Restaurant management using network with customer-operated computing devices

• US 20060143087A1
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Tripp, Travis Scott, Vaszary, Mark Kendall
• Application Number:
  US11/024,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143087A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

Abstract

The present invention provides restaurant management method in which a customer operates a computing device to make requests. A waiter can fulfill the request on the next visit to the customer'"'"'s table, instead of having to visit the table first to obtain the request and requiring a second visit to fulfill the request.

Claims

17. Computer readable media comprising restaurant-management software including:

customer-operated software allowing a customer to select a request, fulfillment of which requires some thing being brought to said customer;

staff operated software for presenting said request to a first staff person so that said staff person can obtain said thing without first approaching said customer is located and so that said request can be fulfilled the next time said first staff person approaches said customer; and

communications software for permitting said request to be communicated from said customer-operated software to said staff-operated software.

18. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein, if said first staff person fails to fulfill said request within a predetermined duration after said request is made, said staff-operated software presents said request to a second staff person.

19. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein, if said first staff person fails to fulfill said request within a predertermined duration after said reuest is made, said restaurant-management software records a failure and associates it with said first staff person.

20. Media as recited in claim 18 wherein said restaurant-management software determines how a tip left by said customer is to be divided between said first and second staff persons.

21. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein said request is for a refill of a previously ordered and served item.

22. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein said customer-operated software provides obtains quantitative health information for selected menu items via said first computer device.

23. Media as recited in claim 22 wherein said customer-operated software provides cumulative quantitative health information for meals including two or more menu items.

24. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein said customer-operated software provides total price information for an order including plural menu items before said order is submitted for fulfillment.

25. Media as recited in claim 24 wherein said total price information includes projected tips.

26. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein said customer-operated software provides recommendations for tips and records a selected one of said recommendations.

27. Media as recited in claim 17 wherein said customer-operated software records a maximum cost indicated by said customer and alerts said customer when said maximum cost is exceeded by an order before it is submitted.

28-1. Media as recited in claim 28 wherein said schemes include splitting a bill evenly among customers and splitting a bill as a function of meals ordered by each customer.

29. A restaurant management network comprising:

a customer device for accepting requests from a customer, said request requiring a staff person of said restaurant to bring some thing to said customer;

a first staff-operated device for receiving said request so that a first staff person can obtain said thing without first approaching said customer and so that said first staff person can provide said thing to said customer the next time said first staff person approaches and attends to said table.

30. A network as recited in claim 29 further comprising a second staff-operated device for, in the event said first staff fails to fulfill said request within a predetermination duration after said request, informing a second staff person of said request.

31. A network as recited in claim 30 wherein the failure of said first staff person to fulfill said request is recorded by said network.

32. A network as recited in claim 30 further comprising means for determining how a tip left by said customer is to be divided between said first and second staff persons.

33. A network as recited in claim 29 wherein said request is for a refill of a previously ordered and served item.

34. A network as recited in claim 29 wherein said customer device provides quantitative health information for selected menu items via said first computer device.

35. A network as recited in claim 29 wherein said customer device provides obtains cumulative quantitative health information for meals including two or more menu items.

36. A network as recited in claim 29 wherein said customer device provides total price information for an order including plural menu items via said first computing device before said order is submitted for fulfillment.

37. A method as recited in claim 36 wherein said total price information includes projected tips.

38. A network as recited in claim 29 wherein said customer device provides recommendations for tips and said customer selects one of said recommendations.

39. A network as recited in claim 33 wherein said customer device indicates a maximum cost and said customer device alerts said customer when said maximum cost is exceeded by an order before it is submitted.

40. A network as recited in claim 33 wherein said customer device alows said customer to specify a bill-splitting scheme via said device.

41. A network as recited in claim 33 wherein said device provides for splitting a bill evenly among customers and splitting a bill as a function of meals ordered by each customer.