User Location Management System

Abstract

To detect the user's location accurately and reliably at low cost. [Solution] The terminal device communicates with and acquires a near-field wireless communication tag, and transmits the location information acquired from the near-field wireless communication tag to the management device as location information. When the terminal device accepts an operation to configure the environment settings, it transmits the operation result to the management device. The management device controls the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the operation result received from the terminal device and the location information received from the terminal device, and stores the environment settings that reflect the operation result. When the management device receives location information from the terminal device, it applies the stored environment settings to the control of the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the location information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a user location management system for managing the location of a user.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an indoor positioning system using a beacon transmitter. Patent Document 2 describes an indoor positioning system using ultrasonic waves.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As positioning systems suitable for indoor use, various systems have been proposed in addition to those described above. However, for example, when it is desired to measure the position in units of office seats, there is no appropriate system due to low accuracy, inability to detect stably, high cost, etc. An object of this invention is to solve such problems, for example.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The user location management system comprises: a short-range wireless communication tag placed in each individual area of ​​an indoor space and storing location information indicating which individual area it is placed in; a blower device installed in an air outlet provided in the floor separating the indoor space from the underfloor space, corresponding to the individual area; and a management device that manages terminal devices that can be used as remote controllers to operate the blower device corresponding to the individual area where a user is located. The terminal device communicates with the short-range wireless communication tag to acquire the location information acquired from the short-range wireless communication tag and transmits it to the management device as location information. When the terminal device accepts an operation to configure the environment settings, it transmits the operation result to the management device. The management device controls the blower device corresponding to the individual area and stores the environment settings that reflect the operation result based on the operation result received from the terminal device and the individual area based on the location information received from the terminal device. When the management device receives the location information from the terminal device, it applies the stored environment settings to the control of the blower device corresponding to the individual area based on the location information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the aforementioned user location management system, the user's location can be detected accurately and stably at low cost. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram illustrating an example of a user location management system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] As shown in Figure 1, the user location management system 10 includes, for example, an air conditioning unit 11, a management device 12, a wireless communication device 16, air outlets 51a to 51c, and control devices 52a to 52c. The air conditioning unit 11 supplies conditioned air to the underfloor space 15. The underfloor space 15 is separated from the interior space 13 by the floor 14. The floor 14 is provided with air outlets 41a to 41c. The air supplied from the air conditioning unit 11 to the underfloor space 15 is blown out into the interior space 13 through the air outlets 41a to 41c.

[0009] The blowing device 51a is, for example, a motor damper. The blowing device 51a is installed inside the outlet 41a. The blowing device 51a controls the air blown out from the outlet 41a. For example, the blowing device 51a can close the outlet 41a to stop air from blowing out of it. Alternatively, the blowing device 51a can fully open the outlet 41a to blow air out of it. Or, the blowing device 51a may half-open the outlet 41a to reduce the amount of air blown out from the outlet 41a to half of what it would be when fully open. The degree to which the blowing device 51a opens the outlet 41a is not limited to fully closed, fully open, or half-open, but may also be one-third open, two-thirds open, or other degrees.

[0010] The control device 52a is, for example, a small computer such as a Raspberry Pi (registered trademark) or a circuit board on which a CPU is mounted. The control device 52a is located in the underfloor space 15, close to the air outlet device 51a. The control device 52a is wired to the air outlet device 51a. The control device 52a sends control signals to the air outlet device 51a via the wired connection. In this way, the control device 52a controls the operation of the air outlet device 51a. The power supply for the control device 52a is provided, for example, from an outlet located in the underfloor space 15. The control device 52a may also supply power to the air outlet 51a. This reduces the amount of wiring required to supply power to the air outlet 51a.

[0011] Similarly, the dispensing device 51b is installed inside the outlet 41b and controls the air dispensed from the outlet 41b according to the control device 52b. The dispensing device 51c is installed inside the outlet 41c and controls the air dispensed from the outlet 41c according to the control device 52c.

[0012] The wireless communication device 16 communicates wirelessly with the control devices 52a to 52c. The wireless communication device 16 also communicates with the management device 12 via a network (not shown). The network connecting the wireless communication device 16 and the management device 12 may be a wired network or a wireless network. It may also be a local area network or a wide area network such as the Internet. There may also be multiple wireless communication devices 16. The wireless communication device 16 may be located in the interior space 13 or in the underfloor space 15.

[0013] The management device 12 is, for example, a computer such as a server device. The management device 12 may be located on the cloud. For example, it may be a virtual computer realized by one or more server devices connected by a network such as the internet running a virtualization program. The control device 12 communicates with the control devices 52a to 52c via the wireless communication device 16. Through this communication, the control device 12 sends control commands to the control devices 52a to 52c, thereby controlling them. The control commands sent from the control device 12 to the control devices 52a to 52c may specifically instruct the opening degree of the air outlet devices 51a to 51c, or they may instruct a target temperature, etc. If the control command instructs a target temperature, the control devices 52a to 52c autonomously control the opening degree of the air outlet devices 51a to 51c based on the room temperature detected by, for example, a temperature sensor (not shown) installed in the individual areas 32a to 32c.

