Usage management device, usage management method, and program

Abstract

To suppress deterioration in convenience while appropriately managing energy management and security.SOLUTION: A usage management device includes: an acquisition unit configured to acquire reservation information related to a room reservation made by a user; a location determination unit configured to acquire location information of the user from a first external device and determine whether the user is present in the room related to the reservation information based on the location information and the reservation information; and a control unit configured to transmit, to a second external device, a control signal for enabling equipment in the room to operate when the user is present in the room.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a usage management device, a usage management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, anyone who has access to a room can operate equipment such as lighting and air conditioning, making it difficult to manage energy and security. In addition, locking a room to restrict access also limits the use of the space itself, which can reduce convenience. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-083464 A [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 2023-514174 [Patent Document 3] JP 2023-120214 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its objects is to suppress a decrease in convenience while appropriately managing energy management and security. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a usage management device of one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires reservation information regarding a room reservation made by a user, a presence determination unit that acquires location information of the user from a first external device and determines whether the user is present in the room related to the reservation information based on the location information and the reservation information, and a control unit that, if the user is present in the room, transmits a control signal to a second external device to enable operation of equipment in the room. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, the equipment in a room can be managed so that it can be used by a user who has made a reservation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the surrounding environment of the usage management device 100. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a location information managing device 200 and peripheral devices. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of history information 232. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of partitioning of an area. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a building equipment control device 300 and peripheral devices. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence between areas and equipment system classifications. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of facility information 332. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an authentication and authorization device 400. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of user information 442. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a usage management device 100. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information 152. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the usage management device 100. [Figure 13]13 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of the process executed by the usage management device 100. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a usage management device, a usage management method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the surrounding environment of a usage management device 100. The building may be a public facility or an office building. The usage management device 100 is a device that allows a user to make a reservation to use a room in the building and manages the building's equipment based on the reservation. The usage management device 100 communicates with a location information management device 200, a building equipment control device 300, and an authentication and authorization device 400 via a network. The location information management device 200 is an example of a "first external device." The building equipment control device 300 is an example of a "second external device." The functions and roles of the usage management device 100 will be described later.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the location information management device 200 and peripheral devices. The location information management device 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, a management unit 220, and a storage unit 230. The management unit 220 is realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of the functions of the management unit 220 may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0011] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for connecting to a network. The communication unit 210 communicates with each of the usage management device 100 and the authentication and authorization device 400 via the network. The communication unit 210 also communicates with each of a plurality of RFID communication devices 250, a plurality of card readers 260, or a plurality of beacon transmitters 270 in the building. The communication unit 210 can receive information from a terminal device such as a user's smartphone.

[0012] The management unit 220 manages the position information of users present in the room. The position information of the users is identified by various methods. As described below, the management unit 220 identifies and manages the position information of the users using an RFID communication device 250, a card reader 260, and a beacon transmitter 270. The management unit 220 stores the identified position information in history information 232, which will be described later.

[0013] The RFID communication device 250 is, for example, an RFID reader. The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader is activated, for example, when a user opens a door / gate device 280 in a room and enters the room, emits radio waves, and receives a user ID returned by an RF tag or an IC tag. The management unit 220 identifies the presence of a user having the user ID in the vicinity of the RFID communication device 250 that has received the user ID.

[0014] Card reader 260 is, for example, an IC card reader. Card reader 260 is installed, for example, at the entrance of a room, reads a user ID included in an IC card held by a user, and transmits the ID of card reader 260 and the user ID to management unit 220. Management unit 220 identifies the user's position information based on the transmitted user ID and the position of card reader 260 obtained from the ID of card reader 260.

[0015] The beacon transmitter 270 periodically transmits a signal (beacon). The signal (beacon) transmitted by the beacon transmitter 270 is received by a terminal device such as a user's smartphone. The terminal device transmits the ID of the beacon transmitter contained in the received signal (beacon) to the management unit 220. Identification information of the user's terminal device is linked to a user ID in advance. The management unit 220 identifies the user's location information based on the information transmitted from the terminal device.

[0016] The door / gate device 280 is a device that can transmit a signal indicating that the door / gate device 280 has been opened or closed. For example, when the door / gate device 280 is opened or closed by a user, the door / gate device 280 transmits a signal to the user's terminal device. When the terminal device receives the signal, it receives the signal (beacon) transmitted from the beacon transmitter 270.

