EP0331654A2

EP0331654A2 - A peripheral unit for access control and remote-control integrated system

Info

Publication number: EP0331654A2
Application number: EP89830092A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Maurizio Polselli
Original assignee: EMMEPI LA SICUREZZA PROIBITA Srl
Current assignee: EMMEPI LA SICUREZZA PROIBITA Srl
Priority date: 1988-03-04
Filing date: 1989-03-03
Publication date: 1989-09-06
Also published as: EP0331654A3; IT8847694A0; IT1219481B

Abstract

An integrated and modular remote-control system is disclosed, essentially constituted of a particular peripheral unit for access control.

It is possible to associate to this peripheral unit an external control unit which, possibly, allows a plurality of peripheral access control units to be connected into a single local network controlled by said control unit; moreover it is possible to set up more complex structures by connecting said peripheral access control units (directly) and/or said control units (and the peripheral unit thereby controlled) into further local and/or wide-area networks.

Description

The present invention relates to remote-control apparatus for the remote and local control of: access-control systems; burglar alarms; closed-circuit television systems; fire-fighting systems; integrated systens for building automation.
The remote-control access systems are usually used for limiting the needs of surveillance personnel, in areas or places subjected to the risk of:
- unauthorized access;
- intrusion;
- fire / flooding;
- breakdown of technological plants (air conditioning; fluid flow management; industrial processes; etc.) installed within said areas/places;
shifting the burden of the control to one or more supervision points where the operation information is concentrated, information that comes from the controlled places/areas and from which actuation commands may be issued directed towards said places/areas.
Since a place or a certain area of a place is generally provided with one (or more) access doors, the idea that characterizes the invention is that of centralizing on the same access point a plurality of suitably integrated devices which, besides providing the access control function, allow the connection and consequently the control of all the plants therein contained.
The major limitation of the known systems consists in that, when setting up a system, one is compelled to use different self-contained (or purpose-built) apparatus, installing and connecting them to each other in a suitable way.
In connection with the access-control function, for instance, it is necessary,in order to control an access opening, to provide for the following works:

a) the installation of an electric lock on the door providing for the modification of the housing of the same;
b) the installation of a power supply for such electric lock, laying down the electric power supply line;
c) the installation of one or two magnetic badge readers laying down suitable electric lines for power and signals;
d) the installation of sensors, on the door, capable of detecting possible unauthorized openings of the same, laying down the suitable lines for electric power and signals;
e) the installation (if needed) of one or two television cameras, for viewing the internal/external zones facing the access opening, laying down the suitable electric lines for power and signals;
f) the installation (if needed) of one or two intercoms, which allow a two-way conversation with those who, not being in possession of a magnetic badge, want to go through: laying down the suitable lines for electric power and signals;
g) the installation of control units for the badge readers, the television cameras and the intercoms;
h) the realization of the connections between all the above disclosed elements;
all this to comply, exclusively, with the access control function.

From this results the heavy burden of the installation and modification work.
The present invention is therefore directed to overcoming said inconveniences by providing integrated apparatus, flexible in use and of modular construction, which satisfies the primary characteristics of ease/cheapness of installation.
Consequently, an object of the present invention is a peripheral unit for access control for allowing the opening of an access door to restricted environments, characterized by comprising in combination: electronic control means; a first semaphore circuit electrically connected and servoed to said control means; an electric lock electrically connected and servoed to said control means; a door status sensor electrically connected and servoed to said control means; a lock status sensor electrically connected and servoed to said control means; a vibration sensor electrically connected and servoed to said control means, said first semaphore circuit, said electric lock and said sensors being assembled in a first half-frame of said door; a second semaphore circuit electrically connected and servoed to said control means, said second semaphore circuit being assembled in a second half-frame arranged on the other side of said door, the half-frames being rendered mechanically integral to each other and to said door by means of threaded tie bars, so that said control means control: through said electric lock the opening and closing of said door; by means of said semaphore circuits the flow of pedestrians in entry/exit through said door; and communicate the status of said door to said traffic of pedestrians by means of said semaphore means.
It is a further object of the present invention a remote control system utilizing a control unit that can be connected (by means of a serial connection or a local network) to either one or several of said peripheral units able to handle them at the same time.
The present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is an exploded schematical view of the peripheral unit making part of the control system according to the present invention;
figure 2 is a block diagram relating to said peripheral control unit;
figure 3 is an exploded schematical view of the control unit making part of the system according to the present invention;
figure 4 is an exemplary embodiment of the access control system according to the present invention, arranged as a network; and
figure 5 is an exemplary flow-chart of a possible routine implemented in the microprocessor included in said control unit.

