Patent ID: 7823338

Claim:
An access control system, comprising: at least first and second portable containers, the first portable container comprising two shorter sidewalls and two longer sidewalls and at least one sidewall opening in at least one of the longer sidewalls extending to a floor of the first portable container and having a size sufficiently large to walk through, and the second portable container comprising at least one sidewall opening extending to a floor of the second portable container and having a size sufficiently large to walk through, the portable containers being arranged such that at least one sidewall opening of the first portable container communicates with at least one sidewall opening in the second portable container when the first and second portable containers are positioned next to each other, wherein the first container or the second container or both comprise at least one panel configured to close at least one sidewall opening provided in the first container or the second container or both, the at least one panel including a bar-like locking mechanism pivotably attached to the at least one panel, the bar-like locking mechanism having extremities which selectively engage a sidewall adjacent to the at least one sidewall opening to hold the at least one panel over the at least one sidewall opening, wherein the first portable container comprises a passing room disposed in the first portable container, the passing room having a first passing room opening, a second passing room opening and a walkway in-between, the first passing room opening and the second passing room opening being on opposite shorter sideswalls of the first portable container; and the access control system further comprises a barrier device located in the walkway of the passing room, defining a first space between the first passing room opening and the barrier device, and a second space between the barrier device and the second passing room opening, wherein the access control system is constructed such that when the access control system is disposed between a first area, adjacent the first passing room opening, and an enclosed second area, adjacent the second passing room opening, ingress and egress from and to the second area is controlled by the barrier device.