The underlying invention relates to a method, an electronic pouch and an access unit for providing access to a zone by means of a card.
In this patent specification uses the general term “electronic card” to encompass electronic identity cards which are also referred to be terms such as smart card, chip card, electronic ticket, proximity cards, vicinity cards and employee badges and other such cards. Proximity cards and vicinity cards are standardized in accordance with ISO, this is defined in ISO 14443 and ISO 15693.
The terms and definitions specified in the list of abbreviations and acronyms used, in the sense of a glossary, form an integral part of this patent specification. That is why not all the acronyms and terms are specifically introduced. In addition, instead of using non-technical German terminology, the standard English expressions such as, for example, “Timer”, are used for individual units or, in some cases, also specified in two languages in the appendix. In some cases, the function implemented by means of a component is also provided with the same reference symbol as that of the component.
Proximity cards PICC can transmit data to a reader unit PCD within a range of about 1 to 10 cm. Therefore, a person is forced to bring the card into the proximity of the reading unit PCD for providing access to a zone. This is particularly unfavorable when approaching a garage, since it also involves opening the window of the motor vehicle. The risk especially arises during this operation of the card falling onto the ground when being manipulated in this way.
What are known as “Combi-Boosters”, manufactured by N. V. Nederlandsche Apparatenfabriek NEDAP, for example, are used to deal with this problem. A “Booster” is an electronic portable device (=electronic pouch), into which a proximity card is inserted. A tag, mostly called a personal tag referred to as a “personalized” tag hereinafter, is transferred from the proximity card over the radio interface into the pouch. Said pouch sends this received identity on another frequency, for example, on the ISM band of 2.45 GHz to a stationary receive unit. The received tag is evaluated in a background system and, if it matches, an unblocking signal is generated for granting access. The pouch can in such cases likewise contain a further tag, so that access is only possible by means of the relevant pouch and the card. In the sense of this patent specification, a pouch is understood as meaning a portable, electronic device, which can accommodate an electronic card and is provided with means for communication with the card and an external send/receive unit.
Such a system is also desirable for an access control, in which a person carries such a pouch with an inserted electronic card. The aforementioned solution for a car park approach is not satisfactory for the following reasons:
The underlying object of the present invention is thus to provide a method, an electronic pouch and an access unit for granting access to a zone by means of an electronic card, which on the one hand overcomes the prevalent disadvantages and in addition allows:
Accordingly, one aspect involves a method for providing access to a predetermined zone. The method is used in an access system including a portable pouch and an access unit. The pouch has an inserted electronic card, a card receive module and a send/receive module coupled to the card receive module. The electronic card includes at least one tag that is transmitted in a wireless manner from the card to the card receive module. The access unit is assigned to a transit region of the zone and has a send/receive unit configured for a communication with the send/receive module of the pouch. The tag is transmitted to the send/receive unit of the access unit when the pouch is within a predetermined range of the first send/receive unit. The access unit determines if the tag received by the send/receive unit matches a stored tag, and generates an unblocking signal for providing access to the zone if the received tag and the stored tag match. A signal detector of the pouch detects an electromagnetic field generated by a send unit arranged in the transit region, wherein information transmitted by means of the electromagnetic field is processed. The information defines a predetermined minimum receive level necessary for activating electronic components of the pouch. A bidirectional communication between the send/receive unit of the access unit and the send/receive module of the pouch is initiated.
Another aspect involves an electronic portable pouch having a support for attaching a card storing a tag, and a card receive module located on the pouch. The card receive module is configured to receive the tag in a wireless manner when the card s attached. The pouch includes further a send/receive module connected to the card receive module and configured to provide for a bidirectional communication with an access unit for providing access to a zone, and a signal detector configured to detect an electromagnetic field and to activate the send/receive module for bidirectional communication with the access unit. A common loop antenna is provided for receiving the electromagnetic field and for wireless transmission of the tag from the card to the card receive module.
A further aspect involves an access unit for providing access to a zone with an electronic card containing at least one personified tag. The access unit includes a send/receive unit for communication with an electronic pouch containing a card in order that a personified tag is transmitted from the pouch to the send/receive unit. The access unit includes further a card reader and a card load modulation unit connected to the send/receive unit, to that the tag is transmitted by means of a card emulation.
The procedural steps according to the invention mean that the electronic pouch is only activated when required and in this way power consumption is minimized or a high autonomy ensured. The explicit activation by the electromagnetic field means that only the cards at a certain distance in front of the transit zone are activated, so that communication takes place with substantially smaller collisions and for this reason is safer. Bidirectional communication authorizes the exchange of keys so that a cryptology can be implemented in the classical manner.
