KR20200090704A - Support system for sending and receiving order information in stores - Google Patents

Abstract

A system according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a customer device provided with at least two physical buttons performing order content selection and service provider calling functions; an access point (AP) performing bidirectional communications with one or more customer devices and one or more employee devices using a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth mesh network; an operating server receiving a service request signal, generated by the customer device, from the AP, identifying the customer device, having requested a service, among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal, and transferring the service request signal to the employee device; and the one or more employee devices displaying a table identification number and order information based on the service request signal transferred by the operating server, wherein, if the employee device detects a confirmation event on the service request signal transferred by the operating server, the employee device sends an employee confirmation signal to the operating server and the operating server transfers the employee confirmation signal to the customer device to inform the customer that the service request signal has been received. The present invention can rapidly respond to the customer and can enhance service quality.

Description

Support system for sending and receiving order information in stores}

The present invention is an improved invention of application number 10-2017-0015186, and relates to a system for transmitting and receiving order information in a store. More specifically, when a service request signal including an order is transmitted to the service provider using a short-range communication function, the service provider receiving the service receives the service request signal and can understand the order information, and the service requester It relates to a system that enables to check whether a provider receives a signal.

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

As an example of IoT services that can be found in the vicinity, the emergence of a connected car connects vehicles to the Internet to support automatic transmission of emergency rescue messages and unmanned driving services. In addition, health care products measure the body's heart rate and exercise, and support health care services. In the aspect of smart home, it supports services such as remote control of home appliances or home CCTV.

Sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure technology, and IoT service interface technology can be described as the main technologies of IoT. First of all, sensing technology can be used for remote sensing from traditional temperature/humidity/heat/gas/illuminance/ultrasonic sensors, etc., and physical information capable of obtaining information from tangible objects such as radar, position, motion, and image sensors and surrounding environments. It means the detection at the phosphorus sensor. Physical sensors are evolving into smart sensors that incorporate standardized interfaces and information processing capabilities to improve application characteristics, and also include a virtual sensing function that extracts specific information from data that has already been sensed. It is implemented in the IoT service interface. IoT sensing technology uses multiple (multi-sector) sensor technology that is one level higher than the standard independent and individual sensors, so it is possible to extract more intelligent and high-dimensional information.

When describing wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure technology, IoT wired/wireless communication and network devices include existing Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), Wi-Fi, 3G/4G/LTE, Bluetooth, Ethernet, 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 serves to link the three major components of IoT (human/object/service) with application services that perform specific functions. More specifically, the IoT service interface is not a concept of a network interface, but senses, processes/extracts/processes, stores, judges, recognizes situations, recognizes, protects security/privacy, authenticates/authorizes, discovers, object formalization, and ontologies. It acts as an interface (storage, processing, conversion, etc.) to provide services such as semantic, open sensor API, virtualization, location, processor management, open platform technology, middleware technology, data mining technology, web service technology, and social network Perform.

In particular, a wireless calling bell, which is used in general restaurants, hospitals, factories, etc., plays a role of invoking others or transmitting information in order to deliver a requirement or a specific event to a user. have. The user pushes the wireless call bell, and the call signal is transmitted to the central control device to identify the wireless call bell and provide an environment for follow-up to the wireless call bell.

However, in the conventional call bell, most of the unidirectional communication methods using radio frequency (RF), and the service provider side receiving the call signal has the inconvenience of not being able to transmit the 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 had to perform additional movement to receive the service request. Accordingly, in the workplace using the conventional call bell method, an unnecessary operation has to be additionally performed, so there is a problem that inefficiency of work. On the other hand, a similar patent is published Patent Publication 10-2009-0051485.

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

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and 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 using a Wi-Fi signal.

