Support device, support program, and support method

Abstract

We provide technology to support the renovation of toilet rooms. [Solution] The support device 50 includes an information acquisition unit 61 that acquires information regarding the current state of the toilet room 21, a renovation plan generation unit 64 that generates a renovation plan for the toilet room 21 based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 61, and a report output unit 68 that outputs the renovation plan for the toilet room generated by the renovation plan generation unit 64.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a support device, a support program, and a support method for assisting in the renovation of a toilet room.

Background Art

[0002] In commercial facilities, entertainment facilities, etc. used by a large number of people, it is desirable to install an appropriate number of toilets in appropriate locations according to the purpose of the facility, the number of users, their attributes, etc.

[0003] A design support system has been proposed to facilitate appropriate facility design according to the users of toilets and the purpose of buildings (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When a facility is constructed, the number and location of toilets installed in the facility may not be appropriate. Also, when the purpose of the facility, the number of users, their attributes, etc. change, the number and location of toilets may become inappropriate.

[0006] In view of such problems, the present disclosure has been made, and its object is to provide a technology for assisting in the renovation of a toilet room.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To solve the above problems, a support device in one aspect of the present disclosure includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information about the current state of a toilet room, a renovation plan generation unit that generates a renovation plan for the toilet room based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs the renovation plan for the toilet room generated by the renovation plan generation unit.

[0008] Another aspect of this disclosure is a support method. This method causes a computer to perform the steps of: acquiring information about the current state of a toilet room; generating a proposed renovation plan for the toilet room based on the acquired information; and outputting the generated proposed renovation plan for the toilet room.

[0009] Furthermore, any combination of the above components, as well as any conversion of the expressions of this disclosure between methods, apparatus, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc., are also valid forms of this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the configuration of the support system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows the procedure for the support method according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows the congestion and traffic flow in a toilet room as simulated by a support device. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the configuration of the support device according to the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] As an embodiment of this disclosure, we will describe a technology for supporting the renovation of toilet rooms installed in commercial facilities, entertainment facilities, and the like.

[0012] When a facility is constructed, the number and location of toilets are usually designed to match the facility's purpose, the number and characteristics of its users. However, it is difficult to accurately predict the number and characteristics of users before construction, and these factors may change after construction. If the number and location of toilets do not match the current situation regarding the number and characteristics of toilet users, problems may arise such as queues forming in the toilets or users being forced to travel long distances to reach them. Depending on the severity of the problem, it may be necessary to remodel the number and location of toilets, as well as the number and placement of equipment such as toilets and sinks installed in the toilets, to match the current situation.

[0013] However, in many cases, it is difficult for facility owners or managers (collectively referred to simply as "managers") to accurately grasp the current state and problems of the toilets installed in their facilities. Furthermore, even if they are able to grasp the current state and problems of the toilets, it is difficult for facility managers to determine how to renovate the toilets to resolve the problems currently occurring.

[0014] To address these challenges, the support system of this embodiment acquires information on the current state of the toilet room, analyzes the acquired information to report the current state and problems of the toilet room to the facility manager, and generates and proposes a toilet room renovation plan to the facility manager. This allows the system to propose a renovation plan that is appropriate to the current state of the toilet room to the facility manager, thereby appropriately supporting the renovation of the toilet room and solving the problems occurring in the toilet room. Furthermore, it can provide the facility manager with information to determine whether or not the toilet room needs renovation, making the renovation plan more persuasive and promoting the renovation of the toilet room.

[0015] Figure 1 shows the configuration of the support system 10 according to the embodiment. The support system 10 comprises a support device 50 that assists in the renovation of a toilet room 21 installed in a facility 20, a staff terminal 40 used by a person in charge who proposes the renovation of the toilet room 21 to the manager of the facility 20, a sensor 27 installed inside or outside the toilet room 21 to detect information about the current state of the toilet room 21, a communication device 22 that transmits the information detected by the sensor 27 to the support device 50, and the Internet 12, which is an example of a communication means for communication between these devices.

[0016] The sensor 27 may be, for example, a LiDAR, an imaging device, an imaging device with a distance measuring function, or a human presence sensor, which is a sensor capable of detecting information to acquire information such as the shape and usage status of the toilet room 21. The sensor 27 may be permanently installed, or it may be installed for a certain period (for example, about a week) when proposing renovations to the toilet room 21.

[0017] Facility 20 is provided with one or more toilet rooms 21. Each toilet room 21 is provided with a door 23, a washbasin 26, one or more stalls 24, a door 25 for each stall 24, a toilet unit 30 installed in each stall 24, a controller 31 for the user of the toilet unit 30 to input operating instructions to the toilet unit 30, and a urinal 32 installed in the men's toilet room 21. The toilet unit 30 may be a Japanese-style toilet unit or a Western-style toilet unit. Hereinafter, the toilet unit 30, including the urinal 32, will be collectively referred to as "toilet unit 30".

