Computerized method and system for fulfillment of an itemized food order from a quick-service restaurant menu
First Claim
1. An apparatus for checking order fulfillment of bagged food items in a quick-service restaurant, said apparatus comprising:
- a Point-of-Sale system which substantially includes a register means, wherein a food order comprising different menu items selected by a customer is electronically sent to a first station defined by at least one computer having at least one monitor and a second main station defined as a food prep area having a weighing means, whereby the ordered food items are prepared, bagged and weighed, said second station connected to transmit weight information to the computer;
said computer comprising a first program function to calculate a total target weight specification for the ordered food items based on weight specifications for each of the ordered food items;
said computer comprising a second program function whereby the food order data and corresponding target weight specification are stored in a memory; and
said computer comprising a third program function to compare the target weight specification of the ordered food items to the total weight of the bagged food items to verify that the food order is properly filled before being given to the customer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This present invention comprises an apparatus and method for checking the accuracy of a customer'"'"'s food order when ordering food to go from a quick-service restaurant. This is done by checking the contents of a bagged order by means of a weight check of the total weight of the bagged order so as to determine the correct order and/or contents thereof prior to the customer leaving the quick service restaurant. Accordingly, the order is logged into a computer system that is programmed to check the contents of the order by means of weighing the total items packaged in the bag, whereby the restaurant employee is alerted when the bagged order is either overweight or underweight with respect to the actual predetermined weight of the total items ordered.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for checking order fulfillment of bagged food items in a quick-service restaurant, said apparatus comprising:
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a Point-of-Sale system which substantially includes a register means, wherein a food order comprising different menu items selected by a customer is electronically sent to a first station defined by at least one computer having at least one monitor and a second main station defined as a food prep area having a weighing means, whereby the ordered food items are prepared, bagged and weighed, said second station connected to transmit weight information to the computer; said computer comprising a first program function to calculate a total target weight specification for the ordered food items based on weight specifications for each of the ordered food items; said computer comprising a second program function whereby the food order data and corresponding target weight specification are stored in a memory; and said computer comprising a third program function to compare the target weight specification of the ordered food items to the total weight of the bagged food items to verify that the food order is properly filled before being given to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of checking the contents of a bagged food order by means of weighing a given order of bagged food items in a quick-service restaurant prior to bagged food being given to the customer comprising the steps of:
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entering an itemized food order comprising different menu items into a register means; transmitting said food order from said register means to a first main station defined as a computer and simultaneously sending said food order to a second main station defined as a food preparing station where the food is prepared and bagged; weighing the bagged food order on a weighing means to determine the total weight of all the items bagged; transmitting the determined total weight of the order to said computer; comparing the actual total weight of the bagged food items in the order with the total combined acceptable weight range calculated by said computer; determining one of three weight ranges the bagged food order corresponds to, wherein the three ranges consist of an acceptable range, a borderline range or an unacceptable range requiring that the contents of the bagged be rechecked; transmitting the selected range to at least one monitor to notify, to the register means and said first and second main station prior to the bagged food order being given to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for checking order fulfillment in a quick-service restaurant comprising:
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a Point-of-Sale (POS) register for entering a food order, wherein said food order comprises a selection of different menu items, said POS register connected to transmit the food order to a first station comprising a computer and to a second station comprising a food preparation area; said second station comprising a food preparation area whereby the food order is prepared and bagged and a scale whereby the bagged order is weighed, said measured weight being sent to the computer; and said first station comprising the computer connected to receive said food order from the POS register, said computer comprising a first program function that determines an associated weight specification for the food order based on predetermined associated weight specifications for the different menu items comprising the food order, said computer comprising a second program function that stores the weight specification along with the order information, and said computer comprising a third program function that compares the weight specification of the food order with a measured weight of the food order, thereby checking order fulfillment prior to order delivery. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification