KR20220033327A - Seat management method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is a method for a management server to manage a seat. The method for managing a seat includes the steps of: (a) receiving a sensing signal related to the presence or absence of an object from a sensor disposed in each of a plurality of seats; (b) checking the occupancy status for each seat based on the received signal; and (c) as a result of checking, proceeding with the departure process for the seat determined not to be occupied for more than a preset time.

Description

SEAT MANAGEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a method and system for managing a seat, and to a method and system for accurately determining the occupancy status of a seat serviced for a fee.

Recently, the demand for study in a cafe atmosphere is increasing, and according to this trend, many study rooms or study cafes are being created.

In these study rooms, study cafes, reading rooms, etc., it is common for the user to pay the usage fee for a specific seat and use it.

For example, a flat-rate pass for a certain period of time or a commuter pass for a certain period of time is paid, and when the user leaves the room, the seat used by the user is converted back into a payable seat.

However, there are cases where the user does not report when leaving the room, and in this case, it is considered that the user continues to use the seat, an additional fee is charged, and there are cases where mutual troubles occur between the user and the manager. did In addition, even if the seat is already vacant, since it is determined as an occupied state, there is a problem in that a user who wants to use the seat newly cannot use it.

Currently, in order to prevent such a problem, it is common for an administrator to manually check CCTV, etc., to identify a seat whose use period has expired or an unoccupied seat, and to input such information into the system.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above.

Another object of the present invention is to enable users and administrators to efficiently use and manage seats by accurately determining the occupancy status of the seats.

Objects of the present invention are not limited to the objects mentioned above, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood from the description below.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, as a method for the management server to manage the seat, (a) a sensing signal related to the existence of an object from a sensor disposed in each of a plurality of seats receiving; (b) checking the occupancy status for each seat based on the received signal; And (c) as a result of the confirmation, the seat management method is provided, including the step of proceeding with the departure process for the seat determined to not be occupied for more than a preset time.

Each of the plurality of seats may be a seat in which the use time according to the valid use right is more than a preset time.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an occupancy detection sensor disposed on each of a plurality of seats; and a management server that receives a sensing signal related to the existence of an object from the occupancy sensor, checks the occupancy status of each seat, and performs eviction processing for the seat determined to be not occupied for more than a preset time. A seat management system is provided.

The occupancy sensor may include a first occupancy sensor and a second occupancy sensor disposed at different heights on each desk in the plurality of seats.

The first occupancy detection sensor and the second occupancy detection sensor may each include a plurality of sensors.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to systematically and accurately check the occupancy status of the seat.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the state of occupancy of the seat is determined through a sensor, but the determination is performed by comprehensively considering the existence and movement of the object, so it is possible to accurately determine whether the seat is occupied becomes

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a seat management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing the configuration of a seat system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a seat management process according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether a user is away for a predetermined time according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0010] Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein with respect to one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention, if properly described, is limited only by the appended claims, along with all scope equivalents to those claimed. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions throughout the various aspects.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily practice the present invention.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a seat management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the locker management system according to an embodiment may include a user terminal 100 , a kiosk 200 , a management server 300 , and a seat system 400 .

The user terminal 100 and the management server 300, the kiosk 200 and the management server 300, the seat system 400 and the management server 300 are a communication network, for example, a mobile communication network, a local area network (LAN). Area Network), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), World Wide Web (WWW), and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) can communicate with each other. .

The user terminal 100 has an arithmetic function and may be implemented in any form as long as it is a device capable of communicating with the outside. For example, it may be implemented as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktop, a laptop notebook, a PDA, etc., but is not limited thereto.

The user terminal 100 according to an embodiment may transmit a request for payment of a usage fee for the study cafe to the management server 300 . Specifically, the management server 300 may visually provide information on the currently available seat to the user terminal 100 , and the user may select a specific seat and pay a usage fee for the seat. According to an embodiment, it is possible to pay for a flat-rate pass that can be used for a certain period of time (eg, 100 hours) or a commuter pass that can be used for a certain period (eg, one month).

On the other hand, when paying a fee for the study cafe, an identifier, for example, a barcode or a QR code, etc. that allows access to the study cafe from the management server 300 to the user terminal 100 may be transmitted.

The identifier functions as an access right to the study cafe during the period of use paid by the user.

The above operations may be implemented through an application installed in the user terminal 100, and such an application may be downloaded and installed in the user terminal 100 from the management server 300 or another app store server.

The kiosk 200 according to an embodiment may perform the same operation of the user terminal 100 described above. That is, it is possible to transmit a request for payment of the usage fee for the study cafe. In addition, the identifier transmitted from the management server 300 may be transmitted to the user terminal 100 through short-range wireless communication (eg, NFC or Bluetooth communication) method.

