Patent Publication Number: US-2019199610-A1

Title: Management of building room occupancy and availability information

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Indian Patent Application No. 201711046509 which was filed on Dec. 23, 2017. The entire contents of Indian Patent Application No. 201711046509 are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The following description relates to building management and, more specifically, to a system of room occupancy management in a building or hotel whereby individuals are informed about availability. 
     Buildings, such as hotels, apartment buildings, condominiums and office buildings, often provide equipment and services in convenient spaces where people can go to exercise, eat or work for a time period. In busy hotels with a lot of guests who want to use exercise equipment in the hotel gym, for example, some of those guests are sometimes disappointed to find all of the exercise equipment that they wanted to use to already be in use by another guest when they arrive in the hotel gym. 
     In certain cases, building management provides additional services to individuals in order to avoid such disappointments. For hotels, these additional services can allow hotel guests wishing to use certain exercise equipment at certain times to reserve the exercise equipment during time slots. These types of additional services can be cumbersome, however, since they still result in hotel guests waiting for their time slot. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     According to an aspect of the disclosure, a system is provided for deployment in a building with multiple rooms. The system includes a network and a monitoring element disposed in signal communication with the network. The monitoring element is configured to monitor an occupancy status of one of the multiple rooms and to report the occupancy status to the network. The network is configured to provide a notification reflective of the occupancy status. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network includes a wireless network. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network includes a Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BTLE) network. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the monitoring element includes a door access system configured to count a number of individuals entering and leaving the one of the multiple rooms. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the occupancy status includes a usage status of an asset in the one of the multiple rooms and the monitoring element includes a usage sensor operably disposed within the asset. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the one of the multiple rooms is a fitness center in a hotel and the asset includes exercise equipment. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the monitoring element includes an application installed on a mobile computing device. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network is configured to provide the notification automatically or upon request. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the notification includes a passive or active notification and is displayable on multiple types of devices. 
     According to another aspect of the disclosure, a system is provided for deployment in a building with multiple rooms. The system includes a network and a monitoring element disposed in signal communication with the network. The system is configured to monitor respective usage statuses of assets in one or more of the multiple rooms and to report the respective usage statuses to the network. The network is configured to provide a notification reflective of the respective usage statuses to an individual interested in using at least one of the assets in the one or more of the multiple rooms. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network includes a wireless network. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network includes a Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BTLE) network. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the monitoring element includes a door access system configured to count a number of individuals entering and leaving each of the one or more of the multiple rooms. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the monitoring element includes a usage sensor operably disposed within each of the assets in the one or more of the multiple rooms. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, one of the multiple rooms is a fitness center in a hotel and the assets include pieces of exercise equipment. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the monitoring element includes an application installed on a mobile computing device. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the network is configured to provide the notification automatically or upon request. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the notification includes a passive or active notification and is displayable on multiple types of devices. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, historical data is used to verify the respective usage statuses. 
     According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of monitoring asset usage and informing individuals about asset usage information is provided. The method includes disposing a monitoring element in signal communication with a network, configuring the monitoring element to monitor respective usage statuses of assets in one or more of multiple rooms of a building and to report the respective usage statuses to the network and configuring the network to provide a notification reflective of the respective usage statuses to an individual interested in using at least one of the assets in the one or more of the multiple rooms. 
     In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, one of the multiple rooms is a fitness center in a hotel and the assets include pieces of exercise equipment. 
     These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter, which is regarded as the disclosure, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the disclosure are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a building in which a system for management of building room occupancy and available information is deployable in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of a guest room of the building of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of an additional public space, such as a fitness center, of the building of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of an additional public space, such as a restaurant, of the building of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of a server of the building of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a method of monitoring and confirming/verifying asset usage in accordance with embodiments; 
         FIG. 7  is a graphical illustration of the system of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments; and 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating a method of monitoring asset usage and informing individuals about asset usage information in accordance with embodiments. 
