US Patent 11776260 Facility occupancy detection with thermal grid sensor

Systems, methods and apparatus for providing an availability status associated with a facility. One system includes an illumination indicator, a thermal grid array sensor, and an electronic controller. The thermal grid array sensor is configured to sense an outside region, an entryway region, and an inside region associated with a facility subsystem. The electronic controller is configured to determine the current availability status as unavailable responsive to the thermal grid array sensor detecting a heat signature in the outside region, subsequently in the entryway region, and subsequently in the inside region. The electronic controller is also configured to determine the current availability status as available responsive to the thermal grid array sensor detecting the heat signature in the inside region, subsequently in the entryway region, and subsequently in the outside region. The electronic controller is further configured to control the illumination indicator to indicate the current availability status.