JP7899112B2 - Information processing device, restaurant system, and control program - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing device, a restaurant system, and a control program for restaurants.

In restaurants, a table ordering system is used where customers order menu items from ordering terminals installed at each table.

Typical table ordering terminals display multiple menu items, categorized by genre, or in a standardized order set by the restaurant, such as "seasonal recommendations."

Therefore, it may take some time for customers to find the menu item they want to order.

International Publication No. 2018/150756

One embodiment aims to solve the problem of providing an information processing device, a restaurant system, and a control program that enable customers to quickly order their desired menu items.

In one embodiment, the information processing device comprises a first storage unit, a second storage unit, a communication unit, a first control unit, and a second control unit. The first storage unit stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided. The second storage unit stores trend information representing the tendencies of each customer in association with customer identification information that identifies the customer. The communication unit communicates with an input terminal that inputs information to obtain the number and arrangement of multiple customers who have come to the store, and an order terminal that obtains the customer identification information of each customer who has come to the store and accepts orders for menu items . Based on the information received from the input terminal and the order terminal by the communication unit, the first control unit determines the number and arrangement of multiple customers who have come to the store and the customer identification information of each customer, obtains the trend information of each customer from the second storage unit based on the determined customer identification information of each customer, and rearranges the menu items based on the obtained trend information of each customer and the determined number and arrangement of customers. The second control unit creates a menu screen for accepting menu item selections from multiple customers who have come to the restaurant, which includes images of one or more menu items from the rearranged menu items and is arranged based on the number and arrangement of customers who have identified the images. The communication unit then transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal .

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the restaurant system according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of customer information records stored in the customer database of the management server, which is an information processing device according to the first embodiment. Figure 3 shows the first part of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the management server's processor according to the control program. Figure 4 shows the second part of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the management server's processor according to the control program. Figure 5 shows the third portion of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the management server's processor according to the control program. Figure 6 shows an example of the initial screen display of an order terminal. Figure 7 shows an example of the menu screen display on an order terminal. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rearrangement of menu items. Figure 9 shows another example of the menu screen of the ordering terminal. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a customer's movement within a store. Figure 11 shows an example of how the menu screen looks after a customer has moved to another location. Figure 12 shows yet another example of the menu screen of the ordering terminal. Figure 13 shows another example of the menu screen of the ordering terminal. Figure 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the main components of an order terminal as an information processing device according to the second embodiment. Figure 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of a customer table in an order terminal. Figure 16 shows the first part of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the order terminal's processor according to a control program. Figure 17 shows the second part of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the order terminal's processor according to the control program. Figure 18 shows the third portion of a flowchart illustrating an example of the main information processing steps performed by the order terminal's processor according to a control program.

[First Embodiment]
This embodiment exemplifies a management server as one aspect of an information processing device.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the restaurant system of this embodiment, including the information processing device. The restaurant system comprises multiple order terminals 1, multiple cameras 2, printers 3, an accounting terminal 4, a communication unit 5, a console 6, a kitchen terminal 7, a management server 8, and the like. The restaurant system includes a network 9, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and connects each order terminal 1, each camera 2, printer 3, accounting terminal 4, communication unit 5, console 6, and kitchen terminal 7 to the management server 8 via this network 9.

Order terminal 1 is placed at each customer's seat and is operated by the customer themselves to place an order. The seating includes both single-person counter seats and multi-person table seats. Order terminal 1 is equipped with a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) where the display area covers most of the seat's tabletop (e.g., almost the entire surface), or a projector where the projection area covers most of the table (e.g., almost the entire surface). Specifically, if the display device is an LCD, it is embedded in the seat so that its display surface is flush with the seat's tabletop. If the display device is a projector, it is installed on the ceiling of the seating area or at the edge of the seat so that the seat's tabletop functions as a screen. The display device displays full-size images of the menu items offered by the restaurant. Furthermore, order terminal 1 is equipped with an input device such as a transparent touch panel covering the entire size of the display or projection area. The input device is used to input orders for menu items.

The order terminal 1 is further equipped with a short-range wireless communication device such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and is configured to enable the exchange of information via short-range wireless communication with the customer's smartphone.

Camera 2 is installed, for example, on the ceiling of the seating area, for each seat, and captures the display or projection area of the order terminal 1. Camera 2 does not necessarily need to be installed for each seat; it can be positioned to include the display or projection areas of multiple seat order terminals 1 within its shooting range.

Furthermore, the order terminal 1 and camera 2 may be configured to have built-in wireless circuits and be connected to the network 9 via one or more repeaters, for example, installed on the ceiling of the seating area, in order to flexibly adapt to changes in the seating layout.

Printer 3 prints a receipt listing the names, quantities, and unit prices of the ordered items, as well as the total amount. The receipt is printed when the ordered items are ready for preparation and can be given to the customer at their table along with their order.

The accounting terminal 4 is a device that processes payments for food and beverages. The accounting terminal 4 can be a well-known POS (Point of Sales) terminal. However, the accounting terminal 4 is not limited to a POS terminal; it may also be a personal computer or tablet device with a program that performs payment processing. In other words, any electronic device capable of processing payments for food and beverages is acceptable.

The communication unit 5 communicates data with an external computer system connected via a wide-area network such as the internet. Examples of external systems include a computer system that collects customer food preferences (i.e., trends), and reservation systems such as gourmet websites. The computer system that collects trends accumulates trend information by categorizing each customer's tendencies based on customer survey information, receipt information collected from the restaurant's accounting terminal 4, and order history information provided by the management server 8. These trends may include the customer's preferred food categories, ingredients used, quantity, seasoning, combinations with multiple food items, and order of orders. They may also include the customer's disliked food categories, ingredients used, quantity, seasoning, combinations with multiple food items, and order of orders.

Console 6 has an input device for giving instructions to the management server 8 and a display device for displaying information obtained from the management server 8. Console 6 can be, for example, a personal computer or a tablet. Console 6 does not necessarily have to be connected to the network 9 by a wired connection. It may be possible to use a wireless LAN or similar to enable communication between Console 6 and the management server 8.

Kitchen terminal 7 is installed in the kitchen's cooking area and displays and outputs data related to the ordered items to be prepared. Cooks perform their cooking tasks according to the output from kitchen terminal 7. Kitchen terminal 7 is a so-called kitchen display, kitchen printer, etc.

The management server 8 is a computer device that manages various types of data, including data related to menu items offered by restaurants, and order data such as ordered items and quantities ordered by customers. The management server 8 includes a processor 81, main memory 82, auxiliary storage devices 83, and a communication interface 84. The processor 81 is connected to the main memory 82, auxiliary storage devices 83, and communication interface 84 via bus lines 85, such as an address bus and a data bus.

The processor 81 corresponds to the central part of the management server 8. For example, the processor 81 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but is not limited to this. The processor 81 may be a multi-core/multi-threaded processor, capable of executing multiple processes in parallel. Furthermore, the processor 81 may be implemented in various other forms, including integrated circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), and DSPs (Digital Signal processors). The processor 81 loads a program pre-stored in the main memory 82 or auxiliary storage device 83 into the main memory 82. The program includes a control program that causes the processor 81 of the management server 8 to implement the various parts described later. The processor 81 performs various operations by executing the program loaded into the main memory 82.

The main memory 82 corresponds to the main memory portion of the management server 8. The main memory 82 includes both non-volatile and volatile memory areas. The non-volatile memory area of the main memory 82 stores the OS (Operating System) or programs. The volatile memory area of the main memory 82 is used as a work area where data is rewritten as needed by the processor 81. For example, the main memory 82 includes ROM (Read Only Memory) as a non-volatile memory area. For example, the main memory 82 includes RAM (Random Access Memory) as a volatile memory area.

The auxiliary storage device 83 corresponds to the auxiliary storage portion of the management server 8. For example, the auxiliary storage device 83 may be an EEPROM (Registered Trademark) (Electric Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The auxiliary storage device 83 stores the aforementioned program, data used by the processor 81 in performing various processes, and data generated by the processing performed by the processor 81.

