Intellectual Properties For Sale & Licensing
Methods And Systems Optimizing Swimming Pool Operations By Utilizing Occupancy Detection Device:
Patent Number: US 11741814 B2
USPTO Link: https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/11741814
Official Patent Title: Methods And Systems Optimizing Swimming Pool and Restaurant Service Operations By Utilizing Occupancy Detection Device
Description:
This invention brings the awareness of a presence of a person, animal, pool cleaner, object to the pool automation system, the chemical treatment device and the SVRS system (safety vacuum release system) to coordinate safety, control, performance, efficiency and convenience to the users. Occupancy status of the pool and the additional sensors data are used to adjust and optimize the pump speed and the run schedule of the pool pump controller or automation system as well as to adjust the chemical treatment schedule of the pool and the amount of chemicals used to clean the pool water and by doing so optimizing the pool chemicals use and the timing of the use. The occupancy detector device(s), as a mesh network or a wireless star network, can communicate to the automation system, the chemical treatment device and the mobile devices via commonly used communication methods. The invention can be integrated into the entire ecosystem of pool devices independent of the manufacturers, any type of network and cloud connectivity. The invention applies to commercial and residential pool systems.
This a brief snippet from the summary of the invention. To access the complete summary, please contact us.
2. Methods And Systems Optimizing Restaurant/Venue Service Operations By Utilizing Occupancy Detection Device:
Patent Number: US 11948444 B2
USPTO Link: https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/11948444
Official Patent Title: Methods And Systems Optimizing Swimming Pool and Restaurant Service Operations By Utilizing Occupancy Detection Device
Description:
This invention relates to a venue service optimization and enhancement by utilizing occupancy detection devices connected in one of the wired or/and the wireless network options to communicate to mobile devices and a central device to monitor the status of the designated areas (platforms) locally and remotely by potential guests, guests (users) and staffs, and accept guests’ inputs locally, communicate/indicate/display staffs’ inputs to the guests, allow staffs to control, monitor and collect data via an App on the mobile devices and the central device. It is important to note that in addition the invention has been claimed as an apparatus, it has also been claimed as a system. Therefore, the invention as a whole is not limited to any kind of occupancy detection sensors and methods that are listed below and in the filing.
The central device has a full access monitoring and control functionality for the occupancy detection devices for the administrating staff in the venue. In addition to control and monitoring functions, the central device can collect data, do various calculations, estimations and display them on a screen. The staff has a dedicated mobile device App or special mode of the guest mobile App, which will give them access to all the features as the administrators just like on the central device. The central device, a cloud computer or a local connection can push data to the App on mobile devices for the staff to use depending on the communication network option selected. This will allow the staff to monitor the dedicated areas (e.g. tables, bays) and provide input to them on the go in order to optimize and enhance the guests’ experiences. There are multiple network and communication options to select from, which provides the flexibility for the data paths and flow, where the data reside, how much data can each hold and make available for use. More information about the network communication options is presented below.
The venue can be a restaurant, a meeting venue, an entertainment venue, a sporting venue (e.g. golf driving range), where the designated area (platform) accommodates at least one person seating or standing. The occupancy detection devices can be mounted to tables, furniture, stands, walls, and floors in the designated areas.
Occupancy detection with the occupancy detection device at the designated area (platform) can be automatic detection with one or more of the onboard sensors (accelerometer, any type of mechanical vibration sensors, piezoelectric vibration sensor, infrared light sensor, ultrasound sensor, sonar sensor, a microphone, a loadcell, gesture sensor, time-of-flight sensor, LiDar, laser sensor) or manual detection with various user (guest) input (interface) options: buttons, touch keys, gesture detection sensor, QR scanner, barcode scanner, NFC interface and Bluetooth interface. To optimize and enhance the service needs of the guests, a messaging capability is integrated to and from the staff, which can be shown on a display on the occupancy detection device.
Occupancy status, user inputs and staff inputs (user outputs) are classified as “Status or Statuses of the platform” in the invention. The status can be the present occupancy status of the designated area such as “occupied”, “unoccupied”, “out of service”, or the status can be a planned future event such as “reserved for an event” any of which can be indicated by LED lights and/or on the display. The device can also accept various messages and commands from the staff and display to the guests, which can be expressing celebration of a special event such as “happy birthday”, “congratulations on your engagement”, or service-related messages such as “your order will be ready in X amounts of minutes” and so forth.
Furthermore, a guest identified check-in can be with an NFC key, an NFC on a mobile device, a Bluetooth on a mobile device. When a mobile device checks in, the guest information can be transferred to the central device and to the staff mode of the mobile device App for tracking the guest check-ins to meals and other activities such as paying for extra services in the venue. When a guest checks in to a designated area (table or area) the status of the designated area changes to “Occupied” and securing his/her place at the designated area. With the Bluetooth on a mobile device check-in, the designated area vacancy can be detected automatically when the guest leaves by the disconnection of the Bluetooth wireless connection. With the Bluetooth on a mobile device, the guests can transmit and receive messages to and from the staff on the mobile device App.
When the staff is attending to a need of the designated area, they can indicate and clear the request with various methods such as by pressing a button, a touch key or a gesture to the gesture sensor or scanning a barcode, a QR code, an NFC key or an NFC on a mobile device to the occupancy detection device. All or selected activities are recorded and transferred to the central device or to the cloud computer for data analysis purposes where the staff has access on the central device or on the staff mode of the mobile device App.
