WO2010037394A1

WO2010037394A1 - Ordering system with terminal unit having barcode scanner

Info

Publication number: WO2010037394A1
Application number: PCT/DK2009/050254
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jesper Buch
Original assignee: Just-Eat Group Limited
Priority date: 2008-10-01
Filing date: 2009-10-01
Publication date: 2010-04-08

Abstract

An ordering system for ordering services or goods, the ordering system comprising - a plurality of client computers connected to a digital data network, the client computers comprising means for receiving input from a client concerning orders, -a central server system configured for communication with the client computers through the digital data network and programmed for receiving orders from the client computers and for transmitting the orders to service providers or goods providers, -at least one terminal unitat the site for the service provider or good provider, the terminal unitbeing configured for receiving client orders from the central server system and being connected to a printer for printing out a client order on a paper strip, the printout having a bar code individual for the order. In addition, the terminal unit is functionally connected to a bar code scanner for scanning the bar code, and the termi- nal unitis configured for sending a digital message about the order to the centralserver system or to the clientdirectly as a consequence of the bar code scanning. Typically, the digital message is a confirmation that the food or other goods or services are ready for pick-up or delivery.

Description

Ordering system with terminal unit having barcode scanner

INVENTION

The present invention relates to an Internet ordering systems for services or goods with a central server system and corresponding terminal units at the vendors site, especially for take-away restaurants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In connection with take-away restaurants, ordering systems exist, where the user may order food over the Internet and receive as a response an indication, whether the actual restaurant is able to have the ordered food ready within reasonable time and when the food can be picked up or is delivered.

An ordering system is disclosed in US patent No. 5,991,739 by Cupps et al, where an order from the client is converted by a server into a voice instruction to the vendor or into instructions by e-mail, telephone or as a facsimile transmission.

In order to assure that the vendor receives communication undisturbed from such a server, an ordering system is disclosed in International patent application WO 02/37347 by Berno, where the ordering is performed through a dedicated connection from a server. A likewise system with a non-dedicated connection is disclosed in Inter- national patent application WO 2006/133713 by Erbou and Buch. In these cases, a server system is accessible by Internet users placing orders for, primarily, food. The server transmits the orders to appropriate restaurants from which the food can be picked up by the user or from which the food is delivered to the user. In WO 2006/133317 by Erbou and Buch, an embodiment is disclosed where the terminal in the restaurant sends a confirmation to the user that the order is received. Such a confirmation may also be used to send an estimated pick up time or delivery time. However, when restaurants are busy, it is difficult to have the food ready at the estimated pick-up time or delivery time. Thus, it would be desirable to have a system to send a more precise pick-up time or delivery time to the client.

DESCRIPTION / SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the purpose of the invention to provide an ordering system with an improved function for indication of pick-up time or delivery time.

This purpose is achieved with an ordering system for ordering services or goods, the ordering system comprising

- a plurality of client computers connected to a digital data network, the client computers comprising means for receiving input from a client concerning orders,

- a central server system comprising a first software program and being connected to a first database and to the digital data network, the first database comprising digital data representing information about services or goods, service providers or good providers, the first software program being configured for communication with the client computers through the digital data network for providing data from the first database to the client computers concerning offers for services or goods and for receiving digital data representing the orders for the services or goods, the first software program being programmed to transmit an order to a service provider or goods provider in dependence of the order from a client,

- at least one terminal unit at the site for the service provider or goods provider, the terminal unit being configured for receiving client orders from the first software pro- gram and being connected to a printer for printing out a client order on a paper strip.

The terminal unit is configured for activating printing of the order with a bar code, the bar code being indicative and individual for the order. In addition, the terminal unit is functionally connected to a bar code scanner for scanning the bar code, and the termi- nal unit is configured for sending a digital message about the order to the central server system or to the client directly as a consequence of the bar code scanning. Typically, the digital message is a confirmation that the food or other goods or services are ready for pick-up or delivery. In the case that the digital message is sent to the central server system, as a response, an SMS (Short Message System) message may be sent to the client that the food or other goods or services are ready for pick-up or on the way for delivery.

In comparison to prior art systems, the invention provides a simple and versatile system for confirming that the order actually has been performed and that the goods or services are ready.

