Abstract:
A national or international plurality of interacting, media-connected buildings, providing automated office support processes to individual and aggregate office user customers. Process services are coordinated between building elements via the inter-networking feature that uses the facilities of the public Internet. These distributed services are adaptable and personalized to meet the changing needs of individual office users. Service personalization is continuously maintained in a consistent state throughout the entire global network of buildings, providing individual office users with identical service personalization in all office buildings.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/142,321, filed on Jul. 2, 1999. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to computers and communication systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to system adaptation, embedded systems, device and service interconnection, computers, software systems, and communication networks for a method and system of integrated building services. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Many computer systems have been integrated into the modern business office with the goal if increasing efficiency. However, in many instances, the goal of increased efficiency was not met because the mundane tasks subject to office automation were simply transferred from paper to the computer systems, and in many cases, the cognitive load placed on the office worker actually increased. There is a need in the art to better integrate office automation with the office environment itself to realize the increased efficiency desired. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an aspect of the present invention to provide personalized elimination of mundane office processes and services for office users across geographically distributed Building Elements. 
   Yet another aspect of the invention is to provide a single integrated building containing office support services such as secure building, office suite, and other building resource access. 
   Still another aspect of the invention is to provide an inter-networked integrated building facility, device and service interconnection network interface, architecture of integrated office service facilities, and device adapter modules. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a high-level view of the global context of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of the major components comprising the integrated building services in an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  shows a flow diagram of the overall method of integrated building services of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  shows a flow diagram of the process where all service devices are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows a flow diagram of the process where all client devices are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  shows a flow diagram of the process where all client applications are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  shows a flow diagram of the process where all MIS applications are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are screen shot representations of Web pages accessible to a user through a Web Browser which demonstrate a simple embodiment of the integrated building services of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , from the perspective of a user. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a high-level view of the global context of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a limiting factor in small and medium-sized business success is the loss of productivity in the office place caused by the large fraction of each workday spent dealing with mundane tasks. Activities such as scheduling, ordering, copying, tasking, filing, etc., irretrievably consume time that could have been used for human productive creativity—the real value in today&#39;s business world. 
   Because of the need to increase efficiency, computer systems experienced rapid uptake in the business office. However, looking at the creative efficiency picture today, the expected gains in terms of real additional time available for creative work are realized only to a small degree. This plateau was quickly reached because the office support automation revolution simply transferred the mundane activities from paper to the computer. In many cases, efficiency is decreased due to the increased cognitive load placed on the office worker by arcane, poorly integrated technology. For large organizations, with several buildings in a cluster, or multiple building locations throughout a city or across several states, this is even more the case. 
   The next level of creative efficiency is achieved by the present invention which integrates and merges office automation technology with the office environment itself in such a transparent way that the machinery is no longer even visible to the office worker. The mundane tasks are accomplished by the building itself. The novel approach taken looks at the problem from the point of view of the user inward, and not from the traditional approach of a back-end view of the system outward. The architecture utilized works from the outside in, from a user prospective, and then performs integration on the back end versus the other way around. 
   Accordingly, the present invention is a system and method that provides personalized elimination of mundane office processes and services for office users across geographically distributed Building Elements  106 . Building Elements  106  may be located adjacent to each other, across town from each other, in different cities, in different states, or in different countries. Utilizing the Public Internet  102 , or any other suitable communications network, and Communications Channels  108 , each Building Element  106  is interconnected to each other Building Elements  106 . Communications Channels  108  may be wire, fiber optic, wireless, or any other suitable communications channel. Examples include DSL, T1, T2, T3, etc. 
   Server  104  is accessed by each Building Element  106  and may be located in a physical location separate from any Building Element  106 , or may be located within a Building Element  106 . There may also be multiple Servers  104  located in separate physical locations or within several Building Elements  106 . An individual Building Element  106  with a Server  104  may also utilize the present invention. 
     FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of the major components comprising the integrated building services in an embodiment of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a design pattern is illustrated that shows the types of elements in the system and method of the present invention and their connectivity relationships. The diagram therefore shows a pattern for many possible embodiments of similar types of elements and does not represent a specific embodiment. The present invention provides an inter-networked integrated building facility, device and service interconnection network interface, architecture of integrated office service facilities, and device adapter modules. A building can be retrofitted with this technology or built from the ground up. 
