Method and system for access control

• US 9,715,773 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2016
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SKIDATA AG (Thales SA)
• Original Assignee: SKIDATA AG (Thales SA)
• Inventors: Clemente, Jorge, Schlechter, Thomas, Surkau, Reinhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Neyzari, Ali
• Application Number:
  US15/235,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20170046889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 347 Days
• Field of Search: 340 561
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/04 comprising devices to free a barrier, turnstile, or the like turnstiles with registering means G07C9/10; coin-freed aspects G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00769 with data transmission performed by wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/63 Comprising locating means for detecting the position of the data carrier, i.e. within the vehicle or within a certain distance from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/10 Movable barriers with registering means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• 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

Abstract

A method for access control wherein verification of access authorization is effected by evaluating an ID sent at regular intervals from a mobile electronic device or a data carrier nearest an access control device (3, 4, 5, 6), via bluetooth low energy standard as part of a “broadcasting”, to which at least one access authorization is unequivocally assigned, which is received by BLE transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) connected to a computer comprising a CPU and storage located within range of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier. Localization of the mobile electronic devices or the data carriers is carried out by evaluation of the RSSI, wherein the signal strength is measured, with which that signal of a mobile electronic device or a data carrier is received, which contains the ID of BLE transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4).

Claims

1. A method for access control, in an access control system with one or more lane access, each lane (D, E, F, H) having an access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) assigned thereto, which comprises at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4), wherein verification of access authorization comprises

evaluating an ID sent at regular intervals from the mobile electronic device nearest the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) or a data carrier nearest the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6), via the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4), as part of a “

broadcasting”

, to which at least one access authorization is unequivocally assigned,

receiving the at least one access authorization by the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) connected to a computer comprising a central processing unit and storage means within range of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier,

localizing the mobile electronic devices or the data carriers by evaluating a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), by measuring the received signal strength of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier, which contains the ID of the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4);

using a ratio of the Received Signal Strength Indicators, of which the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) of the access control system have received the signal of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier containing the ID;

ascertaining the ratio of distances of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier to the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4); and

ascertaining the lane in which the mobile electronic device or the data carrier is located by using the relative distances of the mobile electronic device or the data carrier to the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4).

2. The method for access authorization according to claim 1, further comprising using the relative distances between all of the mobile electronic devices or all of the data carriers detected by the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) which have been detected and have had a lane assigned to them, and the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4), to ascertain a sequence of the mobile electronic devices or the data carriers in the respective lane (D, E, F, H).

3. The method for access authorization according to claim 1, further comprising

using a reference signal strength, which as a rule corresponds to a signal strength at 1 meter distance and which is contained as information in the signal of the mobile electronic devices or the data carriers or is held in a table stored in the computer depending on the mobile electronic device or the data carrier,

wherein the distance between the mobile electronic device or the data carrier and the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3 TRX-4) is ascertained with an accuracy of 1-2 meters, so that by a subsequent trilateration or, by multilateration for more than three bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4), that lane (D, E, F, H) is ascertained, in which the mobile electronic device or the data carrier is located.

4. The method for access authorization according to claim 2, wherein in order to increase a accuracy of lane determination and in order to determine the sequence of mobile electronic devices or data carriers in the lane (D, E, F, H), angle of arrival methods are performed, wherein the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) comprise at least two antennae, which receive the same signal, which is emitted from the mobile electronic device or data carrier, at respectively different points in time and with a different phase, wherein the received points in time and the phase are dependent on a angle of incidence of the signal, and subsequently a phase difference is used to determine the direction from which the signal is emitted.

5. The method for access authorization according to claim 1, wherein the access control system has one-lane access with an access control device provided and assigned to the lane, the one-lane access has a width flanked by two bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units,

wherein the mobile electronic device or the data carrier is assigned to the one-lane, determination of the sequence of the mobile electronic devices or the data carriers in the one-lane utilizes the signal strength received by both the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units.

