Electronic lock

An electronic lock, comprising:

• a housing having a first face;
• a lock aperture that extends through the first face of the housing;
• a keyhole that passes through the housing;
• a biometric interface attached to the housing;
• the housing containing therein:
• a controller;
• a biometric reader electrically coupled to the controller;
• a proximity-based wireless communication device electrically coupled to the controller;
• and
• a lock that transitions between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the lock automatically transitions from the unlocked position to the locked position when a corresponding locking mechanism is inserted into the lock aperture;
• and
• a mechanical key receiver configured to accept a physical key;
• wherein:
• the controller issues an unlock command signal to cause the lock to transition from the locked position to the unlocked position in a manner that is independent of the mechanical key receiver, and is based upon:
• a match of a biometric read by the biometric reader to electronic data identifying an authorized user;
• and a match of an identifier read by the proximity-based wireless communication device to electronic data identifying the authorized user within a predetermined time of each other;
• and
• the lock is controlled to transition from the locked position to the unlocked position by the mechanical key receiver engaged by a physical key independent of the unlock command signal from the controller.

An electronic lock, comprising:

• a housing having a lock aperture extending through a face thereof, the lock aperture configured to receive a locking mechanism;
• a biometric interface attached to the housing;
• and
• a locking system contained within the housing, the locking system comprising:
• a controller;
• a biometric reader electrically coupled to the controller, the biometric reader also electrically coupled to the biometric interface;
• a lock that transitions between a locked position and an unlocked position such that:
• when the lock is in the locked position and the locking mechanism is inserted into the lock aperture, the locking mechanism is locked to the housing;
• and
• when the lock is in the unlocked position, the locking mechanism can release from the housing;
• and
• an electric actuator electrically coupled to the controller, the electric actuator operable to transition the lock between the locked position and the unlocked position;
• wherein:
• the controller issues an electronic unlock command signal to the electric actuator to cause the lock to transition from the locked position to the unlocked position upon agreement of a match of electronic data corresponding to a biometric read by the biometric reader to data identifying an authorized user;
• and
• the controller issues an electronic unlock command signal to the electric actuator to cause the lock to transition from the locked position to the unlocked position upon detecting that the user tapped a PIN into the biometric interface that matches a PIN corresponding to the user, where the PIN is stored in memory accessible by the controller.