Access control equipment and operation method thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an access control device, comprising: a main body; an operation part connected to the main body and movable relative to the main body; the energy conversion device comprises an electromagnetic assembly and a mechanical assembly, the electromagnetic assembly is installed on the main body, the mechanical assembly can move relative to the electromagnetic assembly under the driving of the operation part, and the movement of the mechanical assembly relative to the electromagnetic assembly can cause the change of the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic assembly. Therefore, the energy conversion device generates electric energy. The invention further relates to an operation method of the access control equipment. According to the access control equipment and the operation method thereof, kinetic energy generated when the access control equipment is started can be stably and efficiently converted into electric energy to be utilized, and meanwhile the influence on an existing structure of the access control equipment is reduced as much as possible.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of September 15, 2017, the application number of 201710833586.3, and the invention title of "Access Control Device and Its Operation Method". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to an access control device and its operation method. Background Art

[0003] The trend of smart home devices is to achieve linkage between various devices, and the core component is to use a variety of sensors to obtain signals. Currently, integrated circuits of home devices, such as wireless signal transmission arrays, miniaturized sensors integrated with the transmission arrays (such as active or passive wireless sensors), wireless switches or similar circuits, are usually installed for detecting or measuring physical / chemical parameters generated by any action. These integrated circuits of home devices are usually powered by batteries. One disadvantage of battery-powered power supplies is that the battery life is limited, requiring high maintenance costs, and it is also prone to cause unknown failures of these circuits powered by batteries.

[0004] Currently, there have emerged solutions to replace batteries with transducers to power these circuits, such as magnetostrictive transducers that can be achieved through a compact design, piezoelectric transducers that can convert kinetic energy into electrical energy, etc.

[0005] When using a transducer device, there is a technical problem of how to design it on furniture devices to efficiently and reliably generate electrical energy and utilize this electrical energy. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides an access control device, including: a main body; an operation part, the operation part is connected to the main body and can move relative to the main body; a transducer device, the transducer device includes an electromagnetic component installed on the main body and a mechanical component that can move relative to the electromagnetic component under the drive of the operation part, wherein the movement of the mechanical component relative to the electromagnetic component can cause a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component, thereby causing the transducer device to generate electrical energy.

[0007] Specifically, the electromagnetic component is installed inside the main body. The electromagnetic component includes a soft magnetic body and a coil coupled to the soft magnetic body; the mechanical component includes a first end, a second end, and a connecting portion. The first end is fixedly connected to the upper end of the operating portion, the second end is located on the upper surface of the main body and includes a magnetic element, and the connecting portion fixedly connects the first end and the second end. Wherein, the connecting portion is movably connected to the upper surface of the main body, such that when the first end moves relative to the main body along with the operating portion, the connecting portion moves relative to the main body accordingly, so that the second end moves relative to the electromagnetic component. Specifically, a groove is formed on the upper surface of the main body, and a fitting is provided on the connecting portion and is fitted inside the groove and movably connected to the groove. The mechanical component is configured such that when the first end moves relative to the main body along with the operating portion, the fitting moves within the groove, so that the second end moves relative to the electromagnetic component.

[0008] Preferably, at least a part of the electromagnetic component coincides with at least a part of the vertical projection area of the movement path of the second end. The fitting is provided at the bottom of the connecting portion.

[0009] Further, the access control device further includes an elastic restoring device. The elastic restoring device can make the operating portion return to the initial position where there is no movement relative to the main body, and during the process of the operating portion returning to the initial position, it can cause a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component, so that the energy conversion device generates electric energy.

[0010] Further, the access control device further includes a sensor module, a signal processing module, and / or a wireless communication module. Each of the sensor module, the signal processing module, and the wireless communication module can be powered by the electric energy generated by the energy conversion device.

