U.S. patent number 3,781,845 [Application Number 05/267,292] was granted by the patent office on 1973-12-25 for centralized security system employing a magnetic checking device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Joseph M. Ellul.
United States Patent |
3,781,845 |
Ellul |
December 25, 1973 |
CENTRALIZED SECURITY SYSTEM EMPLOYING A MAGNETIC CHECKING
DEVICE
Abstract
A replacement for the watchman's clock and key system employed
by security guards to verify that security tours are properly made.
In this new system, the guard carries a card with magnetizable rods
in it instead of the watchman's clock. He then proceeds to a number
of checking stations along the route of his security tour where,
instead of the key which is inserted into the watchman's clock,
there are a number of boxes into which the magnetizable card is
inserted. These boxes contain magnets which may or may not effect
the magnetization of the bars in the card. When the tour is
completed the guard inserts the card into a reporting station where
the magnetic card is checked. If the security tour has been made
properly the right rods will be magnetized in a particular manner
by the magnets in the boxes and the checking station will send a
signal to a central recording station to indicate completion of a
properly executed tour. If the tour was not properly made and the
proper bars magnetized, no such signal is sent to the recording
station and the guard is told so. The guard must then report into
the central location or repeat the round.
Inventors: |
Ellul; Joseph M. (Poughkeepsie,
NY) |
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation (Armonk, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
23018174 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/267,292 |
Filed: |
June 29, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/306; 346/52;
340/5.66 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07C
1/20 (20130101); G07C 9/27 (20200101) |
Current International
Class: |
G07C
9/00 (20060101); G07C 1/00 (20060101); G07C
1/20 (20060101); G08b 025/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;340/149R,306 ;346/52
;235/61.12N,61.12M |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Yusko; Donald J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a system for verifying the completion of security tours by a
guard having a number of checking stations along the route of the
tour and a reporting station which the guard reports to upon
completion of the tour, the improvement comprising:
a card to be carried by the guard capable of having a message
magnetically imprinted on it and changed, and having a first
message imprinted on it at the start of the tour;
first magnetic means at at least a plurality of said checking
stations into which the guard places the card, each said magnetic
means for changing a different portion of the magnetic message on
the card so that at the completion of a proper round a second
magnetic message is stored in the card irrespective of the order in
which the guard visits the checking stations;
circuit means at the reporting station for checking the card for
the second magnetic message to determine if the tour had been
properly completed, and giving an indication thereof to the guard;
and
second magnetic means for changing the message in the card back to
the first message so that the card may be used on another tour.
2. The system of claim 1 including recording means for recording
the properly completed tours.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein said card is a non-magnetic
material having magnetizable members embedded therein.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein said first magnetic means are each
a magnet polarized and positioned to change the polarity of one of
the magnetic members.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein said circuit means includes means
to detect the magnetic polarity of each of the members and compare
it to the polarity of that member when the card stores the second
magnetic message.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein said magnetic means are magnets to
return the polarity of the members to the polarity of that member
when the card stores the second magnetic message.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the members are all polarized in
one direction to store the first magnetic message and in a specific
combination of different directions to store the second magnetic
message.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the polarization and position of
the first magnetic means and the circuit means are both chargeable
to vary the second message.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system for checking on security guards
to see that they perform their inspection tours properly.
Up until now, secuitry guards have carried a watchman's clock which
is a spring wound mechanism loaded with paper tape that is advanced
at minute intervals. As the guard proceeds along the route of his
inspection tour he stops at specified and marked locations in the
building, picks a numbered key and inserts it into the clock. When
he has inserted the key the tape inside the clock is imprinted with
the key number and the time of insertion. The guard usually makes a
number of such trips, say at hour intervals, and after completion
of his shift the tape is removed and inspected to insure he has
properly performed his duties. In a large manufacturing plant there
may be 10 or more security officers making the rounds during an
eight hour period. Assuming the guards are on duty for 16 hours
during the week and 24 hours on weekends, this means that up to 20
clocks on week days and 30 clocks on weekends have to be loaded and
unloaded with the tape each day and scores of feet of tape have to
be inspected at the end of the day to insure that the guards have
been performing their duties. Loading and unloading of the clock,
of course, is expensive and time consuming meaning that the
watchmen's rounds will not be checked until after his shift is
completed so that he may go a whole shift without properly checking
his security area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was designed to eliminate these problems with
the conventional watchman clock technique. In place of the clock,
the guard carries a card with magnetizable rods in it. He then
proceeds to a number of checking stations along the route of his
security check where, in place of a key which is inserted into the
clock, there are a number of boxes into which the magnetizable card
is inserted. These boxes contain magnets which may or may not
effect the magnetization of the bars in the card. When the round is
completed the guard inserts the card into a reporting station where
the magnetic card is checked. If the security check has been made
properly the right rods will be magnetized in a particular manner
by the magnets in the boxes and the checking station will send a
signal to a central recording station to indicate completion of a
proper security check. If the security check was not properly made
and the proper bars magnetized, no such signal is sent to the
recording station and the guard is told so. The guard must then
report into the central location or repeat the round.
