WO2014209217A1

WO2014209217A1 - An electronic door lock transmission

Info

Publication number: WO2014209217A1
Application number: PCT/SE2014/050800
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric BÄCKMAN; Johan Hörberg
Original assignee: Phoniro AB
Current assignee: Phoniro AB
Priority date: 2013-06-28
Filing date: 2014-06-26
Publication date: 2014-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2015-12-28

Abstract

An electronic door lock transmission (100) is provided. The door lock transmission comprises a fixed housing (110) enclosing a rotatable input member (130) and a rotatable output shaft, wherein said door lock transmission (100) further comprises an electronically controlled coupling mechanism (120) being moveable in an axial direction for connecting said output shaft (150) with said input member (130).

Description

AN ELECTRONIC DOOR LOCK TRANSMISSION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic door lock transmission. More particularly, the present invention relates to a door lock transmission for connecting a rotatable output shaft with a rotatable input member, as well as for disconnecting said output shaft from said input member. The present invention also relates to a door case and a door, as well as to a system and a method. Background

Doors are commonly provided with locks for preventing unauthorized access to the area behind the door. Such locks are often provided as lock cases inserted into the door, whereby the lock case has a lever handle follower for allowing a latchbolt to be retracted from the surrounding door frame when the connected handle is rotated such that the door may be opened. Moreover, a deadbolt may also be provided in the lock case for securely locking the door to the frame.

The deadbolt may be operated, i.e. pulled in and out from the lock case, by a dedicated lock cylinder connected to a lock follower of the lock case.

During the recent years there has been an increasing demand for electronic door locks. Such door locks, preferably operated remotely by means of short-range radio communication, have proven to be very attractive in particular applications such as elderly care facilities.

A common way of providing electronic door locks is to make use of an electric motor which, upon activation, performs a rotational movement of the lock follower for retracting the deadbolt from the door frame. Hence, the door may be opened from the inside as well as the outside. Although such a solution is fairly easy to install, it is bulky and noisy as well as relatively energy consuming. Moreover, the response time of such door locks is sometimes considered as excessive. This may be of particular disadvantage when a person, located within a room closed by a locked door, is urged to move out from the room quickly.

Another electronic door lock presently on the market is provided by Timelox®. The door lock transmission includes an input shaft, an output shaft, and a latch engaging with the input shaft and the output shaft for transmitting a rotational movement between the shafts. The latch is arranged radially outwards of the shafts and moveable radially inwards by means of a lever arm. An electrical motor is arranged within a door lock transmission housing for moving the lever arm.

In order to decrease the power consumption of the door lock

transmission, the electrical motor must operate at a low current while having a small stroke length. Hence, the lever arm must be relatively long thus requiring an extension of the housing. The current system is therefore considered as bulky and causes an increase of costs due to the required material.

Hence, there is a need for an improved door lock mechanism. Summary

In view of the above, an objective of the invention is to solve or at least reduce the problems discussed above.

An obj ect of the present invention is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which, in its idle mode, is disengaging the door handles of the inside and the outside from each other.

A yet further obj ect of the present invention is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which always allows for opening of the door from the inside, while preventing opening of the door from the outside unless the door lock transmission is activated.

A still further obj ect of the present invention is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which may be easily connected to various lock cases.

An idea of the present invention is thus to provide a door lock transmission wherein an input shaft is engaged with an output shaft by means of an actuator which only provides engagement when activated.

According to a first aspect of the invention an electronic door lock transmission is provided. The door lock transmission comprises a fixed housing enclosing a rotatable input member and a rotatable output shaft, wherein said door lock transmission further comprises an electronically controlled coupling mechanism being moveable in an axial direction for rotatably connecting said output shaft with said input member.

The input member may be connectable with a manual lever handle extending through a lock case, and the output shaft may be connectable with an outer lever handle. Further to this, the electronic door lock transmission may comprise an electrical motor which is actuated in order to engage, or control the coupling mechanism so that it will no longer disengage the input member from the output shaft. The manual lever handle, to which the input member is connectable with, is preferably inserted into the lock case from the inside of the door.

Said coupling mechanism may comprise a wheel being rotatably secured to said input member and displaceable in the axial direction of said wheel, and an electrically controlled actuator being insertable into said input member in a radial direction of said wheel for preventing the wheel from moving away from said inner surface of the output shaft such that the wheel engages with inner surface of the output shaft. Hence, the coupling mechanism is provided as a very simple construction thus reducing the overall cost of the door lock transmission while at the same time reducing the dimensions of the door lock transmission.

The door lock transmission may further comprise a spring arranged between the input member and the wheel for urging the wheel to engage with the inner surface of the output shaft. This is advantageous in that the wheel is always returning to an engaging position after a displacement which will occur when the output shaft unmeshes with the input member, such that coupling between the input member and the output shaft is always possible.

Said actuator may comprise a plate-like member being connected to an electric motor. Hence, activation and coupling is achieved in a simple manner.

Said wheel may comprise a plurality of teeth proj ecting towards corresponding teeth of the inner surface of the output shaft. This is advantageous in that coupling between the input member and the output shaft is provided in a robust manner, while at the same time providing circular symmetry for allowing flexible positioning of the door lock transmission relative a corresponding lock case.

Said output shaft may be connected to said housing via a spring for causing a return movement of the output shaft to an idle position. Hence, facilitated operation of the door lock transmission is provided.

The input member may be connectable with a manual lever handle extending through a lock case, whereby the door lock transmission is ready for mounting without further modifications.

Said actuator may be controlled remotely, and the door lock transmission may further comprise communication means associated with controller means, said controller means being configured for controlling said actuator based on information received by said communication means from a key device.

According to a second aspect, a lock case is provided. The lock case comprises a lever handle follower extending through said lock case in which the input member of a door lock transmission according to the first aspect is inserted. According to a third aspect, a lock case is provided. The lock case comprises a lock follower extending through said lock case in which the input member of a door lock transmission according to the first aspect is inserted.

According to a fourth aspect, a door comprising a lock case according to the second or third aspect is provided.

According to a fifth aspect, a door lock system is provided. The system comprises an electronic door lock transmission according to the first aspect, and one or more key devices. Further, the door lock transmission of said door lock system may comprises memory means for storing lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices, and wherein said controller means is configured for controlling said actuator by: determining, via said communication means, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the door lock system; and controlling said actuator based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data stored in said memory means.

According to a sixth aspect, a method for locking or unlocking a door according to the fourth aspect is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing one or more key devices; providing lock access data in a memory means of said door lock transmission, the lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices; determining, by short- range wireless data communication, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the door; and controlling said electronically controlled coupling mechanism based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data in said memory means.

Brief Description of Drawings

The above, as well as additional objectives, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, reference being made to the appended drawings.

Fig 1 is an end view of a part of a door including a door lock

transmission according to an embodiment;

Figs. 2a-c are side views of lock cases to be connected to a door lock transmission according to the described embodiments;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a door including a lock case and a door lock transmission according to an embodiment; Fig. 4a is a perspective view of an embodiment of a housing of a door lock transmission;

Fig. 4b is a perspective view of an embodiment of an input member of a door lock transmission;

Fig. 4c is a perspective view of an embodiment of a wheel of a door lock transmission;

Fig. 4d is a perspective view of an embodiment of a part of an actuator of a door lock transmission;

Fig. 4e is a perspective view of an embodiment of an output shaft of a door lock transmission;

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of an access control system in which embodiments of the present invention may be exercised;

Fig 6 illustrates an access control method which may be performed in the access control system of Fig 5;

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a key device which may interact with a door lock transmission in the access control system of Fig 5;

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a door lock transmission according to one embodiment;

Fig 9 is a cross-sectional view of a key holder according to an

embodiment of a further aspect;

Figs. l Oa-f show isometric views of different parts of the key holder according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a schematic view of an access control system in which embodiments of the aspect relating to the key holder may be exercised;

Fig 12 illustrates an access control method which may be performed in the access control system of Fig 1 1 ;

Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a key device which may interact with a key holder in the access control system of Fig 1 1 ;

Fig. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a key holder according to one embodiment;

Fig 15 is an end view of a part of a door including a door lock

transmission according to an embodiment of a yet further aspect;

Figs. 16a-b are side views of lock cases to be connected to a door lock transmission according to the described embodiments of the yet further aspect;

Fig. 17a is a back view of a door lock transmission according to an embodiment of the yet further aspect; Fig. 17b is a cross sectional view of the door lock transmission shown in Fig. 17a;

Figs. 18a-d show parts of a housing for a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect;

Figs. 19a-b show parts for connecting the lever handle follower to the coupling of a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect;

Figs. 20a-c show parts for connecting the lock follower to the coupling of a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect;

Figs. 21 a-e show parts of the coupling of a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect;

Figs. 22a-g show cross-sectional views of different operating modes of a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect;

Fig. 23 is a schematic view of an access control system in which embodiments of a door lock transmission according to the yet further aspect may be exercised;

Fig 24 illustrates an access control method which may be performed in the access control system of Fig 23 ;

Fig. 25 is a schematic block diagram of a key device which may interact with a door lock transmission in the access control system of Fig 23 ; and

Fig. 26 is a schematic block diagram of a door lock transmission according to one embodiment of the yet further aspect.

Detailed Description

Starting with Fig. 1 , an end view of a door 10 including a lock case 20 and a door lock transmission 100 is shown. The door has an inner side 12, an outer side 14, and a lateral end 16 including a recess in which the lock case 20 is inserted such that the lock case 20 aligns with the end 16 of the door 10.

The door lock transmission 100 is arranged at the outside 14 of the door and provides a connection between an inner level handle 102 and an outer level handle 104 via a lever handle follower of the lock case 20.

In order to prevent damage and for providing a tamperproof lock of the door 10, end plates 18, 19 may be provided on the inner side 12 and the outer side 14 to protect the lock case 20 and the door lock transmission 100.

As will be further described below, the door lock transmission 100 is electronically controlled for engaging the inner level handle 102 with the outer level handle 104. That is, in an idle mode the inner level handle 102 is directly connected to the level handle follower of the lock case 20 such that the door 10 may always be opened from the inside. However, in the idle mode the outer lever handle 104 is disconnected from the lever handle follower of the lock case such that the door 10 is prevented from being opened from the outside.

Upon activation of the door lock transmission, a coupling mechanism inside the door lock transmission 100 engages the outer lever handle 104 with the lever handle follower of the lock case such that the door 10 may be opened from the outside. Also in this case, the inner lever handle 102 is directly connected to the level handle follower of the lock case 20 such that the door 10 may always be opened from the inside.

Now turning to Figs. 2a-c, different embodiments of lock cases 20a-c are shown which may be used in combination with the door lock transmission 100. Starting with Fig. 2a, the lock case 20a has a lever handle follower 22a arranged at the lower portion of the lock case 20a and being operatively connected to a latchbolt 24a. A lock follower 26a is provided at the upper portion of the lock case 20a and is operatively connected to a deadbolt 28a. The lever handle follower 22a and the lock follower 26a are normally provided as rectangular through holes in which the lever handles 102, 104 may be inserted.

One particular lock case 20a is constructed such that the lock follower 26a is also operatively connected to the latchbolt 24a. Such kind of lock case 20a is frequently installed in toilet room doors, wherein the inside lever handle is connected to the lock follower 26a, while the outside lever handle is connected to the lever handle follower 22a. Hence, an occupant locks the door by turning the inside lever handle upwards such that the deadbolt 28a protrudes. Since the outside lever handle is disconnected from the lock follower 26a, the toilet room may not be accessed from the outside. When finished, the occupant simple returns the inside lever handle to its horizontal position for retracting the deadbolt 28a, and continues turning the lever handle downwards for also retracting the latchbolt 24a.

In Fig. 2b another lock case 20b is shown, being structurally similar to the lock case 20a of Fig. 2a but for which the position of the lever handle follower 22b, as well as the latchbolt 24b, has exchanged the respective positions of the lock follower 26b and the corresponding deadbolt 28b.

