GB2524847A

GB2524847A - A door entry device

Info

Publication number: GB2524847A
Application number: GB1406195.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter John Charles Spurgeon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-04-06
Filing date: 2014-04-06
Publication date: 2015-10-07
Also published as: GB201406195D0; GB201406521D0; GB201406446D0

Abstract

A door entry device comprising of a handle 3, at least one tactile detector 10 such as a reed, mercury or proximity switch, a memory 6 containing at least one audio file and an audio output, the audio output of the audio file being activated by a change in state of the tactile detector. As shown in fig. 1 the rear 1 and underside 2 of the door handle 3. The horizontal axis of the lock actuating shaft 4 is shown and the square section socket 5 will mate with one end of a square actuating shaft (not shown). A memory card of the Secure Digital type 6 and a battery housing cover 7 are shown on the side 1 closest to the door when the handle is fitted. A loudspeaker 9 faces transversely and an accessory cover 10 is shown that faces downwards when the handle is fitted. The accessory may also include an audio connector, a USB connector, a wireless transmitting device etc. A pushbutton (fig.2, item 12) is shown on the front face that actuates an audio output. The hollow interior of the handle 3 (not shown) contains the electrical and electronic circuitry required to provide the functionality of the device.

Description

A Door Entry Device

Background

Most premises have doors to gain entry or to separate rooms or areas. Whilst such doors often have locks or latches these are inconvenient for a person to gain legitimate entry and the door is left unlocked during the day A person may knock and wait for a reply before entering an unlocked door but many will enter without knocking, thus discomforting any person in the room. A nervous person could worry every time that they hear a sound on the other side of a door and wonder whether they will see the handle turn and a stranger is entering or trying to enter. This is particularly the case where the door is a bedroom door in a hotel. It is dark and there are often footsteps outside the door. Similarly it may be that a guest cannot recognise the right door when they return to their room and they are trying their key to unlock the wrong door or they have mistaken a bedroom door for a bathroom door. The invention seeks to sig-nal which room a person is trying to enter for a person outside the room whilst giving anyone inside the room that entry is being attempted or that the person outside the door is trying' it to check whether it is locked. The invention has a further usefuhiess as a safety device: since it is battery operated it will continue to function during a time of emergency such as during a fire when smoke and darkness may hinder rescuers and persons trying to escape by providing audio waypoints. An everyday lack of navigation can occur in blind people when changes are made to the layouts of buildings or when they are trying to find the right public toilet.

Description

The invention comprises of a device attached to a door that outputs an audio signal when an object attached to the lock or opening/closing mechanism is in process of being actuated by a person. The means of determining that the mechanism is being touched or actuated is refered to as a tactile sensor': such a sensor including mechanical switches such as toggle switches, slide switches, microswitches, tilt switches, magnetically operated switches such as reed switches and pushbuttons. Electronic tactile sensors include capacitative, resistive and radia-tion detectors of the sort often used in keypads or proximity sensors. The door entry device according to the invention is intended to detect the presence of a person attempting entry whilst reducing the number of false indications that may arise due to any existing proximity motion, video, audio or temperature detectors that may be attached adjacent to an entrance.

Most doors have at least one handle that is used to turn the shaft of a lever system to draw back a bolt that secures the door in its closed state. The most common door handle is replicated by one of opposite hand' on the other side of the door, the shaft connecting the two handles rigidly. The shaft is often of square cross section, being loose between sockets in the handles when the handles are each affixed to bearing plates attached on either side of the door. In cases where the bearing plates are separate the handles maybe attached to the shaft by means of screws in the handles engaging with threaded holes in the shaft. The invention proposes a handle that may supercede or be interchangeable with a plain door handle or lock handle.

Many of these handles are detachable, having a (square) socket that mates with a square sec-tion shaft that rotates and thereby operate the mechanism that holds the door shut or enables it to be opened. The handle is preferentially affixed permanently or invisibly to the shaft on the outside of the door, preventing it from being disnmantled by a potential intruder, the inside handle can have an easy release mechanism to enable both handles to be removed for mainte-nance and programming purposes. The handle according to the invention contains at least one tactile sensor and electronic components that cause the activation of an audio output. when it is sensed that the handle is being or is about to be turned. As an annunciator the handle can be carried on one's travels and fitted to the door of one's room. Parents/nurses/carers can fit the handle to alert them of a child /patient/client's goings or comings from a room. The handle may contain an electrical storage in the form of a non-rechargeable or a re-chargeable battery and electrical energy can also be generated by photo-electric means, by induction from mains electricity or by dynamo devices powered by the movement of the door. An electrical con-nection from the device to a mains powered supply can also he provided. Schools, hospitals, banks, military barracks, hotels, offices and prisons can have the handles according to the in-vention fitted to their doors. The handles may be programmed to issue messages in languages appropriate to the rooms. The handles maybe programmed with entertaining or educational messages. The messages maybe designed to promote loyalty and to improve morale. The messages may have a secondary function of delivering messages regarding the time of day or weather conditions. The devices may have the facility of receiving broadcasts. The devices maybe programmed with safety instructions such as the need for special clothing in a re-stricted area or the need for silence in a recording studio. In some situations such as apartment buildings there maybe several doors adjacent to each other and an occupant of one apartment will be able to avoid exiting when he hears someone activating the audio output on one of the others. In a secure environment the audio output can alert an operator of surveilance cam- eras to record the activities and to take appropriate action. Whilst the most common func-tion of the device may be for standard interior doors for human entry and exit it may also be used on windows, storage warehouses, construction sites, pet housing, cabinets, toys, storage cupboards and safes. There are also advantages to be gained by fitting the devices to doors in military and merchant sea-going vessels and passenger transport of all types. Prototyping and development of the invention is assisted by availability of a range of programmable audio devices for blind and visually impaired persons. It is anticipated that a mass-produced door handle according to the invention could cost less than 50% more than a standard door handle.

