Access control system and method using radio-frequency identification and imaging

• US 8,674,805 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mountain Box Systems
• Original Assignee: Mountain Box Systems
• Inventors: Charych, Harold
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afrifa-Kyei, Anthony D
• Application Number:
  US12/825,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20110001606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,358 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.7
• US Class Current: 340/5.7
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/10 Movable barriers with registering means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

The invention provides an access control system and method for ski areas or similar facilities which uses a combination of RFID enabled tags and video-image derived biometric information to control access through an access gate.

Claims

1. An access gate comprising:

a base;

a first wall and a second wall attached to the base, each wall having an inside surface, an outside surface, a height, an entrance side and an exit side;

a gate space defined by the inside surface of the first wall and the second wall and the base;

an entrance side sensor mounted at the entrance side of the first wall and the second wall for sensing entrance of a user into the gate space;

a middle sensor mounted on an inside surface of at least one of the first wall and the second wall for sensing a user centered within the gate space;

at least one access bar mounted to the exit side of the first wall and the second wall, the at least one access bar being moveable between an open position, allowing exit from the gate space, to a closed position in which exit from the gate space is denied;

a UHF radio frequency identification reader having at least two antennas within the gate space, for reading UHF RFID enabled tags within the gate space and determining that a UHF RFID enabled tag is in within the gate space by comparing signal strengths from the at least two antennas;

a motion video camera for capturing moving images of the gate space; and

a computer coupled to the UHF radio frequency identification reader, the motion video camera, the entrance side sensor, the middle sensor and the at least one access bar;

such that when a user enters the gate space and is sensed by the entrance side sensor the motion video camera captures moving images of the user until the middle sensor senses the user centered in the gate space, the computer derives biometrics from the captured moving image, the UHF radio frequency identification reader reads an identification from a UHF RFID enabled tag within the gate space carried by the user, and the computer permits the access bar to be movable to the open position at least if the identification is valid for access.

2. The gate of claim 1, further comprising an entrance ramp with an outer edge attached to a first side of the base and an exit ramp with an outer edge attached to a second side of the base, the entrance ramp and exit ramp each moveable between a first position and a second position.

3. The gate of claim 2, wherein in the first position, the outer edge of the entrance ramp and the outer edge of the exit ramp are in contact with a ground surface.

4. The gate of claim 2, wherein in the second position, the outer edge of the entrance ramp and the outer edge of the exit ramp are rotated inwards towards a center of the gate space, exposing gate legs, wherein when the gate legs are exposed, the gate is slidable on a ground surface.

5. The gate of claim 1, further comprising indicia on the inside surface of at least the first wall or the second wall for determining a height relative to the indicia.

6. The gate of claim 1, further comprising handles removeably attached to the gate.

7. The gate of claim 1, further comprising:

an exit side sensor mounted at the exit side of the first wall and the second wall for sensing exit from the gate space.

8. The gate of claim 1, further comprising a roof connected to the first wall and the second wall.

9. The gate of claim 8, further comprising a range finder mounted adjacent the video camera underneath the roof.

10. The gate of claim 1, wherein the first wall and the second wall further comprise radio frequency shielding.

11. The gate of claim 1, wherein the gate is connectable to another access gate through an interconnection piece.

12. The gate of claim 1, in which the computer also bases permission for the access gate to move to the open position based upon correspondence between the biometrics and stored biometrics associated with the user'"'"'s UHF RFID enabled tag.

13. The gate of claim 1, in which the height of the first wall and the second wall can be adjusted from a folded position for transportation to a full-height position for use.

14. The gate of claim 1, further comprising a barcode reader.

15. An access gate comprising:

a first wall and a second wall each attached to a U-shaped tube, each wall having an inside surface, an outside surface, an entrance side and an exit side;

a gate space defined by the inside surface of the first wall and the second wall;

an entrance side sensor mounted at the entrance side of the first wall and the second wall for sensing entrance of a user into the gate space;

a middle sensor mounted on an inside surface of at least one of the first wall and the second wall for sensing a user centered within the gate space;

at least one access bar mounted to the exit side of the first wall and the second wall, the at least one access bar being moveable between an open position, allowing exit from the gate space, to a closed position in which exit from the gate space is denied;

a UHF radio frequency identification reader having at least two antennas within the gate space, for reading UHF RFID enabled tags within the gate space and determining that a UHF RFID enabled tag is in within the gate space by comparing signal strengths from the at least two antennas;

a motion video camera for capturing moving images of the gate space; and

a computer coupled to the UHF radio frequency identification reader, the motion video camera, the entrance side sensor, the middle sensor and the at least one access bar;

such that when a user enters the gate space and is sensed by the entrance side sensor the motion video camera captures moving images of the user until the middle sensor senses the user centered in the gate space, the computer derives biometrics from the captured moving image, the UHF radio frequency identification reader reads an identification from a UHF RFID enabled tag within the gate space carried by the user, and the computer permits the access bar to be movable to the open position at least if the identification is valid for access.

16. The gate of claim 15, further comprising indicia on the inside surface of at least the first wall or the second wall for determining a height relative to the indicia.

17. The gate of claim 15, further comprising:

an exit side sensor mounted at the exit side of at least one of the first wall and the second wall for sensing exit from the gate space.

18. The gate of claim 15, further comprising a roof connected to the first wall and the second wall.

19. The gate of claim 18, further comprising a range finder mounted adjacent the video camera underneath the roof.

20. The gate of claim 15, wherein the first wall and the second wall further comprise radio frequency shielding.

21. The gate of claim 15, in which the computer also bases permission for the access gate to move to the open position based upon correspondence between the biometrics and stored biometrics associated with the user'"'"'s UHF RFID enabled tag.

