EP0183738A1 - Control installation and method for checking control points in a surveillance installation - Google Patents

Abstract

Control installations for the protection of an object comprises several control points, as well as a central data collector (74) for checking the various control points by means of a controller, a separate characteristic being added to each checkpoint. In the present invention, the checkpoint consists of a data carrier (28) with a protected code strip (36) enclosing the feature in digital form. The data collector (10) has a data read head (24) for serial reading when the data collector is moved along a read surface (32) of the data carrier. In addition, the data collector has a memory (54) controlled by a microprocessor for storing the read data.

Description

 Control system and method for acknowledging control points in a monitoring system

The invention relates to a control system with at least one stationary control point and a central data collector assigned to the control points for acknowledging the individual control points, each control point being assigned an identifier. The invention also relates to a method for acknowledging control points in a monitoring system, the acknowledgment comprising time information and an identifier assigned to the respective control point.

As is known, control systems of the type mentioned are used on a large scale, around buildings or. To largely secure building sections against break-ins or unauthorized entry - especially outside normal business hours.

While, for example, electronic alarm systems that work automatically are mostly used in residential buildings (i.e. small, manageable objects), surveillance by security personnel is customary for larger objects such as a factory, a refinery, a bank, etc. Several systems or methods are known, which can be found under the two terms "guard control" and "guardian" protect "subsume.

The long-known time clock is used for guard control. At each of the control points arranged at several points of the object to be secured there is a key in a key box, the key bit of which is mechanically coded and identifies the respective control point. The watchman inserts the key into the time clock, which then uses a printing unit on a control strip to record the time, date and number of the inspection body - i.e. the number of the key.

The essential feature here is that the guard controls the individual checkpoints, as is also expressed in the keyword "guard control". However, this monitoring has considerable disadvantages.

More and more companies and insurance companies are demanding a complete, secure and quickly evaluable monitoring protocol. Now it is difficult to evaluate and read the control strip, which can be several meters long for large objects to be monitored with many control points to be run at intervals. This leads to the fact that the control strips of the time clock are often stored unread. The control strip is only used and checked when a claim or an insurance claim has actually occurred.

The security guard can only be checked after the security guard has acknowledged the control points on a prescribed route and then handed in the time clock with the control strip to the control center. During the route itself there is no contact with the head office. The protection of the guards, who are often exposed to dangers during the inspection rounds, must therefore be regarded as insufficient.

In addition, the security against deliberate manipulation can be classified as very low when the guard is checked with the mechanical time clock and the control keys. With some skill, it is easily possible to pretend that a control point has been acknowledged without the guard actually starting up at the control point. It is not particularly difficult to copy a control key in order to avoid, for example, an external control point and the acknowledgment with the replacement key pretend. The low security against manipulation can therefore lead to insufficient protection due to incomplete inspection rounds.

Finally, the number of mechanical coding options for the key bits is limited, and in a conventional system only 999 different keys - i.e. control points - with the corresponding numbering are currently possible. Although this may be sufficient for individual systems, it can happen with several systems that are separated from one another with the same system that a key with a certain number is present in total several times. In such a case, a control point of another object in southern Germany could be acknowledged, for example, with a control key from northern Germany.

In the surveillance system known under the term guard protection, a radio device with a transmitting and receiving part is used instead of the time clock. In contrast to the guard control, a constant contact between the guard and the control center is possible, which enables better protection of the guard and quicker detection of an intrusion. To acknowledge the individual control points, they are designed so that the radio can be "plugged" into the control point. A radio signal is then sent to the control center, which contains the number of the control point but not the time. This is detected by the control center on receipt, which then confirms receipt by sending an acknowledgment signal, which causes an acoustic or optical signal on the radio. The guard can now remove the radio from the control point and continue his route.

Although the use of a portable radio device reduces some of the disadvantages described at the beginning, the guard protection is also limited in its possible applications and has disadvantages. For larger objects, e.g. In an oil refinery, it can often happen that a control point is in the "radio shadow", so that radio control contact with the control center is not possible from this control point. Such radio shadows occur, for example, through larger metal containers (e.g. cooling towers) or the like.