With reference to figure 1, now the peripheral access control unit according to the present invention will be disclosed. The peripheral unit is represented in figure 1 as a perspective exploded view in order to clarify the assembly of the several parts.
The main chassis 8 is embodied as a metal container (realized with heavy gauge steel sheet) suitable for housing the electronic components and for providing a sufficient mechanical strength in order to protect them. As it can be derived from figure 1, the peripheral unit comprises basically two half-frames exactly mirror-like one with respect to the other; by means of the backplate 10 and the bolts or threaded tie bars 9 the two parts are rendered integral one with the other and with the door or gate to which they are fastened. The threaded tie bars 9 are anchored with suitable bolts fastened to the internal side of the chassis 8. This particular arrangement of the peripheral unit allows its installation on any kind of door, gate or the like by simply eliminating the existing lock and substituting it with this one. The chassis 8 is closed with the front panel 7 which includes the semaphore circuit 6 which displays visually the status of the door by means of three indicator lights of "stop" 61, "walk" 62 and "out of order" 3, and is further provided with two definable function keys 64, 65, which can be used as service functions, a masked function key 66 and possibly a 16-keys keyboard 67 and/or a visual display 68. In the interior of the peripheral unit are located the main board 2, an optional storage battery 3, the two micro-TV-cameras 4, the electric lock 5 and the two badge readers 12.
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the board 2 and its principal connections with the external components. The inputs to the main board 2 are provided by the keyboard 67, the badge readers 12, the sensors 51, 52, the micro-TV-cameras 4 and by the intercom 18. Further inputs may be derived from external transmission lines, as will be disclosed in more detail and from further elements connected externally to the peripheral control unit.
In its turn, the main board is able to drive the electric lock 5, the semaphore circuit 6, the micro-TV-cameras 4, the badge readers 12, the display 68 and to "talk" over transmission lines with external control units and the further add-on units for the peripheral unit.
The main board 2 comprises essentially a microprocessor 21, an array of connectors (schematically shown in 211) which allow the interconnection with elements external to the peripheral unit, a DC/DC converter 23, a regulator 22 of voltage and current, an inertial sensor 24, an amplifying and equalizing circuit 25, a control circuit for the sensors 51, 52 which, as it will be explained hereinafter in detail, are included in the electric lock 5, a drive circuit 28 for the display keyboard 67, and the visual display 68, and a power drive circuit 29 for the electric lock 5.
The main board is supplied with electric power from the exterior by an independent line or by the control unit, as it will be explained hereinafter.
The DC/DC converter circuit 23 serves the purpose of taking the supplied voltage to convert it to 5 volts, a voltage necessary for supplying all the circuitry (schematically shown in the dashed part of figure 2), which is eventually realized in C-MOS technology.
The voltage and current regulator 22, is used for recharging the storage battery 3 (if present) and provides for the supply of two voltages: the first at 13,8 volts, fixed, towards the DC/DC converter 23, and the other at variable current and voltage towards the storage battery 3. The inertial sensor 24 is provided for sensing vibrations impressed externally to the peripheral unit and to tranfer them to its driver 241. The latter analyzes these signals and by means of a suitable algorithm establishes whether these are caused by attempts at illegal effraction, for which the event must or must not be signalled to the microprocessor 21.
The amplification and equalization circuit 25 controls the two loudspeakers and two microphones which constitute the intercom 18. The control circuit 26 for the sensor of the status of the door and of the lock sends, inductively, to the sensor 51, installed in the fixed part of the door frame and actually contained in the abutting mechanical part of the electric lock 5, a random sequence of pulses; the sensor 51 is then controlled by the circuit 26 arranged in AND with the lock status sensor 52; the sensor 51 will react in a predetermined way to said series of pulses and if this does not occur or if this occurs in a non-coherent manner, the control circuit 26 will produce an "open door" signalling towards the microprocessor 21. The drive circuit 28 for the keyboard 67 and the visual display 68 is necessary for interfacing these devices with the microprocessor 21; this is realized as a standard input/output driver, provided with a buffer for characters and with an interrupt generator for signalling to the microprocessor 21 the presence of characters in the buffer. The power driver 29 for the electric lock limits the lock-unlocking commands to the electric lock to a maximum time of 100 milliseconds, and anyhow, as soon as the circuit detects the status variation as occurred by sensors 51-52, it interrupts the command (this is necessary owing to the high power drawn by this circuit).
If within the 100 milliseconds time interval the sensors 51-52 have not detected a change of status the driver 29 performs a re-try for three times, and therafter it produces towards the microprocessor 21 a faulty lock signal. A second power driver could be connected to this driver for particular applications such as "double interlocked door" arrangements, for controlling sequentially the two commands to a double door passage (as in banks or the like). The needed modifications would be obvious and therefore will not be described.
