Patent Application
20200380431
The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to the field of seating system, and more particularly to an apparatus and method of operating a seating system.
Existing seating systems are typically assigned manually by a human resources representative and do not allow much flexibility for users to seat where they desire.
According to one embodiment, a method of recommending a seat location is provided. The method comprising: receiving environmental parameter preferences from one or more user devices; receiving environmental parameters for one or more seat locations; determining a seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to the environmental parameter preferences and the environmental parameters, the seat location recommendation identifying a seat location for each of the one or more user devices; and transmitting the seat location recommendations to each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a seating restriction.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a selected comfort score.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a weighted ranking of each user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include adjusting a component at the seat location for each of the one or more user devices in response to user attributes of the user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include: activating an alarm on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation is received.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include: displaying the seat location recommendation on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation is received.
According to another embodiment, a seat management system is provided. The seat management system comprising: a processor; and a memory comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving environmental parameter preferences from one or more user devices; receiving environmental parameters for one or more seat locations; determining a seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to the environmental parameter preferences and the environmental parameters, the seat location recommendation identifying a seat location for each of the one or more user devices; and transmitting the seat location recommendations to each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a seating restriction.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a selected comfort score.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a weighted ranking of each user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the operations further comprise: adjusting a component at the seat location for each of the one or more user devices in response to user attributes of the user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the operations further comprise: activating an alarm on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation is received.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the operations further comprise: displaying the seat location recommendation on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation is received.
According to another embodiment, a computer program product tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium is provided. The computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving environmental parameter preferences from one or more user devices; receiving environmental parameters for one or more seat locations; determining a seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to the environmental parameter preferences and the environmental parameters, the seat location recommendation identifying a seat location for each of the one or more user devices; and transmitting the seat location recommendations to each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a seating restriction.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a selected comfort score.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the determining further comprises: adjusting the seat location recommendation for each of the one or more user devices in response to a weighted ranking of each user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the operations further comprise: adjusting a component at the seat location for each of the one or more user devices in response to user attributes of the user of each of the one or more user devices.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments may include that the operations further comprise: activating an alarm on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation is received.
Technical effects of embodiments of the present disclosure include a system to take into account user seat preferences and allocate seats among users in accordance with the preferences of each user.
The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description and drawings are intended to be illustrative and explanatory in nature and non-limiting.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
The first user device 208a may be a computing device such as a desktop computer. The first user device 208a may also be a mobile computing device that is typically carried by a person, such as, for example a phone, PDA, smart watch, tablet, laptop, etc. The first user device 208a may also be two separate devices that are synced together such as, for example, a cellular phone and a desktop computer synced over an internet connection. The first user device 208a may include a processor 250a, memory 252a and communication module 254a as shown in
The second user device 208b may be a computing device such as a desktop computer. The second user device 208b may also be a mobile computing device that is typically carried by a person, such as, for example a phone, PDA, smart watch, tablet, laptop, etc. The second user device 208b may also be two separate devices that are synced together such as, for example, a cellular phone and a desktop computer synced over an internet connection. The second user device 208b may include a processor 250b, memory 252b and communication module 254b as shown in
As shown in
The interconnected systems 400 may each include a processor, memory, and communication module. For ease of illustration, the processor, memory, and communication module are not shown in
The positioning system 430 is configured to determine the current position 530 of the first user device 208a and the second user devices 208b. The current position 530 of the first user device 208a may be referred to as the first current position 530 and the current position 530 of the second user device 208b may be referred to as the second current position 530. Each current position 530 may include the (x, y, z) coordinates of the first user device 208a and/or the second user devices 208b on a map. The (x, y, z) coordinates may translate to a latitude, a longitude, and an elevation, which may then be mapped to a seat location 311 within the building. Each current position 530 may include a mapped position inside and/or outside a building, such as, for example, a parking space, a test area, a building, a room, a floor, and/or a cubicle. A mapped position may be used for the current position 530 with the specific (x, y, z) coordinates are not available. For instance, the current position 530 may depict that a user is located on the 2nd floor in conference room A. The seat location 311 may identify the building, the floor, the room, and/or the cubical where a seat may be located. A physical seat/workstation may not actually exist there but a current seating plan may be reconfigured to accommodate a seat at that location. The positioning system 430 may use various methods in order to determine the current position 530 such as, for example, GPS, Bluetooth triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation, cellular signal triangulation, or any other location determination method known to one of skill in the art. The positioning system 430 is configured to transmit the current position 530 to each of the user devices 208. Each user device 208 may be configured to assign a seat location 311 to each environmental parameter 310 detected in response to the current position 530 of the user device 208.
