JP2006018534A - Store system, data processor, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for meeting the demand of a customer who orders a plurality of commodities, while avoiding an increase in burden on an assistant such as a waiter. <P>SOLUTION: A food ticket machine 10 sells food tickets that record information showing the commodities desired by customers. A reading part 51 provided at a seat or the like is used by a customer to read information on the food ticket and send the information to a control part 30. When a plurality of commodities shown by the information received from the reading part 51 are in waiting to be served and when there is a commodity classified as dessert, the control part 30 uses a display part 20 to direct the commodity to be prepared after other commodities have been served. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for constructing a system that is applied to a store that automatically sells to a customer a medium on which product information indicating a desired product is recorded.

  Some restaurants (stores) such as restaurants adopt a food ticket system that requires customers to purchase a food ticket (medium) on which product information indicating a desired product (drink or food) is recorded. If it is adopted, there is no need to take orders (orders) from customers, so that it is possible to provide services to customers with fewer people.

  In recent years, computerization has been increasingly performed for the purpose of improving the efficiency of operations and reducing costs. A system is also being built in restaurants that use a meal ticket system. As such a conventional system, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1. In the system described in Patent Document 1, a reader that reads information recorded on a meal ticket is arranged for each table, and the customer reads the product ordered by the customer by sending the information read from the meal ticket to the reader. The seated table can be provided quickly. Preparation of the product ordered by the customer is performed by receiving information on the meal ticket from the reading device and notifying a cook in the kitchen of the product to be prepared.

  Sitting at the table is done after purchasing a meal ticket. Accordingly, when there are a plurality of products to be ordered, customers usually purchase meal tickets for those products at a time. As a result, the actual situation is that information for a plurality of products is often transmitted once or within a short time from the same reading device.

  When ordering a plurality of products, the customer may have a request in the order given by the type. However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, when information for a plurality of products is transmitted from the reading device, the ordered product is notified as it is based on the transmitted information. For this reason, goods were brought to customers as soon as they were ready.

A customer's request for the order in which the products are put out can be met by confirming with the customer. However, if the confirmation work is performed, the burden on the store clerk such as a waitperson increases, thereby reducing the merit of constructing the system. For this reason, it is considered important to be able to respond to customer requests while avoiding such an increase in burden.
JP 2001-340201 A

  The subject of this invention is providing the technique for making it possible to respond to the request of the customer who ordered the some goods, avoiding the increase in the burden concerning the salesclerk, such as a waitperson.

  The store system according to the first aspect of the present invention is recorded on an automatically sold medium on the premise that it is applied to a store that automatically sells to a customer a medium on which product information indicating a desired product is recorded. A plurality of information reading devices arranged at different locations, each receiving product information read from a medium by each of the plurality of information reading devices, and instructing the provision of the product indicated by the product information, When there are multiple products that are not instructed to be provided by the product information received from the same information reader, pay attention to the type of the product and determine the order for instructing the provision of the plurality of products. And a control device for instructing the provision.

  In addition, it is desirable that the control device determines the order by paying attention to the type of the product, thereby instructing to provide the product classified in the predetermined category after the product classified in the other category.

  In addition to the configuration in the first aspect, the store system according to the second aspect includes a plurality of commodity detection devices respectively disposed corresponding to a plurality of information reading devices that detect provision of goods to customers. Further, the control device receives the detection information indicating the products detected by each of the plurality of product detection devices, recognizes the products actually provided to the customer, and provides the recognition results according to the order. Reflect in the instructions.

  By reflecting the recognition result, it is preferable that an instruction to provide a product classified into a predetermined category is given after a product classified into another category is provided to the customer. Desirably, the predetermined type is a dessert.

  The data processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is different on the premise that the data processing apparatus is used for building a system that is applied to a store that automatically sells to a customer a medium on which product information indicating a desired product is recorded. Receiving means for receiving product information read and transmitted from a medium by a plurality of information reading devices arranged at a location, providing instruction means for instructing provision of a product indicated by the product information received by the receiving means, and receiving means If there are multiple products for which the provision instruction means has not instructed provision based on the product information received from the same information reading device, the provision of the plurality of products is instructed by paying attention to the type of the product. Order determining means for determining the order, and control means for causing the providing instruction means to issue a provision instruction for a plurality of products according to the order determined by the order determining means.

