KR102159115B1 - System for managing and transmitting of service request item - Google Patents

Abstract

A system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a customer device having at least two physical buttons for selecting order contents and calling a service provider, one or more devices for customers and one or more employee devices, and a WiFi or Bluetooth mesh. An AP (Access Point) performing two-way communication using a network, a service request signal generated from the customer device is received from the AP, and based on the service request signal, a customer device that has requested a service among the one or more customer devices Including at least one employee device for identifying and displaying a table identification number and order information based on an operation server that identifies and transmits the service request signal to an employee device and a service request signal transmitted from the operation server, and the employee When a confirmation event for the service request signal transmitted from the operation server is detected in the service device, the employee device transmits an employee confirmation signal to the operation server side, and the operation server transmits the employee confirmation signal to the customer device. And notifying that a service request signal has been received.

Description

Service request management and transmission system {SYSTEM FOR MANAGING AND TRANSMITTING OF SERVICE REQUEST ITEM}

The present invention relates to an improved invention of Application No. 10-2017-0015186, and relates to a system for transmitting the status of service request and order information. In more detail, when a service request signal containing an order is transmitted to the service provider using a short-range communication function, the service provider who receives it can receive the service request signal and at the same time understand the order information. It relates to a system that enables a provider to check whether a signal is received.

Our society is undergoing a hyper-connectivity revolution based on the Internet of Things (IoT) in which everything is connected to the Internet through the Industrial Revolution and the Information Revolution. Currently, things connected to the Internet are less than 1% of all things, but various innovations and business opportunities can be created in the process of expanding connectivity in the future.

As an example of an IoT service that can be found in the vicinity, the emergence of a connected car connects vehicles to the Internet to support automatic transmission of emergency rescue messages and unmanned autonomous driving services. In addition, healthcare products are supporting healthcare services by measuring the body's heart rate and amount of exercise. In the aspect of smart home, services such as remote control of home appliances or home CCTV are supported.

Sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure technology, and IoT service interface technology can be explained as the major technologies of IoT. First, sensing technology is a physical device that can obtain information from tangible objects and surroundings, such as remote sensing from traditional temperature/humidity/heat/gas/illuminance/ultrasonic sensors, SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), radar, position, motion, and image sensors. It means detection by phosphorus sensor. Physical sensors are developing into smart sensors with standardized interfaces and information processing capabilities to improve application characteristics, and also include a virtual sensing function that extracts specific information from data that has already been sensed. Implemented in the IoT service interface. IoT sensing technology uses multiple (multi-disciplinary) sensor technology, which is one level higher than the standard independent and individual sensors, so it can extract more intelligent and high-level information.

Explaining wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure technologies, the existing wireless personal area networks (WPAN), Wi-Fi, 3G/4G/LTE, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and wired and wireless communication and network devices of IoT, It refers to all wired and wireless networks that can connect humans, objects, and services such as broadband convergence network (BcN), satellite communication, microware, serial communication, and PLC (Power Line Communication).

The IoT service interface plays a role in linking the three major components of IoT (human/thing/service) with application services that perform specific functions. In more detail, the IoT service interface is not a concept of a network interface, but information sensing, processing/extraction/processing, storage, judgment, context recognition, recognition, security/privacy protection, authentication/authorization, discovery, object formalization, and ontology. Luggage-based semantics, open sensor API, virtualization, location verification, processor management, open platform technology, middleware technology, data mining technology, web service technology, social network, etc., to serve as an interface (storage, processing, transformation, etc.) to provide services. Perform.

In particular, wireless calling bells used in general restaurants, hospitals, factories, etc. are used to call other people or transmit information in order to communicate a user's needs or whether a specific event has occurred. have. The user pushes the wireless call bell, and the call signal is transmitted to the central control unit to identify the wireless call ring and provide an environment for follow-up action on the wireless call ring.

However, in the conventional call bell, most of the one-way communication method using radio frequency (RF) was used, and there was an inconvenience in that the service provider receiving the call signal could not transmit a signal to the service requester (customer). In addition, since the conventional call bell simply calls the service requester and cannot deliver the service request, the service provider has to additionally perform a movement to receive the service request. Accordingly, there is a problem in that a business site using a conventional call bell method requires additionally performing unnecessary operations, resulting in inefficiency of work. On the other hand, as a similar patent, there is published patent publication 10-2009-0051485.

In the present invention, when a call signal is input from a customer device that transmits a call signal, a method and a system capable of efficiently responding to the call signal will be proposed.

An object of the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an environment in which fast and accurate communication is made between a calling party and a called party using a Wi-Fi signal.

The technical problems (objects) to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems (objects) mentioned above, and other technical problems (objects) that are not mentioned are common in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the following description. It will be clearly understood by those who have knowledge.