Fig. 2c shows a yet further embodiment of a lock case 20c, which includes a lever handle follower 22c being operatively connected to the latchbolt 24c, as well as two lock followers 26c, 27c being operatively connected to the deadbolt 28c. Such lock case is advantageous in that a turning knob may be arranged on the inside and being connected to either one of the two lock followers 26c, 27c. The other lock follower 26c, 27c may be connected to a lock cylinder on the inside as well as the outside. Hence, facilitated locking from the inside is provided since it is not necessary to use a key for the lock cylinder in order to lock the door.

For each one of the lock cases described above, as well as other lock cases known in the art, the door lock transmission described herein may provide additional advantages.

From now on the door lock transmission 100 will be described in further details. The door lock transmission 100 may be connected to a variety of different lock cases 20, such as the lock cases 20a-c described above.

In Fig. 3 a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the door lock transmission 100 is shown. The door lock transmission 100 is arranged on the outside 14 of the door 10 (see Fig. 1) and includes a housing 1 10 enclosing different components of the door lock transmission 100. The housing 1 10 is protected from the outside by means of a drill protective plate 1 12 provided to cover the outer end of the housing 1 10. Further to this, a covering 1 14 is provided to ensure a complete cover for the entire door lock transmission.

A coupling mechanism 120 of the door lock transmission 100 is enclosed within the housing 1 10 and includes an input member 130 being receivable by a lever handle 102 inserted into the lever handle follower from the inside. Hence, when rotating the lever handle 102 for retracting the latchbolt, the input member 130 will rotate correspondingly. From this, it is apparent that the door lock transmission 100 will always allow opening of the door 10 from the inside.

A wheel 140 is received within the input member 130 and is rotatably fixed to the input member 130 such that the wheel 140 will always rotate with the input member 130. The outside of the wheel 140, i.e. the side facing away from the input member 130, is abutting an output shaft 150 but is displaceable in the axial, i.e. normal direction of the wheel 140. The output shaft 150 is thus enabled to rotate with the input member 130 only when the wheel 140 is prevented from being displaced in the axial direction. The output shaft 150 is further connectable with an outer lever handle 104.

The displacement of the wheel 140 within the input member 130, and thus relative to the output shaft 150, is provided by means of a spring 160. The spring 160 is thus biasing the wheel 140 towards the output shaft 150 but allows the wheel 140 to move further into the input member 130 and away from the output shaft 150. With respect to the description so far, a rotation of the outer lever handle 104 will thus induce a rotational force on the wheel 140 and the input member 130. However, as the wheel 140 is allowed to move away from the output shaft 150 the wheel 140 will slip against the output shaft 150 whereby no rotational movement of the input member 130, and thus the lever handle follower of the lock case 20, will be achieved. Hence, the door 10 may not be opened from the outside.

The wheel 140 may however be prevented from moving in its axial direction by means of an electronically controlled actuator 170. The actuator 170 includes an electric motor 180 being connected to a controller (not shown) which is configured to provide power to the electrical motor 180 upon a remotely sent command, as will be described further below.

Upon rotation of the electric motor 180 an elongated rotational shaft 182 will cause a translation movement of a guide spring (not shown). The guide spring is further connected to a plate like member 172 which is insertable into the input member 130 for preventing the wheel 140 to be axially displaced from the output shaft 150. Upon deactivation of the actuator 170 the electric motor 180 is commanded to perform a counter wise rotation thereby withdrawing the plate like member from the input member 130.

Further to this, the output shaft 150 may be provided with a turning spring 152 which allows the output shaft 150, once rotated, to return to its idle position.

Now turning to Figs. 4a-e different components of the door lock transmission 100 will be described in further detail.

A perspective view of the housing 1 10 is shown in Fig. 4a. The housing

1 10 is preferably made of a durable and rigid material, such as stainless steel, and has a cylinder-shaped portion 1 12 which is configured to be inserted into a drilled recess of the door 10 being aligned with lever handle follower or the lock follower. The cylinder-shaped portion 112 has a through hole 1 14 for receiving the input member 130. Further to this the housing 1 10 includes several areas 1 16 for accommodating the actuator 170, the output shaft 150, as well as through holes 1 18 for securely attaching the housing 1 10 to the door 10 as well as to protective plates on the outside. The outer end of the housing, i.e. the open end facing outwards, is protected by a drill protective plate when mounted. In order to fulfill current requirements of different authorities, a specific area 119 of the housing has thus been provided in order to enclose the electrical circuits of the door lock assembly 100. As such electrical circuit is then protected from fraud by the drill protective plate, a more secure and robust door lock assembly is provided.

Now turning to Fig. 4b, the input member 130 of the coupling

mechanism 120 is shown. The input member 130 includes a cylindrical portion 132 provided at its lateral end facing the lever handle follower of the lock case and being constructed to fit with the through hole 1 14 of the housing 1 10. The cylindrical portion 132 comprises a recess (not shown) at its lateral end for engaging with a lever handle. A wheel receiving portion 134 is provided at the end of the cylindrical portion 132, wherein the wheel receiving portion 134 has an increased diameter compared to the cylindrical portion 132. Hence, the wheel receiving portion 134 will slide against the housing 1 10 when rotating. The wheel receiving portion 134 includes a slit 136 which allows insertion of the actuator 170 into the input member 130, as well as radial grooves 138 for preventing the wheel 140 from rotating inside the wheel receiving portion 134. Preferably, the grooves 138 are of different width such that the wheel 140, including protrusions corresponding to the grooves 138, may only be fitted in one position with respect to the wheel receiving portion 134.

The wheel 140 is further shown in Fig. 4c. The wheel 140, having an axial thickness being substantially less than the axial length of the wheel receiving portion 134 of the input member 130, is radially dimensioned such that it fits within the wheel receiving portion 134. Radial protrusions 142 are provided at the periphery of the wheel 140 which fit in the corresponding recesses 138 of the input member 130. Further to this, a plurality of axial teeth 144 are provided at the outer surface 146, i.e. the surface facing the output shaft 150. In the shown example, five teeth 144 are arranged at an equal angular distance from each other. However, another number of teeth may also be possible. Each one of the teeth 144 is preferably provided with inclined sidewalls, i.e. each sidewall is extending from the outer surface 146 at an angle being less than 90° relative the plane of the outer surface 146. Each sidewall is further inclined radially inwards.

Before the wheel 140 is inserted into the input member 130, a spring 160 (see Fig. 3) is arranged in the wheel receiving portion 134 for biasing the wheel 140 outwards, i.e. towards the output shaft 150. The spring 160 will thus also allow the wheel 140 to be displaced further into the wheel receiving portion 134 unless the actuator 170 is inserted into the wheel receiving portion 134.

The actuator 170 includes a plate like member 172 which is shown in Fig. 4d. The plate like member 172 includes means 174 for connecting it to the electric motor 180 via the guide spring. Further, an elongation 176 is constructed such that it may be inserted into the slit 136 of the input member 130. Hence, once inserted the elongation 176 prevents displacement of the wheel 140 along its axial direction.

As has been previously described the wheel 140 is engaging with the output shaft 150 which is further shown in Fig. 4e. The output shaft 150 has a protrusion 153 which forms the outer lever handle 104, thus extending outside the housing 1 10. Further, a cylindrical part 154 extends from the protrusion 153 towards the input member 130, and has an inner diameter which corresponds to, or is less than, the outer diameter of the wheel receiving portion 134 of the input member 130. Preferably, the inner diameter of the output shaft 150 is

substantially larger than the outer diameter of the wheel receiving portion 134 of the input member 130 such that a turning spring 152 may be arranged in the radial distance between the output member 150 and the input member 130.

Hence, the cylindrical part 154 receives the wheel receiving portion 132 and is enclosed along its outer periphery by the housing 1 10. The cylindrical part 154 has an inner surface 156 which is connectable with the wheel 140. For this purpose, the inner surface 156 is provided with axial teeth 158 facing the teeth 144 of the wheel 140. Hence, the teeth 158 may be arranged between the teeth 144 such that a rotation of the input member 130, and the wheel 140, is transmitted to the output shaft 150. For this, each one of the teeth 158 is preferably provided with inclined sidewalls, i.e. each sidewall is extending from the inner surface 156 at an angle being less than 90° relative the plane of the inner surface 156. Each sidewall is further inclined radially inwards such that the teeth 156 may slide relative the teeth 144 of the wheel 140 if the plate like member 172 is retracted from the slit 136. The described shape of the teeth 144, 158 allows complete contact between the teeth 144 and the teeth 158, i.e. full contact also between the respective sidewalls. Hence, if the wheel 140 is allowed to be axially displaced within the input member 130 the teeth 158 will slip against the wheel 140 whereby no rotational movement from the output shaft 150 to the lever handle follower is transmitted.

The number of teeth 158, 144 of the wheel 140 and the output shaft may be selected in order to define suitable engagement positions of the output shaft 150 relative the input member 130. Preferably the number of teeth 158, 144 is selected in accordance with the maximum rotational angle of the handle lever. For example, providing four teeth 158, 144 allow the output shaft 150 to be connected to the input member 130 at four different positions, corresponding to a maximum rotation of the handle lever by 90°. Accordingly, providing five teeth 158, 144 allow the output shaft 150 to be connected to the input member 130 at five different positions, corresponding to a maximum rotation of the handle lever by 72°.

The wall of the cylindrical part 154 preferably includes a cutout 157 providing two opposite anvils 159a, 159b for the turning spring 152, allowing an automatic return movement of the output shaft after rotation. Hence, automatic return may be provided in a clockwise direction as well as a counter clockwise direction.

Due to its symmetrical construction, the door lock transmission 100 may be arranged at different angles relative to the lock case, still providing the same functionality. Further, the door lock transmission may be provided for both right hand doors and left hand doors without further modifications.

In the following, some comments on the functionality of the door lock transmission 100 will be given although it is readily understood from the constructional description above.

The main purpose of the door lock transmission is to always allow opening from one side, while allowing opening from the other side of the door only when the actuator has been activated.

When the actuator 170 is commanded to engage the input member 130 with the output shaft 150 via the coupling mechanism 120, the following situations may occur:

The inner lever handle 102 and the outer lever handle 104 are both arranged horizontally, i.e. with no outside force acting. The wheel 140 is thus urged towards the output shaft such that the teeth 146 mesh in with the teeth 158. Here, the electric motor will move the plate like member 172 of the actuator 170 into the input member 130 thus providing engagement between the input member 130 and the output shaft 150.

) The outer lever handle is pressed down, i.e. someone is trying to open the door 10 from the outside. In this situation the teeth 158, 144 may be unmeshed such that the wheel 140 is displaced somewhat away from the output shaft 150. Hence, it will not be possible for the plate like member 172 to be inserted into the input member 130 (since the wheel 140 is arranged just inside the slit 136) until the outer lever handle is returned to a position in which the teeth 158 mesh in with the teeth 144. The compression of the guide spring will thus urge the plate like member 172 into the input member 130, which means that the movement of the electrical motor 180 is stored in the guide spring. At this point, engagement is provided between the input member 130 and the output shaft 150.

iii) The inner lever handle is pressed down, i.e. someone is trying to open the door 10 from the inside. In this situation the teeth 158, 144 may be unmeshed such that the wheel 140 is displaced somewhat away from the output shaft 150. Hence, it will not be possible for the plate like member 172 to be inserted into the input member 130 (since the wheel

140 is arranged just inside the slit 136) until the outer lever handle is returned to a position in which the teeth 158 mesh in with the teeth 144. The compression of the guide spring will thus urge the plate like member 172 into the input member 130 in the same manner as described with respect to ii).

For ii) and iii) above, the guide spring will store a force corresponding to the linear motion of the plate like member 172. Hence, if the handle lever is pressed down to early for allowing connection between the input member 130 and the output shaft 150, it will not be necessary to reactivate the door lock transmission as connection is provided as soon as the guide spring is allowed to transfer its force to the plate like member 172. If the guide spring would not be capable of storing such force a user would need to provide access ID for the door lock transmission repeatedly until the door handle was released to its neutral, or horizontal position.

