Monitoring of an entrance system installation for configuration protection

Abstract

A computer-implemented method (200) of monitoring an entrance system installation (10; ES1) for configuration protection is presented. The entrance system installation (10; ES1) has one or more door members (D1...Dm) movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator (30). The entrance system installation is configured with a plurality of control parameters (CP1-CPn) which are used by the automatic door operator (30) for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members (D1...Dm). In the method (200), a computerized entity (110) performs the following. Maintaining (210) a stored representation (116) of approved values (APV1-APVn) of the plurality of control parameters (CP1-CPn) as configured at one or more configuration occasions. Repeatedly collecting (220; 120-1), over a data communication network (170), actual values (ACV1-ACVn) of the plurality of control parameters (CP1-CPn) from the entrance system installation (10; ESI). Repeatedly checking (230) the collected actual values (ACV1-ACVn) of the plurality of control parameters against the approved values (APV1-APVn) according to the stored representation (116). Detecting (240), for any of the control parameters (CP1-CPn), a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value. Generating (250) a digital notification (DN). Communicating (260; 152) the digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) associated with the stored representation (116).

Description

[0001] MONITORING OF AN ENTRANCE SYSTEM INSTALLATION FOR CONFIGURATION PROTECTION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention generally relates to the field of entrance system installations having one or more door members movable between closed and open positions. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of entrance system installations having an automatic door operator and being configured with a plurality of control parameters which are used by the automatic door operator for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to a computer-implemented method of monitoring such an entrance system installation (or a plurality thereof) for configuration protection, as well as to an associated centralized management / monitoring system, an associated computer program product and an associated computer readable medium.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Entrance system installations having automatic door operators are frequently used for providing automatic opening and / or closing of one or more movable door members in order to facilitate entrance and exit to buildings, rooms and other areas. The door members may for instance be swing doors, sliding doors, revolving doors or overhead sectional doors.

[0006] Since entrance system installations having automatic door operators are typically used in public areas, user convenience is of course important. The entrance system installations need to remain long-term operational without malfunctions even during periods of heavy traffic by persons or objects passing through the entrance systems. At the same time, safety is important in order to avoid hazardous situations where a present, approaching or departing person or object (including but not limited to animals or articles brought by the person) may be hit or jammed by any of the movable door members. To this end, entrance system installations are typically equipped with a control arrangement including a controller and one or more sensor units, wherein each sensor unit is connected to the controller and is arranged to monitor a respective zone at the entrance system installation for presence or activity of a person or object. An entrance system installation comprises various mechanical and electrical parts, for instance in the automatic door operator, the transmission to the door members, and the control arrangement. Hence, an entrance system installation is a complex system of many cooperating parts. In order for an entrance system installation to operate safely and accurately in an autonomous manner, it will have to be configured appropriately by an authorized, professional installer or service person. To this end, the entrance system installation typically has a plurality of control parameters which have to be set to appropriate values by the installer or service person upon configuration of the entrance system installation. The control parameters will be used by the automatic door operator for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members of the entrance system installation.

[0007] The appropriate values of at least some of these control parameters will typically be dependent on local conditions at the site of the entrance system installation and should, therefore, be set based on professional knowledge and in due consideration of the dimensions of the entrance system, the parts thereof as well as its surroundings. Local setting of control parameters is typically done by the installer or service person either making data input on a user interface (such as an operator panel or dip switches) of the automatic door operator, or connecting a computer device such as a laptop or tablet computer via a local communication link to the automatic door operator. In some applications, other control parameters may be set remotely via a networked (e.g. loT) connection.

[0008] Since an entrance system installation is typically used in a commercial or public context, there is normally one or more persons being responsible for the entrance system installation being operational and avoiding safety incidents. Such a responsible person, who will be referred to a responsible user in this document, may for instance be the manager of a shopping mall, the president or office manager of a corporation, the head of a school, etc., or any person to which the responsibility has been delegated. The person (e.g. installer or service person) authorized by the responsible user to make settings of the control parameters is referred to as an authorized user in this document.

[0009] Because, again, an entrance system installation is typically used in a commercial or public context, it will be accessible to other people as well. Such people may be employees at a shopping mall or a corporation, teachers or students at a school, or in fact any person from the general public. It happens from time to time that such other people make changes to the configuration of the entrance system installation that involve or result in a change in value of any of the control parameters, from the value configured by the authorized user (the approved value) to another value, the actual value. A person making such chances in configuration without authorization is referred to as a non-authorized user in this document.

[0010] Any such deviation from approved configuration may potentially affect the operational stability and impair the safety provisions of the entrance system installation.

[0011] The present inventors have realized that there is room for improvements in this field.

[0012] SUMMARY

[0013] An object of the present invention is therefore to provide one or more improvements in the monitoring of an entrance system installation for configuration protection.

[0014] Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention is a computer-implemented method of monitoring an entrance system installation having one or more door members movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator. The entrance system installation is configured with a plurality of control parameters which are used by the automatic door operator for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members. The method comprises, by a computerized entity being separate from the entrance system installation: maintaining a stored representation of approved values of said plurality of control parameters as configured at one or more configuration occasions; repeatedly collecting, over a data communication network, actual values of said plurality of control parameters from the entrance system installation; repeatedly checking the collected actual values of said plurality of control parameters against the approved values according to the stored representation; detecting, for a control parameter among said plurality of control parameters, a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value; generating a digital notification; and communicating said digital notification to a computerized recipient associated with the stored representation. The provision of such a method will solve or at least mitigate one or more of the problems or drawbacks identified in the above, as will be clear from the following detailed description section and the drawings. An unauthorized or unexpected change in any of the control parameters of an entrance system installation will be automatically detected and reported to a computerized recipient, thereby allowing him or her to take appropriate action and thereby protecting the (intended and approved) configuration of the entrance system installation.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention is a computer program product comprising computer code for performing the method according to the first aspect, or any of the embodiments thereof as disclosed in this document, when the computer program code is executed by a processing device.

[0016] A third aspect of the present invention is a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising computer program code for performing the method according to the first aspect, or any of the embodiments thereof as disclosed in this document, when the computer program code is executed by a processing device.