The system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a customer device having at least two physical buttons for selecting order contents and calling a service provider, one or more devices for customers, one or more devices for employees, and a Wi-Fi mesh. ) Or an AP (Access Point) performing two-way communication using a Bluetooth mesh network, a customer who receives a service request signal generated from the customer device from the AP, and requests a service from among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal And one or more devices for employees, which identify a device for use, and display a table identification number and order information based on an operation server for transmitting the service request signal to the employee device and a service request signal transmitted from the operation server, and When the employee device detects a confirmation event for the service request signal transmitted from the operation server, the employee device transmits an employee confirmation signal to the operation server side, and the operation server transmits the employee confirmation signal. It is characterized in that it notifies that a service request signal has been received and processed by transmitting it to a customer device.

The present invention enables the transmitting side to determine whether the reception of the call signal has been made after transmitting the call signal, so that the sending side may not unnecessarily retransmit the call button.

In addition, according to the present invention, after the call signal, the customer's call or needs are simultaneously transmitted to a plurality of receivers (employee devices), enabling a faster response to the customer, and there is an advantageous effect of expecting an improvement in overall service quality. .

1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a customer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a numeric button type menu plate type call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a state of a button-type menu plate type call bell for each menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a service request signal confirmation process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing order confirmation in a customer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, various modifications may be made and various embodiments may be provided, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals have been used for similar elements.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it is directly connected to or may be connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the presence or addition of elements or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, does not preclude in advance.

In addition, in this specification, the device may be a general device (or thing) connected to a gateway and applied to the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, devices include pagers, smartphones, tablet PCs, computers, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, acoustic sensors, motion sensors, proximity sensors, gas sensors, heat sensors, refrigerators, CCTV, TVs, washing machines, and dehumidifiers. , Lights, fire alarms, etc. However, it is not limited thereto.

In addition, in the present specification, a device may be used interchangeably with “device” or “device”, and “device”, “device” and “device” may be described with the same expression.

In addition, in the present specification, device information of a device is information indicating a device and a property of the device, for example, an identification value of a device, a type of a device, a type and property of sensing data detected by the device, and sensing of the device. May contain information about the period.

In addition, in the present specification, a service may include various services that can be performed by a device. The service may include a service based on communication with a server or other device, and a service operable within the device. The service applied to the present disclosure is preferably understood as a broad concept including various services that can be performed by a device in addition to the services described as examples in the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions for the same elements are omitted.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A user in this specification may be a user who wants to call a service provider. The user may be a restaurant guest, a hospital patient, or a factory employee. In the present specification, for convenience of description, a restaurant will be described as an example.

The system of the present invention may include a customer device 110, an employee device 120, an operation server 130, a store management WEB server 131, and an AP (Access Point) 140.

The customer device 110 may receive a button input by a user who desires to provide a service, and transmit a signal corresponding to the button input to an operation server that relays it through the AP 140. Thereafter, the production server can transmit the signal to the employee device 120. In this way, since the customer device 110 transmits and receives signals to and receives signals from the employee device 120 using Wi-Fi, two-way communication is possible in which the signal transmitted from the employee device 120 side is received by the customer device 110 side. However, the method in which the customer device 110 communicates with the employee device is not limited to such a Wi-Fi method, and may be implemented to enable two-way communication in a variety of ways. For example, the customer device 110 may perform a Bluetooth communication method with the employee device 120 to transmit and receive signals. The Bluetooth communication method may include both a Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) and a Low Energy (LE) method. Among the Bluetooth communication methods, low energy methods include point-to-point, broadcast, and mesh methods, and the point-to-point method is 1:1, broadcast is 1:many, and mesh is multi:many network topology for device communication. It can mean. However, the Bluetooth communication method is not limited to the above-described version of the technology, and may further include various types of Bluetooth communication methods that will be developed later.

When the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 communicate with each other through a Bluetooth method for two-way communication, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may perform device-to-device communication even without a separate repeater. In addition, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 can perform two-way signal transmission and reception between devices through more diverse short-range communication methods. According to various embodiments, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 use a short-range communication method (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.) that requires an AP and a method that enables communication between devices without an AP (e.g., Bluetooth pairing, Bluetooth mesh network). All of them can be used to transmit and receive customer request information, and after determining an effective communication method based on conditions such as the location and signal strength of the device among communication available methods, a specific communication method may be selectively performed.

In addition, the customer device 110 may be implemented in various forms such as a menu board type call bell, a table-attached call bell, and a remote control type call bell according to various embodiments of the present invention.

The menu plate-type call bell may be manufactured to transmit a service request signal and simultaneously transmit order information by having a button for each menu (eg, a membrane type dome switch) in a general book-type menu plate. Alternatively, the menu board type call bell may be manufactured by dividing a menu image area providing an existing menu board image and a device area supporting a service request signal to be transmitted by pressing a number corresponding to each menu. In addition, the device area may include a number button and an order request button for inputting a number corresponding to each menu.