     
    
    
     These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be described below, a system is provided for managing and monitoring occupancy of a room in a building, for determining an availability of the room or an asset within the room from results of the managing and monitoring and for informing an individual about the availability of the room as a whole or the asset. In an exemplary case, the system may be provided for use in a building such as a hotel. Here, the system manages and monitors occupancy of the fitness center in the hotel, determines an availability of the fitness center or one or more pieces of exercise equipment in the fitness center from results of the managing and monitoring and for informing a guest of the hotel about the availability of the fitness center as a whole or the one or more pieces of exercise equipment. The system may be enabled by a door access system counting people as they enter the fitness center and then sending a notification to a mobile computing device of the guest by way of wireless communication networks or through local Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BTLE) beacons if the door lock of the fitness center is offline. The system could also be enabled by the pieces of equipment transmitting (e.g., through BTLE) occupancy statuses through the door access system for availability of equipment, seating, etc., and by a processing element that tracks equipment usages and current statuses. Alternatively, the system could be enabled by guests&#39; phone applications detecting guest locations and reporting the same to the door access system. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a building  10  is provided. While the building  10  may be configured as a hotel, an office building, an apartment building, etc., the following description will relate to the building  10  being configured as a hotel for purposes of clarity and brevity. The building  10  includes a front desk  11 , multiple floors  12  and multiple guest rooms  13  on each of the multiple floors  12 . The building  10  also includes additional public and private spaces including, for example, a fitness center  14  and a restaurant  15 . Regardless of their public or private condition, the multiple guest rooms  13 , the fitness center  14  and the restaurant  15  are all respective examples of multiple rooms of the building  10 . 
     The building  10  may also include various assets of various types, which will be described in detail below, and a network  16  (see  FIG. 6 ). In accordance with embodiments, the network  16  may be provided as a wired or wireless network and may be enabled and hosted by a server  160  and one or more communications devices  161  distributed throughout the building  10 . The one or more communications devices  161  may include routers, signal repeaters, etc. In some cases, the one or more communications devices  161  may include Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BTLE) devices as well as devices that are communicative via Wi-Fi networks, Zigbee networks and other well-known communication networks (LTE, LoRa, etc.). 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , each one of the multiple guest rooms  13  includes one or more interior spaces  130  that is accessible via a front door  131 . The front door  131  is equipped with a door lock which may be coupled to an online or offline door access controller  133  (in an event the door access controller  133  is offline, the count maintained can be relayed to the server  160  by a mobile device). A guest staying at the hotel initially checks in at the front desk  11  and is given access rights to his guest room  13  which he then presents to the door access controller  133  prior to engaging the door lock. The door access controller  133  then controls the door lock to either grant the guest access to the guest room  13  or prohibit such access based on whether or not the access rights are verified. The access rights may be presented as a code, a key card or in an application which is installed on a mobile device  17  (see  FIG. 6 ) held by the guest and communicative with the network  16  directly or via additional communication networks, such as cellular networks. The access rights may be usable by the guest to access his guest room as well as certain additional public spaces in the building  10 , such as the fitness center  14  and the restaurant  15 . 
     In accordance with embodiments, the door access controller  133  may count a number of people entering or exiting the guest room  13  by counting a number of times the front door  131  is opened and closed. Since more than one person can enter and exit the guest room  13  during each opening and closing of the front door  131 , the count may be otherwise enabled, facilitated or confirmed by an in-room sensor  134  that monitors one or more environmental conditions within the guest room  13  and/or by the application installed on the mobile device  17  (here, the application monitors the location and movement of the mobile device within the building  10  and thus the guest room  13 ). 
     In accordance with embodiments, the door lock may have a sensor for detecting whether the door is opened or closed. Further, the door lock may have a sensor that detects the passage of people through the front door  131 . These sensors may include, for example, a light or reflective beam signal that indicates when the door is open or when someone passes through the front door  13 . In addition, the application and/or the mobile device  17  can recognize that the mobile device  17  is near or in the guest room by well-known features. These include, for example, utilization of a Bluetooth™ beacon from the door lock or by triangulation of Wi-Fi signals. Also, it is to be understood that, if the mobile device  17  is in the guest room  13 , the guest must be in the room as most people don&#39;t leave their mobile device  17  unaccompanied. 