One of the programs stored in the main memory 82 or auxiliary storage device 83 is the control program, which will be described later. Generally, the transfer of a computer device is performed with the control program and other programs stored in the main memory 82 or auxiliary storage device 83. However, this is not limited to this; control programs and other programs transferred separately from the computer device may be written to a writable storage device provided by the computer device in response to user operations. The transfer of control programs and other programs can be performed by recording them on a removable recording medium or by communication via a communication network. The recording medium can be of any form as long as it can store programs and is readable by the device, such as a CD-ROM or memory card. Furthermore, the functions obtained through program installation or download may be implemented in cooperation with the OS or other internal operating system of the device.

The communication interface 84 includes various interfaces that, in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol, enable the management server 8 to communicate with other devices via the network 9.

Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the management server 8 is not limited to the configuration described above. The management server 8 may, as appropriate, omit or modify the above-described components and add new components.

Here, we will describe the components of the auxiliary storage device 83 of the management server 8. The auxiliary storage device 83 stores, for example, the menu database 831, the customer database 832, the terminal database 833, and the order database 834. Note that in Figure 1, "database" is abbreviated as "DB".

The menu database 831 is a storage unit that stores information such as the menu item ID (identifier), name, price, image, actual size, allergy information, cooking method, suitability, and recommended item ID for each menu item offered by the restaurant. The menu item ID is a unique code assigned to each menu item. Each menu item is identified by a different menu item ID. The recommended item ID is the menu ID of a side dish or drink menu item that the restaurant recommends ordering together with the menu item in question. There may be multiple recommended item IDs. Furthermore, these recommended menu items may be automatically set based on items previously ordered together with the menu item in question. Additionally, the recommended menu items, whether set arbitrarily by the restaurant or based on past orders, may be automatically set according to the current season and weather. For example, in winter, a warm drink might be replaced with a cola. The menu database 831 may also store applicable customizations for each menu item. Applicable customizations include customization information related to the menu item itself, such as changeable size and quantity, corresponding prices, and cooking methods.

The customer database 832 is a database for managing customers who place orders using the restaurant system, and is a collection of data records associated with registered customers. Therefore, the customer database 832 includes customer information records for each customer. Some of the information registered in this customer database 832 can be obtained via the communication unit 5 from external systems, such as computer systems that collect trends or reservation systems like gourmet websites.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of customer information records 8321 for each customer, stored in the customer database 832 of the management server 8. The customer information record includes fields F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, etc.

Field F1 is set with a customer code to distinguish the associated customer from other customers. The customer code is, for example, a unique identification code set for each user to identify each individual user of the restaurant system. This customer code may be used only within the restaurant system, or it may be common to external systems as well. If the identification code is used only within the restaurant system, the management server 8 can store the correspondence between the identification codes separately, enabling it to interact with external systems.

Field F2 contains member information, which is attribute information about the customer identified by the customer code. Member information may include name, gender, age, address, telephone number, email address, and incentive information indicating incentives provided by the restaurant system to the customer. Incentive information may include coupon information, point service ID, and the number of points held.

Field F3 contains the customer image for the customer identified by the customer code. The customer image is not necessarily a photograph of the customer taken with a camera; it can include an image arbitrarily set by the customer that distinguishes them from other customers, such as an avatar or icon.

Field F4 stores trend information about the customer identified by the customer code. This trend information includes categorized tendencies such as a sweet tooth or a preference for rich, heavy foods. The trend information can also include past order history of menu items. The order history can include the menu item ID that identifies the ordered item, as well as the order date and time. This allows the processor 81 to acquire relationships between menu items, such as the probability of them being combined and the time interval between orders when combined. Furthermore, this trend information may be mutually accessible and updated with a computer system that collects trends outside the store via the communication unit 5 through the communication interface 84.

Field F5 stores reservation information for a customer identified by their customer code. This reservation information can include the date, time, and number of people. Reservation information can be entered via console 6 in response to reservations made by telephone or other means. Furthermore, reservation information can be retrieved from external reservation systems via communication unit 5 through communication interface 84.

Field F6 contains seat information for the customer identified by the customer code. This seat information includes a seat ID, which is a unique code for the seat where the customer was seated. The seat ID can be assigned by console 6 or automatically at the time of reservation, depending on the date, time, and number of people. If there is no reservation, the seat ID and number of people for the seat where the customer was seated are entered via console 6. Furthermore, if the seat is a multi-person table, the seat information may include the seating position, indicating the customer's location within the table. This seating position can be obtained through each customer's login operation to the order terminal 1, as described later.

The terminal database 833 is a storage unit that stores the status of each order terminal 1. Specifically, the terminal database 833 includes data items such as terminal ID, sorted menu data, screen information, and selected menu data. The terminal ID is a unique code set for each order terminal 1. The sorted menu data is a list of menu item IDs, resulting from sorting the order of menu items based on the customer's seating position and customer preference information. The screen information is the screen transmitted to the order terminal 1 for display. The selected menu data includes the menu item ID, quantity, etc., of the food and beverage selected by the customer via the order terminal 1.

The order database 834 is a storage unit that stores the ordered menu items for each customer seat. Specifically, the order database 834 includes data items such as receipt number, seat ID, number of people, ordered menu data, and total data. Here, the receipt number is a unique number issued to each customer who placed an order. Customers can be individuals or groups. Each customer is identified by a different receipt number. The ordered menu data includes the menu item ID, quantity, and price of the items ordered by the customer seated at that table. The ordered menu data may include multiple ordered items and is based on the selected menu data stored in the terminal database 833. The total data is the total quantity and total price of the items ordered by the customer seated at that table. Furthermore, the customer's ordered menu data can be stored as order history in the customer database 832 based on each customer's customer code.

Next, we will describe the various components implemented in the processor 81 of the management server 8. The processor 81 implements, for example, the operation reception unit 811, the order terminal display control unit 812, and the order management unit 813. These components implemented in the processor 81 can also be described as individual functions. Furthermore, these components implemented in the processor 81 can also be described as being implemented in the control unit, which includes the processor 81 and the main memory 82.

The operation reception unit 811 acquires operation information corresponding to the operation content at each order terminal 1 and console 6 via the communication interface 84.

The order terminal display control unit 812 creates a screen to be displayed on each order terminal 1, corresponding to the operation information acquired by the operation reception unit 811, based on the information stored in the menu database 831 and the customer database 832, and stores it in the terminal database 833. The order terminal display control unit 812 then transmits the screen stored in the terminal database 833 to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84. The created screens include an initial screen, a menu screen, etc. The initial screen is for accepting customer login operations. The menu screen displays images of menu items at their actual size and accepts the selection of menu items to be ordered. Details of these screens will be described later.

The order management unit 813 stores the selected menu data, which is the result of menu item selection from the order terminal 1 acquired as operation information by the operation reception unit 811, in the terminal database 833. Furthermore, in response to the order confirmation notification from the order terminal 1 acquired as operation information by the operation reception unit 811, it generates order menu data based on the selected menu data stored in the terminal database 833 and the information of each menu item stored in the menu database 831, and registers it in the order database 834. Finally, the order management unit 813 transmits the start of cooking of the menu items indicated in the order menu data to the kitchen terminal 7 via the communication interface 84.

In this configuration, when the management server 8 is powered on by turning on the power switch (not shown), the control program starts. It then performs various information processing tasks related to receiving reservations from external systems via the communication unit 5 or from the console 6, receiving orders from the order terminal 1, and so on.

The following describes in detail the order-related information processing, which is a key feature of this embodiment. The processor 81, in response to input from the console 6 via the communication interface 84—including the seat ID indicating the seat to which the customer who placed the order was seated and the number of people—executes the information processing procedures shown in the flowcharts in Figures 3 to 5. This processing follows a control program. Note that the processing shown in Figures 3 to 5 and described below is merely an example; various other processes capable of achieving similar results can be used as appropriate.