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

The system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a customer device having at least two or more physical buttons that perform an order content selection and service provider call function, one or more customer devices, and one or more employee devices and a Wi-Fi mesh ) Or an AP (Access Point) that performs bidirectional communication using a Bluetooth mesh network, receives a service request signal generated from the customer device from the AP, and requests a service among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal And one or more employee devices for identifying a device for use and displaying a table identification number and ordering information based on a service request signal transmitted from the operation server and an operation server transmitting the service request signal to the employee device, and , When a confirmation event for a service request signal transmitted from the operation server is detected on the employee device, the employee device transmits an employee confirmation signal to the operation server side, and the operation server sends the employee confirmation signal It is characterized in that it is transmitted to a customer device to inform that a service request signal is received and processed.

Since the present invention allows the transmission side to determine whether or not the reception of the call signal has been made, it is possible to prevent the transmission side from retransmitting the call button unnecessarily.

In addition, according to the present invention, after a call signal, a customer's call or need is simultaneously delivered to a plurality of receivers (devices for employees), thereby enabling a quicker response to the customer and improving 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.
3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a numeric button type menu board call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a state of a button-type menu board 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 an order for performing order confirmation in a customer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to various changes and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail.

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

When an element is said to be "connected" to or "connected" to another component, it is understood that other components may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but there may be other components in between. It should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle.

The terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, terms such as “include” or “have” are intended to indicate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, and that one or more other features are present. It should be understood that the existence or addition possibilities of fields or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof are not excluded in advance.

In addition, in the present specification, the device may be a general device (or thing) connected to a gateway and applied to the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the device is a 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, it is not limited thereto.

In addition, in this specification, a device may be mixed with “device” or “device”, and “device”, “device”, and “device” may be described in the same expression.

In addition, in the present specification, device information of a device is information representing a device and a property of a device, for example, an identification value of a device, a device type, a type and property of sensing data sensed by the device, and a sensing of the device It may contain information about the cycle.

Further, in this specification, a service may include various services that can be performed on a device. The service may include a service based on communication with a server or another device, and a service operable within the device. It is preferable that the service applied to the present disclosure is understood as a broad concept including various services that can be performed on a device in addition to the service described as an example in the present disclosure.

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

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

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

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

The customer device 110 may receive a button input by a user who wants to provide a service, and transmit a signal corresponding to the button input to the operation server side relaying it through the AP 140. Thereafter, the operation server may transmit the corresponding signal to the employee device 120. In this way, the customer device 110 transmits and receives signals to and from the employee device 120 using Wi-Fi, and thus enables bidirectional communication to receive the signal transmitted from the employee device 120 side by the customer device 110 side. However, the manner in which the customer device 110 communicates with the employee device is not limited to the Wi-Fi method, and may be implemented to enable two-way communication in various ways. For example, the customer device 110 may transmit and receive signals 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 in the low-energy method, and the point-to-point method is 1:1, broadcast is 1: multi, and mesh is multi: multi-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 various types of Bluetooth standard communication methods developed later.

When the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 communicate via a Bluetooth method for two-way communication, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may perform communication between devices even if there is no separate repeater. In addition, by using various short-range communication methods, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 can perform two-way signal transmission and reception between devices. According to various embodiments, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may use a short-range communication method (for example, Wi-Fi, etc.) of a method requiring an AP and a method for communicating between devices without an AP (for example, Bluetooth pairing, Bluetooth mesh network). All can be used to transmit and receive customer request information, and after determining an effective communication method based on conditions such as device location and signal strength among 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-type call bell, a table-mounted call bell, and a remote control call bell, according to various embodiments of the present invention.

The menu plate-type call bell may be manufactured to have a menu-specific button (eg, a membrane-type dome switch) in a general booklet-type menu plate to transmit a service request signal and simultaneously transmit order information. Alternatively, the menu plate-type call bell may be manufactured by distinguishing a menu image region providing an existing menu plate image and a device region supporting a service request signal by pressing a number corresponding to each menu. In addition, the device area may include a numeric button and an order request button to allow input of a number corresponding to each menu.

In addition, since the menu plate type call bell is a configuration in which a call bell device is added to the menu plate, it is preferable to be manufactured on a thin flat plate so that there is no discomfort from the existing menu plate. Accordingly, a button using a dome switch product having a thickness of less than about 1 mm may be provided on the menu plate type call bell. The menu board-type call bell may also be a general PCB or FPCB, depending on the embodiment. The menu-type call bell may be fixedly used in a specific table in a state in which a table number is already assigned, but may be designed to enable a new designation of the table number.

