DESCRIPTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for accessing a receptive structure, in particular an area with regulated access such as a room of a hotel structure or the like.

Background Art

As known, the management of access to hotel structures occupies an important part of the activity of sector operators. In the past, the operations of defining a client's overnight stay, booking and then accessing the relevant areas (rooms and common areas) was conducted fully by hand.

Currently different systems exist which allow to partly automate the activities of reception staff and to make the access simpler and more pleasant for clients.

In particular, all the selection and booking systems by now are conducted mostly online, through dedicated software which enables the user to interact directly with a system of availa ^¬ bility of the single hotel and to record one's reservation with one's data.

At the same time, room access is made simple, secure and customised through electronic keys (for example in the form of magnetic cards or cards provided with RFID transponder) which interact with electronic keylocks suitably configured through a centralised console available to the staff of the hotel structure. More sophisticated access keylocks have also been proposed, provided with readers of digital fingerprints or other univocal characteristics of the client, but they are still highly complex to programme and manage and imply some privacy problems .

The Applicant has identified that the step of the client's access to their reserved area still implies complications, which require the employment of qualified staff at reception. That implies both delays in the check-in phase and especially significant management costs, which necessarily produce access limitations to some hotel structures with low turnout (one can think of night-time hours for some small hotels, or of tourist structures in low season) .

Summary of the Invention

Therefore an object of the present invention is that of providing a system which solves the drawbacks just mentioned. In particular it is meant to provide a system for accessing and a relative access method of a hotel premise, which is highly automated and allows to regulate accesses to the areas reserved for clients even without having reception staff, despite preserving the client's privacy and the access limitations assigned thereto during booking.

This object is achieved through the features mentioned in the main claims attached herewith. The dependent claims describe preferential features of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will in any case be more evident from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, given purely as a non-limiting example and illustrated in the attached drawings, wherein:

fig. 1 shows a flow diagram of the access method according to the invention; and

figs. 2, 3 and 4 are schematic views which illustrate three different exemplifying installations of the system according to the invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

An access management system of a hotel structure or other regulated-access area comprises hardware and software components suitably integrated for defining the entire interface between the user and the keylock control of the access area, with the deferred intermediation of the operators in charge.

The system thus arranged gives the opportunity to enter the user' s personal identifying data from a remote location, to enable the access for that user according to criteria established by the system manager, to automatically generate a numerical code, to transmit it to the user on a channel chosen by the user - such as a short text message or an e-mail message readable on a mobile telephone - to enter the code in a numerical combiner connected to the access keylock and to thus access any receptive structure such as a hotel, bed&breakfast , guesthouse, boarding house, holiday farmhouse, door of any public or private structure or any environment provided with an access gate with electric-control keylock.

In particular, the first interface with the user consists of a portal or access page of the receptive structure, which is suitably configured by the manager of the receptive structure based on their availability and access policies. Through this interface, known per se, the user can check the availability of the regulated-access areas - typically the availability of hotel rooms - and confirm the booking thereof, entering their identification data and the data of any payment.

According to the invention, moreover, the interface with the user provides input means for a communication channel, for example a field with scroll-down input, through which the user must provide the preferred communication channel on which an access code will be transmitted. Exemplifying communication channels are electronic mail (email) , mobile telephone number for the sending of short text messages, or other.

This user interface is configured for collecting the data entered by the user and transferring them through a suitable protocol (for example XML language) to a processing server, physically consisting of a computer located on the manager's premises or at a remote location. The same processing server can be accessed also by a second interface on the manager's side, through which an operator of the receptive structure can check the data entered by the user, confirm the booking and enable the transaction, so as to cause the access-enabling process to continue.

On the enabling server there are configured code-generating means and access-enabling means, typically in a software form, apt to generate a (typically alphanumerical or only numerical) access code unique for that user and that specific booking and to enable an electronic access keylock to open when the same ac- cess code is entered, through a suitable numerical combiner associated with the electronic keylock, in the operating condition preset by the processing server. The operating condition is limited to the user's requirements agreed and possibly set down in a contract with the manager: for example the opening of the keylock is enabled only on certain days and at certain times, but also any domotic system present in the access area may be enabled and customised according to the access code entered by the user. In particular, the entire domotic management of the area (switching on of the room air conditioning, chilled-bar accessibility, enabling of other electrical appliances, lighting, ... ) can be regulated according to the user' s preferences paired with that specific access code, with a consequent energy saving or at least a better appliances control and consumption.

Preferably the access gate is provided also with secondary access-enabling means, for example a classic transponder reader for RFID cards. These secondary means are used for enabling the access, for example, for service staff, whose activity in the regulated area must be in any case controlled but occurs with different criteria than the user's access code.

Hence, the hardware part of the system consists of a numerical combiner and of a transponder reader located near the access gate, connected to an access control central unit in turn coordinated by the access programming software which resides in the processing server part available to the service manager.

The software part consists of a web-based or application- based platform which provides:

(i) a user interface, for entering the user's data - similar to the one which is already in use for the on-line check-ins - for choosing the payment terms of the service and of the communication channel,

(ii) a manager interface, for entering the management policies of the bookings, of the rates and of the availability and

(iii) a processing server component for managing the two interfaces, for generating a private access code and subsequently sending it on the chosen communication channel, and configur- ing and controlling the electronic keylocks (as well as possible associated domotics) of the regulated-access areas.

