US20080052174A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20080052174A1
Application number: US11/907,925
Authority: US
Inventors: Takao Miyazaki; Keizo Uchioke; Satoru Goto; Kazuo Okoyama
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-08-02
Filing date: 2007-10-18
Publication date: 2008-02-28
Also published as: JP2003044563A; US20030040967A1; US7324958B2

Abstract

A customer of an eating house orders refreshments by pressing a first touch panel provided at a customer's seat, watching a liquid-crystal monitor on which a menu of the refreshment and an average cooking time thereof are displayed. A cook inputs cooking-state information with a second touch panel provided in a kitchen when cooking is started and is completed. The cooking-state information is displayed on the liquid-crystal monitor so that it is possible to confirm a cooking state of the ordered refreshment. When the ordered refreshment is untouched, the customer can cancel or urge the refreshment by pressing the first touch panel. Upon instructing a check with the first touch panel, the check is printed out from a printer. The customer can order, cancel and urge the refreshments without calling a waitperson.

Description

This application is a Divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 10/209,920 filed on Aug. 2, 2002, and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120; and this application claims priority of Application No. 2001-235303 filed in Japan on Aug. 2, 2001 under 35 U.S.C. §119; the entire contents of all are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information administering system for an eating house of a restaurant or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, in eating houses of a restaurant or the like, information administering systems of the POS (point-of-sale) system and so forth are used for the purposes of shortening a preparation time of ordered refreshments, saving labor for totaling up sales, and efficiently managing a menu of the refreshments, for instance. As to this kind of the information administering system for the eating house, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-44569 teaches a system for reducing a labor and a time of a waitperson caused by acceptance of an order and calculation of a check. In this system, customers themselves order the refreshments with an information terminal-unit (self POS). Further, the customers calculate prices of the ordered refreshments by themselves with the information terminal-unit. In the meantime, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-105786 teaches another information administering system in which it is possible to grasp the refreshments, of which the preparation time exceeds a predetermined value, as a delay refreshment menu. Incidentally, the preparation time means a time spent for serving the refreshments. In this system, a waitperson inputs data into an information terminal-unit of a handy terminal and so forth. The data includes order information of the refreshments ordered by a customer, and order-receipt time data. Further, the data includes supply time data of the ordered refreshments. The preparation time is calculated from the order-receipt time data and the supply time data of the ordered refreshments.

However, the above information administering systems for the eating house do not grant an advantage to the customer, since the purposes of the system are to save the labor of the eating house and to improve the efficiency thereof. For example, when there are inquiries about a cooking time of the refreshment to be ordered, a serving time of the ordered refreshment, cancellation of the ordered refreshment, and reminder of the ordered refreshment, there arises a problem in that the waitperson is called at each time for confirmation and commission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an information administering system for an eating house, in which a customer can easily confirm cooking times of refreshments to be ordered without calling a waitperson of the eating house.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an information administering system for an eating house, in which a customer can easily confirm cooking states of ordered refreshments without calling a waitperson of the eating house.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide an information administering system for an eating house, in which a customer can easily cancel or urge ordered refreshments without calling a waitperson of the eating house.

In order to achieve the above and other objects, the information administering system according to the present invention comprises a first information terminal-unit disposed at a customer's seat, and a second information terminal-unit disposed at a kitchen.

The first information terminal-unit comprises an instruction-information inputting member by which a customer sends instruction information to the eating house. The first information terminal-unit also comprises a guidance displaying member by which the eating house supplies guidance information to the customer.

The second information terminal-unit comprises an instruction-information displaying member by which the instruction information is displayed in the kitchen. The second information terminal-unit also comprises a cooking-information inputting member by which a cook inputs cooking-state information of the ordered refreshments.

The instruction information is preferable to include at least one of order information representing the ordered refreshment and quantity thereof, cancellation information for canceling the ordered refreshment, reminder information for urging the ordered refreshment, and check information for instructing a check. In a preferred embodiment, the first information terminal-unit has a printer for printing out the check in response to the check information.