For example, the order of food at a restaurant may be printed by the printer on a paper slip, which is given to the kitchen or preparation of the food. Once the kitchen personnel has finished the preparation of the food, the kitchen personnel uses a bar code scanner, for example in the kitchen, to terminate the order, which is then ready for pick-up or delivery, which is indicated to the client either through the terminal unit and the central server system, or an indication is given to the client by automatically sending an SMS from the terminal unit and to the client as a response to the bar code scanning.

Alternatively, the kitchen may place the prepared food at a dedicated place in the restaurant for pick-up by a delivery service. The person responsible for the delivery service may use the bar code scanner when picking up the food. The consecutive message to the client - either directly from the terminal unit or via the central server system - indicates that the delivery service has taken over the food and is on the way to the cli- ent for the delivery.

The system according to the invention is an improvement over the prior art, because there is given an indication to the client that the ordered service or goods are actually prepared and provided in accordance with the order. For example, in the case of take- away restaurants, situations are avoided, where delays in the preparation of food causes clients to wait unnecessarily on site to pick up the food. Instead, the client is only alerted when the food is ready. The method with the bar code scanner also has a number of other advantages. The bar code scanner functionally connected to the terminal system can be located where desired. It can be located in the kitchen, where the food is prepared, it may be located where the delivery service picks up the food, or it may be located at another convenient location dependent on the desire of the restaurant. Thus, the restaurant may decide on its own, where the bar code scanner should be located, by which a great versatility than in the prior art, where an indication is only given by activation at the terminal unit. For example, the connection between the bar code scanner and the terminal unit may be wireless.

In the case where a restaurant or other goods provider or service provider prefers that the bar code scanner is located at the location of the terminal unit and connected to the terminal unit by wire, or even integrated in the housing of the terminal unit, the system according to the invention is an improvement over the prior art due to the following. In this situation, the slip with the bar code is printed by the printer for instructions to the kitchen, which then - after preparation of the food - sends the slip with the order and the bar code back to the location of the terminal unit in the restaurant for scanning, before food is provided to the client. As the slip with the order has a bar code with all necessary information for the terminal unit, and optionally for the central server sys- tern, to provide a message to the client, no manual entering of data and instructions are required, only the scanning of the bar code. This simple action reduces the work load of the personnel, is faster and more reliable, as mistyping is avoided.

As a further option, the system according to the invention may comprise more than one bar code scanner in functional connection with a single terminal unit. For example, one bar code scanner may be located in the kitchen for use when the food is prepared and another bar code scanner may be located at the terminal unit to be used when the food is picked up for delivery. One or both of these may initiate a message to be sent to the client. By such a system, the preparation and delivery of food can be securely tracked through the system.

The bar code scanner or scanners may also be used for sending standard messages to the server. For example, the restaurant personnel may be equipped with certain cards holding special bar codes. For example, one card may have a bar code indicative for closing the restaurant. At the time of closing the restaurant, the personnel uses the bar code scanner for scanning the bar code on this card, and the terminal unit as a response to the scanning of this card sends a digital message to the central server that this res- taurant is about to close and is not ready for further orders that day. Another example is a second card with a bar code indicative of opening of the restaurant. Scanning this bar code initiates a message to the server that the restaurant is ready for taking orders. The, the invention also implies at least one card holding a bar code for a predetermined command to be sent automatically to the server upon reading of the bar code on the card.

The invention is useful for improvements in the aforementioned systems as disclosed in International patent application WO 02/37347 by Berno and in International patent application WO 2006/133713 by Erbou and Buch, both of which are herewith incorpo- rated by reference .

Though the invention in the foregoing has been mainly explained in connection with food ordering systems, especially from take away restaurants, the invention is also suitable for systems providing other goods or services. For example, the server system could be used as a central distributor, where clients order there good and/or services at one central instance, and where the server system is configured to evaluate the order and handles it in an optimum way by distributing the orders to the relevant suppliers. The scanner is a hep for the supplier and for the central server system to keep track of the handling of the orders and keep track of the goods and services.

