GB2436907A

GB2436907A - Door entry system

Info

Publication number: GB2436907A
Application number: GB0606668A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kumar Varsani; Manu Varsani
Original assignee: SERVE IT SOLUTIONS Ltd I
Current assignee: SERVE IT SOLUTIONS Ltd I
Priority date: 2006-04-03
Filing date: 2006-04-03
Publication date: 2007-10-10
Also published as: GB0606668D0

Abstract

A door entry system for a building comprises a base station 12 which includes a radio communication link and at least one antenna 14 for location within the building. An entrance access terminal 10 is located by an entrance to the building, and at least one remote station 18 is located within a unit of the building to enable an occupant of the unit to communicate with a caller at the entrance access terminal by way of the radio communication link of the base station 12 and to release remotely a door lock 16 at the entrance of the building to admit an authorised caller into the building.

Description

2436907

- 1 -DOOR ENTRY SYSTEM

Field of the invention

5 The present invention relates to a door entry system for a building.

Background of the invention

10 It is common for buildings with shared occupancy to have a remotely controlled door entry system. This allows each unit occupant to admit his own callers while the common areas of the building remain secure. An intercom system at the entrance to the building allows a caller to identify 15 himself orally and/or visually to an occupant, who can then admit the caller into the building by operating a remotely controlled lock on the entrance door.

Because of bandwidth restrictions, there are only 20 certain radio frequencies that are available for public use and to avoid overcrowding of these frequencies the power of transmitters is limited. For this reason, door entry systems of this kind, especially in larger buildings, have hitherto needed to be hard wired because, it being difficult to set 25 up a wireless intercom system of sufficient power to communicate with all the occupants of the building.

Summary of the invention

30 According to the present invention, there is provided a door entry system for a building, comprising a base station which includes a radio communication link and at least one antenna for location within the building, an entrance access terminal for location by an entrance to the building, and at 35 least one remote station for location within a unit of the building to enable an occupant of the unit to communicate with a caller at the entrance access terminal by way of the

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radio communication link of the base station and to release remotely a door lock at the entrance of the building to admit an authorised caller into the building.

5 The entrance access terminal may be physically located near the base station, in which case communication between the base station and the entrance access terminal may be by way of a wired connection. It is however alternatively possible for the base station and the entrance access 10 terminal to communicate with one another by way of the radio link.

The invention overcomes the problems of setting up radio communication between a caller and a unit occupant by 15 deploying a radio link within the building and providing antennae that extend throughout the building. Each remote station need only therefore have sufficient power to transmit and receive from a nearby antenna, which allows the entire door entry system to operate without interfering 20 with, nor interference from, other radio communication systems in the vicinity.

The antenna may comprise a single antenna extending over the full height of the building. If the building has an 25 elevator or service shaft, this would be a convenient location for installing the antenna. It is however alternatively possible, to provide separate antennae in different floors or wings of a building, in which case booster amplifiers or relays may be provided for some of the 30 antennae.

The antenna may comprise a radiating cable, for example an RMC 12 cable as Kabelwerk Eupen AG. A radiating cable is essential a coaxial cable in which the outer conductor is 35 formed with slots to allow a controlled proportion of the RF energy carried by the cable to be radiated into the surrounding environment. In an analogous way, a signal

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transmitted near the cable will couple into the slots and be carried along the length of the cable.

The entrance access terminal preferably comprises a 5 keypad to select the unit occupant from whom admission to the building is to be requested, and a microphone and loudspeaker to allow a caller to converse with a unit occupant.

10 Upon selection of a unit occupant, an encoded signal is conveniently transmitted by way of the antenna of the radio link of the base unit to be received by all the remote stations in the building. Upon receiving a predetermined code associated, each remote station will emit a sound to 15 alert the unit occupant of the presence of a caller at the entrance to the building.

Each remote station will typically comprise, in addition to the radio decoder and sound generator, a 20 microphone and speaker to allow the unit occupant to converse with a caller at the entrance access terminal, a button for remote opening of the door lock at the entrance of the building.

25 It is desirable for the entrance access terminal to comprise a camera and for each remote station to have a display device to enable a unit occupant to see callers.

It will be appreciated from this that the design and 30 function of the entrance access terminal and of the remote stations may be the same as those in current use, the essential difference being that communication between them takes place by way of a radio link rather than a wired link. This considerably simplifies installation and reduces the 35 cost of the door entry system without otherwise differing outwardly from the conventional systems.

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The radio frequency employed by the system may conveniently fall within the band normally used by cellular telephones. However, it will be appreciated that the choice of frequency, the methods of modulation of the RF signal and 5 of encoding the data transmitted by the radio link are not of fundamental importance to the invention. All these are known per se and need not be described in detail in the present context.

10 Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the single figure is a schematic diagram of a door 15 entry system of the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiment

The drawing shows a door entry system comprising an 20 entrance access terminal 10, a base station 12 connected to an antenna 14 constituted by a radiating cable, an electrically releasable door lock 16 and a plurality of remote stations 18.