In addition, since the menu board type call bell is a configuration in which a call bell device is added to the menu board, it is preferable to be manufactured on a thin flat plate so that there is no difference from the existing menu board. Accordingly, the menu plate-type call bell may be provided with a button using, for example, a dome switch product having a thickness of less than about 1 mm. The menu board type call bell may also be used in both general PCBs or FPCBs according to embodiments. The menu board-type call bell may be fixed to a specific table and used with a table number previously assigned, but may be designed to allow a new table number to be designated.

Since the table-attached call bell (a method in which a table number is assigned) is a generally commercialized call bell, a detailed description will be omitted. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the table-attached call bell may also be manufactured to be ordered by directly pressing a number for each menu including a number button. In addition, the remote control type call bell may be implemented in a manner in which only the device area is separated from the menu board type call bell. The remote control type call bell may have a table number previously assigned, like the menu board type call bell, but a method of receiving a table number using a separate device may be used.

The AP 140 may receive a service request signal transmitted from the customer device 110, and may transmit a signal corresponding to the service request signal to an operation server 130 connected to the AP 140 by wire or wireless.

The AP 140 may specify the customer device 110 that has transmitted the service request signal. Identification information of the customer device 110 may be included in a specific frame of the service request signal received by the AP 140.

The operation server 130 may perform a role of controlling signal transmission/reception between the customer device 110 and the AP 140. Based on the service request signal received from the AP 140, it is possible to identify which customer device 110 has transmitted the service request signal. As described above, the customer device 110 may be identified by the AP 140, and the operation server 130 may also identify the customer device 110 regardless of the identification by the AP 140. The customer device 110 may transmit unique identification information together with the service request signal, and may transmit the information by including the corresponding information in a specific frame in the service request signal.

In addition, the customer device 110 may have device identification information fixed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, or may be changed at any time by a user (customer) or a service provider (employee). Even when the identification information of the device is frequently changed, the customer device 110 may transmit a service request signal by including device identification information stored in the customer device 110 at that time in the service request signal when transmitting the service request signal.

The operation server 130 may store identification information of the customer device 110 in advance, and compare the stored identification information of the customer device 110 with the received service request signal to specify which customer device 110 has transmitted.

The operation server 130 may transmit a call signal to the employee device 120. The employee device 120 may refer to an employee's device 120 to be called. For example, it may be a device such as a smartphone, a smart watch, or a number display of a server serving in a restaurant.

The employee device 120 may receive a service request signal from the operation server 130. The employee device 120 may display information (eg, a table number) on the called customer device 110 based on the received service request signal. Based on the information displayed on the employee device 120, the employee may move to the space of the user who requested the service and provide a response service.

In addition, the employee device 120 may perform a Wi-Fi communication function or a Bluetooth communication function capable of bidirectional communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, when an employee receives a service request signal from a customer, the employee presses a button of the employee device 120 in response to the reception of the call signal to notify other employee devices and customer device 110 whether or not the corresponding call signal is received. More specifically, if the employee's device 120 confirms the customer's service request signal, the employee selects the work button on the employee's device 120 to indicate that he/she will respond to the service request. It can be notified to and implicitly communicated to the customer the meaning of waiting because the service request has been confirmed.

The store management WEB server 131 can check whether a response service between a customer and an employee who has requested a service (call) is being provided, and can receive and manage customer requests. In addition, information such as the number of signal transmissions and transmission periods of the customer device 110 in the store may be stored and managed as statistics. In addition, data requested by customers can be stored and analyzed to be used as a marketing tool or data for efficient operation.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a customer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A customer device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 210, a display unit 220, a key input unit 230, a storage unit 240, and a control unit 250. In addition, the communication unit 210 may include a short-range communication module such as an NFC module 211, a WiFi module 212, and a Bluetooth module 213.

The communication unit 210 of the customer device 110 may perform a role of transmitting a signal from the customer device 110 and receiving a signal from another device. The communication unit 210 may transmit and receive signals using wireless communication technologies such as cellular communication signals, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth (including BLE), Zigbee, and RF.

The communication unit 210 transmits a beacon signal, and may use a uni-casting, multi-casting, and broadcasting method. The unicasting method is a one-to-one communication method, and the customer device 110 can unicast signals to other devices, respectively. The multicasting method is a method of transmitting the same signal to a plurality of receiving targets at once, and the broadcasting is a method of indiscriminately transmitting to a plurality of other devices. The customer device 110 may advertise by transmitting a signal through a broadcasting method in order to discover itself in other devices.

The display unit 220 may display information indicating that a button (or touch) can be input to a user who wants to call. The display unit 220 may display information by light-emitting elements such as liquid crystal, LCD, LED, and TFT, and in some cases, may be displayed as a printed image.

The display unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may display information (eg, numeric information, alphabet, operation symbol, etc.) corresponding to a button input by a user. The display unit 220 may display the input button information so that a user who uses the order information can check whether the order information inputted by the user is correct when a service request signal is to be transmitted after creating order information by entering a number.

