Patent Document

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 09/062,093, filed Apr. 17, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,968, entitled REMOTE ORDERING SYSTEM FOR RESTAURANT DRIVE-UP LANE. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a remote ordering system for a restaurant drive-through lane. 
     The drive-through lanes in many restaurants have added a very beneficial feature for both the consumer and the proprietor. The drive-through allows the proprietor to remain open longer, while the restaurant is being cleaned for the next day. The drive-through also allows more efficient handling of customers with a reduction in staff count. 
     The customer gets the benefit of staying in his or her vehicle while being serviced. This is especially important to young families and to those with mobility problems, such as the aged or infirm. 
     Drive-through lanes have been around for quite some time. However, in the typical drive-through lane, a customer places an order by speaking into a microphone to a an attendant. The quality of these microphones is generally poor, resulting in miscommunication and errors in the order. By the time the customer finds out about the error, he has already waited in line several minutes and must then wait several more minutes for a correct order to be filled. This results in the loss of customer goodwill. 
     A problem with previous drive-through ordering systems that do not use a microphone is that they require the customer to lean out of the vehicle to press a button on a menu or use a touch screen. This is awkward if not impossible for some people, such as very obese people. Also, this exposes the customer to rain, snow, etc. while the order is being placed. Generally speaking, there is no feedback as to the type, quantity, or total price of items ordered, and no capability to back up to correct an incorrectly-entered item. 
     There is a need for a remote ordering system for a drive-through lane that addresses the above problems. Additionally, the system should provide a completely transportable, hand-held remote device that can be assigned to customers who order frequently from the restaurant. Optimally, the device will have a customer identification which is transmitted with each order so that the restaurant can perform statistical analysis. 
     This application also relates to the use of a remote ordering device by wait staff within a restaurant, to place orders, determine the status of orders, and allow the customer to pay the bill either by cash or credit card. 
     This application also relates to a generalized remote ordering device for customer use inside or outside a facility such as a restaurant, auto repair facility, retail store, grocery store, airport, or other service facility. The remote ordering device is a handheld device that allows the customer to order products or services and access information. 
     There is a need for a hand held remote device on which a server in a restaurant enters each customer&#39;s food and beverage order and then electronically sends the information directly to the kitchen without the server having to personally take the order. Each server could handle additional tables more efficiently, increasing their income, and saving the restaurant staff salaries. The device can also have a credit card reader and signature “box” for the customer to complete the transaction at the table without having to wait in line at the cash register, or for the waitress to return with a credit slip to sign. 
     There is also a need for a generalized remote ordering device for customer use inside or outside a facility such as a restaurant, auto repair facility, retail store, grocery store, airport, or other service facility. The remote ordering device is a handheld device that allows the customer to order and pay for products or services and access information. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A generalized remote ordering apparatus for customer and employee use within a restaurant, auto repair facility, retail store, grocery store, airport, or other service facility, to place orders, determine the status of orders, access information, and allow the customer to pay the bill either by cash or credit card, comprising: 
     (a) an input device having a keypad, a credit/debit card reader, a power source, a first processor, and a transmitter; and 
     (b) an ordering station having a wireless connection to said input device, said ordering station having a receiver tuned to said transmitter, a second processor adapted to decode information received from said transmitter through said receiver and produce decoded information, a display adapted to display said decoded information, a second memory adapted to store item numbers and prices, and a communications link to a point-of-sale system. 
     A principal object and advantage of the present invention is that it allows the customer to order items from a menu in a service facility without the necessity to speak to an attendant. This results in more accurate orders. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the server can immediately send the orders to the kitchen without having to personally deliver them. They can spend more productive time serving patrons, handle more tables, and thus save labor expenses. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the orders are received faster, and the server can be notified of completed orders as soon as they are prepared in the kitchen. Food will not get cool waiting for servers to pick it up. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the individual orders will be automatically entered on the restaurant computer system, to be used in inventory management, internal control, and marketing as desired. If the patron wishes to pay cash, or does not want to use a credit card, the order will be identified electronically at the check out register. If the restaurant wishes to have all patrons come to the check out register for control, the credit card slip and bill could already be completed saving time at the register. The tables that have prepaid could be identified at the check out register. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that customers who are in a hurry can complete the credit card payment when the food is ordered, and not have to wait for the server to give them the bill. They could leave when they are finished eating. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that kitchen staff could always read the order, because no handwriting is involved. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the server&#39;s orders and tips could be constantly recorded automatically, even if charged at the table. 