Environmental parameters 310 may also be detected by a building management system 440. The building management system 440 may include various environmental control systems such as, for example, a lighting system, an air conditioning system, a heating system, a humidification system, a dehumidification system, or any other environmental control system known to one of skill in the art. The building management system 440 may also include a plurality of sensors 444 to detect environmental parameters 310 both inside and outside a building at various seat locations 311. Each seat location 311 being a positional location of a workstation where a user may work. The building management system 440 and the user devices 208 communicate the environmental parameters 310 to the environmental parameters system 470. The environment parameter system 470 may store the environmental parameter 310 as current environmental parameters 472 for a selected period of time or until the environmental parameters 310 are updated with newer environmental parameters 310. Older environmental parameters 310 are then stored as historical environmental parameter 474 in the environmental parameter system 470 after newer environmental parameters 310 are received.
A user device 208 may submit environmental parameters preferences 320 to the user profile system 420. The user profile system 420 is configured to receive and store the environmental parameter preferences 320 from a user device 208 of each user. The environmental parameter preferences 320 may depict what environmental parameters 310 a user of a user device 208 may prefer. In a few non-limiting examples, a user may prefer a lot of acoustical noise or no noise, a user may prefer a lot of light or a little light, a user may prefer it hotter, or a user may prefer it colder. The environmental parameters 310 may include but are not limited to acoustic preferences 322, lighting preference 324, temperature preferences 326, and humidity preferences 328.
The seat location recommendation system 460 is configured to determine a seat location recommendation 550 in response to at least one of the environmental parameter preferences 320, the current environmental parameters 472, and the historical environmental parameters 474. The seat location recommendation 550 may be adjusted by at least one of a comfort score 590, a selected comfort score 592, user attributes 576, and weighted ranking 572, which are discussed further below in relation to
The seat management system 460 may receive the seat location recommendation 550 and determine if the seat is already occupied or not. If the seat is already occupied, the seat location recommendation 550 may see if a seat exchange may be appropriate. If a seat exchange may be appropriate the seat management system 410 will transmit a seat exchange proposal 552. In an embodiment, the seat exchange proposal 552 may not be transmitting automatically but may be transmitted in response to a seat exchange request. A seat exchange may be appropriate if the environmental parameters 310 at a first seat location 311 of a first user match the environmental parameters preferences 320 at a second seat location 311 of a second user; and the environmental parameters 310 at the second seat location 311 match the environmental parameters preferences 320 of the first user. A user of a user device 208 may either approve or deny the seat exchange proposal 252 by transmitting a seat exchange response 336.
The first user device 208a and the second user device 208b communicate with the interconnected systems 400, and with each other via the software application 255a and 255b, respectively. The communication may occur over a wireless network, such as 802.11x (Wi-Fi), short-range radio (Bluetooth), cellular, satellite, etc. In some embodiments, an interconnected system 400 may include, or be associated with (e.g., communicatively coupled to) a networked system, such as kiosk, beacon, lantern, bridge, router, network node, building intercom system, etc. The networked system may communicate with the first user device 208a and the second user device 208b using one or more communication protocols or standards. For example, the networked system may communicate with the first user device 208a and the second user device 208b using near field communications (NFC). In an embodiment, the first user device 208a and the second user device 208b may communicate with an interconnected system 400 through a networked system. In other embodiments, the first user device 208a and the second user device 208b may establish communication with an interconnected system 400 that is not associated with a networked system in the building. This connection may be established with various technologies including GPS, 802.11x (Wi-Fi), cellular, or satellite, by way of non-limiting example. In example embodiments, the first user device 208a and the second user device 208b communicate over multiple independent wired and/or wireless networks. Embodiments are intended to cover a wide variety of types of communication between the first user device 208a, the second user device 208b, and the interconnected systems 400, thus embodiments are not limited to the examples provided in this disclosure.
