JP7780083B2 - Door lock control system and mobile terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention generally relates to a door lock control system for controlling door locks and a mobile terminal used in the door lock control system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a door lock control system for automatically unlocking doors when a mobile terminal carried by a user approaches a door lock control device that controls the door locks, and a mobile terminal used in the door lock control system.

Traditionally, to unlock a door of a house or office and gain entry, physical keys such as metal keys, RFID-type IC keys (cards, tags, etc.), identification information such as a PIN number, or biometric information such as a fingerprint have been used. In particular, with the recent widespread use of mobile devices such as smartphones, door lock control systems that unlock doors based on signals emitted from the mobile device carried by the user have become widespread. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a door lock control system that automatically unlocks an electronic door lock by authenticating the user using a signal emitted from the mobile device carried by the user. Such door lock control systems are also known as smart lock systems.

In a smart lock system, a door lock control device is attached to the door to control whether the door is locked on or off. The user registers their mobile device by performing mutual authentication between the door lock control device attached to the door and the mobile device. Furthermore, the mobile device carried by the user can use its GPS function to detect whether the mobile device has entered or exited a specified area centered on the door (or door lock control device). This function of detecting whether the mobile device has entered or exited a specified area is called a geofence function.

When the mobile device's geofence function detects that the mobile device has entered a specified range centered on the door, and the mobile device approaches a certain distance from the door lock control device attached to the door, a wireless connection (typically a Bluetooth (registered trademark) pairing connection) is established between the mobile device and the door lock control device, and the door lock control device automatically unlocks the door. This provides a hands-free unlocking function that automatically unlocks the door without operating the mobile device. After the user enters the building, the door is relocked by the user's own operation or automatically by the door lock control device.

When the door is automatically unlocked by the mobile device's hands-free unlocking function and the user enters the building, the mobile device carried by the user determines that the user has unlocked the door and entered the building and deactivates its own hands-free unlocking function. Therefore, even if the user carrying the mobile device approaches the door a certain distance indoors, the door lock control device does not automatically unlock the door. The user inside the building can unlock the door and go outside by manually performing a specified operation to unlock the door from inside the building via the mobile device or on the door lock control device. Then, when the mobile device's geofence function detects that the mobile device has left a certain range centered on the door, the mobile device activates its own hands-free unlocking function. With this configuration, the door can be automatically unlocked when the user's mobile device approaches the door a certain distance outdoors again.

However, in cases where a connection between a mobile device and a door lock control device cannot be temporarily established, for example, a user may unlock the door using their own physical key or IC key without using the mobile device's hands-free unlocking function and enter the building, and the door may then be relocked either manually or automatically. In this case, the mobile device does not determine that the user has unlocked the door and entered the building, so the hands-free unlocking function is not deactivated. As a result, when a user carrying a mobile device approaches the door a certain distance indoors, the door may be unlocked by the mobile device's hands-free unlocking function at a time unintended by the user. In conventional technology, in such cases, the user is required to manually deactivate the mobile device's hands-free unlocking function after entering the building. However, deactivating the hands-free unlocking function requires the user to operate the mobile device, which reduces the usability of the hands-free unlocking function.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-218547

The present invention has been developed in consideration of the above-mentioned problems with the conventional door lock control system, and its purpose is to provide a door lock control system and a mobile terminal used in the door lock control system that can prevent the door from being unlocked at a time unintended by the user, without requiring the user to deactivate the hands-free unlocking function on the mobile terminal, even if the user unlocks the door using their own physical key, IC key, etc. and enters the building without using the hands-free unlocking function on the mobile terminal.

This objective is achieved by the present invention, which is defined by the following (1) and (2).

(1) a door lock control device for controlling door locks;
a mobile terminal carried by a user and capable of wirelessly communicating with the door lock control device;
the mobile terminal is equipped with an acceleration sensor capable of detecting acceleration of the mobile terminal;
The mobile terminal
determining whether the mobile terminal is located outdoors or indoors separated by the door based on the acceleration of the mobile terminal detected by the acceleration sensor;
A door lock control system, characterized in that, when the mobile terminal is outdoors, the system is configured to transmit an unlock signal to the door lock control device to unlock the door.

