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EP-4202872-B1 - PRESENCE DETECTION TERMINAL WITH LOW ENERGY MODE

EP4202872B1EP 4202872 B1EP4202872 B1EP 4202872B1EP-4202872-B1

Inventors

  • MEISS, ELMAR
  • RUOF, MARTIN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211222

Claims (11)

  1. An attendance recording terminal (10), namely a time recording terminal, for recording an item of attendance information of a person (40) on the basis of an action of the person (40), comprising: - a control unit (11), - at least one sensor unit (12), wherein the sensor unit (12) is configured to monitor a surrounding zone (30), and - an intent engine (112), wherein the intent engine (112) is configured to record an intention of an interaction of the person (40) with the attendance recording terminal (10) and to output an item of intention information, wherein the control unit (11) is configured to set the attendance recording terminal (10) at least to a first operating state and a second operating state, wherein, in the second operating state, the attendance recording terminal (10) is set to an energy-saving mode compared to the first operating state, wherein the control unit (11) is configured in such manner that the attendance recording terminal (10) switches from the second operating state to the first operating state as a function of the intention information, characterised in that the control unit (11) is configured to set the attendance recording terminal (10) at least to a third operating state, wherein, in the third operating state, the attendance recording terminal (10) is set to an energy-saving mode compared to the second operating state, further comprising a memory management unit (20), wherein the memory management unit (20) comprises working time data, wherein the attendance recording terminal (10) is configured in such manner that at least one of the following conditions is met: - the attendance recording terminal (10) can be set to the third operating state only outside of a regular working time, and/or - the attendance recording terminal (10) is set to the first operating state in a predefined period of a/the regular working time, in particular at the start and/or end of the regular working time, and cannot be set to the second operating state.
  2. The attendance recording terminal (10) according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding zone (30) is divided into a plurality of sub-zones, wherein, preferably, the plurality of sub-zones comprises at least the following sub-zones: - a near zone (31), and - a far zone (32), wherein the near zone (31) is arranged closer to the attendance recording terminal (10) than the far zone (32), wherein, in particular, the control unit (11) is configured in such manner that the attendance recording terminal (10) can be set to the first operating state only when the person (40) is detected in the near zone (31).
  3. The attendance recording terminal (10) according to claims 1 to 2, wherein the control unit (11) is configured in such manner that the attendance recording terminal (10) is automatically set to the second operating state when the person (40) is detected in the far zone (32) and, at the same time, no person is detected in the near zone (31).
  4. The attendance recording terminal (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising at least one first processor and one second processor, wherein the first processor is configured at least to carry out the setting of the attendance recording terminal (10) to the first operating state, and preferably also to the second operating state, and wherein the second processor is configured at least to operate the at least one sensor unit (12) and/or the intent engine (112), wherein, preferably, the second processor has lower processing power than the first processor.
  5. The attendance recording terminal according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensor unit (12) comprises at least one of the following units: - at least one camera (121), - at least one biometric sensor (122), - at least one proximity sensor (123), and/or - at least one mobile access engine (124), wherein the mobile access engine (124) of the sensor unit (12) is configured such that, in order to detect the person (40) in the surrounding zone (30), a communication exchange takes place between the mobile access engine (124) and a mobile access medium of the person (40).
  6. A computer-implemented method for operating an attendance recording terminal (10), namely a time recording terminal, for recording an item of attendance information of a person (40) on the basis of an action of the person (40), comprising the steps: - Monitoring a surrounding zone (30) with at least one sensor unit (12), - Recording an intention of an interaction of the person (40) with the attendance recording terminal (10) by way of an intent engine (112), wherein an item of intention information is generated, and - Setting the attendance recording terminal (10) from a second operating state to a first operating state, wherein, in the second operating state, the attendance recording terminal (10) is operated in an energy-saving mode compared to the first operating state, wherein the intention of the interaction of the person (40) with the attendance recording terminal (10) is first recorded, and the attendance recording terminal (10) then switches from the second operating state to the first operating state as a function of the intention information, characterised in that the attendance recording terminal (10) can be set to a third operating state, wherein, in the third operating state, the attendance recording terminal (10) is operated in an energy-saving mode compared to the second operating state, wherein a regular working time is predefined or stored, and wherein: - the attendance recording terminal (10) can be set to the third operating state only outside of the regular working time, and/or - in a predefined period of the regular working time, in particular at the start and/or end of the regular working time, the attendance recording terminal (10) is set to the first operating state and the setting of the attendance recording terminal (10) to the second operating state is locked.
  7. The computer-implemented method according to claim 6, wherein the surrounding zone (30) is divided into a plurality of sub-zones, wherein, preferably, the plurality of sub-zones comprises at least the following sub-zones: - a near zone (31), and - a far zone (32), wherein the near zone (31) is arranged closer to the attendance recording terminal (10) than the far zone (32), wherein, in particular, the step of setting the attendance recording terminal (10) from the second operating state to the first operating state can take place only when the person (40) is detected in the near zone (31).
  8. The computer-implemented method according to claims 6 to 7, wherein the attendance recording terminal (10) is automatically set to the second operating state when the person (40) is detected in the far zone (32) and, at the same time, no person is detected in the near zone (31).
  9. The computer-implemented method according to one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the step of setting the attendance recording terminal (10) from the second operating state to the first operating state, and preferably also the step of setting the attendance recording terminal (10) to the second operating state, is carried out by means of a first processor, and wherein the step of monitoring a surrounding zone (30) with the sensor unit (12) and/or the step of recording the intention of the interaction of the person (40) with the attendance recording terminal (10) by the intent engine (112) is carried out by means of a second processor, wherein, preferably, the second processor has lower processing power than the first processor.
  10. The computer-implemented method according to one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the sensor unit (12) monitors the surrounding zone (30) by means of at least one of the following units: - at least one camera (121), - at least one biometric sensor (122), - at least one proximity sensor (123), and/or - at least one mobile access engine (124), wherein the mobile access engine (124) of the sensor unit (12) communicates with a mobile access medium of the person (40) in order to detect the person (40) in the surrounding zone (30).
  11. A computer program comprising commands which, when the program is executed by a processor of an attendance recording terminal (10), namely a time recording terminal, causes the attendance recording terminal (10) to perform the steps of the method according to one of claims 6 to 10.