[0018] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the support method according to the embodiment.

[0019] The support device 50 acquires information regarding the current state of the toilet room 21 (S10). The support device 50 may acquire, from the staff terminal 40, the investigation results by the staff who visited the toilet room 21 for on-site investigation. The support device 50 may acquire, from the staff terminal 40, drawings such as a floor plan and an elevation view of the toilet room 21, 2D CAD data, 3D CAD data, BIM (Building Information Modeling) data, a parts list, the number, shape, position of the toilet device 30, washbasin 26, etc. installed in the toilet room 21, the occupancy time of the toilet device 30, washbasin 26, etc., the occurrence frequency, occurrence time zone, occurrence position of the waiting line, and information such as interference of the traffic flow. The support device 50 may acquire, from the staff terminal 40, information such as requests and conditions regarding the renovation of the toilet room 21 from the administrator of the facility 20. The support device 50 may acquire the information detected by the sensor 27 from the communication device 22. The support device 50 may acquire, from the communication device 22, for example, point cloud data detected by LiDAR, a still image or moving image captured by an imaging device, the presence or absence of a person detected by a human presence sensor, the operation history of the controller 31, and the open / closed state detected by an open / close sensor installed on the door 23 or door 25.

[0020] Based on the acquired information, the support device 50 recognizes the shape of the toilet room 21 (S12). The support device 50 may recognize the shape of the toilet room 21 based on, for example, point cloud data detected by LiDAR or an image captured by an imaging device having a distance measuring function, and generate a floor plan, an elevation view, etc. If the support device 50 acquires information representing the shape of the toilet room 21, such as a drawing of the toilet room 21, step S12 may be omitted.

[0021] The support device 50 analyzes the usage status of the toilet room 21 based on the acquired information (S14). The support device 50 may analyze the entry and exit of people to and from the toilet room 21, the occurrence frequency, occurrence time zone, occurrence location, length, and interference of the movement line of the waiting queue generated inside or outside the toilet room 21 based on the point cloud data detected by LiDAR or the like. The support device 50 may analyze the number of users, usage frequency, occupancy time, etc. of the toilet device 30 based on the operation history of the controller 31 and the information detected by the opening / closing sensors and human presence sensors installed on the doors 23 and 25.

[0022] The support device 50 generates a renovation plan for the toilet room 21 based on the acquired information, the recognized shape of the toilet room 21, the analyzed usage status of the toilet room 21, etc. (S16). The support device 50 inputs data such as the shape of the toilet room 21 and the usage status of the toilet room 21, and uses an algorithm that outputs data such as the number of toilet rooms 21, location, and the number of facilities such as the toilet device 30 and the washbasin 26 to obtain data such as the number of installed toilet rooms 21 that suits the current situation of the toilet room 21, and generates a renovation plan for the toilet room 21 based on the acquired data. This algorithm may be a rule-based algorithm or an artificial intelligence constructed by a neural network or the like. In the latter case, the algorithm may be pre-learned by machine learning using information such as the shape, usage status, number, location, and number of facilities of the existing toilet room 21 as learning data.

[0023] For example, when the occurrence frequency or length of the waiting queue exceeds a predetermined threshold, the support device 50 may generate a renovation plan including the addition or expansion of the toilet room 21, the addition of the toilet device 30 or the private room 24. When the waiting queue of the private room 24 and the waiting queue of the washbasin 26 interfere with each other in the toilet room 21, the support device 50 may generate a renovation plan including the change of the layout of the toilet room 21.

[0024] If the generated renovation plan includes additions or deletions of equipment in the toilet room 21, or changes in location, the support device 50 generates a layout plan for the equipment in the toilet room 21 (S18). The support device 50 places the equipment to be placed in the toilet room 21 according to the rules defined for each type of equipment to be placed, and generates a layout plan.

[0025] The support device 50 simulates congestion and traffic flow in the current toilet room 21 and in the toilet room 21 after it has been renovated according to the renovation plan (S18). Figure 3 shows the congestion and traffic flow in the toilet room 21 as simulated by the support device 50. Based on the acquired information, the number and location of equipment such as toilets 30 and washbasins 26 installed in the toilet room 21, and the usage status of the toilet room 21, the support device 50 simulates the entry and exit of users and their traffic flow in the toilet room 21.