[0017] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a centralized management / - monitoring system for a plurality of entrance system installations, each having one or more door members movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator. Each entrance system installation is configured with a plurality of control parameters which are used by its automatic door operator for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members thereof. The centralized management / - monitoring system comprises an entrance system configuration protection arrangement having: a storage module configured for maintaining, for each entrance system installation, a stored representation of approved values of said plurality of control parameters as configured at one or more configuration occasions; a data collection module configured for repeatedly collecting, for each entrance system installation, over a data communication network, actual values of said plurality of control parameters from the entrance system installation; an evaluation module configured for repeatedly checking, for each entrance system installation, the collected actual values of said plurality of control parameters against the approved values according to the stored representation; a detection module configured for detecting, for a control parameter among said plurality of control parameters for any of the entrance system installations, a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value; and a communication module configured for communicating said digital notification to a computerized recipient associated with the stored representation.

[0018] The entrance system configuration protection arrangement of the centralized management / monitoring system may further be configured for performing the functionality of the method according to the first aspect, or any of the embodiments thereof as disclosed in this document.

[0019] The provision of such a computer program product, computer readable medium and centralized management / monitoring system will solve or at least mitigate one or more of the problems or drawbacks identified in the above, as will be clear from the following detailed description section and the drawings.

[0020] In different embodiments, the one or more movable door members may, for instance, be swing door members, sliding door members, revolving door members, (overhead) sectional door members or pull-up door members.

[0021] Embodiments of the invention are defined by the appended dependent claims and are further explained in the detailed description section as well as in the drawings.

[0022] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises / comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. All terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a / an / the [element, device, component, means, step, etc.]" are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Objects, features and advantages of embodiments of the invention will appear from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 A is a schematic block diagram of an entrance system installation which may be monitored for configuration protection generally according to the present invention.

[0025] Figure IB is a schematic block diagram of an automatic door operator which may be included in the entrance system installation shown in Figure 1 A.

[0026] Figure 2 A is a flowchart diagram illustrating a computer-implemented method of monitoring an entrance system installation for configuration protection generally according to the present invention.

[0027] Figures 2B-2E are flowchart diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the computer-implemented method shown in Figure 2A.

[0028] Figure 3 A is a schematic block diagram of a central management / monitoring system for a plurality of entrance system installations generally according to the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3B is a schematic block diagram of an entrance system configuration protection arrangement in the central management / monitoring system of Figure 3 A, illustrating functional modules of the former.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic top view of an entrance system installation according to a first embodiment, in the form of a sliding door system.

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic top view of an entrance system installation according to a second embodiment, in the form of a swing door system.

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic top view of an entrance system installation according to a third embodiment, in the form of a revolving door system.

[0033] Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of a computer-readable medium in one exemplary embodiment, capable of storing a computer program product.

[0034] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0035] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0036] Figure 1 A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an entrance system installation 10 to which the inventive aspects of the present invention may be applied. The entrance system installation 10 comprises one or more movable door members DI ...Dm, and an automatic door operator 30 for causing movements of the door members DI ...Dm between closed and open positions. In Figure 1 A, a transmission mechanism 40 conveys mechanical power from the automatic door operator 30 to the movable door members DI ...Dm. Figure IB illustrates an embodiment of the automatic door operator 30 in more detail.

[0037] As can be seen in Figure 1 A, a control arrangement 20 is provided for the entrance system installation 10. The control arrangement 20 comprises a controller 32, which may be part of the automatic door operator 30 as seen in the embodiment of Figure IB, but which may be a separate device in other embodiments. The control arrangement 20 also comprises a plurality of sensor units SI ...Sn. Each sensor unit may generally be connected to the controller 32 by wired connections, wireless connections, or any combination thereof. As will be exemplified in the subsequent description of the three different embodiments in Figures 4, 5 and 6, each sensor unit is arranged to monitor a respective zone Z1...Zn at the entrance system 10 for presence or activity of a person or object. The person may be an individual who is present at the entrance system 10, is approaching it or is departing from it. The object may, for instance, be an animal or an article in the vicinity of the entrance system 10, for instance brought by the aforementioned individual. Alternatively, the object may be a vehicle or a robot.

[0038] The embodiment of the automatic door operator 30 shown in Figure IB will now be described in more detail. The automatic door operator 30 may typically be arranged in conjunction with a frame or other structure which supports the door members DI ...Dm for movements between closed and open positions, often as a concealed overhead installation in or at the frame or support structure. In addition to the aforementioned controller 32, the automatic door operator 30 comprises a motor 34, typically an electrical motor, being connected to an internal transmission or gearbox 35. An output shaft of the transmission 35 rotates upon activation of the motor 34 and is connected to the external transmission mechanism 40. The external transmission mechanism 40 translates the motion of the output shaft of the transmission 35 into an opening or a closing motion of one or more of the door members DI ...Dm with respect to the frame or support structure.

[0039] The automatic door operator 30 has a power unit 38b that supplies power to the electric motor 34, controller 32 and other components of the automatic door operator 30 as appropriate. The power unit 50 typically comprises an AC / DC converter, such as a switch mode power supply (SMPS), having an input end coupled to AC mains 38a and an output end for supplying internal DC power to the electric motor 34, controller 32, etc.

[0040] In addition to the power unit 38b, the automatic door operator 30 furthermore comprises a battery 39 that may supply power to the electric motor 34, etc., for instance in an evacuation operating mode of the automatic door operator 30, or in times of AC mains power shortage. In the disclosed embodiment, the battery 39 is coupled for charging by the power unit 38b. In other embodiments, the battery 39 may be charged by other means, such as external battery charging equipment. Preferably, therefore, the battery 39 is a rechargeable battery made from, for instance, lithium-ion (Li-ion), lithium-ion polymer (Li-ion polymer), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), nickel-cadmium (NiCd) or lead-acid technology.

[0041] The controller 32 is arranged for performing different functions of the automatic door operator 30, typically in different operational modes (states) of the entrance system installation 10, using inter alia sensor input data from the plurality of sensor units SI ...Sn. Hence, the controller 32 is operatively connected with the plurality of sensor units SI ...Sn. At least some of the different functions performable by the controller 32 have the purpose of causing desired movements of the door members DI ...Dm. To this end, the controller 32 has at least one control output connected to the motor 34 for controlling the actuation thereof.