The table-attached ringing bell (table numbering method) is a commercialized ringing bell, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the table-mounted call bell may also be manufactured to be ordered by directly pressing a number for each menu including a number button. In addition, the remote control-type call bell may be implemented by separating only the device area from the menu-type call bell. The remote control-type call bell may be in a state in which a table number is previously assigned, as in the case of a menu-type call bell, but a method of receiving a table number using a separate device may be used.

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

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

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

Further, according to various embodiments of the present invention, the customer device 110 may have fixed identification information of a 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 device identification information stored in the customer device 110 at the time may be included in the service request signal and transmitted.

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

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

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

In addition, the employee device 120 may perform a Wi-Fi communication function or a Bluetooth communication function capable of two-way communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, when a customer's service request signal is received, the employee may notify the other employee device and the customer device 110 whether or not the corresponding call signal is received by pressing the work button of the employee device 120 in response. More specifically, when a customer's service request signal is confirmed on the employee device 120, the employee is distantly collaborating with the employee device 120 by selecting a work button, and a distant associate employee will respond to the service request. You can inform the customer, and you can implicitly convey the meaning of waiting because you have confirmed the service request.

The store management WEB server 131 can confirm whether an interaction service is provided between the customer and the employee who requested (calls) the service, and can receive and manage the customer's request. In addition, it is possible to store and manage information such as the number of signal transmissions and transmission cycles of the customer device 110 in the store 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 embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 210, a display unit 220, a key input unit 230, a storage unit 240, and a control unit 250. In addition, the communication unit 210 may include a short-range communication module such as NFC module 211, WiFi module 212, Bluetooth module 213, and the like.

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

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

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

The display 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may display information (eg, numeric information, alphabets, 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 who uses it can check whether the order information entered by the user is correct when the order information is transmitted by completing the order information by inputting a number.

In addition, the display unit 220 may display a specific signal informing when the service provider receives it after transmitting 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, the display unit 220 may differently display at least one color among borders, backgrounds, and characters before and after the service request signal is received by the employee device 120 after the service request signal is sent.

The display unit 220 may display menu information received after an order is received. Thus, the display unit 220 may serve as a bill. When adding a menu, the user can check the order history displayed on the display unit 220 and determine whether the order has been properly performed. At this time, the order history displayed on the display unit 220 may be information received from the payment system in conjunction with the in-store payment system. Accordingly, the store side can confirm whether the order was properly made to the customer through the order history displayed on the display unit 220 without directly passing the printed bill.

The display unit 220 may be manufactured to display only relatively simple information such as numbers and alphabets in a 7-segment method, but may also be manufactured as a screen similar to a smartphone to display information such as text, video, and images. Accordingly, the display unit 220 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may display menu-related information that is not provided by the menu board. For example, the display unit 220 may display video information on a cooking method, advertisements of affiliates, nutritional component tables of menus selected by a user, allergy information, and combination information of matching menus.

The key input unit 230 may receive a user's button input. A user's physical input to the type key input unit 230 may be received and converted 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. In addition, the key input unit 230 may be manufactured in the form of a membrane-type 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 each menu and service request (eg, please ask). Alternatively, the buttons of the key input unit 230 may be formed of numbers, and in this case, the user may order the number assigned to each menu recorded on the existing menu board by inputting the number buttons.

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 the SSID and password of the AP 140. In addition, the storage unit 240 may store information related to Bluetooth pairing information and other communication required when the customer device 110 performs a direct connection with 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, material, allergy information, cooking method, price, etc.) of 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 sum of the amounts of the menu selected by the user according to various embodiments.

The control unit 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.

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

In addition, the control unit 250 may perform a calculator function according to various embodiments of the present invention. When the display unit is present on the customer device 110, the control unit 250 may control the user to input a number for a desired menu and calculate and display the sum of the selected menu amount before pressing the order button. In addition, assuming that there is an additional formula symbol button capable of creating a simple calculation formula on the customer device 110, the control unit 250 divides the total amount by the number of people in the party and calculates and displays the cost to be calculated by one person before ordering. 220.

