Structure including a passageway

• US 10,371,531 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: Salmikuukka, Jukka
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/202,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20160313127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3492 Position or motion detectors or driving means for the detector B66B1/40, B66B1/50 take precedence; length measuring G01B; speed measuring G01P
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/46 Adaptations of switches or switchgear switches or switchgear in general, applications of switches or switchgear for floor-levelling purpose H01H; panels for boards or switching arrangements H02B1/015
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

Indoor positioning information is received for positioning a user within a structure including at least one passageway and one or more bookmarks, a bookmark including a location of the bookmark within the structure, and a function for operating the passageway, when the bookmark is activated. Location of the user is determined and compared with the locations of the bookmarks. At least one bookmark is determined to be activated and activated, on the basis of the correspondence of the user'"'"'s location and the locations of the bookmarks. Current operational state and future operational state of the passageway are determined for controlling the passageway from the current operational state towards the future operational state that is determined on the basis of the activated bookmarks. The controlling is performed, when the current operational state and the future operational state are different.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving indoor positioning information for positioning a user within a structure, the structure including at least one passageway and one or more physical bookmarks, at least one of the one or more physical bookmarks installed to the structure for operating the at least one passageway, said at least one physical bookmark including a location of the at least one physical bookmark within the structure, one or more functions, and one or more criterion relating to activation of the at least one physical bookmark, one of said one or more functions being for operating the passageway, when the at least one physical bookmark is activated;

determining a location of the user;

comparing the location of the user with the locations of the at least one physical bookmark;

determining at least one physical bookmark to be activated on the basis of the correspondence of the user'"'"'s location and the locations of the at least one physical bookmark;

activating the determined at least one physical bookmark;

executing the function of the determined at least one physical bookmark, in response to the determined at least one physical bookmark being activated;

updating a corresponding virtual bookmark in a virtual representation of the structure in a virtual environment, said virtual environment being configured viewable on a user interface of a computing device by a software application, the virtual representation of the structure including at least one virtual passageway and one or more virtual bookmarks that correspond to the at least one passageway and the one or more physical bookmarks of the structure, respectively, the step of updating comprising;

selecting a virtual bookmark in the virtual representation of the structure corresponding to the determined at least one physical bookmark;

updating the virtual bookmark by exchanging information with the determined at least one physical bookmark, the information comprising;

one or more functions for the selected virtual bookmark, and one or more criterion relating to activation of the selected virtual bookmark; and

updating the virtual bookmark such that the activation of the determined at least one physical bookmark is reflected to the corresponding virtual bookmark.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one physical bookmark includes a plurality of physical bookmarks,

wherein the plurality of physical bookmarks are interrelated by their locations and/or functions, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

determining a first physical bookmark of the plurality of physical bookmarks to be activated;

determining one or more interrelated physical bookmarks of the activated physical bookmark; and

activating the determined interrelated physical bookmarks.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least one physical bookmark includes a plurality of functions selectable via a user interface by a user, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

receiving user input via the user interface; and

defining the one physical bookmark to include the location of the user or a location defined by the user via the user interface.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

receiving user input via the user interface;

defining the one physical bookmark to include one or more activation criteria defined by the user via the user interface; and

activating the one physical bookmark, when the defined criteria are met.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least one physical bookmark includes one or more user identifiers of allowed users to activate the one physical bookmark, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

obtaining information identifying the one physical bookmarks within the structure; and

determining, on the basis of the received information, a set of physical bookmarks from the obtained physical bookmarks that are allowed for the user.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the allowed physical bookmarks include one or more further activation criteria, and the physical bookmark is activated, when a defined criteria are met.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining a function executed in the virtual environment;

determining the passageway of the physical structure that corresponds to the passageway operated on by the function of the virtual bookmark activated in the virtual environment; and

activating one or more physical bookmarks of determined the physical structure said activated virtual bookmarks operating on the determined passageway.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the function executed in the virtual environment indicates a performance level achieved in the executed software application and the performance level is mapped by mapping rules to a function operating on the determined passageway of the physical structure.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the mapping rules define a mapping of the performance level to a set of allowed operational states of the determined passageway of the physical structure, said set of allowed functions including a set of allowed landing zones of an elevator.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the activation criteria comprising one or more from a location within the structure, an activation time, a time period of activity, a user identifier of allowed users of the bookmark, and a number of activation times.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the passageway is a hoistway of an elevator, the hoistway including an elevator car operated between landing zones of the elevator.

12. An arrangement comprising:

a processor configured to obtain indoor positioning information for positioning a user within a structure including at least one passageway and one or more bookmarks, a bookmark including a location of the bookmark within the structure, and a function for operating the passageway, when the bookmark is activated; and

execute the steps of claim 1.

13. The arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the arrangement is a mobile phone or a computer.

14. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising executable code that when executed, cause execution of functions the method according to claim 1.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein each bookmark is definable by the user selecting one or more functions relating to the operational states of the passageway, and one or more criterion relating to activation of the bookmark.