Safe food ordering by voice while driving

• US 9,715,685 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: U.S. Group Corporation
• Original Assignee: U.S. Group Corporation
• Inventors: Berlin, Judd
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEIKH, ASFAND M
• Application Number:
  US14/716,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20160342972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

Techniques for safe food ordering by voice while driving are described. A customer driving a vehicle decides to order food from a restaurant. The customer launches a food-ordering app on the customer'"'"'s smartphone. The app detects that the vehicle is moving, disables manual input into the smartphone, and connects to a terminal at a call center. A customer service representative (“CSR”) at the call center communicates with the customer using spoken language to obtain the details of the food order, enters the food order into an ordering system, and transmits the food order via the ordering system to the restaurant for fulfillment. Finally, the customer picks up the ordered food at the restaurant, possibly using a drive-thru window at the restaurant. Thus, the customer is able to complete an order for food without having to stop driving and without averting their eyes from the road.

Claims

1. A method of communicating a food order while a customer is driving a vehicle, the method to receive the food order on a mobile communications device and communicate the food order to a restaurant order processing system, the method comprising:

using one or more computer processors of the mobile communications device;

creating a graphical user interface (GUI) that is output to a display of the mobile communications device;

receiving one or more inputs from an input device, the one or more inputs directed at one or more input fields of the GUI, the one or more inputs indicating information about a first portion of a food order, the input device of the mobile communications device receiving touch input;

continuously receiving motion data from one of;

an accelerometer or a global positioning system receiver of the mobile communications device;

continuously comparing, based upon the motion data, a calculated speed of the mobile communications device to a specified speed threshold;

responsive to a determination that the speed of the mobile communications device is above the specified speed threshold;

disabling input from the input device and entering a voice input mode;

displaying an indication on the display that manual input from the input device is disabled;

automatically initiating, using communications circuitry of the mobile communications device, a wireless data connection, over a computer network, between the mobile communications device and a remote terminal at a remote order facilitation system;

transmitting, using the wireless data connection, data generated based upon the one or more inputs received before the manual input from the input device was disabled, the data conveying the first portion of the food order to the remote terminal;

receiving, using the wireless data connection, voice communications from the remote terminal;

outputting at a speaker of the mobile communications device, the received voice communications;

receiving, at a microphone of the mobile communications device, voice input corresponding to a second portion of the food order to be fulfilled by a restaurant;

converting the voice input into one or more data packets;

transmitting, via the wireless data connection, the data packets to the remote terminal at the remote order facilitation system to send the second portion of the food order;

upon completion of the food order, receiving, from the remote order facilitation system via the connection, an indication that the food order was successfully received by the remote order facilitation system; and

generating, an indication that the food order is being processed to be fulfilled at the restaurant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote terminal at the remote order facilitation system is operated by a human customer service representative (CSR).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the food order is being processed is an audio indication generated at the speaker.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein converting the voice input into one or more data packets comprises utilizing speech recognition software to convert the voice input corresponding to a food order into text corresponding to the voice input, and inserting the text into one or more data packets.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice input corresponding to a second portion of the food order includes an indication for payment of the food order through at least one payment service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one payment service is a credit card.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one payment service is a stored-value account.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving positioning data from the global positioning system receiver indicating a location of the mobile communications device;

determining a default participating restaurant closest to one of;

a current location of the mobile communications device, a current route of the mobile communications device, and a destination of the mobile communications device;

receiving a selection of the default participating restaurant; and

transmitting the default participating restaurant as a restaurant selection to the remote terminal based upon the location of the mobile communications device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified speed threshold is user specified.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor of a mobile communications device, cause the mobile communications device to perform the operations comprising:

creating a graphical user interface (GUI) that is output to a display of the mobile communications device;

receiving one or more inputs from an input device, the one or more inputs directed at one or more input fields of the GUI, the one or more inputs indicating information about a first portion of a food order, the input device of the mobile communications device receiving touch input;

continuously receiving motion data from one of;

an accelerometer or a global positioning system receiver of the mobile communications device;

continuously comparing, based upon the motion data a calculated speed of the mobile communications device to a specified speed threshold;

responsive to a determination that the speed of the mobile communications device is above the specified speed threshold;

disabling input from the input device and entering a voice input mode;

displaying an indication on the display that manual input from the input device is disabled;

automatically initiating, using communications circuitry of the mobile communications device, a wireless data connection, over a computer network, between the mobile communications device and a remote terminal at a remote order facilitation system;

transmitting, using the wireless data connection, data generated based upon the one or more inputs received before the manual input from the input device was disabled, the data conveying the first portion of the food order to the remote terminal;

receiving, using the wireless data connection voice communications from the remote terminal;

outputting at a speaker of the mobile communications device, the received voice communications;

receiving, at a microphone of the mobile communications device, voice input corresponding to a second portion of the food order to be fulfilled by a restaurant;

converting the voice input into one or more data packets;

transmitting, via the wireless data connection, the data packets to the remote terminal at the remote order facilitation system to send the second portion of the food order;

upon completion of the food order, receiving, from the remote order facilitation system via the connection, an indication that the food order was successfully received by the remote order facilitation system; and

generating an indication that the food order is being processed to be fulfilled at the restaurant.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the remote terminal at the remote order facilitation system is operated by a human customer service representative (CSR).

12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the indication that the food order is being processed is an audio indication generated at the speaker.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations of converting the voice input into one or more data packets comprises utilizing speech recognition software to convert the voice input corresponding to a food order into text corresponding to the voice input and inserting the text into one or more data packets.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the voice input corresponding to a food order includes an indication for payment of the food order through at least one payment service.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the at least one payment service is a credit card.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the at least one payment service is a stored-value account.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations comprise:

receiving positioning data from the global positioning system receiver indicating a location of the mobile communications device;

determining a default participating restaurant closest to one of;

a current location of the mobile communications device, a current route of the mobile communications device, and a destination of the mobile communications device;

receiving a selection of the default participating restaurant; and

transmitting the default participating restaurant as a restaurant selection to the remote terminal based upon the location of the mobile communications device.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the specified speed threshold is user specified.