When the actuator 170 is commanded to disengage the input member 130 with the output shaft 150 via the coupling mechanism 120, the following situations may occur: i) The inner lever handle 102 and the outer lever handle 104 are both

arranged horizontally, i.e. with no outside force acting. The wheel 140 is thus urged towards the output shaft such that the teeth 146 mesh in with the teeth 158. Here, the electric motor will move the plate like member 172 of the actuator 170 out from the input member 130 thus providing disengagement between the input member 130 and the output shaft 150. ii) The outer lever handle is pressed down, i.e. someone is trying to open the door 10 from the outside. In this situation the outer lever handle has forced the inner handle member into a corresponding position, whereby the plate like member 172 is prevented from moving out from the input member 130 due to friction. However, the electrical motor 180 will compress the guide spring, which will retract the plate like member 172 as soon as the outer lever handle is returned to its idle position. iii) The inner lever handle is pressed down, i.e. someone is trying to open the door 10 from the inside. In this situation the outer lever handle has forced the inner handle member into a corresponding position, whereby the plate like member 172 is prevented from moving out from the input member 130 due to friction. However, the electrical motor 180 will compress the guide spring, which will retract the plate like member 172 as soon as the outer lever handle is returned to its idle position.

As mentioned previously, the door lock transmission 100 is applicable for the different lock cases 20a-c described with reference to Figs. 2a-c. For example, the lock case 20a having a lock follower operatively connected to the lever handle follower, the door lock transmission 100 may be arranged on the outside such that the input member 130 and the output shaft 150 are connected to the lock follower. Hence, the door is always possible to open from the inside, while outside access is only allowed when the output shaft 150 is coupled to the input member 130.

In a yet further embodiment the door lock transmission 100 is

advantageously utilized with a lock case (not shown) providing additional security and comfort for the resident. For example, the particular lock case may have a lock follower for a lock knob on the inside for controlling the movement of a lock bolt, as well as a lever handle follower for connecting a door handle to the lock case and for controlling the movement of a latch bolt. From the inside, the lock follower is disengaged from the lever handle follower. The outside of the lock case includes a lock follower for a lock cylinder for controlling the movement of the lock bolt via a key, as well as a lever handle follower for connecting a door handle to the lock case .From the outside, the lock follower is engaged with the lever handle follower such that the latch bolt as well as the lock bolt are controlled upon depressing the outer door handle. Such lock cases are e.g. available as split spindle lock cases. By providing a door lock transmission 100 to the above described lock case, a resident may always have access out from the interior space by turning the lock knob for retracting the lock bolt followed by depressing the door handle. Hence, a resident may always rest assured that the door is locked since actual locking is confirmed by the position of the inner lock knob. If the door is locked, a person wanting to enter from the outside must activate the door lock transmission 100 for engaging the input member 130 with the output shaft 150. If access is denied depressing the outer door handle will have no effect on the lever handle follower inside the lock case. However, is access is granted and the door lock transmission is activated, depressing the outer door handle will provide a connection to the lever handle follower of the lock case, as well as the lock follower hence retracting the lock bolt simultaneously.

As the door lock transmission 100 is electronically controlled, a simple and secure control scheme may be an important issue for providing a successful implementation of the door lock transmission in e.g. elderly care applications. However, the presented door lock transmission 100 may also be implemented in other applications, such as hotels, storage facilities, rental apartments, etc.

Fig. 5 illustrates, in a schematic and simplified form, the layout of an access control system for elderly care. A first team of caregiver personnel 30 is responsible for the elderly care of a first group of caretakers, all living in rooms or apartments covered by respective front doors 10i- 10_n. Door lock transmissions 100i-100_n are installed on the respective front doors 10i-10_n and serve as gateways to the respective protected environment (i.e. room or apartment) behind each door. A first pool of key devices 300i-300_m is available to the first team of caregiver personnel 30. The key devices 300i-300_m may be mobile terminals. Each door lock transmission 100i-100n contains lock access data which includes the key device identifiers of the key devices 300i-300_m which are allowed to access the door lock transmission in question.

When a user in the first team starts his shift, he will check out one of the key devices 300i-300_m from a caregiver central, for instance key device 300i. During his shift, he will use key device 300i to gain access to various ones of the front doors 10i- 10_n to provide the care required by the respective caretakers. This access will be provided by way of Bluetooth® communication between key device and door lock transmission, as indicated at 40 in Fig. 5. Therefore, the key device identifiers mentioned above may advantageously be represented by the unique Bluetooth® addresses assigned to the Bluetooth® transceivers in the respective key devices.

At the end of his shift, the user will again check in and return the key device 300i to the caregiver central. In addition or alternatively, some or all members of the first team of caregiver personnel 30 may use their own mobile terminals as key devices. Not all key devices or members of the first team of caregiver personnel 30 may be authorized to access all doors, and they need not all have the same level of authorization in terms of times and/or dates when access is allowed.

The access control system of Fig. 5 further involves a second team of caregiver personnel 30' responsible for serving a second group of caretakers, the rooms or apartments of which have respective front doors 10Ί-10'_η to which door lock transmissions 100Ί-100'_η are installed. A second pool of key devices 300' i-300'_m is available to the second team of caregiver personnel 30' . Of course, the access control system may in reality include additional teams of caregiver personnel, additional groups of caretakers, additional front doors, additional door lock transmissions, and additional pools of key devices.

In addition, security personnel 30" with key devices 300'Ί-300"₂ are included in the system. Whereas the key devices 300i-300_m, 300'i-300'_m of the first and second teams 30, 30' will be used by a relatively large number of caregiver persons to access a relatively small number of door lock

transmissions/doors at relatively frequent occasions, the situation is the opposite for the key devices 300'Ί-300"₂ of the security personnel 30". These key devices will be used by a limited number of persons (such as nurses or guards) at rare occasions, but they nevertheless need to be able to access a very large number of door lock transmissions/doors - or even all door lock transmissions/doors that are included in the access control system.

For enhanced security, each key device runs an access control software application in which the user must log on. Also, all communications with the door lock transmissions are encrypted. Further, not all users/key devices are allowed to bring updated lock access data to the door lock transmissions. Rather, in the embodiment of Fig. 5, a subset of particularly trusted users/key devices are designated as ambassadors; only these will be allowed to bring updated lock access data to the door lock transmissions.

Each team of caregiver personnel 30, 30' may be sub-divided into subgroups, for instance a day shift, an evening shift and a night shift. Also, an individual user may act in or for both teams 30 and 30' (for instance to serve as back-up in situations of sickness, parental leave or during popular holiday periods), therefore having a need to use his key device for accessing door lock transmissions both in the first group of caretakers and in the second group of caretakers. This is illustrated in Fig. 5 for key device 300_m, which will access not only door lock transmission 100_m in the first group of caretakers, but also door lock transmission 100Ί in the second group of caretakers (see arrow 40a).

Fig. 6 illustrates how access can be granted for the embodiment shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 6, it is assumed that one of the key devices 300i-300_m, 300' i-300'_m approaches one of the door lock transmissions 100ι-100_η, 100Ί- 100'_η in step 410. This individual key device is referred to as key device, or KD, 200 in the following, and the main components of the key device 300 are shown in Fig. 7. The corresponding individual door lock transmission is referred to as door lock transmission, or LD, 100, and its main components are shown in Fig. 8. The individual caregiver person that uses the key device 300 is referred to as user 30.

In the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 7, the key device 300 is a mobile terminal, e.g. a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, etc., which is capable of communicating with a telecommunications system. Thus, the user 30 may use the key device 300 for various telecommunication services, such as voice calls, Internet browsing, video calls, data calls, facsimile transmissions, still image transmissions, video trans-missions, electronic messaging, and e-commerce. Generally, these telecommunication services are not central within the context of the present invention; there are no limitations to any particular set of services in this respect. Therefore, only components which are somehow pertinent to the inventive functionality are shown in Fig. 7.

As seen in Fig. 7, the key device 300 has a network interface 530 for connecting to the Internet/telecommunications network(s) 204. The network interface 530 may comply with any commercially available mobile

telecommunications standard, including but not limited to GSM, UMTS, LTE, D- AMPS, CDMA2000, FOMA and TD-SCDMA. Alternatively or additionally, the network interface 530 may comply with a wireless data communication standard such as WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network).

The key device 300 also has a man-to-machine interface (MMI), or user interface (UI) 520, which may include a display 522 and a set of keys 524 or other input device, as well as other known UI elements like a speaker and a microphone. The user 30 may control the operation of, and exchange data with, the key device 300 over the user interface 520.

Further, the key device 300 has an interface 540 for short-range wireless data communication. In the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 7, the interface 540 comprises a Bluetooth® transceiver, by means which the key device 300 can communicate with, for instance, the door lock transmission 100 over the

Bluetooth® link 40. The Bluetooth® transceiver is assigned a unique Bluetooth® address KD ID. Alternatively or additionally, the interface 540 may for instance comprise transceiver components for IrDA (Infrared Data Association),

WLAN/WiFi or NFC (Near Field Communication).

A processing unit 510 is overall responsible for the operation and control of the different components of the key device 300. The processing unit 510 may be implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to a processor (PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC or any other suitable digital and/or analogue circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.

Finally, the key device 300 has a memory 550 which is operatively connected to the processing unit 510. The memory 550 may be implemented by any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM,

S(D)RAM and flash memory, and it may also include secondary storage such as a magnetic or optical disc. Physically, the memory 550 may consist of one unit or a plurality of units which together constitute the memory 550 on a logical level. In addition to storing various program instructions and data for the various functions and applications which are typically available in a mobile terminal, the memory 550 also comprises the program instructions 552 and work data for the aforementioned access control software application.

With reference to Fig. 8, in addition to the mechanical components already described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4a-c, the door lock transmission 100 according to the disclosed embodiment generally comprises the following main components. A controller means or processing unit 610 is overall responsible for the operation and control of the different components of the door lock transmission 100. The controller means or processing unit 610 may be implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to a processor (PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC, or any other suitable digital and/or analogue circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.

The door lock transmission 100 of this embodiment is a stand-alone, autonomously operating device which requires no wire-based installations, neither for communication nor for power supply. Instead, the door lock transmission 100 is powered solely by a local power unit 620 which comprises one ore more long-life batteries. It interacts with key devices, as already mentioned, by wireless activities. The door lock transmission 100 therefore has communication means 640 which in the disclosed embodiment takes the form of an interface 640 for short-range wireless data communication. More specifically, in the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 8, the interface 640 comprises a Bluetooth® transceiver, by means of which the door lock transmission 100 can communicate with, for instance, the key device 300 over the Bluetooth® link 40. The

Bluetooth® transceiver is assigned a unique Bluetooth® address LD ID.

Alternatively or additionally, the interface 640 may for instance comprise transceiver components for IrDA, WLAN or NFC.

The door lock transmission 100 of the disclosed embodiment further includes a real-time clock 630 capable of providing the processing unit 610 with an accurate value of the current time. However, embodiments are also possible where no real-time clock is provided.

Finally, the door lock transmission 100 has a memory 650 which is operatively connected to the processing unit 610. The memory 650 may be implemented by any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM, S(D)RAM and flash memory, and it may also include secondary storage such as a magnetic or optical disc. Physically, the memory 650 may consist of one unit or a plurality of units which together constitute the memory 650 on a logical level. The memory 650 serves to store various program instructions and work data for functions to be performed by the processing unit 610 in order to carry out the tasks of the door lock transmission 100. Moreover, the memory 650 serves to store a local door lock transmission database (LD-DB) 670, which includes lock access data 672 upon which the access control decisions are based (as described below for Fig. 6).

Referring back to step 410 in Fig. 6, when the user 30 has brought his key device 300 near the door 10 which is provided with the door lock

transmission 100, the user may request access by issuing a command in the user interface of the key device 300, e.g. by invoking a function in the aforementioned access control software application. In alternative embodiments, this may instead occur automatically. For instance, if the door lock transmission 100 has access to the output signal of a presence sensor on or at the door 10, the door lock transmission 100 may detect the presence of the user 30 and in response trigger performance of the remaining steps. As further alternatives, the key device 300 or the door lock transmission 100 may be configured to regularly transmit beacon signals (e.g. Bluetooth® inquiries) which may be detected and responded to by the other device.

In a following step 420, the door lock transmission 100 will detect the key device identifier KD ID by reading, from the Bluetooth® communication traffic between the devices, the Bluetooth® address assigned to the Bluetooth® transceiver 540 in the key device 300. It is to be noticed that it is not necessary to wait until a bidirectional Bluetooth® link has been established in order to detect the Bluetooth® address of the key device 300, since the Bluetooth® address is included in and can be read already from the initial Bluetooth® messages which are sent between the devices e.g. during paging, handshaking and initiation.

Then, in a step 430, the door lock transmission 100 will check if the detected key device identifier KD ID matches the lock access data 672 currently stored in its internal memory 650. If so, the door lock transmission 100 considers the key device 300 as a known key device and proceeds to an optional step 440, in which further verification of the key device 300 may take place. Such further verification may include establishing and further communicating over a bidirectional Bluetooth® link 40 between the door lock transmission 100 and key device 300. For instance, the access control software application in the key device 300 may prompt the user to enter a PIN code on a keypad of the key device 300, and the PIN code may be communicated over the Bluetooth® link to the door lock transmission 100, which may compare the received PIN code with a prestored PIN code associated with the key device identifier KD ID in the lock access data 672. Alternatively or additionally, the user 30 may provide some biometric data, such as a scanned fingerprint, by means of the key device 300, to be evaluated by the door lock transmission 100 upon receipt.

In a subsequent step 450, the door lock transmission 100 determines whether or not the key device 300/user 30 shall be granted access or not. This may involve checking that the KD ID of the key device 300 was recognized in step 430 as a known KD ID which is not included in a "black list" of blocked key device identifiers in the lock access data 672. If the optional step 440 is applied, the determination in step 450 will also include a check that the further verification in step 440 was successful.

A favorable decision in step 450 will trigger a step 460 in which the actual access is made to happen. This may involve actuating the electric motor 180 to engage the coupling mechanism 120, so that it will no longer disengage the input member 130 from the output shaft 150. This is collectively referred to as door lock transmission actuator 612 in Fig 8.

An unfavorable decision in step 450 will instead result in termination of the procedure of Fig. 6, without any performance of step 460.

It is expressly to be noticed that the mechanical components of the door lock transmission 100, an exemplifying embodiment of which have been described above with reference to Figs. 3 and 4a-c, may be used with other access control means than the elements 610-670 described above for Fig. 8.

Basically, any wired or contactless arrangement for detecting and verifying an approaching user 30 may be employed for controlling the actuator 170. Non- limiting examples of such arrangements include keypads, biometrical readers or scanners, magnetic card readers, smartcard readers, inductive tag detectors, barcode readers, etc., or any combination thereof. Hence, the door lock transmission 100 may be actuated by other key devices than mobile phones and similar portable communication devices, including but not limited to a human finger, eye or face; a magnetic card, a smartcard, an inductive tag, a barcode, etc., or any combination thereof.

Further, it is apparent to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above; instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.

In addition to the teachings above the inventors have also realized that in many applications, such as elderly care, hotels, multi-resident buildings etc, it is desirable to allow non-resident people to have access to otherwise private facilities. For example, service personnel or care givers may require access to such areas in order to perform their given tasks. Since such areas are normally closed by locked doors in order to prevent unauthorized entry, the staff needs the correct key for every door lock that needs to be unlocked and opened.

Different ways of distributing the keys have been suggested. For example, it is possible to provide a master key that is capable of unlocking a plurality of doors. However, as such master key must be distributed to different people needing access, there is of course a huge risk of loosing track of the master key. This is a major problem as the facility owner must need to replace every door lock associated with the master key. Another option is to use electronic door locks. However, in some situations these are associated with some drawbacks, since they must fit with already existing lock cases. There are other alternatives for allowing access to locked doors, of which the key tube is one solution that has gained a commercial success recently.

A key tube includes a tube which is recessed into a door or wall, and which tube is designed to accommodate a mechanical key for unlocking that particular door. A key may be inserted into the key tube from the inside, while the key tube may be opened from the outside by a separate key tube key.

Normally, a care giver or service personnel may be provided with a key which allows access to a plurality of key tubes. Hence, by unlocking a particular key tube the staff may retrieve the key inside the key tube whereby he or she will have the necessary means for unlocking the door.

A further improvement of the traditional key tube includes electronic key tubes, whereby a digital key is used to access the interior of the tube. Such electronic key tubes may provide data of which digital key being used for opening, as well as the particular time of opening. It is thus possible to keep track on each key tube that has been opened, when it was opened, and by who.

Although key tubes are commonly used today, all available models have a number of disadvantages. For example, the key tube must be inserted into a door or wall. Hence, it is cumbersome and expensive to mount such key tubes, especially when they are operated electronically since the electronics require additional space and mounting work. Additionally, a user opening the key tube may find it empty, since a user cannot guarantee that the key is actually provided within the key lock. Another major drawback is that it is possible to store the wrong key in the key tube.

Hence, there is a need for an improved way of handling and

administrating mechanical keys.

In view of the above, an objective is to solve or at least reduce the problems discussed above.

An object is to provide a key holder retaining the mechanical key in a visible manner.

A still further object is to provide a key holder which may be controlled to release the mechanical key upon a predetermined command.

A further obj ect is to provide a key holder which is capable of providing data representing the users which have accessed the mechanical key, as well as the particular time associated with the respective user's access.

A yet further obj ect is to provide a very small and compact electronic key holder which has a reduced power consumption compared to previous electronic key tubes.

Another obj ect is to provide a key holder which allows outdoor mounting.

An idea is thus to provide a key holder which is operational to either allow or prevent withdrawing of the mechanical key from the key holder.

According to one aspect a key holder is provided. The key holder comprises a key retainer capable of receiving an associated mechanical key, whereby the key retainer has a first operational mode, in which the key retainer allows insertion and withdrawing of the key, and a second operational mode, in which the key retainer prevents withdrawing of the key, and a controller connected to said key retainer and configured to control in which one of the first or second mode the key retainer is operational.

Said key retainer may be a lock cylinder, whereby the key holder may store the key in a manner which is very well known for users thereby facilitating the handling of the key holder..

The key holder may further comprise a housing enclosing said controller and allowing said key retainer to be connected to said controller, and wherein said housing is configured to be securely attached to a wall by means of fasteners. This is advantageous in that the key holder may easily be attached to a planar surface such that mounting is facilitated.

The key retainer may further be moveable between said first mode and said second mode, such that the user wanting access to the key must move the key retainer. Hence, it is very easy for the user to realize when the key retainer is in its first or second mode.

The fasteners may be accessible only when said key retainer is operational in a position between the first mode and the second mode. This is advantageous in that a user must have a granted access to the key before he can dismount the key holder from the wall.

The controller may comprise a mechanical coupling as well as an electrical actuator for engaging said coupling. The coupling may thus provide an efficient way of ensuring the different modes of the key retainer.

The mechanical coupling may comprise a support member being able to engage with a rotatable input member by means of said actuator, such that said input member is prevented from rotating when it is engaged with said support member. Further, the input member may be engaged with the support member by means of an intermediate member being moveable in an axial direction. By providing the engagement of the coupling by means of an axial movement, the coupling may be made very small and robust.

The intermediate member may further be spring biased towards the input member, such that a space behind the intermediate member is provided for allowing insertion of a member such that axial movement of the intermediate member is prevented.

The controller may be controlled remotely, and the key holder may comprise communication means associated with controller means, said controller means being configured for controlling said controller based on information received by said communication means from a key device. Hence, a user may have access to the mechanical key of the key holder by means of a remote electronic device.

According to another aspect, a key holder system is provided. The system comprises a key holder according to the previous aspect, and one or more electronic key devices. The key holder of the key holder system may further comprise memory means for storing lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices, and wherein said controller means is configured for controlling said actuator by: determining, via said communication means, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the key holder; and controlling said actuator based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data stored in said memory means.

According to a yet further aspect, a method for providing a key holder is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing a mechanical key inserted into an associated key retainer, providing a controller connected to said key retainer, and configuring said controller for controlling in which one of a first or second mode the key retainer is operational, wherein the first operational mode allows the key to be withdrawn from said key retainer, and wherein the second operational mode prevents the key from being withdrawn from said key retainer.

According to an aspect, a method for allowing or preventing access to a key from a key holder system according to the second aspect is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing one or more key devices; providing lock access data in a memory means of said key holder, the lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices; determining, by short-range wireless data communication, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the key holder; and controlling said controller based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data in said memory means.

From hereon, different embodiments of a key holder for allowing or preventing access to a key, such as a master key, will be described with reference to Figs. 9- 14. Generally, the key holder includes a key retainer capable of receiving an associated key, whereby the key retainer has a first operational mode, in which the key retainer allows insertion and withdrawing of the key, and a second operational mode, in which the key retainer prevents withdrawing of the key. Further, the key holder comprises a controller connected to the key retainer and configured to control in which one of the first or second mode the key retainer is operational. Hence, the key holder provides the highly advantageous functionality that a user can access the key by controlling the key holder to change its mode thereby allowing the user access.

The key holder may be mechanical, electrical, or electro-mechnical. Preferably, the key retainer provides a mechanical locking of the key, whereby the controller is providing electrical signals to a mechanical actuation of the key retainer. By having an electrical controller, a user may control the key holder in many different ways, e.g. by remote signaling, pin codes, magnetic cards, electronic chips, etc.

In Fig. 9 a key 10 and an associated key holder 100 according to an embodiment is shown. The key holder 100 is securely attached to a wall 20 such that the key holder 100 and the key 10 are visible and readily available for an intended user.

The key 10 is inserted into a key retainer 1 10, which in this particular embodiment is a lock cylinder. The lock cylinder 1 10 is configured to be rotated about a longitudinal axis Z when the key 10 is inserted, whereby the key 10 may be withdrawn in a specific angular position, while being prevented from being withdrawn in other angular positions. Hence, the lock cylinder is a common lock cylinder available on the market today whereby the key holder may be manufactured by standard components.

The inner end of the lock cylinder 110 is attached to an input member

120, being rotatably fixed to the lock cylinder 1 10. Hence, upon rotation of the lock cylinder 110, the input member 120 will rotate accordingly. An intermediate member 130 is arranged between the input member 120 and a support member 140, which support member 140 is fixed to the back end of the key holder 100. The support member 140 is thus always prevented from rotating.

The intermediate member 130 is allowed to move in an axial direction, i.e. a direction being parallel with the longitudinal axis Z. Hence, the

intermediate member 130 may connect and disconnect the input member 120 to or from the support member 140. When the input member 120 is disconnected from the support member 140 the input member and the key retainer 1 10 may rotate. However, when the intermediate member 130 provides an engagement between the input member 120 and the support member 140, the input member 120 and the key retainer 1 10 will no longer be able to rotate.

Preferably, the intermediate member 130 is spring biased towards the input member 120 such that these two members are connected by default.

However, in an idle position, the intermediate member 130 is allowed to slip against the input member 120 such that rotation of the lock cylinder 1 10 is allowed. The slipping force thus exceeds the pressing force of the spring biasing force.

The intermediate member 130 may however be prevented from slipping by urging the intermediate member 130 towards the input member 120 for connecting the input member 120 with the support member 140. This is achieved by a plate like member 150, insertable into a slit of the support member 140 for reducing the distance between the intermediate member 130 and the input member 120.

The plate like member 150 forms part of the controller 160, and is actuated in a radial direction of the intermediate member 130 by means of an electrical motor 170. The electrical motor 170 provides a rotation of an elongated shaft 172 which is connected to the plate like member 150.