The semaphore circuit 6 is constituted by a standard semaphore circuit including: a high-intensity LED for the semaphore-signalling of the three keys 61-53, a loudspeaker 69, a microphone unit 691, a keyboard 67, an optional alphanumeric visual display 68, three function keys 64-66. By means of these devices, it is possible, for instance, to see the consent to enter ("walk" indicator light), to see a faulty operation ("out of order" indicator light), to make a call, communicate by voice, etc. The visual display 68, if provided, is protected by a thick plate glass against vandalism.
The micro-TV-cameras 4 located at the interior of the peripheral unit are either micro-TV-cameras of the Vidicon type or the like, or of the solid state type which are supplied directly by the main board. The micro-TV-cameras are normally supplied with reduced voltages in order to increase the average life of the pick-up tube, and are activated upon a manual command from a remote station or, if this does not exist, by actuating the call push-button on the peripheral station or according to a predetermined cyclic sequence. The board is utilized as a control in respect of the power supply and for selecting which micro-TV-camera should supply the image to the monitor through the video matrixes 242. The amplifier 25 for the intercom 18 is located within the peripheral unit in order to allow one to communicate with the surveillance post; moreover, thanks to the particular mirror-like arrangement of the peripheral station it is possible to enable the interior/exterior communication, by shifting all the burden of control onto the microprocessor 21 resident on the main board 2. The electric lock 5 is a normal safety electric lock designed in order to guarantee safety in respect of effraction; in the preferred embodiment, a lock has been selected which guarantees strength to applied push forces higher than 1000 Kg.
It is to be understood that in place of two TV cameras, a single camera might be provided with optical means whereby said single TV camera can see the internal and external sides of the door. Conveniently said optical means could comprise an optical fiber "T" system.
The lock 5 has been modified by installing at its interior the sensors 51-52, which allow the determination of the status of the lock and of the door. The badge reader 12 is a standard reader connected to the main board 2. The reader is able to read the contents of the inserted badge and to transmit said contents to the main board 2. The main board by means of a serial communication channel informs the possible control unit and this latter checks the contents, verifies whether or not the corresponding code is inserted in the memory and in the affirmative case, having performed a number of verifications, unlocks the electric lock 5. The communication between the reader 12 and the main board 2 may be set either in interrupt mode (i.e. whenever a badge is inserted into the reader this latter informs immediately through the main board the control unit) or in polling mode (the reader awaits an interrogation in order to inform the control unit of the present status and of a possibily inserted badge).
In figure 3 is shown in a manner similar to that of figure 2, the control unit UC. The control unit UC is housed within a chassis 8′ and essentially contains at its interior a power supply board 1, a storage battery 3′ and possibly a control board 13.
The capacity of the storage battery 3′ must be selected as a function of the support times that have to be maintained; presently storage batteries are commercially available having a capacity of 24 Ampere/hour that are capable of supporting up to 32 hours of independence from the mains supply. Thus, the above described peripheral unit operates entirely as a self-contained unit apart from the needs of power supply that have to be provided from the exterior. If the DC current supply at 13,8 Volts is not present, this control unit UC may be still utilized simply as a power supply unit by utilizing the power supply 1 therein contained. It is to be understood that this unit may operate as a console of the peripheral unit by inserting the board 13; moreover the peripheral unit may be directly connected to the control unit UC in a standard way by means of a serial interface.
On the control unit UC are provided as optional elements a keyboard 14, a visual display 15 and a printer 16. The control board 13 allows through an external controller the drive of a LAN where it is possible to connect in loop up to 256 peripheral units and/or specialized interface circuits. Said board is realized with a 8 bit microprocessor having a 64 Kbyte of RAM memory and two serial ports of which one is used for the connection to a local processor and the other for controlling, through a LAN controller, other peripheral units. A Modem board 19, of a commercial type, suitably preset and equipped, may be, obviously, inserted into the unit UC in one of the predisposed slots shown in figure 3.
The microprocessor present on the board 13 allows, when suitably programmed, to perform control operations more sophisticated than those of which the peripheral unit in stand-alone arrangement is capable. For instance it is possible to memorize locally a number of events (the number being clearly a function of how many information data are recorded and of the memory capacity), to control an appreciable local memory for badges, to handle differentiated access levels, to subordinate the access, besides to the read-out of the badges, to the introduction in the peripheral of a pass-word by means of the keyboard existing on said peripheral unit. Moreover, thanks to the possibility of managing a LAN controller, it can manage concurrently all the accesses to one or several floors.
It should be kept in mind, that in view of the fact that a standard local network is involved, it is possible to insert on said local network, by means of specialized interfaces, micro-TV-cameras, sensors or microphones suitably interfaced with the local network itself. In the case that the management unit is simply connected to a peripheral unit in order to increase its perfomance, said management unit may be directly interfaced with the peripheral unit.
The operation of the apparatus is managed at software level by a main program that performs essentially two tasks:

