The present invention relates to an electronic lock device, comprising a motor lock and an electronic circuit, adapted to be mounted on an existing mechanical lock and to lock or unlock the mechanical lock in response to a signal from a signal device

The most common way to lock or unlock a structure or area, such as a door, is by using a mechanical lock and a mechanical key. This solution is cost efficient and easy to use, and a mechanical lock is hard to force. The drawbacks are, however, that the user always has to bring the key and that a user having a key can always obtain access, since the key itself does not incorporate any restrictions on when access should be granted or to whom. Anyone possessing the key may obtain access at any time.

This is an especially big problem when many different people have to obtain access to one or more locations. A good example is in home care. Here many different caregivers must obtain access to many different private residences. With a mechanical key this is not easy to solve in an efficient way.

One solution is to make multiple copies of all the keys to homes of the people needing care. This is not a practical solution, as every caregiver would have to carry potentially thousands of keys.

An alternative is to simply share one key. As long as all visits can be scheduled 100% this is a possibility, but in practice there are a lot of emergency calls (an elderly or disabled person needing immediate aid) or trading shifts etc. This means that the caregivers must meet up and exchange keys and each shift must return to the head office to return the keys so they can be used by the next shift. This is very ineffective, yet is actually the solution that is used in many places. A third alternative is to use a so called A-key, meaning that a master key is made that may gain access to all the homes of the people needing care. This is an efficient solution, yet has two major drawbacks; if a key is lost all locks of all homes must be changed. Since there is no limitation on a mechanical key, all caregivers have access to all homes at all times, which in a business with many temporary employees can be a problem, especially since a mechanical key may be copied. This is therefore a quite risky solution, and though it has been tried several times, it is always discarded, if not before then certainly after the first time someone looses a key.

An alternative to using only the mechanical key is using some form of electronic access control system to replace, augment or parallel the mechanical key.

The notion of limiting access to certain times of day and to only a subsection of doors is well known in the traditional access control systems. These often supply the option of updating who has access where from a central location without needing access to the unlocking device or the lock itself. Some solutions, like the electronic key, use a variation where it is still required to obtain access to the lock to update it, yet it may be done much more efficiently than changing a mechanical lock.

The traditional access control systems rely on wired data communication to update who has access where and when, which is not practical when dealing with many geographically distributed locations. Furthermore the traditional access control systems replace the existing locking system of the location. Generally this is done with a magnetic lock, which has the disadvantage of greatly lowering the security rating of the door. If security is an important factor, then often the door itself is replaced with one specifically designed for the access control system. This requires a lot of changes to the location where the access control system is to be installed; installing the data communication cables, changing or replacing the door.

Most likely this is the reason the electronic key was designed, e.g. Ruko CLIQ. It requires replacing the cylinder, but does not diminish the security or require a lot of complicated installation. The disadvantage is that in order to reprogram a lock one must physically go there. This is not a problem if the usage pattern is static and/or if the distance between locks is small (doors inside the same office building). A further disadvantage is that it is a

replacement of the existing cylinder, and therefore anyone needing to obtain access must have a new key. This key must be an electronic key, which is for more expensive than a purely mechanical key, and runs on battery.

Naturally the ideal solution is a traditional access control system with the following qualities:

1. Is cheap and easy to install

2. Allows updates of who may enter, when and where from a central location without needing access to the electronic lock or unlocking device. 3. Do not require modifying the existing locking system. This will allow the existing access system, e.g. mechanical lock and key, to be used at the same time as the access control system.

4. Do not require modifying the door.

5. Do not lower the security rating of the door.

6. Do not impose any safety risks not present before the system was installed.

7. Is maintenance free.

8. Is invisible from the outside. The 8 ^th quality is due to the information contained in the very existence of an access control system. If there is an access control system it may indicate that there is something worth breaking in to obtain, or that an elderly or disabled person live here (someone who will not resist), if it is know that the home care uses a given system. There are several already patented attempts to solve this problem, like WO 2006/098690, WO 2008/056152, EP 2 096 239 Al and DE 197 49 081 Al among others.

Generally these solutions solve some of the aforementioned qualities of an ideal access control system for geographically distributed installation, yet without fully meeting the goals, which is why the present invention is created.

All the systems mentioned use a simple locking and unlocking device, and have the intelligence of authentication in the unlocking device. The unlocking device may e.g. be a Smartphone with a GPRS connection to a server. The unlocking device communicates with the electronic lock using some form of RF, e.g. Bluetooth.