It can be seen that with the present invention there are no clocks
to wind, load and unload, and instead of many feet of tape from
each clock, there is only one record made at the central location.
Furthermore, this record can be immediately checked at the central
location by the officer in charge so that he can see how the
secruity checks are proceeding, giving him up to the minute
knowledge at all times. Furthermore, these simple magnetic devices
are reliable and fail-safe, eliminating arguments between touring
officers and their supervisor over whether they had been properly
performing their rounds.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
new checking system for security guard tours.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a replacement
for the usual watchman's clock that is more timely in that it
provides up to the minute information on the progress of the tours
being conducted by the security officer.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a scheme for checking
on security officer tours that is inexpensive, more accurate and
reliable than the commonly employed watchman's clock
techniques.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention
will be apparent from the following more particular description of
the preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is a clock diagram of one security system in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a magnetic card used in the system shown
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the same magnetic card as is shown in FIG.
2;
FIG. 4 is a side view of a route checking station with the door to
the station open with the card shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 inserted into
the station;
FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a section taken through the side of guard reporting
station with the card shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 inserted in it;
and
FIG. 7 is an electrical schematic of the circuitry in the guard
reporting station.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a central station 10 is connected to a
plurality of guard reporting stations 12 by electrical lines. Each
reporting station 12 covers a touring route for one guard. Along
the touring route there are a number of route checking stations 16
which the guard must cover on his tour. The guard, as he makes his
rounds, stops at each of the check stations 16 and inserts a card
20 into a slot 22 at the checking station. At certain of the
stations the magnetic card 20 has data magnetically imprinted in
it. After the completion of his tour, the guard proceeds to the
reporting station 12 where the code imprinted on the card 20 is
checked against the preselected code stored at the checking
station. If the guard has made his rounds properly the code in the
card 20 will match that stored at the reporting station 12 and a
signal will be sent from the reporting station 12 to the central
station 10. Upon receipt of the signal, the central station 10
records, on a paper tape 24, which reporting station 12 reported
in, and the time and the date of the report. If the guard has not
properly made his rounds so that the code stored magnetically on
the card 20 does not match that stored at the reporting station 12,
no check signal is transmitted to the central station 10 and the
guard is given an indication that his rounds were not properly
made. If this occurs he must report to his supervisor by phone or
in a written report at the end of the day. The supervisor can,
therefore, sit in the central station 10 and check the tape 24 to
see if all stations 12 are reporting properly. When there seems to
be a problem in any station he can immediately determine it and go
down to the route covered by the station 12 and see what the
problem is.
The card 20 carried by each security officer is shown in FIGS. 2
and 3. The card 20 is made out of plastic with five hard carbon
steel rods 26 embedded in it. As shall be seen hereafter, certain
of these rods 26 receive a magnetic signal at the different check
stations 16. When the guard starts his rounds all the rods 26 are
magnetized with the north pole facing up and as he proceeds through
his tour certain of the rods, two or three of them, will be
magnetized so their south pole will be facing up. The plastic case
is rectangular except for two keying ridges 28 on one of the
surfaces thereof. These keying ridges 28 assure that the magnetic
card can only be inserted into the various stations 16 and 12 in
one direction. The card also has embedded in it a plurality of
electrical contacts 30. These contacts 30 are connected to magnetic
reed switches 32. The purpose of these switches will be described
later in connection with the reporting station 12.