Furthermore, the radio devices cannot be used to control rooms that are particularly secured with metal, such as a bank vault, because the radio signals cannot penetrate the walls. Overall, it remains to be seen that the known surveillance systems are not free from disadvantages, so that an optimal object and personal protection is not possible. This is where the invention intervenes, which is based on the task of creating a control system which enables a substantially better protection and a much better control secured against manipulation using simple means. In addition, the invention is intended to enable a method for acknowledging control points in a monitoring system.

To achieve this object, it is provided in a control system according to the preamble of claim 1. that each control point is formed by a data carrier which can be queried without contact, the data being stored or arranged separately along an area and locally, and that the data carrier has a data reading head for serial reading of the data when the read head or the data collector moves over the data carrier and has an electronic memory connected to the read head.

Through the use of an electronic memory and through the contactlessly interrogable data carrier, the Data can be encoded and stored in digital technology in the form of individual bits, it is possible with the invention to encode and store a practically unlimited number of different numbers. This ensures that even within a large local area with several objects to be monitored, each number of a control point actually only occurs once. This increases the security against manipulation considerably.

Acknowledgment or confirmation of a control point is extremely simple with the invention, because it suffices to "stroke" the data collector by hand from top to bottom over the data medium - control point. In this process, the data of the control point are transferred dynamically to the memory by serial reading. In this way, all the data of an inspection tour can be saved. Later, the data can then be logged or printed out and displayed in a center using a personal computer or the like.

When a control point is acknowledged, there is no need to laboriously insert it (either a key in a time clock or a radio in the control point itself). With the elimination of the previously required mechanics the devices in the invention work extremely immune to interference, quite apart from the very simple operation already mentioned.

Both the data carrier and the data collector can each be accommodated in a handy plastic housing. The data carrier can be made extremely flat since it only contains a code strip behind its reading surface. The data of the respective data carrier or the respective control point can be arranged in bit form on the code strip. The data carrier can be attached to a desired control location, for example by gluing or screwing. It is also easily possible to change the control points locally over time.

In order to keep the dimensions of the data collector handy, a rechargeable, relatively small battery is used as the energy supply. According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is now provided that the operating voltage source does not remain switched on continuously, but is only switched on immediately before the serial reading of the data of a control point for a short time during the reading process. This can significantly increase the battery life. The aforementioned switching on of the operating voltage source is carried out by a contactlessly activatable sensor, which forms a second reading head at the data collector, so to speak. This sensor reacts to a magnet, which is located behind an inclined surface above the reading surface of the data collector. If the data collector is moved manually from top to bottom on the surface of the data carrier to acknowledge a control point, the operating voltage source is first switched on, and then the data is queried and stored.

Another important advantage of the invention is that a radio with a transmitting and receiving part can be connected to the data collector in order to send the stored data to a central station, from where reception can be acknowledged.

Here, the data in the memory of the individual control points are queried, transmitted and, after transmission, "stored" again in the memory, with the "note" that the data of the relevant control point have been transmitted and received by the control center. According to a further feature of the invention, the data collector contains an "intelligence" in the form of a microprocessor. This creates previously unknown possibilities for monitoring in terms of increased security.

With the help of the microprocessor, the respective route can be determined on different days, possibly using a random generator. It is therefore possible to randomly specify a specific sequence in which the individual control points have to be queried. After a first control point has been acknowledged, the watchdog is shown on a display of the data collector which control point he must go to next. In addition to the date, time and number of the respective control point, the selected route is also saved in the memory.

The risk of possible tampering can also be effectively countered in the invention, and security can be increased in that the data collector comprises a clock chip as a time base and that the "regulation" is specified, certain control points within a certain time window - that is, within a certain period of time - to acknowledge. In the storage room of the microprocessor, all checkpoints are stored at a time at which they have to be reached at the start of the inspection. If the checkpoint in question is not reached within a certain time window, a code call to the center can be made by means of the transmitter. This allows irregularities to be recorded immediately.

The use of a microprocessor within the data collector also creates a very significant advantage. In the introduction to the description it has already been mentioned above that with the known guard protection using a radio, the disadvantage may arise that the guard is with his radio in a radio shadow and therefore cannot establish a connection to the control center. In the control system according to the invention, it is now readily possible with the aid of the microprocessor, in such a case, that is to say if the control center cannot receive the “radio message” because of a radio shadow, to repeat this radio message automatically at specific time intervals. The automatic transmission of the data from the checkpoints that have now started is repeated until the acknowledgment comes from the control center about the receipt of this data. This corresponding data is then returned to the memory with the reception filed note.

