Abstract:
An access portal separates an unpaid side of a controlled entry barrier from a paid side. The portal comprises a vestibule connecting the paid and unpaid sides of the controlled entry barrier. A first door separates the vestibule from the unpaid side of the controlled entry barrier and a second door separates the vestibule from the paid side of the controlled entry barrier. A fare collection box is positioned at the unpaid side. A controller is operably connected to the fare collection box. The controller, upon receiving an indication of a collected fare, monitors for a further indication of a collected fare. At the conclusion of the monitoring, the controller cycles the first door, and subsequently, the second door.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to an access portal for controlling access to a restricted area. The access portal may provide controlled access to those with mobility problems and others who may have trouble negotiating turnstiles and the like.  
           [0002]    Controlled access to mass transit systems is typically provided by turnstile gates or revolving doors that separate the unpaid side of a controlled entry barrier from a paid side. However, turnstile gates and revolving doors, while effective for the majority of ambulatory users, may be unusable for those with mobility problems, particularly individuals in wheelchairs. To accommodate users in wheelchairs, separate gates may be employed. Some known wheelchair accessible gates must be manually opened and closed. Others may be designed to open automatically once a fare is received. Although access to a mass transit system does not require high security access control, these known wheelchair accessible gates may be easily circumvented and may therefore not be seen as sufficiently secure. This is particularly so where such gates are positioned remotely from a fare collector, or where any proximate fare collector&#39;s booth is not always staffed.  
           [0003]    Accordingly, there is a need for an access portal which may be used by those who would have trouble with a turnstile or the like, such as those with mobility problems, and which may suitably control access, at least in lower security applications such as access to mass transit systems.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    A disabled person often travels with an attendant or companion. The present invention facilitates this by providing an access portal which may allow plural (e.g., two) authorized users to contemporaneously pass through the portal. Other features may also be provided in order to enhance the safety and usability of the portal for users, especially those with mobility problems.  
           [0005]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an access portal for separating an unpaid side of a controlled entry barrier from a paid side. The portal comprises a vestibule for connecting the paid and unpaid sides of said controlled entry barrier; a first door for separating the vestibule from the unpaid side of said controlled entry barrier; a second door for separating the vestibule from the paid side of said controlled entry barrier; and a controller. The controller is for operable connection to a fare collection box and is for, upon receiving an indication of a collected fare, monitoring for a further indication of a collected fare. Additionally, the controller is for, at the conclusion of said monitoring, cycling said first door, and subsequently, said second door.  
           [0006]    A related method is disclosed as is a computer readable medium to effect the method.  
           [0007]    In another aspect, the present invention provides an access portal for controlled entry to a mass transit system. The portal comprises a vestibule for connecting the paid and unpaid sides of a controlled entry barrier; a first door for separating the vestibule from the unpaid side of said controlled entry barrier; a second door for separating the vestibule from the paid side of said controlled entry barrier; and a controller for operable connection to a fare collection box. The controller is for cycling said first door and, subsequently, said second door when a fare is collected by said box.  
           [0008]    Further characteristics and advantages of an access portal according to the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying figures. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    In the figures, which illustrate by way of example only embodiments of this invention:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an access portal, viewed from the unpaid side of an access barrier;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1A is like perspective view of the access portal, showing the portal in a different state;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portal of FIG. 1, viewed from a paid side of the access barrier;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the portal of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the lines  4 - 4  of FIG. 3;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines  5 - 5  of FIG. 3;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the lines  4 - 4  of FIG. 3; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the access portal and related environment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]    Referencing FIGS.  1  to  6  an access portal  10  comprises a vestibule  12  with a control room  14  extending from one of the walls (wall  15 ) that defines the vestibule. The vestibule  12  separates an unrestricted (unpaid) side  18  of a barrier  20  from a restricted (paid) side  22  of the barrier. The vestibule is delimited by two doors: a first door  24  separating the vestibule  12  from the unpaid side  18  of barrier  20  and a second door  26  separating the vestibule  12  from the paid side  22  of barrier  20 .  
         [0019]    With specific reference to FIG. 1, a fare collection box  40  may be positioned proximate door  24  at the unpaid side  18  of barrier  20 . The fare collection box may receive fares via a token slot  42  and a card reader  44 . A passenger assistance intercom  50  may also be provided housed in a pedestal  52  at the unpaid side  18  of barrier  20 . A display  60  (as, for example, a light emitting diode—LED—display) may be provided on a wall of the control room  14  facing the unpaid side  18  of barrier  20 .  
         [0020]    With reference to FIG. 2, at the paid side  22  of barrier  20 , an exit request button  70  may be provided on a pedestal  72  and another passenger assistance intercom  80  may be provided housed in a pedestal  82 . Further, a display  62  may be provided on a wall of the control room  14  facing the paid side  22  of barrier  20 .  
