Method for activating bluetooth® advertising by detecting presence in a predetermined zone and associated device

Abstract

One aspect of the invention relates to a method for the automatic activation of Bluetooth® advertising, the method being implemented by a device for managing a space, the device for managing the space being configured to manage a metric of the space in a given first zone of the space, comprising: - an imager; - a Bluetooth® module, the method comprising: - detecting, via the imager, the presence of a user in a second zone, wherein the second zone is comprised in the first zone, and wherein the second zone has an area smaller than the area of the first zone; - activating the Bluetooth® advertising via the Bluetooth® module only when the presence of a user in the second zone has been detected by the imager.

Description

DESCRIPTION TITLE: Method for activating Bluetooth® advertising by detecting presence in a predetermined area and associated device TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The technical field of the invention is that of space management.

[0002] The present invention relates to a method for activating Bluetooth® advertising and in particular activation following detection of presence in a predetermined area. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] With the development of coworking spaces and flexible offices, there has been a need to manage spaces automatically, particularly workspaces, such as offices.

[0004] To achieve automated management, some spaces are equipped with space management devices. These devices allow one or more space metrics to be managed, such as ventilation, temperature, or occupancy. For example, space management devices can manage the space's metric(s) by activating means capable of modifying the metric.

[0005] Devices for managing space occupancy are often positioned on the ceiling of the managed space and include a feature for detecting the presence of a user. For example, some space management devices include passive infrared (PIR) sensors.

[0006] Such devices can be connected, for example controlled via a user device, for example a smartphone. To connect to the space management device, the user devices can use Bluetooth®. The Bluetooth® connection can notably include a first advertising phase in cases where the user device does not know the Bluetooth® identifier of the space management device. In the advertising phase, the space management device declares itself on the Bluetooth® network to then be able to offer the possibility of being paired with another device, for example the user device.

[0007] Battery-powered space management devices activate Bluetooth® advertising as soon as they are switched on, for example, wireless headphones, connected speakers, etc. Other products, for example powered differently, are activated after pressing a dedicated button, for example, a car radio.

[0008] These solutions are not feasible for inaccessible products such as ceiling-mounted devices, such as motion detectors. Enabling Bluetooth® advertising permanently would not only impact the ceiling-mounted device's power consumption, but could also make the system vulnerable because the device is accessible via Bluetooth® even if the user is not in the same location as the device.

[0009] To overcome this, some known devices perform motion or presence detection via passive infrared sensors, which allows the Bluetooth® advertising phase to be initiated only when the user enters the detection field.

[0010] A problem arises when two of these devices are close together. Such a problem is shown schematically in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows two space management devices 11 and 12, arranged on a ceiling P. Each device comprises a presence detection sensor having a defined coverage. The sensor of the device 11 thus covers an area A, and the sensor of the device 12 covers an area B. The areas A and B can for example be marked on the floor S by circles, as shown in Figure 2. The presence of a user in area A then triggers the Bluetooth® advertisement of the device 11 and the presence of a user in area B then triggers the Bluetooth® advertisement of the device 12. This allows the user to connect his user device to the device 11 or to the device 12, picked up by the user device during the Bluetooth® advertisement phase.

[0011] However, when the user is located in the intersection zone between zones A and B, referred to as zone C, i.e. when the sensor coverages of devices 11 and 12 overlap, a problem occurs. In such a case, the Bluetooth® advertising phase of both devices 11 and 12 is triggered, and the user device has no way of differentiating the Bluetooth® advertising phase of one device from the Bluetooth® advertising phase of the other device.

[0012] Furthermore, the Bluetooth® advertising is triggered inadvertently and the problem can spread to surrounding rooms when a user moves from one room to another, triggering Bluetooth® advertising from the space management devices in both rooms. This problem is also exacerbated when the room is occupied by several users, who then inadvertently trigger Bluetooth® advertising from the various devices in the room.

[0013] Since the Bluetooth® range is greater than the range of PIR occupancy sensors, the unwanted triggering of Bluetooth® advertisements poses a security issue because all user devices in the room, even those not covered by the occupancy sensor, can then connect to the space management device.

[0014] There is therefore a need for a solution that does not have the problems of the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The invention provides a solution to the problems mentioned above, by enabling detection of the presence of a user in a restricted area, conditioning the activation of Bluetooth® advertising and thus avoiding the problems of joint activation of several state-of-the-art devices.