   Within Building Element  106 , External Communications Interface  202  connects Building Element  106  to Public Internet  102  via Communications Channel  108 . The various elements within Building  106  are connected to External Communications Interface  202 , as well as to each other, via Interconnection Channel  204 . Interconnection Channel  204  may be telephone wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic, wireless, Ethernet, or any other suitable communication channel, or combinations of any of the above. 
   Elements of the invention contained within the office building embody the invention&#39;s service process execution machinery. These elements and their relationships are organized in such a way as to allow unprecedented levels of automated office facility integration. 
   Typical facilities include Client Devices  206 , MIS (Management Information System) Application  208 , and Service Devices  210 . For each Client Device  206 , Service Device  210 , and MIS Application  208 , there is a corresponding Adapter Element  212 , which is an interface between the particular object and a standardized system that ties them all together. Adapter Elements  212  are software components that reside on Server  214 , and are not physically located adjacent to Client Devices  206 , Service Devices  210 , and MIS Application  208  but are shown this way in  FIG. 2  to illustrate the interconnectedness of each component to the standardized system. 
   Client Applications  216  are applications written from the outset that automatically tie into the integrated building services system, and may reside within Building Element  106 , or be accessible from an external location through Public Internet  102 . Such client applications include custom travel arrangement services, meeting and resource scheduling, copy center, computer based training, health monitoring services, member Intranet, view account, and automatic personal adaptable environment controls. Personal climate controlled settings are transferable with the user from one Building Element  106  to another via the access security devices. 
   For example, a media center application allows a user to copy documents and publish documents remotely. Automated media center services include: remote access, copy services, worldwide distribution, and on-site custom work orders. A user who has a document on his personal computer can access the media center application and provide instructions to print a certain number of copies, request an ink color, request that a copy be sent to a list of specified locations, and specify the database that has the address information for the list of recipients. 
   Examples of Client Devices  206  are personal computers, personal digital assistants, office telephones, and cellular telephones. The personal computers are connected to Interconnection Channel  204 , which may be a LAN or Ethernet. The telephone signals are also integrated into the system so that local telephone calls and long-distance charges are managed by the system. Office suite telephony, shared teleconferencing service, Internet access, and standard Internet services are all integrated into the system. Standard office software functionality, including integrated word processing, presentation development, spreadsheet, database management, file system facilities and automated file backup and restore processes are also integrated into the system. 
   Examples of Service Devices  210  include vending machines, access security devices, printers, copiers, fax machines, health and exercise equipment, bio-metric monitors, and point of sale devices. For instance, a soft drink vending machine sitting in a hallway within Building Element  106  is plugged into the wall for its power but it also has a card reader instead of a change receiver and dispenser. A phone line connects the card reader of the soft drink machine to Interconnection Channel  204  to Server  214 . When a user swipes an authorized magnetic card through the card reader, a signal carrying a unique access ID travels over the phone line to Interconnection Channel  204  to Server  214 . The Adapter Element  212  associated with the soft drink machine interprets the access ID from the signal, searches a database of access ID&#39;s for a match, and if a match is found, debits the user&#39;s account associated with the access ID, and sends an authorization signal to the soft drink machine to allow the release mechanism to release the soft drink from the vending machine. If no match is found, then a deny signal is sent to the soft drink machine to not allow the release mechanism to function. A similar scenario takes place when the magnetic card is swiped through a card reader for a security door. If a match is found for the access ID, an authorization signal is sent to allow the door mechanism to let the door open, though an account may not be debited when a match is found in this case. 
   Another example of a Service Device  210  is a point of sale device. A magnetic swipe card or smart card or Java ring is utilized by a user or a customer to purchase goods or services, which are debited to the user or customer&#39;s account. A hotel or a golf course could issue a card to a customer, and have a card reader at each point of sale location on the premises. For example, each golf cart could be equipped with a reader and a wireless transmitter. To rent the cart the customer just swipes his card through the reader, and his account is debited for the cart rental. Likewise, purchases at a gift shop or restaurant in a hotel could be made with the card and reader. Each purchase is debited to the guest&#39;s account. 