The occupancy detection devices in the venue are commonly connected wirelessly as a mesh network allowing wide range and low power operation or star wireless network configuration to communicate to the central device and the mobile devices via commonly used network schemes (not limited to what is listed below and in the filing) as in the following:
o Through a local network (wired and/or wireless) such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, ZWave, Thread, Wirepass, 6LoWPAN, etc. via a gateway to the central device and the mobile devices.
o Through the combination of wired and wireless methods of the local network, ethernet, internet, cloud computer, cellular network connections to the central device and mobile devices.
o Through the use of a local network, connecting to the center device and then to internet, cloud computer, cellular network to the mobile devices.
The occupancy detection device is powered commonly by a rechargeable battery that is charged by solar cells or an outlet.
The mobile device App is used by the staff, potential guests and guests. Central data processing and storage can be done in the cloud computer or in the central device. The mobile device App does local data processing and it can do local data storage. The same mobile device App can be used by everybody, where the App has an administrator mode with a staff access code, or the staff can have a dedicated mobile device App. When a venue purchases the system and signs up for the service, it goes through an onboarding process, where it can make the seating or the designated area map with pre-built blocks similar to seating map that is available in the current check-out registers in addition to other venue specific operational parameters. To ease the onboarding process a PC App is provided as well.
There are numerous applications and variations of this invention. A few simple examples, which I will present briefly below, might be valuable for understanding at least a part of it. The most obvious application of this invention is the need for people attending to a venue to know, which tables, platforms or bays are occupied, and which ones are not occupied and available, and the busyness of the gathering in a convenient way in real time remotely and locally. Similarly, the staff in these venues need a way to optimize and assess the service they are providing for the guests.
For instance, if a restaurant is buffet style, one could leave the table and when he/she returns to the table and realizes it has been cleaned up or taken over by new occupants. With the display of the occupancy status, this confusion can be prevented, and a more comfortable experience can be provided for the guests.
In another example, the status of tables/rooms/areas can be communicated to the mobile devices App for hotel guests or attendees of an event (conferences, expose, training rooms, etc.) to adjust their time of arrival to the venue depending on the busyness. The same information can be used by staff to monitor the general status of the venue and specific statuses of tables/rooms/areas and direct the attending staff timely and appropriately such as bringing food and beverage service to a training room for the break. The information can be complied in a form that will assist the staff to better serve the guests with various statistics such as percentage of people dinned, turn-over rate of tables/rooms/areas, servers’ response time to guests’ arrivals, requests and cleaning tables/rooms/areas, more accurate estimations of vacancies of tables/rooms/areas, etc.
In another use case, a potential guest may prefer quieter times and certain locations and tables in a venue. By utilizing the mobile App and the occupancy status map of a venue, the guest can make a better decision about the arrival time and may even reserve the table.
3. Chainless Electric Bicycle and Electric Brake System, Control Methods and Systems Thereof:
Patent Application Number: 17/690893
Status: Examination Pending
USPTO Link: https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20220194520
Official Patent Title: Chainless Electric Bicycle, Control Methods and Systems Thereof
Description:
The present invention describes an elimination of the use of the chain or any other mechanical means to transfer torque and power from pedals to the propelling wheel without changing the current configuration of a bicycle as we know it. The present invention utilizes a generator coupled to the pedals, power electronics, control electronics, a battery, a motor mounted into the wheel, control methods to control and transfer torque and power from pedals to the wheel. Further, the present invention emulates the mechanical chain bicycle experience and provides convenience features with a fixed and a dynamic torque assistance to ease and extend the riding experience, an electronic gear shifting manual or automatic based on the traction speed. Furthermore, the present invention implements an electric brake system wherein the braking is accomplished by an actuator brake and the regenerative brake. Moreover, the present invention introduces detection features such as detecting rider presence, weight sensing, automatic power shutoff. The present invention brings electrical components and systems, control methods, electromechanical and mechanical components and systems in a way, which were not attained by any prior art.
The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to a bicycle system or apparatus in order to address the needs which were not fulfilled by the conventional bicycle apparatuses. The present invention thereby discloses a chainless electric bicycle apparatus which eliminates a chain that connects a pair of pedals to a propelling or traction or rear wheel by means of electrically transferring torque and power from the pedals to the traction wheel with the help of a battery power. In order to accomplish this, the pedals are coupled mechanically to a generator. The present invention further discloses a motor that may be mounted into the rear wheel. Since the generator power alone is not sufficient to sustain the overall operating conditions of the chainless electric bicycle, the battery may be used as a power source. The battery also allows to reduce the torque and power required from a rider to propel the chainless electric bicycle. Further, the present invention discloses an active rectifier, an inverter, a battery with charge-discharge circuit connected with a DC bus to generate required pedal resistance to give the experience of riding the chain bicycle, to provide various different experiences to the rider, to meet the requirements of the operating components, and to coordinate the power flow in between the generator, the battery, the motor, and power electronics. Furthermore, AC voltage control methods that match the generator and the motor types and their phase numbers are used to precisely regulate a resistance torque to the generator and the traction torque to the motor to propel the wheel.
The present invention further discloses a pedal control unit that generates the resistance torque and a feedforward torque, a traction control unit that manipulates the feedforward torque to apply a traction torque to the motor, a brake control unit that generates a brake force and a brake torque based on the operating conditions, and the way these three control units interact to coordinate the operation of the chainless electric bicycle are novel features of the present invention.
The present invention discloses a plurality of additional features such as a torque assistance to ease the pedal torque required, a ride charge feature to charge the battery while riding the electric bicycle in addition to an outlet charge, continuously variable electronic gear manually adjustable or automatic based on the traction speed, and an electric braking system utilizing an actuator brake and a regenerative brake.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
It shall be noted that the present invention is not limited to two wheels. It can be applied to different types of pedal-powered multi-wheeled transportation vehicles such as, but not limited to a tandem bicycle, a tricycle and a quadricycle. Furthermore, the number of components and the arrangement of components are flexible and scalable.