Commodity order system

• US 20050086117A1
• Filed: 02/18/2003
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Columbia Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Honda, Susumu, Kanisawa, Hiroaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,467,101 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0617 Representative agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide a product ordering system, product ordering method and program thereof that is capable of promoting the sales of a product or service by managing order information by identifying an orderer and using information presented to ordering terminals. The product ordering system of the present invention is equipped with a plurality of ordering terminals installed at predetermined locations which acquire order information by prompting an orderer to select and order desired products or services, the ordering terminals are equipped with an identification information acquisition unit that acquires orderer identification information that identifies the orderer, and an order information management unit that manages the order information acquired from the order terminals by correlating with the orderer identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit equipped on the ordering terminals.

Claims

1. A product ordering system comprising:

a plurality of ordering terminals installed at predetermined locations which acquire order information by prompting an orderer to select and order desired products or services,

an identification information acquisition unit, provided in each ordering terminal, that acquires orderer identification information that identifies the orderer; and

an order information management unit that manages order information acquired from the order terminals by correlating with orderer identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit equipped on the ordering terminals.

2. A product ordering system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an inventory information database that stores product inventory information or service availability information as information as to whether or not a service can be provided by correlating with a product identifier that specifies a product or service; and

an inventory information referral unit, provided in each ordering terminal, that prevents products for which there is no inventory or services that cannot be provided from being selected based on inventory information or service availability information referred to from the inventory information database when prompting the orderer to select a desired product or service.

3. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined location where the ordering terminals are installed is on a table, and

the product ordering system further comprising a seating information management unit which manages seating information that contains table identification information that identifies the table and the ordering terminal, and information correlated with the orderer identification information of the orderer seated at the table.

4. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the seating information management unit comprising:

a seating information generation unit that generates seating information that correlates the table code of a table and the orderer identification code whenever the identification information acquisition processing section of the ordering terminal installed at the table acquires an orderer identification code;

a seating information database that stores the seating information by correlating with generation time in the form of information on the date and time at which the seating information was generated; and

a seating information updating unit that updates seating information to the most recent seating information based on the generation time in the case there is a plurality of seating information containing the same orderer identification information in the seating information database.

5. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the ordering terminals further comprising a usage restriction unit that allows usage of an ordering terminal after the identification information acquisition processing section has acquired the orderer identification information.

6. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the order information management unit manages order information of foods and beverages acquired by an ordering terminal by correlating with the orderer identification information in the case a product has been cooked after receiving an order, and

the product ordering system further comprising:

a cooking instructions unit that presents cooking instructions for the foods or beverages to a food preparer; and

a cooking instructions information generation unit that generates cooking instructions information for presenting cooking instructions to the cooking instructions unit based on the order information managed by the order information management unit.

7. A product ordering system according to claim 6, further comprising a cooking completion input unit that allows input of the completion of the cooking of a food or beverage in the case cooking of the food or beverage has been completed according to the cooking instructions of the cooking instructions unit.

8. A product ordering system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a serving instructions unit that presents serving instructions so that a food or beverage for which cooking has been completed is served to the table where the orderer is seated; and

a serving instructions information generation unit that generates serving instructions information for presenting serving instructions to the serving instructions unit by referring to the seating information at the time cooking is completed from the seating information database based on orderer identification information that is correlated with order information of the food or beverage for which cooking has been completed.

9. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the order information management unit manages the order information by correlating a plurality of orderer identification information with separately billed groups in units of orderers making payment.

10. A product ordering system according to claim 9, wherein the ordering terminals further comprising a group information input unit that allows input of group information for correlating a plurality of orderer identification information with separately billed groups.

11. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the order information management unit uniquely assigns the orderer identification information to separately billed groups in units of orderers making payment.

12. A product ordering system according to claim 3, further comprising a predicted vacating time calculation unit that calculates the predicted vacating time of a table at which an orderer is currently sitting by referring to the order status of the orderer and the elapsed time since the orderer sat down at the table based on order information managed in correlation with orderer identification information by the order information management unit.

13. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the ordering terminals further comprising an employee call unit for enabling the orderer to call an employee that is providing the product or service.

14. A product ordering system according to claim 13, wherein the employee call unit comprising a request selection unit that prompts selection of a request for which the employee is called.