1) to activate in time sharing four concurrent procedures, managing their conflicts;
2) to manage in reading and writing four memory areas, two necessary for the event queues and two necessary for the set-up of the plant variables.

Each secondary process manages directly two memory areas for the event queues and it has clearly available other memory areas for the local process variables. The main process intercepts directly the hardware-level interrupts and produces software interrupts with different priorities in respect of the four concurrent processes.
At a third level there are directly provided asynchronous processes that serve essentially to drive the single sensors, actuators, etc., in a suitable way; such a structure avoids that in presence of harware modifications it be necessary to re-write entirely the program and/or jeopardize the operation of the system.
Now the main process and the four concurring processes will be studied and described. The main process occurs in the writing and reading the four main memory areas, that contain, respectively:
- the arrangement of the sensors and of the actuators;
- the badge codes and parameters;
- the queue of input events;
- the queue of output events.
This process communicates with the others by writing a message containing the priorities and the end user of the output queue and reading a message in the input queue and establishing its priority and sender. As a function of the collected message, its priority, its sender, etc., the process performs operations that consist in writing a message or in reading a message.
The procedure of the sensors-actuators manages directly the sensors and the actuators by means of two drivers, one for the position and command of the I/O devices and one for the serial management from/towards the LAN controller.
The process updates the current situation in a local memory area at any transaction and compares it with a normality situation contained in a suitable table. For each transaction this procedure drafts a message and sends it to the main process, which directs it to the procedures involved.
The operator procedure takes care of establishing the contact with the operator and manages the message tasks of the external commands. As before, said procedure handles the writing and reading operations, both in connection with time and situation conditions, in and from the display and keyboard, respectively.
The badge readers procedure handles the management of all the parameters detected from the badges on a certain reader for establishing the access permission. This is performed by means of a comparison against a local table of the data read and subsequently, if the reading is recognised, these data are sent to the main process for the actual congruence verification.
The communication procedure manages the continuous and constant talk with the network and the loop through the controller. Every time that the process receives a message from the main process, it interpretes said message, and places the same in the input queue of the driver of the device involved. As a matter of fact the information is both packet-coded and encrypted when sent and decoded and decrypted upon arrival.
As it will now be understood, the modularity of the system easily allows the creation of sophisticated access control structures through local networks and wide-area networks.
The exemplary arrangement of figure 4 comprises 16 peripheral units that can be controlled at the first concentration level for each unit, that become 256 at the second, 4096 at the third and 65536 at the fourth. As it can be remarked, the peripheral units are connected in groups of sixteen to concentrators (control units) at the first level, which in their turn are connected in groups of sixteen to second concentrators at the second level. The control centers, indicated with IC in the figure, are associated to each concentrator and from any control center, owing to the above arrangement, it will be possible, for example:
- to perform the acquisition in real time of all the alarm signalling for faulty operation and for changes of status detected on the plant;
- to switch on and off the sensors of plants connected to the peripheral units;
- to insert and delete badge codes resident in the memory of the peripheral units;
- to enable the access to persons that are not in possession of a badge through voice and/or video identification.
The peripheral units inserted in this structure will be moreover guaranteed in the case of lack of mains power, and will guarantee, among others, the control of the local sensors and actuators for the opening and closing of the accesses.
As a further example now a flow chart will be given of a possible operative procedure for an access control realized in a wide-area network.
With reference to figure 5, and with the assumption of a building having an external boundary protected with a buried sensor cable and a protected gate, we will have the following:
The block 101 will effect the opening of the gate, will start a counter preset for X seconds, will light the semaphore signal bringing it to the "wait" position. The block 102 will send a prompt upon a detection of a signal coming from the buried cable and will start a second counter preset to Y seconds. The block 103 subsequently checks whether an overflow has occurred in the first counter; in this case the control is shifted to block 110 which produces an alarm signal. If this is not the case, the block 104 will subsequently check whether the badge is inserted; in the affirmative the subsequent block 105 will perform the reset of the counters, the switching of the semaphore signal from "wait" to "walk", and the switching off of the programmed sensors; the unlocking of the electric lock, upon the opening of the door it will start a third counter preset to Z seconds and will activate the intermittent sound of a buzzer. If this is not the case, the control is shifted to block 108 where a check is made as to whether an overflow has occurred in the second counter; in the affirmative the control is shifted to block 110 while in the converse the control is shifted to block 103.
The block 106 then checks whether the door is closed. In the affirmative, the control is shifted to block 107, while if this is not the case the control is shifted to block 109 where a check is made as to whether the third counter has gone into overflow. If the third counter has not gone into overflow, the control returns to block 109 while if this is not the case the control passes to block 110.
At the re-closing of the door, block 107 will perform a reset of the door-open-counter; will switch the semaphore signal to "surveilled place/area"; will disable the buzzer; will lock the lock; will inform the upper level that an access has occurred and the condition of "surveilled place/area". After this, the control returns in "wait" to block 100.
Consequently, in the case of overflow of the counters, cross-over of the sensor, insertion of an invalid badge, lack of entry after a marking, of door remained open, or of alarms issued by the sensors, i.e. signalling by a sensor pertaining to a group that has not been switched off, and obviously in the conditions of a failure in the connection line with the peripheral unit, an alarm condition will be activated on block 110.
Since the procedures here disclosed can be easily compiled, with the possible modifications that may be necessary, by a programmer having an average experience, a more detailed description will not be made.
The embodiment here described is given only as an example and should not be considered a limitation of the present invention.