Referring now to
The seat location recommendation 550 may be transmitted to each of the one or more user devices 208. The seat location recommendations 550 may be displayed on the each of the one or more user devices when the first seat location recommendation 550 is received. An alarm 259a, 259b may be activated on each of the one or more user devices when the seat location recommendation 550 is received.
The seat location recommendation 550 for each of the one or more user devices may be adjusted in response to a seating restriction 570. For example, a user may be may not be allowed to sit in a particular seat location 311 based upon, seniority, security clearance, and/or export clearance.
The seat location recommendation 550 for each of the one or more user devices 208 may be adjusted in response to a selected comfort score 592. A comfort score 590 may depict a percentage of environmental parameter preferences 320 achieved. For example, if a user of a user device 280 has four parameters preferences and only three parameter preferences 320 are satisfied by a seat location recommendation 550 then the comfort score 590 may be considered 75%. Further, the comfort score 590 may be a percentage of each parameter preference 320 achieved rather than a binary (e.g., pass/fail) of each parameter preference 320. If a user of a user device 280 has four parameters preferences and each of the four parameter preferences 320 are 75% satisfied by a seat location recommendation 550 then comfort score 590 may be considered 75%. The comfort score 590 may be computed by either the seat management system 410 and/or the seat location recommendation system 460. When determining a seat location recommendation 550 for each of the one or more user devices 208 a selected comfort score 592 may be desired to be achieved. For instance, it is understandable that not everyone could have a comfort level 590 of 100% (i.e. meaning they are 100% satisfied), so a selected comfort score 592 of 90% may be a target goal to achieve. The selected comfort score 592 may be an average, median, and/or total comfort level of the comfort level for each seat recommendation 550 for each of the one or more user devices 208.
The seat location recommendation 550 for each of the one or more user devices may be adjusted in response to a weighted ranking 572. The weighted ranking may be a seniority level and/or a disability level in two non-limiting examples. In one example, a senior employee may be given preference to seat locations 311 by windows by a higher weighted ranking 572. In another example, an employee with a physical disability may be given preference to seat locations 311 near elevators by a higher weighted ranking 572. The environmental preferences 320 of a first user of a first user device 208a may be given higher priority than the environmental preferences 320 of a second user of a second user device 208b based on the weighted ranking 572.
The seat management system 410 may command an adjustment 580 of a seat component 480 at the selected seat location 311 in response to a user attribute 576 associated with the user of the user device 208 now assigned to the selected seat location 311. The user attribute 576 may be an attribute personal to the user (ex: a name) and/or physical attributes affecting the ergonomics of the user, such as for example height. The adjustment may include adjusting the height of a chair and/or a desk at a seat location 311 to ergonomically fit the user. The adjustment 580 may also include changing a name tag at the second seat location 311.
While the above description has described the flow process of
As described above, embodiments can be in the form of processor-implemented processes and devices for practicing those processes, such as a processor. Embodiments can also be in the form of computer program code containing instructions embodied in tangible media, such as network cloud storage, SD cards, flash drives, floppy diskettes, CD ROMs, hard drives, or any other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes a device for practicing the embodiments. Embodiments can also be in the form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the computer program code is loaded into an executed by a computer, the computer becomes an device for practicing the embodiments. When implemented on a general-purpose microprocessor, the computer program code segments configure the microprocessor to create specific logic circuits.
The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2018/046627 | 8/14/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62545265 | Aug 2017 | US |
