Method and system for access control proximity location

• US 10,373,408 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2017
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Trani, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Bocure, Tesfaldet
• Application Number:
  US15/599,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20170256107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 340 53, 340 561, 340 564, 34052914
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00317 keyless data carrier having only one limited data transmission range
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00333 and the lock having more than one limited data transmission ranges
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00444 by the key
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00174 Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys mechanical locks with electric permutation E05B49/00; arrangements for sensing or reading record carriers G06K7/00; electronic switching H03K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/04 using two or more spaced independent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system for a frictionless access control automatically identifies users and enables access to restricted areas of a building for example via access points such as locked doors. The system allows access when authorized users are in the vicinity of doors without requiring the users to swipe access keycards (or badges) at keycard terminals located at the doors, as in current systems. The system includes user devices such as key fobs and mobile phones that wirelessly broadcast user information and unique IDs for each of the devices in data packets, which are received by positioning units. The positioning units determine locations of the user devices, and send the packet data and the location data to a verification and tracking system. Preferably, the positioning units include two or more antennas that determine close proximity of users to access points while also allowing the system to continuously monitor the locations of the users.

Claims

1. A security system, comprising:

user devices that transmit wireless signals including user information;

access points that provide access to restricted areas;

positioning units located near the access points that include one or more antennas, wherein each of the positioning units receive the wireless signals from the user devices, and determine locations of the user devices relative to threshold areas of the access points;

wherein a first antenna of the positioning units is an omnidirectional antenna and a second antenna of the positioning units is a directional antenna and the omnidirectional antenna receives the wireless signals from the user devices when the user devices are located beyond a threshold area of the access points, and the directional antenna receives the wireless signals from the user devices when the user devices are located within a threshold area of the access points.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the positioning units determine the locations of the user devices relative to the access points by comparing attenuation of the wireless signals received between two or more of the antennas.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a verification and tracking system that authorizes the user devices by authenticating the user information broadcast by the user devices.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising door controllers that lock and unlock door access points, and wherein the positioning units send signals to the door controllers to unlock the door access points to provide access to the restricted areas of the building.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising door controllers that lock and unlock door access points, and wherein the verification and tracking system sends signals to the door controllers to unlock the door access points to provide access to the restricted areas of the building.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user devices include mobile phones and fobs.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

video cameras that capture video data of users carrying the user devices; and

a video analysis system that accepts the video data from the video cameras over a network, and verifies identities of the users carrying the user devices from the video data.

8. A method for tracking and authorizing user devices in a security system, the method comprising:

the user devices transmitting wireless signals including packet data, wherein the packet data includes user information;

receiving the wireless signals from the user devices via positioning units including one or more antennas;

the positioning units determining locations of the user devices relative to threshold areas of doors, and detecting on which side of the doors the users are located and their physical presence within the threshold area of the doors and whether the users are stationary at the doors for a minimum time period and not moving past the doors; and

providing access to restricted areas via the access points based on the determined locations.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the positioning units determining the locations of the user devices relative to the doors by comparing attenuation of the wireless signals received between two or more of the antennas.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the positioning units determining the locations of the user devices relative to the doors by determining a time of flight of the wireless signals received at two or more of the antennas.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the positioning units determining the locations of the user devices relative to the doors by using triangulation of the wireless signals received at two or more of the antennas.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the verification and tracking system authorizing the user devices by authenticating the user information broadcast by the user devices.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein providing access to the restricted areas via doors of the building comprises using door controllers to lock and unlock doors, and the positioning units sending signals to the door controllers to unlock the doors.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

capturing video data of users carrying the user devices; and

analyzing the video data to verify identities of the users carrying the user devices from the video data.