First, the processor 81, in ACT 801, creates an initial screen for accepting customer login operations and transmits it to the corresponding order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84. Figure 6 shows an example of the display of the initial screen SC1 on the order terminal 1 that received it. The display unit 16D of the display device equipped with the order terminal 1 occupies most of the tabletop (for example, almost the entire surface) of the customer seating area (table TBL), and the initial screen SC1 is fully displayed on the display unit 16D.

The initial screen SC1 includes a login area AR1 for placing the smartphone SP and a login message ME1 explaining how to log in. The processor 81 positions the login area AR1 on the initial screen SC1 according to the seating position of the customer. The example in Figure 6 shows two customers; in such cases, where the customers are a group of multiple people, the processor 81 positions the login area AR1 corresponding to one of the multiple seating positions. The area shown by the dashed line in Figure 6 indicates the position where the login area for the other person will be displayed; this area is not yet actually displayed on the initial screen SC1 at this stage. The seating position of each customer may be entered from the console 6 along with the seat ID, or it may be obtained by performing a well-known person detection process from the image captured by the camera 2 corresponding to the order terminal 1 indicated by the seat ID.

The smartphone SP runs an application program compatible with the restaurant system. This application program includes functions for making reservations at the restaurant, inputting and saving customer trends, creating and saving customer images, and logging into the restaurant system. The application program may also include functions for utilizing external systems such as computer systems for collecting customer trends and reservation systems from gourmet websites. Therefore, this application program allows customers to pre-register their customer images and trends in the customer database 832 by sending them to the management server 8.

In this embodiment, the login function to the restaurant system provided by this application program is triggered by a swipe operation of the customer's avatar image. Specifically, when the avatar is swept towards the center of the display unit 16D (upwards in the example of Figure 6) using a smartphone SP placed in the login area AR1, the application program transmits the customer code along with the seat ID and seating position using the smartphone SP's short-range wireless communication device. Upon receiving this customer code, the order terminal 1 transmits it to the management server 8.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 3, the processor 81, in ACT 802, obtains the customer code transmitted from the order terminal 1.

In ACT 803, the processor 81 searches the customer database 832 using the acquired customer code and determines whether there is any missing information. Specifically, the processor 81 determines whether a customer information record 8321 exists for the acquired customer code. If a corresponding customer information record 8321 exists, the processor 81 determines whether the customer image, trend information, and seating information are set in that record. If the customer information record 8321 does not exist, or if any of the customer image, trend information, or seating information are not set, the processor 81 determines that there is missing information. If there is no missing information, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 805. If there is missing information, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 804.

In ACT 804, the processor 81 acquires missing information.

Specifically, if a customer information record 8321 for the customer code does not exist in the customer database 832, the processor 81 creates a new customer information record 8321 in the customer database 832 and sets the acquired customer code in it.

Furthermore, if there is no customer image in the customer information record 8321, the processor 81 requests the order terminal 1 to obtain a customer image via the communication interface 84. The order terminal 1, using short-range wireless communication, requests the application program of the smartphone SP that transmitted the customer code to send the stored customer image (avatar), and obtains it. The processor 81 obtains the avatar from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 and sets it in field F3 of the customer information record 8321.

Furthermore, if no trend information is found in customer information record 8321, the processor 81 requests the order terminal 1 to obtain trend information via the communication interface 84. The order terminal 1 requests the application program of the smartphone SP that transmitted the customer code via short-range wireless communication to transmit the stored trend information, and obtains it. The processor 81 obtains the trend information from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 and sets it in field F4 of customer information record 8321. Alternatively, the processor 81 may obtain trend information for the customer corresponding to the customer code from a computer system that collects trends outside the store via the communication unit 5 using the communication interface 84.

Furthermore, if seat information is not found in customer information record 8321, the processor 81 sets the seat ID and seating position obtained along with the customer code as seating information in field F6 of customer information record 8321.

In ACT 805, the processor 81 determines whether customer codes have been obtained for all individuals, for example, both, who were entered from the console 6. If customer codes for all individuals have been obtained, the processor 81 assumes that all customers included in the order terminal 1 have logged in and proceeds to ACT 806. If customer codes for all individuals have not yet been obtained, the processor 81 proceeds to ACT 801 and sends an initial screen with the login area AR1 positioned according to the seating position of each individual whose customer code has not yet been obtained. In this case, the initial screen will have the login area AR1 positioned at the location shown by the dashed line in Figure 6, instead of the solid line shown in Figure 6.

In ACT 806, the processor 81 reads the trend information of each customer from the customer information record 8321 of the customer database 832, which contains seat information corresponding to the order terminal 1. At this time, the processor 81 can also read the avatar, which is the image of each customer, from the customer information record 8321.

In ACT 807, processor 81 determines whether the seating arrangement of multiple customers is face-to-face. Specifically, processor 81 reads the seating position of each customer from customer information record 8321 in customer database 832, which contains seating information corresponding to order terminal 1, and determines whether the seating is face-to-face based on these seating positions. If the seating is face-to-face, processor 81 proceeds to ACT 812. If the seating is not face-to-face, processor 81 proceeds to ACT 808. Cases where the seating is not face-to-face include not only cases where the customer is a single customer, but also cases where two customers are seated side-by-side.

In ACT 808, the processor 81 rearranges the menu items. Specifically, the processor 81 extracts menu items that match the trends of each customer, as recorded in the customer trend information read in ACT 806, based on the matching trends contained in the information for each menu item stored in the menu database 831. If the customer is a single customer, the processor 81 rearranges the menu item IDs of the extracted menu items in descending order of their matching degree to the customer's trends. If the customer includes two people, the processor 81 further determines the degree of matching between the menu items extracted based on the trends of one of the two customers and the trends of the other customer, and rearranges them in descending order of their matching degree to the trends of both customers. The processor 81 then stores the rearrangement results as rearranged menu data in the terminal database 833.

In ACT 809, the processor 81 retrieves images of other customers from the customer database 832. Specifically, the processor 81 identifies other customers who have ordered the same menu items as the customer stored in the sorted menu data in the terminal database 833, based on the trend information in the customer information record 8321 of the customer database 832. The processor 81 then retrieves the customer images of these identified customers and stores them in the terminal database 833, associating them with the menu items stored in the sorted menu data.

In ACT 810, the processor 81 creates a menu screen to accept the selection of menu items and stores it in the terminal database 833. Then, in ACT 811, the processor 81 transmits the menu screen stored in the terminal database 833 to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84.

Figure 7 shows an example of the display on the menu screen SC2 of the order terminal 1 that received this order. Figure 7 shows an example where the customer includes two people. In this case, the menu screen SC2 includes seated avatars PA1 and PA2, positioned according to the seating positions of the two customers. The processor 81 can determine the seating position based on the seating information in the customer information record 8321 of the customer database 832, and place the avatars stored as customer images as these seated avatars PA1 and PA2 on the menu screen SC2.

Furthermore, the menu screen SC2 includes first and second menu item display areas AR2 and AR3 where images of menu items are displayed, and a menu item selection area AR4 for selecting the menu item to be ordered.