         [0021]    With specific reference to FIG. 3, each of doors  24 ,  26  may be pocket doors, being received in pockets  34 ,  36 , respectively, of the adjacent control room  14 , when open. At each of doors  24  and  26 , an infrared sensor  84 ,  94  may be placed across from an infrared emitter  86 ,  96 . A controller  88  for controlling the functioning of the access portal  10  is housed in control room  14  as is an unpaid side door operator system  28  and a paid side door operator system  30 . These door operator systems are known and, as seen in FIG. 7, comprise a door motor  110 ,  112 , an encoder  114 ,  116  associated with the door motor, and a proximity sensor  118 ,  120 , all associated with a door operator  122 ,  124 . A suitable door operator system is an ECI-2000 closed loop door operator, manufactured by Elevator Components Inc. Access to control room  14  may be had via door  36  or  38 . The provision of an adjacent control room avoids the need to house all componentry in the roof of the access portal where it is much less accessible. Additionally, the adjacent control room permits the use of pocket doors, which are seen as safer than, for example, telescoping doors, when the portal is used by the disabled.  
         [0022]    With reference to FIG. 6, the interior of the vestibule may be provided with a camera  90  and a passenger assistance intercom  100 .  
         [0023]    As is apparent from FIG. 1A, vestibule  12  is floorless, such that the access portal uses the existing floor  140  as its floor. Further, for each of doors  24  (FIG. 1) and  26 , a door track  142  is set into a groove in the floor  140 . In consequence, there is no step or ramp for a user to negotiate when entering or leaving the vestibule.  
         [0024]    Turning to FIG. 7, controller  88  is coupled for two-way communication with unpaid side door operator  122  of door operator system  28 , paid side door operator  124  of door operator system  30 , and fare collection box  40 . The controller receives input signals from infrared sensors  86 ,  96  and exit pushbutton  70 . The controller sends signals to the displays  60 ,  62 . The controller is also operatively connected to components at a manned fare collector&#39;s booth  130 . More specifically, the controller outputs to an indicator  132  at the booth and receives signals from overrides  134  at the booth. Camera  90  of the access portal outputs a video signal to a display  136  at booth  130 . Each door operator  124  receives output signals from an encoder  114 ,  116  and a proximity sensor  118  and outputs to a door motor  110 ,  112 . The controller  88  may be loaded with software from a computer readable medium  126 , which may be, for example, a disk, solid state memory, or a file downloaded from a remote source.  
         [0025]    In operation, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7, it is assumed initially that controller  88  is in a ready state which means that both the unpaid and paid side doors  24  and  26  are closed and the vestibule  12  is (presumed to be) empty, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In this state controller  88  controls display  60  at the unpaid side to display “ENTER READY” and display  62  at the paid side to display “EXIT READY”. From the ready state, an entry mode may be initiated if a token is deposited to fare collection box  40 . In such instance, a “token received signal” is sent to controller  88 . This starts a (ten second) fare timer, which timer may be implemented in software in the controller. While the fare timer is timing, one or more further tokens may be deposited to the fare collection box. Each additional token deposited will result in a further “token received signal” being sent to the controller. The controller tracks the number of these signals received during the timing of the fare timer. If the total number of “token received signals” reaches a pre-set maximum, the controller immediately sends an inhibit signal to the fare collection box such that will reject any further attempt to deposit a token. This maximum number may be two. As soon as the maximum number is reached or, if the maximum number is not reached, then as soon as the fare timer times out, the controller  88  signals the unpaid side door operator  122  to open door  24  (FIG. 3). The door operator  122  responds to a signal to open the door in a known fashion, using the encoder to judge door position. Simultaneously, the controller changes display  60  to read “ENTER” and display  62  to read “BUSY”. A signal from the door operator  122  apprises the controller when the unpaid side door is fully open. When a person enters the vestibule  12 , the infrared beam is broken and the unpaid side IR sensor  86  sends a signal to the controller. This causes the controller to start an unpaid side door closing delay timer. This timer is set to a value intended to allow time for the maximum number of users (e.g., two) to enter vestibule  12 . Once this timer times out, the controller signals door operator  122  to close the unpaid side door  24 . The door operator functions in a known fashion to close the door, using the proximity sensor to interrupt closing, as necessary, until there is a clear path for the door to close. Once the unpaid side door is closed, the door operator  122  signals controller  88 . As soon as the controller receives this signal, it sends a signal to indicator  132  such that the indicator provides a humanly perceptible signal at the fare collector&#39;s booth  130  which indicates the number of fares collected. For example, the signal may result in the display of the number of fares collected and/or provide an audible signal indicative of the number of fares collected. This signal allows a booth occupant to check video display  136  to verify that the number of individuals in vestibule  12  matches the number of fares collected. The controller  88  then (possibly after a short delay) signals door operator  124  to open the paid side door  26 . Once a user breaks the beam on the paid side, the controller is signalled by the paid side IR sensor  96 . This causes the controller to launch a (e.g., one second) paid side door closing delay timer. After this timer expires, the controller signals the door operator  124  to close the paid side door  26 . Once the paid side door closes, the entry cycle is complete and the controller uninhibits the fare box  40  and changes the displays to again read ENTER READY and EXIT READY.  