In a further embodiment, the system comprises a wireless digital data network for transmitting data between the first software program and the terminal unit through a wireless line. Though the wireless line may be a dedicated line, for example an ISDN line (Integrated Services Digital Network) or an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), it is preferred that that wireless line is a non-dedicated line, especially a GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) line. However, other wireless networks are also possible to use, for example PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) lines. Preferably, the data network is the Internet and the wireless digital data network is GPRS network. For example, the central server system comprises a number of servers that receive orders from the client via the Internet and forwards digital order messages via the wireless network to the terminal units at the locations of different goods and/or service providers.

The goods and/or services in a client's request may be of different nature. For example, a single request from a client may contain a number of different services and/or goods and require that different providers are contacted in order to provide all of the goods and/or services of the client's request. The server system evaluates the request with respect to the number of different services and/or goods and finds in a database those providers that can provide the different parts of the request. If a single provider can provide all of the client's requests, this provider may be preferred over those providers, where several providers are required in order to cover all the requested services or goods. However, this is not always the case, because other criteria, for example the location of the providers near the client, may be more important. In a special embodiment, the server system is programmed to evaluate a client's request for services and/or goods with respect to the necessity to use a number of different providers in order to provide all of the services and/or goods for the client. Respectively, the re- quests are then forwarded to the respective providers with an additional note as to which part of the request should be provided by the respective provider.

When a request is received by the terminal unit, a visual and/or acoustic signal is given in order to receive attention from the personnel. As a response, the attendant at the provider gives an indication at the terminal unit for acceptance or rejection of an order. For example, the visual and/or audio signal may stop only when receiving a response by the attendant through the keypad. Also, a conditional acceptance may be given, for example an acceptance, if the desired delivery time is changed. This response is sent back to the server system, which deals with it, respectively, and finally sends an indica- tion to the client, for example and indication that the delivery time is changed. Possibly, a change of a delivery time requires a further approval from the client, before the order is effectuated. In order for the attendant to accept an order correctly, the order may be printed before acceptance or rejection is required. Optionally, the order is only shown on the printed slip and not in the display, whereas the display is used for instruction of how to use the key pad and for other purposes, such as configuration. Alternatively, the order may be shown in the display for acceptance and is only printed, if the order is accepted. For safety reasons, the printer may comprise a control routine to check, whether the printing performs correctly. Only in the affirmative, an automatic digital message may be sent back to the server system to confirm the correct printing.

In a preferred embodiment, the terminal unit comprises a housing inside which there is provided a GPRS modem with antenna and a SIM (Security Information Management) card reader, a display, a keypad or touchscreen and a buzzer or speaker. Also included in the housing may be the printer with a power supply circuit. Even the bar code reader may be included in the housing, though this is not always appropriate.

The terminal unit can be configured by commands from the server system via the wireless network. In addition, the terminal unit may be programmed for being configured through the key pad. Such configuration may include light intensity of the display, the type of visual and/or audio indication, the type of bar code to print and read, local time and date, menu language. All such configurations are preferably menu driven.

The server system can send not only predefined messages to the display and/or the printer of the terminal unit, but also additional information can be sent, such as advertisements and other messages. In a specific embodiment, the terminal unit can only be used to send predefined messages to the server system. In case of errors of the terminal unit, the terminal unit is programmed to indicate this by visual and/or acoustic signals. Such errors may be detected by the terminal unit itself, if it is programmed to perform self-tests periodically, either initiated by the server system or, preferably, automatically. Such a self test includes check of the connection with the server system. If the system detects errors, this is reported to the attendant and/or the server system, and optionally, an automatic reset and restart function may be performed. Also the functioning of the printer and the bar code reader is part of this self-check. The wireless network for communication between the central server system and the terminal units is useful for facilitating the installation of the terminal unit at the site of the goods or service providers. Advantageously, as also mentioned in the International patent application WO 2006/133713 by Erbou and Buch, the terminal unit may be pro- grammed to automatically search for a wireless data network and attempt to connect to a central server system upon powering on. The necessary network log-on information and server address may be stored in the memory of the terminal unit. Alternatively, in order for this automatic search to be performed, the terminal unit may be programmed to await a data message, preferably an SMS message, with access information such as an Access Point Name (ANP) for logging onto the wireless network and with server address information for contacting the correct server. Optionally, the terminal unit may store these settings and be programmed to shut down and then log-on to the wireless network with these stored new settings.