In addition, when the service provider receives the service request signal after transmitting the service request signal, the display unit 220 may display a specific signal informing it. For example, the display unit 220 may be manufactured to variously display backgrounds, borders, and text colors. For example, after the service request signal is transmitted, the display unit 220 may differently display at least one color of a border, a background, and a text before and after the service request signal is received by the employee device 120.

The display unit 220 may display menu information received after an order is received. Accordingly, the display unit 220 may function as a bill. When adding a menu, the user can check the order details displayed on the display unit 220 and determine whether the order has been properly performed. In this case, the order details displayed on the display unit 220 may be information received from the payment system in connection with the in-store payment system. Accordingly, the store side can confirm to the customer whether the order has been properly made through the order details displayed on the display unit 220 without directly transmitting the printed bill.

The display unit 220 may be manufactured to display only relatively simple information such as numbers and alphabets in a 7-segment method, but may be manufactured as a screen having a size similar to that of a smartphone so as to display information such as text, video, and images. Accordingly, the display unit 220 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may display menu-related information that is not provided by the menu board. For example, the display unit 220 may display video information on a cooking method, an advertisement for a partner company, a nutritional component table of a menu selected by a user, allergy information, and combination information of a suitable menu.

The key input unit 230 may receive a user's button input. A user's physical input to the tangible key input unit 230 may be received, and it may be converted into an electric signal. Alternatively, the key input unit 230 may include a touch screen according to various embodiments, and may receive a user's input by a touch input on the touch screen. In addition, when the key input unit 230 is attached to a menu plate formed of paper or the like, it may be manufactured in the form of a membrane type dome switch. Each button constituting the key input unit 230 may be set to correspond to each menu and service request (eg, please water). Alternatively, the buttons of the key input unit 230 may be formed with numbers, and in this case, the user may place an order by entering the number assigned to each menu recorded on the existing menu board with the number buttons.

The storage unit 240 may store information required to connect the customer device 110 to the AP 140. For example, the storage unit 240 may store the SSID and password of the AP 140. In addition, the storage unit 240 may store Bluetooth pairing information and other communication-related information required when the customer device 110 performs a direct connection with the employee device 120 without passing through the AP 140 according to various embodiments. In addition, the storage unit 240 may temporarily store information received from the operation server 130 and the store management web server 131 to display on the display unit 220. In addition, the storage unit 240 may store information on a menu to be displayed on the display unit 220 (eg, ingredients, allergy information, cooking method, price, etc.) according to various embodiments. In addition, the storage unit 240 may store a calculation program for calculating the sum of the amount of a menu selected by the user according to various embodiments.

The controller 250 may control signals input/output from the communication unit 210, the display unit 220, and the key input unit of the customer device 110, and may process data required for overall driving of the customer device 110.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the type of information received from the communication unit 210 may be classified, and an operation of displaying information on the display unit 220 or changing a color of the display unit 220 may be performed according to the type of information. In addition, according to various embodiments, the control unit 250 controls to transmit the information inputted by the user through the key input unit 230 to the AP 140 through the communication unit 210, and if the wireless communication connection is not smooth, the wireless communication connection is retried and then the corresponding It can be controlled to transmit a signal. Alternatively, the controller 250 may attempt to wirelessly connect to the employee device 120 by using another possible communication method. For example, when it is determined that the Wi-Fi connection state is not smooth, the controller 250 may attempt to pair with the employee device 120 using the Bluetooth module 213.

Also, the controller 250 may perform a calculator function according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. When the display unit is present in the customer device 110, the controller 250 may control to input a number for a desired menu from the user and calculate and display the sum of the amount of the selected menu before pressing an order button. And, assuming that the customer device 110 additionally has a formula symbol button for creating a simple calculation formula, the control unit 250 divides the total amount by the number of people in the group and calculates the cost to be calculated by one person before ordering. 220 can provide.

The customer device 110 may further include a fixing part (not shown) that can be fixed to a specific position. The customer device that transmits the service request signal may be used in general restaurants, hospitals, factories, and the like, and may be fixed to a table in a restaurant or a bed in a hospital. If requested by the user, the fixing unit may be detachable and movable.

In this specification, the customer device 110 may perform a general function as a portable terminal. Accordingly, the customer device 110 can perform not only a calling bell, but also a smart device function. In addition, the menu board type call bell may be manufactured in the form of attaching a small printer (or interlocking). When an order is received, the menu board type call bell can immediately output information about it using a linked small printer and provide a bill so that the user can immediately check the order information.

3A to 3C are diagrams showing a number button type call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The menu board type call bell illustrated in FIG. 3A is an embodiment of the customer device 110. The menu board type call bell is a menu board having a call button, and a button may be provided next to each menu name, or a button may be provided in a separate area as shown in FIG. 3A. In the case of a menu board-type call bell in which a button is provided next to each menu name, when a button next to each menu name is pressed, a signal for ordering a corresponding menu may be transmitted to the employee device 120.

