Abstract:
A system and method for implementing an improved physical access control system that may be installed as a new system, installed to upgrade an existing system, or installed to expand an existing system, wherein a door access control system may include a new central processing appliance that may be implemented in software to thereby remove dependence upon hardware, enable implementation as a virtual machine, enable implementation in the cloud to thereby increase access, may include a central I/O controller for the central processing appliance and a new remote I/O controller at each door for handling communications, and wherein the remote I/O controllers may also provide wireless network functionality to enable wireless expansion and improved data integrity of the system.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to physical access control systems. Specifically, the invention pertains to a new topology and a new architecture for a physical access control system that enables a system to be upgraded without having to run new wires, implements improved connectivity between edge devices and a central controller, enables simple and cost effective expansion of existing systems and centralized control that is easy to modify. 
         [0002]    Prior art door access control systems include a first type of system shown in  FIG. 1  that relies on hard wiring between a central processing controller  10  and edge devices  12  located at each door  14 , where the edge devices may not perform processing or logic functions but instead transmit signals to the central processing controller through at least one wire  16 . The central processing controller  10  may include a unique set of relays, memory, processing power and other necessary hardware to make all decisions and control operation of each door  14 . In other words, the processing power or logic functions are all contained in the central processing controller  10  and no decisions are made by the edge devices  12 . 
         [0003]    A typical first type of door access control systems may require X discrete sets of hardware for controlling X different doors  14 . However, once X doors have been connected to the central processing controller  10 , adding a single new door requires the addition of an entirely new central processing controller  10  that may control  8  to  16  doors  14 . Furthermore, any upgrades to the logic of the central processing controller  10  may require replacement of the entire central processing controller, thus making upgrades and expansion difficult and costly. 
         [0004]    A second type of door access control system in the prior art and shown in  FIG. 2  may also require the installation of at least one wire from each door  14  to a central location. However, all of the hardware and processing power is now pushed to smart edge devices  24  instead of being performed by a central processing controller  10  at a central location. In this door access control system, the central location  20  may have nothing more than a central hub  22  that may provide power distribution using Power-over-Ethernet (POE) and Ethernet cables. This second door access control system may also require more connections between the doors  12  themselves so that all of the smart edge devices  24  are aware of the status of all the other smart edge devices. 
         [0005]    Some of the disadvantages of this second type of system include, but should not be considered as limited to, requiring at least one wire  16  from the central location  20  to each door  14 , having all the processing power and logic functions distributed at each door  14  without any central controller, having no easy way to expand the system without installing more wires to new doors, having no other way to expand the system other than buying expensive smart edge devices  24 , and only being able to modify the functionality of the smart edge devices by replacing each smart edge device. 
         [0006]    These and other embodiments of the present will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention is a system and method for implementing an improved physical access control system that may be installed as a new system, installed to upgrade an existing system, or installed to expand an existing system, wherein the physical access control system may include a new central processing appliance that may be implemented in software to thereby remove dependence upon hardware, enable implementation as a virtual machine, enable implementation in the cloud to thereby increase access, may include a central I/O controller for the central processing appliance and a new remote I/O controller at each door for handling communications, and wherein the remote I/O controllers may also provide wireless network functionality to enable wireless expansion and improved data integrity of the system. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a prior art door access control system illustrating a first topology. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a prior art door access control system illustrating a second topology. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an overall architecture for the embodiments of a door access control system. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of a first embodiment of a door access control system. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of a first embodiment of a door access control system where the central processing appliance may be implemented on computer hardware at a remote location. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an illustration of a door including a plurality of edge devices that are all coupled to a remote I/O unit that communicates with the central processing appliance through a central I/O unit. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is an illustration of a modification of the first embodiment that illustrates the addition of new doors to the door access control system. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an illustration of a second embodiment of a door access control system that only uses a wireless network for communication between doors and a central processing appliance. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is an illustration of how logical domains might be divided up among different components of the door access control system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Reference will now be made to the drawings in which the various embodiments will be given numerical designations and in which the embodiments will be discussed so as to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments of the disclosure. It is to be understood that the following description illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure, and should not be viewed as narrowing the claims which follow. 
         [0018]    The embodiments of the present invention are shown providing access control for doors. However, the invention may be used to control access to any system, either physical or electronic. Accordingly, the terms “physical access control” “door access control” and “electronic access control” may be used interchangeably throughout this document. 
