Method and apparatus for associating menu information

• US 8,108,420 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2010
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• 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
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox, James J
• Application Number:
  US12/947,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20110060665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 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 apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving a first indication of menu content information;

receiving, from a first user of a referral or delivery service, a second indication that at least one first restaurant should be associated with the information;

in response to receiving the second indication, associating the information with a first menu of food items for sale by the first restaurant;

receiving, from respective second users of the referral or delivery service, a plurality of respective third indications, in which each third indication identifying that the information should be associated with a respective second menus of respective food items for sale by respective second restaurants;

in response to receiving each of the third indications, associating the information with a respective one of the second menus;

transmitting a representation of at least one of the second menus to a customer over an electronic communication network, in which the representation includes the information;

receiving, from the customer, a selection of food items for delivery from one at least one of the second restaurants;

facilitating delivery of the food items from the at least one of the second restaurants to the customer;

receiving an indication of an edit to the information with respect to the first restaurant from a third user of the referral or delivery service; and

in response to receiving the indication of the edit, adjusting the information with respect to the first restaurant in view of the edit and maintaining the information with respect to the second menus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the information includes at least one of a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, in which each third indication includes a respective selection of a category of restaurants.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, in which each third indication includes a respective indication of an association of at least one respective item of each second menu with a category.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the method further comprises:

receiving an indication that second information should be associated with at least one of the second menus; and

associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information, in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the at least one of the second menus.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, in which associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information includes disassociating the at least one of the second menus with the information.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, in which associating the at least one of the second menus with the second information includes maintaining the association of the at least one of the second menus with the information.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, in which the method further comprises associating all of the second menus and the first menu with the second information in response to receiving the indication that second information should be associated with the at least one of the second menus.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, in which the second information includes at least one of, an augmentation of the information, a modification to the information, a change to the information, an addition to the information, a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, in which the method further comprises receiving an indication that the at least one food item should be associated with a category of restaurants, in which the second indication includes a selection of the category for the first restaurant, and in which each third indication includes a respective selection of the category.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving a first indication of information about at least one product;

receiving, from a first user of a referral or delivery service, a second indication that at least one first merchant should be associated with the information;

in response to receiving the second indication, associating the information with the first merchant;

receiving, from a second user, a third indication that the information should be associated with a second merchant;

in response to receiving the third indication, associating the information with the second merchant;

transmitting a representation of second information about the second merchant to a customer using an electronic communications network, in which the representation includes the information;

receiving, from the customer, a selection of the product for delivery from the second merchant;

facilitating delivery of the product from the second merchant to the customer;

receiving an indication of an edit to the information with respect to the first merchant from a third user of the referral or delivery service; and

in response to receiving the indication of the edit, adjusting the information with respect to the first merchant in view of the edit and maintaining the information with respect to the second merchant.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the information includes at least one of product information, service information, merchant information, delivery information, and payment information.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, in which associating the at least one second merchant with the information includes providing a default value for the product.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the information includes at least one of a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the information includes an image related to the product.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the third indication includes a selection of a category for the second merchant.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the third indication includes a selection of a category for at least one item offered for sale by the second merchant.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the method further comprises:

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 second information should be associated with the second merchant.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, in which associating the second merchant with the second information includes disassociating the second merchant with the information.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, in which associating the second merchant with the second information includes maintaining the association of the second merchant with the information.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, in which the second information includes at least one of an augmentation of the information, a modification to the information, a change to the information, an addition to the information, a name, a category, a description, an image, an availability, and a price.

22. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the method further comprises receiving an indication that the information should be associated with a category of merchants, in which the second indication includes a selection of the category for the first merchant, and in which the third indication includes a selection of the category.

23. The apparatus of claim 11, in which associating the first merchant with the information comprises including the information in a representation of one or more items offered for sale by the first merchant, and in which associating the second merchant with the information comprises including the information in a representation of one or more items for sale by the second merchant.

24. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising the computing device, and in which the computing device includes a processor.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising;

receiving information about at least one product associated with a category of merchants;

receiving, from a first user of a referral or delivery service, a first indication that at least one first merchant should be associated with category of merchants;

in response to receiving the first indication, associating the information with the first merchant;

receiving, from a second user, a second indication that at least one second merchant should be associated with the category of merchants;

in response to receiving the third indication, associating the information with the second merchant;

transmitting a representation regarding at least one of the first and second merchants that includes an indication of the information to a customer through an electronic communication network;

receiving an indication of an edit to the information with respect to the first merchant from a third user of the referral or delivery service; and

in response to receiving the indication of the edit, adjusting the information with respect to the first merchant in view of the edit and maintaining the information with respect to the second merchant.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising the computing device.