[0042] The controller 32 may be implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to a microcontroller, processor (e.g. PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC or any other suitable digital and / or analog circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.

[0043] The controller 32 also has an associated memory 33. The memory 33 may be implemented in any known memory technology, including but not limited to E(E)PROM, S(D)RAM or flash memory, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the memory 33 may be wholly or partly integrated with or internal to the controller 32. The memory 33 may store program instructions for execution by the controller 32, as well as temporary and permanent data used by the controller 32.

[0044] As discussed in the Background section, the entrance system installation 10 has a plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn, the values of which are set by an authorized user (e.g. installer or service person) upon configuration of the entrance system installation 10. The control parameters CPl-CPn will be used by the automatic door operator 30 for controlling movements of the door members DI ...Dm. In the disclosed embodiment, at least some of the control parameters CPl-CPn are stored in the memory 33 of the automatic door operator 30.

[0045] In the embodiment shown in Figure IB, the entrance system 10 has a communication bus 37. Some or all of the plurality of sensor units S 1... Sn are connected to the communication bus 37, and so is the automatic door operator 30. In the disclosed embodiment, the controller 32 and the memory 33 of the automatic door operator 30 are connected to the communication bus 37; in other embodiments this may be the case for other devices or components of the automatic door operator 30. In still other embodiments, the outputs of the plurality of sensor units SI ...Sn may be directly connected to respective data inputs of the controller 32.

[0046] The automatic door operator 30 in Figure IB is enabled for external data communication 36a by means of a data communication interface 36b which is furthermore connected to the communication bus 37 at 36b. The external data communication 36a is typically made with another communication device or system over a data communication network 36c, such as a wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN). Accordingly, the data communication network 36c may comply with any commercially available mobile telecommunications standard, including but not limited to GSM, UMTS, LTE, 5G, D-AMPS, CDMA2000, FOMA and TD-SCDMA. Alternatively or additionally, the data communication network 36c may comply with one or more short-range wireless data communication standards such as Bluetooth®, BLE, WiFi (e.g. IEEE 802.11, wireless LAN), Near Field Communication (NFC), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or Infrared Data Association (IrDA). In some embodiments, the communication may be wired, such as TCP / IP over Ethernet. One instance of the data communication network 36c is seen as the data communication network 170 in Figure 3 A.

[0047] A novel and inventive computer-implemented method 200 of monitoring an entrance system installation ESI for configuration protection is presented in Figure 2A. The entrance system installation ESI may, for instance, be embodied as or by the entrance system installation 10 described above with reference to Figures 1 A and IB. A central management / monitoring system 100 for a plurality of entrance system installations ESl-ESn (including the aforementioned individual entrance system installation ESI) is presented in Figure 3 A. The computer-implemented method 200 of Figure 2A will be described in parallel with the central management / monitoring system 100 of Figure 3 A in the following.

[0048] As can be seen in Figure 3 A, the central management / monitoring system 100 is operatively connected, via a data communication network 170, with a plurality of entrance system installations ESI - ESn. Each individual entrance system installation ESI, ES2, ..., ESn has one or more door members DI ...Dm (embodied, for instance, as in Figure 1 A, 4, 5 or 6) which are movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator 30 (embodied, for instance, as in Figure IB). Each entrance system installation is configured with a plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn (as described above for Figure IB), which are used by its automatic door operator 30 for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members DI ...Dm thereof. The data communication network 170 may be implemented as referred to above for the data communication network 36c.

[0049] In the following description, the first entrance system installation ESI will be selected as an example among the plurality of entrance system installations ESl-ESn, with no limitation being intended. For all practical matters, everything described with reference to the first entrance system installation ESI will be applicable to each of the other entrance system installations ES2-ESn as well. The centralized management / monitoring system 100 comprises a computerized entity 110 which implements an entrance system configuration protection arrangement 300. The computerized entity 110 may, for instance, be a server, such as a physical server computer or a cluster of server computers, or a virtual (e.g. cloud-based) server function. A cloud-based server may generally by implemented using any commonly known cloud-computing platform technologies, such as e.g. Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, IBM Bluemix or Alibaba Cloud. The cloud-based server may be included in a distributed cloud network that is widely and publically available, or alternatively limited to an enterprise. Alternatively, the server may in some embodiments be locally managed as e.g. a centralized server unit. Other alternative server configurations may be realized, based on any type of client-server or peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture. Server configurations may thus involve any combination of e.g. web servers, database servers, email servers, web proxy servers, DNS servers, FTP servers, file servers, DHCP servers, to name a few.

[0050] The centralized management / monitoring system 100 moreover comprises a database 112 which is operatively connected or integrated with the computerized entity 110. The database 112 may, for instance, be implemented as a DBaaS (Database-as-a- service). Some exemplary database technologies include MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle RDBMS, Amazon DynamoDB, MongoDB, Hadoop, Apache Cassandra, Amazon Aurora, EnterpriseDB, Oracle Database Cloud Service or Google Cloud.

[0051] As can be seen in Figure 3B, the entrance system configuration protection arrangement 300 has a plurality of functional modules, implemented as software modules executable by the computerized entity 110. These software modules, which will be described in more detail later, include a storage module 310, a data collection module 320, an evaluation module 330, a detection module 340, a communication module 350, a configuration module 360 and a central functionality module 370.

[0052] As discussed in the Background section, an authorized user 130 (such as an installer or service person) may configure any of the entrance system installations ES1- ESn by setting or adjusting any or all of the control parameters CPl-CPn to approved values APVl-APVn. As can be seen in Figure 3 A, the authorized user 130 may do the configuration locally at the entrance system installation ESI, as can be seen at 131. This may involve inputting information in a user interface (such as an operator panel or dip switches) of the automatic door operator 30. Alternatively, it may involve connecting a computer device such as a laptop or tablet computer via a local communication link to the automatic door operator 30. The inputted information will specify any or all of the approved values APVl-APVn of the control parameters CPl-CPn of the entrance system installation ESI.