The first menu item display area AR2 is an area where reduced images of numerous menu items are displayed. The processor 81 reduces the image of each menu item stored in the menu database 831 and arranges them in the first menu item display area AR2. At this time, the processor 81 arranges the reduced images of the menu items according to the order of the menu items, which are sorted in order of their degree of matching with the preferences of two customers, as stored as sorted menu data in the terminal database 833.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rearrangement of menu items. The processor 81 places the thumbnail image of the menu item with the highest degree of matching the preferences of the two customers in the center of the first menu item display area AR2. Furthermore, as indicated by arrows A and B in Figure 8, the processor 81 places the thumbnail images of menu items in the first menu item display area AR2 such that the thumbnail image of a menu item that has a high degree of matching the preferences of one customer but a low degree of matching the preferences of the other customer is placed closer to the side of the customer. As a result, when two people are sitting side by side, the thumbnail image of the menu item that matches the preferences of both customers is displayed in the center of the first menu item display area AR2, and the further away from the center, the more biased it becomes towards the preference of one customer. In other words, for menu items that one customer likes but the other customer dislikes, the thumbnail image of that menu item will be placed closer to the person who likes that menu item. For example, if the customer represented by seated avatar PA1 likes spicy food, and the customer represented by seated avatar PA2 dislikes spicy food, the thumbnail image of the spicy dish will be positioned closer to the customer represented by seated avatar PA1, as indicated by arrow A.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 7, the second menu item display area AR3 is an area where images of one or more menu items arranged in the first menu item display area AR2 are displayed in their actual size. Based on the images and actual sizes of the menu items stored in the menu database 831 and the size of the display unit 16D of the order terminal 1, the processor 81 arranges the menu items in the second menu item display area AR3 so that the images of the menu items are displayed in their actual size. At this time, the processor 81 places the actual size image of the menu item that best matches the preferences of the two customers in the center of the second menu item display area AR3. In addition, the customer images of the customers are placed in the vicinity of this actual size image. In the example of Figure 7, avatars AB1 and AB2 are displayed as the customer images of the two customers in the vicinity of the actual size image of the seafood pizza, which is a menu item that matches the preferences of the two customers. Furthermore, the processor 81 places other avatars OA in the vicinity of the actual size images of menu items other than the central menu item. The "Other Customer Avatar OA" is a customer image of another customer stored in the terminal database 833, which has tendencies similar to those of the customer currently visiting the store. A threshold is set for the degree of matching between this Other Customer Avatar OA and the customer's tendencies to narrow down the other customers. Furthermore, the number of Other Customer Avatar OAs placed for a single menu item may be limited. Alternatively, symbols such as stars or numbers may be displayed instead of the Other Customer Avatar OA.

Furthermore, the menu screen SC2 includes recommended item images RI1 and RI2, which are placed in the empty spaces between the original-size images of each menu item in the second menu item display area AR3. The processor 81 can identify recommended menu items based on the recommended item IDs stored in the menu database 831 for the menu item placed in the center of the second menu item display area AR3, and use these recommended item images RI1 and RI2.

Furthermore, the processor 81 places a range bar RB in the first menu item display area AR2 that indicates the correspondence between the menu items displayed in the first menu item display area AR2 and the menu items displayed in the second menu item display area AR3.

The menu item selection area AR4 is the area where the user can drag and drop the full-size image of the menu item they wish to order from the menu items displayed in the second menu item display area AR3.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, in ACT 812, the processor 81 rearranges the menu. Specifically, the processor 81 extracts menu items that match the customer's tendencies, based on the matching tendencies contained in the information for each menu item stored in the menu database 831, for each customer included in the customer list read in ACT 806. Then, for each of the multiple customers, the processor 81 rearranges the menu item IDs of the extracted menu items in descending order of matching with the customer's tendencies, and stores the rearrangement result as rearranged menu data in the terminal database 833.

In ACT 813, the processor 81 creates a menu screen to accept the selection of a menu item and stores it in the terminal database 833. Then, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 811.

Figure 9 shows an example of the display of the menu screen SC2 of the order terminal 1 that receives this order. Figure 9 shows an example where there are four customers, seated two to each other. In this case, the menu screen SC2 is divided into partitioned areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 for each customer. Partitioned areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 each have first and second menu item display areas AR2 and AR3, respectively. The menu screen SC2 also includes a menu item selection area AR4 in its center, that is, between the partitioned areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4. In this case, the actual-size image of the menu item that best matches the tendencies of the corresponding customer is placed in the center of the second menu item display area AR3 of partitioned areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4. Furthermore, corresponding seated avatars PA1, PA2, PA3, and PA4 are positioned at the edges of the divided regions DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, in ACT 814, the processor 81 determines whether or not there has been a change in the seating position of a customer included in the customer group. If there has been a change in seating position, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 818. If there has been no change in seating position, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 815.

Specifically, the processor 81 can make this determination as follows. That is, the processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is a drag-and-drop operation. If it is a drag-and-drop operation, the processor 81 checks whether the drag start position is the position of one of the seated avatars, and whether the drop position is the position of a partitioned area for a customer other than the customer of the dragged seated avatar. If so, the processor 81 determines that a change in seating position has occurred, meaning that the customer who was seated in the partitioned area corresponding to the drag start position has moved to a seat corresponding to the partitioned area corresponding to the drop position. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a customer's movement operation. As shown by the arrows in Figure 10, for example, if seated avatar PA2 is dragged and dropped to the location of the divided area DR4 for the customer of seated avatar PA4, the processor 81 can determine that the customer who was seated in the seat corresponding to divided area DR2 of seated avatar PA2 has moved to the seat corresponding to divided area DR4.

Alternatively, a different method may be used to detect changes in seating position. For example, RFID tags could be attached to the cutlery used by each customer, and by detecting these RFID tags, the location of each customer moving with their cutlery could be obtained. Alternatively, the seating position of a moved customer could be obtained by having them log in again using their smartphone SP upon moving. Furthermore, the system could identify which customer is seated in which seat by performing known person detection or some form of biometric authentication from the images captured by camera 2.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, in ACT 815, the processor 81 determines whether or not the order has been confirmed. Specifically, the processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is an order confirmation notification. When a customer performs a predetermined order confirmation operation, the order terminal 1 sends an order confirmation notification to the management server 8. A predetermined order operation could be, for example, a touch operation such as an OK icon added to the menu screen SC2 according to the selection of a menu item, instructing the user to order that menu item. If the order has been confirmed, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 822. If the order has not been confirmed, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 816.

In ACT 816, the processor 81 determines whether a menu item has been selected. Specifically, the processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is a drag-and-drop operation. If it is a drag-and-drop operation, the processor 81 checks whether the drag start position is the position of the original-size image of the menu item, and whether the drop position is the position of the menu item selection area AR4. If so, the processor 81 determines that the menu item corresponding to the drag start position has been selected. If a menu item is selected, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 820. If no menu item is selected, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 816.

In ACT 817, the processor 81 determines whether any operations other than seating position changes, order confirmation, and menu item selection have occurred at the order terminal 1. Specifically, the processor 81 determines whether it has received operation information corresponding to operations other than those mentioned above from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84. If any operations have occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 821. If no operations have occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 814.

In ACT 818, the processor 81 updates the customer information. Specifically, the processor 81 updates the seating information in the customer information record 8321 of the customer in the customer database 832 according to the customer's new seating position.

In ACT 819, the processor 81 updates the menu screen SC2 and stores it in the terminal database 833. Then, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 811 and transmits the updated menu screen SC2 to the order terminal 1.

Figure 11 shows an example of the display of the menu screen SC2 after a customer has moved on the order terminal 1 that received the order. For example, as shown in Figure 10, when the seated customer avatar PA2 is dragged and dropped to the position of division area DR4, the processor 81 determines that the customer who was seated in the seat corresponding to division area DR2 has moved to the seat corresponding to division area DR4. Furthermore, in conjunction with this seat move, the processor 81 determines that the customer who was originally seated in the seat corresponding to division area DR4 has moved to the seat corresponding to division area DR2. Therefore, in this case, as shown in Figure 11, the processor 81 updates the display content of division area DR4 to the display content of division area DR2 before the move, and also updates the display content of division area DR2 to the display content of division area DR4 before the move.

Returning to the explanation of Figure 4, in ACT 820, the processor 81 saves the selected menu item as selected menu data in the terminal database 833. Then, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 814. Although not specifically shown in the diagram, at this time, the processor 81 can add an OK icon or similar to the menu screen SC2 to instruct the user to order the selected menu item.

In ACT 821, the processor 81 executes processing corresponding to the operation of the order terminal 1, and then proceeds to the processing of ACT 814. For example, the processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is a flick operation. If it is a flick operation, the processor 81 determines whether the flick start position is in the first or second menu item display area AR2, AR3, and whether the flick direction is along the longitudinal direction of the display unit 16D. If so, the processor 81 updates the menu screen by horizontally scrolling the images of the menu items placed in the first and second menu item display areas AR2, AR3 based on the direction and amount of the flick operation, and transmits the updated menu screen to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84.