Meanwhile, a menu board type call bell in which a menu board area and a device area for calling are separately divided may be manufactured as shown in FIG. 3A. The menu board type call bell may have a number button area 310, and a button for inputting selection information for each menu may be included therein. In addition, in addition to the number buttons 0 to 9, the number button area 310 may further include a delete button 311 for erasing an input number and a plus button 312 for selecting when adding a menu to be ordered. When ordering a plurality of menus at once using the plus button 312, for example, a user may input '1+2+3' and then an order button 342. Accordingly, the employee may determine that an order has been requested for menu 1, menu 2, and menu 3 based on the information on the '1+2+3' identified by the employee device 120.

In addition, the menu board-type call bell may be provided with another button area 320, which is an area in which buttons corresponding to frequently used service items exist, in one area. Buttons included in the other button area 320 may be set to request functions such as'water request','wet towel request','napkin request', and'employee call'.

In addition, a display unit 330 may be further provided on the menu board type call bell. The display unit 330 may display the contents (eg, numbers) input by the user as they are in order to check whether or not the order information input by the user is properly input. In addition, when the user inputs the number of the menu to be ordered and then presses the order button 342, a service request signal including order information may be transmitted to the employee device 120 through the operation server 130. In addition, according to various embodiments, the menu-type call bell may further include an order cancel button 343 required to cancel an order detail. For example, the menu board-type call bell can generate a signal to cancel the previously transmitted order when the order cancel button 343 is pressed after the user inputs the same information as the previously transmitted order information (eg, the same number button). have.

In addition, the display unit 330 may change color immediately after transmitting the service request signal and after checking the corresponding signal and after the service request is recognized by the employee. This may be implemented by a method of changing the color of the display unit 330 by receiving the reception confirmation signal by selecting a specific button indicating that the service request signal has been received by the employee device 120. In this case, the object to be changed by the acknowledgment signal from the employee device 110 is not limited to the color of the display unit 330, and notification may be performed in a variety of ways. For example, the customer device 110 may notify that a corresponding service request signal has been received by sound, or may include a lamp on one side of the device area and change the color of the lamp to notify the reception. In addition, a method of notifying that a service request signal has been received in various ways can be implemented.

In addition, the menu plate type call bell may be provided for each table according to an embodiment, but considering that the menu plate type call bell is generally provided in a smaller number than the number of tables, the menu plate type call bell can also be used in a small amount on a plurality of tables. The need to do is required. In accordance with this need, the menu board type call bell may additionally be provided with a table designation button 341 that enables new input of corresponding table information whenever provided to a specific table.

The table designation button may be utilized as shown in FIG. 3B. The method of designating the table identification number may be performed by, for example, directly inputting the table identification number (eg, 13) and selecting the table designation button 341 when an employee provides a menu-type call bell to a specific table. . Thereafter, the display unit 330 may fix and display the identification number of the menu-type call bell as 13 until the table designation button 341 is pressed again. In addition, the designated table identification number is displayed in the display unit 330 as shown in 361, so that when an employee later provides the menu board type call bell to another table, the table identification number can be determined to be changed. The display unit 330 may display an area 361 fixedly, and numeric information additionally input by a user may be displayed on the remaining area of the display unit 330.

The menu board-type call bell is a menu that displays the existing menu name and menu image on materials such as paper and film, in addition to the device area 360 composed of a number button area 310, other button area 320, and a display unit 330 as described above. It can be divided into a display area 350.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3C, the customer device 110 may be implemented in a form attached to a table. The customer device 110 may be implemented as a call bell 390 for attaching a table as shown in FIG. 3C, and in this case, a table identification number may be fixed and stored in a storage unit inside the call bell 390 for attaching a table. In addition, the method of ordering and calling the table-attached call bell 390 may be similar to the menu board type call bell described above.

4 is a view showing a state of a button-type menu plate type call bell for each menu according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 4A, a button-type menu plate type call bell 400 for each menu may include a button 410 at a position adjacent to information corresponding to each menu (eg, menu name information, image information, etc.). By pressing each button, the user can transmit a signal to the employee to order a menu corresponding to each button. In addition, the menu board type call bell 400 may also include a button 420 corresponding to other service items. In addition, the button 420 corresponding to the other service items may be, for example, a water request button, a calculation request button, or the like.

In addition, the button-type menu plate type call bell 400 for each menu may be provided with a number button as a method for designating a table number in each menu plate. Otherwise, as shown in FIG. 4B, a number button may be provided for designating a separate table number. The device 430 may be attached to the table. At this time, the table number designating device 430 may transmit and receive signals through a menu board type call bell 400 and a short-range communication method such as NFC. For example, by bringing a point of the menu board type call bell 400 into contact with the table number designating device 430, the menu board type call bell 400 may receive table number data transmitted from the table number designating device 430. A button selected from the menu plate type call bell 400 may generate a signal including information on a table number as well as information corresponding to each menu.

