Power controller for a door lock and method of conserving power

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12529243-B2
Application number	US-202418642886-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2024
Priority date	Apr 14, 2015
Publication date	Jan 20, 2026
Grant date	Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

A power control system for use with an electric lock mechanism including an actuator having a coil with a particular coil impedance. The power control system comprises a power supply configured to provide an output voltage having a drive current to the actuator, a credential device powered by the power supply and configured to signal the power supply to provide the output voltage upon receiving an authorized access code, an actuator driver including a multiple-gain current-sensing circuit, and a microcontroller configured to monitor and control the power supply, credential device, actuator driver, and actuator, and determine the impedance of the coil. The microcontroller is populated by a look-up table having performance data for a plurality of coils such that the microcontroller selects a duty ratio to establish the optimum magnitude of drive current to the coil based only on the determined impedance of the coil.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A power control system for use with a first electric lock mechanism having a first actuator, and a second electric lock mechanism having a second actuator, said power control system comprising:
a) a power supply configured to output an output voltage to each of said first actuator and said second actuator, wherein said output voltage to each of said first and second actuators has a first pick current component and a second hold current component, and wherein said pick current component is greater in magnitude than said hold current component; b) a first credential device coupled to said first electric lock mechanism and powered by said power supply, and a second credential device coupled to said second electric lock mechanism, each of said first and second credential devices configured to signal said power supply to output said output voltage upon receiving an authorized credential; and c) a microcontroller configured to monitor and control said power supply, said first and second credential devices, and said first and second actuators, wherein, in an event when said first and second credential devices signal said power supply simultaneously, said microcontroller senses said event and instructs said power supply to sequentially output said output voltage to said first and second actuators, and wherein said sequential output of said output voltage to said first and second actuators includes said microcontroller instructing said power supply to output said first pick current component to said second actuator only after said first pick current component to said first actuator steps down to said second hold current component of said first actuator, and wherein said instruction to said power supply to output said first pick current component to said second actuator occurs while said second hold current component is being provided to said first actuator.

2 . The power control system in accordance with claim 1 including an input delivering a fire alarm signal to said microcontroller, wherein when said microcontroller senses said fire alarm signal said microcontroller instructs said power supply to sequentially output said output voltage to said first and second actuators.

3 . A method of supplying a pick current and a hold current to a plurality of actuator devices using a microcontroller, said method comprising the steps of:
a) utilizing said microcontroller to determine that a first actuator device is being activated by a first credential device, and a second actuator device is being activated by a second credential device, wherein said activation of the first and second actuator devices is sequential and in response to the first and second credential devices each receiving an authorized credential; b) providing a first pick current to said first actuator device; c) stepping down said first pick current to provide a hold current to said first actuator device; and d) after stepping down said first pick current to said hold current to said first actuator device, providing a second pick current to said second actuator device while said hold current is provided to said first actuator device.

4 . The power control system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the authorized credential is an authorized card or an authorized code.

5 . The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the authorized credential is an authorized card or an authorized code.

Assignees

• Hanchett Entry Systems Inc

Inventors

• Shaffer Randall
• Corbin David

Classifications

• E05B2047/0067

  Monitoring · CPC title

• E05B2047/0058

  by batteries · CPC title

• E05B2047/0057

  Feeding · CPC title

• G07C9/00309

  operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks · CPC title

• E05B2047/0097

  including means for monitoring voltage, e.g. for indicating low battery state · CPC title