[0011] On the other hand, the present disclosure also provides an operation method for an access control device. The access control device includes: a main body; an operating portion, the operating portion being connected to the main body; an energy conversion device, the energy conversion device including an electromagnetic component installed on the main body and a mechanical component connected to the operating portion. The method includes: when the operating portion moves relative to the main body, the mechanical component moves relative to the electromagnetic component under the drive of the operating portion, and the movement of the mechanical component causes a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component, so that the energy conversion device generates electric energy.

[0012] The access control device and its operation method provided by the present disclosure can stably and efficiently convert the kinetic energy when opening the access control device into electric energy and utilize it, while minimizing the impact on the existing structure of the access control device. Description of the Drawings

[0013] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the access control device of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the working principle of an embodiment of the access control device shown.

[0015] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of an example of an application scenario of an embodiment of the access control device shown.

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of the utilization of the electric energy generated by the access control device of the present disclosure. Detailed Description of the Embodiment

[0017] Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same functions and structures are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and repeated descriptions of these components are omitted.

[0018] In the description of the present disclosure, for simplicity, the description of the orientation is carried out in a manner consistent with the orientation shown in the accompanying drawings. For example, the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right all refer to the front, rear, upper, lower, left, and right directions for the user when the user operates the device in the accompanying drawings in the normal operation mode.

[0019] Refer to Figure 1 , which is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the access control device of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the access control device of the present disclosure includes a main body 20, an operation part 10, and a transducer. The operation part 10 is connected to the main body 20 and can move relative to the main body 20. The transducer includes an electromagnetic component (refer to Figure 3 72 therein) installed on the main body 20 and a mechanical component (refer to Figure 3 71 therein) that can move relative to the electromagnetic component under the drive of the operation part 10. Among them, the movement of the mechanical component relative to the electromagnetic component can cause a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component, so that the transducer generates electric energy.

[0020] The operation part 10 is the part of the access control device that is operated by the user. The user can open or lock the access control device by operating the operation part 10. For example, in Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the operating portion 10 is a lock head having a keyhole 13 on its front surface 11. A user can operate it by inserting a key 80 into the keyhole 13 and turning it (e.g., turning in the R direction). Alternatively, the operating portion 10 can also be other rotary handles, such as handles in the shape of a door handle, a sphere, a column, a knob, etc. A user can operate it by turning the handle. In these cases, the operating portion 10 is connected to the main body 20 and can rotate relative to the main body 20.

[0021] Alternatively, the operating portion 10 can also perform any form of movement relative to the main body 20. For example, the operating portion 10 can be a toggle handle or a door lock, such as a bolt. A user can operate it by toggling the handle or the door lock. At this time, the operating portion 10 can move relative to the main body 20 in the toggle direction. The operating portion 10 can also be a push handle or a door lock. A user can operate it by pressing the handle or the door lock. At this time, the operating portion 10 can move or rotate relative to the main body 20 in the pressing direction.

[0022] The main body 20 is a part of the access control device of the present disclosure that is relatively fixed in state and not directly operated by the user. It can include one or more of a lock body, a lock core, a panel, a cover, a catch plate, a transmission component, etc.

[0023] The energy conversion device can convert the kinetic energy of the movement of the operating portion 10 relative to the main body 20 into electrical energy. At least a part of the structure of the energy conversion device can be reused with the structure of a conventional access control device. In Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the electromagnetic component 72 of the energy conversion device includes a soft magnetic body 721 and a coil 722 coupled to the soft magnetic body 721 (e.g., the coil 722 is wound around the soft magnetic body 721 or magnetically coupled to the soft magnetic body 721). The mechanical component 71 includes a first end 711, a second end 712, and a connecting portion 713 fixedly connecting the first end 711 and the second end 712. Among them, the first end 711 is fixedly connected to the operating portion 10, and the second end 712 includes a magnetic element (not shown in the figure) that can attract the soft magnetic body 721 by magnetic force, such as a permanent magnet.