The operation of the technology provides a highly effective, easy-to-use operating mode, the main flow of which is schematised in fig. 1.

After checking the availability and the relative booking of a receptive structure - any area with regulated access of a public or private structure or environment provided with keylock - a link on the user interface provides the client with the opportunity to upload their personal identification data, their customised choices and to check in online. During this step it can be' preferably provided that the client sends their identification documents in a digital form, for example as a scanned image file or as digital certificate of a smart card with electronic signature.

Thereby the booking is acquired - for example through the channel manager - and passed on to the (software) component which manages bookings, for example a PMS (Property Management System) of the hotel.

The system then generates a personal private code, which will be sent to the client, on the channel chosen by the same (for example as short text message on their mobile telephone) , on the day of arrival and will turn itself off on the day of departure.

In particular, on the client's day of arrival, the booking management component (PMS) sends to an operating control (software) component - which carries out the control on the accesses to the doors and to any domotics, such as for example a BAC (Building Automation Controls by Altecon Service Hotel) - the check-in data with the indication at least of reserved area, client' s name and surname (and possibly mobile number and e-mail address) .

At this moment, the operating control component (BAC Service Hotel) prepares the client's private code, sends the relative unlocking controls to the gates necessary for that client (for example shared doors and reserved room door) and sends to the client, on the chosen communication channel, the identification number of the room (or of another reserved area) and the relative private code.

At arrival, the client has the opportunity to digit the access code on the combiner located near the door(s), to open the door automatically and access directly the room or the reserved area/environment .

On check-out day, the PMS sends to the BAC Service Hotel the check-out control and two options may arise:

(i) the check-out is sent earlier than the programmed check-out time: the BAC records as check-out date the current date and at the time of the set check-out time the client' s private code is cancelled and the room is released and is put in an energy-saving status;

(ii) the check-out is sent after the programmed check-out time: the BAC immediately performs the check-out cancelling the client's private code, releasing the room and applying the energy saving.

The system may comprise, in an exemplifying way, the following hardware components.

A keyboard for selecting the private code, built as a ca- pacitive touch-control keyboard, on top of a TFT-type LCD display with LED backlighting. The size of the touch-control keyboard and of the relative display are of 4.3" with maximum dimensions of 105.5 x 67.2mm. The active area measures 95.04 x 53.86 mm. The display is of 480 x 272 pixel RGB with 16 million colours. The power supply is of 3.3V for the logical unit and of 16 V/40 mA for the backlighting.

The keypad for selecting or composing the code allows the entering and the acquisition of the code digited by the client, while with the underlying display the hotel logo and the keyboard are viewed. The client get as answer of the selection the opening of the door or, if the code is not correct, a long acoustic signal.

A control element of the domotics devices operating with wireless technology, such as the interface Wireless EnOcean. It is built with transceiver EnOcean TCM310 at 868.3 MHz for the European market; for the USA and Canadian market a transceiver of 902.875 MHz is preferred. The serial interface is of the UART type and the sensitivity of the radio receiver is typically of- 96 dBm.

This control element makes up a radio communication interface towards the management server and towards any EnOcean room devices (window contacts, presence sensors, etc.)

A Mifare badge/card reader, operating with 1-Kbyte

(IS014443A) or 4-Kbyte cards. These are contactless RFID cards operating at the frequency of 13.56 MHz.

The use of a card for opening the door is reserved for employees, who do not know the enabled private codes. It is important that the employees use a card to be able to identify them individually when they enter a room. If one wants to employ the system of the invention for controlling access to important areas, a private code for validating a card associated with that user may be combined.

An electric encounter, that is, the electric control component of the access keylock, operating in continuous current with a maximum current of 300 mA supplied by the same electronics. The advantage of the use of continuous current is that the control is noiseless and it can be easily accomplished to obtain operation even in case of lack of electric energy, with simple buffer batteries.

Other wireless interfaces may be provided, such as a Bluetooth electronic card which allows the connection to Bluetooth devices, an electronic card with IR receiver, which allows to send controls to the system through an IR remote control.

In the figs. 2-4 there are schematically illustrated a series of hardware components used in three similar applications of the system according to the invention.

The advantages of this system are very large: quick room access, avoidance of queues at the reception of a hotel (or other receptive structure, public or private structure) , control opportunity of the documents before the client's arrival, door opening control, opportunity to turn off the numerical code, structure management economy, the private code cannot be lost and cannot be copied, access control, privacy and many more.

In particular, access to a client' s hotel room may be entirely managed without using reception staff at check-in, which allows to have full operativity also of small receptive structures at unusual times or out of season.

The system is prepared for being compatible and integrated with hardware and software components of new and future technology, such as digital fingerprint readers, optical scanners, voice recognition devices, three-dimensional codes and NFC technology, which currently have various complications on the management and treatment of sensitive data and reduce access simplicity, fundamental for the success of this system.

However, it is understood that the invention must not be considered limited to the particular arrangements illustrated above, which make up only exemplifying embodiments thereof, but that different variants are possible, all within the reach of a person skilled in the field, and recomprised in the scope of protection of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

In particular, although in the above description reference has mainly been made to the management of the accesses to hotel or residence rooms, where the system finds advantageous application, it may be assumed that the main teaching supplied here conceptually finds application also in other kinds of areas with reserved access which are controlled by a same manager, such as private dwellings given as lets, parking lots, safety vaults of goods accessible by third parties and so on.