Meanwhile, the table number designation apparatus 430 according to an embodiment of the present invention may support bidirectional communication (eg, a Bluetooth 5.0 version of the mesh function) with various types of customer devices and employee devices. As a result, the table number designating device 430 can also overcome the inconvenience of performing communication with other devices in the store through one specific device (eg, AP). In addition, since each device can perform bidirectional communication with each other, each device can perform a function of determining a signal transmission method or order differently based on a distance between devices and a signal strength according to a distance.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a service request signal confirmation process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The customer device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention can transmit a simple call signal only when a call signal is to be transmitted to the employee device 120, and product information to be ordered (product number displayed on the menu board) is stored. It is also possible to transmit an included call signal.

When operation 501 of receiving order details from a user is performed, the customer device 110 may perform operation 503 of transmitting a signal including the received order details to the employee device 120. In addition, after operation 503 of transmitting the order signal, the customer device 110 may perform operation 505 of displaying an order delivery signal until an employee confirmation signal arrives from the employee device 120. Operation 505 may be performed by, for example, displaying the color of the display unit in the call bell in red.

When the employee device 120 receives a service request signal including order information from the customer device 110, the employee device 120 may perform operation 507 informing that the signal has been confirmed. The operation 507 may be performed by, for example, an act of touching a confirmation button displayed on the display unit of the employee's wearable device or the employee's smart terminal or inputting a separate key.

When operation 507 is performed, the employee device 120 may perform operation 509 of transmitting an employee confirmation signal to the customer device 110 side. Upon receiving the employee confirmation signal, the customer device 110 may change operation 505 from displaying the order delivery signal to operation 511 displaying the confirmation signal.

When the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 are directly connected to perform two-way communication through Bluetooth pairing, the communication between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 can be performed directly as shown in FIG. have. However, when the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 perform two-way communication based on a Wi-Fi signal, respectively, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may transmit and receive signals through the operation server 130.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing order confirmation in a customer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 describes operations performed following operations 501 to 511 described in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that a store management web 131 is added to an operation subject, order information for each table is input to the store management web 131 and the server of the store management web 131 is the same as or interlocked with the operation server 130.

In addition, the operation disclosed in FIG. 6 may be understood as being performed only when the customer device 110, the employee device 120, and the store management web 131 communicate through the operation server 130.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the service request signal transmitted from the customer device 110 to the employee device 120 is a service request signal including an order item rather than a simple call, the employee is an order received from the customer on the store management web 131 Operation 513 of inputting for later payment may be performed. Accordingly, when table information and order information of a corresponding table are input to the store management web 131, operation 515 in which the newly input order information by the operation server 130 is transmitted to the customer device 110 may be performed. In addition, since the total amount of order details will be automatically displayed on the store management web 131, information on the total amount may also be transmitted when order information is transmitted from the operation server 130 to the customer device 110.

Thereafter, the customer device 110 may perform operation 517 to display the received order details and the total amount on the display unit. Accordingly, the customer can sufficiently check the order information by simply checking the contents displayed on the customer device 110 even if the reconfirmation of the order details of the employee is not performed.

Meanwhile, when the menu board type call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in a plurality of tables, an example in which the table number is directly set by an employee using number buttons has been described. However, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, even when a menu-type call bell does not include a number button, it may be possible to change table identification numbers in a plurality of tables. For example, if the customer device 110 is equipped with an NFC tag or an NFC module, and a table identification number transmitter with an NFC writer function is attached to each table, the employee identifies the table when delivering the customer device 110 to the table. By performing an NFC contact with the number transmitter, the table identification number may be input to the customer device 110 (eg, an NFC writing function). In this way, the table identification number stored in the customer device 110 may be changed each time it is transmitted to each table. Accordingly, the customer device 110 may support transmitting the changed table identification number together when the service request signal is transmitted from the table.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the customer device 110 may be formed as a single button similar to a conventional method. However, even in this case, the customer device may receive and display an employee confirmation signal indicating that a service request signal has been received from the employee device. An operation of matching a table and an employee device using a customer device that communicates in a single button manner will be described as follows.

The customer can press the button of the customer device briefly once, and since the customer device receives a command corresponding to the call from the customer, it can broadcast a service request signal corresponding thereto.

The customer device may transmit a specific signal when a command corresponding to a call is received from a customer. In the case of the signal, it may be a signal including table identification information stored in the customer device and information notifying that a call has occurred.

Thereafter, the service request signal broadcast by the customer device 110 may be received by the AP, and the AP may be transmitted to the operation server. The operation server may transmit a service request signal to one or more preset employee devices.

An employee device 120, such as a smartwatch worn by a store employee, can display table identification information to indicate which customer device 110 is calling from, and a store employee who can provide a response service can use a smart input for acceptance. By doing it to the watch, it can transmit a matching signal and be specified as a response target.

In this process, the operation server may store matching information between the customer and the store employee, and may transmit a call request signal to the smartwatch of the same store employee when there is a subsequent call request. However, the operation server may transmit a call request signal to the smartwatches of other store employees when it is determined that the corresponding service of the corresponding store employee may be delayed for a predetermined time or longer. This is because it is possible to provide quality service to customers by enabling 1:1 matching between customers and store staff.