(2) The mobile device is provided with an acceleration sensor capable of detecting the acceleration of the mobile device.
determining whether the mobile terminal is located outdoors or indoors separated by a door based on the acceleration of the mobile terminal detected by the acceleration sensor;
A mobile terminal characterized in that, when the mobile terminal is located outdoors, it is configured to transmit an unlock signal for unlocking the door to a door lock control device that controls the lock of the door.

According to the present invention, the door can be automatically unlocked only when a wireless connection is established between the mobile device carried by the user and the door lock control device and the mobile device is determined to be outdoors. This prevents the door from being unlocked at a time unintended by the user, even if the user unlocks the door using a physical key, IC key, etc., without using the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile device and enters the building.

1 is a diagram illustrating a door lock control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 1 . 10 is a graph showing a typical change in acceleration of a mobile terminal when a user carrying the mobile terminal approaches a door of a building from outdoors, opens the door, and then enters the building. 2 is a flowchart of a door lock control method executed by the door lock control system shown in FIG. 1 .

Below, a door lock control system and a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a diagram that shows a schematic diagram of a door lock control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the mobile terminal shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a graph showing a typical change in acceleration of a mobile terminal when a user carrying the mobile terminal approaches a door of a building from outside, opens the door, and then enters the building.

The door lock control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a door 2 of a building 1, a lock 3 for the door 2, a door lock control device 4 for controlling the lock 3, and a mobile device 5 carried by a user. In the door lock control system 100, when the mobile device 5 carried by the user approaches the door lock control device 4 from outside at a certain distance, the mobile device 5 transmits an unlock signal to the door lock control device 4 to unlock the lock 3 on the door 2. This provides a hands-free unlocking function in which the door lock control device 4 automatically unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2 when a user carrying the mobile device 5 approaches the door 2 of the building 1 from outside at a certain distance. The user can use the hands-free unlocking function by first performing mutual authentication between their mobile device 5 and the door lock control device 4 and registering the mobile device 5.

Building 1 is any building, such as a house or office. Door 2 is the entrance to building 1 and separates the outdoors (the space outside building 1) from the indoors (the space inside building 1). Door 2 may be a hinged door as shown in FIG. 1, or a sliding door. Door 2 may also be a manual door that is opened and closed manually, or an automatic door that is opened and closed automatically by a door drive device (not shown). Lock 3 has the function of restricting the opening and closing of door 2. When lock 3 is on, door 2 cannot be opened, and door 2 can be opened only when lock 3 is off. Lock 3 is controlled on/off by door lock control device 4, and is not particularly limited as long as it can restrict the opening and closing of door 2. Typically, lock 3 can be a thumbturn lock or electronic lock that can lock door 2 by operating door lock control device 4.

The door lock control device 4 has the function of turning the lock 3 of the door 2 on and off. The door lock control device 4 is provided on the door 2. Typically, the door lock control device 4 is provided on the inside surface of the door 2 (the surface facing the interior of the building 1) and is provided on the building 1 so that it can be manually operated from inside the building 1, i.e., from the indoor side. A user inside the building 1 can unlock the lock 3 of the door 2 and exit the building 1 by performing an operation to unlock the lock 3 of the door 2 via a mobile terminal 5 or directly on the door lock control device 4.

The door lock control device 4 is configured to be able to communicate wirelessly with a mobile terminal 5 carried by the user. There are no particular limitations on the type of wireless communication between the door lock control device 4 and the mobile terminal 5, but preferably, the wireless communication between the door lock control device 4 and the mobile terminal 5 complies with the BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) standard. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the wireless communication between the door lock control device 4 and the mobile terminal 5 complies with the BLE standard.