[0053] Alternatively or additionally, the authorized user 130 may do the configuration from remote by using a computer device 160 to interact with the configuration module 360 to provide configuration information CONF to the centralized management / - monitoring system 100, as seen at 132, thereby specifying any or all of the approved values APVl-APVn of the control parameters CPl-CPn of the entrance system installation ESI in this way.

[0054] As mentioned in conjunction with Figure IB, at least some of the control parameters CPl-CPn may typically be stored in local memory 33 of the automatic door operator 30 of the entrance system installation ESI . This may be particularly so for control parameters that are directly related to the local conditions of the entrance system installation ESI and / or directly affect the operation of the automatic door operator 30. Some non-limiting examples are opening speed, opening force, closing speed, closing force, safety sensor positions, entrance dimensions, auto-close time delay, hold-open time delay, emergency operation, default operation mode, etc.

[0055] Some of the control parameters CPl-CPn may instead be stored in the centralized management / monitoring system 100. This may be particularly so for control parameters that are not directly related to the local conditions of the entrance system installation ESI but more related to operational aspects at a higher level. Some nonlimiting examples are certain calendar settings that may specify work hours, seasonal variations, high / low energy operation schemes, status report schedules, etc., for the operation of the entrance system installation ESI.

[0056] However, as also discussed in the Background section, there may be situations in which a non-authorized user 140 makes changes to any or all of the control parameters CPl-CPn of the entrance system installation ESI. The changes may be done locally, as seen at 141 in Figure 3 A, or remotely if the non-authorized user 140 has login credentials to the centralized management / monitoring system 100. Such changes may be made with or without malicious intent. As some examples of non-malicious intent, the non-authorized user 140 may decide to reconfigure the entrance system installation ESI to a different opening or closing speed, a different auto-close time delay, a different hold-open time delay, or to adjust or even disable some safety sensor that is perceived as “disturbing” by intervening “too often” or “too soon” with the actuation of the door members DI -Dm upon detection of a passing person or object. Irrespective of the intent, such changes by the non-authorized user 140 may potentially affect the operational stability and impair the safety provisions of the entrance system installation ESI. Accordingly, it is desired to provide measures to cope with such situations.

[0057] The present invention provides relieving measures as follows. Figure 2A illustrates a computer-implemented method 200 of monitoring the entrance system installation 10; ESI for the purpose of configuration protection. As described above, the entrance system installation 10; ESI comprises one or more door members DI ...Dm movable between closed and open positions, and the automatic door operator 30. The entrance system installation is configured with the aforementioned plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn which are used by the automatic door operator 30 for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members DI ...Dm.

[0058] According to the method 200, the computerized entity 110 - being separate from the entrance system installation 10; ESI - maintains in step 210 a stored representation 116 of the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn as configured by the authorized user 130 at one or more configuration occasions. The stored representation 116 may, for instance, be a record in the database 112 (also see the description below regarding data set 114).

[0059] The method 200 then comprises repeatedly collecting in step 220, over the data communication network 170, actual values ACVl-ACVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn from the entrance system installation 10; ESI. The actual values ACVl-ACVn may be collected as a data set 120-1, as seen in Figure 3 A. The frequency of step 220 may vary between different applications and implementations, and it may be selectable by a responsible user (which may be the user 150 referred to as “recipient” below). For instance, step 220 may be performed every x minute(s), every x hour(s), every x day(s), with no particular limitation. The responsible user may also select which control parameters to monitor. In other words, the protected (monitored) plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn may be a subset of all control parameters of the entrance system installation 10; ESI.

[0060] The method 200 moreover comprises repeatedly checking in step 230 the collected actual values ACVl-ACVn of the plurality of control parameters against the approved values APVl-APVn according to the stored representation 116.

[0061] The method 200 then comprises detecting in step 240, for a control parameter among the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn (i.e., for any or all of the protected (monitored) control parameters CPl-CPn), a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of the control parameter in question. The magnitude of the deviation required to trigger a positive detection in step 240 may vary between different applications and implementations, and also between individual control parameters. For instance, any minor deviation may be sufficient, or only a deviation in excess of a certain threshold expressed as an absolute or relative number or value. For control parameters that are of Boolean nature, a deviation may be detected if the approved value is one of two complementary values (0 or 1, true or false, on or off, etc.) and the actual value is found to be the other value (1 or 0, false or true, off or on, etc.).

[0062] If or when a deviation has been detected in step 240, a digital notification DN is generated in a step 250 of the method 200. The digital notification DN may preferably comprise information about the collected actual value and the approved value of the control parameter for which the deviation was detected in step 240. The digital notification DN may advantageously also comprise information identifying the entrance system installation 10; ESI or its geographical or organizational location, as well as circumstantial information such date and time of the detected deviation and / or of the committed change, the identity or other data of the non-authorized user 140 (if recorded and available), etc.

[0063] The method 200 then comprises communicating 260 the digital notification DN to a computerized recipient 150 associated with the stored representation 116. The digital notification DN may, for instance, be made as an electronic message (e.g. email message or short text message) communicated to the computerized recipient 150 and readable by the computerized recipient 150 using a computer device (e.g. like device 160 in Figure 3 A). Alternatively or additionally, the digital notification DN may be made as an announcement (e.g. pop-up screen or message) in the centralized manage- ment / monitoring system 100 to the computerized recipient 150 being logged in to the system 100. As a further alternative, the digital notification DN may be made by an automatic telephone call to the computerized recipient 150.

[0064] The computerized recipient 150 may, for instance, be a responsible person as referred to in the Background section, or the authorized user 130. In some implementations, the digital notification DN may be communicated in step 260 to a plurality of computerized recipients 150.

[0065] In this way, an unauthorized change in any of the control parameters CPl-CPn is automatically detected and reported to the computerized recipient 150, thereby allowing him or her to take appropriate action and thereby protecting the (intended and approved) configuration of the entrance system installation 10; ESI.

