METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSOCIATING MENU INFORMATION

• US 20110060665A1
• Filed: 11/16/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CFPH LLC (Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.)
• Original Assignee: CFPH LLC (Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.)
• Inventors: LUTNICK, Howard W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,108,420 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/948 Product or catalog
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/961 Associative

Abstract

Methods and Apparatus related to generating representations of information. The information may include menu information for merchants such as restaurants. Referring to menus, methods may include receiving potential information for a first menu, and receiving indications of associations of the information with the first menu and/or any number of additional menus. Information and/or associations may later be updated by a desired set of users.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving a first indication of information about at least one food item;

receiving a second indication that at least one first restaurant should be associated with the information;

in response to receiving the second indication, associating the information with a first menu of food items for sale by the first restaurant;

receiving a plurality of respective third indications, in which each third indication identifying that the information should be associated with a respective second menus of respective food items for sale by respective second restaurants;

in response to receiving each of the third indications, associating the information with a respective one of the second menus;

transmitting a representation of at least one of the second menus to a customer over an electronic communication network, in which the representation includes the information;

receiving, from the customer, a selection of food items for delivery from one at least one of the second restaurants; and

facilitating delivery of the food items from the at least one of the second restaurants to the customer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the method further comprises:

receiving an indication of a change to the information with respect to the first restaurant.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, in which the method further comprises:

in response to receiving the indication of the change, adjusting the information with respect to the first restaurant in view of the change and maintaining the information with respect to the second restaurants.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, in which the method further comprises:

in response to receiving the indication of the change, adjusting the information with respect to the first restaurant in view of the change and adjusting the information with respect to the second restaurants.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the information includes at least one of a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, in which each third indication includes a respective selection of a category of restaurants.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which each third indication includes a respective indication of an association of at least one respective item of each second menu with a category.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the method further comprises:

receiving an indication that second information should be associated with at least one of the second menus; and

associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information, in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the at least one of the second menus.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information includes disassociating the at least one of the second menus with the information.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, in which associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information includes maintaining the association of the at least one of the second menus with the information.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the method further comprises associating all of the second menus and the first menu with the second information in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the at least one of the second menus.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the second information includes at least one of, an augmentation of the information, a modification to the information, a change to the information, an addition to the information, a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the method further comprises receiving an indication that the at least one food item should be associated with a category of restaurants, in which the second indication includes a selection of the category for the first restaurant, and in which each third indication includes a respective selection of the category.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving a first indication of information that relates to the sale of items by merchants;

receiving a second indication that at least one first merchant should be associated with the information;

in response to receiving the second indication, associating the information with the first merchant;

receiving a third indication that the information should be associated with a second merchant;

in response to receiving the third indication, associating the information with the second merchant;

transmitting a representation of second information about the second merchant to a customer using an electronic communications network, in which the representation includes the information;

receiving, from the customer, a selection of an item for delivery from the second merchant; and

facilitating delivery of the item from the second merchant to the customer.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the information includes at least one of product information, service information, merchant information, delivery information, and payment information.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, in which associating the at least one second merchant with the information includes providing a default value for at least one menu item.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the method further comprises:

receiving an indication of a change to the information with respect to the first merchant.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, in which the method further comprises:

in response to receiving the indication of the change, adjusting the information with respect to the first merchant in view of the change and maintaining the information with respect to the second merchant.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, in which the method further comprises:

in response to receiving the indication of the change, adjusting the information with respect to the first merchant in view of the change and adjusting the information with respect to the second merchant.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the information includes at least one of a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, in which the information includes an image related to the food item

22. The apparatus of claim 20, in which the third indication includes a selection of a category for the second merchant.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, in which the third indication includes a selection of a category for at least one item offered for sale by the second merchant.

24. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the method further comprises:

receiving an indication that second information should be associated with the second merchant; and

associating the second merchant with the second information, in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the second merchant.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, in which associating the second merchant with the second information includes disassociating the second merchant with the information.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, in which associating the second merchant with the second information includes maintaining the association of the second merchant with the information.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, in which the second information includes at least one of an augmentation of the information, a modification to the information, a change to the information, an addition to the information, a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, in which the method further comprises receiving an indication that the information should be associated with a category of merchants, in which the second indication includes a selection of the category for the first merchant, and in which the third indication includes a selection of the category.

29. The apparatus of claim 14, in which associating the first merchant with the information comprises including the information in a representation of one or more items offered for sale by the first merchant, and in which associating the second merchant with the information comprises including the information in a representation of one or more items for sale by the second merchant.

30. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising the computing device, and in which the computing device includes a processor.

31. An apparatus, comprising:

a tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving information about a category of merchants;

receiving respective indications, each respective indication identifying that a respective one of a plurality of merchant are in the category of merchants;

in response to receiving each respective indication, associating the information with the respective merchant;

presenting a representation regarding at least one of the merchants that includes the information to a customer through an electronic communication network;

receiving, from the customer, a selection of an item for delivery from the at least one of the merchants; and

facilitating delivery of the item from the at least one of the merchants to the customer.