Queue number surveillance

• US 20040076282A1
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AB Aurora Invest
• Original Assignee: AB Aurora Invest
• Inventors: Leijonhufvud, Carl
• Application Number:
  US10/467,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20040076282A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 11/00 Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/04 related to queuing systems

Abstract

The present invention relates to an arrangement and a method, respectively, for surveillance of queue numbers when serving said queue numbers sequentially, comprising: an input device (3; 8), an output device (4) controlled by said input device for outputting a queue number on a queue number ticket, a registration device (5) for receiving a telephone number and a queue number or a point of time associated to a queue number, and a call device (5) for calling said telephone number when said queue number is estimated to be served within a predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. An arrangement for surveillance of queue numbers when serving said queue numbers sequentially, comprising:

an input device (3;

8), and

an output device (4) controlled by said input device for outputting a queue number on a queue number ticket,

characterized by

a registration device (5) for receiving a telephone number and a queue number or a telephone number and a point of time, which point of time is associated with a queue number when an estimated time to service coincide with the time left until said point of time, and

a call device (5) for calling said telephone number when said queue number is estimated to be served within a predetermined period of time.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said registration device is arranged to further receive a parameter for establishing said predetermined period of time.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said output device is arranged to indicate on said queue number ticket that said registration device has received a surveillance request, by having received said telephone number and said queue number.

4. The arrangement according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said registration device reserve said queue number and associate that queue number with said telephone number associated with said point of time.

5. The arrangement according to claim 4, wherein said registration device controls said output device, such that said reserved queue number will be printed out in dependence of a reservation code.

6. The arrangement according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said registration device cancels said reserved queue number within a predetermined period of time before estimated service of said reserved queue number.

7. The arrangement according to any of claims 1-6, comprising an indication device (2, 4) for indication of when a queue number is estimated to be served.

8. The arrangement according to any of claims 1-7, comprising means for transmitting telephone numbers and queue numbers to said registration device.

9. The arrangement according to any of claims 1-7, wherein said registration device comprises means for receiving a call from a telephone, such as a mobile phone.

10. The arrangement according to any of claims 1-9, wherein said call device further is arranged to call said telephone number when said estimated time to serve said queue number has changed.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said registration step comprises registration of a buffer time for establishing said predetermined period of time.

11. A method for surveillance of queue numbers when serving said queue numbers sequentially, characterized by the steps of:

outputting a queue number on a queue number ticket,

registration of said queue number and a telephone number for surveillance of said queue number,

calling said telephone number when said queue number is estimated to be served within a predetermined period of time.