System and method for managing group orders

• US 9,754,331 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2014
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GrubHub Inc.
• Original Assignee: GrubHub Inc.
• Inventors: Beckelman, William Jackson, Beardall, Brett William, End, Laura Elizabeth, Uffens, Jayson, Caliendo, Sarah, Maloney, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Danneman, Paul
• Application Number:
  US14/168,420
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

Abstract

A method for managing group orders operates within a restaurant service system. Diners access the restaurant service system to build and place group orders. Each group order is sent to one or more restaurant service devices of the serving restaurants. Each restaurant service device displays a group order with a set of group order indicators.

Claims

1. A method for managing group orders, the method operating within a restaurant service system and comprising:

i) receiving an unconfirmed group order from a diner device over a wide area network, wherein the unconfirmed group order is a group order that has yet to be acknowledged by one or more serving restaurants of the group order and that includes a plurality of suborders wherein each suborder includes a set of suborder items;

ii) storing the unconfirmed group order into a database;

iii) sending the unconfirmed group order to a restaurant service device of each restaurant within a set of restaurants over the Internet, wherein each restaurant within the set of restaurants is a serving restaurant for the unconfirmed group order;

iv) the restaurant service device receiving the unconfirmed group order;

v) the restaurant service device displaying the unconfirmed group order on a screen of the restaurant service device with a graphical icon indicating that the unconfirmed group order is a group order, wherein the graphical icon is displayed in a first color;

vi) the restaurant service device constantly monitoring a time difference between an order receive time of the unconfirmed group order and a current time and detecting when the time difference exceeds a predetermined amount of time during which the unconfirmed group order remained unconfirmed;

vii) in response to the detecting, the restaurant service device automatically displaying the graphical icon in a second color comprising warning information that is viewable on the screen by a user, wherein the warning information indicates that the unconfirmed group order remains unconfirmed.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical icon indicates the number of suborders in the unconfirmed group order.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically printing the unconfirmed group order using a printer, wherein the restaurant service device connects to the printer over a wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically playing a sound when the restaurant service device receives the unconfirmed group order over a wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to a user input, changing the unconfirmed group order to a confirmed group order, printing the confirmed group order using a printer, canceling the unconfirmed group order or adjusting the unconfirmed group order.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising indicating the unconfirmed group order in a list of unconfirmed group orders with a set of group order indicators, wherein the set of group order indicators includes a graphical group order indicator, wherein the graphical group order indicator indicates the number of the suborders within the unconfirmed group order.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

i) determining the time difference exceeds another predetermined amount of time during which the unconfirmed group order remained unconfirmed; and

ii) in response to determining that the time difference exceeds the another predetermined amount of time, displaying the graphical icon in a third color.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of restaurants includes exactly one restaurant.

9. A restaurant service system for managing group orders, the restaurant service system comprising:

i) a first server including a first processor and a first network interface coupled to the first processor and adaptively coupled to a database;

ii) a second server including a second processor and a second network interface coupled to the second processor and adaptively coupled to the database;

iii) a diner device;

iv) a mobile service device including a screen, a mobile device processor and a wireless network interface coupled to the mobile device processor;

v) a first server software application operating on the first processor, wherein the first server software application is adapted to;

1) receive an unconfirmed group order from the diner device over the first network interface, wherein the unconfirmed group order is a group order that has yet to be acknowledged by one or more serving restaurants of the group order and that includes a plurality of suborders wherein each suborder includes a set of suborder items; and

2) store the unconfirmed group order into the database,

vi) a second server software application operating on the second processor, wherein the second server software application is adapted to retrieve the unconfirmed group order from the database and send the unconfirmed group order to the mobile service device over the second network interface;

vii) a mobile software application operating on the mobile device processor, wherein the mobile software application is adapted to;

1) receive the unconfirmed group order over the wireless network interface;

2) display the unconfirmed group order on the screen of the mobile service device with a graphical icon indicating that the unconfirmed group order is a group order, wherein the graphical icon is displayed in a first color;

3) constantly monitor a time difference between an order receive time of the unconfirmed group order and a current time and detect when the time difference exceeds a predetermined amount of time during which the unconfirmed group order remained unconfirmed;

4) in response to the detecting, automatically display the graphical icon in a second color comprising warning information that is viewable on the screen by a user, wherein the warning information indicates that the unconfirmed group order remains unconfirmed.

10. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the graphical icon indicates the number of suborders in the unconfirmed group order.

11. The restaurant service system of claim 9 further comprising a printer wherein the mobile software application is further adapted to automatically send the unconfirmed group order over a wireless connection to the printer to print out the unconfirmed group order.

12. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the mobile software application is further adapted to automatically play a sound after the mobile software application receives the unconfirmed group order over the wireless network interface.

13. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the mobile software application is further adapted to, in response to a user input, change the unconfirmed group order to a confirmed group order, print the confirmed group order using a printer within the restaurant service system, cancel the unconfirmed group order or adjust the unconfirmed group order.

14. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the mobile software application is further adapted to indicate the unconfirmed group order in a list of unconfirmed orders with a set of group order indicators, wherein the set of group order indicators includes a graphical group order indicator, wherein the graphical group order indicator indicates the number of the suborders within the unconfirmed group order.

15. The restaurant service system of claim 14 wherein the mobile software application is further adapted to:

i) determine the time difference exceeds another predetermined amount of time during which the unconfirmed group order remained unconfirmed; and

ii) in response to determining that the time difference exceeds the another predetermined amount of time, display the graphical icon in a third color.

16. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the first server software application and the second server software application are a same server software application.

17. The restaurant service system of claim 9 wherein the functions of the first server and the functions of the second server are performed on a same server device.

18. A restaurant service system for managing catering orders, the restaurant service system comprising:

i) a first server including a first processor and a first network interface coupled to the first processor and adaptively coupled to a database;

ii) a second server including a second processor and a second network interface coupled to the second processor and adaptively coupled to the database;

iii) a diner device;

iv) a restaurant service device including a screen, a third processor and a third network interface coupled to the third processor;

v) a first server software application operating on the first processor, wherein the first server software application is adapted to;

1) receive an unconfirmed catering order from the diner device over the first network interface, wherein the unconfirmed catering order is a catering order that has yet to be acknowledged by one or more serving restaurants of the catering order and that includes a set of catering order items; and

2) store the unconfirmed catering order into the database,

vi) a second server software application operating on the second processor, wherein the second server software application is adapted to retrieve the unconfirmed catering order from the database and send the unconfirmed catering order to the restaurant service device over the second network interface;

vii) a third software application operating on the third processor, wherein the third restaurant software application is adapted to;

1) receive the unconfirmed catering order over the third network interface;

2) display the unconfirmed catering order on the screen of the restaurant service device with a graphical icon indicating that the unconfirmed catering order is a catering order, wherein the graphical icon is displayed in a first color;

3) constantly monitor a time difference between an order receive time of the unconfirmed catering order and a current time and detect when the time difference exceeds a predetermined amount of time during which the unconfirmed catering order remained unconfirmed;

4) in response to the detecting, automatically display the graphical icon in a second color comprising warning information that is viewable on the screen by a user, wherein the warning information indicates that the unconfirmed catering order remains unconfirmed.