[0026] The support device 50 generates a report to inform the facility manager of the current status of the toilet room 21 based on the acquired information and the analyzed usage status of the toilet room 21 (S16). The support device 50 generates a report that includes information representing the current status of the toilet room 21 and the contents of the renovation plan. The support device 50 may also generate a report that includes the simulation results of the usage status of the toilet room 21 in its current state and the simulation results of the usage status of the toilet room 21 after renovation according to the renovation plan. This makes it possible to visually present the usage status of the toilet room 21 before and after renovation in an easy-to-understand manner, and provides useful information for the facility manager to determine whether or not renovation is necessary. The support device 50 may generate a report that includes the usage status of the toilet room 21 acquired by LiDAR or an imaging device, instead of, or in addition to, the simulation results of the usage status of the toilet room 21 in its current state.

[0027] The support device 50 outputs the generated report to the staff member's terminal 40 (S24). The staff member presents the report displayed on the display device of the staff member's terminal 40 to the facility manager. This allows the facility manager to easily explain the proposed renovation of the toilet room 21.

[0028] The data, analysis results, and simulation results acquired by the support device 50 may be used in estimation, design, and construction after receiving an order for the renovation of the toilet room 21.

[0029] Figure 4 shows the configuration of the support device 50 according to the embodiment. The support device 50 comprises a communication device 51, a storage device 80, and a control device 60. The support device 50 may be a server device, a personal computer or other device, or a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone terminal, smartphone, or tablet terminal.

[0030] The communication device 51 controls communication with other devices. The communication device 51 may communicate using any communication method, whether wired or wireless.

[0031] The storage device 80 stores programs, data, etc., used by the control device 60. The storage device 80 may be a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc. Information acquired from the communication device 22, the staff terminal 40, etc., is stored in the storage device 80.

[0032] The control device 60 includes an information acquisition unit 61, a shape recognition unit 62, a usage status analysis unit 63, a modification plan generation unit 64, a layout plan generation unit 65, a usage status simulator 66, a report generation unit 67, and a report output unit 68. These configurations can be realized in hardware terms by arbitrary circuits, a computer's CPU, memory, or other LSIs, and in software terms by programs loaded into memory, but here we are describing functional blocks realized through the cooperation of these components. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms, such as hardware only or a combination of hardware and software.

[0033] The information acquisition unit 61 acquires information regarding the current status of the toilet room 21 from the person in charge's terminal 40, communication device 22, etc., and stores it in the storage device 80.

[0034] The shape recognition unit 62 recognizes the shape of the toilet room 21 based on the acquired information.

[0035] Based on the acquired information, the usage analysis unit 63 analyzes the usage status of the toilet room 21, including the number of people entering and exiting the toilet room 21, the frequency of queues occurring inside or outside the toilet room 21, the time of occurrence, the location and length of queues, interference with traffic flow, the number of users of the toilet equipment 30, the frequency of use, and the duration of occupancy.

[0036] The renovation plan generation unit 64 generates a renovation plan for the toilet room 21 based on the acquired information, the recognized shape of the toilet room 21, and the analyzed usage status of the toilet room 21.

[0037] The layout plan generation unit 65 generates a layout plan for the equipment in the toilet room 21 if the generated renovation plan includes additions or deletions of equipment in the toilet room 21, changes in location, etc.

[0038] The usage simulator 66 simulates congestion levels and traffic flow in the current toilet room 21 and in the toilet room 21 after it has been renovated according to the renovation plan.

[0039] The report generation unit 67 generates a report to the facility manager 20 regarding the current status of the toilet room 21, based on the acquired information and the analyzed usage status of the toilet room 21.

[0040] The report output unit 68 outputs the generated report to the employee terminal 40.

[0041] The present disclosure has been described above based on embodiments, but embodiments merely illustrate the principles and applications of the present invention. Furthermore, many modifications and changes in arrangement are possible in the embodiments, without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined in the claims.

[0042] The support system of this embodiment can be applied not only to toilet rooms in facilities where a specific number of users or an unspecified number of users are expected, but also to the renovation of toilets in ordinary homes, public toilets installed in parks or on streets, etc. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0043] 10...Support system, 20...Facility, 21...Toilet room, 22...Communication device, 23...Door, 24...Individual room, 25...Door, 26...Washbasin, 27...Sensor, 30...Toilet equipment, 31...Controller, 32...Urinal, 40...Person in charge terminal, 50...Support device, 61...Information acquisition unit, 62...Shape recognition unit, 63...Usage status analysis unit, 64...Renovation plan generation unit, 65...Layout plan generation unit, 66...Usage status simulator, 67...Report generation unit, 68...Report output unit.

Claims

[Claim 1] An information acquisition unit that obtains information regarding the current state of the toilet room, A renovation plan generation unit generates a renovation plan for the toilet room based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, An output unit that outputs the renovation plan for the toilet room generated by the renovation plan generation unit, A support device equipped with the following features.

Images