As shown in FIG. 1, the door lock control device 4 includes a BLE communication unit 41 for performing wireless communication according to the BLE standard, and a lock control unit 42 for operating the lock 3 of the door 2 and controlling the on/off of the lock 3.

The BLE communication unit 41 is a unit used to perform wireless communication in accordance with the BLE standard. The BLE communication unit 41 is equipped with the components necessary for performing wireless communication in accordance with the BLE standard, such as an antenna, a transmission/reception circuit, and a modulation/demodulation circuit, and wirelessly transmits and receives BLE signals in accordance with the BLE standard. The BLE communication unit 41 is not particularly limited as long as it can wirelessly transmit and receive BLE signals in accordance with the BLE standard, and any BLE communication unit known in the telecommunications field can be used. The door lock control device 4 uses the BLE communication unit 41 to establish a wireless connection (pairing connection) with the mobile terminal 5, and further transmits BLE signals to the mobile terminal 5 at a predetermined frequency (e.g., at least once per second).

The lock control unit 42 has the function of operating the lock 3 of the door 2 and turning the lock 3 on and off in response to an unlock signal received from the mobile terminal 5 via the BLE communication unit 41 or manual operation by the user on the door lock control device 4. If the lock 3 is a thumb turn lock, the lock control unit 42 is configured to turn the lock 3 on and off by rotating the knob on the lock 3. If the lock 3 is an electronic lock, the lock control unit 42 is configured to turn the lock 3 on and off by sending a control signal to the lock 3.

The lock control unit 42 also unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2 when a user inside the building performs a predetermined operation on the door lock control device 4. This allows the user inside the building to unlock the lock 3 on the door 2 and exit the building 1. Furthermore, the lock control unit 42 may be configured to automatically turn on the lock 3 on the door 2 when a predetermined time has passed since the lock 3 on the door 2 was unlocked manually by the user or using the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile terminal 5. This configuration makes it possible to provide an auto-lock function.

The mobile terminal 5 is any information terminal capable of wireless communication with the door lock control device 4, such as a tablet computer, smartphone, or PDA, and portable by the user. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 5 includes one or more processors 51 for controlling the mobile terminal 5, an I/O (input/output) interface 52 for inputting and outputting data to and from the mobile terminal 5, a BLE communication unit 53 for performing wireless communication in accordance with the BLE standard, a GPS unit 54 for receiving signals from multiple GPS satellites to obtain the mobile terminal 5's location information and positioning error, an acceleration sensor 55 for detecting the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5, and one or more memories 56 for storing data 57 and modules 58 used to execute the processing of the mobile terminal 5.

The one or more processors 51 are computing units that perform computations such as signal manipulation based on computer-readable instructions, such as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), central processing units (CPUs), memory control units (MCUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), state machines, logic circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or combinations thereof. In particular, the processor 51 is configured to fetch computer-readable instructions (e.g., data, programs, modules, etc.) stored in the memory 56 and perform computations, signal manipulations, and control.

The I/O interface 52 includes various software and hardware interfaces, such as a web interface and a graphical user interface (GUI). For example, the I/O interface 52 is an interface for peripheral devices such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel display, external memory, printer, and display. The I/O interface 52 enables input to the mobile terminal 5 using input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel display, and output from the mobile terminal 5 to a display, printer, and external memory. The I/O interface 52 may also enable the mobile terminal 5 to communicate with any external device, such as an external web server or data server, via a network such as the Internet.

The BLE communication unit 53 is a unit used to perform wireless communication in accordance with the BLE standard, similar to the BLE communication unit 41 of the door lock control device 4. The mobile terminal 5 uses the BLE communication unit 53 to establish a wireless connection (pairing connection) with the door lock control device 4, and further receives BLE signals from the door lock control device 4 at the predetermined frequency described above.

