KR102027281B1 - Method and system for transmitting customer request based on bidirectional local communication - Google Patents

Abstract

A system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a customer device having at least two physical buttons for performing order content selection and service provider calling functions, at least one of the customer devices and at least one employee device, and a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth mesh. An access point (AP) that performs bidirectional communication using a network, and receives a service request signal generated in the customer device from the AP and requests a service device among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal. And at least one employee device for identifying and displaying a table identification number and order information based on a service server sending the service request signal to the employee device and a service request signal sent from the server. Above device for When a confirmation event for a service request signal transmitted from a production server is detected, the employee device transmits an employee confirmation signal to the operation server side, and the operation server transmits the employee confirmation signal to a customer device for service. Characterized in that the request signal is received.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING CUSTOMER REQUEST BASED ON BIDIRECTIONAL LOCAL COMMUNICATION}

The present invention relates to a system for conveying the status of a service request and order information with an improved invention of application No. 10-2017-0015186. More specifically, by using the short-range communication function to transmit the service request signal containing the order to the service provider side, the service provider receiving the service request signal and at the same time can grasp the order information, the service requester service The present invention relates to a system for checking whether a provider receives a signal.

Our society is undergoing a hyper-connectivity revolution based on the Internet of Things (IoT) where everything is connected to the Internet after the Industrial Revolution and the Information Revolution. Things that are currently connected to the Internet are less than 1% of all things, but a variety of innovations and business opportunities can be created in the future.

As an example of an IoT service that can be found in the surrounding area, a connected car has been introduced to support automatic transmission of emergency rescue messages and unmanned autonomous driving services by connecting a vehicle to the Internet. In addition, healthcare products support the health care service by measuring the body's heart rate and exercise. In the smart home, it supports services such as remote control of home appliances or home CCTV.

Key technologies of IoT include sensing technology, wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure technology, and IoT service interface technology. First, sensing technology can be used to obtain information from tangible objects and surroundings such as remote sensing, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), radar, position, motion, and image sensors from traditional temperature / humidity / heat / gas / illuminance / ultrasonic sensors. Means detection in the sensor. Physical sensors are evolving into smart sensors with standardized interfaces and information processing capabilities to improve application characteristics. In addition, physical sensors include a virtual sensing function that extracts specific information from data that has already been sensed. Implemented in the IoT service interface. IoT sensing technology uses multi-sensor technology that is one level higher than standard independent and individual sensors, enabling more intelligent and higher-level information to be extracted.

In terms of wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure technologies, IoT wired and wireless communication and network devices include conventional wireless personal area networks (WPAN), Wi-Fi, 3G / 4G / LTE, Bluetooth, Ethernet, It refers to all wired and wireless networks that can connect humans, objects, and services such as broadband convergence network (BcN), satellite communication, microware, serial communication, and power line communication (PLC).

The IoT service interface plays a role of integrating the three major components of the IoT (human / object / service) with an application service performing a specific function. More specifically, the IoT service interface is not a concept of a network interface, but senses, processes / extracts / processes, stores, judges, recognizes, recognizes, secures / privacy protects, authenticates / authorizes, discovers, formalizes objects, and ontos information. It acts as an interface (storage, processing, transformation, etc.) to provide services such as luggage-based semantics, open sensor APIs, virtualization, positioning, processor management, open platform technology, middleware technology, data mining technology, web service technology, and social networks. Perform.

In particular, the wireless calling bell used in restaurants, hospitals, and factories plays a role of calling or transmitting information to convey a user's requirements or whether a specific event has occurred. have. The user pushes the radio call bell, and the call signal is transmitted to the central control unit to identify the radio call bell and provide an environment for following up on the radio call bell.

However, the conventional call bell has been mostly a one-way communication method using RF (Radio Frequency), and there is an inconvenience in that the service provider receiving the call signal cannot transmit a signal to the service requester (customer). In addition, since the conventional call bell simply calls the service requester and cannot deliver the service request, the service provider has to additionally perform a movement for receiving the service request. Accordingly, in the workplace using the conventional call bell method, there is a problem of inefficient work because additional operations must be additionally performed. On the other hand, there is a similar patent is published Patent Publication 10-2009-0051485.