[0016] One aspect of the invention thus relates to a method for automatically activating Bluetooth® advertising, the method being implemented by a space management device, the space management device being configured to manage a space metric in a given first zone of the space comprising: an imager, a Bluetooth® module, the method comprising: detection, by the imager, of the presence of a user in a second zone, the second zone being included in the first zone, the second zone having a surface area smaller than a surface area of ​​the first zone, activation of Bluetooth® advertising, by the Bluetooth® module only when the presence of a user in the second zone has been detected by the imager.

[0017] Thanks to the invention, two space management devices, even if close, i.e. managing a metric on at least one same part of a space, do not activate their Bluetooth® advertising simultaneously when a user is in this same part of the space, because the Bluetooth® advertising trigger zone of each of the devices is smaller than the space metric management zone. This is achieved by the use of an imager, which allows the detection of the presence of the user in a restricted area.

[0018] In addition to the characteristics which have just been mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the method according to one aspect of the invention may have one or more complementary characteristics among the following, considered individually or according to all technically possible combinations.

[0019] In one embodiment, the method for automatically activating Bluetooth® advertising further comprises an active wait, for a predetermined period after detecting the presence of the user, in which the Bluetooth® advertising is activated only if the user remains for a duration greater than the predetermined period in the second zone.

[0020] Another aspect of the invention relates to a Bluetooth® pairing method implemented by a system comprising a user device and a space management device, the space management device implementing the method for automatic activation of Bluetooth® advertising according to one aspect of the invention, the method further comprising: Reception, by the Bluetooth® module, after activation of Bluetooth® advertising, of a Bluetooth® pairing request, Pairing via Bluetooth®, via the Bluetooth® module, from the space management device to the user device.

[0021] Another aspect of the invention relates to a space management device configured to manage a space metric in a first given area of ​​the space comprising: an imager, a Bluetooth® module, the device being configured to implement the automatic Bluetooth® advertising activation method according to one aspect of the invention and / or the Bluetooth® pairing method according to another aspect of the invention.

[0022] In one embodiment of the device, the managed metric is selected from: light, and the device comprises a brightness sensor, an environmental measurement, selected from temperature, air humidity, carbon dioxide, and the metric is managed by the imager of the device or by an environmental measurement sensor included in the device, ventilation, and the device comprises an air quality sensor and / or occupancy, and the occupancy is managed by the imager of the device.

[0023] In one embodiment of the device, the space management device is placed on the ceiling of the space or on a wall of the space.

[0024] In one embodiment of the device, the device is configured to detect the presence of the user by processing images from the imager, the second area being included in a field of vision of the imager.

[0025] In one embodiment of the device, the imager is a camera.

[0026] Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a computer program product comprising instructions which cause the device according to one aspect of the invention to execute the method according to one aspect of the invention.

[0027] Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a computer-readable medium, on which the computer program according to one aspect of the invention is recorded.

[0028] The invention and its various applications will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0029] The figures are presented for information purposes only and in no way limit the invention. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a room seen from the side comprising two space management devices according to the prior art, Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a room seen from above comprising two space management devices according to the prior art, Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of a method according to the invention, Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a space management device configured to implement the method according to the invention. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a room seen from the side comprising two space management devices according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Unless otherwise specified, the same element appearing in different figures has a single reference.

[0031] The invention relates to a method for automatically activating Bluetooth® advertising of a space management device.

[0032] Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a room seen from the side comprising a ceiling P and a floor S, two space management devices 3A and 3B being mounted on the ceiling P. The room comprises, for example, desks, or a meeting table. Figure 5 presents an example of a room in which several spaces are managed by space management devices 3A and 3B, but the invention applies to any space managed by one or more space management devices 3A and 3B, whether this space is indoors and / or outdoors.

[0033] The space management devices 3A and 3B may be positioned on the ceiling, on a wall, on the floor or on any other surface of the environment comprising the space that it manages. Each space management device 3A and 3B respectively makes it possible to manage a space, delimited by a first zone, A and B respectively. A space is said to be “managed by a device 3A or 3B” when the device 3A or 3B can control a system acting on a metric of the space or when the device 3A or 3B provides a measurement of the metric to such a system. A metric of the space is for example ventilation, an environmental measure, chosen from temperature, air humidity, carbon dioxide, or even space occupancy. Space occupancy can be expressed as a percentage of maximum occupancy, or as a number of people, i.e., as the number of users of the space. To control a space metric, the space management device has access to a measurement of the space metric, either preferentially because it measures it via a sensor that it includes, or by receiving the measurement from an external device, for example via a network.

