FR2624181A1 - IMPROVEMENTS TO COMMAND AND CONTROL FACILITIES OF THE DIFFERENT LOCKED LOCKS OF AN ASSEMBLY - Google Patents

Abstract

It is an installation for command and control of the various coded electric locks 2 fitted to the doors 1 of a hotel, comprising a central unit 8 and, on each door, an integrated block 11 comprising, in addition to the lock itself, a processor and a reader 3 suitable for identifying the codes of the coded keys 4 which are presented to it. This installation also comprises, near each block 11, an intermediate "beacon" 12 connected to the central unit and, in the various blocks and beacons, means for establishing exclusively by radio 13 the connections between these blocks and beacons .

Description

Improvements to control and monitoring installations

  control of the different coded locks of a set.

  The invention relates to installations for

  command and control of the different coded locks of a set comprising a relatively high number of such locks, this number preferably being greater

to 50 and even to 100.

  It relates more particularly to the case where each coded lock equips a door capable of controlling access and is electrically actuable using a coded key corresponding to the code of the lock, said key preferably being made up, but

  not necessarily, by a magnetic card.

  Preferred, but not exclusive, modes of application of such an installation are the equipment of hotels comprising a large number of rooms or that of professional premises comprising a

large number of offices.

  It is known to provide in such installations

tions:

  - on the one hand, a central monitoring,

  control and management connected by wire to each of the port-

  tes, - and on the other hand, on each door or close to it, in addition to the electric lock itself, comprising its locking element and the electric control member of this element, a processor and a device capable of identifying the codes of the keys presented to it, said device being in particular a

  card reader, which is why it will be

  hindered by the word 'reader' in the following.

  It is the processor of each door that is re-

  linked by wire the central unit and this processor is itself

  even connected by wire to the door lock and reader

corresponding to you.

  The wiring required to achieve these diff-

  ferent wire links are often complex and they

  sometimes pose very delicate problems, in particular

  tying when the door jambs to be fitted have already been installed previously or are not designed to receive such wires: putting them in a position that is both protected and invisible from the outside implies at least partial destruction of these jambs, which can constitute in some

case a prohibitive obstacle.

  Admittedly, it has already been proposed, to reduce the number of connecting wires, to group together into integrated blocks all of the electrical control circuits.

  and control associated with each lock.

  But there is always at least one thread to re-

  link each of these blocks to the central unit so that the problem mentioned above, of the establishment of

  son, is not resolved.

  The object of the invention is, above all, to remedy

such a drawback.

  To this end, installations of the kind in question

  tion according to the invention further comprise an integrated block

  of the above kind associated with each lock and they

  are essentially characterized in that they

  carry in addition: - near each block, an intermediate member - called 'beacon' below - connected to the central unit and suitable for interrogating and controlling said block by radio,

  - and, in this block, means for receiving and operating

  ter electromagnetic signals from said

  beacon and to send electrical signals to it

information tromagnetics.

  In preferred embodiments, it has been shown

  in addition to one and / or the other of the following provisions: - the connection between the central unit of the installation and at least some of the beacons - is carried out by

over the air, -

  - the installation considered is used to manage the locks of the rooms of a hotel and the various tags are housed in the technical ducts serving these rooms,

  - each integrated unit is powered by an electric battery

  that and is arranged so as to be able to be put, outside of his periods of work, in a state of "sleep"

  for which its electrical consumption is neglected-

  ble, this block comprising for this purpose a circuit for

  standby with low power consumption, the only one kept in permanent standby and capable of activating the entire unit momentarily upon receipt of an appropriate wake-up signal, - each beacon includes a circuit capable of differing

  a predetermined delay in the execution of orders that it-

  receives it from the central unit, the delays affected

  respectively to the different tags being different-

  each other, - the same tag is used to manage several locks of the installation.

  The invention comprises, apart from these arrangements

  main provisions, certain other provisions which are preferably used at the same time and which will be

  more explicitly question below.

  In the following, we will describe several mo-

  of the invention with reference to the

  sin appended hereto of course in a nonlimiting manner.

  Figure 1, of this drawing, shows schematically-

  a known command and control installation

  locks equipping the rooms of a hotel.

  Figure 2 shows, similarly to Figure 1, an installation of the same kind as the previous one, but

  established in accordance with the invention.

2,624181

  FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a va-

  laughing also in accordance with the invention of a portion

of such an installation.

