FR3036828A1 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING CONTROLS IN AN ESTABLISHMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for managing orders in an establishment, the method comprising: receiving a command request sent by a terminal (3a), the request including: data representative of an identifier of a radio identification tag (1) permanently allocated to an object (2) of the establishment, ○ data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, - transmission to the terminal of a representative data file of a plurality of items offered for sale, - receiving an order notification including data representative of at least one article selected by the owner of the terminal from the plurality of items, - posting on display means: ○ data representative of said and at least one selected item, ○ data representative of the object from which the control request was issued.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the general technical field of order management in an establishment, such as a restoration establishment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and a system ensuring, automatically, the recording and processing orders of dishes and / or drinks in a place of consumption open to the public, such as a restaurant, a cafeteria , a brewery, etc. PRESENTATION OF THE PRIOR ART Establishments known as "fast food restaurants" currently offer various solutions enabling a customer to order and pay for products ordered.

Typical ordering solutions These solutions include the so-called "over the counter" order taking, where a customer indicates the products he wishes to order to a restaurant employee. This solution helps the customer by providing a personalized service. However, this solution has the disadvantage of generating significant waiting times for customers.

Another solution consists in taking the order called "at the terminal" during which a customer selects the products he wants to order on a fixed terminal self-service control. This solution allows for 3036828 2 reduce wait times for customers. However, the establishment of these terminals represents a heavy investment for conservators because of the significant costs associated with their installation.

Yet another solution is the so-called "online" order taking via the Internet. However, this solution requires the customer to take complex and time-consuming steps, especially to download an online ordering application on his computer or mobile phone, etc.

Today, there is a need for an alternative control service to the solutions described above, and likely to be a complementary solution to the "over the counter", "to the terminal" and "online" ordering solutions. ". Control solution instead This solution consists of taking the order called "instead" allowing a customer to order in the room the products he wants to consume. Automated control systems have already been considered "instead". These systems generally provide on the restaurant tables, control registration stations with a keyboard allowing a customer to select products from a list of products offered. These recording stations are connected to a main terminal including a screen for viewing commands.

This solution makes it possible: to indicate to the kitchen staff the dishes to be prepared according to the choices of the customers, to indicate to the staff in the room the location from which each order comes, in order to enable them to bring the dishes to the tables from which they were ordered.

However, these control systems instead have disadvantages. In particular, these systems are based essentially on a principle of identification of the tables, and not on a customer identification principle.

As a result, the identification and distinction of orders, as well as their management, especially for the purpose of carrying out automatic billing, can pose serious difficulties, particularly if several unrelated persons are installed at one location. same table, or if a customer changes table after placing an order.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for managing orders in an establishment to overcome at least one of the aforementioned drawbacks. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, the invention proposes the use of a radio identification tag - such as an "NFC" (Near Field Communication) tag - permanently associated with it. (For example) at each table of an establishment, such as a restaurant, a cafeteria, a brewery, etc. In the context of the present invention, the term "permanently associated" means that the label is inseparable from the table once it has been fixed - for example by gluing or otherwise - on said table.

3036828 4 Radio-identification - or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) - is a method for remotely storing and retrieving data using markers called "RFID tag" (RFID tag). Or "RFID transponder" in English).

RFID tags are small objects, such as self-adhesive labels, including an antenna associated with an electronic chip that allows them to receive and respond to radio requests from a tag reader.

More specifically, the inventors propose a method for managing orders in an establishment, the method comprising: receiving a command request sent by a terminal, the request including: data representative of a user identifier; a radio identification tag permanently allocated to an object of the establishment such as a table, o data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, - the transmission to the terminal of a representative data file One of a plurality of items offered for sale, - receiving an order notification including data representative of at least one item selected by the owner of the terminal from among the plurality of items, - posting on display means: 25 o of data representative of said and at least one selected item, o data representative of the object from which the control request was made. setting. The object may be a table, a chair, a stool, an armchair, a post, a post or any other object of the establishment likely to define a delivery location of an order. The representative data of the object may consist of a plan, number, or other information enabling the owner of the establishment to distinguish the locations where the objects to which the tags have been allocated are located. In the following, we will consider that the object is a table.

Thus and contrary to existing systems, the invention proposes to permanently allocate a radio-identification tag to a table at which it is desired to be able to control and to be supplied with products that one wishes to consume.

