Patent ID: 8222990

Claim:
A wireless access apparatus for controlling access into a secure area comprising: a first power source; a second power source; a controller for automatically switching between the first and second power source based at least on a calculated power level of the first and second power source, the controller is connected to either the first or the first and second power sources; a manually operable switch having a first position for connecting the first power source to the controller and a second position for connecting the second power source to the controller; and an electromechanical transducer coupled to said controller for unlocking or locking an entrance into the secure area, said controller determines access to said secure area using information received from an access card wherein the first power source is a solar panel and the second power source is a rechargeable battery and wherein the controller decides if there is enough solar power for operation, if there is enough power for solar operation, the controller disconnects the rechargeable battery and if there is not enough power for solar operation the controller remains connected to the rechargeable battery and wherein the controller is initially connected to the solar panel during start up and the manually operable switch is a pushbutton that is depressed during startup to force the battery to be connected to and to power the controller during installation where the solar cell may not have had enough access to light.