  The known installation shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 comprises:

  - a plurality of doors 1 each serving a room

  hotel bre and each comprising a lock 2 with coded electrical control, - a reader 3 mounted near each lock 2, generally on the corresponding door 1 or on the door frame, reader capable of identifying

  the codes carried by appropriate keys, in particular keys

  consisting of magnetic cards 4, - a processor 5 associated with each lock 2 and its reader 3 and connected respectively to these two devices by connection wires 6 and 7, - and a central unit 8 disposed at the reception of

  the hotel and connected by 9 wires to the different pro-

arresters 5.

  The central unit 8 and the processors 5 are arranged so as to manage the command and control of the various locks 2 in association with the keys

  coded 4, as well as well known in hotels.

  In particular: - each key 4 is distributed to the user of a room for a well-defined limited period and is used for the exclusive opening of lock 2 of this room during said period, the selective invalidation of the codes of the locks can be controlled remotely from the central unit 8, - all useful information relating to the open or closed state of each door 1 and to the locked or unlocked state of each lock 2 is collected at

  central unit 8 where they can be displayed.

  In known embodiments of the kind indicated, the processors 5 can be housed in the technical sheaths 10 which serve the different rooms and

  which contain in particular the call, tele-

  phone, power supply, ... of these rooms.

  Realizations of such installations have been

  described in French patent No. 2,556,764 of the applications

  generally satisfactory.

  But, as indicated above, the need to use connection wires 6,7 to connect each processor 5 to the corresponding devices 2 and 3 poses

  sometimes difficult problems to solve.

  The installation according to the invention shown diagrammatically on

  Figure 2 eliminates this drawback.

  We find in this installation the rooms

  1 fitted with locks 2 and 3 card readers 3

  dice 4, as well as the central unit 8 and the wires 9 which

serve her.

  But here: - each lock 2 and the reader 3 associated with it are grouped together in an integrated block 11 which contains in

  in addition to the circuits previously composing the process

  sor 5 and which is arranged so as to be able to transmit and receive signals over the air, - said processor 5 is itself replaced by a small

  intermediate body 12 - called 'beacon below -

  connected to central unit 8 and connected to block 11 exclu-

  over the air, that is, wirelessly.

  More precisely, each beacon is arranged so that it can transmit over the air to the associated block 11 the orders it receives from the central unit

  and to receive by the same channel of said block 11 the information

  messages or responses from it.

  The two-way radio link which is

  thus established between each block 11 and the tag 12 cor-

  respondante has been symbolized in the drawing by the arrows

broken frames 13.

  The frequencies used for this radio link are generally contained in the band

between 27 and 145 MHz.

  These are now the tags 12 which are lo-

  in the technical sheath 10, which is easier

  given the reduced dimensions of said tags.

  Due to the immaterial nature of the radio link 13 made between the beacons and the blocks, all the drawbacks are automatically eliminated here

  inherent in the assembly of the connection wires of the realizations

previously known.

  In particular there is no longer any need to at least partially destroy the existing door jambs to mount such wires, which in particular

  makes possible, or at least simplifies considerably-

  application of the installation in question to

existing hotels.

  The tags 12 can be arranged more

different ways.

  This is how each tag can; itself include a relatively reduced memory, containing in particular its own address, and be arranged so as to transmit instantaneously or almost instantaneously, on the one hand to the associated block 11 the instructions which it receives from the central unit 8, and on the other hand towards the central unit 8 the information in response

which it receives from block 11.

  Each tag can also include a

  larger memory likely to save provi-

  evening the information received from the associated block to deliver it to the central unit only in response to

  an appropriate query from it.

  Of course the absence of any wired connection from block 11 prohibits normal supply

of it by the sector.

  This block 11 must therefore be powered by a battery and its electrical consumption should be reduced as much as possible.

  To this end, in a preferred embodiment

  geux, it is made to include two portions, namely: - a main portion, comprising the various

  work cooked - intended respectively for the identi-

  fication of the codes, the operation of the lock, 'to

  the transmission of position messages, ...-- and suscep-

  tible to be put at will in a normal waking or working state and in a sleeping or resting state

  corresponding to negligible current consumption

corn,

  - and an auxiliary portion, or "sentinel", of consumption

  extremely weak electrical power, which remains

  only permanently in the waking state and which is sus-

  ceptible, as soon as it is excited by an electric signal

  appropriate tromagnetic from tag 12, to "wake up" the main portion for a period which

  may itself be time-limited.

  If several blocks 11 are relatively close to each other, it can be envisaged that the same tag

  12 is associated simultaneously with these different blocks.

  This is for example the case, which has been schematized

  in Figure 3, o the corresponding locks equi-

  two doors 1 practically contiguous.

  In such a case, of course, each of the messa-

  electromagnetic signals exchanged between the common beacon 12 and the corresponding blocks 11 must include a distinctive coding element making it possible to identify the

block concerned.

