Patent Application
20190228348
Coworking and other shared workspaces offer members many benefits lacking in traditional office environments—flexible space use and support, diverse and vibrant communities of members, engaging activities and events, and so on. These shared workspaces provide limitless layouts of spaces and areas, including private offices, conference rooms, common areas, kitchens, phone booths, and private and shared desks.
A workspace can achieve such flexibility when providing a large area of common or shared spaces, such as shared desks, phone booths, and so on. These common or shared spaces act to balance the needs of members to find private or quiet spaces at certain times within the coworking environment. However, at times, issues may arise in effectively and efficiently providing such spaces to members of a workspace or shared community.
Embodiments of the present technology will be described and explained through the use of the accompanying drawings.
The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Similarly, some components or operations may be separated into different blocks or combined into a single block for discussion of some of the embodiments of the present technology. Moreover, while the technology is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the technology to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the technology is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims.
Systems and methods for facilitating the reservation of shared or common spaces or areas, such as desks and phone booths, within a workspace are described. The systems and methods can facilitate the matching of a member to a work area, such as a desk, that provides the member with a desired work environment or experience. For example, some types of workspaces or areas (e.g., shared or common desks) are always available (e.g., there are more desks than members wanting a desk), and the systems and methods facilitate the selective pairing of these types of spaces or areas to members.
Further, the systems and methods can facilitate the use of or access to phone booths, conference rooms, and other private, quiet, or specialized use areas or spaces. For example, these types of spaces can be in demand within a workspace (e.g., having fewer phone booths than members needing to use phone booths at any given time), and the systems and methods manage the access and reservation of these types of spaces for the members of the workspace.
The systems and methods also enable desks and phone booths (and other similar spaces) to act as peripheral devices to mobile devices associated with members of a workspace. For example, the systems and methods can control the activation of physical space (e.g., services provided by a desk or phone booth) upon the performance of certain actions by members within the space. Also, the systems and methods facilitate the pairing of mobile devices to interface devices of desks and phone booths, enabling members to seamlessly move between different areas of a workspace, among other benefits.
Various embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods will now be described. The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and an enabling description of these embodiments/implementations. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that these embodiments/implementations may practice fewer than all of these details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments/implementations. The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments/implementations.
As described herein, the systems and methods enable members of a workspace to reserve and access different shared or common areas or spaces, such as shared desks, phone booths, conference rooms, and so on.
The computing environment 100 facilitates the exchange of data and information between a workspace 105 and a space reservation system 150, such as a system that performs the various operations or processes described herein. The workspace 105 includes different shared areas or spaces, including phone booths 110, shared desks 115, and other similar types of spaces (e.g., conference rooms, shared tables or seating areas, and so on).
The workspace 105 can also include other types of spaces, including private offices or areas, kitchens, pantries, help desks, entry points, bathroom facilities, lounges, industry-specific spaces (e.g., maker spaces, studios, lab or computing spaces), and so on. Thus, although
The phone booths 110 and/or shared desks 115 include certain components or devices to exchange data with the system 150 via a network 130. For example, the booths 110 or desks 115 can include wireless beacons, Bluetooth components, wireless transceivers/components, or other devices or components configured to communicate over a network, such as the Internet or within a private network.
Further, the workspace 105 can include various components, sensors, devices, and so on, that function to collect data associated with managing the workspace 105 and optimizing or modifying its operations. For example, the workspace 105 can include various sensors to gather environmental data, including temperature via a network connected temperature sensor, noise levels via a network connected microphone, activity levels via one or more network connected motion sensors, light levels via one or more network connected image sensors, and so forth.
A member of the workspace 105 can access the network 130 via an associated mobile device 120, such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, and so on. The mobile device 120 can include a mobile application 125, such as an application provided by the workspace 105 and configured to facilitate and enhance communications or actions of the member within the workspace 105. As described herein, the mobile application 125 can manage or assist in authorizing the member to use the workspace 105, can facilitate check-in actions for the member, can present information about the workspace 105 (e.g., layout information, operating information, event information, resources access, ordering actions, and so on), etc.
Thus, in some implementations, a member of the workspace 105 may send a request to reserve a phone booth 110 or shared desk 115 via his/her mobile device 120. The system 150 receives the request and performs various operations described herein to manage and handle the request.