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

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

3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a numeric button-type 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 having a call button, and a button may be provided next to each menu name, or a button may be separately provided 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, a signal for ordering the corresponding menu may be transmitted to the employee device 120 when a button next to each menu name is pressed.

On the other hand, a menu plate type call bell in which the menu area and the device area for calling are separately separated may be manufactured as in FIG. 3A. Numeral button area 310 may exist in the menu-type call bell, and a button for entering selection information for each menu may be included. In addition, the number button area 310 may further include a delete button 311 for erasing an input number and a plus button 312 for selecting a menu to be ordered, in addition to the number buttons 0 to 9. When using the plus button 312 to order a plurality of menus at once, for example, the user may input '1+2+3' and then input an order button 342. Accordingly, the employee may determine that an order for menu 1, menu 2, and menu 3 is requested based on the information on the '1+2+3' identified in the device 120 for employees.

In addition, other button areas 320, which are areas in which buttons corresponding to frequently used service items exist, may be provided in one area of the menu-type call bell. The buttons included in the other button area 320 may be set to request functions such as'water request','water towel request','napkin request', and'staff call'.

Further, a display unit 330 may be further provided on the menu plate type call bell. The display unit 330 may display the contents (eg, numbers) input by the user as it is so that the user can check whether or not the order items entered by the user are properly entered. And when the user inputs the number of the menu to be ordered and presses the order button 342, a service request signal including order information may be transmitted to the employee device 120 through the operation server 130. Also, according to various embodiments, the menu-type call bell may further include an order cancel button 343 required to cancel an order history. For example, the menu-type call bell may generate a signal to cancel the previously delivered order when the order cancel button 343 is input after the same information as the order information previously transmitted by the user (eg, the same numeric button) is input. have.

In addition, the display unit 330 may change color immediately after transmitting the service request signal and after confirming the signal and recognizing the service request. This may be implemented by a method of changing the color of the display unit 330 by receiving a reception confirmation signal by selecting a specific button indicating that the service request signal has been received from the employee device 120 and receiving it at the customer device 110 side. In this case, the object to be changed by the acknowledgment signal of the employee device 110 side is not limited to the color of the display unit 330, and 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 have a lamp on one side of the device area and change the color of the corresponding lamp to inform the reception. In addition, it is possible to implement a method of notifying the reception of various types of service request signals.

In addition, the menu plate-type call bell may be provided for each table according to an embodiment. However, considering that the menu plate is provided in a smaller number than the number of tables, the menu-type call bell can also be used in a plurality of tables in a small amount. There is a need to do. According to this necessity, the menu-type call bell may be additionally provided with a table designation button 341 that allows new input of corresponding table information whenever provided to a specific table.

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

The menu plate type call bell is a menu for displaying existing menu names, menu images, and the like on paper, film, and the like, as well as the device area 360 including the numeric button area 310, the other button area 320, and the display 330 as described above. It can be divided into a display area 350.

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile, the table number designation apparatus 430 according to an embodiment of the present invention may support two-way communication (eg, a Bluetooth 5.0 version mesh function) with various types of customer devices and employee devices. Accordingly, the table number designation device 430 can also overcome the inconvenience of performing communication with other devices in the store through one specific device (eg, AP). In addition, since each device can perform bidirectional communication with each other, each device can perform functions such as differently determining a signal transmission method or order based on a distance between devices and 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 an 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 product information (number for each product displayed on the menu board) to be ordered. It is also possible to transmit the included paging signal.

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

Upon receiving the service request signal including the order information from the customer device 110, the employee device 120 may perform operation 507 indicating that the corresponding signal is confirmed. The operation 507 may be performed, for example, by touching an OK button displayed on a display unit of a wearable device for employees or a smart terminal for employees or by entering a separate key.