         [0019]    Before addressing a specific embodiments of the invention, it is useful to first discuss what is trying to be accomplished by the present invention. The physical access control system of the present invention is providing a system that provides versatility, robustness, ease of use, ease of upgrading, ease of access and improved fault tolerance when any portion of the system breaks down. This is accomplished by creating logic domains for various sub-systems of the invention. 
         [0020]    For example, consider the prior art system of  FIG. 1 . A failure of any part of the system may result in complete failure of the entire system. If the central processing controller  10  fails, then none of the doors  14  may be able to be controlled. Similarly, if any smart edge device  24  in  FIG. 2  can no longer process information, then the smart edge device fails and the door may become inoperative. 
         [0021]    Accordingly, to provide all of the desired functions of the present invention, it is useful to look at various subsystems as logic domains whose functions (all or part) may be moved to one or more different logic domains if a failure occurs. 
         [0022]    The embodiments of the present invention provide more than just redundancy for a physical access control system. By providing the ability to move logic processing from one system to another, and to even split the logic processing between different logic domains, the reliability and the availability of the system is substantially greater than competing systems. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is provided only as an example of the logic domains  8  that may be a part of all the embodiments of the present invention. For example, the first logic domain may be a cloud-based controller and database  70 . The next logic domain may be a central processing appliance  72 . The next logic domain may be a door I/O controller  74 , and the last logic domain may be a plurality of edge devices  76 . The example of  FIG. 3  shows four logic domains  8 . However, there may be more or fewer logic domains  8  and the invention should not be considered to be limited to just four logic domains. 
         [0024]    As an example only, consider the failure of the central processing appliance  72 . The functions of that logic domain may be pushed to the door I/O controller  74  while the central processing appliance  72  is not functioning. In this way, the goal of fault tolerance and redundancy is met by one logic domain taking over the functions of another that has failed. Other examples will be given in specific embodiments to be discussed in the figures that follow. 
         [0025]    A first embodiment of a door access control system is shown in  FIG. 4 . A first aspect of the first embodiment is that a central processing controller is now replaced with a central processing appliance  40 . This name change reflects a change in the implementation of the central device. The central processing appliance  40  may now be implemented in software or firmware, and may not be restricted by hardware or location. 
         [0026]    Some aspects of this change to the central processing appliance  40  may include the ability to make changes to the logic or decision making processes of a door access control system by making changes to a software program instead of replacing or adding hardware, thus making upgrades or modifications much more cost effective, rapid and easier to implement. 
         [0027]    Another aspect is that expansion of a door access control system may no longer be a matter of adding additional processing power, memory, relays or other hardware to the central processing appliance  40 . Changes may now be implemented by the modification of existing code and/or the addition of new code to the door access control system program in order to communicate with additional doors  14 . 
         [0028]    Another aspect is that the central processing appliance  40  of the first embodiment may now be implemented as a virtual device. In other words, the door access control program may be running on a general purpose processing device. The general purpose processing device may be a computer server or a computer workstation that is located in a central location as shown in  FIG. 4 . It should be noted that the edge devices  44  are also not the same edge devise shown in the prior art, and will be described in more detail below. 
         [0029]    Alternatively, the central processing appliance  40  may not be disposed at the physical location where the doors  14  are located. For example, the central processing appliance  40  may be implemented on computer hardware at a remote location as shown in  FIG. 5 . For example, the central processing appliance  40  may be a cloud-based virtual device that remotely providing logic and control functions. The central processing appliance  40  may therefore not be physically located anywhere near the actual doors  14  that are being controlled. 
         [0030]    The door access control system of the first embodiment may require Internet access  42  or access to some other network such as a cellular network or an in-house dedicated network in order to be implemented using a cloud-based design or some other design where the central processing appliance  40  is not running on a device at the central location  38 . Accordingly, the central location  38  may be a communication interface that allows communication from the central processing appliance  40  to access a physical facility where the doors  14  are located. 
         [0031]    If the central processing appliance  40  is not physically located near the doors  14  being controlled, then the first embodiment may provide a central I/O controller  60  ( FIG. 6 ) that is capable of communicating with edge devices  44  and with the central processing appliance  40 , as will be explained. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the central processing appliance may use an I/O controller to communicate with edge devices  44  located at each door  14 . Edge devices  44  may be defined herein as any device that is located at a door and which is controlled by the central processing appliance  40 . Edge devices  44  may perform any function of a door access control system. 
