Portal intrusion detection apparatus and method

Claim 2

A security system for controlling access by a person through a controlled portal, defined by a frame comprising two vertical members and an interconnecting horizontal member, comprising: an authentication device to which a person seeking passage through the portal provides certain identifying information to determine whether the person is authorized to pass through the portal; a locking device for retaining the portal in a locked mode and for unlocking of the portal when the person is authorized to pass therethrough; a sensor mounted on one or both of the vertical members of the portal frame for determining the passage of a user through the portal and for providing a first signal representative thereof; and a controller responsive to said first signal for providing a second signal if the number of persons passing through the unlocked portal is greater than the number of persons authorized to pass through the portal.

Claim 3

The security system of claim 1 wherein the portal separates a public area from a secure area.

Claim 4

The security system of claim 1 wherein the authentication device is selected from among a card reader, a badge reader, a keypad, a biometrics reader and a key.

Claim 5

The security system of claim 3 wherein the authentication device receives input information from the person and compares the input information with stored information of authorized users to determine whether the user is an authorized user.

Claim 6

The security system of claim 1 wherein the sensor determines the time taken by the person to pass through the portal.

Claim 7

The security system of claim 1 further comprising a comparator, wherein the actual time taken by the person to pass through the portal is input to said comparator for determining the relationship between the actual time taken by the person to pass through the portal and a predetermined passage time through the portal, and wherein if the actual passage time is greater than the predetermined passage time, for providing a signal in response thereto.

Claim 8

The security system of claim 6 wherein the signal is an alarm.

Claim 9

The security system of claim 6 wherein the predetermined passage time is an average time taken by a person to pass through the portal.

Claim 10

The security system of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors responsive to a electromagnetic radiation beam and mounted proximate the portal, and wherein the person passing through the portal interrupts said electromagnetic radiation beam, and wherein the interruption is detected by at least one of said plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors, and wherein in response thereto a person is determined to have passed through the portal.

Claim 11

The security system of claim 9 wherein the number of persons passing through the portal are counted based on the interruptions of the electromagnetic radiation beam.

Claim 12

The security system of claim 10 further comprising a comparator, wherein the number of persons passing through the portal is input to said comparator for comparing with the number of authorized persons, and if there is not a match therebetween, for providing an alarm signal in response thereto.

Claim 13

The security system of claim of claim 9 wherein the plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors comprise a plurality of light emitters for emitting a beam of electromagnetic energy, and wherein the beam is interrupted by a person or object passing through the portal.

Claim 14

The security system of claim 12 further comprising a frame surrounding the portal, wherein the plurality of light emitters are mounted to said frame.

Claim 15

The security system of claim 12 wherein the beam of electromagnetic energy is reflected from an opposingly oriented surface back to the plurality of light emitters, and wherein each one of the plurality of light emitters further comprises a light detector.

Claim 16

The security system of claim 12 further comprising a like plurality of light detectors mounted in opposing orientation to the plurality of light emitters for detecting the beam of electromagnetic energy.

Claim 17

The security system of claim 15 further comprising a frame surrounding the portal, wherein the plurality of light emitters and the plurality of light detectors are mounted in opposing orientation to said frame.

Claim 18

The security system of claim 12 wherein the portal comprises a hinged door supported by at least one of the vertical members, and wherein the hinged door opens in the direction away from the plurality of light emitters.

Claim 19

The security system of claim 9 wherein two of the plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors are mounted in a side-by-side orientation such that the direction of travel by a person through the portal can be determined based on the order in which the beams from the two of the plurality of electromagnetic radiation sensors is interrupted.

Claim 20

The security system of claim 9 wherein the plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors are mounted at differing heights above ground level for providing information about the person passing through the portal based on the pattern of the radiation beams that are interrupted, and wherein the plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors provide information as to whether the person passing through the portal is transporting an object through the portal.

Claim 21

The security system of claim 9 wherein the plurality of electromagnetic radiation detecting sensors detect the passage of two users through the portal by determining two beam interruptions.

Claim 22

The security system of claim 1 wherein the sensor counts the number of persons passing through the controlled portal.

Claim 23

The security system of claim 1 operative to control access through the portal in both directions.