Afterwards, the store employee who has accepted the response service can move to the location of the customer who requested the call, and tag the customer device on the customer's table and the store employee's smartwatch (employee device), and the store employee actually It may indicate that a response service is provided to a customer's request.

Tagging in the present invention may be tagging including proximity touch in addition to actual physical contact. For example, when a store employee's smart watch approaches within 10 cm of the customer device 110 on the table, it may be determined that it is tagged through a proximity sensor.

The operation server or the space management web server may measure a series of time from after the customer's call request is received, until the store employee accepts it, moves to the corresponding location, and is tagged. By accumulating and organizing the corresponding times, the operation server can be used as statistical information of response services.

Thereafter, the customer can face-to-face with the store employee to request a desired service, and the store employee can provide a response service for this. For example, it is possible to proceed with an order for food or a request for payment.

In addition, when a store employee accepts the response service through the employee device 120, the signal can be transmitted to the customer device 110 as well as other employee devices through the operation server. Accordingly, the requested signal on the customer device 110 is transmitted. You can notify that it has been received. This can prevent the inconvenience of customers who wait for an employee for a long time by mistaken that the service request has been transmitted even though the actual service request has not been transmitted for reasons such as not pressing the button properly. In addition, through the above function, it is determined that the service request signal has not been delivered due to the reason that the employee does not respond in a short period of time, and the problem of urging the employee by unnecessary retransmission of the service request signal can be prevented.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the signal transmission method from the customer device 110 to the employee device 120 uses a beacon signal (BLE), and the signal transmitted from the employee device 120 to the customer device 110 may use Wi-Fi. have. When both the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 transmit signals, a communication method using beacon signals can be performed. In addition, a signal transmission method between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 is not limited according to various embodiments. Various combinations of communication methods are used as long as two-way communication can be performed to transmit service request signals transmitted from customer devices and response signals (employee confirmation signals, matching signals, etc.) transmitted from employee devices to other devices. Can be.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the operation server may provide a store management WEB server 131 and an additional service for a customer response service. The operation server 130 in the present invention may be a subject communicating with the customer device 110 and the AP 140, and in the case of the space management WEB server 131, it may be a server that manages a response service between an actual customer and a store employee.

In the case of the store management WEB server 131, various information may be transmitted to the customer device based on the customer's call information. In this case, the customer device may include a customer-owned device in addition to a device provided for use by the customer in the store-owned store.

When the store management WEB server 131 can identify the customer, the store management WEB server 131 may transmit the accumulated order details of the corresponding customer to the customer device 110, thereby enabling the customer to smoothly order. In the case of a restaurant, a food menu may be recommended based on popular food or biometric information of a customer. Alternatively, it is possible to transmit information on the order details of other customers or information on the expected time until food is served.

The store management WEB server 131 may automatically transmit a signal to call a store employee in order to facilitate an order when there is no order information from a customer for a predetermined time or longer. In this case, the store staff can move directly to the customer's location and support the smooth order process.

The store management WEB server 131 may provide various contents to the customer device 110. For example, a TV video related to a menu ordered by a customer may be provided. Customers can receive high-quality services based on the received content.

After the order is completed, the store management WEB server can provide game content to the customer device. After ordering, it is possible to provide affiliated game content to the customer's device or provide a benefit to the game used by the customer, so that the game content can be played in the time until the actual response is made.

In the present invention, a customer device and a smart phone are distinguished and described, but when a service request signal using a BLE beacon signal or the like can be transmitted from a smart phone, the customer device and the smart phone can be understood as a single device. For example, a customer device and a smartphone (which may be a tablet) installed on a restaurant table are a single device, and can perform both calls and order requests.

In short, the system according to various embodiments of the present invention includes at least one customer device that is matched with a specific space and provided in different tables, and transmits a service request signal including order information corresponding to a table identification number and button input. can do. In addition, the system may include one or more employee devices located in the specific space, and are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the specific space, and receive a service request signal including order information transmitted from the one or more customer devices. And transmits the signal to the server, receives the employee confirmation signal from the server, and transmits the employee confirmation signal to the customer device determined by the table identification information included in the employee confirmation signal.

In addition, the system may include an operation server that specifies a customer device that has transmitted the service request signal among one or more customer devices based on a service request signal received from one or more APs. In addition, the operation server may transmit a service request signal including table identification information of a device for a customer that has transmitted the service request signal to the at least one employee device. And the operation server, when the employee device that has input a response signal (employee confirmation signal, matching signal, etc.) among the one or more employee devices is tagged to the customer device that transmitted the service request signal and receives the tagging information, An employee device receiving the response signal and a customer device transmitting the service request signal may be matched to complete a signal delivery process.

