System and method for interfacing facility access with control

• US 8,836,470 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2010
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viscount Systems
• Original Assignee: Viscount Systems
• Inventors: Pineau, Stephen, Anderson, Garry
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): OTT, FREDERICK R
• Application Number:
  US12/958,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20120139694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.2, 340/5.8, 340/5.82, 340/5.85, 340/5.74, 340/512, 235/384
• US Class Current: 340/5.2
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/38 with central registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A system for interfacing facility access with control employs an electronic bridge that transparently conveys data between functional devices, such as remotely located card readers and door strikes, and a network incorporating a control and monitor computer that has access to a database of user identifications and permissions. The electronic bridge is flexibly configured to accept a wide range of protocols used by the devices and converts messages to data packets without prior knowledge of the length of the message.

Claims

1. A system for interfacing facility access with control, said system comprising:

a plurality of functional devices adapted to receive control instructions and generate trains of digital pulses wherein said trains of digital pulses relate to various facility access functionalities of said devices and at least some of said trains of pulses have different format protocols in terms of one or more of number of pulses, pulse width and time period between pulses;

a network including at least one control unit adapted to generate said control instructions; and

at least one electronic bridge interfacing said devices and said network, said bridge having

input/output circuits adapted to receive said control instructions, pass said control instructions to said devices, and detect said trains of digital pulses from said devices, and

a central processing unit (CPU) configured to receive said trains of digital pulses from said input/output circuits, start processing said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals without first determining said different format protocols of said trains of digital pulses, build packets including said strings of data signals, and send said packets to said control unit via said network.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said CPU processes said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals by:

setting an idle timer to mark expiry of a time duration, greater than said time period between pulses, during which no further pulses in a given train are detected by said input/output circuits;

serially generating temporary variables of pulse count and a data string by adding counts and appending data of detected pulses in the given train to said temporary variables; and

sensing the expiry of said time duration during which no further pulses in the given train are detected by said input/output circuits.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said setting said idle timer is in response to said input/output circuits detecting a pulse in a given train of pulses.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein said CPU readies said strings of data signals, for building into packets, by:

terminating said generation of said temporary variables in response to said sensing said expiry of said time duration;

storing said temporary variables as final variables in response to said termination of said generation of temporary variables; and

setting a flag to indicate that said final variables are ready for building into packets.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said network is an Ethernet or the Internet and said building of said packets includes building said fixed variables into a TCP/IP packet for transmission to said control unit via the network.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said control unit validates credentials of said functional devices and said control instructions generated by said control unit include granting of permission to gain facility access.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said network also includes the Internet and a communications link coupling said control unit to said bridge.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said network further includes a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) coupled to the Internet, said PKI storing validities of credentials and wherein said control unit accesses said PKI to validate credentials and generates said control instructions depending on validity of credentials.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said network further includes database coupled to one or both the Internet and said control unit, said database storing one or more of credentials, validity of credentials, permissions, entry requests and times of entry requests.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said communication link is wireless.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein said communications link is Power-over-Ethernet technology.

12. A method for interfacing facility access with control, said method comprising:

generating trains of digital pulses by various facility access functional devices wherein at least some of said trains of pulses have different format protocols in terms of one or more of number of pulses, pulse width and time period between pulses;

receiving control instructions from a control unit via a network;

passing said control instructions to said various facility access functional devices to control the same;

detecting said trains of digital pulses;

starting to process said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals without first determining said different format protocols of said trains of digital pulses;

building packets that include said strings of data signals; and

sending said packets to said control unit via said network.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said processing said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals includes:

setting an idle timer to mark expiry of a time duration, greater than said time period between pulses, during which no further pulses in a given train are detected;

serially generating temporary variables of pulse count and a data string by adding counts and appending data of detected pulses in the given train to said temporary variables; and

sensing the expiry of said time duration during which no further pulses in the given train are detected.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said setting said idle timer is in response to detecting a pulse in a given train of pulses.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein said building said strings of data signals into packets is in response to:

terminating said generation of said temporary variables in response to said sensing said expiry of said time duration;

storing said temporary variables as final variables in response to said termination of said generation of temporary variables; and

setting a flag to indicate that said final variables are ready for building into packets.

