OPERATION COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20140051425A1
• Filed: 08/16/2013
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Original Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Inventors: Ahearn, John Robert, Baumgarte, Joseph Wayne, Focke, Gabriel Daniel, Henney, Michael Scott
• Application Number:
  US13/968,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20140051425A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/420
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• 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 9/00571 operated by interacting with a central unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method includes issuing via an electronic lock a first message advertising that the electronic lock is available for communication, issuing via a smartphone a second message establishing communication with the electronic lock in response to the first message, transmitting a third message including an encrypted lock identification from the electronic lock to the smartphone, transmitting a fourth message including the lock identification and a smartphone identification from the smartphone to a cloud which, in response to the fourth message, transmits to the smartphone a fifth message including data relating to an update, and transmitting a sixth message including the data from the smartphone to the electronic lock.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

issuing via an electronic lock a first message advertising that the electronic lock is available for communication;

issuing via a smartphone a second message establishing communication with the electronic lock in response to the first message;

transmitting a third message including an encrypted lock identification from the electronic lock to the smartphone;

transmitting a fourth message including the lock identification and a smartphone identification from the smartphone to a cloud which, in response to the fourth message, transmits to the smartphone a fifth message including data relating to an update; and

transmitting a sixth message including the data from the smartphone to the electronic lock.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the update includes at least one of a user database update, a time and date update, and a lock configuration update.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud verifies the lock identification and the smartphone identification before transmitting the fifth message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a seventh message including encrypted information from the electronic lock to the smartphone in response to the sixth message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the encrypted information includes encrypted door, battery, audit, and maintenance information.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising transmitting an eighth message including the encrypted door, battery, audit, and maintenance information from the smartphone to the cloud.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising storing the door, battery, audit, and maintenance information in one or more databases in the cloud.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein communication between the electronic lock and the smartphone is wireless communication.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless communication is Bluetooth communication.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein communication between the smartphone and the cloud at least partly occurs over the Internet.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein communication between the smartphone and the cloud is wireless communication.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein communication between the smartphone and the cloud at least partly occurs over the Internet.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic lock is used in association with a door to control access through the door.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic lock, the smartphone, and the cloud communicate with one another without a user of the smartphone realizing that communication is occurring.