The automatic and periodic sending of the data present in the memory is of particular advantage, particularly in the case of so-called district services. This involves the monitoring of several objects by a security guard or by a guard who drives and controls the objects to be monitored in succession with a vehicle. Here the transmitter can be arranged in the vehicle for sending out the data stored in the memory of the data collector. When the guard has finished his inspection of an object, the data collector is placed in a holder and automatically connected to the transmitter, so that the data can now be passed on to the control center by radio. With radio shadows - as mentioned - the transmission is repeated until it has been received by the control center.

Overall, the invention surprisingly partially combines both features of the guard control and guard protection, the entirety of these features leading to a completely new control system with the advantages mentioned. In the sense of the guardian control, the individual control points are still queried, but here the fault is due and also very maintenance-requiring mechanics replaced by electronics, the electronics further leading to the advantage that manipulations are practically excluded. The invention also takes up the idea of guard protection to be able to establish a connection to the control center as quickly as possible, in such a way that this basic idea is not disturbed by any radio shadows that may be present. This means that the new control system can also be used, for example, if the control points are located in rooms shielded by metals (eg a bank vault). The features of the guard protection and guard control are thus decisively improved by the invention.

Further advantageous refinements and expedient developments of the invention and the method according to the invention are specified in the claims and can be seen in the drawing.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1-3 several views of a data collector; 4-5 are a top view and a side view of a data carrier,

6 shows a data carrier and a data collector while acknowledging a control point,

7 is another view of the data collector, seen from below,

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of the

Data collectors,

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a

Control system with a center for evaluation, and

Fig. 10 shows the schematic diagram of a

Headquarters.

The data collector 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3 has notches 12 in its lower area in order to be able to grip the data collector 10 non-slip by hand. 1 that the data collector 10 has two light-emitting diodes 14 and 16. One LED 14 signals - what below is explained in more detail - the switching on of the data arrester while the other light-emitting diode 16 indicates the reading of a data carrier 28 (cf. FIG. 6) at the end when the read data have been stored.

3, two projections 20 and 22 can be seen, which form a reading track 18 between them. In the report of this reading track, the data reading head 24 and a sensor 26 are shown within the data collector 10 close to the surface of the reading track 18 and a sensor 26. The width of the reading track 18 is selected so that the reading surface 32 of the one shown in FIG and 5 shown data carrier 28 can be detected.

The data carrier 28 forming a control point in a control system is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5 in a top view and a side view. The data carrier 28 has a flat housing 30, which is preferably made of plastic. At the top of the reading surface 32 there is an inclined surface 34 on which an arrow symbol 38 is applied. The arrow symbol 38 indicates to the user that the data collector 10 - as shown in FIG. 6 - is moved in the direction of the arrow 44 with the reading track 18 from top to bottom on the data carrier 28, starting on the inclined surface 34. Behind the inclined surface 34 there is a switch-on magnet 40, by means of which the sensor 26 of the data collector 10 is activated, around an operating voltage source 64

(see FIG. 8) for a certain period of time. While the data collector 10 with the reading track 18 is then pulled over the reading surface 32 of the data carrier 28, the associated data are magnetically read by the data collector 10 by means of the data reading head 24.

The data itself is located behind the reading surface on a code strip 36, which is shown in FIG. 5 with dashed lines. This code strip can be introduced into the housing 30 and then cast by means of a casting compound, so that it is no longer accessible from the outside in order to prevent manipulation.

In addition to the simple handling of the data collector 10 already described for the purpose of acknowledging a data carrier 28 - i.e. a control point - FIG. 6 also illustrates that the flat housing 30 of the data carrier 28 can be easily attached to a wall 42, e.g. by gluing.

In Fig. 7 it is shown that the data collector 10 at its lower end - but within the housing - has a connector strip 46 with knife contacts 50, which are protected by the fact that the knife contacts 50 are only accessible via corresponding openings 48. As will be described further below, the data collector 10 can be inserted into an opening of a charging station 80 which is adapted to its shape (cf. FIG. 10), the knife contacts 50 engaging with assigned contact pins.

