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Glossary

A
ADL
Auto-Detective Logical, meaning: Self-checking function of the internal logic circuit
Alternating current
Alternating electric current, or AC, is defined as opposed to direct current. Unlike the latter, the current, or more precisely the flow of electrons, reverses at the rate of the frequency Alternating current is characterized by its frequency, measured in hertz (Hz). It is the number of times the electric current changes direction per second (alternations). An alternating current of 50 Hz alternates 50 times per second, i.e. it changes direction 100 times per second (50 positive and 50 negative alternations).
Apparent
See: Surface mount
Armature plate
Special steel plate, installed on the opening, fitting perfectly with the electromagnetic block of the electromagnet in order to lock the door. The magnetic block and its armature plate are the inseparable duo of an electromagnet.
B
BIM
Building Information Modeling. A BIM object is the set of data for the description of a real-world object (a chair, a table, a locking system, a door, etc.). It is composed of: - different geometric representations (2D and 3D) created in the format of architecture software; - technical properties that can be integrated to the objects, in different languages, in the form of attributes or parameters, depending on the software used; - and documents, pictures, links allowing the description, destination or use of the object to be completed. The BIM object thus becomes an interactive tool (within the blueprint) useful at each stage of the life of a building: design, construction, delivery, maintenance, and so on.
C
Challenging environment
Any environment that can be aggressive to a metal or an electronic system. For instance, a particularly damp atmosphere, extreme climatic temperatures encountered in sunny places or freezing at the poles, but also environments other than those considered liveable/inhabitable.
Corrosion
Corrosion is the chemical deterioration of a metal due to its environment. All non-alloy metals deteriorate, except for gold. The electromagnets are mainly made of steel (metal known for its tendency to rust). Therefore, the electromagnets must be designed from the beginning to guarantee the effective and lasting absence of corrosion. Rust, appearing on electromagnets for the general public, creates roughness or even metal chips which can decrease the actual retention force by 70%. Indeed, the nominal holding force of a electromagnet can only be reached if the flatness of the armature plate and magnetic tracks is not altered. Thanks to the unique manufacturing process of HQMAG electromagnets, they are very effectively protected against this metal gangrene that is corrosion.
Corrosion-proof
See: Corrosion
D
Direct current
Direct current, or DC, is characterized by a unidirectional movement of electrons in a conductor. Its polarity is always positive or negative. Synonyms: direct voltage
Double Acting Door
A double acting door can open in both ways, by pulling or pushing.
DSS
(Door Status Sensor). See Monitoring contact.
E
Electric strike
Case, usually metallic, equipped with a coil or a micro-motor electrically releasing the bolt of a lock.
Electromagnet
Electromagnetic locking system with no moving parts, extremely reliable, perennial and sustainable. An electromagnet is locked by a power supply. In the case of a door, it is mounted on, or in the vertical or horizontal frame, while its armature plate is placed on the door leaf. Its use is not limited to doors, its many variants make it an almost universal locking solution for any type of apertures. Its retention force must be stable over time, and proven by tests from independent technical laboratories.
EN 13637
(chapter 7). European standard EN 13637 is a VOLUNTARY standard, relating to SYSTEMS for managing evacuation routes. Chapter 7 of this standard describes the specific characteristics of the "locking" component. It is based on this official standard that the quality of our electromagnets is recognized and that it stands out, in particular thanks to the sticker described in this standard. It is affixed on all HQMAG electromagnets and Vortex (hybrid locking systems).
EW (Early Warning alarm)
Local and/or remote early warning alarm, activating in the event of an assault on a door fitted with either an electromagnet with "EW" option, or a Vortex-type hybrid lock, or even a Vortex escape. The early warning device activates before the access is even forced. For this reason, it is a patented innovation which is unique in the world.
F
Fail safe
Refers to an electric lock that releases the latch by breaking the power supply. Without current, the latch unlocks.
Fail secure
Said of an electric lock that releases the latch by electrical impulse. In the absence of current, the latch remains locked. Synonyms: Impulse
Flush mounting
See: Recess, mortise,
G
Grade
Official and recognized hierarchical classification allowing for qualitative discrimination. The quality and reliability of our locking products are determined and differentiated by the official grades described in European standard EN 13637.
H
Holding force
Ability of a locking system (electromagnet, Vortex (hybrid locking system), lock, strike) to resist a breaking force (unlocking) expressed in Newton.
