Method and apparatus for associating menu information

• US 7,840,591 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson; Greta L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox; James J
• Application Number:
  US11/859,876
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/769
• 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. A method implemented by a computing device, comprising:

receiving, by the computing device and from a first user, information about a food item offered by a first restaurant;

in response to receiving the information, associating, by the computing device, the information with a first menu of the first restaurant;

receiving, by the computing device and from a second user, an indication that the information should be associated with a respective plurality of second menus of a respective plurality of second restaurants;

in response to receiving the indication, associating, by the computing device, the information with the plurality of second menus;

receiving, by the computing device and from a third user, an edit to the information,

associating, by the computing device, the first menu and the second menus with the edited information;

presenting, by the computing device, information about the second menus to a customer over an electronic communication network;

receiving, by the computing device and from the customer, a selection of the food item for delivery from one of the plurality of second restaurants; and

facilitating, by the computing device, delivery of the food item from the second restaurant to the customer.

2. The-method of claim 1, in which receiving the edit includes receiving an indication of a change to the information with respect to the first restaurant.

3. The method of claim 1, in which associating with the edited information includes associating in response to receiving the edit.

4. The method of claim 2, in which the third user is not identified to the computing device, further comprising:

receiving a verification of the edit from a fourth user, in which the fourth user is identified to the computing device and in which associating with the edited information includes associating in response to receiving the verification.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the food item includes at least one of a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

6. The method of claim 1, in which the information includes an image related to the food item.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from a fifth user, an indication of a second association of second information with the second menus; and

updating the information about the second menus provided to the customer to include the second information in response to receiving the indication of the second association.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication includes a plurality of indications, in which each indication of the plurality of indications indicating a respective association of the information with a respective one of the plurality of second menus.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication includes an indication of a category.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving at least one indication of an association of at least one respective item of each second menu with the category.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating at least one representation of at least one menu of the plurality of second menus, wherein the at least one representation includes the information about the food item; and

in which presenting the information about the second menus includes transmitting the generated at least one representation.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that second information should be associated with the respective plurality of second menus; and

associating the plurality of second menus with the second information, in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the respective plurality of second menus.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein associating the plurality of second menus with the second information includes disassociating the plurality of second menus with the information.

14. A method implemented by a computing device, comprising:

receiving, by the computing device and from a first user, information related to a first merchant;

in response to receiving the information, associating, by the computing device, the information with the first merchant;

receiving, by the computing device and from a second user, an indication that the information should be associated with a second merchant;

in response to receiving the indication, associating, by the computing device, the information with the second merchant;

receiving, by the computing device and from a third user, an edit to the information,

associating, by the computing device, the first menu and the second menus with the edited information;

presenting, by the computing device, information about the second merchant that includes the edited information to a customer over an electronic communication network;

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

facilitating, by the computing device, delivery of the item from the second merchant to the customer.

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

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

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

storing the information in at least one collection of information; and

searching the at least one collection of information for the information before associating the at least one of the second merchant with the information.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

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 the second information should be associated with the second merchant.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein associating the second merchant group with the second information includes disassociating the second merchant with the information.

20. A method implemented by a computing device, comprising:

receiving, from at least one first user and by the computing device, information about a category of merchants;

receiving, from at least one second user and by the computing device, an indication that a plurality of merchant are in the category of merchants;

in response to receiving the indication, associating, by the computing device, the information with the plurality of merchants;

receiving, by the computing device and from a third user, an edit to the information,

associating, by the computing device, the plurality of merchants with the edited information;

presenting, by the computing device, information about the merchants that includes the edited information to a customer over an electronic communication network;

receiving, by the computing device and from the customer, a selection of an item for delivery from one of the plurality of merchants; and

facilitating, by the computing device, delivery of the item from the merchant to the customer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information includes at least one of product information, service information, merchant information, delivery information, and payment information.

22. The method of claim 20, in which the method further comprises:

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

23. The method of claim 22, in which the method further comprises:

in response to receiving the indication of the change, adjusting the information with respect to the first merchant and maintaining the information with respect to the remaining plurality of merchants.

24. The method of claim 20, in which the third user is not identified to the computing device, further comprising:

receiving a verification of the edit from a fourth user, in which the fourth user is identified to the computing device and in which associating with the edited information includes associating in response to receiving the verification.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein associating the information with the plurality of second merchants using the information as a default value for the plurality of second merchants.