Doors
Doors are used for entry and exit to a premises or area. Doors can be locked / unlocked using access control functions and devices (card reader, keypads, etc). Access control allows only authorized users to pass through the doors.
Doors, managed using access control, generally consist of the following components:
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A locking mechanism that can be electronically operated.
This is often one or more bolts (also known as tongues or strikes) which can be extended or retracted from their housing, in order to secure the opening side of the door against the door jam. The bolt is controlled by the lock output. The bolt can also be monitored for unauthorized movement and generate strike alarm conditions.
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A door contact to determine when the door is open or closed.
This is often a micro-switch or magnetic switch that closes (changes position or state) when the door is fully closed. The circuit that the contact is wired to, is an input that notifies the system of the door being open or closed.
The door contact is generally used to generate door forced and door ajar alarm conditions.
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An egress device (often a push button) for doors that are access controlled for exit.
The circuit that the egress is wired to, is an input which notifies the system of a request to unlock the door.
Basic door operations include the locking and unlocking of doors within a time frame. Time must be used to accurately control doors in a secure environment and to determine when a door is not in normal operation so as to generate an alarm.
When adding a door to Sonitrol CORE, consider:
- when the door is available to be open / unlocked.
- once unlocked, how long can the door remain unlocked.
- the total time that the door can remain open.
- how long after unlocking and opening the door are users reminded to close the door.
Doors can be locked and unlocked according to schedules. If no locked or unlocked schedules are defined for a door, the door remains in the normal state and normal entry / exit is allowed.
If a schedule is defined and the time is valid, the door remains in a locked state. If a schedule is timed and the time is invalid, the door remains in the normal state or the state defined by the unlocked schedule.
A locked schedule overrides the unlocked schedule.
The area state can be set to override the door schedule. If enabled, a door is automatically secured when an area is in Armed state, even if the schedule specifies that the door should be unlocked.
Time schedules are used for door access control operations to determine the behavior of readers attached to the door. If a time schedule is defined for card and PIN, then the reader prompts for a PIN entry after a card swipe. If there is no schedule defined or the time period is not valid for a card and PIN, the reader then checks for a card or PIN schedule. If a card or PIN schedule is defined, the reader allows entry through the door when a PIN is entered or a card is swiped. If no card or PIN schedule is defined or the time period is not valid, then the reader defaults to card only mode.
Commands can be send to a door to lock or unlock it. These commands override the current door settings as defined by the schedule. If a lock command is sent to a door, then the door remains locked for either the set duration or if the duration is 0 in which case it remains locked indefinitely. To remove the lock command on a door, a restore to normal command must be sent to the door or the timer expires on the lock command. This same logic applies to an unlock command.
An access command opens the doors for a short period. This is the same as if a valid card had been swiped at a reader to open the door.
When a restore to normal command is sent to a door or time expires on a command action, the door returns to its normal state as defined by the schedule.
A secure command forces the door into a permanent secure mode. When a secure command is issued on a door, it overrides any existing lock or unlock schedule and forces the door into Secure/Card mode (Card only, PIN only, or Card and Pin depending on the configuration). The door can be accessed only with valid access credentials. Secure command can be set for specific duration. After this duration is lapsed, the door is restored to its assigned schedule. If time duration is not set, the door will remain in secured state until a restore command or any other force command is issued.
Anti-passback is a function that prevents the same card from being used to gain access through the same door more than once. In effect, anti-passback controls the direction of movement of users through one or more doors. This prevents a user from passing back their card to another user to gain access through the door.