System and method for key control in an electronic locking system

• US 7,145,434 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2003
• Issued: 12/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CompX International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CompX International Incorporated
• Inventors: Payson, John B., Koch, Michael J., Hoekstra, Aron J., Mlynarczyk, Mitchell S., Kaczmarz, Kenneth A., Robinson, Brock E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III, Edwin C.
• Application Number:
  US10/419,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20040207509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.25, 340/5.5, 340/5.24, 340/5.31, 340/5.72, 340/5.23, 340/5.22, 340/5.65, 235/382.5, 361/172, 702/77, 702/782, 702/783
• US Class Current: 340/5.23
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00849 programming by learning
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/0088 centrally
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00817 where the code of the lock can be programmed

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for use with an electronic locking system is provided. At least one key is selected in order to have access to at least one lock. This key to lock relationship is transferred to a memory of the key. The key is presented to the lock and at least a portion of the key to lock relationship from the key is transferred to a memory of the lock. This transfer updates the memory of the key to lock relationships in the lock. The update of the memory in the lock is noted in the memory of the key. The key may then be placed in communication with a computer so that at least a portion of the memory of the key is transferred to a database in the computer. This transfer updates the database in order to reflect the fact that the memory of the lock has been updated and completed.

Claims

1. A method for use with an electronic locking system, comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one key having a memory to have access to at least one lock having a memory in order to form a dataset of key to lock relationships;

transferring the dataset of key to lock relationships to the memory of at least one key;

presenting the key to at least one of the locks;

transferring at least a portion of the dataset of key to lock relationships from the key to the memory of the lock in order to update the memory of the lock;

updating the memory of the key to reflect the update to the lock; and

transferring at least a portion of the memory of the key to a database in order to update the database to indicate completion of the update to the memory of the lock.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dataset of key to lock relationships includes corresponding a plurality of the keys to a plurality of the locks to define which of the keys have access to open which of the locks.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the database includes the dataset of key to lock relationships.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the lock is an electronic lock having a serial number with a unique alphanumeric lock name assigned to the serial number of the lock in the dataset of key to lock relationships, and wherein the key is an electronic key having a serial number with a unique alphanumeric user name assigned to the serial number of the key in the dataset of key to lock relationships.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating a modification log entry in the database every time the step of selecting at least one key to have access to at least one lock occurs.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the modification log entry is marked as incomplete until the step of transferring at least a portion of the memory of the key to a database occurs, at which time the modification log entry is marked as complete to indicate completion of the update to the memory of the lock.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of updating the memory of the key further includes writing a serial number of the lock to the memory of the key, and writing the date and time to the memory of the key.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transferring at least a portion of the dataset of key to lock relationships from the key to a memory of the lock includes transferring only the portion of the dataset of the key to lock relationships specific to that particular lock, and indicating a change in the key to lock relationships from those all ready present in the memory of the lock.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the key has an encrypted key ID and the lock has a list of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock; and

said method further comprising the steps of;

decrypting the key ID by the lock;

comparing the key ID to the list of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock; and

opening the lock if a valid key ID is determined by the lock.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the key has an encrypted key password in the memory of the key corresponding to the lock; and

the lock has a lock password corresponding to the key in the memory of the lock; and

said method further comprising the steps of;

searching the key memory for the encrypted key password that corresponds to the lock;

decrypting the key password by the lock;

comparing the key password to the lock password corresponding to the key and opening the lock if the two passwords match;

selecting a new lock password and a matching new key password;

encrypting the new key password; and

storing the new encrypted key password in the memory of the key.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the key has an encrypted key ID;

the locks have a list of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock;

the key has an encrypted key password in the memory of the key corresponding to the lock;

the lock has a lock password corresponding to the key in the memory of the lock; and

said method further comprising the steps of;

decrypting the key ID by the lock;

comparing the key ID to the list of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock;

determining the key to be valid if the IDs match and maintain the lock closed if the IDs are different;

searching the key memory for the encrypted key password that corresponds to the lock;

decrypting the key password by the lock;

comparing the key password to the lock password corresponding to the key;

selecting a new lock password and a matching new key password;

encrypting the new key password;

storing the new encrypted key password in the memory of the key; and

opening the lock if the IDs match and the passwords match as determined by the step of determining the key to be valid, and by the step of comparing the key password to the lock password.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a listing of locks that the key was presented to since the last time the step of transferring at least a portion of memory of the key to the database occurred.