Claim 24

A security system for controlling access of a person through a controlled portal, wherein the person may be transporting an object through the portal, comprising: a presence detector located near the portal for sensing the presence of a person or a person and an object within an approach zone substantially adjacent to the portal and for determining certain physical characteristics of the object; a controller for calculating the expected time for the person or the person and the object to pass through the portal based on the physical characteristics thereof, an authentication device to which the person seeking entry through the portal provides certain information for use by said authentication device to determine whether the person is authorized to pass through the portal; a locking device for retaining the portal in a locked mode and for unlocking the portal when the person is authorized to pass therethrough; and a sensor mounted proximate to the portal for determining the passage of a person or a person and an object therethrough.

Claim 25

A security system for controlling access of a person through a controlled portal, wherein the person may be transporting an object through the portal, comprising: a presence detector located near the portal for sensing the presence of a person or a person and an object within an approach zone substantially adjacent to the portal and for determining certain physical characteristics of the object; a controller for calculating the expected time for the person or the person and the object to pass through the portal based on the physical characteristics thereof, an authentication device to which the person seeking entry through the portal provides certain information for use by said authentication device to determine whether the person is authorized to pass through the portal; a locking device for retaining the portal in a locked mode and for unlocking the portal when the person is authorized to pass therethrough; and a sensor mounted proximate to the portal for determining the passage of a person or a person and an object therethrough.

Claim 26

The security system of claim 23 wherein the presence detector is selected from among a motion detector, a passive infrared radiation detector, a floor mat adjacent the portal and a camera.

Claim 27

The security system of claim 24 wherein the camera produces a signal representative of the viewed image, and wherein said signal is transmitted to a security control center for analysis of the image.

Claim 28

The security system of claim 23 wherein the approach zone is controllable.

Claim 29

The security system of claim 23 wherein the presence detector provides a presence signal when the person or the person and the object is detected within the approach zone, and wherein the controller is responsive to said presence signal and to said sensor for determining if the presence of the person or the person and the object was detected after the sensor determined that the person or the person and the object have passed through the portal.

Claim 30

The security system of claim 23 wherein the presence detector further detects the presence of a person within said approach zone while said portal is unlocked.

Claim 31

The security system of claim 23 further comprising a camera for imaging the approach zone, wherein the presence detector activates the camera when a person or a person and an object are detected within the approach zone.

Claim 32

An access control vestibule separating a controlled access area from a public area, comprising: a metal frame including sidewall frame sections defining the access controlled area; a hinged door mounted to one of said sidewall frame sections; a lock mechanism for holding the door in a locked configuration and for permitting the door to assume an unlocked configuration; an authentication device for use by a person seeking admittance to the controlled access area; a presence detector for determining the presence of a person proximate said door and for further determining whether the person is transporting an object; a plurality of detectors mounted on the sidewall frame sections for measuring the transit time of a person through the vestibule; a calculator for determining the expected transit time for the person to pass through the vestibule, when the door is in an unlocked configuration, based on the output signal from said presence detector; and a comparator for comparing the actual transit time with the expected transit time and for producing an alarm signal if the actual transit time is greater than the expected transit time.

Claim 33

An access control vestibule separating a controlled access area from a public area, comprising: a metal frame including sidewall frame sections defining the access controlled area; a hinged door mounted to one of said sidewall frame sections; a lock mechanism for holding the door in a locked configuration and for permitting the door to assume an unlocked configuration; an authentication device for use by a person seeking admittance to the controlled access area; a presence detector for determining the presence of a person proximate said door and for further determining whether the person is transporting an object; a plurality of detectors mounted on the sidewall frame sections for measuring the transit time of a person through the vestibule; a calculator for determining the expected transit time for the person to pass through the vestibule, when the door is in an unlocked configuration, based on the output signal from said presence detector; and a comparator for comparing the actual transit time with the expected transit time and for producing an alarm signal if the actual transit time is greater than the expected transit time.

Claim 36

The method claim 31 further comprising: unlocking the locked portal to permit a first person to pass out of the secure area; and detecting the passage of a second person into the secure area before the portal is again locked when the second person has not been determined to be an authorized entrant into the secure area.

Claim 37

The method of claim 32 wherein the step of detecting further comprises determining the direction of travel through the unlocked portal, such that the first person passing out of the secure area can be distinguished from the second person passing into the secure area.

Claim 38

The method of claim 31 further comprising detecting the presence of a person in an approach zone to the locked portal.