US-12626556-B2 - Electronic locking method and system for providing automaticnotification ensuring security of a storage space

US12626556B2US 12626556 B2US12626556 B2US 12626556B2US-12626556-B2

Abstract

A method of providing automatic real-time notifications to at least one user by an electronic locking system includes detecting whether the user is leaving a storage space secured by the electronic lock. The method further includes determining whether a latch of the electronic lock is open upon detecting the user is leaving the storage space. The method includes monitoring a change in location of a device of the user with respect to the electronic lock and displaying a first alert notification on the device if the location of the device is at a threshold level of a communication range and the latch status is open. Subsequently, the method includes determining whether the location of the device is outside of a geofence range in presence or absence of any user response to the first alert notification and displaying a second alert notification if the latch status is still open.

Inventors

Adam Kuenzi
Douglas Despain
Ramesh Lingala
Baby Shalini Bandari

Assignees

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231224

Claims (20)

1 . A method for providing an automatic real-time notification to at least one user by an electronic locking system, comprising: detecting whether the at least one user, based on a sensor data of a sensing unit associated with a device of the at least one user, is leaving a storage space secured by an electronic lock of the electronic locking system; determining, upon detecting that the at least one user is leaving the storage space, whether a latch of the electronic lock is showing an open status; monitoring a change in a location of the device with respect to the electronic lock upon determining the latch of the electronic lock is in the open status; displaying, when the location of the device is at a threshold level of a communication range of the electronic lock, a first alert notification on an application of the device indicating a last known status of the latch; detecting whether any user response is received in response to the displayed first alert notification; determining whether the location of the device is outside of a geofence range around the electronic lock in one of a presence or an absence of any user response corresponding to the first alert notification; and displaying, when it is determined that the location of the device is outside of the geofence range, a second alert notification on the application of the device indicating the latch of the electronic lock is in the open status.
2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the storage space corresponds to one of a storehouse, a warehouse, a house, or a repository.
3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock is installed on a door frame to lock the storage space, in which the latch is configured to protrude into the door frame.
4 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the communication range corresponds to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) range or an Ultra-Wide-band (UWB) range, and wherein the geofence range corresponds to a GPS-enabled communication range.
5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the monitoring of the change of location of the device with respect to the electronic lock is based on a BLE or an Ultra-wideband Received Signal Strength Indication (UWB RSSI) threshold.
6 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a status of the latch is periodically monitored or determined by scanning the electronic lock for the Bluetooth or UWB advertisement indicating the latch status.
7 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: storing, as a first event, the displayed first alert notification in a cloud server when the user response is received in response to the sent first alert notification.
8 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: storing the displayed second alert notification in the cloud server as a second event.
9 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the latch status is closed by a periodic scanning of the electronic lock for the Bluetooth or UWB advertisement indicating the latch status.
10 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: determining that the latch status is closed based on a reception of a message from the cloud server indicating the latch is now closed.
11 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: disabling the monitoring of the change of location of the device when the status of the latch is closed.
12 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: disabling the monitoring of the change of location of the device when a user response indicating an intention to keep the latch open is received in response to the displayed second alert notification.
13 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electronic lock includes a locking status indicator having two colors, wherein a first color of the locking status indicator indicates that the latch is open, and wherein a second color of the locking status indicator indicates that the latch is closed.
14 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising: periodically sending, via a gateway connection, a message from the electronic locking system to the cloud server in any one of the cases including when it is determined that the latch status is now open, the latch status is still open after a time period has passed since the last status indicating the latch was open, or the latus is now closed.
15 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the displayed second alert notification includes an indication that the latch is still open and a plurality of options corresponding to the selection of whether to continue monitoring the latch status, ignore and tell me again later, or intended to keep the latch open.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the response to the plurality of options corresponding to the second alert notification is recorded in the cloud server for a reporting purpose.
17 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the gateway connection corresponds to a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN).