The fact that: the tag is permanently allocated to the table, and that the client uses his terminal to read the tag, makes it possible to associate an identification of the orders per table and per customer, so that an automatic payment of orders can be put in place even before the preparation of meals in the kitchen. The means for transmitting a long-range signal are deported to a mobile terminal including a radio-identification tag reader such as a smartphone-type mobile phone which may include an NFC tag reader. Thus, it is no longer necessary to supply energy to the table to make it communicating. The implementation of the management system is simplified and associated costs are reduced.

The radio identification tag is a passive device, requiring no source of energy other than that provided without contact and induction by a tag reader at the time of its interrogation. This makes it possible to limit the dimensions of the label (thickness of the order of a sheet and size of a few millimeters) as well as its mass (negligible mass), and thus to make this label compatible with a large number of objects. everyday.

Each tag includes a substrate (or encapsulation) supporting an antenna associated with an electronic chip that allows the tag to receive and respond to radio requests transmitted from the tag reader. Preferably, the (or) face (s) of the label intended to come into contact with the object to be made communicating is (are) constituted (s) in a material compatible with the object. For example, the substrate of the label may be electrically (respectively thermally) insulating. This makes it possible to obtain a label that can be associated with objects designed in electrically (respectively thermally) conductive materials.

Each electronic chip contains an identifier and possibly additional data. The identifier is composed of a single number sequence for each label. The identifier - which may be coded in binary or decimal or hexadecimal format - provides information as to the date of manufacture of the label, and / or the place of manufacture of the label, and / or the batch of manufacture to which it belongs, etc. Advantageously, the identifier may include an encryption key to avoid the risk of counterfeiting.

Also to avoid the risks of usurpation, the label may include means for its destruction when it is removed from the object to which it is allocated. For example, in the case of a label to be adhered to an object, the substrate may include areas of weakness inducing tearing of the chip or antenna during an attempt to detach the label. Preferred but not limiting aspects of the present invention are the following: the method may comprise a payment step of said and at least one selected item, the payment step being implemented prior to the step of display; This ensures that the order has been settled prior to its preparation, the payment step may comprise the substeps of: calculating a cost associated with the order notification based on said and at least one selected item , 10 o send a message including the calculated cost to the terminal, o receive a payment order from the terminal, o search a database for a user account based on the data representative of the terminal and / or its owner contained in the request of order, 15 o debit the user account of the calculated cost; This automates the customer's billing operation; the method may include a step of classifying the received notification into a notification queue based on a timing of receipt of said notification; This makes it possible to order the preparation of the commands, the method may comprise a step of reading by the terminal, the radio-identification tag permanently allocated to the object, the reading step comprising a sub-item. step of extracting an identifier from the tag; The fact that the identifier is integrated in a radio-identification tag to be read by a client terminal tag reader makes it possible to associate each command at a time with an object of the establishment (typically a table) and to a client, the reading step may include a substep of emitting at least one visual stimulus and / or sound and / or tactile on the terminal to confirm the reading of the label; This makes it possible to simplify the process of reading the label 5 by confirming to the owner of the terminal that the scanning of the label has been taken into account, - the method may comprise a step of processing the control request, said step processing comprising a substep 10 of associating a terminal access right based on the data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, said access right defining whether the terminal is authorized to record, view and / or modify data of a user account with which it is associated; The association of an access right makes it possible to set up a "filtering" process to prohibit certain terminals from accessing certain data of a user account, particularly in the case where several terminals (ie terminals) 'employees') are associated with the same user account (ie their employer's account).

The invention also relates to a system for managing orders in an establishment, the system comprising a server programmed to: receive a command request sent by a terminal, the request including: data representative of an identifier of a radio identification tag permanently allocated to an object of the establishment such as a table, o data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, - transmitting to the terminal a data file representative of a 30 plurality of articles offered for sale, 3036828 9 - receive an order notification including data representative of at least one item selected by the owner of the terminal from among the plurality of items, - display on display means: o data representative of said and at least one selected item, o data representative of the object from which the control request was setting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description of several alternative embodiments, given by way of non-limiting examples, from the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 shows schematically a system for managing orders in an establishment; and FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a method for managing orders in an establishment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1. Management System Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated an example of an order management system in an establishment. The system includes a plurality of radio identification tags 1 such as "NFC" (Near Field Communication) tags.

Each label 1 is fixed on a fixed object (table, chair, stool, post, etc.) of the establishment. More precisely in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, each tag 1 is permanently allocated to a respective table 2. In the context of the present invention, the term "allocated" means that the tag 1 is inseparable from the table once it has been secured - for example by gluing or otherwise - to the table. In particular, the tag 1 may include means allowing its destruction during an attempt to dissociate (for example, take off) the object to which it is allocated.