Claims

1. A peripheral access control unit for allowing the opening of an access door to restricted environments, characterized in that it comprises in combination:
electronic control means;
a first semaphore circuit electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby;
an electric lock electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby;
a sensor for the status of said door electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby;
a vibration sensor electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby;
said first semaphore circuit, said electric lock and said sensors being assembled in a first half-frame fastened on one side of said door;
a second semaphore circuit electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby;
said second semaphore circuit being assembled in a second half-frames fastened on the other side of said door, said half frames being rendered mechanically integral with each-other and with said door by means of threaded tie bars, so that said control means manage:
through said electric lock the opening and the closing of said door; by means of said semaphore circuits the flow of pedestrians in entry/exit through said door; and communicate the status of said door and said pedestrian traffic by means of said semaphore signals.

2. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 1, characterized in further including in said external half-frame a first intercom circuit electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means manage said intercom circuit and render possible the performance of a voice verification of those requesting access.

3. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises a second intercom circuit in said internal half-frame electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means manage said intercom circuits and render possible the performance of voice verification of those requesting access.

4. An peripheral access control unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a magnetic badge reader in the external half-frame electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means unlock said lock only upon recognition of a valid badge.

5. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 4, characterized by further comprising a second magnetic badge reader located in said internal half-frame, electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means unlock said lock only if a valid badge is recognized.

6. An peripheral access control unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a television camera in the external half-frame, said television camera being electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means manage said television camera and render possible the visual control of those requesting access.

7. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 6, characterized in that it further comprises a second television camera in the internal half-frame electrically connected to said control means and controlled thereby, whereby said control means manage said television cameras and render possible the visual control of those requesting access.

8. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a single television camera located indifferently in one or the other of said half-frames and optical means connected to said television camera whereby said television camera sees both the internal side and the external side of said door.

9. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 8, wherein said optical means comprise an optical-fiber "T" system.

10. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said semaphore circuit further comprises a keyboard electrically connected to said control means for allowing the input of a secret code necessary for the opening of said door, and whereby said control means unlock said electric lock only upon recognition of said code.

11. An peripheral access control unit according to claim 10, characterized in that said semaphore circuit further comprises a visual display unit electrically connected to said control means, whereby said control means visualize the status of said door on said visual display.

12. A remote control system utilizing the peripheral access control unit according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an external management unit electrically connected to said peripheral unit, so that said peripheral unit is servoed to said management unit.

13. A remote control unit according to claim 12, characterized in that said peripheral unit is connected together with other peripheral units over a local area network (LAN) and that said local area network communicates with said management unit allowing said management unit to manage all the peripheral units.