The object of the present invention, is to provide an electronic lock device, is a device for gaining access to a locked structure or area in a simple, efficient and safe manor, and which electronic lock device allow for both electronic and manually operation. Thus, the present invention provides an access control system which is suitable for

geographically distributed installations.

The present invention will be described in accordance with the terms and definitions described below. Terms and definitions

communicating with the Electronic lock

server, if one is configured.

Electronic lock server A server, not part of the invention, which

accepts information (events) from the

Online electronic lock device as well as

make these available to a central user.

The Electronic lock server may also be

used to configure and update the Online

electronic lock device and act as an

unlocking device.

User Anyone using an unlocking device.

Central user Someone with access to the Electronic

lock server, e.g. via an internet login.

Technician Someone who is responsible for installing

an Electronic lock on a structure or area,

e.g. a house.

Mechanical key A purely mechanical unlocking device. Key

A- key A Mechanical key which is coded to

function with many mechanical locks.

Electronic lock Any device for controlling the access to a

door/gate/... (e.g. an Online electronic

lock device), which may be used to

perform the locking or unlocking based on

an electronic signal, e.g. RF, keypad, etc.

Automatic close lock A purely mechanical lock which is Close lock designed so that when the door is closed

it is also locked. This is done by a spring

pushing out the dead-bolt and a dead- bolt design allowing the dead-bolt to

automatically retract when the door is

closed, but has the desired locking effect

when the door is closed (Dk: smaeklas)

Rosette An often circular piece of metal (brass,

steel, aluminium, etc) which is placed

around the door handle or locking

cylinder on the inside or outside to cover any excess hole in the door where the

door handle or cylinder enters the door

plate. (Dk: roset)

Tin shield An often square piece of metal (brass,

steel, aluminium, etc) which is placed on

the outside and inside serving the same

purpose as the roset, yet covering the

fole for the cylinder and the door handle

in a single sheet of metal. (Dk: langskilt)

Consequently, the present invention relates to an electronic lock device, comprising a motor lock and an electronic circuit, adapted to be mounted on an existing mechanical lock and to lock or unlock the mechanical lock in response to a signal from an unlocking device, wherein the electronic lock device comprises a coupling adapted to ensure that the mechanical lock can be operated manually at all times, wherein the coupling is a disc coupling.

As the mechanical lock can be manually operated at all times i.e. the door cannot be blocked due to the operations of the electronic lock device, both at expected behaviour (while locking/unlocking or at rest) and at unexpected behaviour (power failure or other error). Thus, the electronic lock device provides safety for the users as the door can be opened at all times, even at failure of power, e.g. due to fire or other events. In an embodiment the electronic lock device is adapted to be mounted on only one side of a door. The electronic lock device will only be visible on the side of the door on which it is mounted and not visible on the other side of the door. Thus, the electronic lock may be invisible from the outside and yet allow the use of e.g. an FID tag for unlocking and locking the door (using the RFID reader through the door "plate")

According to the invention the electronic lock may be combined with other electronic lock devices and operated as a traditional access control system. In this embodiment i.e. the individual locations may receive updates regarding who may obtain access and when in realtime and where the location can transmit events back to the central server in real-time using wired data communication, or the GSM network to create a virtual wired network.

In a preferred embodiment of the electronic lock device according to the invention the electronic lock is installed, operated for a period on a door and removed without leaving any visible marks on the door. Thus, the electronic lock device is adapted to be mounted on a door without permanent mounting means, such as nails or screws, but e.g. with a special designed metal attachment or double adhesive tape. The electronic lock device can then be dismounted without requiring plaster or paint to restore the door.

The electronic lock device may support other control or sensor devices via the electronic circuits RF communication line (Bluetooth or ISM) and transmit it to the electronic lock server to gain a more complete view of the locations status. In a preferred embodiment the electronic lock device is adapted for parallel manual operation of the mechanical lock. Consequently, in this embodiment the mechanical lock can be operated manually on a daily use basis without causing any damage to the electronic lock device. The embodiment allows for parallel operation of the existing mechanical lock, i.e. the existing lock may be used without any change in procedure both from the inside and the outside, while the online electronic lock may be used in parallel to unlock or lock the same mechanical lock.

