Electronic Key Resource Management System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing resource utilization, such as in shared and exclusive space resources, lack robustness in tracking user access, behavior, and payment accuracy, leading to inefficient resource allocation and charging practices.
Innovation Solution
A resource utilization management system that employs electronic user keys, unique tags (like QR codes, NFC, or RFID), and a backend platform to facilitate user-controlled reservation, access, and accounting, enabling accurate use-based payment and dynamic resource management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If membership-based access control is used for shared space resources, then user access management is simplified, but payment accuracy and resource utilization tracking deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual credential verification with automated electronic key systems. Users present electronic keys (mobile devices, RFID cards) that are automatically validated by readers at entry/exit points, eliminating the need for manual receptionist verification while enabling precise tracking of actual resource usage time and patterns for accurate billing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables users to automatically check in and check out by presenting electronic keys at readers. The system autonomously tracks entry/exit times, calculates usage duration, and processes payments without requiring user interaction with staff, thereby maintaining ease of access while achieving precise measurement of resource utilization.
2Reliability
If manual credential verification is used for space resource access, then access control is achieved, but tracking user behavior and exit information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously collects data from electronic key readers at entry/exit points and sensors within the space (occupancy sensors, amenity usage sensors). This feedback loop provides real-time information about user presence, duration of stay, and utilization of amenities, enabling comprehensive behavior tracking while maintaining secure access control through automated verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces electronic keys and reader devices as intermediaries between users and the access control system. These intermediaries automatically capture and transmit user identification, entry/exit timestamps, and behavior data to the central management system, eliminating information loss associated with manual verification while maintaining reliable access control.
3Reliability
If reservation systems require manual agent interaction, then resource availability can be determined, but the process becomes tedious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service reservation capabilities through user interfaces (mobile apps, web portals) that automatically check resource availability against the reservation database. Users can independently search for available time slots, make reservations, and receive confirmation without contacting customer service agents, dramatically reducing the time required while maintaining accurate availability information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary availability checks and reservation processing automatically before user completion. The backend system pre-calculates availability based on existing reservations, and when a user selects a time slot, the system has already validated availability and can immediately confirm or reject the reservation, eliminating the need for time-consuming back-and-forth communication with agents.
4Ease of manufacture
If users are charged based on reservation time rather than actual usage, then billing is simplified, but payment accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual billing calculations with automated electronic tracking systems. Electronic key readers automatically record actual entry and exit times, and the system calculates precise usage duration by subtracting these timestamps. This automated calculation replaces simplified reservation-based billing with accurate usage-based billing, maintaining ease of processing through automation while achieving measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors actual resource usage through electronic key data and compares it with reservation information. This feedback mechanism enables the system to calculate accurate charges based on actual time spent in the space rather than reserved time, providing precise payment information to users while maintaining simple automated billing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods which provide resource utilization management, such as with respect to resources available through one or more accessible resource facilities, are disclosed. Embodiments provide resource utilization management systems and methods which facilitate user controlled reservation, access, and accounting for resource utilization. Resource utilization management systems of embodiments implement an electronic user key based infrastructure to enable access to and accounting for resources, such as resources of one or more accessible resource facility. Embodiments comprise unique tags for each resource for which resource utilization management is provided. A user device, such as a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or tablet computer, executing a resource utilization management application may be configured to provide a resource key device which is operable to scan the unique tag of a resource for accessing and relinquishing that resource, whether on an ad hoc and/or reservation basis.