     Whether the count of the number of people entering and exiting the guest room  13  is generated by the door access controller  133 , the in-room sensor  134  and/or the application installed on the mobile device  17 , the count may be communicated to and received by the network  16  or, more particularly, the server  160 . The network  16  recognizes the information provided by the count as an indication of an occupancy status of the guest room  13 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the fitness center  14  may be located on any of the multiple floors  12  and includes one or more interior spaces  140  that are accessible via a front door  141 . As above, the front door  141  is equipped with a door lock which may be coupled to an online or offline door access controller  143  (again, in an event the door access controller  133  is offline, the count maintained can be relayed to the server  160  by a mobile device). Once a guest staying at the hotel checks into the front desk  11  and is given access rights to his guest room  13  that also work with the fitness center  14 , the guest can present the access rights to the door access controller  143 . The door access controller  143  then controls the door lock to either grant the guest access to the fitness center  14  or prohibit such access based on whether or not the access rights are verified. 
     In accordance with embodiments, the door access controller  143  may count a number of people entering or exiting the fitness center  14  by counting a number of times the front door  141  is opened and closed. Since more than one person can enter and exit the fitness center  14  during each opening and closing of the front door  141 , the count may be otherwise enabled, facilitated or confirmed by an in-room sensor  144  that monitors one or more environmental conditions within the fitness center  14  and/or by the application installed on the mobile device  17  (here, the application monitors the location and movement of the mobile device within the building  10  and thus the fitness center  14  similarly as described above). 
     In the fitness center  14 , the assets of the building  10  may be provided as pieces of exercise equipment  145 . The pieces of exercise equipment  145  may include, for example, treadmills  1451 , elliptical machines  1452 , rowing machines  1453 , etc. Each piece of exercise equipment  145  may include a usage sensor  146  that senses whether the piece of exercise equipment  145  is currently in use or not. Readings of the usage sensors  146  can also be used to enable, facilitate or confirm the count of the number of people in the fitness center  14 . 
     As used herein, the in-room sensor  144  may be a camera that has built-in video processing analytics that determine from the video feed how many people are in the fitness center  14 . This may be done by comparing a baseline picture with no people in the room with a current video image and the number of ‘blobs’ that are different can determine how many people are in the room. Additionally or alternatively, the in-room sensor  144  may be a thermal imager that senses heat/cold and based on the number of ‘hot spots’ in the field of view where each person is a hot-spot this could lead to a rough count of occupancy, a motion sensor that compares subsequent frames to detect movement of distinct objects or a radar or passive infrared sensor that has multiple zones of detection with enough granularity to indicate which parts of the room are occupied and from that to determine a count of occupancy or a % of occupancy. 
     As used herein, the usage sensor  146  may include a sensor that detects if a machine is running, switch on or moving and reports the status of the detecting as a usage status back to the network  16  or, more particularly, the server  160 . In some cases, the usage sensor  146  may be configured to sense vibration and infer from those vibrations that the machine is in use. Alternatively, the usage sensor  146  may be configured to be integrated into the machine and directly recognize if the machine is powered or switch on then the sensor knows it is in use, etc. 
     Whether the count of the number of people entering and exiting the fitness center  14  is generated by the door access controller  143 , the in-room sensor  144 , the application installed on the mobile device  17  and/or the usage sensors  146 , the count may be communicated to and received by the network  16  or, more particularly, the server  160 . The network  16  recognizes the information provided by the count as an indication of an occupancy status of the fitness center  14  and as an indication of the usage status of the pieces of exercise equipment  145   
     It is to be understood that a ‘count’ can be indicative of ‘usage’ and vice-versa. A ‘count’ could be expressed as an actual number (e.g., a room has 10 of a maximum 15 occupancy), as a percentage occupancy, as a bar-graph, a simple occupied/not occupied indicator, etc. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the restaurant  15  may be located on any of the multiple floors  12  and includes one or more interior spaces  150  that are often accessible without requiring passage through a door. Thus, a count of the number of people entering and exiting the restaurant  15  may only be provided by in-restaurant sensors  151  and/or by the application installed on the mobile device  17  (here, the application monitors the location and movement of the mobile device within the building  10  and thus the restaurant  15  similarly as described above). The restaurant management system may indicate which tables are full and this could also be used to indicate a rough occupancy status of the restaurant  15  (e.g., X% of the tables are full). The restaurant management system could also send a message to the server  160  on the network  16  to indicate occupancy status. 