         [0026]    By setting the maximum number of fares that will be accepted during a given entry mode, the portal may be suited for use with the disabled. More particularly, a disabled individual often travels with an attendant. Therefore, with a maximum number of permitted fares during one entry mode set at at least two, the attendant may accompany the disabled person through the portal.  
         [0027]    It may be noted that if occupants of the vestibule do not leave before the paid side door timer expires and the paid side door closes, they will become trapped in the vestibule. In such instance, the occupants can use intercom  100  (FIG. 6) to communicate with a booth  130  occupant. The booth occupant can then signal the controller  88  using overrides  134  in order to cause either of the paid or unpaid side doors to open.  
         [0028]    If, when checking the display  136 , the booth occupant observes that the number of individuals in vestibule  12  exceeds the number of fares collected, the booth occupant may operate overrides  134  to signal a fare evasion to controller  88 . This causes the controller to initiate a fare evasion mode wherein the entry mode is aborted and the controller maintains the paid side door  26  closed and re-opens door  24  to the unpaid side. In fare evasion mode, the controller may also operate displays  60 ,  62  to read “DO NOT ENTER”. The booth occupant may speak to those in the vestibule through intercom  100  (FIG. 6). Once the controller has cycled (opened and closed) the unpaid side door, the controller will leave the fare evasion mode and return to its ready state.  
         [0029]    After a fare is collected, the controller also launches an (e.g., thirty second) abort timer. If no one enters vestibule  12  before the abort timer expires, then on its expiry, the controller causes the unpaid side door to close again and abort the entry mode. It would then be necessary for would-be entrants to speak to a booth  130  occupant via intercom  50  (FIG. 1) to explain the situation and request special treatment or simply deposit a further token (or further tokens) in the fare collection box  40  to re-initiate the entry mode. (In an alternative embodiment, feedback from the controller  88  to booth  130  could explain the circumstance to the booth attendant who could then take appropriate action.)  
         [0030]    Optionally, camera  90  may be located outside the vestibule  12  so as to have the access portal  10  and the surrounding area at the unpaid side  18  in its field of view. In such circumstances, the controller  88  may signal indicator  122  when “token collected signals” are received by the fare collection box  40  rather than after the unpaid side door has been cycled open and closed. As a further option in this regard, the fare collection box itself could signal not only the controller  88 , but it could also simultaneously directly signal indicator  132 , in which case the fare collection box may be considered as part of the controller.  
         [0031]    An exit mode commences when the controller is in its ready state and the exit pushbutton  70  is pushed. In such case, the controller changes display  60  to read “BUSY” and display  62  to read “ENTER”. Then, (possibly after a short—e.g., one second—time delay) the controller causes the paid side door to open. When a user enters the vestibule  12 , the paid side infrared sensor signals the controller. This causes the controller to launch the paid side door timer. Once this timer expires, the controller will cause the paid side door to close and the unpaid side door to open immediately thereafter. When an occupant of the vestibule leaves, this results in a signal from sensor  86  to the controller causing the controller to launch an unpaid side door timer and re-close the unpaid side door after expiry of this timer.  
         [0032]    If no-one enters the vestibule before the paid side door timer expires, the controller re-closes the paid side door and the exit mode is aborted. If no-one leaves the vestibule before the unpaid side door timer expires, entrapment may occur, as aforedescribed.  
         [0033]    When the controller is in exit mode, it will not respond to any additional signals received from exit pushbutton  70  or any signals received from fare collection box  40 . When the controller is in entry mode, it will not respond to any signals received from exit pushbutton  70 .  
         [0034]    The overrides  134  may also lock controller  88  in its ready state to provide a night lock. Additionally, the controller may be programmed to respond in a suitable fashion to other events, such as a fire alarm (where, for example, both doors  24  and  26  could be opened and left open).  
         [0035]    If booth  130  is positioned so that an occupant has a sight line into vestibule  12 , camera  90  and display  136  may not be needed.  
         [0036]    While the passenger assistance intercoms  50  and  82  and exit request button  70  have been illustrated as mounted on pedistals, equally, they may be wall-mounted, or mounted in some other suitable fashion. Additionally, alternate arrangements may be used for the fare collection box  40 .  
         [0037]    It should be apparent from the foregoing that the access portal  10  is suited for use by those with impaired mobility, such as an individual in a wheelchair, or a person on crutches. Additionally, the portal is suited for use by any person having an attendant. The portal can also accommodate a user bringing large belongings as, for example, a person with a large stroller.  
         [0038]    Of course, the above described embodiments are intended to be illustrative only and in no way limiting. The described embodiments of carrying out the invention are susceptible to many modifications of form, arrangement of parts, details and order of operation. The invention, rather, is intended to encompass all such modification within its scope, as defined by the claims.