8, the electrical structure of a data collector 10 can be seen in a schematic diagram. Essential components are a microprocessor 52, a memory 54, and a buffer (or a buffer battery) 56. The microprocessor 52 is connected to the memory 54 and also to the buffer 56 for control purposes.

Furthermore, in addition to the operating voltage source 64, which can be switched in series for a selectable period of time via the sensor 26 by means of a timer 62, the data collector 10 also has the data reading head 24 connected to the microprocessor 52 in order to process and read the data of the code strip 36 read in digital form to save. A serial interface 66 is also connected to the microprocessor 52, which - as the arrow 70 indicates - leads to the connector strip 46 or the transmitter 69. In addition, the data collector 10 has an emergency call button 60 (which can also be used as an acknowledgment button), and a control connection to the transmitter 69 with a receiving part 71 can be established via a connection indicated by the arrow 68. Via this transmitter, memories 54 can be stored Data are sent to a control center, and it is also possible to make an emergency call via the transmitter 69 by pressing the emergency call button 60.

The transmitter 69 with the receiving part 71 is normally provided as a separate structural unit, for example in a vehicle of the security personnel, but it is also possible to integrate the transmitter 69 with the data collector 10 as one unit. In the former case, the data collector 10 can be inserted into a corresponding opening in the transmitter 69 in order to establish the required electrical connections by means of the plug connector 46. Outside the individual control points, the transmitter 69 then simultaneously serves as a storage area for the data collector 10. The confirmation from the central unit reaches the microprocessor 52 via the connection 73.

FIG. 9 shows a complete control system with subsequent evaluation via a data input 72 with a control center 74 as a basic circuit diagram. The Ver Different control points of an object to be monitored are formed by the data carriers 28 a - 28 g. The checkpoints can be queried and acknowledged by the security staff using data collectors 10 a - 10 c.

Each data collector 10 a - 10 c stores the data read from the data carriers and the time and date. After the end of a control tour, the stored data are entered into a data input 72 and evaluated in a control center 74.

According to the basic block diagram in FIG. 10, such a center comprises a charging station 80 with an opening into which the data collector 10 can be inserted. On the one hand, the electrical connection produced in this way can be used to charge the operating voltage source of the data collector 10, and on the other hand the stored data can now be called up and displayed on the screen 84 of a computer 82. This can be a conventional personal computer with a keyboard 86 and a connected printer 88. Thus, after inserting the data collector 10 into the charging station 80, a log printout of the completed inspection run is also possible.

Appropriate software can be used to keep the log printout in an easily understandable form. Possible printouts are, for example; "South Gate around

11 p.m. controlled; North gate checked at 11.30 p.m.

Main entrance: none, etc. ".

The control center 74 further comprises a radio receiving device 76 with an antenna 78. In the case already described that - in the case of a radio shadow automatically at periodic intervals - the acknowledged data are to be transmitted to the control center 74 by means of the transmitter 69, these data can be transmitted to the radio reception device 76 received and passed on to the computer 82. Subsequently, the confirmation of the receipt of the data is sent to the respective data collector 10 (receiving part 71) by means of a transmitter (not shown).

It has already been explained with reference to FIG. 5 that each data carrier has a code strip 36 on which the data identifying the respective control point are applied. The data can be formed by individual magnetic bits, which are spatially spaced from one another in a pattern on the code strip 36. During the movement of the data collector 10 along the reading surface 32 of the data carrier 28, the data reading head 24 registers the individual bits, which are then stored digitally in the memory 54. The individual bits can be used in various known code forms, ie the numbers of the respective control points are present on the code strip 36 in coded form.

In addition to coding on a magnetic basis, the use of infrared light is also possible. In this case, the reading surface 32 of the data carrier 28 consists of an infrared-transparent material. Behind the reading surface are - corresponding to the digital signals "0" and "1" - materials that reflect the infrared light or not. In this case, the read head of the associated data collector consists of an infrared source with a receiver for the reflected infrared light.

