System and method providing a restaurant menu dynamically generated based on revenue management information

• US 6,341,268 B2
• Filed: 12/23/1998
• Issued: 01/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walker Digital LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Inventors: Bemer, Keith, Jorasch, James A., Van Luchene, Andrew S., Walker, Jay S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US09/219,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20010047301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/15, 705/16, 705/20, 705/22, 705/400
• US Class Current: 705/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/005 with dispensing of lottery tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/24 with change-giving
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

A price associated with a menu item is automatically determined based at least partly on revenue management information. A request for a menu is received and a menu, including the automatically determined price, is generated in response to the request.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically generating a menu, comprising:

(a) automatically determining a price associated with a menu item based at least partly on revenue management information;

(b) receiving a request for a menu; and

(c) generating a menu, including the automatically determined price, in response to the request for a menu;

wherein the automatically determined price associated with the menu item is further based at least partly on information related to a customer associated with the request for a menu.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the customer is received from at least one of a card reading machine, a visual recognition unit and a manual input device.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of:

(d) automatically selecting menu items based at least partly on the information related to the customer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of automatically determining a price further comprises the step of adjusting the price associated with a menu item based on information related to the customer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the customer comprises at least one of (i) an indication that the customer is a frequent customer and (ii) information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the automatically determined price is not included on the generated menu based on the information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein an item is not included on a menu generated for a second customer based on the information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

8. A menu generating system, comprising:

(a) a first port adapted to receive a request for a menu;

(b) a storage device storing information associated with a price management table, the price management table comprising prices associated with menu items;

(c) a processor coupled to said first port and said storage device, said processor being configured to;

receive the request for a menu;

generate information associated with a menu; and

dynamically update prices stored in said storage device based at least partly on revenue management information; and

(d) a second port coupled to said processor, said second port being adapted to output the information associated with a menu;

wherein said processor is configured to dynamically update prices stored in said storage device based at least partly on information related to a customer associated with the request for a menu.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

(e) a customer input device coupled to said processor and configured to provide the information related to the customer, said customer input device comprising at least one of a card reading machine, a visual recognition unit and a manual input device.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein said processor is further configured to automatically select menu items based at least partly on the information related to the customer.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein said processor automatically determines a price by reducing the price associated with a menu item based on information related to the customer.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the information related to the customer comprises at least one of (i) an indication that the customer is a frequent customer and (ii) information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said processor does not use the automatically determined for some menu items based on the information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said processor is further configured to not include a menu item in the information generated associated with a second menu based on the information about past menu items ordered by the customer.

15. A method for determining a price associated with an order, comprising:

(a) automatically determining a price associated with a menu item based at least partly on revenue management information;

(b) receiving a request for a menu;

(c) generating a menu, including the automatically determined price, in response to the request for a menu;

(d) assigning a menu code to the generated menu;

(e) receiving an order for the menu item, the order including the menu code; and

(f) calculating a price associated with the order, using the menu code, based at least partly on the automatically determined price associated with the menu item.