In the present invention, when the call signal is input from the customer device for transmitting the call signal, a method and system that can be efficiently made to respond to this will be proposed.

An object of the present invention is to provide an environment in which quick and accurate communication is made between a calling party and a called party by using a Wi-Fi signal.

Technical objects (objectives) to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical objects (objectives), and other technical objects (objectives) which are not mentioned above are common in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. It will be clearly understood by those who have knowledge.

The system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a customer device having at least two physical buttons for performing order content selection and service provider calling functions, at least one of the customer devices and at least one employee device and a Wi-Fi mesh (Mesh). Or an access point (AP) that performs two-way communication using a Bluetooth mesh network, a service request signal generated in the customer device from the AP, and a customer who requests a service among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal And one or more employee devices identifying a device for use, and displaying a table identification number and order information based on the service server sending the service request signal to the employee device and the service request signal sent from the server. , Employees' devices When the confirmation event for the service request signal transmitted from the production server is detected, the employee device sends an employee confirmation signal to the production server side, the production server transmits the employee confirmation signal to the customer device To inform that the service request signal is received and processed.

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

In addition, according to the present invention, after the call signal to the multiple receivers (employee devices) at the same time the customer's calls or needs are delivered to enable faster response to the customer and there is an advantageous effect that can expect to improve the overall service quality. .

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

As the present invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements.

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

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Also, in the present specification, the device may be a general apparatus (or thing) connected to a gateway and applied to the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the device may be a wireless pager, smartphone, tablet PC, computer, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, acoustic sensor, motion sensor, proximity sensor, gas sensor, heat sensor, refrigerator, CCTV, TV, washing machine, dehumidifier , Lights, fire alarms, and the like. However, this is not limitative.

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

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

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

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

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

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

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

 The customer device 110 may receive a button input by a user who wants to provide a service, and may transmit a signal corresponding to the button input to an operation server that relays it through the AP 140. Thereafter, the production server may transmit the signal to the employee device 120. In this manner, the customer device 110 transmits and receives a signal to and from the employee device 120 using Wi-Fi, thereby enabling bidirectional communication of receiving a signal transmitted from the customer device 110 by the customer device 110. However, the manner in which the customer device 110 communicates with the employee device is not limited to the Wi-Fi method as described above, and may be implemented to enable two-way communication in various ways. For example, the customer device 110 may transmit / receive a signal by performing a Bluetooth communication method with the employee device 120. The Bluetooth communication method may include both Bluetooth Basic Rate / Enhanced Data Rate (BR / EDR) and Low Energy (LE) methods. Among Bluetooth communication methods, there are point-to-point, broadcast, and mesh methods, and the point-to-point method is 1: 1, the broadcast is 1: and the mesh is: a network topology for device communication. Can mean. However, the Bluetooth communication method is not limited to the above-mentioned version of the technology and may further include a communication method of various types of Bluetooth standards to be developed later.

When the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 communicate in a Bluetooth manner for bidirectional communication, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may perform device-to-device communication even if there is no separate repeater. In addition, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may perform two-way signal transmission and reception between devices by more various short range communication methods. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may use a short range communication method (eg, Wi-Fi, etc.) that requires an AP, and a method (eg, Bluetooth pairing, Bluetooth mesh network) that enables communication between devices without an AP. The user request information may be transmitted and received using both, and after determining an effective communication method based on conditions such as the location and signal strength of the device among the communication methods, a specific communication method may be selectively performed.

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

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

In addition, since the menu plate type call bell is configured to add a call bell device to the menu plate, it is preferable to be manufactured on a thin flat plate so that there is no sense of heterogeneity with the existing menu plate. Accordingly, the menu plate type call bell may be provided with a button using, for example, a dome switch product having a thickness of less than about 1 mm. The menu plate-type call bell may also be used both general PCB or FPCB according to the embodiment. The menu-type call bell may be fixed to a specific table in a state in which a table number has been assigned, but may be designed to enable a new designation of the table number.

