ELECTRONIC LOCK AUTHENTICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20190051075A1
• Filed: 10/16/2018
• Published: 02/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2012
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Original Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Inventors: Ahearn, John R., Baumgarte, Joseph W., Focke, Gabriel D., Henney, Michael S.
• Application Number:
  US16/161,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20190051075A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00412 the transmitted data signal being encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• 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

Abstract

An electronic lock authentication system and associated method including an electronic lock and a cellular phone in communication with a network and in wireless communication with the electronic lock. The electronic lock has a lock identification and is configured to transmit the lock identification wirelessly to the cellular phone. The cellular phone has a phone identification and is configured to transmit the lock identification and the phone identification to the network. The network is configured to make a decision in real time whether the cellular phone is permitted access to the electronic lock based on the lock identification and the phone identification, and is further configured to transmit a grant/deny message to the cellular phone based on the decision, and the cellular phone is configured to transmit the grant/deny message to the electronic lock.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. A method, comprising:

scanning, by a cellular phone, for an advertisement indicating the presence of an electronic lock;

based upon the scanning, determining whether the cellular phone is within a specified range of the electronic lock;

in response to determining that the cellular phone is within the specified range of the electronic lock, establishing a wireless communication connection between the electronic lock and the cellular phone;

receiving, by the cellular phone via the wireless communication connection, a lock identification identifying the electronic lock;

transmitting, from the cellular phone to a network, the lock identification;

transmitting, from the cellular phone to the network, a cellular phone identification identifying the cellular phone;

receiving, by the cellular phone, a grant/deny message from the network, the grant/deny message indicating whether the cellular phone is permitted access to the electronic lock; and

transmitting the grant/deny message from the cellular phone to the electronic lock.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising prompting, by the cellular phone, a user to input additional credential information into the cellular phone;

and

transmitting, from the cellular phone to the network, the inputted additional credential information.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving, by the cellular phone, a request from the network for the additional credential information;

and

wherein the prompting is performed in response to receiving the request.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the additional credential information includes data relating to at least one of a pin code, a passphrase, a gesture with the cellular phone, facial recognition, and voice recognition.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the network determines whether the cellular phone is permitted access to the electronic lock based on the lock identification, the cellular phone identification, and the additional credential information.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising issuing, by the electronic lock, the advertisement.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the issuing of the advertisement is performed by the electronic lock while the electronic lock is in a low-power sleep mode.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising encrypting the lock identification, and wherein transmitting the lock identification comprises transmitting the encrypted lock identification.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the network comprises a network cloud.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein establishing the wireless communication connection comprises the cellular phone initiating the wireless communication connection.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising transmitting, by the electronic lock, the lock identification in response to the cellular phone initiating the wireless communication connection.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein the scanning is performed while the cellular phone is in a low-power scan mode.

30. A system, comprising:

an electronic lock transmitting an advertisement indicating a presence of the electronic lock;

a cellular phone in wireless communication with a network;

wherein the cellular phone is configured to initiate wireless communication with the electronic lock based upon receiving the advertisement;

wherein the electronic lock is configured to transmit, to the cellular phone and in response to the cellular phone initiating the wireless communication, a lock identification; and

wherein the cellular phone is configured to;

transmit to the network the lock identification;

transmit to the network a cellular phone identification;

receive from the network a grant/deny message from the network, the grant/deny message indicating whether the cellular phone is permitted access to the electronic lock; and

in response to receiving the grant/deny message from the network, transmit to the electronic lock the grant/deny message.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the cellular phone is further configured to:

prompt a user to input additional credential information into the cellular phone; and

transmit to the network the inputted additional credential information.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the cellular phone is configured to prompt the user to input the additional credential information into the cellular phone in response to receiving from the network a request for the additional credential information.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the electronic lock is further configured to unlock in response to the grant/deny message indicating that the cellular phone is permitted access to the electronic lock.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the electronic lock has a low-power sleep mode and is configured to issue the advertisement while in the low-power sleep mode.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the cellular phone is further configured to scan for the advertisement while in a low-power scan mode.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the cellular phone is configured to initiate wireless communication with the electronic lock based upon receiving the advertisement and in response to determining that the cellular phone is within a predetermined range of the electronic lock.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the lock is configured to transmit the lock identification as an encrypted lock identification.