The GPS unit 54 receives GPS signals from three or more GPS satellites in satellite orbit and performs three-dimensional positioning based on the GPS signals received from each GPS satellite, thereby obtaining the mobile device 5's position information (latitude and longitude) and positioning error. As is well known, the positioning error of the mobile device 5 depends on the number of GPS satellites from which the GPS unit 54 of the mobile device 5 can receive GPS signals; the greater the number of GPS satellites from which the GPS unit 54 of the mobile device 5 can receive GPS signals, the smaller the positioning error of the mobile device 5.

The acceleration sensor 55 can detect the acceleration of the portable terminal 5. The acceleration sensor 55 is typically a gyro sensor that can detect acceleration in three axial directions (x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis), and outputs a composite value of the acceleration in the three axial directions. The acceleration sensor 55 outputs the composite value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the portable terminal 5 at a predetermined frequency (e.g., at least once every 0.1 seconds).

Memory 56 is a computer-readable medium including a volatile storage medium (e.g., RAM, SRAM, DRAM), a non-volatile storage medium (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, hard disk, optical disk, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray disk, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk), or a combination thereof.

Memory 56 is communicatively connected to processor 51 and stores data 57 necessary for mobile terminal 5 to execute processing and multiple modules 58 executable by processor 51. Memory 56 also has a function of temporarily storing data received, processed, or generated by one or more of the multiple modules 58, as well as data necessary for executing processing by the multiple modules 58. Data 57 stored in memory 56 includes an indoor flag 571 indicating whether mobile terminal 5 is indoors or not, an outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 used to determine whether mobile terminal 5 held by the user is indoors (inside building 1) or outdoors (outside building 1) separated by door 2, and other data 573 necessary for executing processing on mobile terminal 5.

The indoor flag 571 is a flag that indicates whether the mobile terminal 5 is indoors. When the indoor flag 571 is set to "0", this indicates that the mobile terminal 5 is outdoors. On the other hand, when the indoor flag 571 is set to "1", this indicates that the mobile terminal 5 is indoors.

The outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 is used to determine whether the mobile device 5 carried by the user is located indoors (inside building 1) or outdoors (outside building 1) separated by door 2. More specifically, the outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 is used to determine whether the mobile device 5 is located outdoors or indoors based on the standard deviation within a specified period of the combined value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the mobile device 5 detected by the acceleration sensor 55. Below, a method for determining whether the mobile device 5 is located outdoors or indoors based on the standard deviation within a specified period of the combined value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the mobile device 5 will be described in detail.

When a user carrying mobile terminal 5 walks toward door 2, mobile terminal 5 vibrates due to the user's walking, and acceleration of mobile terminal 5 is detected by acceleration sensor 55. Fig. 3 is a graph showing a typical change in acceleration of mobile terminal 5 when a user carrying mobile terminal 5 approaches door 2 of building 1 from outside, opens door 2, and then enters building 1 (indoors). In the graph of Fig. 3, the horizontal axis is time (seconds), and the vertical axis is the composite value (m/ ^s2 ) of acceleration in the three axial directions of mobile terminal 5. It is assumed that at time 0 seconds in the graph of Fig. 3, the user opens door 2 to enter the building.

As is clear from the graph in Figure 3, the variation in the composite value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the mobile device 5 when the user is walking outdoors is greater than the variation in the composite value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the mobile device 5 when the user is walking indoors. Users walking outdoors wear outdoor shoes with relatively hard soles, so they kick the ground firmly as they walk, which makes the magnitude of the vibration of the mobile device 5 more likely to vary. On the other hand, users walking indoors are barefoot or wear indoor shoes with relatively soft soles, so they walk without kicking the ground firmly, which makes the magnitude of the vibration of the mobile device 5 less likely to vary. It is believed that the difference in the variation in the composite value of the acceleration in the three axial directions of the mobile device 5 between indoors and outdoors shown in Figure 3 is due to these reasons.

The outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 is a condition for determining whether the portable device 5 held by a user is outdoors or indoors by utilizing the difference in characteristics of the composite value of the acceleration in the three-axis directions of the portable device 5 when the user is walking outdoors and when the user is walking indoors. More specifically, the outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 is a threshold value for the standard deviation of the composite value of the acceleration in the three-axis directions of the portable device 5 over a predetermined period. The predetermined period is appropriately set depending on the user's walking speed. For example, since the average time it takes a typical adult to take one step is 0.4 seconds, the predetermined period is set to at least 10 steps, i.e., at least 4 seconds. Furthermore, the threshold value for the standard deviation of the composite value of the acceleration in the three-axis directions of the portable device 5 over a predetermined period is appropriately set depending on the user's body type, walking speed, etc. For example, the threshold value for the standard deviation of the composite value of the acceleration in the three-axis directions of the portable device 5 over a predetermined period is 0.9 m/ ^s² . Hereinafter, the standard deviation of the composite value of the acceleration in the three-axis directions of the portable device 5 over a predetermined period will be simply referred to as the "standard deviation of the acceleration of the portable device 5."

Note that the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572, i.e., the threshold value for the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5, may be a fixed value or a dynamically changing value. If the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572 changes dynamically, the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572 may be a value obtained by multiplying the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5, which is calculated for the first time after the mobile terminal 5 enters a specified area, by an arbitrary coefficient such as 0.5 or 0.3.

If the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the mobile terminal 5 can determine that the mobile terminal 5 is outdoors. When it is determined that the mobile terminal 5 is outdoors, the indoor flag 571 in its own memory 56 is set to "0". On the other hand, if the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5 is less than a predetermined threshold, the mobile terminal 5 can determine that the mobile terminal 5 is indoors. When it is determined that the mobile terminal 5 is indoors, the indoor flag 571 in its own memory 56 is set to "1".

Returning to FIG. 2, modules 58 stored in memory 56 are computer-readable instructions executable by processor 51, such as routines, applications, programs, algorithms, libraries, objects, components, data structures, or combinations thereof.

Module 58 includes a geofence module 581 for detecting whether the mobile terminal 5 enters or exits a predetermined area (geofence) centered on the door 2 (or door lock control device 4), an outdoor/indoor discrimination module 582 for determining whether the mobile terminal 5 carried by the user is located outdoors or indoors separated by the door 2, and any number of other modules 583 for supplementing the functions provided by the mobile terminal 5.

The geofence module 581 is used to detect whether the mobile device 5 has entered or exited a predetermined area (geofence) centered on the door 2 (or door lock control device 4) based on the location information of the mobile device 5 acquired by the GPS unit 54. The predetermined area is appropriately set to cover the building 1 by an external signal or operation via the I/O interface 52. In one example, the predetermined area is a range with a diameter of 100 m centered on the door 2 (or door lock control device 4).

When the geofence module 581 determines that the mobile terminal 5 has entered a predetermined area, it transmits the determination result to the processor 51, which then activates the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile terminal 5. When the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile terminal 5 is activated, the processor 51 begins processing to establish a wireless connection (pairing connection) with the door lock control device 4 using the BLE communication unit 53. On the other hand, when the geofence module 581 determines that the mobile terminal 5 has left the predetermined area, it deactivates the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile terminal 5 and further sets the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56 to "0."

The outdoor/indoor determination module 582 is used to determine whether the mobile device 5 carried by the user is located outdoors or indoors, separated by a door 2. When the geofence module 581 activates the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile device 5, the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 begins acquiring a composite value of the acceleration of the mobile device 5 in the three axial directions from the acceleration sensor 55, and calculates the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile device 5. Next, the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 determines whether the mobile device 5 is located outdoors or indoors, based on the outdoor/indoor determination condition 572 stored in memory 56 and the calculated standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile device 5.

More specifically, if the calculated standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (outdoor/indoor determination condition 572), the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 determines that the mobile terminal 5 is outdoors and sets the indoor flag 571 stored in memory 56 to "0." On the other hand, if the calculated standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5 is less than the predetermined threshold (outdoor/indoor determination condition 572), the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 determines that the mobile terminal 5 is indoors and sets the indoor flag 571 stored in memory 56 to "1."

