# US 11,881,069 B2 · Security devices and methods for regulating access to items secured within

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- Number: US 11,881,069 B2
- Document ID: US11881069B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/073,850
- Filed: 2020-10-19
- Published: 2021-04-29
- Granted: 2024-01-23
- Earliest claimed: 2019-10-29
- Assignees: Vara Corporation
- Applicants: Vara Corporation
- Inventors: Jorel Lalicki; Austin Rivera; Timothy Oh; Christine Tate; Hao Chang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11881069B2

## CPC

- G07C 9/37: using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
- G06K 7/10366: {the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications}
- G06V 20/52: Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects (recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69)
- G07C 9/00309: {operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks}
- G07C 9/00563: {using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns}
- G07C 9/29: the pass containing active electronic elements, e.g. smartcards
- G16Y 10/75: Information technology; Communication
- G16Y 40/50: Safety; Security of things, users, data or systems
- G06V 40/12: Fingerprints or palmprints
- G06V 40/15: {Biometric patterns based on physiological signals, e.g. heartbeat, blood flow}
- G06V 40/166: {using acquisition arrangements}
- G06V 40/40: Spoof detection, e.g. liveness detection
- G06V 40/70: Multimodal biometrics, e.g. combining information from different biometric modalities
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- G06K: GRAPHICAL DATA READING (image or video recognition or understanding G06V); PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- G16Y: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS [IoT]

## Abstract

Security devices and methods for regulating access to an item secured within the security device are provided. In an example, the method includes: determining if a requesting user submitting a request to access the item is an authorized user; and in response to determining the requesting user is the authorized user, the method further includes one or more actions of: triggering a predefined wait period; allowing the requesting user access to the item and notifying at least one of a primary user, a designated user, or a third party service; or notifying the at least one of the primary user, the designated user, or the third party service that the requesting user is requesting access to the item, and receiving an approval or a denial of access to the item to the requesting user from at least one of the primary user, the designated user, or the third party service.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A security device comprising:
an enclosure including a cavity for storing a firearm therein;
a cover operably coupled to the enclosure and configured to block access to the cavity where the firearm is stored;
a locking mechanism coupled to the cover and the enclosure and configured to secure the cover to the enclosure;
an access authentication assembly included within and exposed on the enclosure, and configured to receive or provide authentication data for determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is an authorized user;
a device condition sensor configured to provide device condition data associated with at least one of the security device and an environment in proximity to the security device; and
a computing device operably coupled to the locking mechanism, the access authentication assembly, and the device condition sensor, and configured to regulate the security device between a locked configuration where access to the firearm is denied and an unlocked configuration where the firearm is accessible,
wherein in response to determining that the requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user, the computing device is configured to:
trigger a predefined wait period during which the access to the firearm is denied;
notify a pre-determined support group that the requesting user is requesting access to the firearm;
receive an approval or a denial feedback if the pre-determined support group approves or denies access to the firearm to the requesting user; and
in response to receiving the approval feedback, allow the requesting user access to the firearm,
wherein the pre-determined support group comprises a second user different from the requesting user.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the access authentication assembly is configured to receive or provide authentication data from both the requesting user and the authorized user for determining if the authentication data from the requesting user and the authentication data corresponding to the authorized user match.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the access authentication assembly includes a mechanical key, a keypad, a fingerprint scanner, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a device-to-device reader, a smartphone, a wearable device, a biometric reader, a face recognition device, a voice recognition device, a heartrate monitor, or any combination thereof.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the device condition sensor includes a global positioning system (GPS), a force device condition sensor, an accelerometer, a sound detection device condition sensor, a frequency detection sensor, a microphone, a camera, a speaker, or any combination thereof.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to determine, based on the device condition data, if the security device is tampered with while the security device is in the locked configuration.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes a processor configured to capture log data including one or more timestamped actions of locking, unlocking, accessing, or tampering with the security device, or any combination thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The security device of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined support group further comprises at least one of a primary user, a designated user, a third party service, a third party system, an emergency response unit, an internet-of-things (IoT) device, or any combination thereof, and wherein the primary user and the designated user are each different from the requesting user.

### Claim 8

A security device comprising:
an enclosure including a cavity for storing a firearm therein;
a cover operably coupled to the enclosure and configured to block access to the cavity where the firearm is stored;
a locking mechanism coupled to the cover and the enclosure and configured to secure the cover to the enclosure;
an access authentication assembly included within and exposed on the enclosure, and configured to receive or provide authentication data for determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is an authorized user;
a device condition sensor configured to provide device condition data associated with at least one of the security device and an environment in proximity to the security device; and
a computing device operably coupled to the locking mechanism, the access authentication assembly, and the device condition sensor, and configured to regulate the security device between a locked configuration where access to the firearm is denied and an unlocked configuration where the firearm is accessible,
wherein in response to determining that the requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user, the computing device is configured to trigger a predefined wait period during which the access to the firearm is denied, and
wherein the at least one of the computing device, the device condition sensor, or the access authentication assembly is configured to communicate to a pre-determined support group via the network and a control device operably coupled to the network and the pre-determined support group, the control device configured to perform actions of:
receiving a notification when the requesting user requests access to the firearm;
sending a feedback to the security device if the pre-determined support group approves or denies access to the firearm to the requesting user; and
changing a setting relating to access for the firearm for the requesting user.

