System architecture for office productivity structure communications

• US 10,750,873 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2019
• Issued: 08/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Millerknoll Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Herman Miller Incorporated
• Inventors: Hoyt, Christopher, Rucker, Daniel, Doran, Joseph, Alexander, Brian, Daley-Fell, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Yi, Changhyun
• Application Number:
  US16/460,415
• Publication Number:
  US 20190320799A1
• Time in Patent Office: 420 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 1/03 the parts being arm-rests conversion into a bed A47C17/12
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 31/126 for chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/56 Parts or details of tipping-up chairs, e.g. of theatre chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/62 Accessories for chairs
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1036 Measuring load distribution, e.g. podologic studies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4561 Evaluating static posture, e.g. undesirable back curvature A61B5/1116 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture

Abstract

A furniture system includes an office productivity structure (OPS). The furniture system also includes a sensor coupled to the OPS, the sensor operable to detect a parameter of the OPS and generate an output signal indicative of the parameter; and a processor coupled to the sensor. The processor is operable to receive the output signal generated by the sensor, determine, based on the output signal, an operation condition of the OPS, when the operation condition is determined to be within a satisfactory range, determine an estimated time before servicing is needed, and when the operation condition is determined to be outside a satisfactory range, send a service alert.

Claims

1. A furniture system comprising:

an office productivity structure (OPS);

a sensor coupled to the OPS, the sensor operable to detect a parameter of the OPS and generate an output signal indicative of the parameter; and

a processor coupled to the sensor, and the processor operable to

receive the output signal generated by the sensor,

determine, based on the output signal, an operation condition of the OPS,

when the operation condition is determined to be within a satisfactory range, determine an estimated time before servicing is needed, and

when the operation condition is determined to be outside a satisfactory range, send a service alert.

2. The furniture system of claim 1, wherein the OPS is a chair including

a seat,

a backrest coupled to the seat, and

a base supporting the backrest and the seat.

3. The furniture system of claim 2, wherein the parameter of the OPS includes a component position parameter, and wherein the processor is operable to determine, based on the output signal, the component position parameter of the chair, the component position parameter corresponding to a tilt of the seat relative to the base, a distribution of weight on the backrest, or a tilt of the seat relative to a horizontal level, and wherein the operation condition is determined based on the component position parameter.

4. The furniture system of claim 1, wherein the parameter of the OPS is a physical force imparted on a component of the OPS.

5. The furniture system of claim 1, wherein the operation condition is determined based upon a comparison of the output signal to a tolerance range.

6. The furniture system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to

access expected performance data for the OPS, and

further determine the operation condition based upon the expected performance data for the OPS.

7. The furniture system of claim 6, wherein the expected performance data is accessed from a third-party database or a manufacturer database.

8. The furniture system of claim 7, wherein the processor is operable to send the determined operation condition to the third-party database or the manufacturer database to update the expected performance data based upon the determined operation condition.

9. The furniture system of claim 6, wherein the expected performance data includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a warranty date, a product recall notice, a failure notice, a warning notice, a recommend use notice, and a recommended use update.

10. The furniture system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to

access a database indicating an expected lifetime of the furniture system and a current age of the furniture system,

compare the current age of the furniture system and the expected lifetime, and

further determine the operation condition based upon the comparison.

11. A method of determining an operation condition of an office productivity structure (OPS), the method comprising:

detecting, by a sensor, a parameter of the OPS,

generating, by the sensor, an output signal indicative of the parameter;

receiving, by a processor, the output signal generated by the sensor;

determining, by the processor, the operation condition of the OPS based upon the parameter,

determining, by the processor, an estimated time needed before servicing when the operation condition is determined to be within a satisfactory range, and

sending, by the processor, a service alert when the operation condition is determined to be outside the satisfactory range.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the service alert includes notifying service personnel of the service alert via an electronic message.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the service alert includes automatically requesting a service visit from a technician.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the service alert includes notifying an operator of the OPS of the service alert.

15. The method of claim 11, the method further comprising accessing, by the processor, a third-party database or a manufacturer database to determine a regular preventative service schedule for the OPS.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the regular preventative service schedule is compared to expected performance data of the OPS.

17. A computing device comprising:

a non-transitory, computer-readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by an electronic processor coupled to the memory, perform a set of functions, the set of functions including

receiving an output signal from a sensor coupled to an office productivity structure (OPS),

determining, based on the output signal, an operation condition of the OPS,

determining an estimated time before servicing is needed when the operation condition is determined to be within a satisfactory range, and

sending a service alert when the operation condition is determined to be outside a satisfactory range.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the operating condition of the OPS is determined based upon a parameter of the OPS detected by the sensor.

19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the parameter of the OPS is at least one parameter selected from the group of parameters consisting of usage data of the OPS, movement data of the OPS, positioning data of the OPS, model data of the OPS, and physical forces imparted on the OPS.

20. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the service alert includes at least one selected from the group consisting of checking for a product upgrade of the OPS, checking to determine if previously ordered parts for the OPS are ready, and updating a statistic of the OPS for a manufacturer of the OPS.