Technical field

The present invention relates to a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like. The present invention also relates to a device that can be enabled as a key according to the method.

Background art

It should be specified that in many installations preference is given to locks of the electronic type (or the like) over traditional mechanical locks because they are more versatile and can be reconfigured an unlimited number of times without having to intervene by replacing components and more generally by means of direct maintenance on the device (one normally operates over a data communications network).

The expression "electronic lock" is used to reference a stand-alone device (i.e., a device that operates independently for example with respect to the electrical mains) which is battery-powered and is adapted to control the opening of doors: it can be installed easily on the leaf of doors, including existing doors, and requires no wiring.

These devices can be associated with keys of various kinds: contactless cards, magnetic cards, chip-cards and other remote control devices. The main technical reference subject for the present invention is the subject of the inherent characteristics of contactless keys.

Essentially, by moving the key (more specifically, one of the components described above) closer to a particular portion of the device (the electronic lock), a string encoded on the key is read (by the device): if the string contains the authorizations required to open the lock, opening (access enabling) occurs. The presence of at least one memory component ensures that all the operations for opening and closing the lock are logged, so as to allow subsequent reading thereof: in some cases it can in fact be useful to know the credentials of all those who entered the space, especially in the case of hotels and/or in the case of so-called "controlled" spaces (research and development departments in which confidential company information is accessible, rooms designed for cataloging confidential financial information, personnel departments, et cetera).

Technology of the known type does not allow the user of the service (to whom the key must be made available) to request (and obtain) such key remotely: he must in fact be at a service center where it is possible to load the string of information onto a respective medium, which is then given to him.

For the person in charge of providing the service there is, moreover, a severe problem regarding the possibility to generate at his server any credential for access to the spaces. In theory, therefore, an ill-intentioned individual might obtain access credentials to all spaces if he were able to break through the information technology protections that are present on the server or if he obtained such credentials directly from the person in charge by threatening him.

Technology of the known type is therefore inherently unsafe due to the possible accessibility of the information and of the site where the media/ keys containing such opening credentials are dispensed.

Disclosure of the invention

The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described above, by proposing a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like that is adapted to increase the level of safety of the information and of the credentials required to open the respective locks.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to propose a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like that is adapted to provide, even remotely, credentials for opening the lock or locks, eliminating the need for the requesting party to go to a specific media delivery site.

Another object of the invention is to propose a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like that allows to store all the opening and closing sessions to which the specific lock is subjected, in order to always know its status and the credentials of those who are inside the space delimited by such lock.

Another object of the invention is to propose a device that can be enabled as a key, according to the method suitable to operate remotely, receiving credentials without having to be present at the media delivery site.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like and a device that can be enabled as a key, according to the method, which have a low cost, are relatively simple to provide in practice and are safe in application.

This aim and these objects, as well as others which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like, comprising the steps that consist in

- requesting, with a computer connected over a specific data communications network to a specific key generation server, a string which constitutes the opening key for a respective electric lock, in association with specific credentials of the recipient of the key, said credentials comprising the telephone number of said recipient;

- creating the string that constitutes the key in said key generation server;

- sending over a line the data of the string that constitutes the key to a mobile telephone, provided with an NFC (acronym of Near Field Communication) function, of the recipient;

- saving the string that constitutes the key on said mobile telephone, to use it by means of the software for the management of the NFC function in order to enable the opening of the lock.

This aim and these objects are further achieved by means of a device that can be enabled as a key, according to the method, characterized in that it is constituted by a mobile telephone which is provided with a unit for transceiving NFC (Near Field Communication) radio frequency signals, which comprises an identification code and software for managing the NFC function in correlation with the entered data.