     Another object and advantage of the present invention is that each server could have their own ordering device, for easy identification in the kitchen or for personal notes in the jacket. 
     The above objects and advantages would be equally applicable for use by a customer at a service facility such as a restaurant, auto repair facility, retail store, grocery store, airport, etc. 
     The generalized remote ordering apparatus may also be used by the service facility to allow the customer to select a predetermined order and then enter it remotely. For example, the service facility may post an order code on a World Wide Web page that is correlated to a particular predetermined order. After accessing the Web page, the customer enters the order code into the input device and, while at the service facility, transmits the order code to the ordering station. The service facility may provide a menu of various order codes for standard orders for all customers. Alternatively, the customer&#39;s identification may be verified before providing an order code. The service facility may also require the customer to enter a credit card number before providing the order code. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1 and 1 a  are schematics of the present invention in the context of a restaurant drive-through lane. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic of the remote hand-held device of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an electrical block diagram of the components of the remote hand-held device. 
     FIG. 4 is an electrical block diagram of the components of the drive-through station. 
     FIGS. 5,  5   a , and  5   b  are flowcharts of the data processing method of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6A is a schematic of an “enter item number” display. 
     FIG. 6B shows the “enter item number” display after an item number has been entered. 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic of an “item identifier and quantity” screen with the item quantity filled in by the customer. 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic of an “item total” screen. 
     FIG. 9 is a schematic of an “enter/remove/finish” screen. 
     FIG. 10 is a schematic of an “order total” screen. 
     FIG. 11A is a schematic of one embodiment of a “remove item” screen. 
     FIG. 11B is a schematic of another embodiment of a “remove item” screen. 
     FIG. 12A is a schematic of an input device for a generalized remote ordering apparatus. 
     FIG. 12B is a schematic cross-section along the lines  12 B of FIG.  12 A. 
     FIG. 13 is a schematic of an ordering station for a generalized remote ordering apparatus. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The remote ordering system for a restaurant drive-through lane of the present invention is generally designated in the Figures as reference numeral  10 . 
     The remote ordering system  10  comprises an input device  12  and a drive-up ordering station  14 . The input device  12  is unconnected to the drive-up ordering station  14 , and the input device is used from inside the vehicle V. Preferably, the input device  12  is hand-held and is transportable away from the drive-up ordering station  14 . Multiple devices  12  may be used, with a separate device being assigned to each customer. The input device  12  is preferably used within direct line-of-sight of the drive-up ordering station  14 . That is, it is not intended that the devices operate while greatly separated, as for example over a telephone network. 
     Preferably, the input device  12  has a keypad  16 , battery  18 , a first memory  20 , a first processor  22 , and a transmitter  24 . The first memory  20  and first processor  22  may be discrete components, or they may both be in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as seen in FIG. 3. A customer identification number may be stored in the first memory  20  for transmission to the drive-up ordering station with the order. 
     The keypad  16  further preferably comprises a number of numeric keys  16   a , an enter key  16   b , a remove key  16   c , a quantity add key  16   d , a quantity subtract key  16   e , and a start/finish key  16   f , as seen in FIG.  2 . 
     The drive-up ordering station  14  has a posted visual menu  30  which has the description and order number of various food items. A receiver  32  is tuned to the transmitter  24 . The station  14  also has a second processor  34  which is adapted to decode information received from the transmitter  24  through the receiver  32  and produce decoded information. The decoded information, for example, item description and price, is displayed on a display  36 . A second memory  38  stores item numbers, descriptions, and prices which may be received from a point-of-sale system  40  through a communications link  42 . The second memory  38  and second processor  34  may be discrete components, or they may both be in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as seen in FIG.  4 . 
