Door locking mechanism determination and verification system and method

A system, comprising:

• a motor configured to rotate a shaft to move a door between an open position and a closed position;
• a locking mechanism configured to alternate between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to retain the door in the closed position responsive to the locking mechanism being in the locked position and the locking mechanism is configured to allow the door to move to the open position responsive to the locking mechanism being in the unlocked position;
• one or more sensors configured to determine whether the locking mechanism is in the locked position or the unlocked position;
• an encoder coupled with the motor and configured to determine a position of the motor;
• and
• a controller configured to receive output from the encoder indicative of the position of the motor to determine a position of the locking mechanism,
• wherein the controller is configured to verify the position of the locking mechanism as indicated by the output from the one or more sensors using the output from the encoder.

A method, comprising:

• measuring one or more characteristics of a motor configured to rotate a shaft to move a door between an open position and a closed position;
• sensing a first position of a door locking mechanism at a first time, wherein the door is in the closed position at the first time;
• determining a second position of the door locking mechanism at the first time based at least in part on the one or more characteristics of the motor;
• comparing the first position and the second position of the door locking mechanism at the first time;
• taking a first action responsive to the first position and the second position differing at the first time;
• taking a second action responsive to the first position and the second position being the same at the first time.