Detailed Description

in a first embodiment of the invention a door handle is adapted to output an audio signal when a pushbutton is pressed. A removable memory card contains a digital file of the MP3 format, the digital output relating to the room number or function, name of the office manager etc. This is for the visitor who wishes to make it known that they wish to enter or the visitor who wishes to confirm that this is the right door. Such a message may also contain instruc- tions for finding an alternative office or building if that door is not to be used Further ada-patations can be made, for example, in the case of a suspected intruder a secret tactile sensor can be included to activate an audio ifie for output to the occupant of the room to hear, or to alert security staff. A loudspeaker is provided on the door handle and also an audio socket.

A wireless transmitter may be fitted. The audio socket may be connected to a speaker inside the room. A handle on the outside of a door may have a pushbutton and a loudspeaker to make an annunciation whilst the mechanically connected inside handle detects motion of the handle and operates a loudspeaker inside the room with a different message altogether. The handle may include means to instigate a CCI video camera.The device may have an electronic processor to enable one of several programming modes to be executed -determining the circumstances under which each speaker will sound and which audio files will be output, and the volume, possibly an increasing over time, of the audio signal and operation of any ancili-ary equipment including wireless transmitters. The mode of operation may be determined by programming links or by data files on the programmable memory. A microphone input niay he provided to enable messages to be prograninied in-situ or the messages etc may be pro-grammed using a replaceable memory card. In the absence of a suitably programmed plug-in memory device the handle programme may contain a default mode to emit a characteristic sound whenever the handle is activated. Access to the battery, memory, loudspeaker etc of the handle is made difficult without activating the handle by placing it in an inaccessible position.

A first handle according to the invention on the outside of the door may output a message regarding the door number, function, advertising etc when a pushbutton is pressed whilst a handle according to the invention on the other side of the door may output a tune, alarm or message when it is activated by movement of the shaft of the door mechanism by the outside handle. The volume of such signals may be adjusted according to the audiNe range required.

Movement of the inside handle that is not caused by the outside handle may be sensed and not cause activation of either handle. A pushbutton on the inside' door handle may he used to inhibit its audio output for a set duration. Another embodiment of the invention may instigate the audio output remotely by means of a wireless signal to at least one receiver unit -such signal also identifying the actual handle that is transmitting. It will be apparent to those familiar with electronic, computer, video and wirelss technology that many more facilities may be incorporated in the door handle than are described here.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with refer-ence to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a rear view of a door handle according to the invention; Figure 2 shows front view of a door handle according to the invention; Figure 3 shows a side view of a door handle according to the invention; Figure 1 shows a view of the rear 1 and underside 2 of the door handle 3. The horizontal axis of the lock actuating shaft 4 is shown and the square section socket 5 will mate with one end of a square actuating shaft (not shown). A memory card of the Secure Digital type 6 and a bat-tery housing cover 7 are shown on the side 1 closest to the door when the handle is fitted. A loudspeaker 9 faces transversly and an accessory cover lOis shown that faces downwards when the handle is fitted. The accessory may include a secret tactile sensor, an audio connector, a USB connector, a wireless transmitting device etc. Figure 2 shows the handle 3 in a position relative to a door surface 11. A pushbutton 12 is shown on the front face that actuates an audio output. The hollow interior of the handle 3 (not shown) contains the electrical and electronic circuitry required to provide the functionality of the device.

Figure 3 shows a view from the right hand end of the handle 3 in figure 2. A screw 13 is used to secure the handle to the square shaft. Some of the other items of figures 1 and 2 are also numbered for clarity.

The drawings do not include every aspect of the application of the invention. Individual coni-ponents shown in the drawings are not limited to use in their drawings and they may be used in other drawings and in all aspects of the invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A door entry device comprising of a handle, at least one tactile detector, a digital memory capable of containing at least one audio file and an audio output, the audio output of the audio file being activated by a change instate of the tactile detector.
2. A door entry device according to claim 1 in which the tactile detector is of the tilt switch type such as a mercury switch.
3. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tactile detec-tor is of the magnetically operated type such as a reed switch.
4. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tactile detec-tor is a motion sensor.
5. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tactile detec-tor is a proximity detector.
6. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tactile sensor is a pushbutton.
7. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the handle is turned in order to operate a latching device.
8. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in 4Thich the handle has a mounting feature that mates with a square shaft.
9. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the memory contains a speech file..
10. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the memory is programmable using a digital processing device such as a personal computer, a mobile phone or a handheld terminal.
11. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the memory device is removable.
12. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the audio file is an mp3 file.
13. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the audio out-put increases in volume during the time that the device is actuated.
14. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the audio out-put contains speech.
15. A door entry device according to claim 14 in which the speech informs of a room number.
16. A door entry device according to claim 14 in which the speech informs of a room function.
17. A door entry device according to claim 14 in which the speech includes a promotional message.
18. A door entry device according to claim 14 in which the speech includes a telephone num-ber.
19. A door entry device according to claim 14 in which the speech includes an address.
20. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the audio out-put changes to the output of a different audio file with successive activation of the device.
21. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims including an electrical energy storage device.
22. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims including a loudspeaker.
23. A door entry device according to any one of the preceding claims including an electrical socket for the audio output.