The guidance information is preferable to include at least one of menu information of the refreshments, price information thereof, average-cooking-time information thereof, image information thereof, food-value information thereof, and cooking-state information thereof.

According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid an idle waiting time so that a comfortable mealtime may be supplied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an information administering system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an information terminal-unit of a customer's seat;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are plan views respectively showing a liquid-crystal monitor and a touch panel;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart explaining an operation of the information administering system; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing an information administering system of a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing aninformation administering system10 according to the present invention. Theinformation administering system10 is constituted of a seat-side information terminal-unit11 disposed at a customer's seat, a kitchen-side information terminal-unit12 disposed at a kitchen, arestaurant computer13, aregister14 and so forth, which are connected via anetwork15.

The seat-side information terminal-unit11 includes aCPU20, atouch panel21, a liquid-crystal monitor22, aprinter23, a communication I/F24. Thetouch panel21, the liquid-crystal monitor22 and theprinter23 are unified (seeFIG. 2). As shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B, the liquid-crystal monitor22 displays guidance information supplied from an eating house to a customer. The guidance information is inputted from therestaurant computer13 via thenetwork15 connected to the communication I/F24. The guidance information includesprice information25 of refreshments,menu information26 thereof, food-value information27, cooking-state information28, and average-cooking-time information29.

The customer inputs instruction information by pressing any of an order-button area31, a withdrawal-button area32, a decision-button area33, a cancel-button area34, a reminder-button area35, an additional-order-button area36, and a check-button area37, which are displayed on thetouch panel21 in accordance with the guidance information. The inputted instruction information is transferred to therestaurant computer13 via thenetwork15.

In the drawings, thesole terminal unit11 is merely shown. However, theterminal unit11 is disposed at each seat one by one. A proper number of theterminal units11 are arranged in accordance with a seat number of the eating house.

InFIG. 1, the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12 includes aCPU40, atouch panel41, a liquid-crystal monitor42, and a communication I/F44. Thetouch panel41 and the liquid-crystal monitor42 are unified. The liquid-crystal monitor42 displays order information and reminder information, which are inputted from therestaurant computer13 and are described later. A cook prepares the refreshments on the basis of the order information displayed on the liquid-crystal monitor42. At this time, the cook inputs cooking start information with thetouch panel41 when starting the preparation of the refreshments. Further, the cook inputs cooking completion information with thetouch panel41 when completing the preparation of the refreshments. The above information are respectively transferred to therestaurant computer13 via thenetwork15 connected to the communication I/F44.

Therestaurant computer13 totally controls the whole of theinformation administering system10, and is constituted of aCPU50, astorage device51, atimer section52, a communication I/F54 and so forth. In thestorage device51, are constructed amenu database55, a food-value database56, aprice database57, a cooking-time database58, anorder information database59, and a cooking-state information database60.

Themenu database55 stores themenu information26 including image pictures of the respective refreshments. Theprice database57 stores the price information of the respective refreshments. TheCPU50 transmits themenu information26 and the price information to the seat-side information terminal-unit11 via thenetwork15 when the customer selects the refreshments. The food-value database56 stores the food-value information27 of the respective refreshments. TheCPU50 transmits the food-value information27 of the selected refreshment to the seat-side information terminal-unit11 via thenetwork15.

The cooking-time database58 stores the cooking time of the respective refreshments. The cooking time is measured by thetimer section52 on the basis of a cooking start signal and a cooking completion signal, which are inputted from the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. The measured cooking time is accumulated in the cooking-time database58 one after another. From measured values of the cooking time of each refreshment, theCPU50 calculates the average cooking time of the refreshment selected by the customer. The calculated average cooking time is transmitted to the seat-side information terminal-unit11 via thenetwork15 as the average-cooking-time information29.