     Whether the count of the number of people entering and exiting the restaurant  15  is generated by the in-restaurant sensors  151  and/or the application installed on the mobile device  17 , the count may be communicated to and received by the network  16 . The network  16  recognizes the information provided by the count as an indication of an occupancy status of the restaurant  15 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , at least the server  160  includes a processing circuit  501 , a memory unit  502  and a networking unit  503  (it is to be understood that all computing devices mentioned herein may include these or similar features). The processing circuit  501  may be provided as a central or distributed computing device. The networking unit  503  is configured such that the processing circuit  501  is communicative with the network  16 , the one or more communications devices  161 , the door access controllers  133 , the in-room sensors  134 , the door access controller  143 , the in-room sensor  144 , the usage sensors  146 , the in-restaurant sensors  151  and the application installed on the mobile device  17 . The memory unit  502  includes executable instructions stored thereon which are executable by the processing circuit  501 . When executed by the processing circuit  501 , the executable instructions cause the processing circuit  501  to operate as disclosed herein. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , a system  601  is provided for deployment in the building  10 . The system  601  includes the network  16  with the server  160  and the one or more communications devices  161 , as described above, and a monitoring element disposed in signal communication with the network  16 . The monitoring element may be provided as one or more of the server  160 , the door access controllers  133 , the in-room sensors  134 , the door access controller  143 , the in-room sensor  144 , the usage sensors  146 , the in-restaurant sensors  151  and the application installed on the mobile device  17 . As such, the monitoring element is configured to monitor occupancy statuses of the multiple guest rooms  13 , the fitness center  14  and the restaurant  15 , to additionally monitor respective usage statuses of assets in one or more of the multiple guest rooms  13 , the fitness center  14  and the restaurant  15  and to report the respective occupancy statuses and the respective usage statuses to the network  16 . The network  16  and, more particularly, the processing circuit  501  of the server  160  may be configured to provide a notification reflective of the respective occupancy statuses and the respective usage statuses to an individual who may be interested in entering a given guest room  13  or who may be interested in using at least one of the assets in the fitness center  14  or the restaurant  15 . 
     In accordance with embodiments, the monitoring element or the server  160  may also be configured to detect and/or calculate a decay factor in the occupancy statuses. That is, if a door lock indicates that twenty people enter a room and if we know what the average time that people spend in the particular room, then over time the server  160  can indicate a confidence level or a decay factor of the count based on average occupancy times. This way the server  160  could indicate that the occupancy is 10 people after a given period of time without further input or it could indicate that the occupancy is 5-10 people in a range (because of the uncertainty due to elapsed time or to uncertainty of the count). 
     In accordance with embodiments, the notification may be provided automatically or upon request and may be provided as a passive notification (e.g., a red light associated with a treadmill  1451  in the fitness center  14 ) or an active notification (e.g., a text message alerting the individual to which the mobile device  17  is associated to the fact that the treadmill  1451  in the fitness center  14  is in use and has been for  15  minutes). In accordance with embodiments, the notification may be displayed on a mobile device  17 , on a computer, on a screen in the guest room  13 , on a screen in a lobby of the hotel, on a website, etc. This status could be continuous and updatable and available for viewing continuously or it could be provided on request/demand as indicated herein. In the red light example given above, the red light may be provided as a physical red light, a red light on a map displayed on the mobile device  17  or other computer that shows the current status of the treadmill or it may be a general occupancy indication of the fitness center  14  as in “50% full), etc. 
