Patent attributes
A system and method for a keyless physical access control system, including keyless access to locks, is described. An access reader integrates a capacitive touch sensor and an RFID reader; the expected interference in operation of the capacitive touch sensor due to the excitation signal generated by the RFID antenna is avoided by selectively turning the RFID antenna on and off at periodic time intervals. The time intervals are selected to be long enough so that both the capacitive touch sensor and the RFID reader can operate normally during respective time intervals to unlock a lock, but short enough so that a user does not notice any delay in operation.