[0024] In this embodiment, the electromagnetic component 72 is installed in the internal space of the main body 20; the mechanical component 71 is located outside the main body 20. The first end 711 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the operation part 10, and the second end 712 is located on the upper surface 21 of the main body 20. A groove 211 is formed on the upper surface 21 of the main body 20, and a fitting (not shown in the figure, such as any component that can cooperate with the groove 211 and move within the groove 211, such as a slider, a fastener, etc.) that fits inside the groove 211 and is movably connected to the groove 211 is provided on the connecting part 713 (for example, at the bottom of the connecting part 713). When the first end 711 moves relative to the main body 20 along with the operation part 10, the fitting moves within the groove 211, so that the second end 712 moves relative to the electromagnetic component 72.

[0025] Those skilled in the art can understand that at least part of the electromagnetic component 72 coincides with at least part of the movement path of the second end 712, so that the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component 72 can change due to the movement of the second end 712. It should be understood that this coincidence refers to the coincidence of the projections of each other in the vertical direction.

[0026] Those skilled in the art can understand that the access control device of the present disclosure is obviously not limited to the structure in the above embodiment. For example, the electromagnetic component 72 can be installed on or partially installed outside the main body 20, and the mechanical component 71 can also be located or partially located inside the main body 20, as long as the mechanical component 71 can move relative to the electromagnetic component 72 under the drive of the operation part 10 and cause the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component 72 to change.

[0027] Alternatively, the first end 711 can be fixedly connected to any part of the operation part 10, and is not limited to the upper end. Similarly, the second end 712 can be located at any part of the outer shell of the main body 20, and is not limited to the upper surface 21. For example, in Figure 1 the embodiment shown, the first end 711 can be fixedly connected to any part of the side surface 12 as long as it can move along with the movement of the operation part 10; the second end 712 can be located on the side surface or even the bottom surface of the outer shell of the main body 20 as long as the mechanical component 71 can move relative to the electromagnetic component 72 under the drive of the operation part 10 and cause the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component 72 to change.

[0028] Although the groove 211 shown in the drawings is linear and parallel to the movement surface of the operation part 10, those skilled in the art can understand that within the scope of not departing from the gist of the present invention, the groove 211 can also be deformed in other ways, such as being designed into a groove with a certain arc or slope.

[0029] The connecting portion 713 is configured such that when the first end 711 moves relative to the main body 20 along with the operating portion 10, the second end 712 moves relative to the electromagnetic assembly 72, thereby causing a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic assembly 72 to generate electrical energy. In one embodiment, the connecting portion 713 is made of a rigid material (e.g., formed as a rigid lever). Those skilled in the art can understand that the rigid material here does not refer to an ideal rigid material that will never deform under the action of an external force, but rather a rigid material that only undergoes a very small elastic deformation under the action of an external force. Since the connecting portion 713 is made of a material with good rigidity, when the first end 711 moves relative to the main body 20 along with the operating portion 10, the connecting portion 713 can cause the second end 712 to move relative to the electromagnetic assembly 72.

[0030] Since the second end 712 includes a magnetic element, when the second end 712 moves relative to the electromagnetic assembly 72, the soft magnetic body 721 of the electromagnetic assembly 72 is magnetized or partially magnetized, thereby causing a change in the magnetic flux in the coil 722, and further inducing a current in the coil 722.

[0031] In Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the upper surface 21 of the main body 20 is a relatively flat surface. It should be understood that the upper surface 21 can be a non-planar surface. The second end 712 is located on the relatively flat upper surface 21. Therefore, the trajectory of the movement of the second end 712 relative to the electromagnetic assembly 72 is to move along the T direction on the relatively flat surface of the upper surface 21. That is, when the first end 711 rotates relative to the main body 20 along with the operating portion 10 in the R direction or the opposite direction of the R direction, the connecting portion 713 moves accordingly to drive the second end 712 to move back and forth along the T direction on the relatively flat surface of the upper surface 21.

