Registers – Records – Particular code pattern
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2003-01-07
Frech, Karl D. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Records
Particular code pattern
C235S380000, C235S435000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06502756
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product intended to be used in connection with the recording of information of the kind stated in the preamble to claim
1
. The invention also relates to a system for recording information, a method for making a product for recording of information and an electronic storage medium for computers, on which software for the same purpose is stored.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In restaurants there are often touch screens showing various dishes which a customer may order. The restaurant staff use these touch screens for entering orders which they take from the customer and for transmitting the orders to the kitchen where they are subsequently prepared. However, touch screens are relatively expensive and, consequently, restaurants usually only have a few of these screens. Furthermore, the touch screens are usually stationary, which means that staff members must stand in a particular location when entering the orders. Accordingly, in most cases customers cannot see which order is being entered and, consequently, they cannot check that the order they have placed has been entered correctly. Similar problems exist in, for example, the hotel industry and other industries where touch screens are used to take orders.
A solution to this problem, which is adapted to restaurants, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,016. The patent discloses a device intended to be placed on each table in a restaurant and to be used by customers for entering their order. The device comprises a menu and an optical reading pen. In the traditional way, the menu contains various food and drink alternatives, each alternative being associated with a barcode. The customer passes the optical reading pen across the barcode of the dish she wishes to order and the order is transmitted to the kitchen where staff check whether they can fill the order. If the order can be filled, a confirmation is transmitted to the customer in the form of an indicator light on the pen lighting up in green color. If the order cannot be filled, a red light comes on and the customer is obliged to chose a different dish. When the order has been filled, a bill is automatically printed for the customer. In the device according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,016 touch screens are thus not used and customers enter their orders themselves. However, it has certain other drawbacks. For example, special equipment is required for producing the barcodes. This equipment can be relatively expensive. Moreover, many restaurants do not have the use of this type of equipment, which makes it inconvenient for the restaurant staff to make temporary or permanent changes to the menus. Furthermore, problems arise if standardized barcodes do not exist for the dishes or beverages which are to be included in the menu.
WO 95/04979 discloses a system which makes it possible to produce, on the basis of a common check for a group of guests, a separate check for an individual guest in the group. On the common check, each partial order is identified in a traditional manner with a short description and a price. In addition, the partial order is provided with an ID number which indicates the number of the table in the restaurant and a serial number of the partial order. The ID number is also coded with a bar code. When a separate check is to be made, a bar code reader is used to read the bar codes which correspond to the partial orders for the guest at issue. The bar codes are transferred to a computer which has stored the partial orders and which, on the basis of table number and serial number, can identify the partial order and the price thereof.
Although in this case it is not necessary to be able to code the contents of the specific partial orders directly by means of bar codes but it is sufficient with table number and serial number, the system is just the same limited to precisely a table number and a serial number. If additional and/or other information is to be recorded, additional bar codes must be defined. If the information is to be rearranged and be printed using another layout, the system must also be changed so that the bar codes are printed in other positions.
Similar problems occur when various types of professionals wish to record information, for example, document what has been done, what is to be done, or what is available. One example is a dentist who while treating a patient writes down what he is doing by hand and later inputs the information to his computer. Another example are warehouse staff who take stock by walking around and writing down the items which are in stock. Yet another example are staff at motor vehicle inspection facilities who fill in a form with information about defects which must be corrected in a car which is being inspected. All these and other types of professionals thus are in need of recording information in a simple and flexible manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an information recording system which is flexible at least to the same extent as or preferably to a greater extent than the above described bar code system.
This object is achieved wholly or partly according to the invention by a product, a system, a method, and an electronic storage medium as described and claimed herein.
According to a first aspect of the invention, it thus relates to a product which is intended for use in connection with the recording of information and which has a surface on which there are a plurality of information alternatives, each having an associated code area. The surface is provided with a two-dimensional position code which codes coordinates for a plurality of positions on the surface in said code areas, which is unrelated to the information which is to be recorded and which permits recording of a desired information alternative by reading the position code for a position in the code area associated with the desired information alternative.
The surface can be any surface to which a position code can be applied, for example by printing. The code is preferably applied to the surface from the outset, before adding the information alternatives. Alternatively, it can be applied simultaneously as the information alternatives or even after they have been applied.
A code area is associated with each information alternative. The code area can be adjacent to the information alternative or overlap it completely or partially. The information alternatives and their code areas should be arranged so that it is obvious to the user which pair of information alternative and code area belong together, enabling the user to record an information alternative by reading the code in the code area associated with the information alternative.
It should here be pointed out that information alternative should be interpreted in a wide sense. It need not be a matter of alternatives which exclude each other, but all forms of information units are included, of which the user may want to record one or more or all the information units.
By two-dimensional position code is further meant that the code codes coordinates in two dimensions for positions on the surface. Examples of advantageous position codes are stated in the specific description portion. Other two-dimensional position codes are also conceivable.
The position code is unrelated to the information that is to be recorded. Thus there is no fixed connection between code and information alternative. By this is meant that the code does not code the actual information, but merely positions on the surface, so that it is via the position on the surface that the connection to various information alternatives can be made. Obviously the same position code can be used for recording arbitrary information. No change of the code on the surface has to be made when changing the information alternatives, but the connection between position and information can be available in, for example, the memory of a computer where the connection is easy to change. In this way, a very flexible product is obtained.
A further advantage of the produ
Anoto AB
Frech Karl D.
Sanders Allyson
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