The space reservation system 150 can access a member system 140 when handling requests or performing actions for members. The member system 140 stores information for members, such as biographical information, information about member access rights, electronic addresses for members (phone number, email address, etc.), historical information about member usage of the workspace 105 (or other workspaces associated with the workspace 105), information about member connections or contacts, and any other information associated with providing context about a work environment or experience desired or requested by the member.
Thus, in some implementations, the space reservation system 150 facilitates the reservation of different spaces (e.g., phone booths 110 or shared desks 115) within the workspace 105 on behalf of members of the workspace 105, in order to optimize the use of the workspace 105 with respect to the work experiences sought by members within the workspace 105, among other benefits.
Aspects of the environment 100 can be embodied in a special purpose computing device or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured, or constructed to perform one or more of the computer-executable instructions explained in detail herein. Aspects of the system may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices, which are linked through a communications network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Aspects of the environment 100 may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media (e.g., physical and/or tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage media), including magnetically or optically readable computer discs, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROM semiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, or other data storage media. Indeed, computer implemented instructions, data structures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of the system may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks (including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagation medium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over a period of time, or they may be provided on any analog or digital network (packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme). Portions of the system reside on a server computer, while corresponding portions reside on a client computer such as a mobile or portable device, and thus, while certain hardware platforms are described herein, aspects of the system are equally applicable to nodes on a network. In an alternative embodiment, a mobile device or portable device may represent the server portion, while the server may represent the client portion.
As described herein, the space reservation system 150 includes various modules or components that function to facilitate the exchange of data with phone booths and shared desks and to perform various operations or processes for reserving access or use of the phone booths and shared desks on behalf of members.
For example, the space reservation system 150 performs various operations concerning a shared desk, such as one or more of the shared desks 115. A shared desk, as described herein, is a desk generally unassigned to any member of the workspace 105 when the desk is not in use (contrast this with a private desk, which is generally associated with a single member, regardless of whether it is in use). Thus, one member of the workspace 105 can utilize a particular shared desk on a Monday, and another member can utilize the desk on a Tuesday.
A shared desk can be a simple desk or can include various components that facilitate communications between the desk and the system 150, that interact with other sensors or capture devices within the workspace 105, and/or that perform operations to automatically adjust or reconfigure the desk based on the member assigned to the desk.
As depicted in
Returning to
Further, the shared desk includes an adjustment component 230 configured to automatically adjust the height or position of the desk 200, to provide a physical configuration of the desk 200 suitable for the member paired to the desk 200. Thus, the adjustment component 230 can include a motor or other actuator that facilitates the translation or rotation of the desk 200 within 3D space.
Although not shown, the shared desk 200 can also include various sensors, including a presence sensor (e.g., a long-range depth sensor, motion sensor facing toward a front of the desk, a pressure sensor to sense weight on the desk) that detects the presence of a member at the desk, various environmental sensors (e.g., noise or audio sensors, temperature sensors, light level sensors, image sensors, vibration sensors, movement sensors, and so on).
Thus,
For example, the shared desk 200 includes an interface component 282 that provides various power and interface services to the member (as described herein), a communication component 284 that facilitates the exchange of data and information between the desk 200 and the network 130, and a presence component 286 that determines when a member is working at the desk (or otherwise using the desk).
Thus, the shared desk 200 is configured to determine or capture data associated with a work environment surrounding the desk (e.g., where an environment is defined by noise, light, and/or temperature levels around the desk), transmit the data to the system 150 via one or more communication components, receive data from the system 150 (or from the mobile device 120), and perform actions to adjust a physical configuration of the desk 200, display information for the member (e.g., acting as a peripheral to the mobile device 120), display information identifying a status of the desk 200, and so on.
Further, other spaces, areas, or furniture within the workspace 105 can include similar components to those depicted concerning the shared desk 200. For example, phone booths 110 can also include presence sensors, power modules, communication components, and user interfaces. Further, the phone booths 110 can include additional configurable physical components, such as configurable lighting, displays, benches, desks or table tops, internal temperature components (e.g., thermometer electrically connected to the member system 140, thermostat), noise canceling devices, and so on.
As described herein, the space reservation system 150 performs various operations or processes when selecting and/or reserving a shared desk for a member of the workspace 105.