25 The entrance access terminal 10 is located near an entrance to the building and has a keypad 104 for use by a caller to enter the number of building unit to which he requests admission. An LCD panel 102 displays instructions to the caller and a button 106 is pressed to initiate a 30 conversation with one of the remote stations. The terminal 10 also has a build-in loudspeaker 108 and microphone 110.

When the button 106 is pressed, the base station 12, which is connected by a wired link 11 to the terminal 10, 35 transmits over the antenna 14 a radio frequency signal carrying a code associated with only one of the remote stations 18 and thereafter acts as a relay station between

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the remote station 18 and the entrance access terminal 10. In this respect, the base unit 12 may be regarded as performing the same task as a cell of a cellular telephony network with each remote station acting as a cellular or 5 mobile phone.

In the illustrated embodiment, there is a wired link 11 connecting the base station 12 to the entrance access terminal 10 but that link may be replaced by a radio link.

10

On receipt of a radio signal from the antenna 14 each remote station 18 decodes the signal and if the code matches the code of the station then a sound is generated by the remote station 18 to alert the unit occupant of the presence 15 of a caller. The remote station 18 has a handset 182 with a microphone and earpiece and a button 184 which is depressed to accept a call and initiate a conversation with the caller at the entrance access terminal 10. The manually operated button 18 may be replaced by one that is operated 20 automatically as the handset 182 is removed from and replaced on the hook. After carrying out a two way conversation with the caller over the radio link, the unit occupant may actuate a button 186 to open the door and admit the caller into the building.

25

As illustrated, the door lock is released by a signal from the base station 12 and once again the connection with the door lock can be, as illustrate, by a wired link 15 or by way of a radio link. It is also alternatively possible 30 for the releasing of the door lock 16 to be performed by a signal emitted from the entrance access terminal 10 which is normally placed adjacent the door.

The remote stations 18 are also shown as having a 35 rotary control knob 183 to allow adjustment of the sound volume and an LED warning light to indicate when the entrance door is unlocked. These however are optional.

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A further option that may be incorporated in the system is to provide a camera in the entrance access terminal, the video image from which is shown on an LCD display in the remote stations. This will allow an unit occupant to see as 5 well as converse with any caller.

The antenna 14 and the base station 12 lie at the heart of the present invention as it is they that avoid the need for a wired connection between the terminal 10 and every one 10 of the remote stations 18. The positioning of the base station within the building is immaterial and for convenience it can be placed near the door entrance so that it is may be wire connected to the entrance access terminal 10. The antenna may be a single antenna which, for example, 15 is mounted in a service shaft or an elevator shaft to extend over the entire height of the building. If positioning such an antenna should present difficulty, for an example in a building having two or more wings, then several antennae can be used and they may either each be connected separately to 20 the base station 12 or they may be connected in series with one another. Booster amplifiers may be used if necessary to achieve the necessary signal strength to establish communication with the individual remote stations 18.

25 The base unit preferably uses digital microprocessor based circuitry and this allows the unit to be connected to a remote monitoring station, for example over the Internet. This offers additional security by allowing tampering with the base station to be monitored remotely, for example by a 30 security firm operating the system.

It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the described system without departing from the scope of the invention as set 35 forth in the appended claims. For example, it is possible to allow the door lock 16 to be released by entering a

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security code into the keypad 104 of the entrance access terminal 10.

Claims

- 8 -CLAIMS

1. A door entry system for a building, comprising a base station which includes a radio communication link and 5 at least one antenna for location within the building, an entrance access terminal for location by an entrance to the building, and at least one remote station for location within a unit of the building to enable an occupant of the unit to communicate with a caller at the entrance access 10 terminal by way of the radio communication link of the base station and to release remotely a door lock at the entrance of the building to admit an authorised caller into the building.

15

2. A door entry system as claimed in claim 1, wherein communication between the base station and the entrance access terminal is effected by way of a wired connection.

3. A door entry system as claimed in claim 1, wherein 20 communication between the base station and the entrance access terminal is effected by way of a radio link.

4. A door entry system as claimed in any preceding claim, having a single antenna for communicating with all

25 the remote stations in the building.

5. A door entry system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, having a plurality of antennae in different floors or wings of the building.

30

6. A door entry system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the antennae is separately connected to the base station.

35

7. A door entry system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the antennae are connected in series with one another.

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8. A door entry system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the entrance access terminal comprises a keypad to select the unit occupant from whom admission to the building is to be requested, and a microphone and

5 loudspeaker to allow a caller to converse with a unit occupant.

9. A door entry system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each remote station comprises a radio

10 decoder, a sound generator, a microphone and speaker to allow the unit occupant to converse with a caller at the entrance access terminal, and button for remote opening of the door lock at the entrance of the building.

15

10. A door entry system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the entrance access terminal additionally comprises a camera and each remote station has a display to enable a unit occupant to see callers.

20

11. A door entry system, constructed and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.