[0014] The interior space 13 has individual areas 32a to 32c. These individual areas 32a to 32c may be physically separated by partitions or the like, or they may be conceptual and not physically separated. Individual area 32a corresponds to the air outlet 41a. In other words, individual area 32a is an area that is air-conditioned by the air blown out from the air outlet 41a.

[0015] A near-field communication (NFC) tag 34a is placed within the individual area 32a. The NFC tag 34a is, for example, an NFC tag and is attached, for example, to a desk 33a located within the individual area 32a. The NFC tag 34a stores location information in advance. The location information indicates which of the individual areas 32a to 32c the NFC tag is placed in. In other words, the NFC tag 34a stores location information that points to individual area 32a.

[0016] Similarly, individual area 32b corresponds to the air outlet 41b, and within it is a short-range wireless communication tag 34b that stores location information indicating the individual area 32b. Individual area 32c corresponds to the air outlet 41c, and within it is a short-range wireless communication tag 34c that stores location information indicating the individual area 32c.

[0017] User 80 is, for example, an employee working in the indoor space 13 and possesses a terminal device 18. The terminal device 18 is, for example, a portable computer such as a smartphone or a laptop computer. The terminal device 18 has an application program installed that is configured to automatically activate when user 80 holds the terminal device 18 over any of the near-field wireless communication tags 34a to 34c. By executing this program, the terminal device 18 communicates with the near-field wireless communication tag and obtains the location information stored in the near-field wireless communication tag. Subsequently, the terminal device 18 communicates with the management device 12 and transmits the owner information and location information to the management device 12. For example, it accesses the Web API provided by the management device 12 and transmits the owner information and location information using methods such as GET or POST. Owner information refers to information indicating the user 80 who possesses the terminal device 18. The presence location information is information indicating in which of the individual areas 32a to 32c the terminal device 18 is present. Since the terminal device 18 is held above one of the short-range wireless communication tags 34a to 34c, it is present in the individual area indicated by the placement location information stored in the short-range wireless communication tag. Therefore, the placement location information acquired by the terminal device 18 from the short-range wireless communication tag can be directly used as the presence location information of the terminal device 18. Thus, the terminal device 18 sends the placement location information acquired from the short-range wireless communication tag to the management device 12 as the presence location information. Note that the communication between the terminal device 18 and the management device 12 may be, for example, via the wireless communication device 16, or may be via another network such as a mobile phone communication network.

[0018] The management device 12 receives the holder information and the presence location information transmitted by the terminal device 18 from the terminal device 18. The management device 12 grasps the position of the user 80 by associating the user 80 indicated by the holder information with the individual area indicated by the presence location information based on the received holder information and presence location information.

[0019] Note that the management device 12 may store in advance the correspondence relationship between the terminal device 18 and the user 80. In that case, for example, the terminal device 18 may send the terminal identification information for identifying the terminal device 18, such as a smartphone ID, to the management device 12 instead of the holder information. Also, the management device 12 may store in advance the correspondence relationship between the short-range wireless communication tag and its placement position. In that case, the terminal device 18 may acquire the tag identification information for identifying the short-range wireless communication tag from the short-range wireless communication tag and send it to the management device 12 as the presence location information.

[0020] The management device 12 controls the control device corresponding to the individual area associated with the user 80 based on the grasped position of the user 80. For example, the terminal device 18 can be used as a remote controller to directly operate the air outlet device corresponding to the individual area where user 80 is located. That is, the terminal device 18 transmits the operation performed by user 80 to the management device 12, and the management device 12 transmits the received operation to the control device corresponding to the individual area to which user 80 is associated. This eliminates the need for user 80 to select which air outlet device to operate.

[0021] Alternatively, the control device may be automatically controlled according to the user's preferences, which have been stored in advance. That is, the management device 12 may, for example, store the user's preferred target temperature in advance, and when the user 80 is associated with an individual area, it may transmit the stored target temperature to the control device corresponding to that individual area. This allows for control that automatically reflects the user's preferences.

[0022] Furthermore, the location of user 80 as determined by the management device 12 may be used not only for controlling underfloor air conditioning but also for controlling other air conditioning equipment, or not only for air conditioning control but also for automating the operation of other office equipment such as lighting and speakers installed on desks, or for managing the presence of user 80, such as visualizing the status of desk usage. For example, by installing short-range wireless communication tags on each seat, it may be possible to know who is using which seat. This eliminates the need for user 80 to manually select a seat. It may also be used to provide user 80 with information such as the weather outside, including rain.

[0023] Furthermore, the number of air outlets may be greater than the number of individual areas. Multiple air outlets may be associated with a single individual area, or there may be air outlets that are not associated with an individual area. Control devices for air outlets not associated with an individual area are controlled by the management device 12, for example, based on the overall settings. The overall settings are made, for example, from a terminal device of a user who has been granted administrator privileges. In this case, the administrator's terminal device may be located anywhere.