Hybrid locking
See: Vortex
I
Impulse
Unlocking mode of an electric lock which has the effect of retracting the bolt to the lock housing, under the effect of an electric impulse, thus allowing the door to be opened. Without any current, the lock remains locked. This lock is usually named "Fail secure". Synonyms: Fail secure
Information report
Feature allowing to transmit information on the position of the door (open/closed), or its state (unlocked/locked), to a centralisation unit or a dashboard. Synonym: Reported information
IP Rating
This is a code (rating) relating to the protection provided by the sheaths of electrical appliances. International standardisation currently sets two codes: the IP code and the IK code. The IP code is described in publication EN 60529 (ex IEC 60529) of the International Electrotechnical Commission. IP stands for "International Protection". This code describes the degrees of protection provided by the sheaths against dangerous parts approaching, against the penetration of foreign solid bodies and against the harmful effects of water. This is done using numbers and letters described in this publication.
K
Kick-off
(Electronic board). A "Kick-off" is an invisible electronic repelling system which is meant to compensate a residual magnetic force, of a necessarily random value, by the hysteresis effect of an inverse current of which the value is arbitrarily determined. Since the wear or breakdown (MTBF) of a kick-off system is invisible, unlike a mechanical repeller, the electromagnet can suddenly become a permanent magnet with serious consequences for people’s safety. Only the electromagnets designed to inherently show no magnetic remanence require no mechanical or electronic repeller (Kick-off) to compensate the residual magnetism. They immediately release access, as soon as the power supply stops, and that without alteration over time (MTBF = ?).
L
Latch
Hollow metal part of the door or window closing system receiving the moving part, the latch bolt or the dead bolt, of a lock .
LED
A LED is a Light-Emitting Diode of various dimensions indicating the locking state of an HQMAG electromagnet. Variant: MegaLed (large LEDs).
LO (Latch-off)
Permanently unlocked bolt (LO).
LSS
(Door Status Sensor). Door lock control sensor. See Monitoring contact.
M
Mechanical repeller
To overcome the "magnetic remanence" defect appearing on electromagnets for the general public, a "repeller" is added on the armature plate of many of the electromagnets available on the market. It is a small patch stuck directly on the armature plate by a system of springs and clips, and which helps to separate the electromagnet from its armature plate when unlocking. However, as well as disturbing the balance of the magnetic field, the repeller can have dangerous consequences. For instance, when this purely mechanical repeller becomes ineffective, it no longer makes possible to compensate the endemic defect of this kind of electromagnet. Moreover, this defect is progressive and therefore worsens over time.
MegaLED
Large LEDs specific to the HQMAG range.
Monitoring contact
Contact incorporated in a locking device (or alternatively directly on the door frame), that can determine, in real time, the position or state of the door. Signaling can be done either on the locking device itself, or by communicating it remotely to a central or a remote monitoring system. The status contact (LSS) confirms the correct locking of the door or warns of an anomaly in said locking. The position contact (DSS) only indicates whether the door is in the open or closed position. The contact can be normally open (NO) or reverser (C/NO/NC). Synonyms of contact: Reed contact, Hall effect contact, relay, contact, LSS, DSS
Mortice
Mounting type for electromagnets, locks or electric strikes in a recess, provided for this purpose. Synonym: Embedding, flush mounting
Mortise
Action of placing a door accessory in the recess provided for this purpose. Synonyms: flush mount, embedded
MOV
(peak suppressor). Metal Oxyde Varistor. Electronic component with bidirectional conductivity. It avoids the inductive voltage peaks encountered at the terminals of an electrical winding, when the supply voltage breaks. In practice, it avoids the potential destruction of sensitive electronic control systems (badge readers, keyboard, Integrated Circuits, etc.). The MOV is more efficient than a simple diode, and does not create reverse current (hysteresis effect).
O
Optional mounting accessory(ies)
Even though doors look the same, they are not installed in the same way. In certain specific cases, mounting accessories are required to adapt properly an electromagnet to one’s door. They are mainly intended for surface mounting. Furthermore they are made of extruded, unfolded aluminium, and are designed to be perfectly matched to HQMAG electromagnets high performances.
P
Panic bar
Closing system in the shape of a horizontal bar, fitted to emergency exit doors or doors located on emergency evacuation routes. Compliant with person safety requirements, it allows to exit from the inside to the outside by a simple mechanical push.
