Granted Patent B1

US 12,612,818 · App. 17/469,847 · Granted Apr 28, 2026

Inventors: Paul Friedli (Remetschwil, CH); Jonas Vonaesch (Lucerne, CH)

Assignee: Inventio AG

E05F15/73E05Y2900/132

Abstract

Claims (16)

1 . A system for controlling access to a restricted-access area in a building, comprising:

a sliding door system which comprises a door frame and a sliding door which can be displaced in the door frame between a closed position and an open position by means of a drive unit, wherein the door frame has a passage region and a wall shell region which at least partially accommodates the sliding door in the open position;

a controller which is arranged on the sliding door and is communicatively connected to the drive unit, wherein the controller is designed to move the sliding door between the closed position and the open position; and

an activation device which is arranged in an interior space of the sliding door and is communicatively connected to the controller, the activation device comprising a first proximity sensor and a second proximity sensor, both proximity sensors being mounted horizontally next to each other in the interior space of the sliding door at substantially the same height, wherein the activation device is operable to generate an activation signal based on a time sequence of generated detection signals from the first and second proximity sensors, the activation signal indicating a direction of movement of at least a part of a user, and wherein the controller is operable to move the sliding door from the closed position to the open position in accordance with the activation signal.

2 . The system according to claim 1 , in which the sliding door has an inner door face facing the restricted-access area and an outer door face facing away from the restricted-access area between which the interior extends, wherein the activation device detects an approach to the inner door face.

3 . The system according to claim 1 , in which the first proximity sensor has a processing device connected thereto, wherein the processing device is communicatively connected to the controller.

4 . The system according to claim 3 , wherein the first proximity sensor comprises a first capacitive proximity sensor having a first conductive field plate.

5 . The system according to claim 4 , in which the first conductive field plate is arranged in the interior space on an inner door face.

6 . The system according to claim 4 , wherein the second proximity sensor is connected to the processing device.

7 . The system according to claim 6 , in which the second proximity sensor comprises a second capacitive proximity sensor having a second conductive field plate, wherein the second conductive field plate is arranged in the interior space on an inner door face.

8 . The System according to claim 1 , wherein the sliding door comprises an actuator which is designed to position two mutually spaced, substantially parallel door faces of the sliding door in a first position relative to each other with a first face spacing (d 1 ) when the sliding door is in the closed position and in a second position relative to each other with a second face spacing (d 2 ) when the sliding door is in the open position, wherein the first face spacing (d 1 ) is greater than the second face spacing (d 2 ).

9 . A method for operating a system for controlling access to a restricted-access area in a building according to claim 1 , wherein the system comprises the sliding door system and the controller for the sliding door system, the method comprising:

Generating the activation signal (AS) by the activation device which is arranged in the interior space of the sliding door of the sliding door system and communicatively connected to the controller, wherein the activation device ( 19 ) is designed to generate the activation signal (AS) when the user who wishes to leave the restricted-access area approaches the sliding door within a specified distance and further wherein the activation signal is based on a time sequence of generated detection signals from the first and second proximity sensors, the activation signal indicating a direction of movement of at least a part of a user; and

Controlling the drive unit of the sliding door system by the controller when the activation signal (AS) is present in order to initiate a movement of the sliding door from the closed position to the first open position.

10 . The method according to claim 9 , further comprising comparing a detection signal (DS) generated by the first proximity sensor, which is a function of the distance of the user to the sliding door, to a reference signal, wherein the reference signal is assigned a specified distance, and wherein the activation signal (AS) is generated when the comparison shows that the distance of the user is equal to the specified distance.

11 . The method according to claim 9 further comprising generating a second activation signal when the user executes a specified gesture and activating the drive unit by the controller when the second activation signal (AS) is present to cause a movement of the sliding door from the first open position into a second open position.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

References Cited (42)