Since the table-attached call bell (table number assigned method) is generally a commercially available call bell, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the table-attached call bell may also be manufactured to be ordered by directly pressing a number for each menu including a number button. In addition, the remote control call bell may be implemented by separating only the device area from the menu plate call bell. Like the menu type call bell, the remote control call bell may be in a state where a table number is pre-assigned, or a method of receiving a table number using a separate device may be used.

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

The AP 140 may specify the customer device 110 that has transmitted the service request signal. The specific frame of the service request signal received by the AP 140 may include identification information of the customer device 110.

The operation server 130 may control a signal transmission and reception between the customer device 110 and the AP 140. Based on the service request signal received at the AP 140, it may be identified which customer device 110 has transmitted the service request signal. As described above, the customer device 110 may be identified by the AP 140, and the customer device 110 may also be identified by the operation server 130 regardless of the identification of the AP 140. The customer device 110 may transmit unique identification information together in the service request signal and may include the corresponding information in a specific frame in the service request signal and transmit the same.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the customer device 110 may have fixed identification information of the device, or may be changed from time to time by a user (customer) or a service provider (employee). Similarly, even when the identification information of the device is changed from time to time, when the customer device 110 transmits a service request signal, the customer device 110 may include the device identification information stored in the customer device 110 at that time in the service request signal and transmit the same.

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

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

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

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the employee device 120 may perform a Wi-Fi communication function or a Bluetooth communication function capable of bidirectional communication. Therefore, when the employee receives a service request signal, the employee may press one button of the employee device 120 to notify other employee device and customer device 110 of whether or not the corresponding call signal is received. More specifically, when a customer's service request signal is confirmed on the employee device 120, the employee selects a work button on the employee device 120 to indicate that he or she will respond to the service request. The customer can confirm that the service request is confirmed and implicitly convey the meaning of waiting.

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

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

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

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

The communication unit 210 may transmit a beacon signal, and may use a unicasting, multi-casting, and broadcasting method. The unicasting method is a one-to-one communication method, and the customer device 110 may unicast signals to other devices, respectively. The multicasting scheme is a technique of transmitting the same signal to a plurality of receivers at once, and the broadcasting is a technique of indiscriminately transmitting to a plurality of other devices. The customer device 110 may transmit and advertise a signal in a broadcasting manner in order to discover itself in another device.

The display unit 220 may display information indicating that a button (or touch) input is available to a user who wants to make a call. The display unit 220 may display information by light emitting devices such as liquid crystals, LCDs, LEDs, and TFTs, and in some cases, may be displayed as a printed image.

The display unit 220 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may display information (eg, numeric information, alphabet, arithmetic symbols, etc.) corresponding to a button input by a user. The display unit 220 may display the input button information so that a user using the same may check whether the order information input by him / her is correct when creating the order information by inputting a number and then transmitting a service request signal.

In addition, the display unit 220 may display a specific signal informing the case where the service provider receives the service request signal after receiving the service request signal. For example, the display unit 220 may be manufactured to display various backgrounds, borders, text colors, and the like. For example, after the service request signal is sent, the display unit 220 may differently display at least one color of a border, a background, and a text before and after the service request signal is received by the employee device 120.

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

 The display unit 220 may be manufactured to display only relatively simple information, such as numbers and alphabets, in a 7-segment manner. However, the display unit 220 may be manufactured in a screen similar to a smartphone so as to display information such as text, video, and images. Accordingly, the display unit 220 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may display menu related information that cannot be provided in the menu board. For example, the display unit 220 may display video information on a cooking method, an affiliated company advertisement, a nutritional ingredient table of a menu selected by a user, allergy information, combination information of a matching menu, and the like.

The key input unit 230 may receive a user's button input. The user may receive a physical input of the user to the type key input unit 230, and may convert it into an electrical signal. Alternatively, the key input unit 230 may include a touch screen according to various embodiments, and may receive a user input by a touch input on the touch screen. The key input unit 230 may be manufactured in the form of a membrane dome switch when attached to a menu plate formed of paper or the like. Each button constituting the key input unit 230 may be set to correspond to a menu and a service request (eg, ask). Alternatively, the button of the key input unit 230 may be formed of a number, in which case the user may order the number assigned to each menu recorded on the existing menu board by using a number button.