The use of a radio identification tag 1 permanently allocated to a table 2 makes it possible to limit the risks of fraud by duplicating the label, in particular with respect to an easily falsifiable bar code label by simple copy. .

The system also includes one (or more) remote terminals (terminals) 3a provided with a tag reader (s). Each terminal 3a is for example a mobile phone (such as a smartphone®), an electronic tablet (such as an IPADC)), a personal assistant (or "PDA", acronym of the expression "Personal Digital" Wizard "), or any other type of terminal known to those skilled in the art. Each terminal 3a belongs to a customer of the establishment. The use of remote terminals 3a makes it possible to avoid the integration of means for transmitting a long-range signal on the tag 1, which makes it possible to overcome the need to supply energy to the tag 1 or the object to which it is allocated. The system also includes one (or more) station (s) 3b. Each station 3b is for example a mobile phone (such as a smartphone®), an electronic tablet (such as an IPADC)), a personal assistant (or "PDA", acronym of the English expression "Personal Digital Assistant "), etc. Each station 3b is associated with an employee of the institution supposed to bring the articles to the tables from which they were ordered. The system also comprises an information centralization server 5 4 including: communication means with the terminal (s) 3a and the station (s) 3b; storage means for information such as a memory, and possibly display means such as a screen, the server 4 is for example composed of one (or more) work station (s), and / or one (or more) several) computer (s) or may be of any other type known to those skilled in the art.

Each terminal 3a (respectively station 3b) is able to communicate with the server 4: - to read or write information in the storage means, or - to be put in relation with a station 3b or another terminal 3a 20 (respectively a terminal 3a or another station 3b) via the server 4. To communicate with each other, the server 4 and the terminals 3a (respectively stations 3b) are connected to one (or more) communication network (s) 25 ( wired and / or non-wired), such as the Internet. The use of a centralization server 4 allows the indirect dialogue between terminals 3a and 3b stations. This guarantees the anonymity of the terminals 3a and 3b stations relative to each other, only the server 4 having connection data for exchanging with the terminals 3a and 3b stations. 2. Management Method An example of use of the order management system will now be described with reference to the management method illustrated in FIG. 2 in the case of a fast food establishment. It is assumed here that: labels have been permanently allocated to tables, for example by fixing each label by gluing to a respective table of the establishment, and that each label 1 has been configured by associating its identifier with a respective table in a database of the server. The operating principle of the management system is then as follows.

Once the customer sits at a table of the establishment, it scans (step 10) the radio-identification tag 1 with its terminal 3a. The tag reader of the user terminal 3a generates: an electromagnetic field for supplying the tag, and a tag interrogation signal. In response to the interrogation signal, the tag 1 transmits to the reader its identifier, and possibly other information contained in the tag.

From the identifier of the tag, the terminal 3a generates a control request (step 20), and transmits it to the server 4. The request comprises: - data representative of the identifier, - data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, and possibly 30 - data representative of a reading instant of the label.

For example, the identifier of the tag may be concatenated with the telephone number of the terminal 3a to form part of the request. Server 4 receives the request to process it. The fact that the processing of the request is carried out in the server 4 makes it possible to limit the energy and memory consumption of the terminal 3a and the stations 3b. The server 4 extracts from the request the data representative of the identifier, of the terminal 3a and / or of its owner, of the instant of reading of the tag 1.

The server 4 consults a database and determines: the table to which the tag 1 is allocated from the identifier of the tag, and a user account associated with the client from the data representative of the terminal. 3a and / or its owner. Optionally, the server 4 can also extract from the database an identification code of a station 3b (for example telephone number of the station) associated with the geographical area in which said table is located, especially when the service tables of an establishment is distributed among several employees each provided with a respective station 3b. The server 4 then generates an information message (step 30) in which the various proposed dishes and drinks are listed and sends it to the terminal 3a. The message may include data to inform the customer of a promotion, or wait time per dish etc. The terminal 3a receives the message and displays it on the screen of the terminal to allow the customer to select the items he wishes to consume.

Possibly, a connection between the terminal 3a and a station 3b can even be established via the server 4 if the customer wishes information on one of the products proposed in the information message.

After the article (s) selected by the customer, the terminal 3a generates an order notification including data representative of the selected item (s), and transmits it. at server 4 (step 40). In some embodiments, the order notification is directly transmitted to the personnel in charge of the preparation of the items. For example, the selected articles may be displayed on display means (step 50). In other embodiments, the server 4 generates an invoice from the notification and transmits it to the terminal 3a for payment before its preparation.

