Computerized door locking and monitoring system using power-line carrier components

Claim 1

A method of controlling and monitoring locks at multiple door sites wherein each door is equipped with an electro-locking device and each site has at least one system control unit comprised of at at least one transmitting device uniquely addressed per site and at least one receiving device uniquely addressed per site wherein said locking device is wired to said system control unit and necessary AC-DC transformer(s) are used with devices and of monitoring the activation of the fire alarm which is equipped with at least one transmitting device uniquely addressed and a coupler/repeater/amplifier, using a computer wherein said equipped doors, said fire alarm and said computer use same AC transformer or coupled transformers, said computer having a memory and a means of maintaining the time and date, at least one display screen, a means (usually a keyboard) for selecting items from said screen, a means to output data (usually a printer and/or a floppy disk drive), an interface with the AC power line in which said interface has memory to store transmissions and receipts, said method comprising the steps of: (a) storing in said memory 1) doordata file comprising number, name or location and status of each door; 2) schedule comprising the predetermined status of each door at various times of various days; 3) door changes comprising time, date, location, means of change (Key, panic bar, keyboard, etc); 4) transmissions received from the door transmitters via said interface; 5) the software executable program; (b) allowing a user to change said doordata, said schedule, said output means via said means to select items from said screen; (c) executing an ongoing process including 1) resetting door status if said schedule indicates time change; 2) taking received transmissions of door changes from said interface and performs multiple operations accordingly to provide adequate monitoring; 3) taking received transmissions of fire alarm transmitter from said interface and unlocks all said equipped doors; 4) displaying said status of said equipped door sites on said screen where statuses include at least the following: locked, unlocked, door ajar (lock activated, but door not locked), key override, other override; 5) continually monitoring for said keyboard input that can i. change said status of any said equipped door; ii. edit data in said doordata file; iii. set or alter said schedule; iv. provide on-screen help to execute said program; v. change the said output means or initiate output;

Claim 2

A method of controlling and monitoring locks at multiple door sites wherein each door is equipped with an electro-locking device and each site has at least one system control unit comprised of at at least one transmitting device uniquely addressed per site and at least one receiving device uniquely addressed per site wherein said locking device is wired to said system control unit and necessary AC-DC transformer(s) are used with devices and of monitoring the activation of the fire alarm which is equipped with at least one transmitting device uniquely addressed and a coupler/repeater/amplifier, using a computer wherein said equipped doors, said fire alarm and said computer use same AC transformer or coupled transformers, said computer having a memory and a means of maintaining the time and date, at least one display screen, a means (usually a keyboard) for selecting items from said screen, a means to output data (usually a printer and/or a floppy disk drive), an interface with the AC power line in which said interface has memory to store transmissions and receipts, said method comprising the steps of: (a) storing in said memory 1) doordata file comprising number, name or location and status of each door; 2) schedule comprising the predetermined status of each door at various times of various days; 3) door changes comprising time, date, location, means of change (Key, panic bar, keyboard, etc); 4) transmissions received from the door transmitters via said interface; 5) the software executable program; (b) allowing a user to change said doordata, said schedule, said output means via said means to select items from said screen; (c) executing an ongoing process including 1) resetting door status if said schedule indicates time change; 2) taking received transmissions of door changes from said interface and performs multiple operations accordingly to provide adequate monitoring; 3) taking received transmissions of fire alarm transmitter from said interface and unlocks all said equipped doors; 4) displaying said status of said equipped door sites on said screen where statuses include at least the following: locked, unlocked, door ajar (lock activated, but door not locked), key override, other override; 5) continually monitoring for said keyboard input that can i. change said status of any said equipped door; ii. edit data in said doordata file; iii. set or alter said schedule; iv. provide on-screen help to execute said program; v. change the said output means or initiate output;

Claim 7

A method of controlling the status of doors in a building having multiple door sites and existing AC power lines extending to each door site, said method comprising the steps of: providing an electric locking system at each door site including transmitting and receiving means; connecting each said locking system to said AC power ines of building; providing a monitoring station within said building including transmitting and receiving means; and connecting said monitoring station transmitting and receiving means to said AC power lines of said building to enable the transmitting means of said monitoring station to communicate over said existing AC power lines with said receiving means of said locking systems and to enable transmitting means of said locking systems to communicate over said AC power lines with said receiving means of said monitoring station.

Claim 8

A method of controlling the status of doors in a building having multiple door sites and existing AC power lines extending to each door site, said method comprising the steps of: providing an electric locking system at each door site including transmitting and receiving means; connecting each said locking system to said AC power ines of building; providing a monitoring station within said building including transmitting and receiving means; and connecting said monitoring station transmitting and receiving means to said AC power lines of said building to enable the transmitting means of said monitoring station to communicate over said existing AC power lines with said receiving means of said locking systems and to enable transmitting means of said locking systems to communicate over said AC power lines with said receiving means of said monitoring station.