In operation 310, the space reservation system 150 receives a request to access a desk, such as one of the shared desks 115, within a workspace. For example, the system 150 may receive input from a member provided via the member application 125 of the member's mobile device 120.
In some cases, the request includes various information provided by the member (e.g., duration of use for the desk, type of desk, geographical or internal location of the desk), as well as parameters or attributes desired by the member and stored within the system 150 or accessible by the system 150 (e.g., stored in the member system 140). For example, the request can include context information for the member and/or the request, such as information identifying previous desks utilized by the member, a type of work environment desired by the member, a location that includes certain other members within the workspace 105 (e.g., colleagues or friends of the member), and so on.
In operation 320, the space reservation system 150 identifies one or more desks available to provide a work environment that satisfies parameters within the request. The system 150 can review a database of all desks within the workspace 105, and selects desks having current or fixed characteristics that match a work environment requested by the member.
For example, the system 150 can track various characteristics or parameters applied to a desk within a workspace. These characteristics or parameters can be dynamically determined, as well as updated or modified over time. Example characteristics include: current noise levels at or around a desk, current light levels at or around a desk, current activity levels at or around a desk, current temperature at or around a desk, and so on. While not shown, the workspace 105 includes various sensors to gather environmental data, including temperature via a network connected temperature sensor, noise levels via a network connected microphone, activity levels via one or more network connected motion sensors, light levels via one or more network connected image sensors, and so forth.
In some cases, using various measured parameters, the system 150 can categorize a desk as providing certain work environments or experiences. For example, a desk in a back corner of a room and/or having a low lighting level parameter and a low noise level parameter can provide a “quiet and calm” work environment, whereas a desk located near an elevator or shared space and/or having a high noise level parameter and high activity level parameters, can provide a “social” work environment. The space reservation system 150 stores data regarding attributes and categorizations of desks and other resources within the workspace 105.
Further, the system 150 can also categorize a desk based on its location within a workspace concerning the locations of other members of the workspace. For example, the system 150 can access information identifying one or more friends or colleagues of the member and selects desks that are proximate to these identified friends or colleagues within the workspace. The member system 140 stores data regarding colleagues or connections between members to facilitate space reservation, including, in some cases, connections between members via one or more social media sites or services.
In operation 330, the space reservation system 150 presents an interface depicting the identified desks within the workspace 105. For example, the system 105 renders and displays a map of a layout of a workspace via an interface of the mobile application 125, and highlights, via various graphical elements, available desks that satisfy the request.
In operation 340, the space reservation system 150 facilitates a reservation of one of the identified desks for the member. For example, the member can select a desk identified as available via the mobile application 125, and the system 150, in response to the selection, reserves the desk for the member. In some cases, the system 150 can automatically reserve one of the identified desks suitable to the member without receiving input from the member. The space reservation system 150 maintains a database reflecting all desks, phone booths, conference rooms and other resources provided in the workspace 105, as well as parameters are attributes of all resources within the workspace, and likewise maintains calendaring data for coordinating reservation of such resources as described herein.
Once the module 402 is selected, the mobile application 125, as depicted in
Once the member selects the desk 422, the mobile application 125, as depicted in
In
The check-in action performed by the member can cause the performance of various additional actions. Returning to
In some cases, the member can utilize a single sign-on (SSO) action when performing the check-in operation at the desk. Example SSO actions include waving of an RFID keycard at a sensor at the desk, providing mobile credentials, biometric information, or other single or multi-factor authentication information. The single sign-on action enables the desk to receive identity information for the member, as well as presence information, which authorizes the member to receive services provided by the desk and the workspace 105. Thus, in some cases, once a shared desk is provided an identity (such as a member identity), the workspace 105 can provide a seamless and consistent interaction with the member across various areas (e.g., desks, phone booths, conference rooms) or services (e.g., mail, laundry, food ordering, printing, guest registration).
As described herein, the space reservation system 150, in some implementations, facilitates the access by members of certain spaces (e.g., phone booths 110 and conference rooms) that are in great demand within the workspace 105.
In operation 510, the space reservation system 150 receives a request to reserve a common space (e.g., phone booth, conference room, another shared area) from a member. For example, the system 150 may receive input from a member provided via the member application 125 of the member's mobile device 120. The input may include a time at which to reserve the space (e.g., “now” or “at 3 PM”), as well as other information that identifies the reason for the reservation (e.g., a phone call or meetings), the number of members associated with the request (e.g., one or a group), and so on.