Furthermore, by means of the previous activation of the pouch, bidirectional communication is likewise also associated with low power consumption seen over a period of time because polling from the pouch or a ready-to-receive state in response to so-called broadcast messages sent by the access unit is dispensed with. In accordance with the content of EP 1 210 693 B1, bi-directional communication can be arranged in an intermittent manner in a time pattern.
Advantageous embodiments of the underlying invention are specified in dependent claims.
In order to increase the autonomy further, provision can be made for the pouch to only be able to carry out a bidirectional communication to the access unit when a card is inserted. As a result it can also be ensured that detection only takes place if the user really wants this in the sense of an active deliberate act and not by the accidental passing by a transit zone. This deliberate act for example manifests itself as pushing a defined control element on the pouch.
The pouch can feature a display for displaying information transmitted about the bidirectional communication. Thus the following information can for example be displayed on the display depending on the application and use:
With at least one control element arranged on the pouch such as for example a pushbutton or keys on the pouch, the device can be configured and the display controlled. In addition, the control elements can be protected from incorrect manipulations if a defined control element is pushed accidentally on said pouch. This protection can be implemented by software or done mechanically. Likewise, a deliberate act for access to a zone can be undertaken by the user with the control elements.
The bidirectional communication between the pouch and the access unit makes it possible, with a conventional card reader located in the access unit, for the card detached from the access unit to be emulated. As a result, existing access units can continue to be used on the one hand and, on the other hand, the interface between the access unit and the management system need not be disclosed.
The invention is described in more detail below with reference to the associated drawings, wherein:
An overview of the basic function of the method in accordance with the invention is given below with reference to
For the explanation of the mode of operation of switching to an active state by means of a low frequency of the pouch 20 and bidirectional communication which takes place afterwards, the reader is referred to patent specification EP 1 210 693 B1, in particular to power-saving intermittent bidirectional communication 25 at the higher frequency. The switching to an active state of the pouch, if necessary with different stages by the electromagnetic field sent by the send unit 40, is to be taken from the patent specification WO 03/017207. This patent specification represents an integrating part of this text and herein incorporated by reference.
The constructional arrangement of the pouch 20 is shown in
This also applies to the frequency 6.78 MHz for activating the pouch 20.
The embodiment in accordance with
In the case of the embodiment in accordance with
r<λ0.6 . . . 0.16;
λ [Lambda] stands for the wavelength. Within said short range r, the magnetic field strength H decreases rapidly with the third power of the distance from the transmitter. For this reason, a spatially highly restricted, defined sphere of activity can be implemented. The loop antenna 213 (according to the antenna 21 in the
By means of this step-by-step activation of the individual components, the power consumption can be significantly reduced and for this reason the autonomy can be increased accordingly. This likewise represents a considerable difference to the prior art, because the proposed boosters are fitted in a motor vehicle and can accordingly by supplied with power from a car battery. The receive module 231 on 868 MHz and the send module 232 on 868 MHz are each connected to one amplifier with appropriate antennas 211 and 212.
Therefore, the connection between the controller 271 and the telegram filter 217 is, inter alia, bidirectional in order to be able to make certain adjustments to the telegram filter. A special advantage in accordance with the underlying invention lies in the fact that by way of the trigger field 42 propagated by a further send unit 40 by means of a modulation on a higher layer, information can also be transmitted. In this process, stages are defined in the field of a transferred record, which correspond to the specific minimum receive levels and thereby indirectly determined distances between the pouch 20 and the further send unit 40 on 6.78 MHz. A length of 3 bits is for example sufficient in order to specify 8 different stages for this; without taking the safeguard bits into account. Minimum receive level means that only when it is exceeded are further units of the pouch switched to an active state. In this process, processor module 271 can preferably adjust the corresponding stage for a pouch 20 and fixed for a pouch by said processor module 271. As an alternative it is also possible that the adjustment is made dynamically. That is, the further send unit 40 determines the level and thereby the distance, within which a pouch 20 is to be switched to an active state. In order to implement the step-by-step activation, the patent specification WO 03/017207 is hereby incorporated by reference.
Wired interfaces 274, such as RS232 or USB for example, are also available for configuration of pouch 20. Likewise, control elements and a display 272 can be arranged on the pouch. For the sake of completeness, a power source 273 is also shown in
The above-mentioned configuration of the pouch via the wired interface 274 can include the actions given in the following non-definitive list:
In principle it is possible to initiate bidirectional communication 25 at the higher frequency—here 868 MHZ—by way of a control action using at least one operating element arranged on the pouch 20 or by insertion of the card 1. This initiation is designed to take the place of triggering by an electromagnetic near field. The disadvantages compared to the proposed solution is that, especially in the case of a plurality of persons close together, said bi-directional communication 25 is generally initiated too early and as a result problems with collisions and possibly even the ranges can occur.
