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Access Control
Say goodbye to the conventional key! With burglaries happening every few
seconds, controlling who has access to your home or office is a key factor in
the prevention of theft of merchandise and information. Apart from keeping
unwanted people out, access control systems are a great way for monitoring the
time habits of your personnel. With properly selected and installed Access
Control Systems, you have the ability to "close off" restricted areas
from all individuals who do not have the necessary security clearance. We have
the knowhow to install any system from standalone swipe card systems to
keypads, from controllers to fingerprint readers, from magnetic stripe card
readers to PIR request to exit and software controlled proximity readers run on
a PC, you can completely control the access to all parts of your building or
home, with the ability to add, delete, and replace cards whenever the need
arises.
The Six Basic
Components of an Access-Controlled Door
READERS
The Reader is located outside the protected or secured area, usually on
the handle side of a door, but, depending on your application, can be installed
on poles, mullions and other locations. The reader is the method of
identification, either by an 'Access Card' and/or a PIN code. Access readers
come in two basic concepts: Proximity and Magnetic-Stripe, and both can include
a keypad for entering a PIN.
Proximity card readers produce a magnetic field that surrounds the
device. When a proximity card is passed through this field, a coil in the card
"energizes" a transmitter that modulates the magnetic field. The
card's identification is interpreted by the reader. No physical interaction is
required between the card and the reader.
Magnetic Stripe readers are similar to your bank or credit cards. A
stripe of magnetic material is impregnated on the card and is encoded with the
identification data. The reader "reads" this data as you swipe the
card through the slot on the reader.
LOCKING DEVICES
The locking device is, of course, very important to Access Control.
These devices need to be as or more secure than a typical door lock. Locking
devices also have to meet Fire and Safety codes. The most common locking
devices are the Electric Strike and the electromagnetic lock.
Electromagnetic Lock
Electromagnetic locks use a very efficient electrical magnet to keep the
door closed. The large "magnet" is installed on the doorframe, and
the "plate" is installed on the door. Though the electromagnet takes
very little power, it has a very strong holding power, requiring several
thousand pounds of pressure to open. These locks are used where control of
entry AND exit is required.
An Electric Strike is installed in the doorframe, where the latch bolt
is located. The 'keeper' remains locked in place, which keeps the door closed
and locked. When the strike is energized, it releases the keeper, allowing the
door to be pulled open. This type of strike does NOT prevent people from
exiting, only entering, and therefore is not subjected to the same degree of
fire and safety regulations.
DOOR STATUS DEVICES
The door status device's function is to simply report if the door is
open or closed. The panel processes this information accordingly. Magnetic door
contacts, just like the ones used in burglar alarm applications, are used for
this purpose.
REQUEST TO EXIT
DEVICES
The Request to Exit device is located on the inside of the protected
door. Its primary function is to advise the system that a person is leaving
through the door. The purpose of this action is to bypass the door status input
(more on this later) so that the opening of the door will not cause an alarm
condition. In the case of an Electromagnetic lock, it will also release the
door. These devices come in a variety and shapes and forms, though the most
popular is the motion detector type.
The Infrared Motion detector works similar to a motion detector used in
burglar alarm applications; they detect movement by measuring changes in
infrared heat energy. These units are designed to detect movement within tight
parameters in front of the door, so that people passing by are not causing the
device to trigger. No intervention is required by the person exiting.
The Exit Button, located near the door, requires the person exiting to
actively intervene in the exiting process. This applies with high security
applications, or where incidental pedestrian traffic would make a motion
detector inappropriate.
PANELS
The access control panel is the heart of the access control system. It
is here that access decisions are made, not at the front-end computer. This is
referred to as a "distributed database architecture," in that all
user and access data is stored in all panels within the system. Most panels
have connections for readers, door locking devices, door status inputs and
request to exit inputs. All panels will communicate with the software computer
by means of communication loops, TCP/IP network protocols and/or a combination
of both, depending on requirements.
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