In addition, the terminal unit may be programmed to automatically request configuration data from the server system after connection to the wireless data network and may be configured for performing a configuration for the actual functioning of the terminal unit as a result of the receipt of configuration data. This embodiment is a further very advantageous improvement. The data transmission capacity of the GPRS network is suited for data transmission to an extent which allows a complete configuration of the terminal unit.

The terminal unit at the site of the vendor that is selling services, food or other goods has been developed to simplify and minimise all actions that are necessary from the vendor's site. The vendor does not need any technician for set-up, because the terminal unit upon a simple power-on performs all the steps in collaboration with the GPRS network and the involved servers in order to start functioning. As not only the connection to the network is performed automatically but also the receipt of functions, for example the language, the performance routines, a terminal unit according to the inven- tion is universal such that it can be used in different countries with different languages and for different service providers or vendors. New terminal units for new providers can easily be added to the system as well as terminal units can be removed. All control with the terminal units is at the server's site.

For example, the configuration data may include one or more of the following, - an indication for the language of text to be indicated on a display of the terminal unit as a response to an order receipt,

- configuration of the terminal unit for receipt and print of a daily order list in accordance with daily opening hours of the service or goods provider,

- configuration of the terminal unit to send an SMS to the ordering client for confirma- tion of the order, optionally the SMS including delivery time or pick-up time and price,

- configuration of a menu structure for a user menu associated with a display of the terminal unit,

- configuration of graphics for a display of the terminal unit. Many other kinds of configuration may be included.

In some practical embodiments, the ordering system has been configured with a three- tier client-server structure. More concrete, the three tier client structure may imply

- at least one terminal unit connectable to a wireless network,

- a first server or first group of servers with a first software program programmed to provide information to clients, to receive orders from the clients for services or goods, and to transmit the orders to the terminal unit and programmed to receive messages from the terminal unit concerning possible execution of the order,

- a second server or a second group of servers with a second software program configured to receive the orders through the digital data network from the first server or first group of servers with the first software program, the second server or the second group of servers being connected through a mobile network provider to the wireless data network and configured by the second software program to transmit theses orders through the wireless network to the terminal unit, the second server or second group of servers also being configured to receive messages from the terminal unit through the wireless network and forwarding these messages to the first software program on the first server or first group of servers. The first server or first group of servers may comprise a number of servers in a number of countries with at least one server in each country.

As will be apparent below, advantageously, a server system according to the invention may be configured such that only the second software program on the second server or second group of servers has access to a second central database that contains information of and for all the registered terminal units.

Thus, whereas the first database connected to the first server or group of severs con- tains all the information about the service providers or goods providers and the services or goods that are presented to a potential client, the second database contains all the information about the terminal units connected to the system and the commands and information that is actually sent to the terminal units.

For safety reasons and for proper functioning, the server system may have a surveillance routine, which is programmed to restart at least parts of the system upon breakdown of the system and which is programmed to store a failure report in a log-file in the central database

For Internet communication, the first server or first group of servers and the second server or second group of servers are advantageously configured to use Extended Markup Language (XML) for communication over the digital data network, optionally implying Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

Each terminal unit may have an unchangeable ID in order to recognise the terminal unit in the system. This ID is related to the GPRS unit located in the terminal unit and predetermined by the manufacturer of the terminal unit. This ID corresponds to the MAC- identification code associated with an Ethernet network card - the standard network card used in personal computers today.

As a summary, the following should be noted for these embodiments. The terminal unit is an autonomous unit that is able to connect to a GPRS network or likewise wireless data network with sufficient bandwidth for the data transmission, connect to a server, receive and perform the commands from the software server. The terminal unit is configured to maintain the connection. If the terminal unit is not able to maintain the connection, for example due to a network failure or a server breakdown, a new log-on can be initiated by sending an SMS or other kinds of commands to the terminal unit with a server address after reestablishment of the function in the network or server.