  In Figure 3, the broken arrows 13 in ti-

  rets mean that tag 12 is common not only-

  ment to the two contiguous blocks 11, but to four blocks, namely the two so-called contiguous blocks and in addition the blocks equipping the doors of two rooms located opposite the two doors 1 above, on the other side of the

  corridor 14, of the hotel, which serves all the qua-

be concerned rooms.

  In installations of the kind under consideration,

  is sometimes useful to be able to transmit from the u

  nity of the signals applicable to all of the

blocks 1.

  This is for example the case for time changes, or for certain invalidation orders

of coded keys.

  In previously known wire-operated installations, instructions of this type may

  put master codes in order and be executed

  simultaneously received by all receivers.

  In the present case, the simultaneous transmission of all the corresponding instruction signals transmitted by radio (arrows 13) may result in

interference of said signals.

  To avoid this inconvenience, use is made before

  taggingly in the following provision.

  If i denotes the rank of any given beacon 12i of the installation, the effective transmission, to the corresponding block 11i, of each message received by this beacon of the central unit is made to differ by a time ti 8, the times ti differing from one tag to another: these times can for example be equal to 10 ms respectively for the tag

  of rank 1, at 20 ms for the rank 2 beacon, etc ...

  We take care at the same time as the duration of each

  that transmission remains below the deviations included

  between successive issues to avoid overlapping

  chements. Thus the electromagnetic space is occupied at each instant only by the waves corresponding to one

  only beacon-block broadcasts.

  This improvement consisting in differing selectively

  The sending of messages from a tag to a block can also be adopted with advantage at the level of tags 12 associated with several blocks 11, so as to separate in time, and therefore to better distinguish from each other, the exchanges carried out respectively between the tag considered and each of the blocks which

are associated.

  As a result of what, and whatever the mode of

  adopted implementation, we finally have an installation

  Coded locks command and control lation

  multiples of which the constitution and the resulting advantages

  try enough of the above.

  As it goes without saying, and as it results from

  their already from the above, the invention is not limited

  by no means to those of set application and implementation modes

  which have been more specifically contemplated; she in

  embraces, on the contrary, all variants, notably

is lying:

  - those where only some of the locks of the ins-

  tallation would be fitted with beacons suitable for wireless communications of the kind described above, the other locks remaining fitted with hardware-wire assemblies of the kind described with reference to FIG. 1,

  - and those where at least some of the wires 9 connecting the

  central nity 8 with tags 12 would themselves be sup-

  awarded and replaced by radio links.

Claims (7)

  1. Installation of command and control of   different coded locks of a set, each ser-   coded code (2) fitted to a door (1) suitable for controlling access and being electrically actuable using a key (4) coded in correspondence with the code of the lock, comprising on the one hand a central unit ( 8) monitoring, control and management connected to each of the doors (1) and on the other hand, on each door, an integrated block (11) comprising, in addition to the lock itself, a processor and a reader (3) suitable for identifying the key codes presented to it, characterized in that it also comprises:   - near each block (11), an inter-   medium (12) connected to the central unit and suitable for interrogating and controlling said block over the air (13),   - and, in this block, means for receiving and operating   ter electromagnetic signals from said   beacon and to send electrical signals to it information tromagnetics.   2. Installation according to claim 1, charac-   characterized in that the connection between the central unit (8) of the installation and at least some of the tags (12) is performed over the air.   3. Installation according to any one of the pre-   cédentes claims, characterized in that it serves   to manage the locks (2) of the rooms of a hotel and in that the various tags (12) are housed in the   technical ducts (10) serving these rooms.   4. Installation according to any of the pre-   these claims, characterized in that each   integrated block (11) is powered by an electric battery and is arranged so that it can be put out of its   periods of work, in a state of "sleep" for the-   which its electrical consumption is negligible, this block comprising for this purpose a low-wake-up circuit   power consumption, only maintained in permanent standby   nent and able to temporarily activate the entire   block upon receipt of an appropriate wake-up signal.   5. Installation according to any one of the pre-   these claims, characterized in that each   beacon (12) comprises a circuit capable of differing by a predetermined delay the execution of the orders which it receives from the central unit (8), the delays assigned respectively to the different beacons being different one another.   6. Installation according to any one of the pre-   cédentes claims, characterized in that the same   tag (12) is used to manage several locks (2).   7. Installation according to claim 6, charac-   terized in that the beacon (12) associated with several blocks (11) comprises a circuit capable of differing from predetermined delays the execution of the orders which it receives from the central unit (8), the delays assigned respectively to the different blocks being different the each other.