Regardless of what type of coding is used, in the control system according to the invention, the characteristic data of a control point can be read serially in a simple manner and stored in a memory. In conjunction with the microprocessor 52, a wealth of possible applications and variants is then advantageously obtained, which make the control system particularly safe. For the first time, an "immediate" log printout is also possible via a control tour, whereby this log printout can be designed as required using appropriate software. It has already been mentioned above that by moving the sensor 26 or the data collector 10 along the inclined surface 34 of the data carrier 28, the timer 62 can be switched on, which switches the data collector 10 on for a selectable period of time. It is now particularly advantageous if, before this selectable fixed time period has expired, a switch-off is already made when a valid or invalid control point is recognized. This makes it possible to achieve considerable energy savings in terms of electrical energy. For example, it is possible to sleep off after only one second instead of about three seconds.

Finally, a further advantageous aspect of the invention should be pointed out, which consists in that, instead of the protected connector strip 46 with the contacts 50 (cf. FIG. 7), a contactless and contactless remote feed device and several contactless data transmission links can be provided. This makes it possible, for example, when using a rechargeable battery, to carry out inductive charging.

The data transmission link can be inductive as well as optical. In the case described, the data collector 10 can be designed as a black box, so to speak, which no longer has any external control elements. This ensures a very high level of security against manipulation, since the operation and use is completely without contacts. In this case, the application of an emergency button to send an emergency call is dispensed with.

Claims

P a te nt claims 1. control system with at least one fixed control point and a central data collector assigned to the control points for acknowledging the individual control points, each control point being assigned an identifier, characterized in that each control point is formed by a contactlessly interrogable data carrier (28), the data being longitudinal an area and are stored or arranged separately from each other, and that the data collector (10) has a data reading head (24) for serial reading of the data when the reading head (24) or the data arrester (10) moves over the data carrier (28) and an elck connected to the data reading head (24) has tronic memory (54). 2. Control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the data collector (10) with a receiving part (71) comprising transmitter (69) for transmitting the read and stored data to a center (74) can be connected. 3. Control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier (28) comprises a flat housing (30) with a reading surface (32) and an inclined surface (34) adjoining it at the top. 4. Control system according to claim 3, characterized in that within the housing (30) behind the reading surface (32) is a code strip (36) on which the data of the data carrier (28) are magnetically arranged as "magnetic bits". 5. Control system according to claim 3, characterized in that the reading surface (32) is formed by an infrared-transmissive material, behind which reflectors for infrared light are arranged according to a code. 6. Control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the data collector (10) is a means of a contactlessly activatable sensor (26) which has a switchable operating voltage source (64). 7. Control system according to claim 6, characterized in that by moving the sensor (26) or the data collector (10) along the inclined surface (34) of the data carrier (28), a timer (62) can be switched on, which is the data collector (10) switches on for a selectable period of time and switches off before the expiry of the period when a valid or invalid control point (28) is recognized. 8. Control system after one. of the preceding claims 1-7, characterized in that the data collector (10) comprises a microprocessor (52) connected to the memory (54) and a buffer battery (56). 9. Kontrollaπlage according to claim 2, characterized in that the data collector (10) has an emergency button (60) for switching on the transmitter (69). 10. Control system according to one of the preceding claims 1-9, characterized in that the data collector (10) has on its bottom side a protected connector strip (46), the contacts (50) of which are accessible via openings. 11. Control system according to one of the preceding claims 1-9, characterized in that the data collector has a contactless remote feed device on its bottom side and has several contactless data transmission links. 12. Control system according to one of the preceding claims 1-11, characterized in that the data collector (10) has a random generator and an optical display for displaying the identification numbers of the data carriers (28), the order of the displayed data carriers (28) being determinable by the random number generator. 13. Control system according to one of the preceding claims 1-12, characterized in that the data collector (10) has a clock chip. 14. A method for acknowledging control points in a monitoring system, the acknowledgment comprising time information and an identifier assigned to the respective control point, characterized in that the characteristic data are queried serially with a data collector (10) and stored in a memory (54; 56) ready for retrieval become. 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the characteristic data and the time information of the acknowledgment are sent out at repeated intervals until a receipt (74) receives a confirmation of receipt of the shipment from a data collector / receiver (71). 16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the transmitted information after confirmation with a confirmation note is stored again in a memory within the data collector (10). 17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 14 - 16, characterized in that each control point (28) is assigned a "time window" within which time period the respective control point must be acknowledged, and that an emergency call to the reception is automatically sent when a time window is exceeded - Control center (74) is sent, which indicates the unacknowledged control body.