[0066] As seen in Figure 2B, the step of maintaining 210 the stored representation 116 of the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn may involve these following steps upon the authorized user’s 130 configuring 132 of the entrance system installation ESI. First, the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn are obtained in a step 212. Then a data set 114 comprising the obtained approved values APVl-APVn and an indication 118 of the computerized recipient 150 is generated in a step 214. The generated data set 114 is stored in a step 216 in or at the computerized entity 110, such that it is accessible as said stored representation 116 at the aforementioned step 230 of repeatedly checking in Figure 2 A.

[0067] The indication of the computerized recipient 150 may, for instance, be an email address or smartphone number, or a user account id in the centralized manage- ment / monitoring system 100. Accordingly, in this embodiment the computerized recipient 150; 160; 130 is associated with the stored representation 116 by including the indication 118 of the computerized recipient in the generated data set 114. The generated data set 114 may, for instance, be stored in step 216 in the database 112 which, as mentioned, is operatively connected or integrated with the computerized entity 110.

[0068] The generated and stored data set 114 can be seen as a digital fingerprint of the configuration of the entrance system installation 10; ESI, as approved by the authorized user 130. Access to the data set 114 is preferably restricted by user login credentials or other security provisions to prevent manipulation thereof.

[0069] In some embodiments, at least some of the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn are obtained in step 212 by receiving them from the entrance system installation ESI over the data communication network 170. This may be particularly so for control parameters that, as previously discussed, are stored in local memory 33 of the automatic door operator 30 of the entrance system installation ESI and are directly related to the local conditions of the entrance system installation ESI and / or directly affect the operation of the automatic door operator 30.

[0070] In some embodiments, at least some of the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn are obtained in step 212 from the entrance system configuration module 360 in the centralized management / monitoring system 100. This may be particularly so for control parameters that, as previously discussed, are not directly related to the local conditions of the entrance system installation ESI but more related to a higher-level aspects of the entrance system installation ESI .

[0071] As seen in Figure 2C, the computer-implemented method 200 may further comprise, after the step 260 of communicating the digital notification DN to the computerized recipient 150 and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected in step 240, the following functionality. In a step 270, the computerized entity 110 will receive from the computerized recipient 150 an instruction representing acceptance of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of the control parameter. In response, the computerized entity 110 will update in a step 272 the stored representation 116 by setting the approved value of the control parameter to the actual value of the control parameter. This will enable the non-authorized user 140 to make configuration changes that may subsequently be “sanctioned” (accepted) by the authorized user 130. In other words, the authorized user 130 will be made aware of the change in configuration and also be given an opportunity to check and approve of it.

[0072] A refined embodiment is shown in Figure 2D. Here, the computer- implemented method 200 further comprises the following functionality after the step 260 of communicating the digital notification DN to the computerized recipient 150 and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected in step 240. In a step 280, the computerized entity 110 checks for an instruction from the computerized recipient 150 representing acceptance of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of the control parameter. The receiving of such an acceptance instruction ACC can be seen at 162 in Figure 3 A. When no such instruction is received within a given time period, the computerized entity 110 causes in a step 282 a change in the configuration of the entrance system installation ESI, such that the actual value of the control parameter is replaced by the approved value of the control parameter, as indicated in the stored representation 116. Hence, this embodiment will safeguard that a detected and communicated change in any of the control parameters will be appropriately accepted by the authorized user 130, or else a roll-back from the collected actual value to the stored and previously approved value will be automatically made.

[0073] A similar embodiment is shown in Figure 2E. Here, the computer-implemented method 200 further comprises the following functionality after the step 260 of communicating the digital notification DN to the computerized recipient 150 and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected in step 240. In a step 280, the computerized entity 110 receives from the computerized recipient 110 an instruction representing declination of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of said control parameter. In response, the computerized entity 110 causes in a step 292 a change in the configuration of the entrance system installation ESI, such that the actual value of the control parameter is replaced by the approved value of the control parameter, as indicated in the stored representation 116.

[0074] Reference is now again made to the functional modules of the entrance system configuration protection arrangement 300, as illustrated in Figure 3B. As will be understood from the previous description, the storage module 310 is configured for maintaining, for each entrance system installation 10; ESl-ESn, the stored representation 116 of the approved values APVl-APVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn, as configured at one or more configuration occasions. Also see step 210 in Figure 2 A.

[0075] The data collection module 320 is configured for repeatedly collecting, for each entrance system installation 10; ESl-ESn, over the data communication network 170, the actual values ACVl-ACVn of the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn from the entrance system installation. Also see step 220 in Figure 2A.

[0076] The evaluation module 330 is configured for repeatedly checking, for each entrance system installation 10; ESl-ESn, the collected actual values ACVl-ACVn of the plurality of control parameters against the approved values APVl-APVn according to the stored representation 116. Also see step 230 in Figure 2A.

[0077] The detection module 340 is configured for detecting, for a control parameter among the plurality of control parameters CPl-CPn for any of the entrance system installations 10; ESl-ESn, a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value. Also see step 240 in Figure 2A. In some embodiments, the functionality of the module 340 can be integrated with the functionality of the module 330, such that a single functional module will perform both checking and detection.

[0078] The communication module 350 configured for generating the digital notification DN and communicating it to the computerized recipient 150; 160; 130 associated with the stored representation. Also see steps 250 and 260 in Figure 2A.

[0079] The configuration module 360 enables the authorized user 130 to configure any of the entrance system installations 10; ESl-ESn, and more specifically set or adjust the approved values APVl-APVn of the control parameters CPl-CPn of the particular entrance system installation. Such activities are seen at 132 in Figure 3 A, where the authorized user 130 provides the information CONF specifying the approved values APVl-APVn to the centralized management / monitoring system 100 using the computer device 160.

[0080] The central functionality module 370 is responsible for controlling and coordinating the functionality of the other functional modules 310-360.

[0081] As the skilled reader will understand, the entrance system configuration protection arrangement 300 of the centralized management / monitoring system 100, and the functional modules 310-370 thereof, may be configured for performing any or all of the functionality of the method illustrated in and described with reference to Figures 2A-2E above.