[0017] The storage unit 230 may be realized by the various storage devices described above, or an EEPROM, a ROM, or a RAM (or the like). The storage unit 230 stores, for example, history information 232.

[0018] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the history information 232. The history information 232 stores information in which, for example, a history ID, a position, a user ID, a detection date and time, and the like are associated with one another. The position is indicated for each area obtained by dividing a room into a plurality of areas. A new record is created for the history information 232 when the position of the same user changes.

[0019] 4 is a diagram showing an example of area partitions. Room B has card reader 260-1 and card reader 260-2 at the entrance, and when user A holds his / her IC card over card reader 260, management unit 220 determines that user A has entered the room. Room B has doorless partitions at front side 1 and back side 2, and can be reserved separately. Management unit 220 uses the ID of card reader 260 and the user ID included in the IC card to determine whether user A is in either area.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the building equipment control device 300 and peripheral devices. The building equipment control device 300 includes, for example, a communication unit 310, a control unit 320, and a storage unit 330. The control unit 320 is realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of the functions of the control unit 320 may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device equipped with a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0021] The building facility control device 300 controls, for example, a plurality of lighting devices 350, a plurality of air conditioning devices 360, and a plurality of outlets 370 in a building.

[0022] The communication unit 310 is a communication interface for connecting to a network, and receives a signal from the usage management device 100 via the network.

[0023] The control unit 320 controls the facility equipment of the building based on the content of the control signal received from the usage management device 100. The control signal received from the usage management device 100 includes an area and control content. The control unit 320 controls the facility equipment corresponding to the area based on the control content. The control content may include enabling the facility equipment to operate or disabling the facility equipment to operate. The facility equipment is, for example, lighting equipment 350, air conditioning equipment 360, and outlets 370. An facility equipment ID is assigned to each facility equipment, and the control unit 320 can control each facility equipment ID.

[0024] An equipment ID may be assigned to each equipment for each system division. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between areas and equipment system divisions. FIG. 6 shows a space diagram of a room X, a system diagram C of lighting equipment 350 in the room X, a system diagram D of air conditioner 360 in the room X, and a system diagram E of outlets 370 in the room X, arranged side by side. In the system diagram C, the lighting equipment 350 is divided into six system divisions LX-1 to LX-6. The lighting equipment 350 can be turned on / off by wall switches L1 to L6 of the lighting equipment 350 for each area of ​​the system division. The wall switches L1 to L6 are controlled by the control unit 320 to operate or not.

[0025] In system diagram D, air conditioners 360 are divided into three system sections, AX-1 to AX-3. Air conditioners 360 can be turned on / off for each system section area by wall switches S1 to S3 of air conditioners 360. Wall switches S1 to S3 are controlled by control unit 320 to operate or not.

[0026] In system diagram E, the outlets 370 are divided into four system sections, RX-1 to RX-4. One or more outlets 370 exist in each area of ​​each system section. The outlets 370 are controlled by the control unit 320, and when controlled to be operable, all the outlets 370 in that area become operable.

[0027] The storage unit 330 may be realized by the various storage devices described above, or an EEPROM, a ROM, or a RAM (or the like). The storage unit 330 stores, for example, facility information 332.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the facility information 332. The facility information 332 is information in which, for example, an area ID and a facility device ID are associated with each other. A plurality of facility device IDs may be stored in one record. In an area to which an area ID of "00001" is assigned, for example, facility devices with facility device IDs of "010", "023", "058", "099", and the like are associated with each other. These facility device IDs are, for example, facility device IDs assigned to lighting devices 350, air conditioners 360, and outlets 370. The control unit 320 controls facility devices linked to the above-mentioned four facility device IDs corresponding to the area ID based on the area ID included in the signal received from the usage management device 100.

[0029] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the authentication and authorization device 400. The authentication and authorization device 400 includes, for example, a communication unit 410, a user management unit 420, an authentication and authorization unit 430, and a storage unit 440. The user management unit 420 and the authentication and authorization unit 430 are each realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). A part or all of the functions of the user management unit 420 and the authentication and authorization unit 430 may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0030] The communication unit 410 is a communication interface for connecting to a network, and communicates with the usage management device 100 and the position information management device 200 via the network.

[0031] The user management unit 420 manages user information. When a new user is registered or when user information is changed, the user management unit 420 stores the information in user information 442, which will be described later.