Theorder information database59 stores the ordered refreshments, quantities thereof and so forth as the order information of the respectiveterminal units11. TheCPU50 transmits the order information to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12 via thenetwork15.

The cooking-state information database60 stores the cooking-state information28 representing the cooking state of the ordered refreshment. Concretely, the cooking-state information28 represents any of “served (cooked)” state, “undertaken (in cooking)” state, and “untouched” state. The cooking state of the refreshment is determined by judging whether the cooking start information and the cooking completion information are inputted or not from the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. TheCPU50 transmits the cooking-state information28 to the seat-side information terminal-units11.

As shown inFIG. 3B, the liquid-crystal monitor22 of the seat-side information terminal-unit11 notifies any state of the refreshment, which is one of the “served” state, the “undertaken” state, and the “untouched” state, to the customer by marking one of indication regions28a to28c in accordance with the cooking-state information28. When the refreshment is in the “untouched” state, the cancel-button area34 and the reminder-button area35 are displayed on thetouch panel21 so that it is possible to input the instruction information for cancelling or urging the refreshment.

Upon pressing the cancel-button area34, the instruction information of cancellation is transmitted to therestaurant computer13. In response to this, theCPU50 sends the order information representing that the refreshment is canceled, to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. At the same time, theCPU50 deletes the refreshment data from theorder information database59 and the cooking-state information database60. Meanwhile, upon pressing the reminder-button area35, the instruction information of reminder is transmitted to therestaurant computer13. In response to this, theCPU50 sends the reminder information representing that the refreshment is urged, to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12.

Upon pressing the check-button area37, the instruction information of a check is transmitted to therestaurant computer13. In response to this, theCPU50 makes up print data of the check on the basis of the order information stored in theorder information database59. The print data is transmitted to the seat-side information terminal-unit11. In accordance with the print data, the seat-side information terminal-unit11 prints out the check from theprinter23. The customer brings the check to theregister14 to pay it. After the customer completes the payment at theregister14, theCPU50 deletes the order information and the cooking-state information of the refreshments, which are ordered from the seat-side information terminal-unit11 used by the customer having paid the check, from theorder information database59 and the cooking-state information database60.

Successively, an operation of the above structure is described below, referring to a flow chart shown inFIG. 4. At the outset, the customer selects the refreshment from the menu displayed on the seat-side information terminal-unit11. Upon selection of the refreshment, the liquid-crystal monitor22 displays themenu information26 of the selected refreshment, the food-value information27 thereof, and the average-cooking-time information29 thereof (seeFIG. 3A).

After selecting a quantity of the ordered refreshment with aquantity selection region31a, the customer presses the order-button area31 to determine the order. If there is the refreshment to be additionally ordered, the above operation is repeated. In this case, the food values of all of the ordered refreshments are totaled up to display total-food-value information at a lower portion of the picture. After completing the selection of the refreshments to be ordered, the decision-button area33 is pressed.

When the decision-button area33 is pressed, the instruction information of the order is transmitted from the seat-side information terminal-unit11 to therestaurant computer13. On the basis of the instruction information of the order, therestaurant computer13 transmits the order information to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. At the same time, therestaurant computer13 transmits the cooking-state information to the seat-side information terminal-unit11. The liquid-crystal monitor22 of the seat-side information terminal-unit11 displays the cooking-state information (seeFIG. 3B). In this way, it is possible to order the refreshments without calling a waitperson of the eating house.

When the ordered refreshments are in the served state or in the undertaken state, the liquid-crystal monitor22 displays only the additional-order-button area36 and the check-button area37. If the additional-order-button area36 is pressed, the menu of the refreshments is displayed again on the liquid-crystal monitor22 so that it becomes possible to order the refreshment similarly to the above. Meanwhile, when the ordered refreshments are in the untouched state, the liquid-crystal monitor22 displays the cancel-button area34 and the reminder-button area35 as well.