The route checking stations 16 are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As can
be seen, the stations 16 each comprise an enclosure with an
aluminum box 36 which forms the top and four sides of the
enclosure. The bottom of the enclosure is formed by the base of a
plastic housing 44 with a slot in it. The guard takes the card 20
and places it in the slot which serves as the entrance to a cavity
38 with grooves 40 which accept the ridges 28 of the card 20 if the
card is inserted into the slot with the proper orientation. One
wall 42 of the aluminum box 36 forms a door with hinges 46 at the
bottom. The wall is always kept locked to prevent tampering with
the contents of the box. However, the security officer in charge
can open the box. When the box is open it reveals a magnet 50
positioned on either side of the housing 44. The magnets 50 are
each positioned in one of two cavities 46 formed in the sidewalls
and top surface of the base of the housing. These cavities form
detent positions for the magnets 50 which places the magnets so
that they are operably aligned with one of the rods 26 in the card
20 when the card 20 is in the cavity 38.
The magnet 50 is either inserted with its south pole facing the
cavity 38 or its north pole facing the cavity 38. If it is inserted
with its south pole facing the cavity it will change the direction
of magnetization of the rod 26 in the card 20 aligned with the
particular detent position. However, it will not effect the
direction of magnetization of any of the other rods 26 in the card
20. If the north pole of the magnet is facing the cavity 38 it will
not reverse the direction of the field of the rod 26 adjacent it
nor will it effect the direction of magnetizazation of any of the
other rods in the card.
Each of the stations 16 contain one or two magnets 50. In most of
the stations the magnets 50 have their north poles facing up so
that they have no effect on the direction of magnetization of the
rods 26 in the card 20. However, in at least two or three of the
stations on any route there will be a magnet 50 with its north pole
facing the cavity 38 so that at least two or three of the rods 26
have their direction of magnetization reversed by the time the
guard completes his tour. Thus, when the guard properly completes
his tour the card 20 has been magnetically coded in accordance with
some preselected scheme of a combination of rods magnetized north
and south. For security reasons, the orientation of the magnets can
be changed so that the guard will not become familiar with the
checking stations 16 that effect the magnetization of the rods and
visit only those stations or be familiar with which rods have their
magnetization reversed and change magnetization of the rods with a
magnet.
When the security guard completes his rounds he proceeds to a
reporting station 12 (see FIG. 6) where he inserts the magnetic
card 20 into a slot 56 on one side of the box. This slot 56 has
rills in it as do the slots in the checking station 16 so that the
card 20 can only be accepted in the box in one orientation. In this
slot, the rods 26 in the card 20 each overlay one of the five reed
switches 58. These reed swtiches are magnetically biased with the
north pole of a magnet 62 so that the armature 60 of the switch is
attracted to, what is referred to as, the normally closed terminal
NC. If the polarity of the rod 20 above the switch was not changed
in the process of the tour it will also present a north pole to its
terminal, reinforcing the field of the permanent magnet 62
associated with the switch for biasing purposes. However, if the
polarity of the rod 20 has been reversed during the process of the
tour it will oppose the field and cause the armature of reed switch
60 to change its position from against the normally closed contact
NC to against the normally open contact NO making an electrical
connection to that contact.
The five reed switches 58 are illustrated in the electrical
schematic of FIG. 7. Each of these reed switches has associated
with it a double pole, double throw switch 66 which is also
contained in the box of the checking station. These switches are
oriented in one of two positions. In the case of 66a, the armature
of the switch 68 is positioned upward so that, with the reed switch
58 normally closed, an electrical circuit will be complete through
the double pole, double throw switch 66a and the reed switch 58a.
If the reed switch was in the normally open position no such
complete circuit would be through the reed switch, double throw,
double pole combination and an open would exist. Thus, at the end
of the tour rod 26a must be poled in the same direction as it was
prior to the tour in order to obtain a complete circuit through
switches 58a and 66a.
In case of switch 66b, it has its armature 70 positioned in the
downward direction and in order for a complete circuit to be
obtained through the combination of switch 66b and reed switch 58b,
the reed switch must be placed in its normally open configuration.
This means that rod 26b positioned above the reed switch 58b must
have had its direction of magnetization reversed during the tour.
If not, the circuit through the combination of switches 66b and 58b
will not be complete. When all the switches 66 and 58 are connected
in series and simultaneously wired a complete circuit through them
will depend on the combination of the double pole, double throw
switches 66 and the magnetic orientation of rod 26 positioned above
the reed switch 58. Therefore, in order to obtain a complete
circuit between terminals 72 and 74 in the illustrated case, the
polarities of rods 26a and 26d must have been unchanged during the
tour while the polarities of rods 26b, 26c and 26e must have been
reversed during the tour. If this particular combination of
reversed polarities of rods is not in existence, there will not be
a complete circuit between terminals 72 and 74.
