Puzzle box method, system, and computer program product

摘要

A box contains a motorized latch for locking the lid of the box and a GPS device for determining a geo-location. The box also contains an electronic controller, which is programmed with a predetermined geo-location and is programmed for driving the latch and a display. The controller is programmed to cause the display to show distances to the predetermined geo-location in response to actuations of a push button mounted on the box. The controller is also responsive to respective current locations. The controller is programmed to disengage the latch If a distance indicated by the GPS device to the predetermined geo-location is less than a predetermined distance, revealing whatever treasures have been hidden inside the box.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a user, a physical object locked inside a box and having a predetermined association with the user; sending, by an electronic controller, an unlock signal to a latch operator of the box, the unlock signal causing the latch operator to unlock the box, allowing the box to be opened to reveal the physical object inside the box; reading, by the electronic controller, instances of current geo-location of the box and date from a GPS device; determining, by the electronic controller for respective instances of actuation of an input device, respective current distances from the respective current geo-locations to a target geo-location stored in a memory for the electronic controller, the target geo-location having a predetermined association with the user and a predetermined association with the physical object; presenting a message indicating where the box will unlock in response to the input device actuations, wherein the electronic controller does NOT send the unlock signal to the latch operator responsive to the input device actuation when a current distance is greater than a predetermined threshold distance; sending the unlock signal to the latch operator for unlocking the box to reveal the physical object inside the box responsive to actuation of the input device when the current distance is NOT greater than the predetermined threshold distance; powering the electronic controller and said GPS device by a battery; storing in the memory each instance of the current geo-location and date read from the GPS device; and shutting down the electronic controller and GPS device a predetermined time after actuation of the input device, such that a date for each instance of input device actuation is captured in the memory without maintaining continuous operation of a clock and charge of the battery is preserved, thereby extending a period during which the electronic controller and GPS device are used for intermittently attempting to find the target geo-location while concurrently enabling the storing of geo-location, and date for instances of an attempt to reveal the physical object inside the box by actuating the input device at a geo-location that is potentially the target geo-location.