Service transaction monitoring system, method and device

• US 7,202,780 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Beverage Metrics Holding Limited
• Original Assignee: Beverage Metrics Holding Limited
• Inventors: Teller, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Previl; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/990,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20050237213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.31, 340/539.1, 340/539.23, 340/516, 222/1, 222/23, 222/36, 211/59.2, 211/49.1
• US Class Current: 340/539.31
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 7/16 for removing flanged caps, e.g. crown caps
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1405 Control taps
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2001/0811 provided with coded information
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2210/00089 Remote control means, e.g. by electromagnetic signals
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0006 responsive to coded information provided on the neck or spout of the storage container, e.g. bar-code, magnets or transponder
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0054 Mounting or arrangements of dispensing apparatus in shops or bar counters
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0077 Electronic circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/025 wherein the volume is determined during delivery
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 3/003 Anti-theft control theft alarms G08B13/00

Abstract

A system, method, and device for monitoring the dispensing of liquids, in particular, beverages dispensed at a bar or restaurant is disclosed. The device attaches to the exterior of a container and detects dispensing events by sensing tilt or motion of the container, which could include a bottle or a handle. The system includes an electronic sensor device, data receiver, personal computer, bottle opener/camera system, bar code scanner, point of sale, bar camera, network, Web server, and paging system. The method automatically detects and monitors dispensing events, including detecting the type and amount of liquid, reconciling dispensing events with register ring-ups recording information, saving video specific to the dispensing event, and sending a page indicating anomalies.

Claims

1. A bottle opener system comprising:

a sensor configured to detect a first motion of at least one part of a bottle opener and produce a first detection signal;

a transmitter coupled to the sensor and configured to transmit the first detection signal; and

a computer system configured to retrieve the first detection signal, and to perform a POS reconciliation for one or more ring-ups of a point of sale (POS) device.

2. The bottle opener system according to claim 1, wherein said bottle opener is a corkscrew.

3. The bottle opener system according to claim 1, wherein said bottle opener is a cap remover.

4. The bottle opener system of claim 1, wherein the sensor detects a second motion of at least one part of the bottle opener and produces a second detection signal that is retrieved by the computer system.

5. The bottle opener system of claim 4, wherein the computer system is configured to perform the POS reconciliation of the second detection signal with the one or more ring-ups of the POS device.

6. The bottle opener system according to claim 4, wherein the first detection signal identifies a first pour, the second detection signal identifies a second pour and said POS reconciliation comprises determining if the first pour and the second pour are to be combined into a combined pour.

7. The bottle opener system according to claim 6, wherein said POS reconciliation determines that the first pour and the second pour are to be combined based on a predetermined amount of the combined pour and proximity in time between the first pour and the second pour.

8. The bottle opener system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is assigned to a container.

9. The bottle opener system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a database including a plurality of drink recipes, each of the plurality drink recipes having one or more ingredients;

wherein said POS reconciliation comprises matching the first detection signal to one of the one or more ingredients to thereby select one of the plurality of drink recipes and matching the selected drink recipe to the one or more ring-ups of the POS device.