     The transmitter  24  and receiver  32  may operate either with radio frequency (RF) transmissions or with infrared (IR) transmissions. 
     The remote ordering system  10  further comprises remote software executing in the first processor  22  and managing the remote input device  12 ; and ordering station software executing in the second processor  34  managing the ordering station  14 . A flowchart of the remote software and ordering station software is shown in FIG.  5 . 
     First, the ordering station software displays a “welcome” screen on the display  36 . The welcome screen may invite the customer to initiate a transaction by pressing the start key  16   f  on the remote device  12 . 
     The customer then presses the start key  16   f  on the remote device  12 , causing a signal to be sent from the transmitter  24  to the receiver  32 . The start signal is decoded by the ordering station software executing in the second processor  34 . Optionally, a customer identification may be sent with the start signal or as a separate transmission. 
     In the next step, the ordering station software causes an “enter item number” screen (FIG. 6A) to be displayed on the display  36 . The item numbers available to the customer will be shown on the posted menu  30  along with a description of the item (hamburger, cheeseburger, etc.) associated with the item number. 
     In response to the “enter item number screen”, the customer presses one or more of the numeric keys  16   a  to input the item number (FIG.  6 B). The customer then initiates transmission of the item number to the ordering station  14  by, for example, pressing the “enter” key  16   b.    
     The item number is received by the receiver  32  and decoded by the ordering station software executing in the second processor  34 . The ordering station software then associates the item number with an item description by looking in a table held in the second memory  38 . 
     Next, the ordering station software sends an “item identifier and quantity” screen (FIG. 7) to the display  36 . This screen invites the customer to enter the quantity of this item desired. 
     The customer inputs the quantity of this item desired by using the numeric keys  16   a  and optionally the quantity add key  16   d  and/or quantity subtract key  16   e . The customer then initiates transmission of the item quantity by, for example, pressing the “enter” key  16   b.    
     The receiver  32  receives the item quantity for the first item and passes this to the second processor  34  for decoding. The second processor then makes an entry for the quantity of the first item in the second memory  38 . The second processor looks up the price of this item from a table maintained in the second memory  38  and calculates an item total for the first item. The ordering station software then transmits an item total screen (FIG. 8) for the first item to the display  36 . 
     When the customer presses the “enter” key again, a transmission signaling pressing of the “enter” key is sent to the ordering station  14 . The ordering station software then transmits an “enter/remove/finish” screen (FIG. 9) to the display  36 . 
     The customer has three choices by which he may respond to the “enter/remove/finish” screen. 
     If the “enter” key is pressed, the remote device  12  signals the ordering station  14  to bring up an “enter item number” screen (FIG. 6A) to begin the process described above for ordering another item. 
     If the “remove” key  16   c  is pressed, the remote device  12  signals the ordering station to bring up a “remove item” screen (FIG.  11 A). This screen will list the item(s) ordered by item number, description, and quantity and display an order total. Optionally, the order subtotals may also be displayed (FIG.  11 B). By using the numeric keys  16   a , the customer indicates which item number to remove, then presses the “enter” key to signal the ordering station software to remove that item from the order. The ordering station software then redisplays the “enter/remove/finish” screen. 
     If the “finish” key  16   f  is pressed, the remote device  12  signals the ordering station to calculate an order total for all items and quantities ordered. The ordering station software then causes an order total screen (FIG. 10) to be displayed on the display  36 . 
     The ordering station software then sends the order information to the point-of-sale system via the communications link  42 . 
     The point-of-sale system may load item numbers, descriptions, and prices into the ordering station through the communication link  42 . 