[0024] As described above, since the system controls the user 80 by knowing its location, unlike when detecting people with motion sensors, it can identify the individual and control the system in a way that reflects the user 80's preferences. Furthermore, since there is no need to install motion sensors or other sensors, costs such as wiring and maintenance can be reduced. Furthermore, because the system tracks and controls the location of user 80, it can automatically select and control the equipment corresponding to that user's location from among multiple pieces of equipment, eliminating the need to manually select equipment.

[0025] For example, by bringing a smartphone close to an NFC tag, the smartphone app communicates occupancy information and NFC tag information to a cloud server. Based on this, the system links the person to the location associated with the NFC tag information. Then, the surrounding equipment is automatically controlled according to the user's pre-entered preferred environment settings. Because the equipment is automatically controlled to match the user's preferred environment, comfort is enhanced. In addition to automatic control, the system can also be operated manually via the internet using NFC tags, and integrated with a location detection function to turn off the equipment. This enhances user convenience. Furthermore, by linking people with locations, it becomes possible to obtain information on which locations a person is using. This allows for real-time usage status, which can be understood by overlaying people's information onto the drawing information, and enables the understanding of medium- to long-term space utilization status through data accumulation. Since each service is controlled via the cloud, flexible control changes and data collection are possible.

[0026] By integrating a control mechanism into the motor damper for floor-mounted air conditioning and connecting it to an external network, cloud-based control becomes possible, eliminating the need for wiring to conventional control devices such as central monitoring systems. This prevents complex underfloor wiring and reduces wiring costs. Furthermore, control settings can be changed flexibly and at low cost. When rearranging the air vents due to changes in seating layout, there is no need to hire a specialist to handle the control wiring.

[0027] By using wireless communication between the higher-level control system and each floor-mounted air conditioning control unit, and controlling them via a cloud system, underfloor wiring can be limited to only power outlets, reducing wiring clutter and costs, and minimizing the effort required to move floor-mounted air conditioning units when changing seating layouts. Furthermore, by implementing centralized, monitoring-free control through a cloud system, cost reductions and flexible control can be achieved.

[0028] For example, commands can be sent wirelessly from a cloud system to the floor air conditioning control unit via operation or automatic control using devices such as smartphones or personal computers. The floor air conditioning control unit then sends an operation signal to the floor air conditioning motor damper in accordance with the wirelessly transmitted command. This causes the floor air conditioning motor damper to operate. This allows for reduced wiring, tidying up the underfloor space and lowering wiring costs. It also enables control without central monitoring, allowing for more flexible changes to the control method. Furthermore, it reduces the cost of connecting to a central monitoring system. When changing the seating layout, the underfloor air conditioning units can be moved simply by relocating the power outlets, meaning layout changes can be accommodated without the need for specialized contractors.

[0029] The embodiments described above are examples intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The present invention is not limited thereto and includes various modifications, changes, additions, or deletions without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. This will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 10 User location management system, 11 Air conditioning system, 12 Management system, 13 Indoor space, 14 Floor, 15 Underfloor space, 16 Wireless communication device, 18 Terminal device, 32a-32c Individual area, 33a-33c Desk, 34a-34c Short-range wireless communication tag, 41a-41c Air outlet, 51a-51c Air outlet device, 52a-52c Control device, 80 User.

Claims

1. A short-range wireless communication tag is placed in each individual area of ​​the indoor space and stores location information indicating which individual area it is placed in, A blowing device installed in an air outlet provided in the floor separating the interior space and the underfloor space, corresponding to the individual area, A management device for managing terminal devices that can be used as remote controllers to operate the blowing devices corresponding to the individual areas where users are located, Equipped with, The terminal device communicates with the short-range wireless communication tag to acquire the location information acquired from the short-range wireless communication tag and transmits it to the management device as location information. When the terminal device receives an operation to configure the environment, it transmits the operation result to the management device. The management device controls the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the operation result received from the terminal device and the location information received from the terminal device, and stores the environment settings that reflect the operation result. When the management device receives the location information from the terminal device, it applies the stored environmental settings to the control of the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the location information. User location management system.

2. The terminal device transmits the owner information, which is information indicating the user, to the management device. The management device controls the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the operation result received from the terminal device, the individual area based on the location information received from the terminal device, and the owner information received from the terminal device, and stores the environment settings that reflect the operation result linked to the owner information. When the management device receives the location information and the owner information from the terminal device, it applies the environment settings stored in association with the owner information to the control of the blowing device corresponding to the individual area based on the location information. The user location management system according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned environmental settings include a target temperature. The user location management system according to claim 1.

4. The underfloor space is further provided with a control device that is provided in the vicinity of the air outlet device in correspondence with the individual area and is wired to the air outlet device, The control device transmits a control command to the control device that specifies the opening degree of the discharge device or the target temperature of the individual area. The control device controls the operation of the blowing device by sending a control signal to the blowing device. The user location management system according to claim 1.

5. The control device is supplied with power from an external source and also supplies power to the blowing device. The user location management system according to claim 4.

6. The terminal device has an application program installed that automatically starts when the terminal device is held over the short-range wireless communication tag. The terminal device, by executing the application program, communicates with the short-range wireless communication tag and obtains the location information stored in the short-range wireless communication tag. The user location management system according to claim 1.

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