Once the order has been prepared, a delivery instruction is issued by the server 4 to the station 3b of the person in charge of bringing the items to the table where the order has been made. Thus, and as can be seen from the foregoing description, the invention enables the owner of an establishment to: - have an easily implantable control management service since it is wireless and without the need for a power supply; not having to communicate to its customers the telephone numbers of the 3b stations of its employees, 25 - to automate the invoicing of orders, - to authorize the preparation of orders only once they have been settled. 3. Application example: "MyeAt'in" 30 teAz label / location association: o Reading of a new "teAz" tag, 5 10 3036828 15 o Write assignment in a database of a "MyBlue-" platform Ship ": - from the" MyeAt'in "application to the" teAz "label, - association of the table (possibly GPS coordinates 5) or more generally of the location on which the" teAz "label is attached, - Send on the "MyBlue-Ship" platform the newly created label "teAz" and its association with its owner (ie restaurateur) and the table of his restaurant, 10 - The owner (ie restaurateur) can program on his dedicated space on the platform "MyBlue-Ship" its menu, its promotions, the dish of the day, etc. Use by a customer: 15 - On reading of the label "teAz" by a customer, it may appear on the screen of his terminal a promotion or menu, - The customer can place an order directly to the restaurant by sending a notification on a dedicated tablet; thanks to the "teAz" label, this command will be assigned to the correct table; the customer can directly settle his order through this means, - the owner (ie restorer) can send the customer a note attesting to the proper consideration of his order and possibly provide information on an estimated waiting time before delivery of his order.

25 Community - Customers through their "MyeAt'in" application may decide to make their GPS coordinates visible to inform the community of their position for a limited time, 30 - The owner of the establishment can address the community in targeted marketing and have information on the expectations of its customers. 3036828 16 4. Conclusion The system and process described above allow the management of orders in an establishment.

The reader will have understood that many modifications can be made to the process and the system without materially emerging from the new teachings presented here.

For example, in the example described above, it was considered that a delivery instruction was issued by the server 4 to a station 3b according to the table position where the command was placed, for example if a first employee is dedicated to the delivery of orders placed in the room while a second employee is dedicated to the delivery of orders placed on the terrace. Of course, the issuing of the delivery instructions to a station 3b or another may be dependent on other criteria such as the type of article to be used, for example in the case where a first employee is supposed to bring the 20 solid articles. while a second employee is supposed to bring the liquid items. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be incorporated within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (8)

REVENDICATIONS1. A method for managing orders in an establishment, the method comprising: - receiving (20) a command request sent by a terminal, the request including: o data representative of an identifier of a radio-identification tag permanently allocated to an object of the establishment, o data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, - the transmission (30) to the terminal of a data file representative of a plurality of proposed articles for sale, - the receipt (40) of an order notification including data representative of at least one article selected by the owner of the terminal from among the plurality of articles, - the display (50) on means of display of data representative of said and at least one selected item, data representative of the object from which the control request was issued. 2. Method according to claim 1, which further comprises a payment step of said and at least one selected item, the payment step being implemented prior to the display step. The method of claim 2, wherein the payment step comprises the substeps of: calculating a cost associated with the order notification based on said and at least one selected item, sending a message including the cost calculated at the terminal, - receive a payment order from the terminal, 3036828 18 - search a database for a user account based on the data representative of the terminal and / or its owner contained in the order request, - debit the user account the calculated cost. 5 The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, which further comprises a step of classifying the received notification into a notification queue based on a receipt timing of said notification. 10 5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which further comprises a step of reading by the terminal, the radio-identification tag (1) permanently allocated to the object, the step of reading comprising a substep of extracting an identifier from the tag. The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reading step comprises a sub-step of transmitting at least one visual and / or sound and / or tactile stimulus on the terminal to confirm the reading. of the label. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, which further comprises a step of processing the control request, said processing step including a substep of associating an access right to the terminal based on data representative of the terminal and / or its owner, said access right defining whether the terminal is authorized to record, view and / or modify data of a user account with which it is associated. 30 8. System for managing orders in an establishment, the system comprising a server programmed to: - receive a command request sent by a terminal, the request including: o data representative of an identifier of a radio tag identification permanently allocated to an object of the establishment, data representative of the terminal and / or of its owner, transmitting to the terminal a data file representative of a plurality of items offered for sale, receiving an order notification including data representative of at least one item selected by the owner of the terminal from among the plurality of items, displaying on display means: data representative of said and at least one selected item; Data representative of the object from which the command request was issued. 20