Desk with optical workspace status indication system
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a multifunctional, clearly visible optical workplace status system that displays the occupancy or availability of office workstations, the use status of office communication devices, and employee status in a visually perceivable manner, particularly in environments like open-plan offices, call centers, or libraries.
Innovation Solution
A desk or work table equipped with integrated fluid light displays and screens that connect via interfaces to office communication devices and applications, allowing for real-time status updates and environmental condition monitoring, including ambient noise and air quality, with sensors and a manual switching unit for individual employee control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If multiple status indicators are provided throughout the room, then the status information becomes visible, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple status indicators into a single integrated display unit located on the workstation itself. Instead of distributing multiple displays throughout the room, all status information (occupancy, device availability, environmental conditions) is merged into one centralized location that users can access directly at their workstation, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining information visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated display unit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it shows workstation occupancy status, device availability, environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, air quality), and provides user controls. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate displays for each type of information, reducing the total number of components while comprehensive status monitoring.
2Device complexity
If status information is displayed centrally at the workstation, then device complexity is reduced, but the visibility and perception of status information may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The display unit utilizes color-coded indicators to convey different status information quickly and intuitively. Different colors represent different states (e.g., green for available, red for occupied, yellow for maintenance needed), allowing users to grasp status information at a glance without requiring complex visual processing or multiple displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates visual attention-grabbing mechanisms such as blinking or pulsing light patterns for urgent status changes. This dynamic visual behavior ensures that important status information captures user attention immediately, compensating for the centralized location and ensuring that critical information is not missed despite being displayed at a single location.
Data Source
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AI summary
The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a multifunctional, well visible and perceptible, optical workspace status indication system. In particular, the optical workspace status indication system should make optically visible the occupation or availability of the office workspace, the usage status of office communication devices and/or the status of the employee. The workspace status indication system should be adaptable to different office workspaces and to individual requirements. A workspace status indication system, characterized in that at least one luminous indicator (1) and/or at least one screen (9) is arranged on or integrated into a piece of office furniture (6), wherein at least one interface (2) to at least one office communication device (3), room equipment (3), an application and/or at least one switching unit (4, 5) controlled manually or by sensor or to at least one sensor is present at the luminous indicator (1) and/or the screen (9), the at least one luminous indicator (1) and/or the at least one screen (9) being designed at least to indicate the status with respect to an office workspace and/or communication devices, applications, environmental conditions and/or employees.