1792 Lock & Key Technology is a joint Bill Courtney/Richard Klee invention.

Internet shopping was one of the big ideas during the dot com revolution.

The appeal is convenience; you order your goods over the internet and get them delivered to your door.

The trouble is, you have to hang around all day waiting for a delivery. So you just swap one form of hassle for another.

A number of different solutions to the problem have been proposed, none of which satisfy all customer needs. Our solution respects the need for diversity and free competition between players in the home delivery markets, but argues for standardisation in the design of the delivery labels attached to goods.

What we propose is a new type of lock and key technology, which converts any form of storage space, for example a large container or house porch, into a secure home delivery area. This will allow delivery companies to drop off goods at a time which suits them, with the customer opening their delivery box at their own convenience. The standardisation occurs because the key designed to open the locks also doubles up as a delivery label.

 Our new class of locks will allow delivery companies to have privileged access to a customer's secure storage area, while the customer is absent from home.

The trick is to use a disposable cardboard key which is destroyed as the lock is released.

1792 Technology will provide a flexible security system to satisfy a wide range of customers from technology freaks to technophobes.

The new class of 1792 Locks will range from sophisticated electronic locks linked to computers, down to basic mechanical locks, which can be installed and operated with a minimum of fuss. The new 1792 Keys will have a common template design, to fit all of the variations of 1792 Locks. As a bonus, opening the new locks will generate a mechanical substitute for the traditional signature on delivery.

1792 Technology - Fraudulent Keys

Simple mechanical versions of the lock could be set to open once only, before the customer removes their goods. So, if a thief breaks into the storage container using a copied key, they will find it empty.

Electronic versions of the lock, linked to home computers would be immune to the forgery problem, because the operating software could be designed to generate a fresh security number for each home delivery at the same address.

1792 Technology - Summary

1. 1792 Locks can be opened using a cardboard or plastic card key, which also doubles as a parcel address label.
2. 1792 Locks will seal storage containers of the customers choosing, ranging from secure porches to oversized postal delivery boxes.
3. 1792 Key templates will be customised to open customers locks, by punching holes in them. The position of the holes corresponds to a security number, revealed to the Internet trader by the customer, when placing an order.

4. The end of the 1792 Key which opens the lock is chopped off and drops inside the lock housing, as the lock is opened. It's a Use-Once-Only Key.
5. The stub of the 1792 Key is removed from the lock and retained by the delivery company. The stub has a new and different set of coded holes punched in it, by the action of opening the lock. These holes represent a signature for the lock and provide evidence of delivery.

Why is it called "1792 Technology"?

In 1792, an eminent French inventor by the name of Dr. Guillotine created an ingenious device, which caused heads to roll during the French Revolution. Our invention uses the same basic principle, but in a far more humane way.

1792 Technology - More Information

1. Courtney, W.A. and Klee, R.L. Patent GB 2358428, "Security Lock and Key".
   This can be accessed from the Patent Office web site at http://www.patent.gov.uk/search

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