[0082] Three different exemplifying embodiments of entrance system installations, for instance any of the aforementioned entrance system installations 10, ESI, ES2, ESn, will now be described with reference to Figures 4, 5 and 6. Turning first to Figure 4, a first embodiment of an entrance system installation in the form of a sliding door system 410 is shown in a schematic top view. The sliding door system 410 comprises first and second sliding doors or wings DI and D2, being supported for sliding movements 450i and 4502 in parallel with first and second wall portions 460 and 464. The first and second wall portions 460 and 464 are spaced apart; in between them there is formed an opening which the sliding doors DI and D2 either blocks (when the sliding doors are in closed positions), or makes accessible for passage (when the sliding doors are in open positions). An automatic door operator (not seen in Figure 4 but referred to as 30 in Figures 1 and 2) causes the sliding movements 450i and 4502 of the sliding doors DI and D2.

[0083] The sliding door system 410 comprises a plurality of sensor units, each monitoring a respective zone Z1-Z6. The sensor units themselves are not shown in Figure 4, but they are generally mounted at or near ceiling level and / or at positions which allow them to monitor their respective zones Z1-Z6. To facilitate the reading, each sensor unit will be referred to as Sx in the following, where x is the same number as in the zone Zx it monitors (Sx being selected from { S 1... S 6 } , Zx being selected from {Z1-Z6}.

[0084] A first sensor unit SI is mounted at a lateral positon to the far left in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z1. The first sensor unit SI is a side presence sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object occupies a space between the outer lateral edge of the sliding door DI and an inner surface of a wall or other structure 462 when the sliding door DI is moved towards the left in Figure 4 during an opening state of the sliding door system 410. The provision of the side presence sensor SI will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be hit by the outer lateral edge of the sliding door DI, and / or jammed between the outer lateral edge of the sliding door DI and the inner surface of the wall 462, by triggering abort and preferably reversal of the ongoing opening movement of the sliding door DI .

[0085] A second sensor unit S2 is mounted at a lateral positon to the far right in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z2. The second sensor unit S2 is a side presence sensor, just like the first sensor unit SI, and has the corresponding purpose - i.e. to detect when a person or object occupies a space between the outer lateral edge of the sliding door D2 and an inner surface of a wall 466 when the sliding door D2 is moved towards the right in Figure 4 during the opening state of the sliding door system 410.

[0086] A third sensor unit S3 is mounted at a first central positon in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z3. The third sensor unit S3 is a door presence sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object occupies a space between or near the inner lateral edges of the sliding doors DI and D2 when the sliding doors DI are moved towards each other in Figure 4 during a closing state of the sliding door system 410. The provision of the door presence sensor S3 will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be hit by the inner lateral edge of the sliding door DI or D2, and / or be jammed between the inner lateral edges of the sliding doors DI and D2, by aborting and preferably reversing the ongoing closing movements of the sliding doors DI and D2.

[0087] A fourth sensor unit S4 is mounted at a second central positon in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z4. The fourth sensor unit S4 is a door presence sensor, just like the third sensor unit S3, and has the corresponding purpose - i.e. to detect when a person or object occupies a space between or near the inner lateral edges of the sliding doors DI and D2 when the sliding doors DI are moved towards each other in Figure 4 during a closing state of the sliding door system 410.

[0088] The side presence sensors SI and S2 and door presence sensors S3 and S4 may be image-based sensor units, active IR (infrared) sensor unit, etc.

[0089] A fifth sensor unit S5 is mounted at an inner central positon in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z5. The fifth sensor unit S5 is an inner activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the sliding door system 410 from the inside of the premises. The provision of the inner activity sensor S5 will trigger the sliding door system 410, when being in a closed state or a closing state, to automatically switch to an opening state for opening the sliding doors DI and D2, and then make another switch to an open state when the sliding doors DI and D2 have reached their fully open positions.

[0090] A sixth sensor unit S6 is mounted at an outer central positon in Figure 4 to monitor zone Z6. The sixth sensor unit S6 is an outer activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the sliding door system 410 from the outside of the premises. Similar to the inner activity sensor S5, the provision of the outer activity sensor S6 will trigger the sliding door system 410, when being in its closed state or its closing state, to automatically switch to the opening state for opening the sliding doors DI and D2, and then make another switch to an open state when the sliding doors DI and D2 have reached their fully open positions.

[0091] The inner activity sensor S5 and the outer activity sensor S6 may, for instance, be radar (microwave) sensor units or image-based sensor units.

[0092] A second embodiment of an entrance system installation in the form of a swing door system 510 is shown in a schematic top view in Figure 5. The swing door system 510 comprises a single swing door DI being located between a lateral edge of a first wall 560 and an inner surface of a second wall 562 which is perpendicular to the first wall 560. The swing door DI is supported for pivotal movement 550 around pivot points on or near the inner surface of the second wall 562. The first and second walls 560 and 562 are spaced apart; in between them an opening is formed which the swing door DI either blocks (when the swing door is in closed position), or makes accessible for passage (when the swing door is in open position). An automatic door operator (not seen in Figure 5 but referred to as 30 in Figures 1 and 2) causes the movement 550 of the swing door DI.

[0093] The swing door system 510 comprises a plurality of sensor units, each monitoring a respective zone Z1-Z4. The sensor units themselves are not shown in Figure 5, but they are generally mounted at or near ceiling level and / or at positions which allow them to monitor their respective zones Z1-Z4. Again, each sensor unit will be referred to as Sx in the following, where x is the same number as in the zone Zx it monitors (Sx being selected from {S1...S4}, Zx being selected from {Z1-Z4}.

[0094] A first sensor unit SI is mounted at a first central positon in Figure 5 to monitor zone Z1. The first sensor unit SI is a door presence sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object occupies a space near a first side of the (door leaf of the) swing door DI when the swing door DI is being moved towards the open position during an opening state of the swing door system 510. The provision of the door presence sensor SI will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be hit by the first side of the swing door DI and / or be jammed between the first side of the swing door DI and the second wall 562; a sensor detection in this situation will trigger abort and preferably reversal of the ongoing opening movement of the swing door DI. A second sensor unit S2 is mounted at a second central positon in Figure 5 to monitor zone Z2. The second sensor unit S2 is a door presence sensor, just like the first sensor SI, and has the corresponding purpose - i.e. to detect when a person or object occupies a space near a second side of the swing door DI (the opposite side of the door leaf of the swing door DI) when the swing door DI is being moved towards the closed position during a closing state of the swing door system 510. Hence, the provision of the door presence sensor S2 will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be hit by the second side of the swing door DI and / or be jammed between the second side of the swing door DI and the first wall 560; a sensor detection in this situation will trigger abort and preferably reversal of the ongoing closing movement of the swing door DI.