     A generalized remote ordering apparatus comprises an input device  112  having a keypad  116 , a battery  18 , a first memory  20 , a first processor  22 , and a transmitter  24  (see FIGS.  3  and  12 A). The first memory  20  and first processor  22  may be discrete components, or they may both be in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as seen in FIG. 3. A user/server indicator may be stored in the first memory  20  for transmission to the ordering station  140  to identify the user/server. 
     The remote ordering apparatus further comprises an ordering station  140  unconnected to the input device  112 , the ordering station  140  having receiver  32  tuned to the transmitter  24 . The remote ordering station  140  also has a second processor  34  which is adapted to decode information received from the transmitter  24  through the receiver  32  and produce decoded information. The remote ordering station  140  also has a display  36  adapted to display the decoded information. A second memory  38  stores item numbers, descriptions, and prices which may be received from a point-of-sale system  40  through a communications link  42 . The second memory  38  and second processor  34  may be discrete components, or they may both be in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as seen in FIG.  4 . 
     The input device  112  may have a display window  114  for displaying information. Preferably, the display window  114  is a liquid crystal display. 
     The input device  112  may have an order ready indicator  118  which is turned on by transmission from the ordering station  140  when an order is ready for pickup. Preferably, the order ready indicator is a lighted indicator such as an LED, but could also be a chime or vibrator. 
     The keypad  116  preferably has a plurality of numeric keys  116 A to inputs elections from menu items and customer data. Most preferably, the numeric keys  116 A further comprise keys labeled  0  through  9 , as shown in FIG.  12 A. For example, a standard telephone keypad could be used as the numeric keys  116 A. 
     The keypad  116  further comprises an order send but ton  120  which is pressed to transmit an order to the ordering station  140 . 
     The keypad  116  further comprises a recall/change button  122  which can be used to recall or change a previously submitted order by entering the order number and pressing the recall/change button  122 . 
     The input device  112  preferably has a credit card slot  128  for swiping a credit card to read the magnetic strip on the credit card. The input device  112  may also have a credit card signature block  126  adapted to electronically record the signature of a credit card holder. 
     The transmitter  24  and receiver  32  may operate either with radio frequency (RF) transmissions or with infrared (IR) transmissions. Preferably, RF transmissions are used. 
     The remote ordering apparatus preferably comprises a plurality of the input devices  112 , each of said plurality of input devices  112  being separately transportable away from the ordering station  140 . 
     A customer of the service facility may place orders or acquire other information from the service facility by means of a method using the generalized remote ordering apparatus. 
     The service facility provides an order code to the customer who is using the input device, after correlating the order code to a predetermined order. For example, order code  1  could be correlated to a hamburger, fries, and a coke. The user of the input device then enters the order code into the input device  112  by means of the keypad  116  and presses the order send button  120 , which causes the order number to be transmitted to the ordering station. The user may operate the input device  112  either inside or outside the service facility, depending on the range of the transmitter  24 . 
     To provide order codes to the general public, the owner of the service facility may post a menu of order codes on a World Wide Web page. For example, if a retail store is having a special promotion, the store may post order codes for items which are on sale on its web site. The shopper then prints out a list of these order codes and, after entering the store, enters the order codes into the input device  112  and transmits them to the ordering station  140 . 
     Alternatively, the service facility could also provide a catalog for use by a customer, with each customer being given an input device for shopping, and the catalog having the order codes. The input device  112  could be programmed to accept a number of order codes and transmit them serially to the ordering station  140  with one press of the order send button. When the order is ready, the order ready indicator will be turned on, and the customer may pick up the order. 
     In an alternative arrangement, the service facility may reveal an order code, on a web site or otherwise, only after verifying the identity of the requester, and may additionally require the requester to pay for the order with a credit card number before receiving the order code. In another arrangement, the requester pays for the order after entering it by swiping his credit card through the credit card slot  128 , which transmits the credit card number and expiration date to the point-of-sale system through the ordering station  140 . 
     The input device  112  may be incorporated into a cellular telephone, so that orders may be transmitted to the service facility over the telephone network. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: g