6. The method for access authorization according to claim 2, wherein an entry area (1) of the access control system has at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-IN) assigned thereto, which detects the mobile electronic devices or data carriers by way of the ID sent by the mobile electronic devices or data carriers, which pass through the entry area (1) and

an exit area (2) of the access control system has at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-OUT) assigned thereto, which detects the mobile electronic devices or data carriers by way of the ID sent by the mobile electronic devices or data carriers, which pass through the exit area (2),

wherein only signals from mobile electronic devices or data carriers, which have been detected by the at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-IN) assigned to the entry area (1) and are not yet detected by the at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-OUT) assigned to the exit area (2), are evaluated by the bluetooth low enemy transceiver unit (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) of the access control devices (3, 4, 5, 6), and

detection of the mobile electronic devices or data carriers which pass through the entry area (1) or the exit area (2) is restricted to signals, whose signal strength lies above a predefined threshold, and only these signals are evaluated.

7. The method for access authorization according to claim 6, wherein the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units may be assigned to the entry area (1) or the exit area (2) of an access control system and are used for increasing a accuracy of determining the sequence of the mobile electronic devices or data carriers in the respective lane,

all signals of the mobile electronic devices or data carriers which have passed through the entry area (1), with the exception of the electronic devices or data carriers which have passed through the exit area (2) are evaluated,

wherein in order to increase the accuracy in determining the sequence of the mobile electronic devices or data carriers in the respective lane these are located by trilateration or, in case of more than three bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units by multilateration, wherein trilateration or multilateration is carried out using relative or absolute distances between the mobile electronic devices or data carriers and bluetooth low energy transceiver units of the access control devices and relative or absolute distances between the mobile electronic devices or data carriers and the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units assigned to the entry area and/or the exit area.

8. The method for access authorization according to claim 2, wherein the access control devices (3, 4, 5, 6) do not comprise barriers,

wherein, if a person passes the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6), this is detected by a device for detecting persons, after this person has passed the mobile electronic device located that according to the localization was in first place in the lane (D, E, F, H) assigned to the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) is the same as a previously received ID, access without access authorization is recognized and an optical or acoustic signal is issued.

9. The method for access authorization according to claim 2, wherein the access control devices (3, 4, 5, 6) comprise a barrier, which is operated in an opening direction,

if a valid access authorization is assigned to the ID of the mobile electronic device or data carrier that was located according to the localization in first place in the lane (D, E, F, H) assigned to the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6), and if a person passes an access control device (3, 4, 5, 6), this is recognized by a device for the detection of persons or by operating the barrier,

if following the passing of this person the mobile electronic device located according to the received ID, is the same as the previously received ID, access without access authorization is recognized and an optical and/or acoustic signal is issued.

10. An access control system, in particular for performing the method according to claim 1, the access control system having

an entry and exit area (1, 2), wherein the access control system comprises one-lane or multi-lane access,

wherein each lane (D, E, F, H) has an access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) assigned to it, which comprises at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4), which is connected to a computer comprising a central processing unit and storage means and which receives an ID sent at regular intervals from mobile electronic devices or data carriers via the bluetooth low energy standard as part of a “

broadcasting”

, and has at least one access authorization unequivocally assigned thereto,

wherein verification of an access authorization is by evaluating an ID sent by the mobile electronic device nearest the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) in access direction or the data carrier nearest the access control device (3, 4, 5, 6),

wherein at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-IN) is assigned to the entry area (1) of the access control system, which transceiver detects mobile electronic devices or data carriers by way of the ID sent by the mobile electronic devices or data carriers, which pass through the entry area (1) and

wherein the exit area (2) of the access control system has at least one bluetooth low energy standard transceiver unit (TRX-OUT) assigned thereto, which detects the mobile electronic devices or data carriers by way of the ID sent by the mobile electronic devices or data carriers, which pass through the exit area (2),

wherein the mobile electronic devices or data carriers can be located by means of the evaluation of a received signal strength indicator, wherein a signal strength is measured, from the mobile electronic device or the data carrier containing the ID received by the bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units (TRX-1, TRX-2, TRX-3, TRX-4) assigned to the access control devices (3, 4, 5, 6).

11. The access control system according to claim 10, wherein the access control devices (3, 4, 5, 6) do not comprise a barrier, wherein each access control device (3, 4, 5, 6) comprises a device for the detection of people.

12. The access control system according to claim 10, wherein the access control system has one-lane access, and the access control device assigned to the single lane is provided, wherein an access width is flanked by two bluetooth low energy standard transceiver units.