock the safe. The electronic lock is opened or closed via software control present in the motherboard. The electronic lock supports both fail-secure and fail-safe design. It also have key override for maintenance and repair.
Preferably, the locking device (17) hardware is equipped with various sensors to assist in securing the valuables. It has vibration sensor to sense any unusual vibration in the locking device (17). If any case is detected, the CPU informs the central command about such suspicious activities on the locking device (17). Also, it has a door sensor to keep track on whether the door is opened or closed. The locking device (17) sends heartbeat messages at regular intervals, and the door status is communicated to the central command.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the locking device (17) also includes an audio device to give audio feedback to the agent managing the locking device (17). The audio device can be a simple buzzer (2) type device or could be a complex text-2-speech converter that finally outputs the audio indications via speech. The locking device (17) is equipped with a secure digital (SD) card for caching non-secure information. In addition, one or more cameras (14) are fitted on the top wall of the locking device (17). The camera (14) captures images of the artifacts stored in the locking device (17) and transmits to the central command or to the identified stakeholders. This provides visual indication to the stakeholders about the contents of the locking device (17).

In a detailed aspect of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the locking device (17) hardware further contains a storage compartment with a storage compartment base (10) to store the valuables, a storage compartment channel (11), a control board container (8), a flexible FRC cable (12) with a FRC connector socket (9), screws (16) to open the container from inside, a camera cable (15) to hold the camera (14) in the top ceiling, front panel (1) with a tactile switch (6), a spring (5) that pushes out on opening the door, a manual override keyhole (4), a notch (3) to be pulled with fingers, different colours of LED display and a buzzer hole (2).
Each locking device (17) is connected to the other locking device (17) and finally to the embedded PC. This connection can be a "Daisy Chain" mode connection or it can be a simple private intranet connection and further the connection can be of various means. The input to one locking device (17) is obtained from the previous locking device (17) and the output of the present locking device (17) is sent to the next locking device (17). The embedded PC controls a number of lockers and has communication interface units. The communication interface may be wired communication such as Ethernet or wireless communication, in which each communication interface in turn controls a specified number of locking devices (17) on each side. The number of locking devices (17) and their communication interface units vary depending upon the mode of connection used (i.e. "Daisy chain" mode or private intranet type connection etc. During opening of locking device (17), a considerable amount of current is needed. Every locking device (17) is provisioned with a security chip before its installation. During provisioning, a new security chip is installed and the older one is destroyed. Hence, the security chip must not be hard-soldered and must sit on a breakout so that it can be replaced easily.
The front panel (1) is housed only with sensors, actuators and indicators. The front panel (1) is housed inside the container which is located behind the Storage compartment face and controlled by the controller board which is located at the back panel (7) of the Storage compartment. It is only accessed from inside like the back side controller. Front panel (l).is connected with the back panel (7) via FRC cable (12). The front panel (1) also has a door ajar tactile switch (9) which is located between the frame and the front face and a buzzer (2) /speaker to alert the central monitoring station.

Thus the present invention provides a low-cost design that has maximum effective re¬usability. The modular hardware is adopted for different scenarios by simply changing the software. The locking device (17) has multiple safeguard features instead of a set of physical keys. It is also integrated with different kinds of key mechanism like, for example, SMS and fingerprint based authentication. This IOT based locking devices (17) account for remote monitoring and at all points of time, the locking device (17) status is available remotely. Multiple locking devices (17) are stacked together to create a large scale unit. This invention is used in a variety of applications including customizing access mechanism from low—--security (keeping bags at malls) to very high security (storing gold in hospital kiosks) and from personal home use to banking class use.

WE CLAIM:
1. A re-usable internet based locking device (17) utilizing electronic keys for providing
authorized storage and retrieval of valuables, comprising:
(a) a front panel (1) in said locking device (17), wherein said front panel (1) comprises a status display (18) to display the status of said locking device (17); an audio device to output audio feedback to an agent; a notch (3) to be pulled a manual override keyhole (4); a spring (5) which pushes out on opening said locking device (17); a door ajar tactile switch (6);
(b) a back panel (7), wherein said back panel (7) comprises a control board container (8); a motherboard for commanding and controlling the status of connected peripherals in said locking device (17); a FRC connector socket (9) to connect a FRC cable (12); a secure digital card to cache the non-secure information;
(c) a storage compartment to hold said valuables, wherein said storage compartment comprises a storage compartment base (10); a storage compartment channel (11); and said flexible FRC cable (12) to extend/contract when said storage compartment is opened/closed;
(d) a vibration sensor to sense unusual vibration in said locking device (17), wherein said sensor informs the CPU about a suspicious activity on said locking device (17);
(e) a door sensor to sense whether the door is opened or closed, wherein said door sensor status communicates to a central command;
(f) an electronic lock (13) based on electromagnetic lock mechanism to lock the safe wherein said lock is operated by the software control present in said motherboard;
(g) a camera (14) to capture images of the artifacts stored in said locking device (17) to provide visual indication to stakeholder, wherein said camera (14) is fitted to a camera cable (15) on top of the ceiling of said locking device (17);
h) a microcontroller provided for controlling said locking device (17).
2, The system according to claim 01, wherein said front panel (1) is connected with said
back panel (7) through said FRC cable (12).

3.. The system according to claim 01, wherein said system includes an optional visual tracking mechanism to view the contents of said locking device (17).
4. The system according to claim 01, wherein said system includes a peripheral surveillance system to alert central monitoring station in case of distress detected on or around said locking device (17).