This aim and these objects are further achieved by means of a kit for the application of the method, characterized in that it comprises a computer provided with means for entering and sending data and requests for opening keys for specific electronic locks, a server provided with means for receiving requests and information from said computer, ith means for generating keys and with means for radio frequency transmission, in telephony frequencies, of strings of information, a device of the type of a mobile telephone which is provided with a unit for transceiving NFC (Near Field Communication) radio frequency signals, and at least one respective electronic lock provided with an element for receiving radio frequency signals emitted by said device arranged proximate to said element.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces delimited by electronic locks and the like and of the device that can be enabled as a key, according to the method according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the components of the kit and of their correlation in the method for the control and management of keys according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the operation for opening a lock performed with a device that can be enabled as a key according to the key control and management method according to the invention.

Ways of carrying out the Invention

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a kit for applying the key control and management method according to the invention and the reference numeral 2 designates a device that can be enabled as a key.

The method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces 3 delimited by electronic locks and the like consists in performing a series of consecutive steps.

In a first step a) it is necessary to request, by means of a computer 4, which is connected by means of a specific data communications network to a specific key generation server 5, an adapted string, which constitutes the opening key for a respective electronic lock 6, in association with specific credentials of the recipient of the key, such credentials comprising the telephone number of such recipient.

Specifically, it is noted that the data communications network used is preferentially the Internet.

The computer 4 can thus be located at the site where the key request is received (by whom) will then be the final recipient); such location might be the reception of a hotel or of the tourist building, a travel agency, the administration center of a company, and the like.

The server 5 is instead preferably in a location that is distant from the installation site of the computer 4, for example at the company that delivers the service of supplying strings of characters that constitute the keys, in the company that produces the electronic locks or, in the case of tourist and hotel complexes, in the headquarters of the company that manages them. In a subsequent step b) of the method according to the invention it is necessary to create the string that constitutes the key in the key generation server 5: such string, therefore, cannot be accessed by the computer 4 and it is therefore impossible for an ill-intentioned individual to access the rooms protected by the electronic locks 6 by tampering with the computer 4.

In view of the installation site of the computer 4, it would be certainly easier, for anyone who wanted to attempt theft, to access it in order to steal the access keys, than to access the remote server 5, which is located at a considerable distance.

In a further step c) it is convenient for the server 5 to send by means of a line, preferably a telephone line (thus utilizing the satellites 7 and the normal radio links of telephone lines), the data 8 of the string that constitutes the key to the mobile telephone (device 2), provided with an NFC (Near Field Communication) function, of the recipient.

The data 8 can also be sent by the server 5 by means of any type of transmission other than telephone transmission: for example by means of types of physical connection such as wireless, LAN, Bluetooth, GPRS and the like.

The recipient thus simply has to perform a last step d), which consists in saving the string 8 that constitutes the key on the mobile telephone (device 2), for its use by means of the NFC function management software in order to enable the opening of the lock 6.

It is convenient to specify that the credentials of the recipient of the key, sent by the computer 4 in step a), comprise the mobile telephone number (device 2), the identification code, within the service for supplying the strings 8 that constitute the keys, by adopting the NFC function, of the mobile telephone (device 2) and the data of the recipient.

In this manner a step of validating the data 8 when they are received by the cellular telephone (device 2) of the recipient is possible: in fact, the data 8 received on the telephone (device 2) can be read and used only if the identification code of the telephone (device 2) corresponds to the one comprised in the received string. Supply of the access key is therefore dependent on a supplemental control of the match of the device 2 that received the data 8 with the validation requirements (identification codes) inherently associated with the data 8.

According to a constructive solution of unquestionable interest in practice and in application, the server 5 contains the identification data of all the locks 6 that it controls and the credentials of all potential recipients.

Each recipient, in order to be able to access the service, must in fact register with it (for example online or at specific dedicated counters) by providing his data and the identification codes of his mobile telephone (device 2).

Analyzing in greater depth the string of data 8 that constitutes the key, it can be noted that it comprises a first portion of characters that define the actual key, a second portion of characters for enabling use of the first portion and adapted to verify the compliance of the identification code of the receiving mobile telephone (device 2) with respect to the code supplied by the computer 5 that emitted the request for the string 8.

The computer 4 through which the request is forwarded might also be itself constituted by a cellular telephone or smartphone; more specifically, it might also be the mobile telephone (device 2) of the requesting party by means of an adapted connection to the credential generation system.