When the plate like member 150 is inserted into the support member 140, the intermediate member 130 is prevented from slipping against the input member 120. As the intermediate member 130 is not able to rotate relative the support member 140, rotation of the lock cylinder 110 is impossible.

A housing 180 encloses the controller 160 as well as the support member 140, the intermediate member 130, and the input member 120. The housing is securely attached to the wall 20.

Now turning to Figs. lOa-f, the key holder parts will be described in more detail.

An embodiment of the intermediate member 130 is further shown in Fig. 10a. The intermediate memberl 30 has the shape of a wheel. Radial protrusions 132 are provided at the periphery of the wheel 130 which fit in corresponding radial recesses 142 of the support member 140. Further to this, a plurality of axial teeth 134 is provided at the outer surface 136, i.e. the surface facing the input member 120 for engagement with corresponding teeth 128 of the input member 120.

Now turning to Fig. 10b, the input member 120 is shown. The input member 120 includes a cylindrical portion 122 provided at its lateral end facing away from the lock cylinder 1 10. A wheel receiving portion 124 is provided within the cylindrical portion 122. Hence, the wheel receiving portion 124 will slip against the intermediate member 130 when rotating and when the plate-like member 150 is withdrawn from the support member 140. The wheel receiving portion 124 includes a slit 126 which is configured to accommodate a return spring (not shown) for automatically returning the input member to its idle position after rotating. The slit 126 is preferably formed by reducing the length of the cylindrical portion 122 for a part of its periphery, whereby the end positions of the slit 126 provides anvils for the return spring.

The cylindrical portion 122 has an inner surface 123 which is

connectable with the wheel 130. For this purpose, the inner surface 123 is provided with axial teeth 128 facing the teeth 134 of the wheel 130. Hence, the teeth 128 may be arranged between the teeth 134 of the intermediate member 130 such that a rotation of the input member 120, and the wheel 130, is impossible. For this, each one of the teeth 128 is preferably provided with inclined sidewalls, i.e. each sidewall is extending from the inner surface 123 at an angle being less than 90° relative the plane of the inner surface 123. Each sidewall is further inclined radially inwards such that the teeth 128 may slide relative the teeth 134 of the intermediate member 130 if the plate like member 180 is retracted from the support member 140. Correspondingly, teeth 134 are arranged at an equal angular distance from each other on the intermediate member 130. Each one of the teeth 134 is preferably also provided with inclined sidewalls, i.e. each sidewall is extending from the outer surface 136 at an angle being less than 90° relative the plane of the outer surface 136. Each sidewall is further inclined radially inwards. The described shape of the teeth 134, 128 allows complete contact between the teeth 134 and the teeth 128, i.e. full contact also between the respective sidewalls. Hence, if the wheel 130 is allowed to be axially displaced within the input member 120 the teeth 128 will slip against the wheel 130 whereby the lock cylinder is allowed to rotate.

In Fig. 10c, a housing 180 is shown. The housing 180 includes through holes 181 for securely attaching the housing to a wall 20. Further, the housing 180 accommodates the support member 140 which forms part of the housing. The support member 140 is thus constructed as a recess in the housing 180, whereby the support member 140 will be fixed and always being prevented from rotating relative the housing 180. The support member 140 includes a cylindrical recess with radial areas 142 provided to accommodate the radial protrusions 132 of the intermediate member 130 such that the intermediate member 130 is prevented from rotating relative the support member 140. Hence, the intermediate member 130 will fit into the support member 140. Further to this, the support member 140 is constructed such that the plate like member 150 may be inserted into the support member 140 for preventing the intermediate member 130 to move axially. The housing 180 further includes circular grooves for receiving the input member 120. The housing 180 has an area 182 provided to enclose electronic circuits, and preferably the electronics used for secure digital communication between the power electronics and the electrical motor. The area 182 is protected by a drill protective plate 183, which is shown in Fig. lOd. The drill protective plate 183 is preferably arranged onto the housing 180. The drill protective plate 183 is arranged to cover the coupling, i.e. the input member 120 and the intermediate member 130, as well as the electrical motor and the electrical circuits for secure digital communication.

In Fig. l Oe a central plate 184 is shown, for ensuring correct alignment of the lock cylinder 1 10 relative the coupling. The central plate 184 is arranged at the outside of the input member 120, i.e. on the side of the input member 120 being opposite the side having the teeth 128. This side of the input member 120 includes grooves (not shown) for attaching a lock cylinder, and the central plate 184 has a corresponding centrally aligned through hole 185 for allowing the lock cylinder to protrude through the central plate 184. When the central plate 184 is correctly arranged at the input member 120, rotation of the input input member 120 (due to rotation of the lock cylinder) will cause a corresponding rotation of the central plate 184. The central plate 184 has a circular shape, and a number of recesses 186 are provided at its periphery for blocking the through holes of the housing 180 used for attaching the housing 180 to the wall 20. Such recesses 186 may also be provided as through holes, arranged radially inwards as compared to the shown recesses. Hence, the central plate 184 is able to rotate with the lock cylinder 1 10, such that the recesses may reveal the through holes of the housing only when the lock cylinder 1 10 is rotated to a specific position. This means that the fasteners used for attaching the housing 180 may not be accessible unless the lock cylinder 1 10 has been rotated to a maintenance position, preferably arranged angularly somewhere between the first operational position and the second operational position. The central plate 184 provides the advantage that the key holder must be activated, i.e. unlocked, in order to dismount the key holder.

In Fig. l Of a lock cylinder casing 187 is shown, providing mounting means for the lock cylinder 1 10 as well as a protection for the lock cylinder 1 10.

As the key holder 100 is electronically controlled, a simple and secure control scheme may be an important issue for providing a successful

implementation of the key holder in e.g. elderly care applications. However, the presented key holder 100 may also be implemented in other applications, such as hotels, storage facilities, rental apartments, etc in which a master key is used by different people. Fig. 11 illustrates, in a schematic and simplified form, the layout of an access control system for elderly care. A first team of caregiver personnel 30 is responsible for the elderly care of a first group of caretakers, all living in rooms or apartments. A number of rooms or apartments may be accessible by means of a master key, retained in a key holder 100.

A first pool of key devices 300i-300_m is available to the first team of caregiver personnel 30. The key devices 300i-300_m may be mobile terminals. The key holder 100i contains lock access data which includes the key device identifiers of the key devices 300i-300_m which are allowed to have access to the key stored in the key holder 100.

When a user in the first team starts his shift, he will check out one of the key devices 300i-300_m from a caregiver central, for instance key device 300i. During his shift, he will use key device 300i to access the key of the key holder 100 to gain access to various ones of the caretakers. This access will be provided by way of Bluetooth® communication between key device and the key holder as indicated at 40 in Fig. 11. Therefore, the key device identifiers mentioned above may advantageously be represented by the unique Bluetooth® addresses assigned to the Bluetooth® transceivers in the respective key devices.

At the end of his shift, the user will return the key in the key holder as well as return the key device 300i to the caregiver central. In addition or alternatively, some or all members of the first team of caregiver personnel 30 may use their own mobile terminals as key devices. Not all key devices or members of the first team of caregiver personnel 30 may have the same level of authorization in terms of times and/or dates when access to the key holder is allowed.

The access control system of Fig. 11 further involves a second team of caregiver personnel 30' responsible for serving a second group of caretakers, the rooms or apartments of which are accessible by means of a master key retained in a key holder 100. A second pool of key devices 300' i-300'_m is available to the second team of caregiver personnel 30' . Of course, the access control system may in reality include additional teams of caregiver personnel, additional groups of caretakers, additional rooms or apartments, additional key holders, and additional pools of key devices.

In addition, security personnel 30" with key devices 300'Ί-300"₂ are included in the system. Whereas the key devices 300i-300_m, 300' i-300'_m of the first and second teams 30, 30' will be used by a relatively large number of caregiver persons to access a relatively small number of key holders at relatively frequent occasions, the situation is the opposite for the key devices 300" i-300"₂ of the security personnel 30". These key devices will be used by a limited number of persons (such as nurses or guards) at rare occasions, but they nevertheless may need to be able to access a large number of key holders. For example, a master key stored in a first key holder 100 may give access to rooms of a first floor. A second master key stored in a second key holder may give access to rooms of a second floor. A third master key stored in a third key holder may give access to all rooms of the first and second floor, as well as to service areas not accessible by the first and second master keys. Hence, the security personnel 30" may be the only one having access to the third key holder.

For enhanced security, each key device runs an access control software application in which the user must log on. Also, all communications with the key holders are encrypted. Further, not all users/key devices are allowed to bring updated lock access data to the key holders 100. Rather, in the embodiment of Fig. 11 , a subset of particularly trusted users/key devices are designated as ambassadors; only these will be allowed to bring updated lock access data to the key holders.

Each team of caregiver personnel 30, 30' may be sub-divided into subgroups, for instance a day shift, an evening shift and a night shift. Also, an individual user may act in or for both teams 30 and 30' (for instance to serve as back-up in situations of sickness, parental leave or during popular holiday periods), therefore having a need to use his key device for accessing key holders of which the keys give access to the first group of caretakers as well as to the second group of caretakers. This is illustrated in Fig. 11 for key device 300_m, which will access not only the key holder 100 in the first group of caretakers, but also the key holder 100 in the second group of caretakers (see arrow 40a).

Fig. 12 illustrates how access can be granted for the embodiment shown in Fig. 11. In Fig. 12, it is assumed that one of the key devices 300i-300_m, 300Ί- 300'_m approaches one of the key holders 100 in step 410. This individual key device is referred to as key device, or KD, 200 in the following, and the main components of the key device 300 are shown in Fig. 13. The corresponding individual key holder is referred to as key holder, or KH, 100, and its main components are shown in Fig. 14. The individual caregiver person that uses the key device 300 is referred to as user 30.

In the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 13, the key device 300 is a mobile terminal, e.g. a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, etc., which is capable of communicating with a telecommunications system. Thus, the user 30 may use the key device 300 for various telecommunication services, such as voice calls, Internet browsing, video calls, data calls, facsimile transmissions, still image transmissions, video trans-missions, electronic messaging, and e-commerce. Generally, these telecommunication services are not central within the context of the present invention; there are no limitations to any particular set of services in this respect. Therefore, only components which are somehow pertinent to the inventive functionality are shown in Fig. 13.

As seen in Fig. 13, the key device 300 has a network interface 530 for connecting to the Internet/telecommunications network(s) 204. The network interface 530 may comply with any commercially available mobile

Further, the key device 300 has an interface 540 for short-range wireless data communication. In the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 13, the interface 540 comprises a Bluetooth® transceiver, by means which the key device 300 can communicate with, for instance, the key holder 100 over the Bluetooth® link 40. The Bluetooth® transceiver is assigned a unique Bluetooth® address KD ID. Alternatively or additionally, the interface 540 may for instance comprise transceiver components for IrDA (Infrared Data Association), WLAN/WiFi or NFC (Near Field Communication).

With reference to Fig. 14, in addition to the mechanical components already described with reference to Figs. 9 and lOa-f, the key holder 100 according to the disclosed embodiment generally comprises the following main components. A controller means or processing unit 610 is overall responsible for the operation and control of the different components of the key holder 100. The controller means or processing unit 610 may be implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to a processor (PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC, or any other suitable digital and/or analogue circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.

The key holder 100 of this embodiment is a stand-alone, autonomously operating device which requires no wire-based installations, neither for communication nor for power supply. Instead, the key holder 100 is powered solely by a local power unit 620 which comprises one ore more long-life batteries. It interacts with key devices, as already mentioned, by wireless activities. The key holder 100 therefore has communication means 640 which in the disclosed embodiment takes the form of an interface 640 for short-range wireless data communication. More specifically, in the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 14, the interface 640 comprises a Bluetooth® transceiver, by means of which the key holder 100 can communicate with, for instance, the key device 300 over the Bluetooth® link 40. The Bluetooth® transceiver is assigned a unique

Bluetooth® address LD ID. Alternatively or additionally, the interface 640 may for instance comprise transceiver components for IrDA, WLAN or NFC.