[0032] The authentication and authorization unit 430 authenticates that the user is a legitimate user based on the user ID and the like at the time of reservation, and accepts the reservation. The authentication and authorization unit 430 also checks whether the user has authority to use the room based on the user's location information and identification information and user attributes transmitted from the location information management device 200, and grants authorization if the user has authority. This authorized information is authorization information.

[0033] The storage unit 440 may be realized by the above-mentioned various storage devices, or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 440 stores, for example, user information 442.

[0034] 9 is a diagram showing an example of user information 442. User information 442 is information in which, for example, a user ID, a user name, an update date, user attributes, and the like are associated with each other. User information 442 stores one record per user ID.

[0035] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the usage management device 100. The usage management device 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, an acquisition unit 120, a location determination unit 130, a control unit 140, and a storage unit 150. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 150 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0036] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to a network, and communicates with the location information management device 200, the building facility control device 300, and the authentication and authorization device 400 via the network.

[0037] The acquisition unit 120 acquires reservation information 152 related to a room reservation made by a user. The reservation information 152 may be information on a reservation accepted by another external device (such as a web server or an intranet server), or may be information related to a reservation accepted by the usage management device 100.

[0038] The acquiring unit 120 acquires the user information 442 from the authentication / authorization device 400. The acquiring unit 120 repeatedly acquires the user information 442 at regular intervals, and stores the latest user information 442 in the storage unit 150.

[0039] As described above, the authentication and authorization unit 430 authenticates the user when reserving a room. If the user making the reservation is authenticated as a legitimate user by the authentication and authorization unit 430, the reservation is accepted. On the other hand, if the user making the reservation is not recognized as a legitimate user and authentication is not passed, the user information 442 cannot be obtained from the authentication and authorization device 400, and the reservation information 152 is not accepted by the usage management device 100.

[0040] The presence determination unit 130 acquires the user's position information from the position information management device 200, and determines whether or not the user is present in the room related to the reservation information 152, based on the position information and the reservation information 152. The presence determination unit 130 may determine whether or not the user is present in each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the room into a plurality of areas.

[0041] When a user is present in the room, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the building equipment control device 300 for enabling the equipment in the room. The presence determination unit 130 determines whether a user is present in each area, and when a user is present, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the building equipment control device 300 for enabling the equipment in the area where it is determined that a user is present. When the presence determination unit 130 determines that a user is not present in the room, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the building equipment control device 300 for disabling the equipment in the room.

[0042] For example, when the location determination unit 130 determines that user G is present in conference room F, and the control unit 140 compares this with the reservation information 152 acquired by the acquisition unit 120, and if a predetermined condition is met, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the building equipment control device 300 to enable operation of the equipment in conference room F. The predetermined condition is that the reserved room included in the reservation information 152 is the same as conference room F, the detection time of the location information is within the reservation time included in the reservation information 152, and the person who reserved conference room F is user G.

[0043] When the reserved time slot has elapsed, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to the building equipment control device 300 to disable the equipment in the room even if a user is present in the room.

[0044] The storage unit 150 may be realized by the various storage devices described above, or an EEPROM, a ROM, or a RAM (or the like). The storage unit 150 stores, for example, reservation information 152 and user information 442.

[0045] 11 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information 152. The reservation information 152 is information in which, for example, a reservation ID, a room, a reservation time, a user ID, and accompanying persons are associated with each other. A room may be registered in area units. Accompanying persons may be information on the number of people or may be a user ID. Multiple accompanying persons may be registered.

[0046] The reservation information 152 may indicate that a single room has been reserved by multiple users at the same time, and when the location determination unit 130 determines that one or more of the multiple users are present in a room reserved by multiple users, the control unit 140 transmits a signal to the building equipment control device 300 with control content that enables the equipment in the room to operate.

[0047] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the usage management device 100. The flowchart in Fig. 12 shows an example of the flow of processing executed for a room reserved by one user by referring to the reservation information 152.

[0048] The location determination unit 130 acquires location information related to the room from the location information management device 200 (step S100).

[0049] The presence determination unit 130 determines whether the user is in the reserved room and within the reserved time based on the reservation information 152 and the user information 442 (step S110).

[0050] If the user is present in the reserved room, the presence determination unit 130 determines whether the current time is within the reserved time period (step S120).

[0051] If the current time is within the reserved time, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to enable the equipment in the room (step S130).

[0052] In the process of step S110, if the user is not present in the reserved room, the process returns to step S100.

[0053] In the process of step S120, if the current time is outside the reserved time, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to disable the facility equipment in the room (step S140). After the process of step S150, the process returns to step S100.