Figure 12 shows another example of the menu screen SC2 of the order terminal 1 that received this information. For example, if a flick operation is performed to the right on the menu screen SC2 in Figure 7, the menu screen SC2 will be updated as shown in Figure 12. At this time, the processor 81 can display avatars AB1 and AB2, which are placed near the full-size image of the menu item located in the center of the second menu item display area AR3, in a manner that reflects the customer's tendency towards that menu item. Specifically, the processor 81 displays the avatars large and close to the full-size image of the menu item when they match the customer's tendency, and displays them small and farther away when they do not. In the example shown in Figure 12, avatar AB1 does not match the customer's tendency, so avatar AB1 is displayed small and far away from the full-size image of the menu item. Avatar AB2 matches the customer's tendency, so avatar AB2 is displayed large and close to the full-size image of the menu item.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7 and 12, the menu screen SC2 includes information icons IC1 placed near the actual-size images of each menu item in the second menu item display area AR3. The processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is a touch operation to any of the information icon IC1 locations. If so, the processor 81 reads detailed information such as allergy information and cooking methods for the corresponding menu item from the menu database 831, updates the menu screen with this detailed information, and transmits the updated menu screen to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7 and 12, the menu screen SC2 includes a help icon IC2 in a predetermined position, such as the upper right. The processor 81 determines whether the operation information received from the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84 is a touch operation to the location of the help icon IC2. If so, the processor 81 transmits a help screen explaining how to use the order terminal 1, which has been prepared separately and stored in an auxiliary storage device 83, to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84. The processor 81 can also perform the same processing when it receives operation information indicating a long press operation on the full-size image of a menu item or the recommended item images RI1 and RI2.

In ACT 822 shown in Figure 5, the processor 81 determines the order. Specifically, the processor 81 generates order menu data based on the selected menu data stored in the terminal database 833 and the information of each menu item stored in the menu database 831, and registers it in the order database 834. Furthermore, the processor 81 transmits the start of cooking of the menu items indicated in the order menu data to the kitchen terminal 7 via the communication interface 84. Although not specifically shown in the diagram, the processor 81 can also add an accounting icon or other indicator to the menu screen SC2 to signal the end of the meal and the payment process.

In ACT823, the processor 81 categorizes customer trends based on the selected menu items. The method of this categorization is not specifically limited here.

In ACT 824, the processor 81 updates the trend information in the customer information record 8321 corresponding to the customer in the customer database 832, based on this categorized trend and the selected menu items that constitute the order history.

In ACT 825, the processor 81 determines whether the order has been confirmed, that is, whether an additional order has been confirmed. If the order has been confirmed, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 822. If the order has not been confirmed, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 826.

In ACT 826, processor 81 determines whether or not the customer's seating position has changed. If the seating position has changed, processor 81 proceeds to processing in ACT 830. If there has been no change in seating position, processor 81 proceeds to processing in ACT 827.

In ACT 827, processor 81 determines whether a menu item has been selected, that is, whether an additional menu item has been selected. If a menu item has been selected, processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 833. If no menu item has been selected, processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 828.

In ACT 828, the processor 81 determines whether a menu suggestion is necessary. Specifically, the processor 81 identifies menu items that are highly likely to be combined with the ordered menu items from the order history in the trend information stored in the customer information record 8321 of each customer included in the customer database 832. If the order interval with the identified menu items is within a specified time range, the processor 81 determines that a menu suggestion is necessary. Furthermore, if the time interval exceeds the specified time range, the processor 81 determines that a menu suggestion is necessary when the elapsed time from the time the ordered food and beverages were served reaches the order interval with the identified menu items. The time of serving can be the time when the management server 8 receives notification that cooking is complete when the kitchen terminal 7 issues a receipt printing instruction to the printer 3. Alternatively, if the time interval exceeds the specified time range, the processor 81 can detect the remaining amount of the served menu items by analyzing the images captured by the camera 2, and determine that a menu suggestion is necessary when the remaining amount becomes low. If a menu suggestion is required, processor 81 proceeds to process ACT 834. If a menu suggestion is not required, processor 81 proceeds to process ACT 829.

In ACT 829, the processor 81 determines whether any operations other than order confirmation, seating position change, and menu item selection have occurred at the order terminal 1. If any other operations have occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 837. If no operations have occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 825.

In ACT 830, the processor 81 updates the customer information. Then, in ACT 831, the processor 81 updates the menu screen SC2 to reflect the customer's movement and stores it in the terminal database 833. In ACT 832, the processor 81 transmits the updated menu screen SC2, stored in the terminal database 833, to the order terminal 1. Afterward, the processor 81 proceeds to the process of ACT 825.

In ACT 833, the processor 81 saves the selected menu item as selected menu data in the terminal database 833. Then, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 825.

In ACT 834, the processor 81 determines the suggested menu. Specifically, as described above in the explanation of ACT 828, the processor 81 determines the suggested menu items from the order history in the trend information stored in the customer information record 8321 of each customer included in the customer database 832.

In ACT 835, the processor 81 updates the menu screen SC2 to include the suggested menu and stores it in the terminal database 833. Then, in ACT 836, the processor 81 transmits the updated menu screen SC2, stored in the terminal database 833, to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84. Afterward, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing described in ACT 825.

Figure 13 shows another example of the display of the updated menu screen SC2 on the order terminal 1 after it has received the updated menu screen SC2. As shown in Figure 13, the processor 81 places the suggested menu image as a pop-up image PU on the menu screen SC2.

In ACT 837, the processor 81 executes processing corresponding to the operation of the order terminal 1, and then proceeds to the processing of ACT 825. For example, if the processor 81 receives operation information from the order terminal 1 indicating a flick operation in the first or second menu item display area AR2, AR3, it updates the menu screen SC2 with horizontally scrolled images of the menu items placed in the first and second menu item display areas AR2, AR3. Also, if the processor 81 receives operation information indicating a touch operation at the location of the help icon IC2, or a long press operation on the original size image of a menu item or the recommended item images RI1, RI2, it transmits the help screen to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 84.

Furthermore, although not specifically illustrated, if the processor 81 receives operation information indicating a touch operation on the location of the accounting icon on the menu screen SC2, it can terminate the processing according to the control program shown in this flowchart and proceed to the accounting process.

This concludes the explanation of the process according to the control program.

As described above, the menu database 831 of the management server 8, as an information processing device according to this embodiment, functions as a first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of available food and beverages; the customer database 832 of the management server 8 functions as a second storage unit that stores trend information representing the tendencies of each customer; and the communication interface 84 of the management server 8 functions as a communication unit that communicates with the order terminal 1 that accepts orders for menu items. Furthermore, the processor 81 of the management server 8 functions as a first control unit that rearranges menu items based on the trend information of visiting customers, and a second control unit that creates a menu screen SC2 including images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, for accepting the selection of menu items to be ordered by the visiting customer, and transmits the created menu screen SC2 to the order terminal 1.

Therefore, we can provide an information processing device, a restaurant system, and a control program that enable customers to quickly order their desired menu items. In other words, customers will see a menu screen SC2 on their order terminal 1 containing menu items that match their preferences, making it easier for them to decide what to order. This, in turn, increases customer satisfaction and leads to a higher repeat customer rate.

Furthermore, the processor 81 places the image of the menu item that best matches the customer's preferences in the center of the menu screen SC2. Therefore, customers can quickly order the menu items they frequently order.

Here, if there are two customers and they are seated side-by-side, the processor 81 rearranges the menu items based on the customer preferences and places the image of the menu item that best matches the preferences of both customers in the center of the menu screen SC2. Therefore, menu items that match the preferences of both customers are displayed in the most easily viewable way. This makes it possible for the two customers to quickly order menu items to share.

In this case, the processor 81 arranges the menu item images on the menu screen SC2 such that images of menu items that have a high degree of matching with the preferences of one customer and a low degree of matching with the preferences of the other customer are placed on the side of the other customer. Therefore, each customer can quickly find menu items that match their own preferences.