   Examples of MIS Application  208  include integrated enterprise resource planning and management information systems. These systems comprise support for standard business functions such as accounting, general ledger, receivables, payables, asset management, budget, purchasing, billing, payroll, inventory, human resources, economic monitoring, decision support, order management, and inventory, etc. Remote secure access by integrated office support staff is enabled via Public Internet  102  to building automated management facilities. Intelligent Agent scheduling, tracking, confirmation, contacts, etc. is also enabled. 
   This new organization is possible because of recent advances in the international standardization of software component interfaces and integration technology. An exemplary reference is Sun Microsystems Java programming language incorporating the following: Java Virtual Machine; standard Java application programming interface libraries; Java component specifications such as Enterprise Java Beans and associated component server technology such as Java applets and Java servlets; and impromptu networking interface standards such as Jini and JavaSpaces. The present invention extends these standards and available compliant commercial technologies by defining classes of office services as universal polymorphic interface Adapter Elements  212  to ad hoc machinery and software. Adapter Elements  212  are used to encapsulate arbitrary office support equipment and software services into a uniform distributed device space. Adapted and newly developed services and devices may be plugged into Interconnection Channel  204  and automatically begin participating in the community of office functionality. 
   The present invention provides a single integrated building containing office support services such as secure building, office suite, and other building resource access. Personal identification for access to secured building resources is accomplished through a combination of mechanisms collocated with the secured resource. These mechanisms consist of either physical or digital identity sensors. 
   A magnetic stripe card may be utilized. Or, to avoid the wear over time associated with a magnetic stripe card, smart cards or other proximity devices, such as a Java ring, may be used. The smart card and Java ring have some of the computing built into the device and they do not come into direct contact with the device that reads them due to the wireless or infrared technology employed. 
   In the case of digital identity sensors, the office user requesting access must possess a digital identification device. The sensor mechanisms communicate with the integrated office security service via Interconnection Channel  204  interface using identical protocols. This is accomplished by encapsulating the sensors with a corresponding Adapter Element  212 . 
   Various types of physical identity sensors may be utilized, including hand geometry, retinal scan, and voice signature sensors. Commercially available wearable embedded Java computing technology such as smart cards and Java rings may be used. The wearable technology is extended by the development of software programs that run on the embedded devices, which interact with the digital identity sensors. 
   All office services may be tailored to user preferences. Tailoring is conveniently accomplished through interaction between the user and software preference wizard agents. Services are encapsulated with standard interconnection behaviors using the Interconnection Channel  204  and Adapter Elements  212 , allowing the underlying implementation of any service or device to be changed without affecting the behavior of the whole system. The encapsulation feature also provides for the seamless integration of many additional service facilities. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , a plurality of Building Elements  106  may be connected together over wide area networks. Office user preferences are continuously maintained in all integrated Building Elements  106 . 
   Many additional services may also be integrated into the system including personalized fitness center programs and automated, voice progress monitoring. Personal health monitoring systems that capture and transmit biological data to control hardware and software may be placed in convenient locations within the building, such as rest rooms, break rooms, and office suites. This data could be securely transmitted by the user to his doctor at the user&#39;s discretion. 
   Other services include adaptive intelligent personal software agents that perform routine system functions for office users. These agents adapt dynamically to the preferences of the office user. Each office user&#39;s personalized agents will be available at all integrated Building Elements  106 . Categories of agent function include: electronic commerce, knowledge domain expertise, newsgathering, general and specialized web searching, stock market monitoring, and updated material monitoring. 
   Interactive voice capabilities may also be incorporated into Client Devices  206  and Service Devices  210  via Adapter Elements  212 . This approach ensures that the vocal interfaces are consistent across all devices. Personal digital identification devices may also be extended by software programs to directly interact with the office users&#39; personal software agents. 
   All the different Client Devices  206 , Service Devices  210 , Client Applications  216 , and MIS Application  208  are tied into Server  214  via Interconnection Channel  204 . Server  214  is where all of the communication signals are interpreted and processed by Adapter Elements  212 . Server  214  also contains standard software service elements, such as databases, software programs, Web service programs, application programs, etc. 