When the operation 507 is performed, the employee device 120 may perform operation 509 of transmitting an employee confirmation signal to the customer device 110 side. When receiving the employee confirmation signal, the customer device 110 may change the operation 505 displaying the signal during order delivery to the 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 two-way communication, the communication between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may be directly performed as illustrated in FIG. 5. have. However, when the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 respectively perform bidirectional communication based on the Wi-Fi signal, the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 may transmit and receive signals through the operation server 130.

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

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

In addition, the operation disclosed in FIG. 6 may be understood to be performed only when the customer device 110 and 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 rather than a simple call, the employee receives an order received from the customer in the store management web 131 In step 513, input for future payment may be performed. Accordingly, when table information and order information of the corresponding table are input to the store management web 131, operation 515 in which the newly entered order is transmitted to the customer device 110 may be performed. In addition, since the total amount of the order history is automatically displayed on the store management web 131, when the order information is transmitted from the operation server 130 to the customer device 110, information on the total amount can 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, the customer can check the order information sufficiently by simply checking the content displayed on the customer device 110 even if the employee's order history is not reconfirmed.

On the other hand, in the case where the menu-type call bell according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in a plurality of tables, it has been described as an example in which the employee sets the table number directly using the number buttons. However, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, it may be possible to change the table identification number in a plurality of tables even if the menu-type call bell does not include a number button. For example, if the customer device 110 has an NFC tag or an NFC module, and each table is equipped with a table ID number transmitter with an NFC writer function, the employee identifies the table when delivering the customer device 110 to the table. By performing NFC contact to the number transmitter, a table identification number may be input to the customer device 110 (eg, NFC writing function). In this way, 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 transmitting a service request signal from the corresponding table.

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

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

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

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

The employee device 120, such as a smartwatch worn by a store employee, can display table identification information to indicate which customer device 110 is calling, and a store employee who can provide a response service can smartly accept the input. By making it a 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 corresponding customer and the store employee, and when there is a subsequent call request, the call request signal may be transmitted to the smart watch of the same store employee. However, the operation server may transmit a call request signal to another store employee's smart watch when it is determined that the corresponding service of the corresponding store employee may be delayed for a predetermined time or more. This is because it is possible to provide a quality service to the customer by enabling 1:1 matching between the customer and the store employee.

Thereafter, the store employee who has accepted the service can move to the location of the customer who requested the call, tagging the customer's device in the customer's table and the store worker's smart watch (employee device), in fact It can indicate that the service is provided in response to customer requests.

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

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

Subsequently, the customer can face to face with the store employee and request a desired service, and the store employee can provide a response service. For example, an order for food or a request for payment may be performed.

In addition, when the store employee accepts the response service through the device 120 for the employee, the signal for this may be transmitted to the customer device 110 as well as the device for other employees through the operation server, and thus the signal requested on the customer device 110 is transmitted. It can be notified that it has been received. Due to this, even if an actual service request is not transmitted due to a reason that the button is not properly pressed, the service request may be mistaken as being transmitted, thereby preventing the inconvenience of a customer waiting for an employee for a long time. In addition, through the above-described 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.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the signal transmission method from the customer device 110 to the employee device 120 uses a beacon signal (BLE), and the signal transmitted from the employee device 120 to the customer device 110 may use Wi-Fi. have. When transmitting signals from both the customer device 110 and the employee device 120, a communication method using a beacon signal may be performed. In addition, a signal transmission method between the customer device 110 and the employee device 120 is not limited according to various embodiments. Various combinations of communication methods are utilized 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 identification signal, matching signal, etc.) to another device. Can be.

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

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

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

The store management WEB server 131 may transmit a signal to automatically call a store employee to facilitate an order when there is no order information from a customer for a predetermined time or more. In this case, it is possible to assist the store staff to move directly to the customer's location to facilitate the order.

The store management WEB server 131 may provide various contents to the customer device 110. For example, a TV video related to a menu ordered by a customer may be provided. Customers can be provided with 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 ordering, it is possible to provide game content affiliated to the customer device or to provide a benefit to the game used by the customer, so that the game content can be performed in the time until the actual response.

