Wireless access control for electronic lock

• US 9,406,180 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Original Assignee: Schlage Lock Company LLC (Allegion PLC)
• Inventors: Eberwine, Todd, Neafsey, Jeffrey Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Akki, Munear
• Application Number:
  US13/968,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20140049370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.61, 340/5.1, 340/4.62, 340/5.73, 340/5.28, 702/831, 717/168
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00841 by a portable device
• 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: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/18 using different networks or channels, e.g. using out of band channels cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths H04L9/0827; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for authentication using a plurality of channels H04L9/3215
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

A wireless access control system is provided including an electronic lock, a wireless transport device configured for wireless communication with a network and with the electronic lock and having access privilege to the electronic lock, and wherein the wireless transport device is configured to wirelessly receive data from the network, to wirelessly deliver the data to the electronic lock, and to verify to the network that the data has been successfully transferred to the electronic lock. In one embodiment, the wireless transport device is a cellular phone. A method is also provided including transporting data wirelessly from a network to a plurality of cellular phones having access privileges to an electronic lock, and delivering the data to the electronic lock wirelessly using at least one of the cellular phones.

Claims

1. A wireless access control system, comprising:

an electronic lock;

a plurality of wireless transport devices configured for wireless communication with a network and with the electronic lock, each of the plurality of wireless transport devices having access privilege to the electronic lock; and

wherein each of the plurality of wireless transport devices is configured to wirelessly receive viral data for the electronic lock from the network, to wirelessly deliver the viral data to the electronic lock, and to verify to the network that the viral data has been successfully transferred to the electronic lock, wherein the viral data is an update to the electronic lock that does not pertain to a particular wireless transport device and the viral data is delivered to the electronic lock from a next one of the plurality of wireless transport devices that approaches the electronic lock after the viral data is received by the plurality of wireless transport devices, and further wherein in response to the next one of the plurality of wireless devices verifying to the network that the viral data has been successfully transferred to the electronic lock, the plurality of wireless transport devices are further configured to be updated from the network to remove the viral data viral data including the update.

2. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless transport devices comprises a cellular phone.

3. The wireless access control system of claim 2, wherein the cellular phone comprises a smartphone.

4. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of wireless transport devices includes near field communication capabilities.

5. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic lock is used in association with a door.

6. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a network cloud application.

7. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a credential management service.

8. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic lock is configured to transmit data in real time to the network via each of the plurality of wireless transport devices.

9. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the viral data is delivered to the electronic lock by multiple ones of the plurality of wireless transport devices until verification is provided to the network that the viral data has been successfully transferred to the electronic lock.

10. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of wireless transport devices is further configured to receive at least one of audit history data and alarm data from the electronic lock and to transmit the at least one of the audit history data and the alarm data to the network.

11. The wireless access control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic lock comprises an off-line electronic lock that is not directly connected to the network.

12. A method, comprising:

transporting viral data wirelessly from a network to a plurality of cellular phones having access privileges to an electronic lock, wherein the viral data includes an update to the electronic lock that does not pertain to a particular cellular phone;

delivering the viral data to the electronic lock wirelessly using a next one of the plurality of cellular phones that approaches the electronic lock after the viral data is received by the plurality of cellular phones;

verifying to the network, with the next one of the plurality of cellular phones, the successful delivery of the viral data including the update to the electronic lock; and

updating the plurality of cellular phones from the network to remove the viral data after verifying to the network the successfully delivering of the viral data including the update.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting data in real time from the electronic lock to the network via one of the cellular phones.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising updating the electronic lock by the delivering of the viral data from at least one of the cellular phones.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising delivering the viral data to the electronic lock wirelessly using multiple ones of the cellular phones until verification is provided to the network from one of the cellular phones that the viral data has been successfully transferred to the electronic lock.