     FIG. 3  shows a flow diagram of the overall method of integrated building services of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 3 , after identifying a business entity desiring to integrate building services, such as the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , one or more of the following acts or steps may be performed. In step  302  a Server  214  is connected to External Communications Interface  202  via Interconnection Channel  204  within a Building Element  106  of the business entity. Step  304  calls the process of  FIG. 4  where all service devices are connected to the integrated building services system. 
   After returning from  FIG. 4 , step  306  calls the process of  FIG. 5  where all client devices are connected to the integrated building services system. After returning from  FIG. 5 , step  308  calls the process of  FIG. 6  where all client applications are connected to the integrated building services system. After returning from  FIG. 6 , step  310  calls the process of  FIG. 7  where all MIS applications are connected to the integrated building services system. 
   In step  312 , the integrated business services system is connected to other Building Elements  106  of the business entity via the Public Internet  102  and Communications Channels  108 . Then the overall method of integrated building services of the present invention ends. 
     FIG. 4  shows a flow diagram of the process where all service devices are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , one or more of the following acts or steps may be performed. Step  402  identifies a first Service Device  210  associated with the business entity that needs to be integrated. Service Device  210  may be a vending machine, access security device, printer, copier, fax machine, health equipment, a point of sale device, or other similar device. An Adapter Element  212  is then developed for the Service Device  210  in step  404 . The Adapter Element  212  is software that serves as an interface between the particular Service Device  210  and the integrated building services system that ties all the disparate components together. 
   In step  406  the Adapter Element  212  developed for the Service Device  210  is loaded onto Server  214 . Service Device  210  is then connected to Interconnection Channel  204  in step  408  through an appropriate means. The connection may be made via telephone wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic, wireless, Ethernet, or any other suitable communication channel. Step  410  determines if there are other Service Devices  210  that need to be integrated into the integrated building services system. If yes, control returns to step  402  for the next Service Device  210  to be integrated. If not, then the process of  FIG. 4  ends and returns to calling  FIG. 3 . 
     FIG. 5  shows a flow diagram of the process where all client devices are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 5 , one or more of the following acts or steps may be performed. Step  502  identifies a first Client Device  206  associated with the business entity that needs to be integrated. Client Device  206  may be a personal computer, office telephone, or other similar device. An Adapter Element  212  is then developed for the Client Device  206  in step  504 . The Adapter Element  212  is software that serves as an interface between the particular Client Device  206  and the integrated building services system that ties all the disparate components together. 
   In step  506  the Adapter Element  212  developed for the Client Device  206  is loaded onto Server  214 . Client Device  206  is then connected to Interconnection Channel  204  in step  508  through an appropriate means. The connection may be made via telephone wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic, wireless, Ethernet, or any other suitable communication channel. Step  510  determines if there are other Client Devices  206  that need to be integrated into the integrated building services system. If yes, control returns to step  502  for the next Client Device  206  to be integrated. If not, then the process of  FIG. 5  ends and returns to calling  FIG. 3 . 
     FIG. 6  shows a flow diagram of the process where all client applications are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 6 , one or more of the following acts or steps may be performed. Step  602  identifies a first Client Application  216  associated with the business entity that needs to be developed. Client Application  216  may be custom travel arrangement services, meeting and resource scheduling, computer based training, health monitoring services, member Intranet, view account, and automatic personal adaptable environment controls. 
   In step  604  Client Application  216  is developed to be compatible from the outset with the integrated building services system that ties all the disparate components together. Client Application  216  is software that may be loaded onto Server  104 , or onto a personal computer. In step  606  the personal computer containing Client Application  216  is connected to Interconnection Channel  204  through an appropriate means. The connection may be made via telephone wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic, wireless, Ethernet, or any other suitable communication channel. Step  608  determines if there are other Client Applications  216  that need to be developed for the integrated building services system. If yes, control returns to step  602  for the next Client Application  216  to be developed. If not, then the process of  FIG. 6  ends and returns to calling  FIG. 3 . 