The key holder 100 of the disclosed embodiment further includes a realtime clock 630 capable of providing the processing unit 610 with an accurate value of the current time. However, embodiments are also possible where no realtime clock is provided.

Finally, the key holder 100 has a memory 650 which is operatively connected to the processing unit 610. The memory 650 may be implemented by any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM,

S(D)RAM and flash memory, and it may also include secondary storage such as a magnetic or optical disc. Physically, the memory 650 may consist of one unit or a plurality of units which together constitute the memory 650 on a logical level. The memory 650 serves to store various program instructions and work data for functions to be performed by the processing unit 610 in order to carry out the tasks of the key holder 100. Moreover, the memory 650 serves to store a local key holder database (LD-DB) 670, which includes lock access data 672 upon which the access control decisions are based (as described below for Fig. 14).

Referring back to step 410 in Fig. 12, when the user 30 has brought his key device 300 near the key holder 100, the user may request access to the master key by issuing a command in the user interface of the key device 300, e.g. by invoking a function in the aforementioned access control software application. In alternative embodiments, this may instead occur automatically. For instance, if the key holder 100 has access to the output signal of a presence sensor near the key holder 100, the key holder 100 may detect the presence of the user 30 and in response trigger performance of the remaining steps. As further alternatives, the key device 300 or the key holder 100 may be configured to regularly transmit beacon signals (e.g. Bluetooth® inquiries) which may be detected and responded to by the other device.

In a following step 420, the key holder 100 will detect the key device identifier KD ID by reading, from the Bluetooth® communication traffic between the devices, the Bluetooth® address assigned to the Bluetooth® transceiver 540 in the key device 300. It is to be noticed that it is not necessary to wait until a bidirectional Bluetooth® link has been established in order to detect the Bluetooth® address of the key device 300, since the Bluetooth® address is included in and can be read already from the initial Bluetooth® messages which are sent between the devices e.g. during paging, handshaking and initiation.

Then, in a step 430, the key holder 100 will check if the detected key device identifier KD ID matches the lock access data 672 currently stored in its internal memory 650. If so, the key holder 100 considers the key device 300 as a known key device and proceeds to an optional step 440, in which further verification of the key device 300 may take place. Such further verification may include establishing and further communicating over a bidirectional Bluetooth® link 40 between the key holder 100 and key device 300. For instance, the access control software application in the key device 300 may prompt the user to enter a PIN code on a keypad of the key device 300, and the PIN code may be

communicated over the Bluetooth® link to the key holder 100, which may compare the received PIN code with a prestored PIN code associated with the key device identifier KD ID in the lock access data 672. Alternatively or

additionally, the user 30 may provide some biometric data, such as a scanned fingerprint, by means of the key device 300, to be evaluated by the key holder 100 upon receipt.

In a subsequent step 450, the key holder 100 determines whether or not the key device 300/user 30 shall be granted access or not. This may involve checking that the KD ID of the key device 300 was recognized in step 430 as a known KD ID which is not included in a "black list" of blocked key device identifiers in the lock access data 672. If the optional step 440 is applied, the determination in step 450 will also include a check that the further verification in step 440 was successful.

A favorable decision in step 450 will trigger a step 460 in which the actual access is made to happen. This may involve actuating the electric motor 170 to no longer engage the coupling mechanism 120, 130, so that it will allow the lock cylinder 1 10 to rotate. This is collectively referred to as key holder actuator 612 in Fig 14.

An unfavorable decision in step 450 will instead result in termination of the procedure of Fig. 14, without any performance of step 460.

It is expressly to be noticed that the mechanical components of the key holder 100, an exemplifying embodiment of which have been described above with reference to Figs. 9 and l Oa-f, may be used with other access control means than the elements 610-670 described above for Fig. 14. Basically, any wired or contactless arrangement for detecting and verifying an approaching user 30 may be employed for controlling the electrical motor 170. Non-limiting examples of such arrangements include keypads, biometrical readers or scanners, magnetic card readers, smartcard readers, inductive tag detectors, barcode readers, etc., or any combination thereof. Hence, the key holder 100 may be actuated by other key devices than mobile phones and similar portable communication devices, including but not limited to a human finger, eye or face; a magnetic card, a smartcard, an inductive tag, a barcode, etc., or any combination thereof.

The inventors have also realized that doors are commonly provided with locks for preventing unauthorized access to the area behind the door. Such locks are often provided as lock cases inserted into the door, whereby the lock case has a lever handle follower for allowing a latchbolt to be retracted from the surrounding door frame when the connected handle is rotated such that the door may be opened. Moreover, a deadbolt may also be provided in the lock case for securely locking the door to the frame.

In order to solve this problem, electronic door locks have been suggested which upon activation connects or disconnects the inside lever handle from the outside lever handle. Such door locks must be arranged on the outside of the door, i.e. such that the electronic housing is visible to a person approaching the door from the outside.

In some applications, e.g. health care or elderly homes, it is not desired to have such indications visible to strangers. A visible door lock assembly may e.g. attract criminals since the person inside will not probably be fit to resist the attack.

Hence, there is a need for an improved door lock mechanism which has reduced energy consumption while at the same being invisible for a person approaching the door from the outside.

An object is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which is capable of connecting the lever handle follower of a lock case with the lock follower of the same lock case.

A yet further obj ect is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which always allows for opening of the door from the inside, while preventing opening of the door from the outside unless the door lock transmission is activated.

A still further object is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which may be easily connected to various lock cases.

Another object is to provide an electronic door lock transmission which may easily be mounted on the inside of the door.

An idea is thus to provide a door lock transmission wherein an input shaft is engaged with an output shaft by means of a coupling which only provides engagement when activated.

According to one aspect, an electronic door lock transmission is provided. The electronic door lock transmission comprises a fixed housing to be mounted on a door. The door lock transmission comprises an input transmission being connected to an outside lever handle via a lever handle follower of a lock case inserted into said door, an output transmission being connected to a lock follower on the inside of said lock case, wherein said input transmission and said output transmission are connectable by means of an electronically controlled coupling. The electronically controlled coupling may engage by an axial movement, which is advantageous in that the coupling can be made very small and robust.

The coupling may comprise an intermediate member being rotatably secured to an input member and displaceable in the axial direction, and an electrically controlled actuator being movable in a radial direction of said intermediate member for preventing the intermediate member from moving away from an output member in an axial direction such that the intermediate member meshes with the output member. Hence, the coupling is made of a very small number of components for improving compactness and cost-effectivness.

The intermediate member may be spring biased for allowing the intermediate member to slip against the output member. Further to this, spring biasing also provides an idle space behind the intermediate member for inserting a part of an actuator, thus preventing axial movement and slipping of the intermediate member.

The actuator may for this purpose comprise a plate-like member being connected to an electric motor.

The output member may be spring biased relative said housing for causing a return movement of the output member to an idle position. This is advantageous in that no further external force is required to make the door lock transmission ready to use after a certain operation. The input member may be connected to said lever handle follower by means of a mechanical link system, such as a lever handle rack gear. Hence, the input member may be arranged at a certain distance from the lever handle follower which facilitates construction as more space is available.

The output member may be connected to said lock follower by means of a mechanical link system, such as a lever handle rack gear. Hence, the output member may be arranged at a certain distance from the lock follower which facilitates construction as more space is available.

The coupling may be controlled remotely, and the door lock transmission may also comprise communication means associated with controller means, said controller means being configured for controlling said coupling based on information received by said communication means from a key device.

According to another aspect, a lock case is provided. The lock case comprises a lever handle follower extending through said lock case and at least one lock follower extending trough said lock case, and a door lock transmission according to the first aspect.

The lock case may comprise one lock follower which is connected to a lock cylinder on the outside and a turning knob on the inside.

The lock case may comprise two lock followers of which one is connected to a lock cylinder on the outside, and of which the other is connected to a turning knob on the inside.

According to a yet further aspect, a door is provided. The door comprises a lock case according to the second aspect, wherein said door lock transmission is provided on the inside of the door.

According to a further aspect, a door lock system is provided. The system comprises an electronic door lock transmission according to the first aspect, and one or more key devices.

The electronic door lock transmission may further comprise memory means for storing lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices, and wherein said controller means may be configured for controlling said coupling by: determining, via said communication means, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the door lock transmission; and controlling said coupling based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data stored in said memory means.

According to one aspect, a method for locking or unlocking a door according to the fourth aspect is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing one or more key devices; providing lock access data in a memory means of said door lock transmission, the lock access data including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices; determining, by short- range wireless data communication, the key device identifier of a key device appearing at the door; and controlling said electronically controlled coupling based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data in said memory means.

Starting with Fig. 15, an end view of a door 10 including a lock case 20 and a door lock transmission 100 is shown. The door has an outer side 12, an inner side 14, and a lateral end 16 including a recess in which the lock case 20 is inserted such that the lock case 20 aligns with the end 16 of the door 10.

The door lock transmission 100 is arranged at the inside 14 of the door and allows a connection between an inner lever handle 102 and an outer lever handle 104 via a lever handle follower of the lock case 20.

Further, a lock follower is provided which is accessible from the outside 12 by means of a lock cylinder 1 1 , and from the inside 14 by means of a turning knob 13.

As will be further described below, the door lock transmission 100 is electronically controlled for engaging the lever handle follower from the outside of the door 10 with the lock follower on the inside of the door 10. That is, upon request the lever handle follower is connected to the lock follower such that locking or unlocking of the door may be achieved only by maneuvering the lever handle. Hence, if a correct command is sent to the door lock transmission 100 a person on the outside may unlock the door 10 simultaneously as he or she pulls down the lever handle. In a similar manner the door 10 may be locked by simply maneuvering the lever handle.

Now turning to Figs. 16a-b, different embodiments of lock cases 20a-b are shown which may be used in combination with the door lock transmission 100. Starting with Fig. 16a, the lock case 20a has a lever handle follower 22a arranged at the lower portion of the lock case 20a and being operatively connected to a latchbolt 24a. A lock follower 26a is provided at the upper portion of the lock case 20a and is operatively connected to a deadbolt 28a. The lever handle follower 22a and the lock follower 26a are normally provided as rectangular through holes in which the lever handles 102, 104 may be inserted thus forming a common shaft. The lock case 20a may be utilized according to what is shown in Fig. 15, i.e. the lock follower is connectable with a lock cylinder on the outside and with a turning knob on the inside. Fig. 16b shows a yet further embodiment of a lock case 20b, which includes a lever handle follower 22b being operatively connected to the latchbolt 24b, as well as two lock followers 26b, 27b being operatively connected to the deadbolt 28b. Such lock case is advantageous in that a turning knob may be arranged on the inside and being connected to either one of the two lock followers 27b. The other lock follower 26b may be connected to a lock cylinder on the inside as well as on the outside. Hence, facilitated locking from the inside is provided since it is not necessary to use a key for the lock cylinder in order to lock the door.

For each one of the lock cases described above, as well as other lock cases known in the art, the door lock transmission 100 described herein may provide additional advantages.

From now on the door lock transmission 100 will be described in further details. The door lock transmission 100 may be connected to a variety of different lock cases 20, such as the lock cases 20a-b described above. The following description will focus on a door lock transmission 100 configured to be connected to a lock case according to Fig. 16b, however as will be readily understood a similar transmission 100 may also be used for a lock case according to Fig. 16a without any major modifications.

In Fig. 17a a rear view of the door lock transmission 100 is shown. The transmission 100 includes a housing 200 covering the internal parts used for accomplishing the transmission. The housing 200 is thus intended to be mounted on the inside of a door while being aligned with an associated lock case already inserted into the door. The housing 200 includes an extended body 202 having three openings 204, 206, 208 for allowing access to the lock case. Starting with the first opening 204, a narrow through hole is provided for connecting a lever handle to a lever handle follower of the lock case. A further opening 206 is provided for connecting a turning knob to a lock follower of the lock case, while an optional opening 208 may be provided for allowing access to the lock case via a further lock follower..