Description

The present invention relates to an attendance recording terminal, namely a time recording terminal, for recording attendance information of a person based on an action by that person. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for operating such an attendance recording terminal, namely a time recording terminal, for recording attendance information of a person based on an action by that person, and to a corresponding computer program. Attendance terminals are widely used in the workplace to record employee attendance. They are frequently found in office buildings, factories, and hospitals. These terminals provide a system for the electronic recording and storage of employee attendance. A time and attendance terminal also serves to record and store completed working hours. In general, this refers to a person's attendance information, which allows them to clock in to work, for example, for a break or at the end of the workday, or to clock out of the system. Attendance and attendance terminals allow for a central point of interaction for employees, for example, in the entrance area of an office building or on each floor or in each department of a building/company. This allows for easy clocking and recording of attendance. The employer then has access to a central system, such as the terminal's storage management unit, which enables them to easily track employee attendance information. Conventional presence detection terminals, from which the present invention is based, have a control unit and furthermore at least one sensor unit that monitors an ambient zone adjacent to the presence detection terminal. The presence detection is observed. For this purpose, the sensor unit can, for example, include an infrared sensor. To operate as energy-efficiently as possible, an energy-saving mode can be provided, which will subsequently be referred to as the second operating state of the presence detection terminal. From this second operating state (energy-saving mode), the control unit can switch the presence detection terminal to a first operating state, for example, to allow interaction between the person and the presence detection terminal in this higher, first operating state. To enable interaction in the initial operating state, attendance recording terminals typically include at least one intent engine. The intent engine determines a person's intention to interact with the terminal and outputs corresponding intent information, which can then be processed to record the person's attendance. The intent engine can be implemented as software within the attendance recording terminal or its control unit, or it can be comprised of software. Typically, conventional presence detection terminals use a simple sensor unit, such as an infrared sensor, to detect whether a person is in the vicinity of the terminal when switching from energy-saving mode to the primary operating state. If a person is detected, the terminal switches from the energy-saving secondary operating state to the more advanced primary operating state, which allows interaction. This switch to primary operating state then usually activates all necessary components of the terminal, such as a display for information or interaction, the intent engine for recording intentions, and other functionalities. US 2013/048716 A1 Disclosing systems and methods by which a cardholder can customize the user interface of a terminal in an access control or time and attendance system. The methods include receiving user information from a cardholder or a card and updating at least one terminal property based on the received user information. A terminal display can be put into a sleep mode. The terminal display can be set to an on mode when a card is detected at a distance of approximately 1 meter from the terminal. US 2017/0289766 A1 It reveals techniques for digital assistant experiences based on presence detection. A system is able to detect a user's presence and distance from a reference point and adapt the digital assistant experience based on that distance. The distance represents the proximity to a client device, which outputs various elements of a digital assistant experience. The client device contains a system behavior manager. This manager can detect a user's presence at close range, at which point the client device can be switched from a low-energy mode to an active mode. Against this background, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide an attendance recording terminal in which energy efficiency is further increased. Furthermore, the present invention is based on the objective of providing a corresponding computer-implemented method for operating an attendance recording terminal or a corresponding computer program in order to further increase energy efficiency. According to the invention, the aforementioned problems are solved by the proposed attendance recording terminal, namely a time recording terminal, for recordi