Determining presence and absence
地域：
Hemel Hempstead
摘要
An apparatus and method for determining presence and absence of one or more individuals in an occupancy space. The apparatus comprises a processing apparatus and a memory, the memory being configured for storing data indicating that expiry of a timer was responded to, and data indicating that a signal from a sensor was responded to. The processing apparatus has a number of modes in which it is responsive to a signal from a sensor and/or responsive to expiry of a timer so as to determine presence and absence.
說明書
This application is the National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2018/050032, filed Jan. 8, 2018, which claims priority to Great Britain Patent Application No. 1700369.0, filed Jan. 10, 2017, the entire disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference for any and all purposes.
This specification relates to methods and apparatus for determining presence and absence of one or more individuals in an occupancy space. The occupancy space may be located in a work environment such as an office.
Detection and knowledge of occupancy levels in office spaces is the first step in improving overall utilisation of real estate assets. With real estate costs rocketing in cities like London, this activity has become of ongoing relevance. Further, with the advent of modern communications technology, a knowledge worker can work at any location using their computation and communication tools. The focus has shifted to providing suitable environments in the workplace so that workers can flexibly locate themselves in a space of their choosing. With spaces distributed across a large real estate it can be difficult to show users where the available space is.
權(quán)利要求
The invention claimed is:1. A method of operating an apparatus to determine presence and absence of one or more individuals in an occupancy space, the apparatus comprising a processing apparatus having at least two modes, wherein in each said mode the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor and/or responsive to expiry of a timer, the processing apparatus being configured to store data in first and second variables, the first variable being adapted to store an indication of whether the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or to expiry of a timer, and the second variable being adapted to store an indication of whether, at an earlier time, the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or to expiry of a timer, the method comprising:performing a first set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to a signal from a sensor, and performing a second set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to expiry of a timer, wherein the first set of operations comprises:causing data indicating a detected presence to be transmitted and/or stored, if data in the second variable indicates that the processing apparatus responded to expiry of a timer; storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that a signal form a sensor was responded to; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to expiry of a timer. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first variable is adapted to store an indication of whether the processing apparatus last responded to a signal from a sensor or expiry of a timer, and the second variable is adapted to store an indication of whether, the time before last, the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or expiry of a timer. 3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing the apparatus to transmit and/or store data indicating a detected absence, if:the processing apparatus responds to a expiry of a timer; and data stored in the first variable indicates that the processing apparatus last responded to expiry of a timer. 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second set of operations comprise:if data in the first variable indicates that a signal from a sensor was responded to, then:storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that expiry of a timer was responded to; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor and responsive to expiry of a timer; if data in the first variable indicates that expiry of a timer was responded to, then:storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that expiry of a timer was responded to; causing data indicating an absence to be transmitted and/or stored; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor. 5. The method of claim 1 , comprising storing first data in the first variable if the processing apparatus has responded to expiry of a timer, and storing second data, different from the first data, in the first variable if the processing apparatus has responded to a signal from a sensor, wherein the first variable and second variable are initialised such that the first and second variable each comprise the first data. 6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data indicating a presence and/or data indicating an absence is transmitted to a remote server. 7. An apparatus for determining presence and absence of one or more individuals in an occupancy space, the apparatus comprising a processing apparatus having at least two modes, wherein in each said mode the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor and/or responsive to expiry of a timer, the processing apparatus being configured to store data in a first variable to indicate whether the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or expiry of a sensor, and to store data in a second variable to indicate whether the processing apparatus responded, at an earlier time, to a signal from a sensor or to expiry of a timer, wherein the processing apparatus is configured to:perform a first set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to a signal from a sensor, and perform a second set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to expiry of a timer, and transmit and/or store data indicating a detected absence, if: the processing apparatus responds to a expiry of a timer; and data stored in the first variable indicates that the processing apparatus last responded to expiry of a timer; wherein the first set of operations includes causing data indicating a detected presence to be transmitted, if data in the second variable indicates that expiry of a timer was responded to. 8. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a communication device configured for transmitting data indicating a detected presence or a detected absence to a remote server. 9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processing apparatus comprises a microprocessor. 10. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a sensor. 11. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the sensor is a passive infrared detector. 12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing apparatus comprises a microprocessor. 13. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a sensor. 14. A method of operating an apparatus to determine presence and absence of one or more individuals in an occupancy space, the apparatus comprising a processing apparatus having at least two modes, wherein in each said mode the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor and/or responsive to expiry of a timer, the processing apparatus being configured to store data in first and second variables, the first variable being adapted to store an indication of whether the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or to expiry of a timer, and the second variable being adapted to store an indication of whether, at an earlier time, the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or to expiry of a timer, the method comprising:performing a first set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to a signal from a sensor, and performing a second set of operations if the processing apparatus responds to expiry of a timer, wherein the first set of operations includes causing data indicating a detected presence to be transmitted and/or stored, if data in the second variable indicates that the processing apparatus responded to expiry of a timer, and wherein the first variable is adapted to store an indication of whether the processing apparatus last responded to a signal from a sensor or expiry of a timer, and the second variable is adapted to store an indication of whether, the time before last, the processing apparatus responded to a signal from a sensor or expiry of a timer. 15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising causing the apparatus to transmit and/or store data indicating a detected absence, if:the processing apparatus responds to a expiry of a timer; and data stored in the first variable indicates that the processing apparatus last responded to expiry of a timer. 16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first set of operations further comprises:storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that a signal from a sensor was responded to; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to expiry of a timer. 17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second set of operations comprise:if data in the first variable indicates that a signal from a sensor was responded to, then:storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that expiry of a timer was responded to; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor and responsive to expiry of a timer; if data in the first variable indicates that expiry of a timer was responded to, then:storing, in the second variable, data stored in the first variable; storing, in the first variable, data indicating that expiry of a timer was responded to; causing data indicating an absence to be transmitted and/or stored; and entering a mode in which the processing apparatus is responsive to a signal from a sensor. 18. The method of claim 14 , comprising storing first data in the first variable if the processing apparatus has responded to expiry of a timer, and storing second data, different from the first data, in the first variable if the processing apparatus has responded to a signal from a sensor, wherein the first variable and second variable are initialised such that the first and second variable each comprise the first data. 19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the data indicating a presence and/or data indicating an absence is transmitted to a remote server.
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