Furthermore, if there are multiple customers and they are seated facing each other, the processor 81 rearranges the menu items for each customer based on their individual tendencies. It then divides the menu screen SC2 into separate areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 for each customer, and places the image of the menu item that best matches the customer's tendencies in the center of each area DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4. Therefore, it becomes possible to display menu items tailored to each customer's tendencies, enabling quick selection of menu items for each customer.

Furthermore, after an order is placed, the processor 81 places additional menu items, for example as a pop-up image PU, on the menu screen SC2. Therefore, customers can easily place additional orders, and the restaurant can more easily accept them.

Furthermore, when a certain amount of time has elapsed since the ordered food and beverages were served, for example, when a time has elapsed based on the customer's eating and drinking speed according to their order history, the processor 81 places menu items suggesting additional orders on the menu screen SC2. This allows additional orders to be suggested at the timing the customer desires, thereby increasing the probability of receiving additional orders.

Furthermore, in this case, the processor 81 selects appropriate refills, additional orders, and desserts from the menu based on the customer's tendencies. For example, by linking with the repeat customer rate based on history, menu items that are frequently ordered as refills are suggested before they run out. Therefore, customers can order additional items without having to search for them. From the restaurant's perspective, for example, suggesting a refill when a customer's beer is about to run out can increase the likelihood of that additional order.

Furthermore, the processor 81 updates trend information based on the menu items ordered by the customer. Therefore, restaurants can understand customer preferences and utilize this information for product development and sales promotion.

[Second Embodiment]
This embodiment exemplifies an order terminal 1 as one aspect of an information processing device.

Figure 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the main components of the order terminal 1 in this second embodiment. The order terminal 1 is a computer device that, in addition to receiving orders from customers, also manages data related to menu items and custom items offered by the restaurant. Similar to the management server 8, the order terminal 1 includes a processor 11, main memory 12, auxiliary storage device 13, and communication interface 14. The main memory 12, auxiliary storage device 13, and communication interface 14 are connected to the processor 11 via bus lines 15, such as an address bus and a data bus. Furthermore, the order terminal 1 includes a display device 16, an input device 17, and a short-range wireless communication unit 18. These are also connected to the processor 11 via bus lines 15.

The processor 11, main memory 12, auxiliary storage device 13, and communication interface 14 can have the same hardware configuration as the processor 81, main memory 82, auxiliary storage device 83, and communication interface 84 of the management server 8.

As described in the first embodiment, the display device 16 can be a liquid crystal display where the display unit 16D covers most of the tabletop (for example, almost the entire surface) of the table TBL in the customer seating area. The input device 17 can be a transparent touch panel the full size of the display unit 16D. The short-range wireless communication unit 18 communicates wirelessly with the customer's smartphone SP's short-range wireless communication device.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary storage device 13 stores, for example, a menu database 131, a customer table 132, and a temporary storage unit 133. The menu database 131 may be a copy of the menu database 831 provided by the management server 8. The customer table 132 is a table that stores information about customers who place orders using the order terminal 1 while the customer is using the order terminal 1. The information stored in this customer table 132 can be retrieved from the customer's smartphone SP or from the management server 8. The temporary storage unit 133 corresponds to the terminal database 833 of the management server 8 and is a storage unit that stores the state of the order terminal 1. Specifically, the temporary storage unit 133 may include data items such as sorted menu data, screen information, and selected menu data.

Figure 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of the customer table 132 provided by the order terminal 1. The customer table 132 contains records for the maximum number of seats where the order terminal 1 is located. Figure 15 is a diagram corresponding to a four-person table. The customer table 132 stores a customer code, customer image, and trend information for each customer, associated with a predetermined seating position number. These customer codes, customer images, and trend information are as described in the first embodiment.

Furthermore, the processor 11 implements, for example, an operation reception unit 111, a display control unit 112, and an order management unit 113. Each part implemented in the processor 11 can also be referred to as a function. Alternatively, each part implemented in the processor 11 can be said to be implemented in the control unit, which includes the processor 11 and the main memory 12.

The operation reception unit 111 acquires operation information from the input device 17.

The display control unit 112 creates a screen corresponding to the operation information acquired by the operation reception unit 111, based on the information stored in the menu database 131 and the customer table 132, and displays it on the display device 16. The created screens include the initial screen, menu screen, custom screen, update screen, and standby screen as described in the first embodiment.

The order management unit 113 determines the order details based on the operation information acquired by the operation reception unit 111 and the screen displayed on the display device 16, and transmits the order menu data indicating the order details to the management server 8 via the communication interface 14.

In this configuration, when the power is turned on by operating the power switch (not shown), the control program starts. Upon starting this control program, the processor 11 executes the information processing procedures shown in the flowcharts in Figures 16 to 18. This processing follows the control program. Note that the processing shown in Figures 16 to 18 and described below is just an example; various other processes that can achieve similar results can be used as appropriate.

First, in ACT 101, the processor 11 waits for the number of people using the order terminal 1 to be obtained. For example, the number can be obtained by receiving a notification from the management server 8 via the communication interface 14. Alternatively, the number can be obtained by acquiring images captured by the camera 2 corresponding to the order terminal 1 via the communication interface 14 and performing a well-known person detection process from those images. Once the number is obtained, the processor 11 proceeds to the process in ACT 102.

In ACT 102, the processor 11 creates an initial screen SC1 for accepting customer login operations and displays it using the display device 16. The initial screen SC1 is as described in the first embodiment.

In ACT 103, the short-range wireless communication unit 18 acquires the customer code transmitted from the customer's smartphone SP and stores it in the customer table 132.

In ACT 104, the processor 11 acquires customer images and trend information. Specifically, the processor 11 transmits the acquired customer code to the management server 8 via the communication interface 14. In response, the processor 11 acquires the corresponding customer image and trend information returned from the management server 8 via the communication interface 14. If the processor 11 cannot acquire the customer image and/or trend information from the management server 8, it requests the smartphone SP's application program to transmit and acquire the stored customer image (avatar) via the short-range wireless communication unit 18. The processor 11 stores the acquired customer image and trend information in the customer table 132.

In ACT 105, the processor 11 determines whether it has acquired customer codes, customer images, and trend information for all customers present. If it has acquired all the information, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 106. If it has not yet acquired all the information, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 102 and sends an initial screen with the login area AR1 positioned according to the seating position of each individual whose customer code has not yet been acquired.

In ACT 106, the processor 11 determines whether the arrangement of multiple customers is face-to-face seating. Specifically, the processor 11 reads the seating position of each customer from the customer table 132 and determines whether they are face-to-face seated based on these seating positions. If they are face-to-face seated, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 110. If they are not face-to-face seated, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 107.

In ACT 107, the processor 11 rearranges the menu. Specifically, the processor 11 extracts menu items that match the trends of each customer stored in the customer table 132, based on the matching trends contained in the information for each menu item stored in the menu database 131. Then, the processor 11 rearranges the menu item IDs of the extracted menu items and stores the rearrangement result as rearranged menu data in the temporary storage unit 133.
The rearrangement is as described in the first embodiment.

In ACT 108, the processor 11 creates a menu screen SC2 to accept the selection of a menu item and stores it in the temporary storage unit 133. The menu screen SC2 is as described in the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, since information on other users' tendencies is not acquired, other users' avatars OA are not placed on the menu screen SC2.

In ACT 109, the processor 11 displays the menu screen SC2, stored in the temporary storage unit 133, using the display device 16.

In ACT 110, the processor 11 rearranges the menu items. Specifically, the processor 11 extracts menu items that match the trends of each customer included in the customer table 132, based on the matching trends contained in the information for each menu item stored in the menu database 131. Then, for each of the multiple customers, the processor 11 rearranges these extracted menu items and stores the rearrangement result as rearranged menu data in the temporary storage unit 133.

In ACT 111, the processor 11 creates a menu screen SC2 to accept the selection of a menu item and stores it in the temporary storage unit 133. Then, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 109.

In ACT 112, the processor 11 determines whether or not there has been a change in the seating position of a customer included in the customer list. Specifically, the processor 11 checks, for example, whether a drag-and-drop operation has been performed using the input device 17 from the position of one of the seated avatars to the position of a partitioned area for a customer other than the customer of that seated avatar. If there has been a change in seating position, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 116. If there has been no change in seating position, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 113.