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

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

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

In addition, the controller 250 may perform a calculator function according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. When the display unit is present in the customer device 110, the controller 250 may input a number for a desired menu from the user and calculate and display the sum of the amount of the selected menu before pressing the order button. In addition, if it is assumed that there is an additional formula symbol button for writing a simple calculation formula in the customer device 110, the controller 250 divides the total amount by the number of people in the group and calculates the cost to be calculated by one person before the order. Can be provided at 220.

The customer device 110 may further include a fixing part (not shown) that may be fixed at a specific position. The customer device for transmitting the service request signal may be utilized in a general restaurant, a hospital, a factory, and the like, and may be fixed to a table of a restaurant, a bed of a hospital, and the like. At the request of the user, the fixing part may be detachably movable.

The customer device 110 in the present specification may perform a general function as a portable terminal. Accordingly, the customer device 110 may perform not only a calling bell but also a smart device function. In addition, the menu plate call bell may be manufactured in a form (or linkage) attached to a small printer. When the menu-type call bell is received, the information on the order can be immediately output using a small printer linked to the user and the user can immediately check the order information to provide a bill.

3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a numeric button call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

On the other hand, the menu plate type call bell in which the menu plate area and the device area for the call are separated may be manufactured as shown in FIG. 3A. The menu type call bell may have a numeric button area 310, and may include a button for inputting selection information for each menu. The number button area 310 may further include a delete button 311 for deleting an input number and a plus button 312 for selecting a menu to be ordered, in addition to the number buttons 0 to 9. In order to order a plurality of menus at one time using the plus button 312, for example, the user may input an order button 342 after inputting '1 + 2 + 3'. Accordingly, the employee may determine that an order for the first menu, the second menu, and the third menu is requested based on the information about '1 + 2 + 3' identified in the employee device 120.

In addition, the menu plate type call bell may be provided with one button area 320 which is an area where buttons corresponding to frequently used service items exist. The button included in the other button area 320 may be set to request a function such as 'water request', 'water towel request', 'napkin request', or 'employee call'.

The menu plate call bell may further include a display unit 330. The display unit 330 may display the content (eg, a number) input by the user as it is so that the user may check whether the order inputted by the user is properly input. When the user inputs a menu number to order and presses the order button 342, the service request signal including the order information may be transmitted to the employee device 120 via the operation server 130. In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the menu type call bell may further include an order cancel button 343 required to cancel the order details. For example, the menu-type call bell may generate a signal for canceling the previously delivered order when the order cancellation button 343 is input after the same information (eg, the same number button) as previously sent by the user is input. have.

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

In addition, the menu plate call bell may be provided for each table according to an exemplary embodiment. In general, the menu plate call bell may also be used in a plurality of tables in a small amount considering that the menu plate is provided in a smaller number than the number of tables. The need to do that is required. According to such a necessity, the menu type call bell may further include a table designation button 341 for newly inputting corresponding table information each time it is provided to a specific table.

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

As described above, the menu plate-type call bell, as well as the device area 360 composed of the number button area 310, the other button area 320, the display unit 330, etc., displays a menu name, menu image, etc. on a material such as paper or film. The display area 350 may be divided.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When the customer device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention wants to transmit a call signal to the employee device 120, it is also possible to transmit only a simple call signal, and to order product information (product number displayed on the menu board) to be ordered. It is also possible to send the included call signal.

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

When receiving the service request signal including the order information from the customer device 110, the employee device 120 may perform operation 507 informing that the corresponding signal is confirmed. Operation 507 may be performed by, for example, touching the confirmation button displayed on the display unit of the employee wearable device or the employee smart terminal or inputting a separate key.

When the operation 507 is performed, the employee device 120 may perform an operation 509 of transmitting an employee confirmation signal to the customer device 110. When the customer device 110 receives the employee confirmation signal, the customer device 110 may change operation 505 displaying the order transfer signal to operation 511 displaying the confirmation signal.