18 . An electronic locking system for providing an automatic real-time notification to at least one user, comprising: a sensing unit: an electronic lock including a latch; and at least one processor configured to: detect whether the at least one user, based on a sensor data of the sensing unit associated with a device of the at least one user, is leaving a storage space secured by the electronic lock of the electronic locking system; determine, upon detecting that the at least one user is leaving the storage space, whether the latch of the electronic lock is showing an open status; monitor a change in a location of the device with respect to the electronic lock upon determining the latch of the electronic lock is in the open status; control a display screen to display, when the location of the device is at a threshold level of a communication range of the electronic lock, a first alert notification on an application of the device indicating a last known status of the latch; detect whether any user response is received in response to the displayed first alert notification; determine whether the location of the device is outside of a geofence range around the latch in one of a presence or an absence of any user response corresponding to the first alert notification, and control the display screen to display, when it is determined that the location of the device is outside of the geofence range, a second alert notification on the application of the device indicating the latch of the electronic lock in the open status.
19 . The system as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the electronic lock is installed on a door frame to lock the storage space, in which the latch is configured to protrude into the door frame.
20 . The system as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the communication range corresponds to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) range or an Ultra-Wide-band (UWB) range, wherein the geofence range corresponds to a GPS-enabled communication range, and wherein the monitoring of the change of location of the device with respect to the electronic lock is based on a BLE or an Ultra-wideband Received Signal Strength Indication (UWB RSSI) threshold.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION The application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/478,848 filed Jan. 6, 2023, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The disclosure relates to the field of electronic lock systems. In particular, the disclosure relates to an electronic locking method and system for providing an automatic real-time notification to at least one user using one or more communication mediums. BACKGROUND In electronic lock systems where an electronic lock is securing a storage space, once a tenant accesses the electronic lock, it is desirable to ensure that the tenant leaves the space secured with a door closed and the latch bolt of the electronic lock physically re-locked. The electronic lock may not be physically locked unless and until the tenant moves the latch trigger from left to right to engage the latch bolt with the door frame. The challenge is sometimes when the tenant may forget to move the latch trigger from left to right. Also, the tenant may leave the storage area (for e.g., 5 miles away, etc.), and thereafter the tenant may realize that the electronic lock is not physically locked. It may cause a security risk to the storage space. SUMMARY This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified format that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention, nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention. Disclosed is a method for providing an automatic real-time notification to at least one user by an electronic locking system. The method includes detecting whether the at least one user is leaving a storage space secured by an electronic lock of the electronic locking system. A sensor data of a sensing unit associated with a device of the at least one user is configured to detect the at least one user leaving the storage space. The device may be at least one of a mobile device, smart phone, laptop, smart watch, tablets etc. The device is associated with the at least one user of the electronic locking system. Upon detecting that the at least one user is leaving the storage space, the method includes determining whether a latch of the electronic lock is showing an open status. The method further includes monitoring a change in a location of the device with respect to the electronic lock upon determining the latch of the electronic lock is showing the open status. Subsequently, the method includes displaying a first alert notification on an application of the device, when the location of the device is at a threshold level of a communication range of the electronic lock. Thereafter, the method includes detecting whether any user response is received in response to the displayed first alert notification. In one or presence or an absence of any response corresponding to the first alert notification, the method includes determining whether the location of the device is outside of a geofence range around the electronic lock. Further, when it is determined that the location of the device is outside of the geofence range, the method includes displaying a second alert notification on the application of the device indicating the latch of the electronic lock in the open status. In one or more embodiments, the storage space corresponds to one of a storehouse, a warehouse, a house, or a repository. In one or more embodiments, the electronic lock is installed on a door frame to lock the storage space, in which the latch is configured to protrude into the door frame. In one or more embodiments, the communication range corresponds to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) range or an Ultra-Wide-band (UWB) range. Further, the geofence range corresponds to a GPS-enabled communication range. In one or more embodiments, the monitoring of the change of location of the device with respect to the electronic lock is based on a BLE or an Ultra-wideband Received Signal Strength Indication (UWB RSSI) threshold. In one or more embodiments, a status of the latch is periodically monitored or determined by scanning the electronic lock for the Bluetooth or UWB advertisement indicating the latch status In one or more embodiments, the method may further include storing, as a first event, the displayed first alert notification in a cloud server when the user response is received in response to the sent first alert notification. In one or more embodiments, the method may further include storing the displayed second alert notification in the cloud server as a second event. In one or more embodiments, the method may further include determining that the latch status is closed by a periodic scanning of the electronic lock for the Bluetooth or UWB advertisement indicating the latch status. In one or more embodiments, the method may further include disabling the monitoring of the change of location of the devic