In ACT 113, the processor 11 determines whether the order has been confirmed. Specifically, the processor 11 determines whether a touch operation, such as an OK icon indicating the order of a menu item, has been performed, which is added to the menu screen SC2 according to the selection of a menu item via the input device 17. If the order has been confirmed, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 120. If the order has not been confirmed, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 114.

In ACT 114, the processor 11 determines whether a menu item has been selected. Specifically, the processor 11 determines whether a drag-and-drop operation has occurred using the input device 17, from the position of the original-size image of the menu item to the position of the menu item selection area AR4. If a menu item is selected, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 118. If no menu item is selected, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 115.

In ACT 115, the processor 11 determines whether any operations other than seating position changes, order confirmations, and menu item selections have occurred. Specifically, the processor 11 determines whether any operations other than those mentioned above were performed using the input device 17. If any operations have occurred, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 119. If no operations have occurred, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 112.

In ACT 116, the processor 11 updates the customer information. Specifically, the processor 11 updates the seating information in the customer table 132 according to the customer's new seating position.

In ACT 117, the processor 11 updates the menu screen SC2 and stores it in the temporary storage unit 133. Then, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 109, and displays the updated menu screen SC2 using the display device 16.

In ACT 118, the processor 11 saves the selected menu item as selected menu data in the temporary storage unit 133. Then, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 112. Although not specifically shown in the diagram, at this time, the processor 11 can add an OK icon or similar to the menu screen SC2 to indicate that the selected menu item should be ordered.

In ACT 119, the processor 11 executes processing corresponding to the operation on the input device 17. This processing is as described in the first embodiment. Afterward, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 112.

In ACT 120, the processor 11 determines the order. Specifically, the processor 11 uses the selection menu data stored in the temporary storage unit 133 as the customer's order content, and transmits the order menu data, including the order content and the customer's customer code, to the management server 8 via the communication interface 14. Although not specifically shown in the diagram, the processor 11 can also add an icon such as a payment icon to the menu screen SC2 to indicate that the customer has finished eating and is ready to pay. Upon receiving the order menu data, the management server 8 instructs the kitchen terminal 7 to prepare the ordered items and can also perform customer trend categorization and update the trend information in the customer information record 8321, as described in the first embodiment.

In ACT 121, the processor 11 determines whether the order has been confirmed, that is, whether an additional order has been confirmed. If the order has been confirmed, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 120. If the order has not been confirmed, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 122.

In ACT 122, the processor 11 determines whether or not the customer's seating position has changed. If the seating position has changed, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 127. If there has been no change in seating position, the processor 11 proceeds to ACT 123.

In ACT 123, the processor 11 determines whether a menu item has been selected, that is, whether an additional menu item has been selected. If a menu item has been selected, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 130. If no menu item has been selected, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 124.

In ACT 124, the processor 11 determines whether a menu suggestion is necessary. Specifically, the processor 11 identifies menu items that are highly likely to be combined with the ordered menu items from the order history in the trend information of each customer stored in the customer table 132. The determination of whether a menu suggestion is necessary, based on the order interval with these identified menu items, is as described in the first embodiment. If a menu suggestion is necessary, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 131. If a menu suggestion is not necessary, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 125.

In ACT 125, the processor 11 determines whether or not an accounting operation was performed using the input device 17. Specifically, the processor 11 determines whether, for example, an accounting icon (not shown) located on the menu screen SC2 was touched. If an accounting operation was performed, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 135. If no accounting operation was performed, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 126.

In ACT 126, the processor 11 determines whether any operations other than order confirmation, seating position change, menu item selection, and payment have occurred. Specifically, the processor 11 determines whether any operations other than those mentioned above were performed at the input device 17. If any operations have occurred, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 134. If no operations have occurred, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 121.

In ACT 127, the processor 11 updates the customer information. Then, in ACT 128, the processor 11 updates the menu screen SC2 to reflect the customer's movement and stores it in the temporary storage unit 133. Finally, in ACT 129, the processor 11 displays the updated menu screen SC2 stored in the temporary storage unit 133 using the display device 16. Afterward, the processor 11 proceeds to the process of ACT 121.

In ACT 130, the processor 11 stores the selected menu item as selected menu data in the temporary storage unit 133. Afterward, the processor 11 proceeds to the processing of ACT 121.

In ACT 131, the processor 11 determines the suggested menu. Specifically, the processor 11 determines the suggested menu items from the order history in the trend information of each customer stored in the customer table 132.

In ACT 132, the processor 11 updates the menu screen SC2 to include the suggested menu and stores it in the temporary storage unit 133. Then, in ACT 133, the processor 11 displays the updated menu screen SC2 stored in the temporary storage unit 133 using the display device 16. After that, the processor 81 proceeds to the processing of ACT 121.

In ACT 134, the processor 11 executes processing corresponding to the operation by the input device 17, and then proceeds to the processing of ACT 121.

In ACT135, the processor 11 sends an accounting notification to the management server 8 via the communication interface 14. This causes the management server 8 to begin processing the payment for the customer who was using the order terminal 1.

In ACT 136, the processor 11 clears the contents of the customer table 132 and the temporary storage unit 133. Then, the processor 11 terminates the processing according to the control program shown in this flowchart.

This concludes the explanation of the process according to the control program.

As described above, the order terminal 1, as an information processing device according to this embodiment, can achieve the same effects as the first embodiment.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

For example, as an example of dividing the menu screen SC2, we showed four divided areas DR1, DR2, DR3, and DR4 when there are four customers. However, for three customers, it could be divided into four or three sections. Furthermore, the number of customers could be five or more; the number of divisions should be adjusted accordingly.

Furthermore, while each divided area is designed to display a single menu item in its original size, it is also possible to display multiple menu item images by using images smaller than the original size.

Furthermore, while each divided area is designed to display menu items tailored to each customer's preferences, it is also possible to display menu items tailored to everyone's preferences in each divided area. For example, if a customer visits a restaurant and includes three customers A, B, and C, all of whom like meat, and assign points as follows: 1 point for dislike, 2 points for neutral, and 3 points for like, then meat dishes would be worth 3 + 3 + 3 = 9 points. Similarly, if customer A dislikes tomatoes, customer B likes them, and customer C is neutral, then tomato dishes would be worth 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 points. Therefore, images of meat dishes would be placed in the center of each divided area, and images of tomato dishes would be placed towards the edges of each divided area. In this case, the degree of each customer's preference for each menu item could be displayed as the distance from their avatar. This allows everyone's preferred menu items to be grasped at a glance.

Furthermore, a customization screen may be added where customers can select toppings and other customizations for the menu item selected on menu screen SC2. This customization screen may also be configured to display customization options in a sorted order based on customer preferences.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the processor 11 of the order terminal 1 may be configured to operate autonomously if communication with the management server 8 is not possible for any reason. For example, if the order cannot be sent to the management server 8 via ACT 120, the processor 11 can instruct the kitchen terminal 7 to begin cooking; or if the accounting notification cannot be sent to the management server 8 via ACT 135, the processor 11 can instruct the accounting terminal 4 to perform accounting processing. In this case, the auxiliary storage device 13 can hold order information and other data, and when communication with the management server 8 is restored, this stored information can be transferred.