     In accordance with further embodiments, the monitoring element may be configured to perform analytics. In such cases, the memory unit  502  may include recording capacity such that occupancy data and usage data aggregated over time or over certain times is recorded as historical data which is usable by the monitoring element to determine how occupancy data and usage data change over time. In this way, certain trends can be identified such as, for example, a trend suggesting that the fitness center  14  is busiest during a certain time of the day. This type of trend could then be used as additional information for gauging the occupancy status of a certain region at a certain time of day, for gauging the usage status of a certain machine in the fitness center  14  at a certain time of day or for determining building management strategies based on occupancy and usage (e.g., making certain machines in the fitness center  14  available at certain particularly busy times or increasing an amount of food laid out in the buffet of the restaurant  15  at certain particularly busy time for the restaurant  15 ). 
     The identified trends (or trend information) may be displayed alone or with current status information. That is, trend information may be included along with current occupancy status so that a guest can ascertain, based on historical information as to when a better time might be to visit a given location, use a given resource, etc. 
     Thus, with reference to  FIG. 6 , once the monitoring element generates an output including the respective occupancy statuses and the respective usage statuses and reports that output to the network  16  (block  601 ), at least one of the monitoring element, the network  16  and the processing circuit  501  may review the historical data stored in the memory unit  502  (block  602 ) to verify that one or more of the respective occupancy statuses and the respective usage statuses are consistent with the historical data (block  603 ) or to determine whether any one or more of the respective occupancy statuses and the respective usage statuses are inconsistent with the historical data and need to be reviewed, reconsidered, etc. (block  604 ). In the latter case, in particular, it may be prudent to consider not advising a user of a non-occupied or not-in-use status of a given location or a machine in the fitness center  14 . For example, if a given machine in the fitness center  14  is defective it might never be in use but it would be inconvenient to suggest a user that he go to the fitness center  14  to use it. Here, historical data or trend information could indicate that the machine was at one time in use frequently but is no longer used and thus may need to be repaired or replaced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , in an initial operation of the system  601 , the usage sensors  146  of each of the pieces of equipment  145  in the fitness center  14  report that they are not currently in use to the server  160  of the network  16  via the door access controller  143  (points  1  and  2  with point  2  being optional) while the applications installed on the mobile devices  17  of multiple guests report the locations and movement of the multiple guests throughout the building  10  to the server  160  of the network  16  (point  3 ). At a certain time, a given guest decides he wants to use one of the treadmills  1451  and uses the application installed on his mobile device  17  to look up the usage statuses of the treadmills  1451  from the server  160  of the network  16  (points  4  and  5 ). The processing circuit  501  (see  FIG. 5 ) responds to the given guest&#39;s inquiry by reviewing a most recent usage report of each of the usage sensors  146 , determining that all of the treadmills  1451  are available for use and notifying the given guest of this availability by, for example, issuing an “available” text message or by displaying a green light over each of the treadmill icons in the application (point  6 ). 
     With reference to  FIG. 8 , a method of monitoring asset usage and informing individuals about asset usage information is provided. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the method includes disposing a monitoring element in signal communication with a network or a server (block  801 ), configuring the monitoring element to monitor respective usage statuses of assets in one or more of multiple rooms of a building and to report the respective usage statuses to the network or the server (block  802 ) and configuring the network or the server to provide a notification reflective of the respective usage statuses to an individual interested in using at least one of the assets in the one or more of the multiple rooms (block  803 ). 
     The systems and methods described herein saves customer time and can be applied to commercial domains (i.e., where hotel guests can be tracked for occupancy in particular rooms or where the vacancy level of a parking lot is reported to a potential customer) or educational institutions (i.e., where students will get the occupancy status in the library, indoor sports room, etc.). 
     While the disclosure is provided in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the disclosure is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that the exemplary embodiment(s) may include only some of the described exemplary aspects. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.