As can be seen in Fig. 17b the housing has a lower part 210, arranged below the openings 204, 206, 208 for accommodating electronics and a coupling. Further, the extended body 202 of the housing 200 has a certain thickness in order to accommodate a transmission for connecting the lever handle follower with the lock follower via the coupling, as will be described in further details below. The different parts of the housing 200 are further shown in Figs. 18a-d. Starting with Fig. 18a, the extended body 202 of the housing is shown. The extended body 202 is configured to be connected to a second housing 220 forming the lower part 210 of the housing 200. A recess 212 is provided for allowing access to the second housing 220, and a further space 214 is formed for enclosing electrical circuits. The second housing 220, shown in Fig. 18b, is constructed to accommodate a battery by means of a first space 222, and has a second space 224 for accommodating the coupling.

The electrical circuits are enclosed within a support 230 shown in Fig. 18c, for improving the robustness of the entire door lock transmission 100.

The extended body 202 of the housing 200 is further connected to a cover plate 240 to be fitted between the extended body 202 and the inner side of a door. Hence, a space is formed between the extended body 202 and the cover plate 240 for enclosing various parts forming the transmission between the lever handle follower and the lock follower via the coupling.

Now turning to Fig. 19a-b, the transmission for connecting the lever handle follower with the coupling is shown. A cog wheel 250 has a recess 252 to be aligned with a lever handle follower of a lock case, and thus capable of receiving a lever handle extending through it. The recess 252 thus defines the rotational axis of the cog wheel 250. A guide groove 254 is further provided radially away from the recess 252 and provides necessary space for a fastening screw used for securing the lever handle. Teeth 256 are provided along a part of the periphery of the cog wheel 250 and constructed to mesh with a mechanical link system. The mechanical link system may e.g. be a rack gear 260 as in Fig. 19b. Hence, upon a rotation of the lever handle the cog wheel 250 will rotate and said rotation will be transmitted to a linear movement of the rack gear 260.

The rack gear 260 includes a first end 262 being provided with teeth 264 constructed to mesh with the teeth 256 of the cog wheel 250. The opposite end 266 is provided with a second set of teeth 268 constructed to mesh with teeth of the coupling, as will be described later. Hence, the rack gear 260 transmits a rotational movement of the lever handle to a rotational movement of an input member of the coupling.

Should the coupling be engaged, the rotational movement of the input member will be transmitted to a rotational movement of an output member of the coupling.

The output member of the coupling is meshed with a second mechanical link system. The mechanical link system may be a rack gear 270 as shown in Fig. 20a. The second rack gear 270 has a first end 272 with teeth 274 for meshing with corresponding teeth of the coupling. A second end 276 is provided with teeth 278 for meshing with a cog wheel 280 rotationally connected with a lock follower and an associated turning knob, and optionally an additional set of teeth 279 for meshing with a cog wheel (not shown) rotationally connected to a further lock follower associated with a lock cylinder. For this purpose, a second cog wheel 280, which will later be described below, may either be arranged at 206 or 208 (see Fig. 17a), whereby the cog wheel 280 is operating on either an associated turning knob or an associated lock cylinder. It should be further understood that the mechanical link system may also comprise a transmission for changing the gear ratio between the coupling and the cog wheel, hence allowing the door lock transmission to be fully functional for a number of different lock cases.

The second cog wheel 280 is shown in Fig. 20b. It has a centrally aligned recess 282 for receiving a central member 290 (shown in Fig. 20c). Further, teeth 284 are provided for meshing with either one of the teeth 278, 279 of the second rack gear 270.

The central member 290 has a through hole 292 for connecting the central member 290 with the lock follower and the associated turning knob or lock cylinder. When the turning knob is rotated (for locking or unlocking the door), the central member 290 will rotate accordingly. Moreover, when a user pulls down the lever handle from the outside, the central member 290 will rotate accordingly. The central member 290 has two radial protrusions 294 which are dimensioned to fit in the recess of the cog wheel 280. As the recess 282 of the cog wheel 280 is non-circular, as it has peripheral notches 286 delimiting the otherwise circular shape, the cog wheel 280 will be allowed to rotate freely approximately 45° until the notches 286 engage with the protrusions 294. Upon this, the cog wheel 280 will transmit its rotational movement to the central member 290 and to the associated lock follower. Now turning to Fig. 21 a-e, the coupling 1 10 will be described. The coupling 1 10 is electronically controlled and provides engagement by an axial movement. The coupling 1 10 includes an input member 120 being rotatably connected to the lever handle by means of the cog wheel 250 and the rack gear 260. The input member 120 has a cylindrical shape provided with teeth 122 arranged along a part of the outer periphery. The teeth 122 are constructed to mesh with the teeth 268 of the rack gear 260.

The input member is inserted into the housing 200 and has an internal space 124 for accommodating an intermediate member 130. Radial grooves 126 are provided along the inner periphery and constructed to accommodate corresponding radial protrusions of the intermediate member 130. Hence, the input member 120 is rotatably fixed to the intermediate member 130 such that any rotation of the input member 120, due to a person pulling down the lever handle, will be directly transmitted to the intermediate member 130.

The intermediate member 130 has a circular shape and a plurality of radial protrusions 132 for alignment with the corresponding grooves 126 of the input member 120. Further, axial teeth 134 are provided at an outer surface 136. On the opposite surface 138 a protrusion 139 is provided for extending out from the input member 120 through a recess 128 arranged centrally in the input member 120. The wheel 130 has a thickness substantially lesser than the longitudinal extension of the cylindrical shape of the input member 120. Hence, the wheel 130 may move axially in said input member 130. The wheel 130 rests in said input member 120 via a spring (not shown), which biases the wheel 130 outwards. The spring provides a certain distance between the closed end of the input member 120 and the wheel, which allows for a plate like member (129 to be inserted behind the input member 120 for blocking the recess 128 of the input member 120. Should the plate like member be inserted, the wheel 130 will be prevented from moving axially inwards in the input member 130.

The plate-like member 129 is connected to an electrical motor for forming an actuator, and provides a linear movement due to a rotational movement of the electrical motor. Hence, linear displacement of the plate-like member 129 into or out from the input member 120 is due to activation of the electrical motor.

The teeth 134 of the wheel meshes with corresponding teeth 142 provided on an inner surface of an output member 140. The input member 120 and the wheel 130 are dimensioned such that they may be inserted into the output member 140. For this purpose, the output member 140 has a cylindrical shape, although a part of the cylindrical wall is cut off for providing free space for the teeth 122 of the input member 120. Further, the output member 140 is provided with teeth 144 arranged along a part of the outer periphery. The teeth 144 are constructed to mesh with the teeth 274 of the rack gear 270.

The teeth 134 may be arranged between the teeth 142 such that a rotation of the input member 120, and the intermediate member 130, is transmitted to the output member 140. For this, each one of the teeth 134, 142 is preferably provided with inclined sidewalls, i.e. each sidewall is extending from the base surface at an angle being less than 90° relative the plane of the base surface. Each sidewall is further inclined radially inwards such that the teeth 134 may slip against the teeth 142 if the plate like member is retracted from the input member 120. The described shape of the teeth 142, 134 allows complete contact between the teeth 142 and the teeth 134, i.e. full contact also between the respective sidewalls. Hence, if the intermediate member 130 is allowed to be axially displaced within the input member 120 the teeth 142 will slip against the intermediate member 130 whereby no rotational movement from the input member 120 to the output member 140 is transmitted. However, should the platelike member 129 be activated such that axial displacement of the intermediate member 130 is prevented, the teeth 134, 142 will mesh whereby rotational movement of the input member 120 is transmitted to a corresponding rotation of the output member 140.

The cutout of the cylindrical wall of the output member 140 provides two opposite anvils 146a, 146b for a turning spring (not shown), allowing an automatic return movement of the output member after rotation.

The plate like member 129 is actuated, i.e. urged to move relative the input member 120, in accordance what is described in the co-pending application entitled "AN ELECTRONIC DOOR LOCK TRANSMISSION", filed on the same day as the present application by the same applicant. Generally, the plate like member is connected to an electric motor via a rod like member constructed to transmit a rotational movement of the electrical motor to a linear movement of the plate like member. For example, the rod like member includes threads between which a helical spring is arranged. When the electrical motor rotates, the rod like member will rotate accordingly whereby the spring, being connected at its free end to the plate like member, will move along the rod like member.

In the following, the basic operation of the door lock transmission will be described with reference to Figs. 22a-g.

Starting with Fig. 22a, the door lock transmission is shown wherein the associated lock case is locked. The lock case may have been locked either by turning the knob, or by using the lock cylinder. In either case, the turning knob is arranged in an upright position.

In Fig. 22b the lock case is locked, however the turning knob is rotated 45°. In the following embodiment, an input transmission 150 is defined as the cog wheel 250 and the associated rack gear 260. That is, the input transmission 150 defines the transmission associated with the lever handle follower.

Correspondingly, in this embodiment an output transmission 160 is defined by the cog wheel 280, the central member 290, and the rack gear 270. That is, the output transmission defines the transmission associated with the lock follower.

For this particular lock case, locking by means of the turning knob (i.e. from the inside) is achieved by rotating the turning knob 45°. Unlocking is performed by a counterwise rotation of 90°, whereby an intermediate position (45° from the locked position as well as from the unlocked position) is available when the lock case is locked as well as it is unlocked.

When a person wants to open the door from the outside having no physical key, he or she actuates the electronically controlled coupling such that the plate like member 129 is to a position behind the input member 120 of the coupling 1 10. The coupling 1 10 thus engages (as the intermediate member 130 is prevented from slipping), whereby the lever handle follower is connected to the lock follower. The person thereafter pulls down the lever handle, whereby the input transmission 150 transmits a rotational movement to the output

transmission 160 via the engaged coupling 1 10. The notches of the cog wheel 280 will thus urge the central member 290, and the lock follower, to rotate whereby the lock case will open. This is shown in Fig. 22c. Upon this, the coupling disengages as the plate-like member 129 moves away from the recess 128 of the input member 120, thus allowing axial displacement of the intermediate member 130 within the input member 120.

When the person is releasing the lever handle, no rotational movement is transferred to the output shaft. The turning spring of the output member 140 of the coupling 1 10 will cause automatic return of the output transmission 160. This is due to the fact that the notches of the cog wheel 280 do not engage with the central member 290 during return rotation, why the lock case will remain open. This is shown in Fig. 22d.

The locking sequence will be described with reference to Figs. 22e-g. Starting in Fig. 22e, the door lock transmission is in its idle mode and the lock case is open. When a person wishes to lock the door from the outside without a key, he or she starts by pulling down the lever handle follower. The input transmission 150 thus moves, however as the coupling is disengaged the output transmission 160 is stationary. Upon this, the person actuates the door lock transmission 100 such that the coupling 1 10 engages, i.e. such that the plate like member is inserted into the input member 120 whereby the wheel 130 is prevented from slipping against the output member 140.

When the coupling 1 10 has engaged, the person returns the lever handle to its idle (or horizontal) position. Upon this movement, the output transmission 160 will move in accordance with the input transmission 150 such that the lock follower will rotate to perform locking. This is shown in Fig. 22f, and a resting state, after the output transmission 160 has returned automatically without moving the central member 290, is shown in Fig. 22g.

The unlocking sequence may be performed automatically or manually.

For example, a sensor may detect when the lever handle has been pulled down, such that engagement of the coupling is not performed until such detection. The step-wise sequence may thus never be obtainable by a user, which only needs to pull down the lever handle in order to lock or unlock the door.

As already stated, the door lock transmission 100 has been described in operation with one type of lock case. The described lock case represent the functionality of a common lock case which e.g. is marketed by ASSA, model number 2000. However, the door lock transmission 100 may equally be utilized with different kinds of lock cases, e.g. lock cases having only one lock follower.