Therefore, it can be seen that the completion of the circuits
between 72 and 74 depends on the combination of set switches 66 and
magnetized rods 26. The combination is selected by the head of the
security department and can be changed periodically so that the
officers do not become familar with any particular combination. The
head of secuirty will select a particular combination of switches
and then orient a magnet with its south pole facing the cavity 38
in certain of the tour checking stations 16 to reverse the polarity
of the rods 26b, 26c and 26e associated with the particular
switches 66b, 66c and 66e.
When the card 20 is inserted into the slot 56 each of the flat
electrical contacts 30 is in electrical contact with a plunger type
switch 76 on the back of the slot. Electrical connection is then
made between the relay 82 and the power source 78 through the
plunger type switches 76, the card contacts 30 and the magnetic
reed switch 32c in the card. The electrical connection goes from
the positive terminal of the supply 78 through the plunger contact
76d and card contact 30d, to the armature of the switch 32c, the
normally closed contact of that switch, from there through card
contact 30f and plunger contact 76f and to terminal 72. Thus, if
the tour has been properly made there is a complete circuit between
the source 78 and the control terminals of the timing relay 82 and
energizing the main coil 86 of the relay 82 so that the armatures
88 and 90 of the relay move to a position in electrical contact
with the normally open contacts 92 and 94 of the relay.
The timing relay 82 is a delay on release relay which, when power
is removed from its control terminals, remains energized for a
preselected period, in this case 10 seconds, and then deenergizes.
This type of relay is well known in the art. An example of one is
Potter and Brumfield Timing Relay No. CCD-38-20023 which is
described in the 1971 Potter and Brumfield catalog.
Therefore, so long as the card 20 remains in slot 56 relay 82 will
remain energized. Now, the guard removes the card from slot 56 and
inserts it into slot 100. The removal of the card from slot 56
takes power off the control input of the relay 82 starting the
delay period to deenergizing of the relay 82 and the breaking of
the contacts between the armatures 88 and 90 and the normally open
contacts 92 and 94. If the guard does not insert the card 20 into
the slot 100 within those ten seconds he will not be able to
transmit a signal to the central location or register a count on
the counter 96 because the circuits for sending the signals to the
central location 10 or to the counter 96 pass through the armatures
88 and 90 and normally open contacts 92 and 94. The guard, of
course, is aware of his failure to send a signal because the face
of the counter 96 is in view from the outside of the box. The
absence of the counter 96 stepping a count means that something is
wrong and the guard must report to his superior either by written
report or telephone call to the central station 10.
However, let us assume that the guard did place the card within the
slot 100 in the mandatory 10 seconds. Then, a number of actions
occur.
The first action to occur is that all the rods 26 are all returned
to their initial state so that the card 20 can be employed in the
next tour. This is accomplished by magnets 102, the north pole
facing upwardly so as to cause all the rods 26 to assume a north
polarity.
Two other events occur. One is that the reed switches 32 are
energized by the magnets 102 causing their armatures to switch to
their normally open contacts. The second is that the flat contacts
on the end of the card make electrical connection to plunger
contacts 104 at the back of the slot 100. As a result of these
other two events, the circuitry 98 within the reporting station is
energized to perform a number of functions. One of these functions
is to make counter 96 add a count because it is connected to the 12
volt source 78 through the armature 90 and normally open contact 94
through the plunger to the card 20 and in the card through the
energized reed switch 32b to the counter. As pointed out above, the
counter 96 adds a count of completed tours so that the guard knows
he has properly completed his tour. A second function performed by
inserting the card 20 into the slot is that an electrical
connection is made across the terminals 106 and 108 through
armature 88 and normally closed contact 92 and 94, the plunger
strip 104 and contacts 30 and through energized reed switch 32c.
The closing of these terminals causes the printing mechanism at the
main station to record the completion of the proper round and who
completed the round.
The second relay 110 at the reporting station is to prevent
tampering with the system. If, for some reason, the magnetic reed
switches 32 are not energized when the card 20 is inserted into
slot 100 electrical continuity exists between source 78 and the
control terminals of the relay 110 through the armature and
normally closed contacts of reed switch 32a, energizing the relay
110 and thereby cutting power to the supply terminals of relay 82
deenergizing relay 82 and, therefore, opening up the circuits to
the counter and between terminals 106 and 108 so that signals
cannot be transmitted to the central station. Therefore, when the
card is removed from the slot 100 the circuitry in the reporting
station is ready to recount the magnetic card when the next tour is
made.
Therefore, while the invention has been shown and described with
respect to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood
by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail
may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention.
* * * * *