When the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 are directly connected due to Bluetooth pairing or the like to perform bidirectional communication, the communication between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may be directly performed as shown in FIG. 5. have. However, when the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 each perform bidirectional communication based on a Wi-Fi signal, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may transmit and receive a signal through the operation server 130.

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

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

6 may be understood to be performed only when the customer device 110, the employee device 120, and the store management web 131 communicate through the operation server 130.

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

  Thereafter, the customer device 110 may perform operation 517 of displaying the received order item and the total amount on the display unit. Accordingly, even if the employee does not reconfirm the order details, the customer can check the order information by simply checking the contents displayed on the customer device 110.

On the other hand, when the menu plate type call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention was used in a plurality of tables described above with an example of setting the table number directly using the number buttons. However, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, even if the menu type call bell does not include a number button, it may be possible to change the table identification number in a plurality of tables. For example, when the customer device 110 includes an NFC tag or an NFC module, and each table is attached with a table identification number transmitter having an NFC writer function, the employee identifies the table when the customer device 110 is delivered to the table. By performing NFC contact on the number transmitter, a table identification number may be input (eg, NFC writing function) to the customer device 110. In this manner, the table identification number stored in the customer device 110 may be changed each time it is delivered to each table. Accordingly, the customer device 110 may support to transmit the changed table identification number when the service request signal is transmitted from the corresponding table.

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

The customer may press the button of the customer device briefly once, and the customer device may receive a command corresponding to the call from the customer, thereby broadcasting the corresponding service request signal.

The customer device may transmit a specific signal when a command corresponding to a call is received from a customer. The signal may be a signal including both table identification information stored in the customer device and information indicating a call occurrence.

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

 Employee devices 120, such as smartwatches worn by store employees, can display table identification information to indicate which customer device 110 has called, and store personnel who can provide response services can smartly accept the acceptance input. By the watch, a matching signal can be transmitted and can be specified as a response target.

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

Afterwards, the store employee who accepts the response service can move to the location of the customer who requested the call, tagging the customer's device on the customer's table and the smart watch (employee device) of the store employee, It may indicate that a response service is provided to a customer request.

The tagging in the present invention may be tagging that includes a proximity touch in addition to the actual physical contact. For example, when the smart watch of the store employee approaches within 10 cm of the customer device 110 of the table, it may be determined that the tag is tagged using a proximity sensor.

On the production server or on the space management web server, the store staff can measure a series of times from the customer's call request until the store employee accepts it, moves to the location, and tags it. The operation server accumulates the corresponding times and can be used as statistical information of the response service.

The customer can then face to face with the store employee to request the desired service, which the store associate can provide for. For example, an order of food or a request for payment may be performed.

In addition, when the store employee accepts the response service through the employee device 120, the signal may be transmitted to the customer device 110 as well as the other employee device through the operation server. You can notify the receipt. This prevents the customer from having to wait for an employee for a long time, thinking that the service request was sent even though the actual service request was not sent because the button was not properly pressed. In addition, through the above function, it is determined that the service request signal is not transmitted because the employee does not respond in a short time, thereby preventing the problem of prompting the employee by resending the service request signal unnecessarily.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the signal transmission method from the customer device 110 to the employee device 120 may use a beacon signal (BLE), and the signal transmitted from the employee device 120 to the customer device 110 may use Wi-Fi. have. Both sides of the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may perform a communication method using a beacon signal when transmitting a signal. In addition, the signal transmission method between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 is not limited according to various embodiments. Various combinations of communication methods can be used as long as two-way communication can be performed to transmit the service request signal transmitted from the customer device and the response signal transmitted from the employee device (employee confirmation signal, matching signal, etc.) to another device. Can be.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the operation server may provide additional services for the store management WEB server 131 and the customer service. Operation server 130 in the present invention may be a subject to communicate with the customer device 110 and the AP 140, in the case of the space management WEB server 131, may be a server that manages the interaction service between the actual customer and the store staff.

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

When the store management WEB server 131 can identify the customer, the store management WEB server 131 may transmit the cumulative order history of the customer to the customer device 110 to enable the customer to smoothly order. In the case of a restaurant, a food menu may be recommended based on popular food or biometric information of a customer. Alternatively, the customer may transmit information on the order ordered by another customer, or information about an expected time until the food is served.