### Claim 9

A method for regulating access to a firearm secured within a security device, the method comprising:
providing a security device comprising:
an enclosure including a cavity for storing a firearm therein,
a cover operably coupled to the enclosure and configured to block access to the cavity where the firearm is stored,
a locking mechanism coupled to the cover and the enclosure and configured to secure the cover to the enclosure,
an access authentication assembly included within and exposed on the enclosure, and configured to receive or provide authentication data for determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is an authorized user,
a device condition sensor configured to provide device condition data associated with at least one of the security device and an environment in proximity to the security device, and
a computing device operably coupled to the locking mechanism, the access authentication assembly, and the device condition sensor, and configured to regulate the security device between a locked configuration where access to the firearm is denied and an unlocked configuration where the firearm is accessible;
determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user; and
in response to determining the requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user, the method further includes:
triggering a predefined wait period during which the access to the firearm is denied;
notifying a pre-determined support group that the requesting user is requesting access to the firearm;
receiving an approval or a denial feedback if the pre-determined support group approves or denies access to the firearm to the requesting user; and
in response to receiving the approval feedback, allowing the requesting user access to the firearm,
wherein the pre-determined support group comprises a second user different from the requesting user.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising: in response to triggering the predefined wait period, allowing the requesting user access to the firearm at the expiration of the predefined wait period.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the predefined wait period is at least 5 minutes.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the pre-determined support group further includes at least one of a primary user, a designated user, a third party service, a third party system, an emergency response unit, an internet-of-things (IoT) device, or any combinations thereof, and wherein the primary user and the designated user are each different from the requesting user.

### Claim 13 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
in response to receiving the denial feedback, maintaining the security device in the locked configuration to prevent access to the firearm.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the approval or the denial feedback further includes receiving the approval or the denial feedback from a control device operably coupled to and in electronic communication with the security device.

### Claim 15 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
in response to determining that the requesting user requesting access to the firearm is not the authorized user, notifying the pre-determined support group that an unauthorized requesting user is requesting access to the firearm.

### Claim 16 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
in response to determining that the requesting user is not the authorized user, detecting at least one of tampering or movement of the security device based on a log data, the authentication data, a device condition data, or any combination thereof, wherein the log data and the device condition data are obtained by the security device, a device condition sensor, or both.

### Claim 17 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the determining if the requesting user is the authorized user further comprises determining if the authentication data collected from the requesting user and the authentication data corresponding to the authorized user match.

### Claim 18

A method for regulating access to a firearm secured within a security device, the method comprising:
providing a security device comprising:
an enclosure including a cavity for storing a firearm therein,
a cover operably coupled to the enclosure and configured to block access to the cavity where the firearm is stored,
a locking mechanism coupled to the cover and the enclosure and configured to secure the cover to the enclosure,
an access authentication assembly included within and exposed on the enclosure, and configured to receive or provide authentication data for determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is an authorized user,
a device condition sensor configured to provide device condition data associated with at least one of the security device and an environment in proximity to the security device, and
a computing device operably coupled to the locking mechanism, the access authentication assembly, and the device condition sensor, and configured to regulate the security device between a locked configuration where access to the firearm is denied and an unlocked configuration where the firearm is accessible;
determining if a requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user;
in response to determining the requesting user requesting access to the firearm is the authorized user, the method further includes:
triggering a predefined wait period during which the access to the firearm is denied,
notifying a pre-determined support group that the requesting user is requesting access to the firearm, and
receiving an approval or a denial feedback if the pre-determined support group approves or denies access to the firearm to the requesting user, wherein, in response to receiving the approval feedback, allowing the requesting user access to the firearm; and
in response to receiving a distress signal predefined to be indicative of an emergency, the method further includes:
activating one or more internet of things (IoT) devices in response to receiving the distress signal predefined to be indicative of the emergency,
notifying the pre-determined support group that the predefined distress signal is received,
receiving an indication from the pre-determined support group, whether the emergency exists, and
in response to receiving an indication that the emergency exists, notifying an emergency response unit.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, further comprising:
subsequent to notifying the emergency response unit and in response to determining the requesting user is the authorized user, allowing access to the firearm.