The method according to the invention is therefore inherently safe, since if sending to an incorrect recipient occurs, such recipient cannot utilize the information that is present in the data string 8 because his telephone (device 2) does not have a code that complies with the code sent by the server 5.

It is convenient to note that in a particularly efficient constructive possibility, the string of data 8 can comprise information on the time of enabling and disabling, the date and time, of the key; thus the recipient has available a key which is active only for the period for which he has been enabled by the server 5. In the case of a hotel booking, therefore, the recipient shall have a key which is active only for the period that corresponds to the booking that he has made.

It is specified that step c) for sending the data 8 occurs preferably by means of text messages, multimedia messages, and the like.

The device 2 that can be enabled as a key according to the method is constituted by a mobile phone provided with an NFC (Near Field Communication) radio frequency transceiver unit.

The device 2 comprises an identification code and software for management of the NFC function in correlation with the entered data.

NFC technology has evolved from a combination of contactless identification or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and other connectivity technologies. NFC, differently from the simpler RFID devices, allows bidirectional communication: when two NFC devices (the Initiator and the Target) are arranged mutually adjacent within a radius of 4 centimeters, a peer-to-peer network is created between the two and both can send and receive information. NFC technology operates at a frequency of 13.56 MHz and can reach a maximum transmission speed of 424 kb/s.

It is specified that in the device 2 the software is designed for the association of acoustic, visual and/or vibration signals to specific conditions of use and operation of the radio frequency transceiver unit with NFC function.

The bidirectionality of the radio frequency transceiver unit with NFC function allows those who have a device 2 (mobile phone) on which there is a key for at least one specific electronic lock to enable the opening of such lock also with other devices 2 or electronic cards, transponders and the like.

Of course, this possibility depends on the information that is present in the data string 8, which thus will also contain the enabling (or lack thereof) to the creation of duplicates. The kit 1 for the application of the method according to the invention comprises a computer 4 which is provided with means for the entry and sending of data and requests for opening keys for specific electronic locks.

The kit 1 further comprises a server 5 which is provided with means for receiving requests and information from the computer 4 (a transceiving operation that is normally performed over the Internet), with means for generating keys and with means for radio frequency transmission, on telephony frequencies, of strings of information 8.

The kit 1 must further necessarily comprise a device 2 of the type of a mobile phone provided with an NFC (Near Field Communication) radio frequency signal transceiving unit, and at least one respective electronic lock 6 which is provided with an element 9 for receiving radio frequency signals emitted by the device 2 located proximate to the element 9.

The use of a mobile phone as a device 2 is particularly advantageous, since it allows to use its peripherals to interact with the user: it is in fact possible to provide on the screen information regarding the use of the key string 8; likewise, it is also possible to provide acoustic and/or voice messages as well as vibrations, as a function of particular applications.

The device 2 can further query the lock 6 (if enabled appropriately) to retrieve all the information stored regarding who has opened the lock 6 in a certain period of time. This allows to obtain rapidly and simply information which is useful for verifying any anomalies in use or operation.

Advantageously, the present invention solves the problems described earlier, proposing a method for the control and management of keys for access to spaces 3 delimited by electronic locks 6 and the like which is adapted to increase the level of safety of the information and of the credentials required to open the respective locks 6: this is done by means of the remote enabling of the device 2 and thanks to the validation of the data 8 provided to the device 2 only upon a preliminary verification of the identification code of the device 2. Conveniently, the method can indeed operate also and preferably remotely, managing the opening credentials of the lock(s) and eliminating the need for the requesting party to go to a specific media dispensing site.

Positively, the method according to the invention allows to store all the opening and closing sessions to which the specific lock 6 is subjected, in order to always know its status and the credentials of those who are inside the space 3 that is delimited by it.

It is not secondary to point out that the device 2 that can be enabled as a key is indicated specifically for remote operation, receiving the credentials without having to be present at the media dispensing site.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In the exemplary embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.

Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.