If there is no order information from the customer for a predetermined time or more, the store management web server 131 may automatically send a signal to call a store employee to facilitate the order. In this case, store staff can go directly to the customer's location to help facilitate smooth ordering.

The store management web server 131 may provide various contents to the customer device 110. For example, a customer may provide a TV video related to a menu ordered by a customer. The customer can be provided with a quality service based on the received content.

After the order is completed, the store management WEB server may provide game content to the customer device. After the order, the game content affiliated with the customer device may be provided, or the game may be provided to the customer to use, and the game content may be supported at the time until the actual response is made.

In the present invention, a customer device and a smartphone are distinguished from each other. However, when the service request signal using the BLE beacon signal can be transmitted from the smart phone, the customer device and the smartphone can be understood as a single device. For example, a customer device and a smartphone (or may be a tablet) installed at a restaurant store table are a single device that can perform both call and order requests.

In other words, the system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure includes one or more customer devices that are provided in different tables that are matched with a specific space and transmit a service request signal including a table identification number and order information corresponding to a button input. can do. The system may include one or more employee devices located in the specific space, and are arranged spaced apart from each other in the specific space, and receive a service request signal including order information received from the one or more customer devices. And an AP for receiving the employee confirmation signal from the server and transmitting the employee confirmation signal to the customer device determined by the table identification information included in the employee confirmation signal.

The system may also include an operation server that specifies a customer device that has transmitted the service request signal among one or more customer devices based on a service request signal received from one or more APs. The operation server may transmit the service request signal including the table identification information of the customer device that transmitted the service request signal to the one or more employee devices. When the operation server receives the tagging information by being tagged with a customer device that has received a response signal (employee confirmation signal, matching signal, etc.) among the one or more employee devices, the service device signal is transmitted, The employee device that inputs the response signal and the customer device that transmits the service request signal may be matched to complete a signal transmission process.

Also, the operation server sets a priority to the employee device that has transmitted the matching signal, and the customer device which has transmitted the service request signal to an employee device having an idle state among the employee devices having the highest priority and the lower priority. Can match. When the operation server receives an additional service request signal (second service request signal) from the customer device that transmits the service request signal, the operation server transmits the request to the employee device matched to the customer device that transmitted the service request signal. The second service request signal may be set to be transmitted. When the corresponding service of the matched employee device is delayed for a predetermined time or more, the operation server may transmit the second service request signal to other employee devices. The operation server may provide a customized service by transmitting matching confirmation information to at least one employee device in order to share matching information between the customer and the store employee when matching of the customer device and the employee device is completed. The operation server may generate statistical information of the response service by measuring a time from when the service request signal is received to the time when the response corresponding to the service request signal is completed. In addition, when an ordering device (eg, a user's personal terminal) is connected to one or more customer devices, the operation server may transmit an access path to a web page capable of web ordering to the customer device that has transmitted the service request signal. have. The ordering device connected to the customer device that has received the access path may display an electronic menu board based on the received access path.

One or more customer devices may continuously send a service request signal to one or more APs in order to provide feedback on the response service after tagging the employee device. The operation server may continuously transmit the service request signal to the AP after the matching with the employee device is completed to induce the store employee to check the requirements of the customer device for the customer device matched after the set time elapses.

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

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

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

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

Claims (13)