[0032] Figure 2 Simplified illustration shows Figure 1 The working principle of an embodiment of the illustrated access control device. In this embodiment, the rotation of the first end 711 drives the movement of the second end 712 on the upper surface 21 of the housing of the main body 20. In the figure, point N is the initial position where neither the first end 711 nor the second end 712 has displacement, that is, the initial position where the operating portion 10 has not moved relative to the main body 20. When the displacement of the second end 712 relative to the initial position in the left-right direction is L, the angle (shown in radians in the following formula) is:

[0033] Formula (1)

[0034] where r is the radius of the circle around which the second end 712 rotates. Since the displacement L has a corresponding relationship with the change amount of the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic assembly 72, that is, the angle The correspondence with the change in magnetic flux is as follows:

[0035] Formula (2)

[0036] where k is the proportionality coefficient. The change in magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component 72 causes a current to be induced in the coil 722 coupled to the soft magnetic body 721. The generated induced electromotive force can be calculated by the following formula:

[0037] Formula (3)

[0038] where N is the number of turns of the coil 722, is the change in magnetic flux over time. That is, the faster the magnetic flux changes, the stronger the induced electric field.

[0039] Figure 3 is Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example of an application scenario of an embodiment of the access control device shown. In this application scenario, the user can first insert the key 80 matching the access control device into the keyhole to rotate the operating part 10 (e.g., in the R direction), and then drive the lock core 40 to act through the transmission member 30 (e.g., the lock head transmission bar) to release the locked state of the lock catch 50, and then open the door by turning the door handle 60.

[0040] In Figure 3 the example of the application scenario shown, the lock core 40 is provided with an opening 41 adapted to cooperate with the transmission member 30 to actuate with the transmission member 30, that is, the transmission member 30 has the same rotation direction and angle as the lock core 40. A lever 42 is fixedly provided on the outer peripheral edge of the lock core 40, and during the actuation of the lock core 40, the boss 431 on the swing arm 43 is toggled to cause the swing arm 43 to rotate (for stable cooperation, the boss 431 and the lever 42 can also be fixed to each other or integrated). In Figure 3 the example of the application scenario shown, for a compact design, the swing arm has an outer contour shape adapted to cooperate with the lock catch 50, and a buckle portion 52 is provided on this outer contour shape portion. After the swing arm 43 rotates outward in the R direction to reach the cut-off position, the buckle portion 52 disengages from the lock groove 61 of the door handle 60. In this way, the user can turn the door handle 60 to open the door.

[0041] In addition, the door handle 60 may also have an operation surface 62, such as a fingerprint recognition device, a password input device, etc. After the user passes fingerprint recognition or password matching, the lock groove 61 pushes the buckle portion 52 outwards as the user turns the door handle 60 to open the door.

[0042] In one embodiment, the access control device of the present disclosure may further include an elastic recovery device (e.g., the elastic recovery device may be disposed inFigure 3 the position of 22 in the middle), which can make the operating part 10 return to the initial position where there is no movement relative to the main body 20. In Figure 3 In the example of the application scenario shown, the elastic return device can be arranged on the fixed shaft of the swing arm 43 to resist the tension of the swing arm 43 swinging outwards so as to return it to the initial position. Or, as Figure 3 shown, an elastic return device 44 can be coupled to the end of the swing arm 43 to resist the tension of the swing arm 43 swinging outwards so as to return it to the initial position. In other embodiments, the lock cylinder 40 can be coupled to an elastic return device to resist the tension of the key 80 being screwed in the R direction so as to push the transmission component 30 back to the initial position after releasing the locking state of the lock catch 50.

[0043] Since the elastic return device can make the operating part 10 return to the initial position where there is no movement relative to the main body 20, then driven by the return movement of the operating part 10, the mechanical assembly 71 also returns to the initial position. During this return process, the mechanical assembly 71 can cause a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic assembly 72 again, thereby inducing a current again.

[0044] In another embodiment, the user rotates the door handle 60 to push the buckle part 52 outwards, thereby driving the swing arm 43 to swing, so as to drive the boss 431 to rock the lever 42 to drive the lock cylinder 40 to rotate in the R direction again, thereby driving the mechanical assembly 71 to move relative to the electromagnetic assembly 72 to generate an induced current.