[0034] Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a space management device 3 according to the invention. According to the invention, such a space management device 3 comprises a processor 31, a memory 32, a Bluetooth® communication module 33 and an imager 34.

[0035] The device 3 is configured to implement the method 2 according to the invention, represented in Figure 3. For this, the memory of the device 3 comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor 31 of the device 3, lead the device 3 to implement the steps of the method 2 which are attributed to it.

[0036] Method 2 is a Bluetooth® pairing method between a space management device according to the invention, for example the space management device 3, and a user device, for example a portable device, for example a smartphone, a tablet or a computer. The Bluetooth® pairing method 2 comprises a sub-method 2A for automatic activation of Bluetooth® advertising implemented by the space management device.

[0037] The method 2A for automatically activating Bluetooth® advertising comprises at least three steps 21 to 23. Bluetooth® advertising, also called “advertising” in the Bluetooth® standard, is a phase of initiating a Bluetooth® pairing between two devices. The Bluetooth® advertising phase is active when the device is in a discoverable and connectable state, i.e. it is visible on the Bluetooth® network by other Bluetooth® devices and the other Bluetooth® devices can connect to it via Bluetooth®. For this, the space management device 3 comprises a Bluetooth® communication module 33, configured to implement the Bluetooth® standard, in particular the classic and / or Low Energy Bluetooth® standard. (“BLE” from the English “Bluetooth® Low Energy”), in particular any version of the Bluetooth® standard, in particular the IEEE 802.15.1 standard (Bluetooth version 1), or in particular Bluetooth® version 5.4. The Bluetooth® communication module 33 therefore allows the space management device 3 to connect via Bluetooth® to another Bluetooth® device and to exchange data via Bluetooth® with this other device.

[0038] In a first step 21 of the method 2A, the space management device 3 detects, via the imager, the presence of a user in a predefined area. This is represented in Figure 5 which shows a predefined area D by the space management device 3A and a predefined area E by the space management device 3B. This predefined area is a second area, having a surface area smaller than the surface area of ​​a first area. The first area is a space management area by the space management device, that is to say it is an area which delimits the space managed by the space management device. For example, in Figure 5, the device 3A manages a space delimited by the area A and the device 3B manages a space delimited by the area B. Thus, the second area D respectively E is included in the first area A respectively B, the second area having a surface area smaller than a surface area of ​​the first area.

[0039] The management of the zones is carried out via the imager 34 of the space management device 3, and therefore 3A and 3B.

[0040] The imager allows the space management device 3 to detect the presence of a user in the second predefined zone. This zone is predefined by configuration, that is to say by at least one zone information 321 stored in the memory 32 of the device 3. The imager 34 can also be used by the device 3 to measure the occupancy of the space, and therefore to count the number of users of the space at a given time. In such a case, the imager 34 is used to manage the occupancy metric of the space in the space delimited by the first zone A or B, and the presence detection linked to the activation of Bluetooth® advertising is also carried out using the imager 34 in the second zone D or E. For this, the imager 34 is configured to acquire an image at least of the second zone D or E, making it possible to identify the presence of a user in the space.An imager is for example preferably a camera, and the second area monitored by the imager is then present in the field of vision of the camera. The presence of a user. in the second zone is detected for example by image analysis, for example carried out by the processor 31 of the device 3, from the image(s) captured by the imager 34. Preferably, the presence of a user in the second zone D or E can be detected in real time, in near real time, or for example at each predefined time interval, for example every 5 seconds.

[0041] The method 2A comprises an optional step 22 of active waiting, after the detection 21 of a user in the second zone D or E. This active waiting makes it possible to confirm that the user is in the second zone D or E by choice, that is to say because he wants to pair via Bluetooth® with the space management device 3A or 3B, and not because he is passing under the device for another reason, for example to cross a room comprising the space management device. The active waiting is a period of a predetermined duration, for example of a few seconds, for example between 3 and 10 seconds, for example 5 seconds. The configuration of this duration can be stored in the memory of the device 3, for example in a memory zone 322. During this active waiting, the presence of the user in the second zone D or E is monitored, by carrying out, by the processor 31, an analysis of the images captured by the imager 34.If the user leaves this second zone D or E during the active waiting period, method 2A is terminated and step 23 is not implemented. If the user remained during the optional step 22, method 2A includes a final step 23.

