Information management and synchronous communications system with menu generation

• US 6,384,850 B1
• Filed: 09/21/1999
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ameranth Technology Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ameranth Wireless (Ameranth, Inc.)
• Inventors: Roof, William H., McNally, Keith R., Bergfeld, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao H.
• Application Number:
  US09/400,413
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 345/334, 345/335, 345/340, 345/352, 345/353, 345/765, 345/744, 345/781, 345/810, 345/841, 705/26, 705/27, 705/37
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

An information management and synchronous communications system and method facilitates database equilibrium and synchronization with wired, wireless and Web-based systems, user-friendly and efficient generation of computerized menus and reservations for restaurants and other applications that utilize equipment with nonstandard graphical formats, display sizes and/or applications for use in remote data entry, information management and communication with host computer, digital input device or remote pager via standard hardwired connection, the internet, a wireless link or the like.

Claims

1. An information management and synchronous communications system for generating and transmitting menus comprising:

a. a central processing unit,

b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,

c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,

d. a first menu consisting of menu categories, said menu categories consisting of menu items, said first menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface in a hierarchical tree format,

e. a modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface,

f. a sub-modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of said graphical user interface, and

g. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu and transmitting said second menu to a wireless handheld computing device or Web page,

wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by allowing selection of catagories and items from the first menu, addition of menu categories to the second menu, addition of menu items to the second menu and assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user interface of said operating system, said parameters being selected from the modifier and sub-modifier menus.

2. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second menu is a restaurant menu.

3. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second menu is capable of being displayed on the display screen of a wireless computing device.

4. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 3, wherein selections from the second menu are capable of being transmitted to a receiving computer by wireless link.

5. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 3, wherein selections from the second menu are capable of being transmitted to a receiving computer via the internet.

6. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second menu is capable of being displayed on display screens of computers in a network.

7. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 6, wherein the computer network is the internet.

8. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second menu is created in conformity with hypertext markup language or extensible markup language.

9. An information management and synchronous communications system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second menu overwrites the first menu.

10. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 1, wherein the first menu and the second menu are both capable of being displayed in the same window on the display screen.

11. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 1, wherein the menu categories and items comprising the second menu are subsets, respectively, of the menu categories and items comprising the first menu.

12. An information management and synchronous communications system for use with wireless handheld computing devices and the internet comprising:

a. a central database containing hospitality applications and data,

b. at least one wireless handheld computing device on which hospitality applications and data are stored,

c. at least one Web server on which hospitality applications and data are stored,

d. at least one Web page on which hospitality applications and data are stored,

e. an application program interface, and

f. a communications control module,

wherein applications and data are synchronized between the central data base, at least one wireless handheld computing device, at least one Web server and at least one Web page;

wherein the application program interface enables intergration of outside applications with the hospitality applications and wherein the communications control module is an interface between the hospitality applications and any other communications protocol.

13. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 12 wherein the communications control module provides a single point of entry for all hospitality applications and wherein the single point of entry allows the synchronization of at least one wireless handheld computing device and at least one Web page with the central database so that at least one handheld device, at least one Web page and central database are consistent.

14. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 13 wherein information entered on at least one Web page and transmitted over the internet is automatically communicated to the central database and at least one wireless handheld computing device.

15. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 13 wherein information entered on at least one wireless handheld computing device is automatically communicated to the central database and at least one Web page.

16. The information management and synchronous communications system of claim 12 wherein the applications and data are synchronized by digital data transmission between the central database, at least one wireless handheld computing device, at least one Web server and at least one Web page.