         [0033]    Some examples of functions that may be performed by edge devices include but should not be considered as limited to, relays, door position sensors  50 , card readers  52 , request to exit sensors  54 , door latches  56 , and any other device that is or may currently be used at a door to control the function of the door. 
         [0034]    In the prior art, there may have been one or more wires that went from each edge device all the way to the central processing controller. Another aspect of the first embodiment is that the large number of wires, at least one for each edge device, is no longer necessary. Communication between edge devices  44  and the central processing appliance  40  may be performed by a remote I/O unit  60  located at each door and a central I/O controller  36  that may be used to enable communications with the central processing appliance  40 . 
         [0035]    For example, the remote I/O unit  60  may receive signals from the edge devices  44  at a door  14  and then transmit the signals to the central I/O controller  36  of the central processing appliance  40 . Similarly, the central processing appliance  40  may transmit signals to the edge devices  44  by transmitting signals from the central I/O controller  36  to the remote I/O controller  60 . The central I/O controller  36  may be a physical part of the central processing appliance  40  or it may be a logical part. For example, if the central processing appliance  40  is implemented as a cloud-based system, the central I/O controller  36  may be located at the central location  38  adjacent to the doors  14 . 
         [0036]    The function of the remote I/O controller  60  may include receiving and transmitting signals, but may also include translating signals from analog to digital and from digital to analog. For example, edge devices  44  may not need to be replaced or modified in any way when the central processing appliance  40  replaces a central processing controller of the prior art. The edge devices  44  may continue to transmit analog signals which may now be sent to a local remote I/O controller  60  near a door  14 , convert to analog signal to a digital signal, and then transmit the digital signal to the central I/O controller  36  for processing. 
         [0037]    The remote I/O controller  60  is a new hardware device that may need to be installed at each door  14 . In another aspect of the first embodiment, the remote I/O controller  60  may include other functionality. For example, the remote I/O controller  60  may include a wireless network capability to communicate with a wireless network. The wireless network capability of the present invention is another means by which the embodiments of the invention provide improved fault tolerance and redundancy. 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is provided as an illustration of using a wireless network  62  to expand the number of doors  14  that are being controlled by the central processing appliance  40 . The wireless network  62  may be comprised of a wireless network transceiver and antenna at each device that is communicating. A first implication of having a wireless network connection in the remote I/O controller  60  is that the door access control system may be expanded far beyond the limits of existing wires to doors. In other words, while the prior art is limited to controlling doors that have at least one wire between the door and a central location, the first embodiment may be expanded to control any number of doors  14  regardless of the existence of wires. Each door  14  may need a remote I/O controller  60  that is wired to each of the edge devices  44  at the door, but the remote I/O controller will transmit to and receive all data from the central processing appliance  40  for all the edge devices located at the door. 
         [0039]    It should be understood that when a door access control system is being expanded by the first embodiment, that means that the existing controller system is being replaced and that it is the invention as shown in the first embodiment that is expanded and not the existing system. 
         [0040]    Another aspect of having a wireless network connection  62  is that each of the remote I/O controllers  60  may function as a repeater. Accordingly, the wireless network may have increased transmission redundancy ensuring the integrity of all data sent and received by each remote I/O controller  60 . It should also be understood that the door access control system may still be implemented as a completely wired design, may be completely wireless, or may be a combination of wired and wireless at the same time. What is important is that any existing door access control system may be replaced or expanded without limitation. Furthermore, any existing edge devices do not have to be changed but instead may all be integrated into a door access control system using the central processing appliance  40 , the central I/O controller  36  and the remote I/O controllers  60  described in the first embodiment. 
         [0041]    Another aspect of the first embodiment is that there are many upgrades to functionality of the door access control system that do not require changes in hardware. For example, a change in functionality may be to change the time that must elapse before an alarm is triggered that indicates that a door  14  has been propped open. The door access control system may allow  60  seconds to elapse before an alarm is triggered. However, the user of the system may desire to shorten the time period before an alarm is triggered for a particular door. This change may be implemented by making a change to the programming of the system. No hardware must be modified or added in order to implement this change. The change may be a modification of existing code in the central processing appliance  40 . 
         [0042]    In addition, simple or complicated changes may be made to alarm conditions, timers, alarms that are triggered, events that trigger alarms, etc. by simply changing the program that is operating the door access control system. These upgrades or modifications to the door access control system should not be considered as limiting but only examples of the numerous changes that may be made by simply changing the program of the door access control system. 
         [0043]      FIG. 8  is a second embodiment of the door access control system. This second embodiment may use a completely wireless topology where there are no wires from the central processing appliance  40  to any edge devices  44 . In this second embodiment, the central processing appliance  40  does not have to be located near the edge devices  44 . However, the central I/O controller  36  must be within wireless communication range of at least one of the remote I/O controllers  60  in order to be able to communicate with all of the remote I/O controllers. The central processing appliance  40  must be able to communicate with the central I/O controller  36  in order to transmit and receive signals from the remote I/O controllers  60 . 
         [0044]    It should be understood that all of the embodiments described above may or may not be used in combination with each other and should be considered as operable together unless expressly stated otherwise. 
         [0045]    With these examples of the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the concept of logic domains  8  will be used to demonstrate how to further improve the door access control system of the present invention. It was explained previously that the fault tolerance of the door access control system may be improved using logic domains. Some examples of logic domains may now be shown. 
         [0046]      FIG. 9  is an illustration of a typical door  14  with various edge devices  44 . The edge devices  44  are now grouped together to form a single domain  76 . Similarly, the remote I/O controller  60  is shown as a separate logic domain  74 . If the remote I/O controller  60  were to fail, the door would no longer function in the prior art. However, in the embodiments of the present invention, the function of the remote I/O controller  60  might be taken over by the logic domain  76 . As long as one of the edge devices  44  included a means of communicating with the central I/O controller  36 , then the door  14  could continue operation. If the remote I/O controller  60  was performing any logic or processing functions, then these functions could either be passed to the logic domain  76  or to the logic domain  72 . The logic domain  72  is the central processing appliance  40 , which may or may not include the central I/O controller  36 . Thus, communications functions may be sent to the logic domain  76  and the processing functions may be sent to the logic domain  72 . What is important to understand is that communications and processing functions may be passed to another logic domain as long as the other logic domains include those capabilities. 
         [0047]    The use of logic domains to control functions of the door access control system enhances fault tolerance of connectivity and data access, latency QOS, easy access to a management interface, global access to the system, the ability to perform fast updates to any part of the system, and to provide security managed service.  FIG. 9  should only be considered as one illustration of how the logical domains may be assigned. Furthermore, logical domains may have overlapping physical or virtual devices. 
         [0048]    In another example of the usefulness of logic domains, suppose that the central processing appliance  40  may not be able to communicate with some or all of the remote I/O controllers  60 . This may happen for various reasons, including but not limited to power outages, damaged cables, or access to a wireless network  62  being cut off. In these situations, it should be understood that the remote I/O controllers  60  may be capable of operating all of the edge devices  44  at a door  14  such that the security of the doors may not be compromised when access to the central I/O controller  36  or the central processing appliance  40  is prevented for any reason. 
         [0049]    The central processing appliance  40  may be implemented as a computing device or as a virtual computing device on a physical computing device. The location of the central processing appliance  40  may be any location that gives it access to the doors  14  to be controlled. Thus, the central processing appliance  40  may be located at a facility with the doors  14 , or a remote location with communications with the facility with the doors. The central processing appliance  40  may be implemented in the Cloud. In other words, the central processing appliance  40  may be a Cloud-based computing device system as understood by those skilled in the art, where the actual processing and logic functions may be implemented on a server that has access to a network, such as the Internet. The central I/O controller  36  may function as a communications relay between the central processing appliance  40  and the doors  14 . 
         [0050]    Global access to the fault tolerant physical access control system may be provided in the form of an interface between the central processing appliance  40  and a remote device. The remote device may be a mobile device such as a smart phone or a tablet with access to a network. The remote device may be a desktop or a laptop computer. The remote device may access the central processing appliance at a physical facility or as a Cloud-based device. 
         [0051]    Although the preceding description has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials, and embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, it extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods, and uses, such as are within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. It is the express intention of the applicant not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6 for any limitations of any of the claims herein, except for those in which the claim expressly uses the words ‘means for’ together with an associated function.