The content of an SMS does not force the terminal unit to initiate the logon procedure. The SMS contains setting data indicating where to logon, which password and user- name to give to the GPRS network and possibly other data. It is implemented in the business logic of updating particular settings that after being saved in memory, the terminal unit should reboot and use the new settings provided.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, where FIG. 1 is a sketch illustrating the principle of the invention, FIG. 2 is a sketch of an embodiment of the terminal unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION / PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The principle of the invention is explained in FIG. 1. A number of client computers 1 (one of which is illustrated) are connected 2 to the Internet 3 for communication with the server system 5 according to the invention. The server system is set up and programmed through corresponding operator computer stations 4. The server system 5 communicates with terminal 10 via a wireless communication system, preferably GPRS systems.

FIG. 2 is a sketch of an embodiment of a terminal unit 10. It comprises a housing 20 with a touch-screen-display 21 and a printer 22 for printing on a paper strip 23. The touch screen comprises a panel for scrolling up and down in a message and for accepting or rejecting a request. The touch screen can also be used for configuration purposes. In addition, the housing also has included a bar code reader 8' for reading the bar code on a printed paper strip 23 from the printer 22.

Claims

1. An ordering system for ordering services or goods, the ordering system comprising

- a plurality of client computers (1) connected to a digital data network (3), the client computers (1) comprising means for receiving input from a client concerning orders,

- a central server system (5) comprising a first software program and being connected to a first database and to the digital data network (3), the first database comprising digital data representing information about services or goods, service providers or good providers, the first software program being configured for communication with the client computers (1) through the digital data network (3) for providing data from the first database to the client computers (1) concerning offers for services or goods and for receiving digital data representing the orders for the services or goods, the first software program being programmed to transmit an order to a service provider or goods provider in dependence of the order from a client, - at least one terminal unit (10) at the site for the service provider or good provider, the terminal unit (10) being configured for receiving orders from the first software program and being connected to a printer (22) for printing out a client order on a paper strip (23), characterised in that - the terminal unit (10) is configured for activating the printer (22) to print the order with a bar code, the bar code being indicative and individual for the order,

- the terminal unit (10) is functionally connected to a bar code scanner (8, 8') for scanning the bar code, and

- the terminal unit (10) is configured for sending a digital message about the order to the central server system (5), or to the ordering client directly, as a consequence of the bar code scanning.

2. An ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the sending of the digital message directly to the client involves sending an SMS message from the terminal unit (10) to a predetermined telephone number of the client as a response to the bar code scanning.

3. An ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the method involves sending an SMS message from the server system (5) to a predetermined telephone number of the client as a response to the bar code scanning.

4. An ordering system according to claims 1, wherein the method involves sending an digital message from the server system (5) to a the client computer (1) as a response to the bar code scanning.

5. An ordering system according to any preceding claim, wherein the terminal unit is programmed to perform a check of the printing unit as to whether the order has been properly printed and programmed to confirm this by a digital message to the server system.

6. An ordering system according to any preceding claim, wherein the terminal unit is programmed to automatically perform a periodical self-check with respect to correct functioning and with respect to the connection to the server system, and programmed to indicate this visually or with sound or with both.

7. An ordering system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal unit is programmed in case of detected malfunctioning to perform an automatic restart and reconfiguration.

8. An ordering system according to any preceding claim, wherein the terminal unit comprises a housing with a display and a printer and wherein the bar code scanner is integrated in the housing.

9. An ordering system according to any one of the claims 1-7, wherein the bar code scanner is connected to the terminal unit by a wireless connection.

10. An ordering system according to any preceding claim, wherein the ordering system comprises at least one card with a specific bar code, wherein the terminal unit is configured for sending a digital message to the server as a result of reading the bar code on the card with the bar code reader, wherein the digital message implies an indi- cation of either a state of the terminal unit ready for receiving orders or a state of the terminal unit, where it is not ready for receiving orders.

11. An ordering system according to any preceding claim, wherein the goods are food and the provider is a take away restaurant, optionally with delivery of foods.

12. A terminal unit for an ordering system according to any one of the claims 1-8, wherein the terminal unit comprises a housing with a housing inside which there is provided an antenna for communication with the wireless network, a display, a keypad or touchscreen, a buzzer or speaker, a printer with a power supply circuit, and a bar code reader.