If the indoor flag 571 is set to "0", the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 outputs that the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors. On the other hand, if the indoor flag 571 is set to "1", the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 outputs that the mobile terminal 5 is located indoors. The determination result by the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 is output to the processor 51. When a wireless connection is established between the mobile terminal 5 and the door lock control device 4 and the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 determines that the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors, the processor 51 uses the BLE communication unit 53 to send an unlock signal to the door lock control device 4 to unlock the lock 3 on the door 2. Upon receiving the unlock signal from the mobile terminal 5, the door lock control device 4 unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2.

Next, the door lock control method executed by the door lock control system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a flowchart of the door lock control method S100 executed by the door lock control system shown in Figure 1.

In step S110, the processor 51 of the portable terminal 5 uses the geofence module 581 to determine whether the portable terminal 5 has entered a predetermined area centered on the door 2 (or the door lock control device 4) based on the location information of the portable terminal 5 acquired by the GPS unit 54. If it is determined in step S110 that the portable terminal 5 has entered the predetermined area, the processor 51 activates the hands-free unlocking function of the portable terminal 5, and the process proceeds to steps S120 and S130. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S110 that the portable terminal 5 has not entered the predetermined area, the process of step S110 is repeated. Note that when the hands-free unlocking function of the portable terminal 5 is activated in step S110, the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56 of the portable terminal 5 is set to "0," and the lock 3 of the door 2 is turned on.

In step S120, the processor 51 establishes a wireless connection (pairing connection) with the door lock control device 4 using the BLE communication unit 53. The wireless connection between the mobile terminal 5 and the door lock control device 4 is established when the mobile terminal 5 approaches the door lock control device 4 by a certain distance (e.g., 3 to 5 m). Once the wireless connection between the mobile terminal 5 and the door lock control device 4 is established, the mobile terminal 5 receives BLE signals from the door lock control device 4 at a predetermined frequency.

In step S130, the processor 51 uses the outdoor/indoor discrimination module 582 to determine whether the user carrying the portable terminal 5 has opened the door 2 and entered the indoors, based on the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572 stored in the memory 56 and the acceleration of the portable terminal 5. In step S130, the outdoor/indoor discrimination module 582 calculates the standard deviation within a predetermined period of the composite value of the acceleration of the portable terminal 5 in the three axial directions obtained from the acceleration sensor 55 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "standard deviation of the acceleration of the portable terminal 5"). Thereafter, if the calculated standard deviation of the acceleration of the portable terminal 5 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572), the outdoor/indoor discrimination module 582 sets the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56 to "0." On the other hand, if the calculated standard deviation of the acceleration of the portable terminal 5 is less than the predetermined threshold value (the outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 572), the outdoor/indoor discrimination module 582 sets the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56 to "1."

Furthermore, in step S130, the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 references the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56. If the indoor flag 571 is set to "0," the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 outputs to the processor 51 that the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors. On the other hand, if the indoor flag 571 is set to "1," the outdoor/indoor determination module 582 outputs to the processor 51 that the mobile terminal 5 is located indoors.

When wireless communication (pairing connection) with the door lock control device 4 is established in step S120 and it is further determined in step S130 whether the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors or indoors, the process proceeds to step S140. If it is determined in step S130 that the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors, the process proceeds to step S150. In step S150, the processor 51 uses the BLE communication unit 53 to send an unlock signal to the door lock control device 4 to unlock the lock 3 on the door 2. Upon receiving the unlock signal from the mobile terminal 5, the door lock control device 4 unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2. The door lock control method S100 then ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S130 that the mobile terminal 5 is located indoors, the door lock control method S100 ends.

