Method and arrangement for controlling access

#The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for controlling access in locations wherein access is restricted by a lock mechanism.

#In order to access locked premises, such as home or work, keys or key cards, for example, are still required for unlocking locks. For safety reasons, it is also increasingly common that people lock the doors and gates to backyards, housing sites or commercial buildings. This can be problematic when, for example, persons should have access to locked premises to which they do not have physical keys. Such a situation may occur when, for example, a resident is away from home and somebody, e.g. a cleaning service worker or a plumber, should have access to the locked premises. Such situations have usually been solved e.g. using master keys, hiding keys or, in the case of an electronic lock, for example, using ad hoc key codes.

#Handing over conventional keys or cards to outsiders does, however, involve an increased safety risk. Keys may easily be lost, which means that the locks would have to be changed. Furthermore, even if e.g. a serviceman had a key, the key could be used for only as long as a corresponding lock is in use. It is also difficult to deliver extra keys e.g. to persons who only visit locked premises once, such as chimney sweepers. The use of electronic key codes is also problematic. Key codes are difficult to remember, and such codes require separate procedures in order to be activated. Furthermore, situations occur daily wherein somebody who has been authorized to conduct a task has not informed anybody about his or her visit in advance, so it has thus not been even possible to deliver a key or a code to such a person in advance. Furthermore, taking safety aspects into account considerably complicates the cooperation between people. For example, handing over a key code on the telephone to somebody asking for access would of course be possible, but the provider of the code would then immediately have to have the codes changed so as to prevent the particular person from using the same code later and entering the locked premises or from forwarding the code. A situation wherein access to locked premises is directly remotely controllable through a remote-controllable locking system, for example, would also involve a safety problem; in such a case, the remotely-situated controller of the locking system could not be sure of the identity of the person who wishes to be let in, nor whether it would be safe to grant access to such a person.

#The invention is now described in closer detail in connection with the preferred embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

#FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a telecommunication system according to the invention,

#FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement according to the invention for controlling access,

#The preferred embodiments of the invention can be applied to telecommunication systems that include a remote-controllable server, one or more base transceiver stations and a plurality of terminals communicating with one or more base transceiver stations. The essential parts of the structure of the telecommunication system may resemble those shown in FIG. 1. The telecommunication system comprises a base transceiver station 100 and a plurality of transmitter-receiver units 102, 106 having a duplex connection 110, 116 to the base transceiver station 100. The base transceiver station 100 transmits the connections of the transmitter-receiver units 102, 106 to a base station controller 101, which forwards the connections to other parts of the system and to a fixed network. The base station controller 101 controls the operation of one or more base transceiver stations. The telecommunication system further includes a remote-controllable server 104 having a duplex connection 108, 112, 114 to the transmitter-receiver units 102, 106 and to the base transceiver station 100.

#FIG. 2 shows an arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention for controlling access. FIG. 2 shows a first transmitter-receiver unit 102, a second transmitter-receiver unit 106 and a remote-controllable server 104. The transmitter-receiver units 102, 106 and the remote-controllable server 104 share a duplex telecommunication connection 108, 114. The arrangement of FIG. 2 further comprises a certificate authority 119 having a duplex connection 118 with the second transmitter-receiver unit 106.

#Today, various methods are known which enable the mutual trust of different parties that communicate in telecommunication systems to be improved. One such method is a so-called Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which enables a safe way of communicating in a public network, such as the Internet. The PKI enables the mutual trust between communicating parties to be enhanced by means of trusted third parties. In practice, this is implemented using a Public Key Cryptography (PKC), digital signatures and certificates that tie the public keys to the communicating parties. Certificate Authorities (CA), which grant digital certificates and confirm the authenticity of the certificates to be used, serve as Trusted Third Parties (TTP).