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

In short, the system according to various embodiments of the present invention is provided in different tables matching a specific space, and includes one or more customer devices that transmit service request signals including order information corresponding to table identification numbers and button inputs. can do. In addition, the system may include one or more employee devices located in the specific space, and are 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.

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

In addition, the operation server sets the rank of the device for the employee who sent the matching signal, and the device for the customer who transmitted the service request signal to the device for the employee in the idle state among the devices of the highest and lowest priority employees. Can match. In addition, when the operation server receives an additional service request signal (second service request signal) from the customer device that has transmitted the service request signal, the operation server sends the service request signal to the employee device matching the customer device that has transmitted the service request signal. It may be configured to transmit the second service request signal. In addition, when the corresponding service of the matched employee device is delayed for a predetermined time or longer, the operation server may transmit the second service request signal to other employee devices. When the matching between the customer device and the employee device is completed, the operation server may provide a customized service by transmitting matching confirmation information to one or more employee devices in order to share matching information between the customer and the store employee. In addition, the operation server may generate statistical information of the response service by measuring the time from receiving the service request signal to completing the response corresponding to the service request signal. In addition, when an ordering device (for example, 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. Further, the order device connected to the customer device that has received the access route may display an electronic menu board based on the received access route.

One or more customer devices may continuously send a service request signal to one or more APs to perform feedback on the response service after tagging the employee devices. In addition, after the matching with the employee device is completed, the operation server may continuously transmit a service request signal to the AP to induce the store employee to check the matched customer device side customer's requirements 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 to manage the elapsed time from the last response time for each call bell.

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

Therefore, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned examples, those skilled in the art can make modifications, alterations and modifications to the examples without departing from the scope of the present invention. In short, in order to achieve the desired 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 order shown in the drawings in the order shown, and even if not, any number of technical aspects of the present invention described in the claims Note that it can 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 (1)

A customer device having a physical button for selecting an order content and calling a service provider;
An AP (Access Point) that performs two-way communication with one or more of the customer device and one or more employee devices;
The service request signal generated by the customer device is received from the AP, and a service request signal is identified among the one or more customer devices based on the service request signal, and the service request signal is transmitted to the employee device. Production server;
A store management WEB server that communicates with the operation server and performs management related to a service provided by a store employee to a customer; And
Includes; a device for displaying the table identification number and order information based on the service request signal transmitted from the operation server, and for detecting the acceptance input performed in response to the service request signal; includes,
The customer device is
A storage unit for storing the table identification number;
Includes a display unit that can display images and videos;
When an input event for transmitting a service request signal is received from a user, the service request signal is transmitted by including the table identification number stored in the storage unit, but the table identification number can be changed.
How to change the table identification number
If the customer device is provided with a numeric button and a table designation button, a method of changing the table identification number of the customer device by pressing the table number and the table designation button using the numeric button and
When there is an NFC tag in the customer device and an NFC writer device provided in the store, the customer device contacts the NFC writer device so that the changed table identification number is input to the NFC tag, so that the customer device table Is done in one of the ways to change the identification number,
The operation server
Match the input device for the service request signal and the customer device that sent the service request signal to generate a matching confirmation signal, and send a matching confirmation signal to all employee devices to respond to the customer's service request To inform them that the employee to be assigned has been assigned,
Send a matching confirmation signal to the customer device to inform the employee that the signal requested by the customer has been received,
The operation server
When a second service request signal is received from the customer device, the second service request signal is transmitted to the matched employee device, and when the corresponding service of the matched employee device is delayed for a predetermined time or more, another employee device To the second service request signal,
As the tagging between the matched employee device and the customer device is performed, it is determined that the requested service is completed, and the service request signal transmission operation is completed.
Records the time from the time when the acceptance input is detected at the employee device to the time when the tagging is made for the service request, and generates statistical information that accumulates the required time,
Stores matching information between the employee's device and the customer's device, and when a customer's service request signal is generated, the employee's device with a previously matched history is preferentially called.
The customer device is
A system for transmitting and receiving order information in a store, comprising a device owned by a store and a device owned by a customer.

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