The door lock transmission 100 provides advantages in a number of different applications. For example, if the occupant has locked the door from the inside by turning the knob, a person wanting access to the area behind the door may choose to use an authorized key for unlocking the lock cylinder. However, since the door lock transmission 100 is connecting the lever handle follower with the lock follower, he may also use an electronic device for engaging the coupling of the door lock transmission 100. In such case, pulling down the outer lever handle will cause a corresponding rotation of the lock follower whereby the deadbolt is retracted from the door frame. Hence, unlocking is provided by pushing down the outer lever handle. On the other hand, if the door lock transmission 100 is disconnected or disengaged, turning the outer lever handle will not cause the deadbolt to retract.

Fig. 23 illustrates, in a schematic and simplified form, the layout of an access control system for elderly care. A first team of caregiver personnel 30 is responsible for the elderly care of a first group of caretakers, all living in rooms or apartments covered by respective front doors 10i- 10_n. Door lock transmissions 100i-100_n are installed on the respective front doors 10i-10_n and serve as gateways to the respective protected environment (i.e. room or apartment) behind each door. A first pool of key devices 300i-300_m is available to the first team of caregiver personnel 30. The key devices 300i-300_m may be mobile terminals. Each door lock transmission 100i-100n contains lock access data which includes the key device identifiers of the key devices 300i-300_m which are allowed to access the door lock transmission in question.

When a user in the first team starts his shift, he will check out one of the key devices 300i-300_m from a caregiver central, for instance key device 300i. During his shift, he will use key device 300i to gain access to various ones of the front doors 10i-10_n to provide the care required by the respective caretakers. This access will be provided by way of Bluetooth® communication between key device and door lock transmission, as indicated at 40 in Fig. 23. Therefore, the key device identifiers mentioned above may advantageously be represented by the unique Bluetooth® addresses assigned to the Bluetooth® transceivers in the respective key devices.

The access control system of Fig. 23 further involves a second team of caregiver personnel 30' responsible for serving a second group of caretakers, the rooms or apartments of which have respective front doors 10Ί-10'_η to which door lock transmissions 100Ί-100'_η are installed. A second pool of key devices 300' i-300'_m is available to the second team of caregiver personnel 30' . Of course, the access control system may in reality include additional teams of caregiver personnel, additional groups of caretakers, additional front doors, additional door lock transmissions, and additional pools of key devices.

For enhanced security, each key device runs an access control software application in which the user must log on. Also, all communications with the door lock transmissions are encrypted. Further, not all users/key devices are allowed to bring updated lock access data to the door lock transmissions. Rather, in the embodiment of Fig. 23, a subset of particularly trusted users/key devices are designated as ambassadors; only these will be allowed to bring updated lock access data to the door lock transmissions.

Each team of caregiver personnel 30, 30' may be sub-divided into subgroups, for instance a day shift, an evening shift and a night shift. Also, an individual user may act in or for both teams 30 and 30' (for instance to serve as back-up in situations of sickness, parental leave or during popular holiday periods), therefore having a need to use his key device for accessing door lock transmissions both in the first group of caretakers and in the second group of caretakers. This is illustrated in Fig. 23 for key device 300_m, which will access not only door lock transmission 100_m in the first group of caretakers, but also door lock transmission 100Ί in the second group of caretakers (see arrow 40a).

Fig. 24 illustrates how access can be granted for the embodiment shown in Fig. 23. In Fig. 24, it is assumed that one of the key devices 300i-300_m, 300V 300'_m approaches one of the door lock transmissions 100ι- 100_η, 100Ί- 100'_η in step 410. This individual key device is referred to as key device, or KD, 200 in the following, and the main components of the key device 300 are shown in Fig. 25. The corresponding individual door lock transmission is referred to as door lock transmission, or LD, 100, and its main components are shown in Fig. 26.

The individual caregiver person that uses the key device 300 is referred to as user 30.

In the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 25, the key device 300 is a mobile terminal, e.g. a cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, etc., which is capable of communicating with a telecommunications system. Thus, the user 30 may use the key device 300 for various telecommunication services, such as voice calls, Internet browsing, video calls, data calls, facsimile transmissions, still image transmissions, video trans-missions, electronic messaging, and e-commerce. Generally, these telecommunication services are not central within the context of the present invention; there are no limitations to any particular set of services in this respect. Therefore, only components which are somehow pertinent to the inventive functionality are shown in Fig. 25. As seen in Fig. 25, the key device 300 has a network interface 530 for connecting to the Internet/telecommunications network(s) 204. The network interface 530 may comply with any commercially available mobile

Further, the key device 300 has an interface 540 for short-range wireless data communication. In the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 25, the interface 540 comprises a Bluetooth® transceiver, by means which the key device 300 can communicate with, for instance, the door lock transmission 100 over the

WLAN/WiFi or NFC (Near Field Communication).

Finally, the key device 300 has a memory 550 which is operatively connected to the processing unit 510. The memory 550 may be implemented by any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM, S(D)RAM and flash memory, and it may also include secondary storage such as a magnetic or optical disc. Physically, the memory 550 may consist of one unit or a plurality of units which together constitute the memory 550 on a logical level. In addition to storing various program instructions and data for the various functions and applications which are typically available in a mobile terminal, the memory 550 also comprises the program instructions 552 and work data for the aforementioned access control software application.

With reference to Fig. 26, in addition to the mechanical components already described with reference to Figs. 17 to 22, the door lock transmission 100 according to the disclosed embodiment generally comprises the following main components. A controller means or processing unit 610 is overall responsible for the operation and control of the different components of the door lock

transmission 100. The controller means or processing unit 610 may be

implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to a processor (PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC, or any other suitable digital and/or analogue circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.

The door lock transmission 100 of this embodiment is a stand-alone, autonomously operating device which requires no wire-based installations, neither for communication nor for power supply. Instead, the door lock

transmission 100 is powered solely by a local power unit 620 which comprises one ore more long-life batteries. It interacts with key devices, as already mentioned, by wireless activities. The door lock transmission 100 therefore has communication means 640 which in the disclosed embodiment takes the form of an interface 640 for short-range wireless data communication. More specifically, in the disclosed embodiment of Fig. 26, the interface 640 comprises a

Bluetooth® transceiver, by means of which the door lock transmission 100 can communicate with, for instance, the key device 300 over the Bluetooth® link 40. The Bluetooth® transceiver is assigned a unique Bluetooth® address LD ID. Alternatively or additionally, the interface 640 may for instance comprise transceiver components for IrDA, WLAN or NFC.

Finally, the door lock transmission 100 has a memory 650 which is operatively connected to the processing unit 610. The memory 650 may be implemented by any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM, S(D)RAM and flash memory, and it may also include secondary storage such as a magnetic or optical disc. Physically, the memory 650 may consist of one unit or a plurality of units which together constitute the memory 650 on a logical level. The memory 650 serves to store various program instructions and work data for functions to be performed by the processing unit 610 in order to carry out the tasks of the door lock transmission 100. Moreover, the memory 650 serves to store a local door lock transmission database (LD-DB) 670, which includes lock access data 672 upon which the access control decisions are based (as described below for Fig. 24). Referring back to step 410 in Fig. 24, when the user 30 has brought his key device 300 near the door 10 which is provided with the door lock

A favorable decision in step 450 will trigger a step 460 in which the actual access is made to happen. This may involve actuating the electric motor 180 to engage the coupling mechanism 120, so that it will no longer disengage the input transmission 150 from the output transmission 160. This is collectively referred to as door lock transmission actuator 612 in Fig. 26.

An unfavorable decision in step 450 will instead result in termination of the procedure of Fig. 26, without any performance of step 460.

It is expressly to be noticed that the mechanical components of the door lock transmission 100, an exemplifying embodiment of which have been described above with reference to Figs. 17 to 22, may be used with other access control means than the elements 610-670 described above for Fig. 26. Basically, any wired or contactless arrangement for detecting and verifying an approaching user 30 may be employed for controlling the coupling 1 10. Non-limiting examples of such arrangements include keypads, biometrical readers or scanners, magnetic card readers, smartcard readers, inductive tag detectors, barcode readers, etc., or any combination thereof. Hence, the door lock transmission 100 may be actuated by other key devices than mobile phones and similar portable communication devices, including but not limited to a human finger, eye or face; a magnetic card, a smartcard, an inductive tag, a barcode, etc., or any

combination thereof.

Further, it is apparent to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above;

instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An electronic door lock transmission (100), comprising a fixed housing (1 10) enclosing

a rotatable input member (130) being connectable with a manual lever handle extending through a lock case, and a rotatable output shaft (150) being connectable with an outer lever handle,

wherein said door lock transmission (100) further comprises an electronically controlled coupling mechanism (120) being moveable in an axial direction for rotatably connecting said output shaft (150) with said input member (130), and an electrical motor (180) which is actuated in order to engage the coupling mechanism (120) so that it will no longer disengage the input member (130) from the output shaft (150).

2. The door lock transmission according to claim 1 , wherein said coupling mechanism (120) comprises

a wheel (140) being rotatably secured to said input member (130) and displaceable in the axial direction of said wheel (140), and

an electrically controlled actuator (170) being insertable into said input member (130) in a radial direction of said wheel (140) for preventing the wheel (140) from moving away from said inner surface (156) of the output shaft (150) such that the wheel (140) engages with an inner surface (156) of the output shaft (150).

3. The door lock transmission according to claim 2, further comprising a spring (160) arranged between the input member (130) and the wheel (140) for urging the wheel (140) to engage with the inner surface (156) of the output shaft (150).

4. The door lock transmission according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said actuator (170) comprises a plate-like member (172) being connected to the electric motor (180).

5. The door lock transmission according to claim 4, wherein the plate- like member (172) is connected to the electric motor (180) via a guide spring which is configured to store a force corresponding to a linear motion of the platelike member (172).

6. The door lock transmission according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein said wheel (140) comprises a plurality of teeth (144) projecting towards corresponding teeth (158) of the inner surface (156) of the output shaft (150).

7. The door lock transmission according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said output shaft (150) is connected to said housing (110) via a spring (152) for causing a return movement of the output shaft (150) to an idle position.

8. The door lock transmission according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein said actuator (170) is controlled remotely.

9. The door lock transmission according to claim 8, further comprising communication means (640) associated with controller means (610), said controller means being configured for controlling said actuator (170) based on information received by said communication means from a key device.

10. A lock case (20), comprising a lever handle follower (22) extending through said lock case (20) in which the input member (130) of a door lock transmission (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is inserted.

11. The lock case according to claim 10, having an inner side comprising a lever handle follower and a lock follower whereby operating the lever handle follower from the inside will only affect the movement of an associated latch bolt, and an outer side having a lever handle follower and a lock follower, whereby operating the lever handle follower from the outside will affect the movement of an associated latch bolt as well as the movement of an associated lock bolt, and wherein said door lock transmission (100) is arranged on the outer side of said lock case.

12. A lock case (20), comprising a lock follower (26) extending through said lock case (20) in which the input member (130) of a door lock transmission (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is inserted.

13. A door (10), comprising a lock case (20) according to claim 10- 12.

14. A door lock system, comprising

an electronic door lock transmission (100) according to claim 9, and one or more key devices (300).

15. The door lock system according to claim 14,

wherein the door lock transmission (100) further comprises memory means (650) for storing lock access data (672) including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices (300), and

wherein said controller means (610) is configured for controlling said actuator (170) by:

determining, via said communication means (640), the key device identifier of a key device (300) appearing at the door lock system; and

controlling said actuator (170) based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data (672) stored in said memory means (650).

16. A method for locking or unlocking a door according to claim 13, comprising the steps of:

providing one or more key devices (300);

providing lock access data (672) in a memory means (650) of said door lock transmission (100), the lock access data (672) including respective key device identifiers of said one or more key devices (300);

determining, by short-range wireless data communication, the key device identifier of a key device (300) appearing at the door (10); and

controlling said electronically controlled coupling mechanism (120) based on at least the determined key device identifier and the lock access data (672) in said memory means (650).