Power supply
Device of a variable complexity, intended to supply electricity to another device from an electrical grid. For a power supply to function correctly, one needs to keep in mind: That a product designed to operate at a certain voltage, called nominal voltage, must be powered at least with this voltage to work at its full potential; That an electric cable generates an in-line power loss which is proportional to its length and inversely proportional to its section. Consequently, a power supply delivering a 12VDC voltage will not meet the power requirements of a product at the other end of the cable. That is why the power supplies recommended by HQMAG deliver a standardised voltage of 13.8VDC (or 27.6VDC), much more in line with the results expected at the device expecting supply.
Premium
Refers to a product that offers a proven advantage, gain and qualitative privilege compared to the market average. This is the case for the whole range of HQMAG products and especially the Vortex and "++" references.
Pressure sensor
Electronic component, mounted inside an electromagnet or hybrid locking system (Vortex), detecting any abnormal pressure applied to the door. Its purpose is to activate the "EW" (Early Warning) alarm circuit incorporated in these electromagnets and Vortex. This feature is also used to launch the intelligent evacuation process of the Vortex-Escape.
R
Recess
Cut of a varying depth - in the door frame of a door, or of any support, meant to receive an electromagnet to be embedded, or an electric strike. The adjustable transom brackets and handles for surface mounting on existing doors also have an embedding recess. Synonyms: mortice, embedding
Reliability
Ability of a device or equipment to perform a required function in specified conditions and for a given period of time. It is expressed by a time difference between the first installation and the first failure or MTBF (average time of correct operation).
Remanence
It is a residual magnetic field which persists in basic, inexpensive steels, called "ferromagnetic" (Unit: Tesla). Regarding access locking, remanence is a major defect encountered in electromagnets for the general public. The magnetic field remaining on this type of electromagnet after the current is cut prevents the access from being totally unlocked. A sometimes significant effort will then be necessary to open the door. In order to ensure the perennial safety of people, an electromagnet and its armature plate must behave like "paramagnetic" steel. This means that no remanence can remain, and this intrinsically, in order to avoid mounting, on the electromagnet, a mechanical or electronic repeller (Kick-off) of which the reliability over time is very uncertain.
S
Salt spray test
This is a standardized test, in Europe according to ISO 9227, in the USA described by ASTM B117-90, aiming to evaluate the resistance of oxidizable materials to corrosion. This official procedure reproduces in laboratory the exposure of an object installed in a humid outdoor environment, known to be aggressive towards metals. This evaluation, classified by chapter 7.2.7 which refers to standard EN 1670, mentioned in EN 13637, is essential in assessing electromagnet and hybrid locking systems. Mainly made of steel, the electromagnet and its armature plate must not show the slightest trace of corrosion. Indeed those traces would disturb their flatness, on which their holding force depends. A corroded electromagnet can lose up to 70% of its holding force. This is the main reason why many manufacturers of electromagnet for the general public keep this information hidden, although it is essential to the actual safety of goods and people.
Standardised label
Self-adhesive label affixed on a locking system that specifies its quality and actual performances, according to chapter 7 of standard EN 13637
Standards
Set of technical prescriptions imposed to ensure the proper operation and safety of a product or method. Our electromagnets, locks and strikes comply with the applicable standards in the regions of the world where they are sold. For Europe, these standards are EN, RoHS and REACH, included in the EC certifications, for which we have a permanent update monitoring system.
Surface mount
Mounting type for locking systems (electromagnet, Vortex or electric strike) installed on the door frame, either because it is not designed with a recess, or because it is a second-mounting installation. Synonym: Rim, Apparent
T
Tamper-proof
Ability of a locking system to resist, in the event the access is forced. It is expressed in Newton (N). For instance, the Vortex type hybrid locking system has a burglary resistance of over 15,000N! It is the highest resistance on the market for a single locking point electromagnet. Synonym: resistance to forcing. See also: Holding force
Test report
Documents establishing the compliance of a product with a legal (EC, EN, UL,…) or voluntary (EN13637…) standard. Synonym: Test result, laboratory report.
Timer
Device, generally electronic, delaying an action. It can be a delay in relocking a system or a delay in releasing an emergency exit (Vortex-escape).
V
Vortex
The Vortex is a hybrid locking system (magnetic and mechanical) smaller than a electromagnet. It guarantees extremely powerful locking (up to ten times more efficient than basic electromagnet on the market). Its tested holding force is over 15,000 N. This hybrid locking system is protected by a world patent due to the major technological innovation it represents, both on the locking market and on that of electromagnet.