On the other hand, the user can enter the study cafe through the identifier transmitted to the user terminal 100, the recognition of the identifier when entering can be performed through an identifier recognizer installed in the door or the kiosk (200). Information on the recognized identifier is transmitted to the management server 300 , and the management server 300 may drive the door after checking whether the identifier is valid.

On the other hand, the user can also authenticate the access authority through his/her identification information input when paying the study cafe usage fee, for example, a phone number. In this case, one's own identification information may be input through an input unit installed in the door or the kiosk 200 .

The management server 300 according to an embodiment may perform payment processing in connection with a financial institution server in response to the payment request described above, and transmit an identifier as an access right to the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 . In addition, it performs a function of verifying the access authority when the user enters and exits.

Meanwhile, the management server 300 transmits seat information of the currently available study cafe and occupancy status information for each seat to the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 .

The user can select one or more of the available seats and pay the corresponding usage fee, the management server 300 detects the occupancy status information for each seat from the seat system 400, the user terminal 100 or the kiosk Send to 200. This will be described in detail below.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the management server 300 according to an exemplary embodiment may include an access authority generating unit 310 , an access authority verifying unit 320 , and a seat management unit 330 .

The access authority generating unit 310 , the access authority verifying unit 320 , and the seat management unit 330 may be program modules or hardware capable of communicating with an external device. Such program modules or hardware may be included in the management server 300 or other devices capable of communicating therewith in the form of an operating system, application program modules, and other program modules, and may be physically stored on various known storage devices. . Meanwhile, these program modules or hardware include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks to be described later or execute specific abstract data types according to the present invention.

After receiving the request for payment of the usage fee for the study cafe from the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200, the access permission generating unit 310 according to an embodiment processes the payment process, and uses the usage corresponding to the usage fee It performs the function of setting the access authority valid for the period to the corresponding user. An identifier as an access right may be generated and transmitted to the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 .

According to an embodiment, the management server 300 may generate information about currently available seats and transmit it to the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 , and the user selects a desired seat to use, and charges for the seat. can pay for According to the payment of the usage fee, the user is given the right to use the seat and the right to access the study cafe for a certain period of time.

Here, the available seat information is determined by the seat management unit 330 to be described below.

The access authority verification unit 320 according to an embodiment receives information on an identifier recognized by an identifier recognizer mounted on a door or kiosk 200 or identification information (eg, a phone number) input by a user. After that, validation of the corresponding information is performed. As a result of validation, if the corresponding identifier or identification information is currently valid access authority information, the operation of the door is controlled.

The seat management unit 330 according to an embodiment performs a function of receiving occupancy information for each seat from the seat system 400 and transmitting it to the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 .

3 is a view showing the configuration of a seat system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 (a) is a side view showing the desk (D) and the stool (S) on which the seat system 400 is mounted, Figure 3 (b) is a perspective view of the desk (D) viewed from the bottom.

In the seat system 400 according to an embodiment, one or more occupancy detection sensors 410 and 420 may be disposed on at least a portion of the desk D.

The first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 are preferably disposed at different heights. 3, the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 are both exemplified as being disposed under the desk D, but the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor ( 420), at least one may be disposed on the top of the desk. The first occupancy detection sensor 410 may be disposed on or below the upper plate of the desk D, and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 may be any structure under the upper plate of the desk D, for example, the desk ( D) It may be disposed on at least a part of the lower surface of the lower storage space.

In addition, the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 may be provided in plurality as shown in FIG. 3B , respectively. The distance between each of the first occupancy detection sensors 410 and the distance between each of the second occupancy detection sensors 420 is preferably formed to be constant, and may be, for example, 5 cm.

The first occupancy detection sensor 410 performs a function of detecting the abdominal portion of the user sitting on the stool (S), and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 detects the leg or knee of the user sitting on the stool (S). It performs the sensing function.

That is, the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 perform a function of detecting different parts of the body and detecting whether they move. Since the sensors 410 and 420 are mounted at different positions, it is possible to accurately determine whether the user is seated on the stool S.

To this end, the first occupancy sensor 410 may be mounted at a position of, for example, 60 cm from the ground, and the second occupancy sensor 410 may be mounted at a position of, for example, 50 cm from the ground, but this Not limited.

In addition, the distance W between the edge of the desk D toward the stool S and the first occupancy sensor 410 may be set to, for example, 30 cm, but is not limited thereto.

The first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 may be implemented as an infrared sensor or other PSD (Position Sensitive Device) sensor, but is not limited thereto, and detection of a front object and its Any sensor that can detect motion may be implemented.

The detection signal by the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 is transmitted to the management server 300, and a gateway, IoT device, communication module, etc. for such transmission may be additionally provided. .