  In the data processing device of the second aspect, in addition to the configuration in the first aspect, a plurality of product detection devices respectively arranged corresponding to the plurality of information reading devices detect the products provided to the customer. Further comprising other receiving means for receiving the detection information indicating the product to be transmitted, and the control means recognizes the product actually provided to the customer from the detection information received by the other receiving means, The recognition result is reflected in an instruction to provide a product to be provided by the providing instruction means according to the order.

  The program of the present invention has a function for realizing the data processing apparatus of the first aspect.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of information reading devices arranged at different locations respectively instruct product provision by product information read from a medium and transmitted, and the instruction to provide by product information transmitted from the same information reading device When a plurality of products that have not been performed are generated, the order in which the provision of the plurality of products is instructed is determined by focusing on the type of the product, and the provision is instructed. By determining the order, the products can be sequentially provided to customers at a more appropriate timing in consideration of the characteristics of the products and the relationship between the products. As a result, it is possible to automatically respond to the requests of customers who have ordered a plurality of products, while avoiding an increase in the burden on the store clerk such as waiters.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a store system according to the present embodiment.
The store system was built to enable customers who came to a restaurant (store) to purchase a meal ticket (medium) and more efficiently provide products ordered with the meal ticket (such as dishes and drinks). It has been done. As shown in FIG. 1, a meal ticket purchase machine 10 for customers to purchase meal tickets, a display unit 20 for notifying a product or the like to be prepared for a chef or a store clerk, and the entire system are controlled. The control unit 30 includes a database (DB) group 40 managed by the control unit 30, and a plurality of customer systems 50 arranged in units of seats, tables, or rooms (boxes) where customers sit. Yes. Here, a seat is assumed as a place where the customer system 50 is arranged.

  The customer system 50 includes a reading unit 51 that reads information recorded in a meal ticket, and a tableware detection unit 52 that detects tableware actually carried to the customer. The meal ticket purchasing machine 10, the display unit 20, the reading unit 51 and the tableware detection unit 52 constituting each customer system 50 are connected to the control unit 30 via, for example, a communication network.

  In the present embodiment, the tableware in which the product is placed is different for each product. Thereby, through the detection of the tableware by the tableware detection unit 52, the product actually carried to the customer can be specified. Although the specific method is not specifically limited, for example, a non-contact IC may be attached to each tableware. Here, for convenience, it is assumed that tableware (commodity) is specified by the non-contact IC. In that assumption, the tableware carried to a customer is moved to the range which can communicate with the tableware detection part 52. FIG.

  The said meal ticket purchasing machine 10 asks for the purchase of a meal ticket for every goods, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, the issued meal ticket has a meal ticket number (NO.) That can uniquely identify the meal ticket, and a product name designated by the customer (indicated as “menu name” in the figure. The description is used hereinafter). The product type having the menu name and the purchase time (time) are recorded as time data, for example. The type (category) of the product is classified into a main dish to which the numerical value 0 is assigned, a single dish to which 1 is assigned, a drink to which 2 is assigned, a dessert to which 3 is assigned, and the like. In addition, as the meal ticket, you may employ | adopt the medium carrying a non-contact IC. When such a medium is adopted, a plurality of products can be ordered with one meal ticket.

  A customer who purchases a meal ticket with the meal ticket purchase machine 10 sits in a vacant seat and causes the reading unit 51 to read information recorded in the meal ticket and requests a product. The reading unit 51 transmits information read from the meal ticket to the control unit 30. In the present embodiment, the meal ticket number is transmitted as the information. The seat number indicating the customer system 50 (seat) having the reading unit 51 is also transmitted to the control unit 30.