15. A product ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the ordering terminals further comprising:

an information presentation unit that presents presented information containing presented product information for prompting orderers to select and order products or services; and

a presented information control unit that allows the contents of the presented information presented by the information presentation unit to be changed at arbitrary times.

16. A sales promotion system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a product information database, which stores product information in the form of information relating to a product or service; and

a product information generation unit, which generates the presented product information contained in the presented information by referring to the product information from the product information database;

wherein the presented information control unit changes the contents of the presented information by controlling the product information generation unit.

17. A sales promotion system according to claim 15, further comprising a status information evaluation unit that evaluates status information in the form of information relating to the order status of an orderer by referring to one or a plurality of order log information in the form of a log of orders according to each orderer acquired by the ordering terminals, elapsed time information in the form of information on elapsed time after an order has been started by the orderer, interval information in the form of information relating to the interval between the time of each order in the case a plurality of orders have been placed by the orderer, and order amount information in the form of information relating to the total monetary amount as determined from the orders placed by each orderer, and

wherein the presented information control unit changes the contents of the presented information corresponding to the status information evaluated by the status information evaluation unit.

18. A sales promotion system according to claim 16, wherein the product information stored in the product information database includes processing period information in the form of a period limited by time and date information that contains one or a plurality of the season, year, month and date, day of the week and time, and additionally includes specific processing information that defines specific processing for the period specified with the processing time information,

a current time and date information providing unit is additionally provided that provides current time and date information in the form of time and date information at the current point in time, and

the presented information control unit further comprising a function that searches the product information database for specific processing information that contains the processing period information for which the current time and date information provided by the current time and date information providing unit is within the time period, and changes the contents of the presented information in reflection of the processing defined by the specific processing information that has been searched.

19. A sales promotion system according to claim 15, wherein the presented information control unit further comprising a function that includes total amount added service information, in the form of information relating to added services such as free items offered to an orderer, in presented information based on order amount information and in the case an additional order is placed and the total monetary amount of the order is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount.

20. A sales promotion system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a restaurant and facility information database, which stores restaurant and facility information in the form of information relating to the restaurant and facility, including location information on various restaurants and facilities; and

a searching unit that searches that restaurant and facility information database for surrounding area information in the form of information relating to other restaurants and facilities in the vicinity of the restaurant based on the location information of the restaurant where the ordering terminals are installed, and

wherein the presented information control unit further comprising a function that includes the surrounding area information found by the searching unit in the presented information.

21. A sales promotion system according to claim 20, wherein the searching unit preferentially searches for other restaurants and facilities close to the restaurant based on location information on the restaurant where the ordering terminals are installed.

22. A sales promotion system according to claim 15, further comprising an orderer information database which stores order information that at least includes a past order log of the orderer by correlating with orderer identification information that identifies the orderer, and

wherein the presented information control unit changes the contents of the presented information by using the orderer information referred to from the orderer information database based on the orderer identification information.

23. A product ordering method in which a plurality of ordering terminals installed at predetermined locations are used that acquire order information by prompting an orderer to select and order a desired product or service, comprising:

a step in which the ordering terminals acquire orderer identification information that identifies the orderer along with the order information; and

a step in which the order information acquired by the ordering terminals is correlated with the orderer identification information.

24. A product ordering method according to claim 23, comprising an information presentation unit that presents presented information to the ordering terminals that contains presented product information for prompting an orderer to select and order a product or service, and the information presentation unit allows the contents of the presented information presented by the information presentation unit to be changed at arbitrary times.

25. A program for a product ordering system comprising a plurality of ordering terminals installed at predetermined locations which acquire order information by prompting an orderer to select and order desired products or services, wherein the program causes a computer to perform:

a step in which the ordering terminals acquire orderer identification information that identifies the orderer along with the order information; and

a step in which the order information acquired by the ordering terminals is correlated with the orderer identification information.

26. A program according to claim 25, wherein the product ordering system comprising an information presentation unit that presents presented information to the ordering terminals that contains presented product information for prompting an orderer to select and order a product or service, and

the program is for causing a computer to perform processing that allows the contents of the presented information presented by the information presentation unit to be changed at arbitrary times.