In operation 520, the space reservation system 150 determines the status of each shared space within the workspace 105. For example, the system 150 accesses various systems that monitor real-time or scheduled use of the workspace 105, to determine what spaces are available and/or predict when the spaced will next be available.
In operation 530, the space reservation system 150 presents an interface depicting a status of each common space within the workspace 105. For example, the mobile application 125 presents a layout of all phone booths within the space, as well as color indicators that identify a status of each of the phone booths and information identifying current and predicted usage of the phone booths.
In operation 540, the space reservation system 150 facilitates the reservation of a common space for the member. For example, via the interface presented by the mobile application 125, the system 120 can receive input from the member and reserve a booth for a certain future time period, perform an immediate reservation of a phone booth, or place the member in a queue of members waiting to use one of the phone booths within the workspace 105.
In some cases, the system 150 determines another phone booth is a better match for the member (e.g., has a lower estimated wait time or is closer to the member's location), and presents, as depicted in
Further, as shown in interface 650, the member can perform other actions, such as order coffee 652, add guests, and so on, via a common, shared experience. Thus, the workspace 105, via integration (e.g., full-stack integration) of different devices spaces, and services enables the member to experience a consistent and seamless experience within the workspace 105, regarding of the specific area or space at which they are located.
Although the interfaces depict the placement of the member in a queue for a single phone booth, other implementations may utilize a common or combined queue for some or all phone booths (or, conference rooms) within a workspace 105. Unlike desks, phone booths are indistinguishable from one another, and are only used temporarily by a member (e.g., for a 30-minute phone call), and, thus, a member may not care to use a specific phone booth when another booth becomes available.
Similar to check-in actions with shared desks, the performance of a check-in action (or other access) with respect to a common space can trigger certain actions performed by the common space (or, by devices of the common space). Returning to
For example, the phone booth (or conference room) determines the member has commenced use of the space and initiates Bluetooth pairing that is only advertised to the mobile device of the member, in order to facilitate an efficient and seamless pairing between the mobile device and various devices of the phone booth. The phone booth (or other databases of the system 150) stores pairing information from previous use of the phone booth, and, upon the member's check-in, advertises to the mobile device for current pairing.
In another example, the phone booth or conference room (collectively, shared room) receives a wireless signal from the member's mobile device and automatically configures the shared room for specific use by that member. The wireless transceiver in or near the shared room receives a wireless signal from the member's mobile device (e.g. smart phone) where that wireless signal can be a Bluetooth signal or a 4G/5G signal, etc., where that signal includes an identifier uniquely identifying the member (Bluetooth ID, mobile phone number, etc.). When the system receives this unique identifier at or near the shared room, the system accesses the member system 140 to retrieve member preferences and automatically configures the shared room based on those preferences. Further, the system automatically pairs the member's mobile device to resources in the shared room, such as a speakerphone, videoconferencing system, and so forth. Moreover, the shared room can automatically poll for a wireless connection to the member's laptop to connect the laptop with, for example, a display monitor or with a display projector to permit the user to present a slide presentation via the display projector within the shared room. Once the time for the meeting expires, the system can cease all wireless connections with the member's devices (and can provide a warning to the member before closing wireless connections). Wireless connections to other devices are possible, such as to a two-dimensional printer, a three-dimensional or additive printer, a high-fidelity audio system, a virtual reality or augmented reality headset, etc.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise”, “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein”, “above”, “below”, and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or”, in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.
The above-detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the teachings to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the disclosure are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or sub-combinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel or may be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternative implementations may employ differing values or ranges.
The teachings of the disclosure provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
Any patents and applications and other references noted above, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the disclosure can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the disclosure.
These and other changes can be made to the disclosure in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain embodiments of the disclosure, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in the text, the teachings can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the subject matter disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosure should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the disclosure encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosure under the claims.
From the preceding, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Accordingly, the embodiments are not limited except as by the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/618,588, filed on Jan. 17, 2018, entitled USER CUSTOMIZABLE WORKSPACE AND PHONE BOOTH, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62618588 | Jan 2018 | US |
