Method and apparatus for generating menu information

• US 8,484,240 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2010
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• 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., Sims, Colin, Jordan, Jesse, Blosser, Christopher, Mohalanobish, Siddhant
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Jung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox, James J
• Application Number:
  US12/855,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20110191194A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

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. An apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that cause a computing device of a delivery service to perform a method comprising;

receiving an indication of a plurality of items that may be included in any of a plurality of menus of respective items that may be ordered from a plurality of merchants, in which the indication is received from a first user of the delivery service;

receiving respective pieces of information, in which each respective piece of information is associated with a respective item of the plurality of items and in which each respective piece of information may be added to any of the plurality of menus to which a corresponding item has been added;

determining a set of the plurality of items that may be added to a menu of items that may be ordered from a first merchant from whom customers of the delivery service may order items for delivery;

determining a respective plurality of pieces of the information that may be associated with each item;

allowing a second user to include one or more of the plurality of items in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant such that the customers who subsequently access the menu may order the one or more of the plurality of items from the first merchant;

allowing the second user to include one or more respective pieces of information from each of the respective plurality of pieces of information to include in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant such that the customers who subsequently access the menu may view the one or more respective pieces of information when ordering the one or more of the plurality of items from the first merchant;

allowing a third user to edit at least one the one or more respective pieces of information and the one or more of the plurality of items for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

determining the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant based on the included items and the included information;

receiving a request for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

providing the menu in response to receiving the request for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

receiving a request to purchase one or more of the items; and

in response to receiving the request to purchase, facilitating delivery of the one or more items from the merchant.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which each respective piece of information includes an option for a respective item.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, in which each option includes an addon option.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, in which each option includes a typing option.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, in which each option includes at least one of a size option, a topping option, a crust option, a flavor option, and a filling option.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, in which allowing the second user to include one or more of the plurality of items includes providing an interface for a menu template.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which allowing the second user to include one or more respective pieces of information of each respective plurality of pieces of information includes providing an interface for a menu template through which a user may select the one or more respective pieces of information to include in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, in which allowing the second user to include one or more respective pieces of information of each respective plurality of pieces of information and allowing the user to include one or more of the plurality of items includes providing an interface for a menu template which a user may select items from the set of items and options for those selected items from the information to include in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant, in which the same interface for the menu template is presented to other users for the creation of other menus for other merchants.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the plurality of instructions cause the computing device to receive a structure for the menu template that defines which options may be added to the selected items.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, in which the structure defines a position for each item and each option in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant that is based on the menu template.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, in which the structure defines a position for each selected item and each selected option in the menu.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the plurality of instructions cause the computing device to receive a structure for the menu, and in which determining the menu includes determining the menu based on the structure.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the computing device, in which the computing device includes a processor.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the plurality of instructions further cause the computing device to associate the menu and a second menu of a second merchant with the edited at least one of the one or more respective pieces of information and the one or more of the plurality of items in response to the third user editing the at least one of the one or more respective pieces of information and the one or more of the plurality of items.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, in which determining the menu includes at least one of determining the menu to include the edit by the third user after the edit is made and determining the menu without the edit by the third user before the edit is made.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the plurality of instructions further cause the computing device to at least one of associate the edit with at least one other menu and associate the edit with only the menu.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the instructions cause the computing device to:

allow a fourth user to include one or more of the plurality of items and one or more respective pieces of information from each of the respective plurality of pieces of information in a second menu of items that may be ordered from a second merchant.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the first user and second user are different users.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the instructions cause the computing device to:

allow the second user to add at least one additional item not from the plurality of items to the menu.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the third user is different from the first and second users.

22. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the instructions cause the computing device to:

receive a change to the menu temple and adjust the menu and at least one other menu of items that may be ordered format least one other merchant in response receiving the change.

23. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the instructions cause the computing device to:

allow the second user to add at least one additional item not from the plurality of items to the menu through the interface by adding an item that is not in the menu template to the menu.

17. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, an indication of a plurality of items from a first user of the delivery service that may be included in any of a plurality of menus of respective items that may be ordered from a plurality of merchants, in which the indication is received;

receiving, by the computing device, respective pieces of information, in which each respective piece of information is associated with a respective item of the plurality of items and in which each respective piece of information may be added to any of the plurality of menus to which a corresponding item has been added;

determining, by the computing device, a set of the plurality of items that may be added to a menu of items that may be ordered from a first merchant from whom customers of the delivery service may order items for delivery;

determining, by the computing device, a respective plurality of pieces of the information that may be associated with each item;

allowing, by the computing device, a second user to include one or more of the plurality of items in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant such that the customers who subsequently access the menu may order the one or more of the plurality of items from the first merchant;

allowing, by the computing device, the second user to include one or more respective pieces of information from each of the respective plurality of pieces of information to include in the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant such that the customers who subsequently access the menu may view the one or more respective pieces of information when ordering the one or more of the plurality of items from the first merchant;

allowing, by the computing device, a third user edit to at least one the one or more respective pieces of information and the one or more of the plurality of items for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

determining, by the computing device, the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant based on the included items and the included information;

receiving, by the computing device, a request for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

providing, by the computing device, the menu in response to receiving the request for the menu of items that may be ordered from the first merchant;

receiving, by the computing device, a request to purchase one or more of the items; and

in response to receiving the request to purchase, facilitating delivery of the one or more items from the merchant.