  The control unit 30 is a data processing device such as a personal computer, and corresponds to the data processing device according to the present embodiment. The DB group 40 that it manages is stored, for example, on an auxiliary storage device that is mounted or connected. As DBs constituting the DB group 40, as will be described later, there are a sales meal ticket DB, a reading meal ticket DB, a provision wait meal ticket DB, a seat DB, and the like.

  When the meal ticket purchasing machine 10 issues a meal ticket, the information recorded on the meal ticket (see FIG. 2) is transmitted to the control unit 30. When the control unit 30 receives the information, the control unit 30 secures an empty area (record) for storage in the sales food ticket DB, and stores the received information as food ticket data in the secured area. Accordingly, the sales meal ticket DB has a data configuration shown in FIG.

  The read meal ticket DB is used to store information received from the reading unit 51 as meal ticket data. When the information is received from the reading unit 51, the control unit 30 confirms whether or not the food ticket data having the food ticket number constituting the information is already stored in the read food ticket DB, and is not stored by the confirmation. When it becomes clear, an empty area (record) for storing the received information is secured and stored as meal ticket data in that area. At that time, the current time is also stored as the reading time of the meal ticket. Thereby, the reading meal ticket DB has a data configuration shown in FIG. The reason why only the meal ticket number is stored in the DB among the information recorded in the meal ticket is because other information is stored in the sales meal ticket DB.

  The waiting-for-delivery meal ticket DB is for managing products to be notified of the preparation. When a new product that satisfies the condition to be notified (notification condition) is generated, the control unit 30 secures a vacant area (record) in the provision waiting meal ticket DB, and the sales meal ticket DB and the read meal ticket in the secured area. Information is extracted from corresponding food ticket data stored in each DB and stored as food ticket data. As the meal ticket data, as shown in FIG. 5, a meal ticket number, a seat number, a menu name, and a reading time are stored.

  The seat DB is prepared for managing unprovided products among the products requested by causing the reader 51 to read the meal ticket for each seat where the customer system 50 is prepared. Is. As shown in FIG. 6, an area for data storage (denoted as “seat (1)” in the figure, hereinafter referred to as “seat number area”) is secured for each seat. In the area, the menu name of the product and the provision flag are stored by the control unit 30 for each product. The initial value of the provision flag is 0, and is updated to 1 when the tableware detection unit 52 detects the tableware containing the corresponding product.

  Desserts are usually treated as something to eat after a meal. For this reason, as described above, when products are classified into main dishes, single dishes, drinks, and desserts, it is highly possible that customers want desserts to be delivered last. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when a plurality of products including desserts are ordered, the display unit 20 notifies all the preparations of products ordered other than desserts, and then notifies the preparation of the desserts. ing.

  By determining and providing the order in which the products are provided according to the type, the products are sequentially carried in a form that is more desirable for the customer. For a store clerk, such as a waiter, it is only necessary to prepare a product to be notified of the preparation on the display unit 20, so that an increase in the burden is avoided. As a result, for the store side, it is possible to provide a service that customers can use more comfortably with a smaller number of people.

  When an order for one product is made with one meal ticket, the customer can control the order of the products to be issued by changing the timing for reading the meal ticket. However, if the timing is varied, forgetting to read the meal ticket or losing the meal ticket tends to occur. For this reason, it is important that customers do not have to do that.

  By the way, the time required for preparation varies depending on the product. For this reason, even if it is notified that desserts should be prepared later than others, it is possible that desserts are actually transported to customers. This is undesirable. From this, in order to avoid such a thing reliably, in this Embodiment, after the tableware detection part 52 detects all the tableware (goods) containing things other than dessert, all those tableware is detected. When it is gone, that is, when the customer has all the goods other than the dessert carried under the customer, the customer prepares the dessert.

Hereinafter, the operation of the control unit 30 that arranges products as described above will be described in detail with reference to various flowcharts shown in FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the entire process. The flow of the process performed after a power supply is turned on is shown. First, the entire process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that the operation shown in the processing is realized by, for example, a CPU installed in the control unit 30 executing a program stored in a hard disk device or the like.