In addition, several embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents.
The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below.
[1] A first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided,
A second memory unit that stores trend information representing the trends of each customer,
A communication unit that communicates with an order terminal that accepts orders for the aforementioned menu items,
A first control unit rearranges the menu items based on the aforementioned trend information of customers who have visited the store,
A second control unit that includes images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, creates a menu screen for accepting the selection of the menu items to be ordered by the customer who has come to the store, and transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal,
An information processing device equipped with the following:
[2] The second control unit places the image of the menu item that has the highest degree of matching with the trends of the customer who has visited the store in the center of the menu screen. The information processing device according to [1].
[3] If the number of customers who have come to the store is two, and the two customers are seated side by side,
The first control unit rearranges the menu items based on the trend information of the two customers.
The information processing apparatus according to [2], wherein the second control unit places the image of the menu item that has the highest degree of matching with the trends of the two customers in the center of the menu screen.
[4] The information processing apparatus according to [3], wherein the second control unit arranges the images of the menu items on the menu screen such that the images of menu items that have a high degree of matching with the tendencies of one of the two customers and a low degree of matching with the tendencies of the other customer are placed on the side of the one customer.
[5] If the number of customers who have come to the store is multiple, and the customers are seated facing each other,
The first control unit rearranges the menu items for each customer based on the trend information for each customer.
The second control unit,
The aforementioned menu screen is divided into separate areas for each customer.
The information processing device according to [2], which, for each of the aforementioned customers, places the image of the menu item that has the highest degree of matching with the customer's tendencies in the center of the divided area.
[6] An order terminal placed at each table in a restaurant to take orders for menu items from customers who come in,
An information processing device that transmits a menu screen to the order terminal for accepting the selection of menu items to be ordered by the customer who has come to the store, and receives an order for the menu items from the order terminal,
A restaurant system equipped with,
The aforementioned information processing device is
A first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided,
A second memory unit that stores trend information representing the trends of each customer,
A communication unit that communicates with an order terminal that accepts orders for the aforementioned menu items,
A first control unit rearranges the menu items based on the aforementioned trend information of the customers who have visited the store,
A second control unit that includes images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, creates a menu screen for accepting the selection of the menu items to be ordered by the customer who has come to the store, and transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal,
A restaurant system equipped with the following features.
[7] The computer of the information processing device, which communicates with an order terminal that accepts orders for the menu items, comprises a first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided, and a second storage unit that stores trend information representing the trends of each customer,
A function to rearrange the menu items based on the aforementioned trend information of customers who have visited the store,
A function to create a menu screen that includes the images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, for receiving the selection of the menu items to be ordered by the customer who has come to the store, and to transmit the created menu screen to the order terminal,
A control program to achieve this.

1... Order terminal, 2... Camera, 3... Printer, 4... Accounting terminal, 5... Communication unit, 6... Console, 7... Kitchen terminal, 8... Management server, 9... Network, 11, 81... Processor, 12, 82... Main memory, 13, 83... Auxiliary storage device, 14, 84... Communication interface, 15, 85... Bus line, 16... Display device, 16D... Display unit, 17... Input device, 18... Short-range wireless communication unit, 111... Operation reception unit, 112... Display control unit, 113... Order management unit, 131... Menu database, 132... Customer table, 133... Temporary storage unit, 811... Operation reception unit, 812... Order terminal display control unit, 813... Order management unit, 831... Menu database, 832... Customer database, 8321... Customer information record 833... Terminal database, 834... Order database, AB1... Avatar, AB1, AB2... Avatar, AR1... Login area, AR2... First menu item display area, AR3... Second menu item display area, AR4... Menu item selection area, DR1, DR2, DR3, DR4... Split area, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6... Field, IC1... Information icon, IC2... Help icon, ME1... Login message, OA... Other person's avatar, PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4... Seated person's avatar, PU... Pop-up image, RB... Range bar, RI1, RI2... Recommended item image, SC1... Initial screen, SC2... Menu screen, SP... Smartphone, TBL... Table.

Claims (8)

A first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided,
A second memory unit stores trend information that represents the characteristics of each customer in association with customer identification information that identifies the customer,
An input terminal for inputting information to obtain the number and seating arrangement of multiple customers who have entered the store, and a communication unit that communicates with an order terminal that obtains the customer identification information of each of the customers who have entered the store and accepts orders for the menu items ,
A first control unit, based on information received by the communication unit from the input terminal and the order terminal , determines the number and arrangement of the multiple customers who have come to the store and the customer identification information of each customer, obtains the trend information of each customer from the second storage unit based on the determined customer identification information of each customer, and rearranges the menu items based on the obtained trend information of each customer and the determined number and arrangement of the customers.
A second control unit creates a menu screen for accepting selections of menu items to be ordered by multiple customers who have come to the store, including images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, and arranging the images based on the number and arrangement of the identified customers, and transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal via the communication unit.
An information processing device equipped with the following: The first control unit is,
The communication unit reads the trend information corresponding to the customer identification information of each customer received from the order terminal from the second storage unit, thereby determining the trend information of each customer.
Based on the information for obtaining the number and location of the customers received from the input terminal by the communication unit, the number and location of the customers are determined.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control unit transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal via the communication unit. The input terminal includes at least one of the following: a camera for photographing the multiple customers, a staff terminal operated by a staff member, and an order terminal for communicating with each customer's mobile terminal.
The first control unit is,
The camera receives images as information for obtaining the number and arrangement of the aforementioned customers, recognizes the number and arrangement of the aforementioned customers from the images, or
The store receives information indicating the number and placement of the customers, which is entered by the store clerk's terminal, as information for obtaining the number and placement of the customers, or
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, which receives information indicating seating positions received by the order terminal as information for obtaining the number and arrangement of the aforementioned customers. If the first control unit determines that there are two customers and the two customers are seated side by side,
The first control unit rearranges the menu items based on the trend information of the two customers.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second control unit places the image of the menu item that has the highest degree of matching with the trends of the two customers in the center of the menu screen. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second control unit arranges the images of the menu items on the menu screen such that the images of menu items that have a high degree of matching with the tendencies of one of the two customers and a low degree of matching with the tendencies of the other customer are placed on the side of the one customer. If the arrangement of the multiple customers determined by the first control unit is facing each other,
The first control unit rearranges the menu items for each customer based on the trend information for each customer.
The second control unit is,
The aforementioned menu screen is divided into separate areas for each customer.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein for each of the aforementioned customers, the image of the menu item that has the highest degree of matching with the customer's tendencies is placed in the center of the divided area. An input terminal for entering information to obtain the number and seating arrangement of multiple customers who have entered the store,
An order terminal that acquires customer identification information to identify each customer who visits the store and accepts orders for available food and beverage menu items,
An information processing device that transmits a menu screen to the order terminal for accepting the selection of menu items to be ordered by the customer who has come to the store, and receives an order for the menu items from the order terminal,
A restaurant system equipped with,
The aforementioned information processing device is
A first storage unit that stores images for each of the aforementioned menu items,
A second storage unit stores trend information that represents the trends of each customer in association with the aforementioned customer identification information,
A communication unit that communicates with the order terminal and the input terminal,
A first control unit, based on information received by the communication unit from the input terminal and the order terminal , determines the number and arrangement of the multiple customers who have come to the store and the customer identification information of each customer, obtains the trend information of each customer from the second storage unit based on the determined customer identification information of each customer, and rearranges the menu items based on the obtained trend information of each customer and the determined number and arrangement of the customers.
A second control unit creates a menu screen for accepting selections of menu items to be ordered by multiple customers who have come to the store, including images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, and arranging the images based on the number and arrangement of the identified customers , and transmits the created menu screen to the order terminal via the communication unit.
A restaurant system equipped with the following features. The computer of the information processing device comprises: a first storage unit that stores images of each menu item of food and beverages that can be provided; a second storage unit that stores trend information representing the tendencies of each customer in association with customer identification information that identifies the customer; an input terminal for inputting information to obtain the number and arrangement of multiple customers who have come to the store ; and a communication unit that acquires the customer identification information of each of the customers who have come to the store and communicates with an order terminal that accepts orders for the menu items .
Based on the information received by the communication unit from the input terminal and the order terminal , the number and arrangement of the multiple customers who have come to the store and the customer identification information of each customer are determined, the trend information of each customer is obtained from the second storage unit based on the determined customer identification information of each customer, and the menu items are rearranged based on the obtained trend information of each customer and the number and arrangement of the determined customers.
A function to create a menu screen for accepting selections of menu items to be ordered by multiple customers who have come to the store, including images of one or more of the rearranged menu items, and arranging the images based on the number and arrangement of the identified customers , and to transmit the created menu screen to the order terminal via the communication unit,
A control program to achieve this.