Hybrid access control for expansive infrastructures

Winkhaus is expanding its portfolio of electronic access control systems with a comprehensive solution for critical infrastructures, including active keys and no-maintenance, battery-free cylinders. Operators benefit from a unified system – from the administration site to spread-out systems in the field.

Less maintenance, full control
The approach follows a clear principle: battery-operated cylinders, which are operated with completely maintenance-free identification media, are still used wherever usage frequency is high. In remote areas or places where usage is only sporadic, battery-free operation provides a cost-effective, maintenance-free alternative. This applies to sites such as technical stations, well covers, outdoor facilities and decentralised supply points that are rarely used.

The further apart these components are distributed, the less sense it makes to keep having to change the batteries – both an organisational and an economic perspective. The use of battery-free components significantly reduces this burden. This keeps maintenance to a minimum, which is especially important in hard-to-reach and less-frequented areas. The central management of both battery-free and battery-operated components retains a major advantage of the hybrid concept. All identification media are still organised in a bundle at the main location using user software. At the same time, outdoor areas can be seamlessly integrated into the existing system.

This creates a uniform operating concept for users. No matter whether an active or passive cylinder is used, access still takes place through the familiar mechanism – be it with a passive user key or an active key.

Active key as an intelligent system component
The BE A active key performs a central function. Thanks to its rechargeable battery and the integrated real-time clock, the key itself becomes an intelligent, active component within the access control system. This way, it supports command and event transport in the virtual network by ensuring that its own access authorisations expire automatically and handling differentiated time control functions. The LED-based user interaction allows intuitive operation. Energy transmission to battery-free cylinders is activated at the push of a button. When needed, the key can also be used to open active cylinders with a discharged battery in an emergency.

In addition to active operation, the BE A can also be used flexibly. Like existing user keys, it can be used in passive mode on all door component types of the blueEvo system platform and integrated into existing organisational structures. This means that an identification medium combines multiple application options – active, passive and flexible in existing user concepts. “With the BE A active key, we are bringing together two areas which used to be separate: active and passive door components with authorisations depending on the application. Operators benefit from having significantly less maintenance effort to do, while retaining full control over their entire system,” says Dr.-Ing. Volker Brink, Director of Product Management Access Control at Winkhaus.

With this expansion, Winkhaus is putting blueEvo in an even stronger position as a scalable solution for complex access requirements – from centrally organised locations to widely branched infrastructures.