[0054] By having the usage management device 100 manage the equipment in a room so that it can be used by the user who made the reservation, only the user who made the reservation and his / her associates can operate the equipment, making it easy to check the actual record of the use of a specific equipment. Also, by having the usage management device 100 manage the equipment in a room so that it can be used by the user who made the reservation, unauthorized use of the equipment can be prevented.

[0055] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of the process executed by the usage management device 100. The flowchart in Fig. 13 shows an example of the flow of the process executed for a room that is reserved by a plurality of (two) users.

[0056] The location determining unit 130 acquires the location information related to the room from the location information managing device 200 (step S200).

[0057] The presence determination unit 130 determines whether or not one or both of the users who made the reservation are present in the reserved room, based on the reservation information 152 and the user information 442 (step S210).

[0058] If one or both users are present in the reserved room, the presence determination unit 130 determines whether the current time is within the reserved time of the present user (step S220).

[0059] If the current time is within the reserved time, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to enable the equipment in the room (step S230).

[0060] In the process of step S210, if the user is not present in the reserved room, the process returns to step S100.

[0061] In the process of step S220, if the current time is outside the reserved time, the control unit 140 transmits a control signal to disable the facility equipment in the room (step S240). After the process of step S240, the process returns to the process of step S200.

[0062] Even if multiple users reserve a room, the usage management device 100 can specify the location information for each user who made the reservation and transmit a control signal to enable the equipment during the reservation time of each user, thereby enabling control so that the user who made the reservation can use the equipment. Furthermore, even if reservations by different users overlap, the usage management device 100 validates all reservations, thereby not reducing the convenience of users who share the same space.

[0063] The "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" are 17 international goals adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015. The usage management device, usage management method, and program according to the present embodiment can contribute to the achievement of the 17 SDGs, for example, goal "9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industry, and foster innovation."

[0064] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 100 Usage management device 110 Communications Department 120 Acquisition Department 130 Location Determination Unit 140 Control section 150 Storage section 200 Location information management device 210 Communications Department 220 Management Department 230 Storage section 232 History Information 250 RFID communication device 260 Card Reader 270 Beacon Transmitter 280 Door and Gate Devices 300 Building equipment control device 310 Communications Department 320 Control Unit 330 Storage section 332 Equipment information 350 Lighting equipment 360 Air conditioning equipment 370 Outlets 400 Authentication and authorization device 410 Communications Department 420 User Management Department 430 Authentication and Authorization Department 440 Storage section 442 User information

Claims

1. an acquisition unit for acquiring reservation information relating to a room reservation made by a user; a presence determination unit that acquires location information of the user from a first external device and determines whether the user is present in a room related to the reservation information based on the location information and the reservation information; and a control unit that transmits a control signal to a second external device to activate an equipment device in the room when the user is present in the room. Usage management device.

2. The presence determination unit determines whether or not the user is present in each of a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the room into a plurality of areas; The control unit transmits a control signal to the second external device for enabling operation of the facility equipment in the area where it is determined that the user is present.

2. The utilization management device according to claim 1.

3. When the presence determination unit determines that the user is not present in the room, the control unit transmits a control signal to the second external device for disabling the facility equipment in the room.

2. The utilization management device according to claim 1.

4. The reservation information includes information about the time period for which the user reserved the room, When the time period has elapsed, the control unit transmits a control signal to the second external device to disable the facility equipment in the room even if the user is present in the room.

2. The utilization management device according to claim 1.

5. The reservation information may indicate that a single room has been reserved by multiple users at the same time, When the presence determination unit determines that one or more of the plurality of users are present in a room reserved by the plurality of users, the control unit transmits to the second external device control content for enabling the facility equipment in the room to be operated.

2. The utilization management device according to claim 1.

6. The usage management device: Obtaining reservation information relating to a room reservation made by a user; acquiring location information of the user from a first external device, and determining whether or not the user is present in a room related to the reservation information based on the location information and the reservation information; transmitting a control signal to a second external device to activate equipment in the room when the user is present in the room; A usage management method that performs the above.

7. A processor of the usage management device Obtaining reservation information relating to a room reservation made by a user; acquiring location information of the user from a first external device, and determining whether or not the user is present in a room related to the reservation information based on the location information and the reservation information; a process of transmitting a control signal to a second external device for controlling an equipment device in the room to be operable when the user is present in the room; A program for executing the above.

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