[0095] The door presence sensors SI and S2 may be image-based sensor units, active IR (infrared) sensor units, etc.

[0096] A third sensor unit S3 is mounted at an inner central positon in Figure 5 to monitor zone Z3. The third sensor unit S3 is an inner activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the swing door system 510 from the inside of the premises. The provision of the inner activity sensor S3 will trigger the sliding door system 510, when being in a closed state or a closing state, to automatically switch to an opening state for opening the swing door DI, and then make another switch to an open state when the swing door DI has reached its fully open position.

[0097] A fourth sensor unit S4 is mounted at an outer central positon in Figure 5 to monitor zone Z4. The fourth sensor unit S4 is an outer activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the swing door system 510 from the outside of the premises. Similar to the inner activity sensor S3, the provision of the outer activity sensor S4 will trigger the swing door system 510, when being in its closed state or its closing state, to automatically switch to the opening state for opening the swing door DI, and then make another switch to an open state when the swing door DI has reached its fully open position.

[0098] The inner activity sensor S3 and the outer activity sensor S4 may, for instance, be radar (microwave) sensor units or image-based sensor units.

[0099] A third embodiment of an entrance system installation in the form of a revolving door system 610 is shown in a schematic top view in Figure 6. The revolving door system 610 comprises a plurality of revolving doors or wings D1-D4 being located in a cross configuration in an essentially cylindrical space between first and second curved wall portions 662 and 666 which, in turn, are spaced apart and located between third and fourth wall portions 660 and 664. The revolving doors D1-D4 are supported for rotational movement 650 in the cylindrical space between the first and second curved wall portions 662 and 666. During the rotation of the revolving doors D1-D4, they will altematingly prevent and allow passage through the cylindrical space. An automatic door operator (not seen in Figure 6 but referred to as 30 in Figures 1 and 2) causes the rotational movement 650 of the revolving doors D1-D4 and, accordingly, causes the revolving doors D1-D4 to move between open positions (allowing passage through the cylindrical space) and closed positions (preventing passage through the cylindrical space) positions.

[0100] The revolving door system 610 comprises a plurality of sensor units, each monitoring a respective zone Z1-Z8. The sensor units themselves are not shown in Figure 6, but they are generally mounted at or near ceiling level and / or at positions which allow them to monitor their respective zones Z1-Z8. Again, each sensor unit will be referred to as Sx in the following, where x is the same number as in the zone Zx it monitors (Sx being selected from {S1...S8}, Zx being selected from {Z1-Z8}.

[0101] First to fourth sensor units S1-S4 are mounted at respective first to fourth central positons in Figure 6 to monitor zones Z1-Z4. The first to fourth sensor units Sl- S4 are door presence sensors, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object occupies a respective space (sub-zone of Z1-Z4) near one side of the (door leaf of the) respective revolving door D1-D4 as it is being rotationally moved during a rotation state or start rotation state of the revolving door system 610. The provision of the door presence sensors S1-S4 will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be hit by the approaching side of the respective revolving door D1-D4 and / or be jammed between the approaching side of the respective revolving door D1-D4 and end portions of the first or second curved wall portions 662 and 666. When any of the door presence sensors S1-S4 detects such a situation, it will trigger abort and possibly reversal of the ongoing rotational movement 650 of the revolving doors D1-D4.

[0102] The door presence sensors S1-S4 may, for instance, be image-based sensor units or active IR (infrared) sensor units. A fifth sensor unit S5 is mounted at an inner non-central positon in Figure 6 to monitor zone Z5. The fifth sensor unit S5 is an inner activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the revolving door system 610 from the inside of the premises. The provision of the inner activity sensor S5 will trigger the revolving door system 610, when being in a no rotation state or an end rotation state, to automatically switch to a start rotation state to begin rotating the revolving doors Dl- D4, and then make another switch to a rotation state when the revolving doors D1-D4 have reached full rotational speed.

[0103] A sixth sensor unit S6 is mounted at an outer non-central positon in Figure 6 to monitor zone Z6. The sixth sensor unit S6 is an outer activity sensor, and the purpose is to detect when a person or object approaches the revolving door system 610 from the outside of the premises. Similar to the inner activity sensor S5, the provision of the outer activity sensor S6 will trigger the revolving door system 610, when being in its no rotation state or end rotation state, to automatically switch to the start rotation state to begin rotating the revolving doors D1-D4, and then make another switch to the rotation state when the revolving doors D1-D4 have reached full rotational speed.

[0104] The inner activity sensor S5 and the outer activity sensor S6 may, for instance, be radar (microwave) sensors units or image-based sensor units.

[0105] Seventh and eighth sensor units S7 and S8 are mounted near the ends of the first or second curved wall portions 662 and 666 to monitor zones Z7 and Z8. The seventh and eighth sensor units S7 and S8 are vertical presence sensors. The provision of these sensor units S7 and S8 will help avoiding a risk that the person or object will be jammed between the approaching side of the respective revolving door D1-D4 and an end portion of the first or second curved wall portions 662 and 666 during the start rotation state and the rotation state of the revolving door system 610. When any of the vertical presence sensors S7-S8 detects such a situation, it will trigger abort and possibly reversal of the ongoing rotational movement 650 of the revolving doors Dl- D4.

[0106] The vertical presence sensors S7-S8 may, for instance, be image-based sensor units or active IR (infrared) sensor units.

[0107] Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of a computer-readable medium 700 in one exemplary embodiment, capable of storing a computer program product 710. The computer-readable medium 700 in the disclosed embodiment is a memory stick, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) stick; the computer-readable medium 700 may however be embodied in various other ways instead, as is well known per se to the skilled person. The USB stick 700 comprises a housing 730 having an interface, such as a connector 740, and a memory chip 720. In the disclosed embodiment, the memory chip 720 is a flash memory, i.e. a non-volatile data storage that can be electrically erased and re-programmed.