[0042] Step 23 of the method 2A is a step of activating the Bluetooth® advertising, by the Bluetooth® module 33, only when the presence of a user in the second zone has been detected in step 21 via the imager. When step 22 is implemented, this step 23 takes place only if the user has remained for a duration greater than the predetermined period in the second zone D or E. When step 22 is not implemented, the Bluetooth® advertising is activated as soon as the user enters the second zone D or E.

[0043] Activation of Bluetooth® advertising includes changing the Bluetooth® state of the device 3, the device switching to discoverable and connectable mode via its Bluetooth® communication module 33. This activation being carried out only when a user is detected in a second zone lower than a management zone of a metric of a space, the second zones D and E of the devices 3A and 3B not overlapping, the problems present in the prior art do not arise. no. In fact, the user only detects, via his user device, the activated Bluetooth® advertising, i.e. that of the space management device for which he is present in the second predefined zone monitored by his imager.

[0044] In certain embodiments, the space management device 3 may comprise other sensors, for example a brightness, air quality and / or temperature sensor, depending on the metric(s) managed by the device 3. It is then these sensors which define the size of the first zone and which manage the metric in this zone delimiting a managed space, while the imager 34 of the device 3 monitors the second zone D or E and the presence of a user in this second zone.

[0045] The Bluetooth® pairing method 2 comprises the method 2A of automatically activating the Bluetooth® advertising of the space management device 3 and two additional steps 24 and 25.

[0046] In a step 24, the Bluetooth® module 33 receives, after the activation 23 of the Bluetooth® advertising, a Bluetooth® pairing request, originating from the user device of the user. This reception of a Bluetooth® request follows the selection, by the user on his user device, of the space management device 3 in a Bluetooth® configuration menu of the user device, to pair with the space management device 3. The space management device 3 appears in this Bluetooth® configuration menu only if the Bluetooth® advertising of the space management device has been activated in step 23. Following the selection, by the user on his user device, of the space management device 3, a Bluetooth® pairing request is sent by the user device to the space management device 3.

[0047] Following step 24, a Bluetooth® pairing 25 is carried out by the Bluetooth® module 33 of the space management device 3, between the space management device 3 and the user device of the user present in the second zone D or E, and whose presence in the second zone D or E has activated the Bluetooth® advertising of the space management device 3A or 3B.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A method for automatically activating Bluetooth® advertising, the method being implemented by a space management device, the space management device being configured to manage a space metric in a first given area of ​​the space comprising: - an imager, - a Bluetooth® module, the method comprising: - detection, via the imager, of the presence of a user in a second zone, the second zone being included in the first zone, the second zone having a surface area smaller than a surface area of ​​the first zone, - active waiting, for a predetermined period after detecting the user's presence, - activation of Bluetooth® advertising, by the Bluetooth® module only when the user remains in the second zone for a period longer than the predetermined period.

2. A Bluetooth® pairing method implemented by a system comprising a user device and a space management device, the space management device implementing the automatic Bluetooth® advertising activation method according to the preceding claim, the method further comprising: - Reception, by the Bluetooth® module, after activation of Bluetooth® advertising, of a Bluetooth® pairing request, - Bluetooth® pairing, via the Bluetooth® module, of the space management device to the user device.

3. A space management device configured to manage a space metric in a first given area of ​​the space comprising: an imager, a Bluetooth® module, the device being configured to implement the automatic Bluetooth® advertising activation method according to claim 1 and / or the Bluetooth® pairing method according to claim 2.

4. Device according to claim 3 according to which the managed metric is chosen from: - light, and the device includes a light sensor, - an environmental measurement, selected from temperature, air humidity, carbon dioxide, and the metric is managed by the device's imager or by an environmental measurement sensor included in the device, - ventilation, and the device includes an air quality sensor and / or - occupancy, and occupancy is managed by the device imager.

5. A device according to one of claims 3 or 4 wherein the space management device is placed on the ceiling of the space or on a wall of the space.

6. Device according to one of claims 3 to 5 according to which the device is configured to detect the presence of the user by processing images from the imager, the second zone being included in a field of vision of the imager.

7. Device according to one of claims 3 to 6 according to which the imager is a camera.

8. Computer program product comprising instructions which cause the device according to one of claims 3 to 7 to execute the method according to one of claims 1 to 2.

9. A computer-readable medium on which the computer program according to claim 8 is recorded.

Images