     FIG. 7  shows a flow diagram of the process where all MIS applications are connected to the integrated building services system of the present invention. Referring now to  FIG. 7 , one or more of the following acts or steps may be performed. Step  702  identifies a first MIS Application  208  associated with the business entity that needs to be integrated. MIS Application  208  may be integrated enterprise resource planning and management information systems for standard business functions such as accounting, general ledger, receivables, payables, asset management, budget, purchasing, billing, payroll, inventory, human resources, economic monitoring, decision support, order management, and inventory, etc. Typically MIS Applications  208  are commercial off the shelf software products. An Adapter Element  212  is then developed for the MIS Application  208  in step  704 . The Adapter Element  212  is software that serves as an interface between the particular MIS Application  208  and the integrated building services system that ties all the disparate components together. 
   In step  706  the Adapter Element  212  developed for the MIS Application  208  is loaded onto Server  214 . MIS Application  208  may also be loaded on Server  214  or on a personal computer. MIS Application  208  is then connected to Interconnection Channel  204  in step  708  through an appropriate means. The connection may be made via telephone wire, coaxial cable, fiber optic, wireless, Ethernet, or any other suitable communication channel. Step  710  determines if there are other MIS Applications  208  that need to be integrated into the integrated building services system. If yes, control returns to step  702  for the next MIS Application  208  to be integrated. If not, then the process of  FIG. 7  ends and returns to calling  FIG. 3 . 
     FIGS. 8 and 9  are screen shot representations of Web pages accessible to a user through a Web Browser which demonstrate a simple embodiment of the integrated building services of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , from the perspective of a user. In this embodiment, office suites are leased to various tenants where some of the integrated building services shown in  FIG. 2  are available to each tenant. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are hundreds of different applications that could utilize the present invention. The office suites embodiment is merely illustrative of these many applications and is not intended to be limiting thereto. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a user has leased an office suite that offers some of the integrated building services of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 2 . The user is issued an access device, such as a magnetic swipe card, smart card, or Java ring, which gives the user access to many of the integrated building services. For example, the access device enables the user to utilize a variety of Service Devices  210  equipped with access device readers, such as: entering the building through external security doors; gaining access to the user&#39;s leased office suite through internal security doors; accessing special purpose rooms in the building, such as meeting rooms, video conference rooms, or a fitness center; purchasing stamps or mailing supplies at an in-house mail center, copying documents at an in-house copy center; purchasing a meal at an in-house restaurant; or purchasing a soft drink or snack from in-house vending machines. Each Service Device  210  has a corresponding Adapter Element  212  loaded on Server  214  which enables each of the different Service Devices  210  to be integrated within the integrated building services system. 
   From the user&#39;s computer, which is a Client Device  206  connected to Interconnection Channel  204 , the user can login to the office suite Web site to gain access to other integrated building services. The office suite Web site may be located on server  214  or on an external server. 
   After requesting the URL of the office suite Web site, Web Page  800  is displayed on the display screen of the user&#39;s computer. The user is prompted to enter a username and password in Username Input Box  802  and Password Input Box  804  respectively. If the user&#39;s username and password are entered correctly and validated, Web Page  900  of  FIG. 9  is displayed. 
   From Web Page  900  the user can access various Client Applications  216 , such as custom travel arrangement services, meeting and resource scheduling, copy center, computer based training, health monitoring services, member Intranet, view account, and automatic personal adaptable environment controls. In this embodiment of the invention, only two Client Applications  216  are accessible by clicking on View Account Select Bar  902  and The Copy Center Select Bar  906 . 
   Clicking on View Account Select Bar  902  returns a new Web page to the user (not shown) which accesses a Client Application  216  called view account. The view account Web page shows information regarding the charges to the user&#39;s account. The information may be viewed in different forms, such as itemized month to date, itemized year to date, summary month to date, summary year to date, etc. 
   Clicking on The Copy Center Select Bar  906  returns a new Web page to the user (not shown) which accesses a Client Application  216  called the copy center. The copy center Web page allows the user to send a document to several people at once. A complicated document order can be easily handled through the prompts and options provided for on the copy center Web page. 
   Clicking on Change Profile Select Bar  904  returns a new Web page to the user (not shown) which allows the user to change his username and password. 
   The user&#39;s office telephone, which is also a Client Device  206  connected to Interconnection Channel  204 , is provided with long distance service. In this embodiment of the invention, there are no MIS Applications  208  accessible by the user. 
   Having described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and circuitry and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the claims. The disclosures and the description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, defined in scope by the following claims.