Preferably the unlocking device or device for unlocking the electronic lock device is selected from the group comprising RFID, NFC (Near-Field Communication), keypads, smart phones, phone-call, DTMF, and SMS. Thus, it is possible to operate the electronic lock device with a wide range of signal devices. Moreover, the electronic lock device according to the invention may be adapted to lock or unlock an electronic lock, automatic door, gate or boom, and the invention provides lock solutions for numerous applications.

The invention also comprises an embodiment wherein the electronic lock device is integrated with an automatic door opener, a smoke alarm, a fire alarm, or a panic button. This embodiment is highly useful, e.g. in the homes of elderly people, in schools or other public buildings.

The invention will now be described in further details with reference to figures in which: Fig. 1 shows a prior art lock system;

Fig. 2 shows an overview of the online electronic lock device domain;

Fig. 3 shows the motor lock;

Fig. 4 shows the electronic circuit;

Fig. 5 shows electronic lock mounted on a door;

Fig. 6 shows the installation of the online electronic lock;

Fig. 7 shows an example of a thumb turn adapter; Fig. 8 shows a close lock installation;

Fig. 9 shows close lock attachment details;

Fig. 10 shows attachment for use with different mechanical lock models and doors;

Fig. 11 shows attachment for use with different mechanical lock models and doors;

Fig. 12 shows attachment for door with downwards facing lock;

Fig. 13 shows a thin sheet iron bracket for attaching metal brace; and

Fig. 14 shows an alternative placement of the metal brace.

Figure 1 shows a prior art lock system. The major problem with this is the requirements to the unlocking device. It needs to maintain two data channels (GPRS and Bluetooth), and cache and transmit events back to the server. This drains the batteries relatively fast, causing entry to be prohibited. The unlocking device itself (the Smartphone) is also much more expensive than a purely mechanical key or even an electronic key (e.g. Ruko CLIQ), and require some level of technical understanding to operate.

Furthermore the requirement of the GPRS connection can be troublesome in some parts of an location and as the unlocking device is a "standard" Smartphone improving reception is not simple. Solving this may be done by only requiring access to the server e.g. once a day and when changes to the access permissions occur, yet this has the disadvantage that if an unlocking device is lost it remains valid for a certain amount of time, in which anyone may use it, and as the events are also cached on the unlocking device it is not possible to detect the intrusion, even if the unlocking device is reported stolen. To combat this problem, a password that must be entered locally every time the unlocking device is used, may be added, yet this greatly slows down the process of unlocking or locking a door.

Having the unlocking device contain the data channel to the server furthermore prevents the system to send events while the unlocking device is out of reach, and any errors that may occur (or other occurrences of interests, like battery low) cannot be sent to the server until the someone is standing in front of the door with an unlocking device, and if the occurrence is battery low, then this can be a big problem.

The existing lock devices also suffer from a safety aspect. As they are designed to operate in parallel with the existing solution they must allow for the door to be operated by means of a mechanical key (from the outside) and thumb-turn (from the inside). This is attempted solved by enabling or disabling the electronic lock, so that it is only engaged when needed.

Unfortunately this has two major drawbacks; When the electronic lock is engaged it is impossible to force the lock, so while the electronic lock is operating it is impossible to override it's operation manually, and if the unit fails (e.g. power failure) while engaged then the lock will be permanently blocked making manual operation of the lock impossible.

In the fire code there are specific requirements to how escape paths may be secured, and these state requirements to how long and how an access control system may block an escape path.

It is not illegal for an access control system that suffers a failure to block an escape path (e.g. a mechanical lock that jams), yet the question of whether a power failure or a battery running out of power is a failure is currently undecided. Secondly it is only allowed to block an escape path for a very short time, and depending on the rotational speed of the electronic lock this may not be met with an electronic lock that do not support manually overriding an ongoing electronic lock operation. The present invention solves these aforementioned problems by moving the authentication functionality to the electronic lock and making it online by the use of a GSM modem. This allows for the unlocking device to be greatly simplified and may e.g. be an RFID tag, a

Bluetooth signal (with no need for a GPRS connection), a simple matrix keypad (wired or wireless), etc. This allows the system to be used by someone without a Smartphone with a special application installed.