Referring back to FIG. 2 , the seat management unit 330 according to an embodiment determines the occupancy status of each seat based on the sensing signal transmitted from the occupancy detection sensors 410 and 420 , and the corresponding seat according to the determination result. Create management information for

4 is a flowchart illustrating a seat management process according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the seat management unit 330 first determines whether there is a user authorized to use each seat ( S410 ). For example, if a specific user pays a usage fee for a specific seat and the usage time expires, no user has the right to use the specific seat.

If there is no user who has the right to use a specific seat, the process of leaving the corresponding seat is performed (S460). Departure processing for a specific seat is an operation of switching to an available seat state through a new payment, and the corresponding seat may be identified as a currently available seat through the user terminal 100 or the kiosk 200 .

As a result of the determination in step S410, if there is a user having the current use right for the seat, it is determined whether the use time for the seat remains more than a preset time (A time, for example, 2 hours) (S420) . Remaining time is the time remaining until the time available with valid rights expires after a specific user has paid the usage fee for the seat. When the usage time does not remain longer than the preset time (time A), that is, when the usage time is short, the following operation is not performed and the right to use the seat may be maintained ( S430 ). That is, seats with little remaining use time are left as they are until the corresponding use time has all elapsed without determining whether the user occupies or not.

As a result of the determination in step S420, if the use time remains longer than the preset time (time A), it is determined whether the seat is in a state occupied by the user based on the signals received from the occupancy sensors 410 and 420 It is determined (S440).

At this time, only when signals for object existence are received from both the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 , it is determined that the corresponding seat is in the occupied state. If the occupancy of the chair S is detected by the first occupancy sensor 410, but not detected by the second occupancy sensor 420, the seat is assumed to be in a state not occupied by the user. can be judged, and vice versa.

If it is determined that the seat is occupied by the user, the seat use right is maintained (S430), and the process from step S410 is repeated.

As a result of the determination in step S440, if it is determined that the corresponding seat is not occupied by the user, it is determined whether the state continues for more than a preset time (B time, for example, 1 hour) (S450). That is, it is determined how long the user leaves his or her seat.

If it is determined that the seat is vacant for more than a preset time (time B), the eviction process for the seat is performed (S460), otherwise, the seat use right is maintained (S430), and the processing from step S410 is performed. Repeat.

Meanwhile, the step S450 may be performed by determining whether the object is moving based on signals from the occupancy sensors 410 and 420 .

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether a user is away for a predetermined time according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , first, based on signals from the occupancy sensors 410 and 420 , it is determined whether the object moves ( S451 ). At this time, if at least one of the first occupancy detection sensor 410 and the second occupancy detection sensor 420 outputs a motion-related signal, it may be determined that a user occupying the corresponding seat exists.

If no movement is detected, it is determined whether the time lasts for a preset time (S452), and if so, the time measurement is started (S453), otherwise, it is determined that the user is present in the corresponding seat and (S454), the process proceeds to step S430.

The start of the time measurement is to measure the time the user is away from the seat, and after the start of the time measurement, it is determined whether the time during which no movement is detected in the corresponding seat continues for more than a preset time (time B) (S455) ). If not, the process goes back to step S451 and repeats the above process.

Whether the user occupies the seat is judged by the existence of an object, and when determining whether the seat is vacant for a certain amount of time, it utilizes movement information, so a more accurate seat occupancy decision is made. It is possible, and reasonable departure processing becomes possible, and management efficiency and economic feasibility of all seats are improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to systematically and accurately check the occupancy status of the seat.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the state of occupancy of the seat is determined through a sensor, but the determination is performed by comprehensively considering the existence and movement of the object, so it is possible to accurately determine whether the seat is occupied becomes

The above description of the present invention is for illustration, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a dispersed form, and likewise components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: user terminal
200: kiosk
300: management server
310: access permission generation unit
320: access authority verification unit
330: seat management
400: seat system

Claims (5)

As a method for the management server to manage the seat,
(a) receiving a sensing signal related to the existence of an object from a sensor disposed in each of the plurality of seats;
(b) checking the occupancy status for each seat based on the received signal; and
(c) as a result of the confirmation, the seat management method comprising the step of proceeding with the departure process for the seat determined to not be occupied for more than a preset time, the seat management method. According to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of seats is a seat in which the use time according to the valid use right is more than a preset time, the seat management method. an occupancy sensor disposed on each of the plurality of seats; and
A management server that receives a sensing signal related to the existence of an object from the occupancy sensor, checks the occupancy status for each seat, and performs eviction processing for seats that are determined not to be occupied for more than a preset time. , seat management system. According to claim 1,
The occupancy sensor is
In the plurality of seats, the seat management system comprising a first occupancy detection sensor and a second occupancy detection sensor disposed at different heights on each desk. 5. The method of claim 4,
The first occupancy detection sensor and the second occupancy detection sensor each include a plurality of sensors, a seat management system.

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