13. A method for use with an electronic locking system, comprising the steps of:

modifying a dataset of key to lock relationships in order to create a modification log having at least one key being added or deleted to at least one lock;

transferring the modification log to a memory of at least one key;

presenting the key to at least one lock;

reading the modification log by the lock and updating the memory of the lock to reflect any addition or deletion of keys to the lock as indicated in the modification log, the modification log read by the lock being in the memory of the key;

updating the modification log in the memory of the key to indicate the updating of the memory of the lock was completed; and

reading the modification log from the memory of the key and updating a database to reflect that the update to the memory of the lock was completed.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the addition of the key to the lock indicates that the lock is allowed to be opened by the key, and the deletion of the key to the lock indicates that the lock is not allowed to be opened by the key.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the dataset of key to lock relationships and the modification log is stored in the database.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the lock is an electronic lock having a serial number with a unique alphanumeric lock name assigned to the serial number of the lock in the dataset of key to lock relationships, and wherein the key is an electronic key having a serial number with a unique alphanumeric user name assigned to the serial number of the key in the dataset of key to lock relationships.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the database includes the modification log and the addition or deletion of the key to the lock is marked as incomplete until the modification log is read from the memory of the key and updated into the database, after updating the addition or deletion of the key to the lock the entry in the modification log is marked as complete.

18. The method of claim 13, further including the step of updating the memory of the key with a serial number of the lock, the date, and the time upon being presented to the lock.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

using an encrypted key ID in order to validate whether the key presented to the lock is authorized to open the lock;

using an encrypted key password in order to validate whether the key has authorization to open the lock; and

opening the lock upon determining the key is authorized upon verifying the key ID and the key password.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the key has an encrypted key ID;

the lock has a listing of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock;

the key has an encrypted key password in the memory of the key corresponding to the lock;

the lock has a lock password corresponding to the key in the memory of the lock; and

further comprising the steps of;

decrypting the key ID by the lock;

comparing the key ID to the list of valid key IDs in the memory of the lock;

determining the key to be valid if the IDs match and maintaining the lock closed if the IDs are different;

searching the key memory for the encrypted key password that corresponds to the lock;

decrypting the key password by the lock;

comparing the key password to the lock password corresponding to the key;

selecting a new lock password and a matching new key password;

encrypting the new key password;

storing the new encrypted key password in the memory of the key; and

opening the lock if the IDs match and the password match as determined by the step of determining the key to be valid, and by the step of comparing the key password to the lock password.

21. An electronic lock system, comprising:

a lock having a microprocessor based control circuit;

a lock memory in communication with the microprocessor based control circuit of the lock, the lock memory having a listing of keys that have access to the lock stored therein;

a key having a key memory, the key configured for communication with the lock memory such that data being transferable to and from the key memory and lock memory, the key memory having a modification log stored therein containing additions and deletions of keys to the lock;

a computer having a database with a listing of keys that have access to a listing of locks, the computer configured for communication with the key;

wherein the modification log is created by the computer, transferred to the key memory, and at least a portion of the modification log transferred to the lock memory to update the listing of keys that have access to the locks;

wherein the modification log in the key memory is updated to reflect the update to the lock memory; and

wherein at least a portion of the updated modification log in the key memory is transferred to the computer in order to verify completion of an update to the listing of keys that have access to a listing of locks.

22. The electronic lock system of claim 21, wherein the listing of keys that have access to the lock allows the key that has access to the lock to open the lock.

23. The electronic lock system of claim 21, wherein the lock has a serial number, and wherein the serial number, the date, and the time are transferred to the modification log during the updating of the modification log in the key memory, and wherein the serial number, date, and time are transferred to the computer.

24. The electronic lock system of claim 21, wherein the key has an encrypted key ID, the lock memory has a list of valid key IDs, the key memory has an encrypted key password, and the lock memory has an encrypted lock password corresponding to the encrypted key password.

25. The electronic lock system of claim 21, wherein the key memory is divided into five hundred pages wherein one hundred pages include lock passwords, two hundred pages include lock-key database manipulation pages, and two hundred pages include key audit trail pages.

26. The electronic lock system of claim 21, wherein the lock has a motor actuated by the microprocessor based control circuit in order to open and close a latching hook of the lock.