This disadvantage is rectified by means of a circuit as depicted in
In addition, the mode of operation in accordance with the wiring of
An inductively coupled transponder consists of an electronic data carrier, usually an individual microchip, as well as a large-surface coil, which serves as the antenna. Inductively coupled transponders are operated in an almost exclusively passive manner. This means that all the power needed for the operation of the microchips must be made available by the reading device. To this end, a high frequency, electromagnetic field is produced by the antenna coil of the reading device which penetrates the cross section of the coil surface and the area around the coil. Because the wavelength of the frequency ranges used (13.56 MHz: 22.1 m) is greater by a multiple than the distance between the reader antenna and the transponder, the electromagnetic field at a distance from the transponder to the antenna may from a mathematical point of view still be treated as a simple magnetic alternating field. The largest part of the sent field penetrates the antenna coil of the transponder, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the coil of the reading device. As a result, by induction at the antenna coil of the transponder, a voltage Ui is produced. Said voltage is rectified and serves the power supply of the data carrier (microchip). A condenser C1 is switched in parallel with the antenna coil of the reading device, the capacity of which is selected in such a way that together with the coil inductance of the antenna coil, a parallel resonant circuit is formed, the resonant frequency of which corresponds to the send frequency of the reading device. The antenna coil of the transponder likewise forms a resonant circuit together with the condenser C1, said resonant circuit being matched to the send frequency of the reading device. The arrangement of the two coils can be regarded as a transformer, with a very good coupling existing between the two coils, since the distance is very small. For this reason, a very good efficiency of the power transmission between the antenna coil of the reading device and the transponder is achieved. The necessary voltage U achieved at the transponder coil is adjusted by means of the relationship of the number of turns.
The embodiments of the invention described here allow the device to be used in a number of ways, for example also for so-called crowd management, where controlling the channeling of larger streams of people through a transit zone 50 is involved. The people to be channeled through the transit zone 50 carry a pouch 20 with a card 1 identifying the relevant person. As a result of this, it is possible to identify those persons such as for example hooligans, to whom access is to be refused for security reasons. With such an embodiment of the invention it is also possible to identify by means of a camera those persons not carrying a pouch 20 or not carrying a card 1 inserted into a pouch 20.
Using the above-mentioned example of crowd management, a summary of the advantages of the invention can again be listed below:
The functions of a card reader connected to classical technology can be distributed freely by the underlying disclosed embodiment of the invention over the pouch 20 and the access unit 60 and in this way allow a very flexible adaptation to the most diverse applications.
The current cards in accordance with ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO/IEC 15693 do not have a contact interface. However, embodiments of the underlying invention with the pouch are also possible, in the case of which the power supply/activation of the card 1 is affected in place of an electromagnetic field—radiated over the loop antenna 213—by means of a galvanic contact interface. In this process, the transmission of the card-resident tag still takes place in accordance with the relevant standards ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO/IEC 15693.
With individual card systems it is specified that only previously registered cards can be “read”. In a further embodiment of the underlying invention in accordance with
Another further embodiment of the method as claimed in the invention is described below. It has been specified above that the pouch 20 can be equipped with a display 272 and with operating elements. With bidirectional communication at the higher frequency, for example, at 868 MHz, in one of the zones assigned to the transit zone 50, information can be transmitted explicitly to the pouches 20, since their access and thus their presence are determined in this zone by the underlying invention. In this way, an emergency call and information about persons can be initiated i.e. persons carrying such a pouch on themselves. The persons registered in such a way as belonging to a zone can provide the quickest assistance on site. The information sent to these persons for example contains the name of that person who activated the emergency call and information about the current location of this person. The emergency call can be activated by means of the card pouch by pressing an operating element or a central activation at the management system 60 is also possible. In order for such an emergency call to be perceived by the relevant person, the pouch 20 in addition to the display element 272 can be extended by an acoustic and/or tactile (for example, by vibration) display element.
The information which can be shown on the display element 272 and which can be transmitted in a message on the pouch 20 can contain for example:
With this extension of the procedure for the pouch 20 and the card 1 contained therein and coupled to said pouch, the application of expensive and additional equipment can be avoided. Such additional equipment and auxiliary services are for example a pager or a mobile telephone which can be incorporated into a so-called Corporate Mobile Network CMN. The solution presented here functions within the normal access control system and by means of the normal chip card 1 hereinafter also referred to as the employee badge.
In this specification, reference was in some cases made to the Legic card system. However, the invention can also be implemented with other card systems such as, for example, the Mifare card system and in particular as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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05013418.8 | Jun 2005 | EP | regional |
05026691.5 | Dec 2005 | EP | regional |
The present application is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/EP2006/001849, filed on Mar. 1, 2006, which claims priority to European Patent Application Nos. 05013418.8, filed on Jun. 22, 2005, and 05026691.5, filed Dec. 7, 2005, which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2006/001849 | 3/1/2006 | WO | 00 | 12/19/2007 |