  First, in step 701, initialization is performed. In the subsequent step 702, a meal ticket sales process for responding to purchase of a meal ticket by a customer from the tableware purchase machine 10 is executed. In the next step 703, a meal ticket reading process is performed to cope with the reading of the meal ticket by the reading unit 51. In step 704 to which the process proceeds after the execution, a tableware detection process for responding to the detection of the tableware by the tableware detection unit 52 is executed. Thereafter, other processing is executed in step 705, and then the process returns to step 702. Thereby, each part which comprises a system is controlled.

In the overall process, a plurality of subroutine processes are executed. Hereinafter, the subroutine processing will be described in detail.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the meal ticket sales process executed as step 702. In the description of the subroutine processing, first, the sales processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  First, in step 801, it is determined whether or not purchase of a meal ticket has been detected. The meal ticket purchasing machine 10 records the meal ticket data configured as shown in FIG. 2, sells and issues the meal ticket, and transmits the meal ticket data to the control unit 30. From this, when the food ticket data is received, the determination is YES and the process proceeds to step 802. Otherwise, the determination is NO and the series of processes ends here.

  In step 802, an empty area (record) is secured in the sales ticket DB. In the next step 803, the food ticket data received from the purchasing machine 10, that is, the food ticket number, type, menu name, and purchase time (time) are stored in the secured area. Thereafter, the series of processing is terminated. In this way, by executing the food ticket sales process, information (food data) recorded on the food ticket purchased by the customer is stored in the sales food ticket DB (see FIG. 3).

  9 and 10 are flowcharts of the meal ticket reading process executed as step 703 in the overall process shown in FIG. Next, the reading process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG.

  First, in step 901, it is determined whether or not the reading of the food ticket by any of the reading units 51 has been detected. When the customer reads the food ticket, the reading unit 51 of each customer system 50 transmits the food ticket number, the seat number, and the reading time to the control unit 30 as described above. From this, when such information is received from any reading unit 51, the determination is YES and the process proceeds to step 902. Otherwise, the determination is NO and the series of processes ends here. .

  In step 902, the ticket number, the seat number, and the reading time are acquired from the information received from the reading unit 51. In the next step 903, it is determined whether or not the ticket number is stored in the read ticket DB. If the food ticket number is stored in the read food ticket DB, the determination is no, and the series of processing ends here. Otherwise, the determination is yes and the process moves to step 904.

  If the reading unit 51 reads a food ticket whose food ticket number is not stored in the read food ticket DB, the food ticket data (FIG. 4) having the food ticket number is stored in the DB. Thereby, even if the same meal ticket is read again, the meal ticket number recorded on the same meal ticket is already stored in the DB, so that the reading is invalidated. In this way, the illegal use of food tickets is prevented.

  In step 904, an empty area (record) is secured in the read meal ticket DB. In the subsequent step 905, the ticket number received from the reading unit 51 and the seat number are stored in the secured area. In the next step 906, the current time is further stored as the reading time in the area. Step 907 then proceeds.

  In step 907, the type in the food ticket data having the food ticket number stored in step 905 is read from the sales food ticket DB. In the next step 908, it is determined whether or not the type indicates dessert. If the food ticket to which the food ticket number is assigned does not require a product classified as dessert, the determination is YES, and after allocating an empty area (record) in the provision wait food ticket DB in step 909, step 910 in FIG. Otherwise, the determination is no and the process moves to step 913 in FIG.

  In step 910, the menu name in the food ticket data having the food ticket number is read from the sales food ticket DB. In the next step 911, the meal ticket number, the seat number, the menu name, and the reading time are stored in the empty area secured in the provision waiting meal ticket DB (see FIG. 5). In the next step 912, a product list to be prepared displayed on the display unit 20, for example, in order to prompt the preparation of the product indicated by the food ticket data in accordance with the newly stored food ticket data in the DB. Add the product to. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 913. The product list is configured by arranging the menu name, seat number, and the like for each product.

  In step 913, an empty area (record) is secured in the seat number area corresponding to the seat number in the seat DB. In the subsequent step 914, the menu name specified from the menu name stored in step 911 or the food ticket number stored in step 905 is stored in the empty area. In the subsequent step 915, a provision flag having a value of 0 is stored in the empty area. A series of processing is completed thereafter.