A customer device having at least two physical buttons for performing order content selection and service provider calling functions;
An access point (AP) for performing two-way communication using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth mesh with at least one customer device and at least one employee device;
Receiving a service request signal generated in the customer device from the AP, identifying a customer device that has requested service among the one or more customer device devices based on the service request signal, and transmitting the service request signal to an employee device; Production server;
A store management web server communicating with the operation server and performing management on a response service provided to a customer by a store employee; And
And an employee device displaying a table identification number and order information based on a service request signal transmitted from the operation server, and detecting an acceptance input performed in response to the service request signal.
The customer device
A storage unit for storing a table identification number;
And a display unit for displaying an image and a video.
Upon receiving an input event for transmitting a service request signal from a user, the service request signal includes a table identification number stored in the storage unit, and the table identification number is changeable.
How to change the table identification number
When the customer device is provided with a number button and a table designation button, changing a table identification number of the customer device by pressing a table number and the table designation button using the number button; and
When the NFC tag and the NFC writer device provided for each table exist in the customer device, the customer device contacts the NFC writer device provided in the changed table to receive the changed table identification number into the NFC tag. This is done in one of the ways to change the table identification number of the customer device.
The customer device
When the selection of a specific button corresponding to the order information is detected, at least one of a recipe, an allergy information, a nutritional ingredient table, a type of ingredient, a place of origin, a cooking process image, and a price of the menu corresponding to the order information is displayed on the display unit. Displaying
When the employee device receives a signal for acceptance of the employee, the display setting of the display unit is changed to notify the employee of acceptance.
The operation server
Responding to the customer's service request by generating a matching confirmation signal by matching the employee device that has been accepted for the service request signal with the customer device that has transmitted the service request signal, and sending a matching confirmation signal to all the employee devices. Inform you that you have an assigned staff member
Sends a matching confirmation signal to the customer's device to inform the employee that the signal requested by the customer has been received.
As the tagging is performed between the matched employee device and the customer device, it is determined that the requested service is completed, and the transmission operation of the service request signal is completed.
For the service request, the time from the time when the acceptance input is detected by the employee device to the time when the tagging is recorded as the required time, and generates the statistical information that cumulatively recorded the required time,
Stores matching information between the employee device and the customer device, and preferentially calls the employee device with a matched history when a service request signal from the customer is generated later,
The customer device
Including device-owned and customer-owned devices,
The store management WEB server
If the customer device can be identified or the customer device is a customer-owned device, the customer can provide a cumulative order history, recommend a food menu to the customer based on the biometric information of the customer, and help the customer order.
And after the order, the customer transmits the TV content related to the order menu to the customer device to provide information related to the menu to the customer. The method of claim 1,
The customer device and the employee device is
Each equipped with a Bluetooth module,
Do two-way communication via Bluetooth pairing or Bluetooth mesh network,
The customer device transmits a service request signal to the employee device connected to the Bluetooth device through a Bluetooth pairing or a mesh network with at least one of the employee devices when there is a Wi-Fi connection restriction. Request Transfer System. delete The method of claim 1,
The customer device
It includes a key input unit consisting of a button for receiving the order information input by the user,
The button is a membrane type dome switch is a bidirectional short distance communication based customer request transmission system, characterized in that the production on the menu plate. The method of claim 4, wherein
The key input unit is composed of buttons for ordering each menu of the menu board,
The customer device
Bi-directional short-range communication based customer request transmission system, characterized in that when the input of the button is detected is produced to generate a signal for requesting the order corresponding to each menu of the menu board. The method of claim 4, wherein
The customer device
A plurality of buttons constituting the key input unit are provided in a separate device area separated from the menu display area of the menu board,
The plurality of buttons include a number button that is set to receive one number each, an order button for performing an order when a number assigned to a menu to be selected is input, and other buttons corresponding to frequently used service requests. A customer request transmission system based on bidirectional short-range communication. delete delete The method of claim 1,
When a plurality of matching signals are received from the at least one employee device at the production server, the production server matches one employee device with the customer device. Transmission system. The method of claim 1,
The employee device
Including smartphones, wearable devices and numbered displays,
The customer device
A system for requesting transmission based on two-way short-range communication, comprising: a menu-type call bell, a table-attached call bell, and a remote call ring. The method of claim 1,
The operation server is linked with the store management web to which the table information of the store and order information matching the table information is input,
When order information for each table is input to the store management web, the operation server transmits the input order information to a customer device having a corresponding table identification number, and the customer device displays the received order information. A two-way near field communication based customer request transmission system. delete The method of claim 1,
The customer device
When a plurality of specific buttons corresponding to the order information are input, the sum of prices of the input order information is displayed.
When the number of persons in the party is additionally input, the request of the customer based on the bidirectional short-range communication based on the sum of the price and the number of persons is performed and the calculation is performed. Transmission system.

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