Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Restaurant or bar
Reexamination Certificate
1996-06-14
2001-03-27
Swann, Tod R (Department: 2765)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Restaurant or bar
C705S077000, C705S016000, C340S286080
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208976
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an order management system, in particular to an order management system by which a user can transmit order data while viewing a screen on the terminal device.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The system generally used for managing orders in a restaurant or the like is such that a waiter or waitress takes each customer's order and conveys it to the kitchen. However, an order management system of this type has a problem in that the expenses involved in employing waiting staff increases the unit price of the food.
In establishments such as fast-food restaurants that have recently become common, a system is used in which the customer has to approach a counter to order and again to pick up the ordered food. However, an order management system of that type has a problem in that it places a large burden on customers because they have to return to the counter every time they order, and they have to wait in line at the counter if the restaurant is busy.
In order to solve these problems, the use of an order management system has been considered in which a main piece of management equipment for order management (a host computer) is combined with a plurality of terminal devices for ordering that are provided at the customers' tables. Since this order management system makes it possible for a customer to make an order while viewing image data for ordering that is displayed on a terminal device, and the resultant order can be processed by the main management equipment, it can solve both of the previously mentioned problems concerning staff expenses and the load on the customers.
Unfortunately, it is not possible for a customer to obtain a good visualization of the dishes available for order, simply from an order list displayed on a terminal device. In such a case, a problem occurs in that customers become reluctant to use this system to order food.
One method that can be considered for solving this problem is to display a menu screen that shows images of completed dishes. This enables customers to instantly comprehend the contents of the menu in a visual fashion, so that they can order dishes accurately. However, a further problem arises in this case in that the if data such as image data and an image reproduction program is transferred every time an order is passed between the management equipment and the terminal devices, the quantity of data that must be handled becomes too large and thus it is no longer possible for ordering to proceed smoothly.
In order to solve this problem, image data for ordering and an associated operating program could be previously stored in ROM within each of the order-taking terminal devices. However, if the menu of the restaurant changes with such a configuration, the ROM in each terminal device has to be replace with a new ROM containing the image data and operating program, giving rise to a problem in that it is not possible to respond rapidly to changes or additions to the menu.
A particular problem with a restaurant or the like is the fact that the menu has to be modified frequently for reasons such as the availability of ingredients, so there is a demand for the development of an order management system that can respond rapidly to such changes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the present invention is to provide an order management system which enables a customer to use a terminal device to place an order, while responding rapidly to changes in the data for order management such as the menu.
In order to achieve the above objective, a first aspect of the present invention relates to an order management system comprising:
main management equipment for order management; and
a plurality of terminal devices connected to the main management equipment by lines;
wherein the main management equipment, comprises:
first storage means for storing image data for an order management screen created for the terminal device and an operating program for reproducing the image data in accordance with predetermined rules and managing data transmission for order management;
first control means for transmitting the image data and the display operating program to the terminal devices when the system starts up; and
order management means for managing orders from the terminal devices based on first data for order management received from the terminal devices;
wherein the terminal device, comprises:
second input means;
second storage means;
display means; and
computation control means for forming images and providing order management;
wherein the computation control means, comprises:
data write means for writing the received display operating program and image data into the second storage means for storage;
image displaying means for reading the image data from the second storage means based on the stored operating program, and displaying an order management screen on the display means; and
second control means for transmitting to the main management equipment an order input from the input means in response to the order management screen as the first transmission data based on the stored operating program, so that a user can place an order while viewing the order management screen.
With this configuration, the order management system of the present invention transmits data from the main management equipment to each of the terminal devices at system start-up. This data is image data for an order management screen and an operating program for reproducing the image data in accordance with predetermined rules and managing data transfer for order management. Each terminal device then stores the thus received image data and operating program in the first storage means.
Since new image data and an operating program is stored in each terminal device when the system starts up, the system can respond rapidly to updates to the list of products that can be ordered.
In accordance with the present invention, the order management screen is displayed on the display means of the terminal devices after the system has started up. Thus a user can visually verify the details of order data and the procedure required for transmitting this data, for example.
The user can input orders in response to the order management screen. The thus-input order data is sent as the first transmit data to the main management equipment.
From the above description, it is clear that the terminal device of the system in accordance with this aspect of the invention displays the screens relating to the data to be transmitted. Thus the user can check the details of the data to be ordered and the operating sequence for ordering this data in a visual, easy-to-understand manner, and thus the system is extremely convenient to use.
Moreover, the image data itself is not transmitted during order data transfer, only data relating to that image data is transmitted, and the quantity of data transferred is small and thus the data can be transmitted rapidly.
In a second aspect of the present invention:
the second input means is a touch-sensitive panel disposed on the display means in a predetermined mutual relationship with the order management screen.
This configuration enables the user to input order data by simply touching an order screen displayed on the screen, making it possible to provide a terminal device that is extremely easy to operate.
In a third aspect of the present invention:
the second storage means stores image data for an order menu screen as the order management screen; and
each of the terminal devices is disposed at a customer's seat so that a customer can place an order while viewing a menu screen displayed on the display means.
This configuration in which order-taking terminal devices are provided at customers' seats and a menu screen is displayed as an order screen on each display means makes it possible for customers to order directly from their own seats while viewing a menu screen, without having to stand in line at a counter.
In particular, the system in accordance with the present invention ensures that ordering can be done sm
Baba Hiroyuki
Gomi Akihiro
Kinebuchi Tadashi
Konishi Masanori
Patel Jagdish N
Seiko Epson Corporation
Swann Tod R
LandOfFree
Order management system with automatic menu updating does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Order management system with automatic menu updating, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Order management system with automatic menu updating will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2443866