[0108] The memory chip 720 stores the computer program product 710 which is programmed with computer program code (instructions) that when loaded into and executed by a processing device, such as a CPU, will perform the method 200 of monitoring an entrance system installation for configuration protection, as described above with reference to Figures 2A-2E, in any or all of its disclosed embodiments. The USB stick 700 is arranged to be connected to and read by a reading device for loading the instructions into the processing device. The processing device may, for instance, be embodied as, or comprised in (e.g. by one or more microprocessors thereof) the computerized entity 110 in Figure 3 A.

[0109] It should be noted that a computer-readable medium can also be other mediums such as compact discs, digital video discs, hard drives or other memory technologies commonly used. The computer program code (instructions) can also be downloaded from the computer-readable medium via a wireless interface to be loaded into the processing device.

[0110] The invention has been described above in detail with reference to embodiments thereof. However, as is readily understood by those skilled in the art, other embodiments are equally possible within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A computer-implemented method (200) of monitoring an entrance system installation (10; ESI) having one or more door members (DI ...Dm) movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator (30), the entrance system installation being configured with a plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) which are used by the automatic door operator (30) for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members (DI ...Dm), the method (200) comprising, by a computerized entity (110) being separate from the entrance system installation (10; ESI): maintaining (210) a stored representation (116) of approved values (APV1- APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) as configured at one or more configuration occasions; repeatedly collecting (220; 120-1), over a data communication network (170), actual values (ACVl-ACVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) from the entrance system installation (10; ESI); repeatedly checking (230) the collected actual values (ACVl-ACVn) of said plurality of control parameters against the approved values (APVl-APVn) according to the stored representation (116); detecting (240), for a control parameter among said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn), a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value; generating (250) a digital notification (DN); and communicating (260; 152) said digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) associated with the stored representation (116).

2. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in claim 1, wherein the computerized entity (110) is comprised in a centralized management / monitoring system (100) being operatively connected to said entrance system installation (10; ESI) as well as to a plurality of other entrance system installations (ES2 - ESn) over the data communication network (170).

3. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein maintaining (210) said stored representation (116) of approved values (APV1- APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) involves, upon an authorized user’s (130) configuring (132, CONF) of the entrance system installation (10; ESI): obtaining (212) the approved values (APVl-APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn); generating (214) a data set (114) comprising the obtained approved values (APVl-APVn) and an indication (118) of said computerized recipient (150); and storing (216) the generated data set (114) in or at the computerized entity (110), such that it is accessible as said stored representation 116 at said step of repeatedly checking (230).

4. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any preceding claim, wherein at least some of the approved values (APVl-APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) are obtained (212) by receiving (120-1) them from the entrance system installation (10; ESI) over the data communication network (170).

5. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any preceding claim when dependent on claim 2, wherein at least some of the approved values (APVl- APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) are obtained (212) from an entrance system configuration module (360) in the centralized management / monitoring system (100).

6. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any preceding claim, further comprising, after said step of communicating (260) said digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected (240): the computerized entity (110) receiving (270) from the computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) an instruction representing acceptance of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of said control parameter; and updating (272) the stored representation (116) by setting the approved value of said control parameter to the actual value of said control parameter.

7. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising, after said step of communicating (260) said digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected (240): the computerized entity (110) checking (280) for an instruction (ACC) from the computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) representing acceptance of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of said control parameter; and when no such instruction (ACC) is received (162) within a given time period, causing (282) a change in the configuration of the entrance system installation (10; ESI) such that the actual value of said control parameter is replaced by the approved value of said control parameter as indicated in said stored representation (116).

8. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising, after said step of communicating (260) said digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) and for the control parameter for which the deviation was detected (240): the computerized entity (110) receiving (290) from the computerized recipient (110) an instruction representing declination of the deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value of said control parameter; and causing (292) a change in the configuration of the entrance system installation (10; ESI) such that the actual value of said control parameter is replaced by the approved value of said control parameter as indicated in said stored representation (116).

9. The computer-implemented method (200) as defined in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the digital notification (DN) comprises information about the collected actual value and the approved value of the control parameter for which the deviation was detected (240).

10. A computer program product (710) comprising computer code for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 when the computer program code is executed by a processing device (110).

11. A non-volatile computer readable medium (700) having stored thereon a computer program comprising computer program code for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 when the computer program code is executed by a processing device (110).

12. A centralized management / monitoring system (100) for a plurality of entrance system installations (10; ESI - ESn), each having one or more door members (DI ...Dm) movable between closed and open positions, and an automatic door operator (30), each entrance system installation being configured with a plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) which are used by its automatic door operator (30) for controlling movements of the one or more movable door members (DI ...Dm) thereof, the centralized management / monitoring system (100) comprising an entrance system configuration protection arrangement (300) having: a storage module (310) configured for maintaining, for each entrance system installation (10; ESI - ESn), a stored representation (116) of approved values (APV1- APVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) as configured at one or more configuration occasions; a data collection module (320) configured for repeatedly collecting, for each entrance system installation (10; ESI - ESn), over a data communication network (170), actual values (ACVl-ACVn) of said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) from the entrance system installation; an evaluation module (330) configured for repeatedly checking, for each entrance system installation (10; ESI - ESn), the collected actual values (ACVl-ACVn) of said plurality of control parameters against the approved values (APVl-APVn) according to the stored representation (116); a detection module (340) configured for detecting, for a control parameter among said plurality of control parameters (CPl-CPn) for any of the entrance systeminstallations (10; ESI - ESn), a deviation between the collected actual value and the approved value; and a communication module (350) configured for communicating said digital notification (DN) to a computerized recipient (150; 160; 130) associated with the stored representation.

13. The centralized management / monitoring system (100) as defined in claim 12, wherein the entrance system configuration protection arrangement (300) is further configured for performing the functionality of the method recited in any of the claims 2 to 9.

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