  In this way, if the food ticket read by the customer to the reading unit 51 is for requesting a product classified as dessert, it is avoided that the food ticket data is immediately registered in the waiting food ticket DB by the reading. is doing. As a result, products classified as desserts are encouraged to be prepared according to the situation.

  11 and 12 are flowcharts of the tableware detection process executed as step 704 in the overall process shown in FIG. Finally, the detection process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. As described above, the tableware detection unit 52 that detects tableware notifies the control unit 30 when detecting tableware and when the detected tableware is no longer detected.

  First, in step 1101, it is determined whether any tableware is detected by any of the tableware detection units 52. When the tableware detection unit 52 of the customer system 50 detects the tableware, for example, information indicating the tableware, a seat number, or the like is transmitted to notify that. For this reason, when such information is received from any of the tableware detection units 52, the determination is YES and the process proceeds to step 1102. Otherwise, the determination is NO and the process proceeds to step 1106.

  In step 1102, the menu name corresponding to the information indicating the tableware received from the tableware detection unit 52 is specified. In the next step 1103, the value of the corresponding provision flag in the seat DB is updated to 1 from the received seat number and its menu name. In the next step 1104, the received ticket number and the meal ticket data having the menu name specified in step 1102 are deleted from the provision wait meal ticket DB, and in the read meal ticket DB, the meal ticket data having the seat number Delete the food ticket data having the same food ticket number and the menu name stored in the sales food ticket DB. In step 1105, the product list is generated from the meal ticket data stored in the provision wait meal ticket DB whose contents are updated in step 1104 and displayed on the display unit 20. The series of processing is finished thereafter.

In this way, in the present embodiment, the product that prompts preparation using the display unit 20 is automatically updated according to the detection result by the tableware detection unit 52 of the tableware containing the product.
On the other hand, in step 1106, it is determined whether or not tableware is no longer detected by any of the tableware detection units 52. When the tableware detection unit 52 of the customer system 50 no longer detects the tableware that has been detected, that is, when the customer receives the product, for example, information indicating the tableware, a seat number, and the like are transmitted to notify that fact. For this reason, when such information is received from any one of the tableware detection units 52, the determination is YES and the process proceeds to step 1107. Otherwise, the determination is NO and the series of processes ends here. To do.

  In step 1107, the menu name corresponding to the information indicating the tableware received from the tableware detection unit 52 is specified. In the next step 1108, the corresponding menu name and provision flag in the seat DB are deleted from the received seat number and the menu name. In the next step 1109, all menu names stored in the seat number area corresponding to the seat number are read, and the type of each menu name is specified. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 1110, and it is determined whether or not only the menu name classified as dessert exists. If only such a menu name exists, the determination is yes and the process proceeds to step 1111 in FIG. 12, and if not, the determination is no and the series of processes ends here.

  In step 1111 of FIG. 12, corresponding meal ticket data is extracted from the read meal ticket DB based on the identified menu name and the received seat number. In the following step 1112, the menu name in the corresponding food ticket data is read from the sales food ticket DB using the food ticket number in the extracted food ticket data. After the reading, the process proceeds to step 1113. In addition, the extraction of the meal ticket data from the read meal ticket DB is the one in which the meal ticket data having the same menu number and the same menu name is stored in the sale meal ticket DB from the meal ticket data having the received seat number. It is done by specifying.

  In step 1113, an empty area is secured in the provision waiting meal ticket DB. In the next step 1114, the vacant ticket number, the seat number, and the reading time in the edible ticket data extracted in step 1111 and the menu name read in step 1112 are stored in the empty area. In the next step 1115, a product list is generated from the meal ticket data stored in the provision wait meal ticket DB whose contents are updated, and is displayed on the display unit 20. The display prompts the customer who received the product classified as non-dessert to prepare the dessert, and then ends the series of processes.