22. The gate of claim 15, further comprising a barcode reader.

23. The gate of claim 15, wherein the gate is mounted to a gantry.

24. The gate of claim 23, wherein the gantry is rotatable about a central shaft.

25. The gate of claim 15, further comprising a vertical pole having indicia for measuring snow depth, attached to the U-shaped tube and extending downward therefrom.

26. A method of controlling access to an area using an access gate enclosing a gate space, the access gate having an entrance side sensor mounted at the entrance side of the gate space, a middle sensor mounted at a location for sensing a user centered within the gate space, at least one access door movable from a closed position to an open position, a UHF radio frequency identification reader for reading UHF RFID enabled tags, a motion video camera for capturing moving images of the gate space, and a computer coupled to the access door, the entrance side sensor, the middle sensor, the UHF radio frequency identification reader and the motion video camera, the method comprising:

a) when the entrance side sensor senses the presence of a user entering the gate space, the motion video camera beginning to capture a moving image of the user entering the gate space;

b) when the middle sensor senses the presence of the user centered within the gate space, the motion video camera stopping capturing the moving image and the UHF radio frequency identification reader reading an identification from a UHF RFID enabled tag in the gate space;

c) the computer comparing the identification from the RFID enabled tag to a first database;

d) if the identification from the RFID enabled tag matches identification data present in the first database, the computer determining from data in the first database that the RFID enabled tag is valid for access, then;

i) if the RFID enabled tag is valid for access, the computer deriving a plurality of biometrics of the user from the moving image captured by the motion video camera by;

altering the moving image into a moving outline or silhouette image of the user within the gate space;

deriving information about a skeleton of the user by differentiating a plurality of joints within the user'"'"'s body from the moving outline or silhouette image; and

extracting a plurality of biometrics from the information about the user'"'"'s skeleton derived from the moving outline or silhouette image;

ii) the computer determining if biometrics is present in a second database associated with the RFID enabled tag;

iii) if there is no biometrics present in the second database, indicating that the RFID enabled tag has not previously entered an access gate, then;

A) the computer storing the biometrics derived in step (ii) in the second database, associated with the identification of the UHF RFID enabled tag;

B) the computer allowing the user to exit through the access gate by allowing the at least one access door to move to the open position;

iv) if biometrics are present in the second database associated with the RFID enabled tag, indicating that the RFID enabled tag has previously entered an access gate, then;

A) the computer comparing the biometrics derived in step (ii) to biometrics stored in the second database;

B) if the comparison of step (iv)(A) indicates that the biometrics derived in step (ii) match the biometrics stored in the second database, the computer allowing the user to exit through the access gate by allowing the at least one access door to move to the open position.

27. The method of claim 26, in which the access gate further comprises a rangefinder for determining a distance between the camera and the user, and the deriving biometrics of step (d)(i) further comprises using the distance between the camera and the user to determine biometrics comprising a plurality of dimensions of parts of the user'"'"'s body.

28. The method of claim 26, in which the biometrics extracted from the information about the user'"'"'s skeleton derived from the moving outline or silhouette image in step (d)(i) comprises at least a shoulder width of the user.

29. The method of claim 26, in which the biometrics extracted from the information about the user'"'"'s skeleton derived from the moving outline or silhouette image in step (d)(i) comprises at least a height of the user.

30. The method of claim 26, in which the biometrics extracted from the information about the user'"'"'s skeleton derived from the moving outline or silhouette image in step (d)(i) comprises at least a distance measured between a waist and a shoulder joint of the user.

31. The method of claim 26 in which the biometrics comprise a height of the user, and the method further comprises computing a height from a distance from a top of the gate to a shoulder and arm interface and a distance from a top of the gate to the bottom of the boot.

32. The method of claim 31, in which the access gate further comprises a plurality of markings along a vertical dimension of a side wall located such that at least some of the plurality of markings are visible in the image recorded in step (a), and the distance from the top of the gate to the shoulder and the distance from the top of the gate are derived from a comparison in the image recorded in step (a) of the location of at least one of the plurality of markings to the image of the user.

33. The method of claim 26 in which the biometrics comprise a boot size of the user.

34. The method of claim 26, in which the gate further comprises a microphone for recording a voice, and the biometrics further comprise a voice print derived from a voice recorded by the microphone.

35. The method of claim 26, in which the access gate further comprises a barcode reader, and the method further comprises reading a barcode from a tag and substituting identification read from the barcode for the identification read from the RFID enabled tag.

36. The method of claim 26, wherein if, after comparing in step (c), no matching identification is found in the first database, the method further comprises the step of keeping the at least one access door in the closed position, denying the user passage through the access gate.

37. The method of claim 26, wherein if in step (c) it is determined that the RFID enabled tag is not valid for access, the method further comprises the step of keeping the at least one access door in the closed position, denying the user passage through the access gate.

38. The method of claim 26, wherein if after comparing in step (d)(iv)(A) the biometrics derived in step (ii) do not match the biometrics stored in the second database, the method further comprises the step of keeping the at least one access door in the closed position, denying the user passage through the access gate.

39. The method of claim 26, in which the UHF radio frequency identification reader comprises at least two antennas for receiving transmissions from UHF RFID enabled tags mounted on walls of the gate defining the gate space, and when step (b) of reading the identification from the UHF RFID enabled tag occurs, the method further comprises comparing received signals at the at least two antennas to confirm that the received signals are from an RFID enabled tag in the gate space.

40. The method of claim 39, in which the method compares signal strength among the plurality of received signals.

41. The method of claim 39, in which the method compares a response delay among the plurality of received signals.

42. The method of claim 39, in which the method compares a phase difference among the plurality of received signals.

43. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of recording statistics about accesses through the gate of an RFID enabled tag in a database.