In addition, the operation server sets a priority to the employee devices that have transmitted the matching signal, and among the employee devices of the highest priority and the lower priority, the employee device in the idle state is transferred to the customer device that transmitted the service request signal. You can match. And the operation server, when receiving an additional service request signal (second service request signal) from the customer device that transmitted the service request signal, the employee device matching the customer device that transmitted the service request signal It may be set to transmit a second service request signal. In addition, the operation server may transmit the second service request signal to other employee devices when the corresponding service of the matched employee device is delayed for a predetermined time or longer. When the matching between the customer device and the employee device is completed, the operation server may provide customized service by transmitting matching confirmation information to one or more employee devices in order to share matching information between the customer and the store employee. In addition, the operation server may generate statistical information of a response service by measuring a time from when a service request signal is received until a response corresponding to the service request signal is completed. In addition, when an ordering device (e.g., a user's personal terminal) is connected to one or more customer devices, the operation server may transmit an access route to a web page where web orders are possible to the customer device that transmitted the service request signal. have. Further, the ordering device connected to the customer device that has received the access route may display an electronic menu board based on the received access route.

One or more customer devices may continuously transmit a service request signal to one or more APs to perform feedback on response services after tagging of the employee device. In addition, the operation server may continuously transmit a service request signal to the AP after matching with the employee device is completed to induce the store employee to check the requirements of the matched customer device side after the set time elapses.

The operation server may collect service request signals transmitted from the one or more customer devices from the one or more APs and manage the elapsed time from the last response time for each call bell.

The present description presents the best mode of the invention, and provides examples to illustrate the invention and to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The written specification is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific terms presented.

Accordingly, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above-described examples, those skilled in the art can make modifications, changes, and modifications to these examples without departing from the scope of the present invention. In short, in order to achieve the intended effect of the present invention, it is not necessary to separately include all functional blocks shown in the drawings or to follow all the sequences shown in the drawings as shown in the order shown. Note that it may fall within the range.

110: customer device
120: employee device
130: operation server
140: AP
210: communication department
220: display
230: key input unit
240: storage
250: control unit

Claims (1)

A customer device having a physical button for selecting order contents and calling a service provider;
An AP (Access Point) performing two-way communication with one or more of the customer devices and one or more employee devices;
Receiving a service request signal generated from the customer device from the AP, identifying a device for a customer requesting service among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal, and transmitting the service request signal to the employee device Operational server;
A store management WEB server that communicates with the operation server and performs management on response services provided by store staff to customers; And
Including; a device for displaying a table identification number and order information based on the service request signal transmitted from the operation server, and detecting an acceptance input performed in response to the service request signal; Including,
The above customer device
A storage unit for storing a table identification number;
Including; a display unit capable of displaying images and videos,
When an input event for transmitting a service request signal is received from a user, the service request signal is transmitted including a table identification number stored in the storage unit, but the table identification number can be changed,
How to change the table identification number
When the customer device is provided with a number button and a table designation button, a method of changing the table identification number of the customer device by pressing the table number and the table designation button using the number button, and
When there is an NFC tag in the customer device and an NFC writer device provided for each table, the customer device contacts the NFC writer device provided in the changed table to receive the changed table identification number into the NFC tag, and the It is performed by any one of the methods of changing the table identification number of the customer device
The above customer device
When a selection of a specific button corresponding to order information is detected, at least one of a recipe of a menu corresponding to the order information, allergy information, nutritional information table, type of ingredients, origin of ingredients, cooking process image, and price is displayed on the display unit. Display
Upon receiving a signal for the employee's acceptance input by the employee device, the display setting of the display unit is changed to notify the employee's acceptance
The operation server
A matching confirmation signal is generated by matching the employee device that has accepted the service request signal and the device for the customer that has transmitted the service request signal, and responds to the customer's service request by transmitting the matching confirmation signal to all the employee devices. Informing that you have been assigned to
Sends a matching confirmation signal to the customer device to inform the employee that the signal requested by the customer has been received,
The operation server
Upon receiving the second service request signal from the customer device, the second service request signal is transmitted to the matched employee device, and when the corresponding service of the matched employee device is delayed for a predetermined time or more, another employee device Transmits the second service request signal to them,
As tagging between the previously matched employee device and customer device is performed, it is determined that the requested service has been completed and the transmission of the service request signal is completed.
Records the time from the time when the acceptance input is detected in the employee device to the time when the tagging is performed with respect to the daily service request as the required time, and generates statistical information by accumulating the required time,
It stores matching information between the employee device and the customer device, and when a customer's service request signal occurs in the future, the employee device with the matched history is called first,
The above customer device
Includes store-owned devices and customer-owned devices,
The store management web server
If the customer can be identified or the customer's device is a customer-owned device, it provides the customer's accumulated order details, recommends food menus to the customer based on the customer's biometric information, and helps the customer's order, After the order, the customer transmits TV content related to the order menu to the customer device to provide the menu related information to the customer,
The store management WEB server, when there is no order information from the customer for a certain period of time or more, automatically transmits a signal to call the store staff to facilitate the order, service request management and transmission system.

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