  In the present embodiment, the store system is constructed using the meal ticket purchasing machine 10, but a store system to which the present invention is applied can be constructed without using such a purchase machine 10. Various modifications including this can be made.

  A program for realizing the control unit 30 as described above may be distributed by being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a removable flash memory. Part or all of the program may be distributed via a communication network such as a cellular phone network or a public network. In such a case, by acquiring and loading the program, the present invention can be applied to an existing data processing apparatus and further to a store system constructed using the data processing apparatus. Therefore, the recording medium may be accessible by a device that distributes the program.

It is a lineblock diagram of a store system by this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the information recorded on the meal ticket. It is a figure explaining the data structure of sale meal ticket DB. It is a figure explaining the data structure of reading meal ticket DB. It is a figure explaining the data structure of provision waiting meal ticket DB. It is a figure explaining the data structure of seat DB. It is a flowchart of the whole process. It is a flowchart of a meal ticket sales process. It is a flowchart of a meal ticket reading process. It is a flowchart of a meal ticket reading process (continuation). It is a flowchart of a tableware detection process. It is a flowchart of a tableware detection process (continuation).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Food ticket purchase machine 20 Display part 30 Control part 40 Database (DB) group 50 Customer system 51 Reading part 52 Tableware detection part

Claims (8)

A system that is applied to a store that automatically sells to a customer a medium on which product information indicating a desired product is recorded,
A plurality of information reading devices arranged in different places for reading product information recorded on the automatically sold medium;
Each of the plurality of information reading devices receives the product information read from the medium, gives an instruction to provide the product indicated by the product information, and does not give the instruction to provide the product information received from the same information reading device When a plurality of products are generated, paying attention to the type of the product, a control device that determines the order of instructing the provision of the plurality of products and instructs the provision;
The store system characterized by comprising. The control device determines the order by paying attention to the type of the product, so that the product classified into the predetermined category instructs provision after the product classified into another category.
The store system according to claim 1. A plurality of product detection devices arranged to correspond to the plurality of information reading devices for detecting provision of products to the customer;
The control device receives detection information indicating a product detected by each of the plurality of product detection devices, recognizes a product actually provided to the customer, and provides the recognition result according to the order. Reflected in the instructions
The store system according to claim 2. By reflecting the recognition result, an instruction to provide a product classified into the predetermined category is performed after a product classified into the other category is provided to a customer.
The tempo system according to claim 3. The predetermined type is dessert;
The store system according to claim 2, 3, or 4. A data processing apparatus used for building a system applied to a store that automatically sells to a customer a medium in which product information indicating a desired product is recorded at least.
Receiving means for receiving each of the product information read and transmitted from the medium by a plurality of information reading devices arranged in different places;
Providing instruction means for instructing provision of a product indicated by the product information received by the receiving means;
When there are a plurality of products for which the provision instructing unit has not instructed provision according to the product information received from the same information reading device by the receiving unit, paying attention to the type of the product, Order determining means for determining the order of instructing provision;
Control means for causing the provision instruction means to instruct the provision for the plurality of products according to the order determined by the order determination means;
A data processing apparatus comprising: A plurality of product detection devices respectively arranged corresponding to the plurality of information reading devices, detecting and transmitting products provided to customers; and other receiving means for receiving detection information indicating the products, respectively. Equipped,
The control means recognizes the goods actually provided to the customer from the detection information received by the other receiving means, and instructs the provision instruction means to provide the recognition result according to the order. Reflected in the
The data processing apparatus according to claim 6. A program to be executed by a data processing device used to construct a system that is applied to a store that automatically sells at least a medium on which product information indicating a desired product is recorded,
A function of receiving each of the product information read and transmitted from the medium by a plurality of information readers arranged in different places;
A function of instructing provision of a product indicated by the product information received by the function to receive;
When a plurality of products that are not instructed to be provided by the function of performing the instruction by the product information received from the same information reading device by the receiving function, paying attention to the type of the product, The ability to determine the order in which products are ordered,
A function of providing an instruction to provide the plurality of products as a target by a function of performing the instruction according to an order determined by the function of determining;
A program to realize

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