Since the online electronic lock is mounted inside the residence or area, it is possible to improve GSM reception by simply attaching a better GSM antenna or using a GSM antenna relaying station if needed. The online ability also ensures that any events that occur (access granted, unauthorized access attempted, error, etc) may be transmitted instantly, just like the online electronic lock may obtain updated access permissions (who may enter where and when) instantly, meaning that a lost unlocking device may be cancelled immediately, and no "timeout" of the access permission is required. Another difference in the online electronic lock is that since it is online it is possible to remotely control the door, which means that if someone have forgotten their key, or a doctor or other emergency personnel need access to a patients home, it is possible to remotely unlock the door. This principle is well known from high end cars in the USA, where a central service can unlock the doors and override the car ignition.

Finally there is the safety aspect, and here the invention has completely eliminated the problem by introducing a disc coupling. A disc coupling is characterised by being able to glide if too much force is applied. This means that if the mechanical lock is operated manually at the same time as the online electronic lock is operating the motor lock then the discs of the disc coupling will simply glide against each other and the lock may be operated manually both from the inside or the outside. As the disc coupling is electromagnetic and engaged when power is applied then the system will instantly disengage in case of a power failure, no matter when it occurs, and there is no way the motor may be left in an engaged state no matter how unfortunate the timing of the power failure may be. This is naturally of little importance, as the disc coupling may always be forced, yet it is an extra safety feature. In order to support unchanged manual operations of the mechanical lock it is imperative that the motor lock operates easily enough to allow the existing spring in a close lock (Dk:

smaeklas) to rotate motor lock and extract the dead bolt. This is supported by the motor lock by ensuring low friction in all aspects of the design. The installation of the online electronic lock device is done using different adaptors which are able to turn the inside thumb-turn. Some of the aforementioned prior art lock devices do something similar, yet the online electronic lock has as part of its capability that no visible modification is to be done on the existing door. This is achieved by designing the different adapters and installation attachments in such a way that it either reuses the existing screw holes, only have new screw holes where they are hidden by an existing tin shield (DK:

langskilt) or rosette, or do not require any screws at all. The requirement is that the door may be returned to its original state without leaving any marks or requiring paint.

Due to the built-in GSM modem the online electronic lock also support extensions with other functionality like a smoke detector, emergency call system, heart monitor, etc. Furthermore the GSM modem allows for remote update of the firmware, thereby allowing modifications to the running code without gaining access to the physical unit. This is not possible if it is the unlocking device that has the data communication channel. The integration with a fire and smoke detector also allows for automatically unlocking the door in case of a fire. This will allow not only emergency personnel, but also a helpful neighbour or passer-by, to enter and aid anyone inside, which might be an elderly or disabled person.

Also the separation into a motor lock and electronic circuit is deliberate. Where most of the other inventions mentioned only function in conjunction with a mechanical lock, the online electronic lock may be used in a configuration where the motor lock is not installed at all and the electronic circuit instead controls a magnet lock, an automatic door opener, a gate or boom, etc. This has the advantage that the same unlocking device may be used regardless of whether the location to access is already fitted with an electronic lock, as the electronic circuit may simply control the existing electronic lock. An overview of the access control system for geographically distributed installation may be seen in figure 2.

The system details are explained in the following. The online electronic lock consists of a motor lock and an electronic circuit. The motor lock may be seen in figure 3 and in Table 1 is given a description of the individual parts of the motor lock.

removed if friction is low enough without.

The crown wheel used to transfer the rotation from the motor (15), via the pinion wheel (6) and the disc coupling to the thumb turn adapter (19).

The two ball-bearings used to ensure easy rotation of the force from the motor (15), via the disc coupling to the pinion wheel (6).

The back disc coupling plate. This is used in conjunction with the front disc coupling plate (7) to transfer the power from the motor (15) to the pinion wheel (6) as well as allow manual operation of the mechanical lock by letting the disc coupling plates glide against each other at a specific torque.

The part of the base of the housing which glides against the crown wheel. This must ensure low friction and a lubricating gel or Teflon tape may be applied as needed.

Hole in the base of the housing (22) for the thumb turn adapter (13)

The holder for the shaft for the pinion wheel (6) and the two ball bearings (10). This is used in conjunction with the brace (5).

The electro motor used to generate the rotational force used to lock or unlock the mechanical lock, via the disc coupling, kron-spidshjul and thumb turn adapter.

The power attachments for the electromotor (15).

Slits in the base of the housing (22) for the motor power (15) and disc coupling power (24). There are multiple slits to support the different attachment options (right hinged, left hinged and horizontal).