[0045] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of the utilization of the electric energy generated by the access control device of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the access control device further includes one or more of a conditioning circuit 91, a sensor module 92, a signal processing module 93, a wireless communication module 94, and an energy storage module 95. The induced current is transmitted to the conditioning circuit 91 for processing such as step-down and rectification to provide a stable DC voltage to the sensor module 92, the signal processing module 93, and / or the wireless communication module 94. Or, the electricity passing through the conditioning circuit 91 can also be output to the energy storage module 95 for storage. In one embodiment, one or more of the conditioning circuit 91, the sensor module 92, the signal processing module 93, the wireless communication module 94, and the energy storage module 95 can be arranged at Figure 3 the position of 22 in the middle.

[0046] The wireless communication module 94 can transmit the signal output by the signal processing module 93 to a remote receiving device through a wireless transmitter (such as a radio frequency transmitter), thereby realizing communication between home devices. For example, by carrying instructions in the signal transmitted by the wireless communication module 94, the control of other smart home devices can be linked to the operation of the access control device. For instance, when the user opens the door lock, the indoor lighting device or air conditioning device can be controlled to start. In this case, by utilizing the mechanical action of the access control device, an electrical signal can be transmitted to other devices while generating electrical energy, so that communication with other devices can be achieved without additional operations.

[0047] So far, the access control device of the present disclosure and its operation method have been described in detail. To avoid obscuring the concept of the present invention, some details well known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art can fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0048] Although the present invention has been described in detail through exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the above exemplary embodiments are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An access control device, characterized in that, comprising: a main body; an operation part, connected to the main body and capable of moving relative to the main body; a transducer device, including an electromagnetic component installed on the main body and a mechanical component capable of moving relative to the electromagnetic component under the drive of the operation part, wherein the movement of the mechanical component relative to the electromagnetic component can cause a change in the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component, so that the transducer device generates electric energy; an elastic restoring device, capable of making the operation part return to the initial position without movement relative to the main body, and during the process of the operation part returning to the initial position, capable of making the magnetic flux in the electromagnetic component change, so that the transducer device generates electric energy; an energy storage module, capable of storing the electric energy generated by the transducer device; a buckle part that can be driven by the movement of the operation part relative to the main body, and the buckle part can open or lock the access control device under the drive of the operation part; a signal processing module, which outputs a wireless signal for expressing the establishment of an operation connection between the access control device and one or more smart home devices when the mechanical component moves relative to the electromagnetic component; and a conditioning circuit connected to the transducer device, for converting the current induced by the transducer device and providing it to the signal processing module.

2. The access control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the electromagnetic component is installed inside the main body, and the electromagnetic component includes a soft magnetic body and a coil coupled to the soft magnetic body; the mechanical component includes a first end, a second end and a connecting part, the first end is fixedly connected to the upper end of the operation part, the second end is located on the upper surface of the main body and includes a magnetic element, and the connecting part fixedly connects the first end and the second end, wherein, the connecting part is movably connected to the upper surface of the main body, so that when the first end moves relative to the main body along with the operation part, the connecting part moves relative to the main body accordingly, so that the second end moves relative to the electromagnetic component.

3. The access control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, a groove is formed on the upper surface of the main body, a fitting is arranged on the connecting part and is fitted inside the groove and movably connected to the groove, and the mechanical component is configured such that when the first end moves relative to the main body along with the operation part, the fitting moves in the groove, so that the second end moves relative to the electromagnetic component.

4. The access control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, at least part of the electromagnetic component coincides with at least part of the vertical projection area of the movement path of the second end.

5. The access control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the connecting part is made of a rigid material.

6. The access control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the energy storage module is connected to the transducer device through the conditioning circuit to store at least a part of the converted power.

7. The access control device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the smart home device includes a lighting device and / or an air conditioning device.

Images