In this way, by using the door lock control system 100 of the present invention, the lock 3 on the door 2 can be automatically unlocked only when wireless communication is established between the mobile device 5 carried by the user and the door lock control device 4 and it is determined that the mobile device 5 is outdoors. In particular, in the door lock control system 100 of the present invention, the processor 51 of the mobile device 5 can determine, using the outdoor/indoor determination module 582, that the user has opened the door 2 and entered the building. Therefore, even if the user unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2 using their own physical key, IC key, or the like, without using the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile device 5, and enters the building, the indoor flag 571 stored in the memory 56 of the mobile device 5 can be appropriately set. This prevents the lock 3 on the door 2 from being unlocked unintentionally when the user carrying the mobile device 5 approaches the door 2 indoors. Therefore, even if a user unlocks the lock 3 on the door 2 using their own physical key, IC key, or the like, without using the hands-free unlocking function of the mobile device 5, and enters the building, there is no need to request the user to deactivate the hands-free unlocking function. This improves the usability of the hands-free unlocking function.

The door lock control system 100 and mobile terminal 5 of the present invention have been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this. The configuration of each component of the present invention can be replaced with any component that can perform the same function, or any component can be added to the configuration of the present invention. Furthermore, each component of the door lock control system 100 and mobile terminal 5 may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of these.

In addition, in the present invention, whether the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors or indoors is determined based on the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5. However, whether the mobile terminal 5 is located outdoors or indoors may be determined comprehensively by combining the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal 5 with any other information that the mobile terminal 5 can acquire. The comprehensive determination may be performed by majority vote based on the information used, or based on a score obtained by weighting and adding the confidence (reliability) of each determination.

Those skilled in the art and field to which the present invention pertains will be able to modify the configuration of the described door lock control system and mobile terminal of the present invention without significantly departing from the principles, concepts, and scope of the present invention, and door lock control systems and mobile terminals having modified configurations are also within the scope of the present invention.

1...Building 2...Door 3...Lock 4...Door lock control device 41...BLE communication unit 42...Lock control unit 5...Mobile terminal 51...Processor 52...I/O interface 53...BLE communication unit 54...GPS unit 55...Acceleration sensor 56...Memory 57...Data 571...Indoor flag 572...Outdoor/indoor discrimination condition 573...Other data 58...Module 581...Geofence module 582...Outdoor/indoor discrimination module 583...Other modules 100...Door lock control system S100...Door lock control method S110, S120, S130, S140, S150...Processes

Claims (6)

a door lock control device for controlling the locking of the door;
a mobile terminal carried by a user and capable of wirelessly communicating with the door lock control device;
the mobile terminal is equipped with an acceleration sensor capable of detecting acceleration of the mobile terminal;
The mobile terminal
determining whether the mobile terminal is located outdoors or indoors separated by the door based on the acceleration of the mobile terminal detected by the acceleration sensor;
A door lock control system, characterized in that, when the mobile terminal is outdoors, the system is configured to transmit an unlock signal to the door lock control device to unlock the door. The door lock control system of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to determine that the mobile terminal is outdoors when the standard deviation of the acceleration of the mobile terminal detected by the acceleration sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. the mobile terminal includes a GPS unit capable of acquiring location information of the mobile terminal;
The door lock control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile terminal is configured to determine whether the mobile terminal has entered a predetermined area centered on the door lock control device based on the location information of the mobile terminal, and when it is determined that the mobile terminal has entered the predetermined area, to determine whether the mobile terminal is located outdoors or indoors separated by the door. A door lock control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the door lock control device is configured to transmit a signal to the mobile terminal at a predetermined frequency. A door lock control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless communication between the door lock control device and the mobile terminal complies with the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) standard. It is equipped with an acceleration sensor that can detect the acceleration of the mobile device.
determining whether the mobile terminal is located outdoors or indoors separated by a door based on the acceleration of the mobile terminal detected by the acceleration sensor;
A mobile terminal characterized in that, when the mobile terminal is located outdoors, it is configured to transmit an unlock signal for unlocking the door to a door lock control device that controls the lock of the door.