Attachment between the back disc coupling plate (11) and the motor (15) which is used to transfer the rotational force from the motor (15) to the back disc coupling plate (11).

The thumb turn adapter used to transfer the rotational force from the crown wheel to the mechanical lock. The thumb turn adapter may be replaced to fit different mechanical lock types. The shown thumb turn adapter is used with a Thumb turn extender (used with ASSA Rim & mortice locks - DK: Indskukken lasekasse).

A screw to affix the motor lock thumb turn (1) to the thumb turn adapter (19).

The electromagnetic coils of the disc coupling used to generate the magnetic field which draws the front disc coupling plate (7) to the back disc coupling plate (11). The force of this magnetic field along with the surface of the coupling discs determine the torque required before the discs will glide against each other.

The base of the housing. This is responsible for holding the inner components, which includes any force exerted by the inner components which is not directed at the mechanical lock (undesirable force leak) - some degree of force leak is unavoidable and manifests as friction. 23 The motor holder. This is responsible for affixing the motor to the base of the housing (22) and ensure that the motor shaft and disc coupling is correctly aligned with the front part of the disc coupling, pinion wheel shaft and pinion wheel.

24 The power attachments for the electromagnetic clutch coils (21).

Table 1 - Motor lock details

A diagram of the electronic circuit may be seen in figure 4, and the individual parts of the circuit are labelled on the figure. The indicated RJ45 is the connection between the motor lock and the electronic circuit, and contains wiring for the power to the disc coupling (labelled "clutch") and the power to the motor, as well as power and communication to an optional RFID reader, as may be seen mounted in figure 5.

The mounting of the online electronic lock consists of installing the motor lock on the door's mechanical lock, drawing the wire across the door inside a metal brace and plugging in the electronic circuit. In figure 5 may be seen an actual installation of the invention. In this configuration the electronic circuit is in a separate housing than the motor lock, yet this is not a requirement. When the motor lock and electronic circuit is in the same housing it is merely the power supply for the electronic circuit that is drawn across the door in the metal brace.

In Table 2 is given a description of the individual parts of the online electronic lock shown in figure 5.

Table 2 - Components of the online electronic lock The installation of the online electronic lock is performed as shown in figure 6. Here it may be seen that a steel attachment is used to attach the online electronic lock to the door. This attachment is designed, as previously mentioned, to leave no visible marks on the door, so that the online electronic lock may be taken down without leaving marks on the door.

Figure 6 shows the installation of the online electronic lock. Naturally there several different lock types, and though it is not possible to adapter which may support them all, it is possible with a relatively small assortment of attachments to support the most common types, and as new types are discovered the attachments may simply be modified or a new attachment developed to support the new lock type.

Where the attachment is designed attach the online electronic lock to the door, the thumb turn adapter is used to adapt the motor lock to the given mechanical lock type. Several mechanical locks make use of a small flat piece of iron to connect the mechanical lock to the thumb turn adapter, and this is therefore the most common thumb turn adapter type. An alternative is where the existing thumb turn adapter may not be removed, and here a different thumb turn adapter is used. Both of these examples are shown in figure 7.

Figure 7 shows examples of a thumb turn adapters, which can be used with the present invention.

An example of an installed online electronic lock on the closed lock is shown in figure 8. In figure 9 may be seen a more detailed view of the close lock thumb turn adapter and attachment.

Figure 10 and 11 is seen an assortment of attachments for use with different mechanical lock models and doors.

Figure 10 - Attachment for standard door with rosette covering cylinder.

Figure 11 - Attachment for standard door with tin shiled.

Figure 12 - Attachment for door with downwards facing lock. As previously mentioned a special thin sheet iron bracket was developed to attach the metal brace to the door, and this may be seen in figure 13. Here it may be seen that two screws are used to affix the thin sheet iron bracket to the door. This is acceptable as the screws are placed in the part of the door facing the door frame and is therefore not visible.

Figure 13 shows a thin sheet iron bracket for attaching metal brace.

An alternative placement of the metal brace also exists, as may be seen in figure 14. Here the metal brace runs vertical and a different thin sheet iron bracket is used at the top to gain a 90° turn and the run another metal brace horizontal across the door at the top. This may be used where aesthetics or other factors, like special carvings or extensions to the middle of the door, exists.