Equipment Access Control Using Asset-Mounted Authorization Collectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Construction and related fields face challenges in effectively controlling access to costly equipment due to variable environments and idle periods, where assets are underutilized and require efficient monitoring and access management.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an access control server, collector devices, and beacons that store asset and user records, allowing for authorization requests to be processed and access granted or denied based on asset status and user permissions, enabling efficient monitoring and temporary access to equipment across multiple sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If assets are leased to other parties during idle time, then cost of ownership is mitigated, but access control becomes more difficult due to variable environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a portable authentication device as an intermediary between the asset and the user. This device contains stored authentication credentials and can verify user identity without requiring complex centralized access control infrastructure. The portable device mediates the interaction between the asset owner, the user, and the asset itself, enabling simple access control in variable environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The asset is equipped with a reader that can autonomously authenticate users using credentials from portable devices. The system enables self-service access control where the asset itself participates in the authentication process, eliminating the need for complex external access control systems. The reader and portable device work together to provide automatic authentication without human intervention.
2Reliability
If centralized access control systems are implemented, then access security is improved, but system complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the access control functionality into distributed components: authentication credentials are stored in portable devices, verification is performed by readers on assets, and authorization decisions are made locally. This segmentation eliminates the need for a centralized access control server, reducing system complexity while maintaining security through distributed authentication.
Solution Approach 2:
Authentication credentials are pre-loaded into portable devices before use. This preliminary action allows the portable device to independently verify user identity without requiring real-time connection to a centralized system. The pre-stored credentials enable secure authentication to occur offline, simplifying the overall system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of asset access control includes: storing, at an access control server: an asset record corresponding to a physical asset and containing an asset identifier corresponding to the asset; and an account record corresponding to a user of the physical asset and containing an account identifier; receiving, at the access control server from a client computing device, an authorization request containing the asset identifier and the account identifier; determining, based on a comparison between the asset record and the account record, whether to authorize the request; when the determination is affirmative, transmitting an instruction to a collector device mounted on the physical asset to permit subsequent access to the asset.