16. An electronic bridge for interfacing facility access with control, said bridge comprising:

input/output circuits adapted to

output control instructions to various functional devices relating to various facility access functionalities, and

detect trains of digital pulses from the various functional devices; and

a central processing unit (CPU) configured to

receive control instructions from a control unit via a network,

pass said control instructions to said input/output circuits for output to the functional devices,

receive said trains of digital pulses from said input/output circuits wherein at least some of said trains of pulses have different format protocols in terms of one or more of number of pulses, pulse width and time period between pulses,

start processing said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals without first determining said different format protocols of said trains of digital pulses,

build packets including said strings of data signals, and

send said packets to the control unit via the network.

17. The bridge of claim 16 wherein said CPU processes said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals by:

setting an idle timer to mark the expiry of a time duration, greater than said time period between pulses, during which no further pulses in a given train are detected by said input/output circuits;

serially generating temporary variables of pulse count and a data string by adding counts and appending data of detected pulses in the given train to said temporary variables; and

sensing the expiry of said time duration during which no further pulses in the given train are detected by said input/output circuits.

18. The bridge of claim 17 wherein said setting of said idle timer is in response to said input/output circuits detecting a pulse in a given train of pulses.

19. The bridge of claim 17 wherein said CPU readies said strings of data signals, for building into packets, by:

terminating said generation of said temporary variables in response to said sensing said expiry of said time duration;

storing said temporary variables as final variables in response to said termination of said generation of temporary variables; and

setting a flag to indicate that said final variables are ready for building into packets.

20. The bridge of claim 19 wherein said building into packets includes building said final variables into a TCP/IP packet for transmission to the control unit via an Ethernet or the Internet.

21. A control unit for controlling facility access via a network and an electronic bridge, said control unit comprising:

a memory storing computer readable instructions; and

a processor configured, by executing the computer readable instructions, to;

receive, via a network, TCP/IP packets each comprising;

a variable representing a length; and

a further variable having said length and representing at least a credential and an access request;

wherein at least some of the further variables have different lengths;

validate said credentials in response to received packets by accessing a local or remote database storing validities of said credentials; and

grant permission in response to validated credentials by;

generating control instructions; and

transmitting the control signals via the network and an electronic bridge to a functional device that provides facility access,

said bridge comprising;

input/output circuits adapted to

output said control instructions to said functional device, and

detect trains of digital pulses from said or other functional devices; and

a central processing unit (CPU) configured to

receive said control instructions from the control unit via the network,

pass said control instructions to said input/output circuits for output to said functional device,

receive said trains of digital pulses from said input/output circuits wherein at least some of said trains of pulses have different format protocols in terms of one or more of number of pulses, pulse width and time period between pulses,

start processing said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signals without first determining said different format protocols of said trains of digital pulses,

build packets including said strings of data signals, and

send said packets to the control unit via the network.

22. An electronic bridge for transparently transmitting messages of different lengths from different functional devices to a network, the bridge comprising:

a memory storing a MAC address; and

electronic circuitry adapted to;

detect said messages, each message comprising a train of digital pulses from a functional device, wherein at least some of said trains of pulses have different format protocols in terms of one or more of number of pulses, pulse width and time period between pulses;

start processing said trains of digital pulses into strings of data signal without first determining said different format protocols of said trains of digital pulses;

build TCP/IP packets from said strings of data, each packet comprising;

the MAC address;

an identification of one of said functional devices;

a variable representing length of a given message; and

a variable representing the given message; and

transmit the packets to the network.

23. An electronic bridge according to claim 22 wherein each packet further comprises a message code that identifies a type of message.