When canceling the ordered refreshment, the cancel-button area34 is pressed. Owing to this, the instruction information of the cancellation is transmitted to therestaurant computer13 by which the cancel information of the ordered refreshment is transmitted to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. At the same time, the data corresponding to the canceled refreshment is deleted from theorder information database59 and the cooking-state information database60.

The reminder-button area35 is pressed when urging the ordered refreshment. Upon this, the instruction information of reminder is transmitted to therestaurant computer13 by which the reminder information that the ordered refreshment is urged is transmitted to the kitchen-side information terminal-unit12. In this way, it is possible to cancel or urge the ordered refreshment without calling the waitperson of the eating house.

When the customer presses the check-button area37 after having the meal, the instruction information of the check is transmitted to therestaurant computer13. On the basis of the order information stored in theorder information database59, therestaurant computer13 makes up the print data of the check and transfers it to the seat-side information-terminal unit11. Theprinter23 of the seat-side information terminal-unit11 prints out the check on the basis of the print data.

The customer brings the check to theregister14 to make the payment. After the payment has been completed, the order information and the cooking-state information of the refreshments, which are ordered from the seat-side information terminal-unit11 used by the customer having paid the check, are deleted from theorder information database59 and the cooking-state information database60. Even if the refreshments are additionally ordered, it is prevented to issue plural checks so that a checking process is simplified.

In the above embodiment, the refreshments are ordered from the seat-side information terminal-unit disposed at the customer's seat. However, as shown inFIG. 5, theinformation administering system10 may be connected to theInternet66 via aprovider65. In doing so, the instruction of the order and so forth is performed with acellular phone67 via theInternet66, instead of the seat-side information terminal-unit. In addition, the guidance may be given from the eating house to the customer via theInternet66. In this case, anoperation key68 of thecellular phone67 is used for inputting the instruction information. Besides the cellular phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a personal computer may be used if it is possible to connect these apparatuses to theInternet66.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those having skill in this field. Therefore, unless otherwise these changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as included therein.

Claims

1. A system for managing information for restaurant operations, comprising:

a first terminal unit associated with a customer, the first terminal further comprising

an input module which accepts instruction information supplied by the customer, and

a display which provides guidance information to the customer, wherein the guidance information includes information associated with a plurality of cooking states; and

a second terminal unit associated with a staff member and communicatively coupled to the first terminal unit, the second terminal unit further comprising

an input module which accepts the cooking state information, and

a display module which provides the instruction information for preparing refreshments for the customer.

2. The system according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a restaurant computer communicatively coupled to the first terminal unit and the second terminal unit, the restaurant computer further comprising a storage device containing a plurality of databases having information used by at least one of the first terminal and the second terminal.

3. The system according toclaim 2, wherein the plurality of databases further comprise at least one of menu database, a food value database, a price database, a cooking-time database, an order information database, and a cooking state information database.

4. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the first terminal unit further comprises:

a touch panel which provides an input interface to the customer;

a liquid crystal monitor which provides output information to the customer;

a processor which receives information from the touch panel and provides information to the liquid crystal monitor;

a printer operatively coupled to the processor; and

a communication interface operatively coupled to the processor and a network.

5. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the second terminal unit further comprises:

a touch panel which provides an input interface to the staff;

a liquid crystal monitor which provides output information to the staff;

a printer operatively coupled to the processor; and

a communication interface operatively coupled to the processor and a network.

6. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the instruction information comprises at least one of a selection of a refreshment, a quantity of a refreshment, cancellation of a selected refreshment, and a reminder for a selected refreshment.

7. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the guidance information further comprises at least one of price information of refreshments, menu information of refreshments, food value information, and average cooking time information.

8. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the plurality of cooking states comprises a served state, an undertaken state, and an untouched state.

9. A method for placing restaurant orders, comprising:

providing guidance information to a customer;

accepting instruction information for at least one refreshment item from the customer;

transmitting the instruction information to a terminal associated with a staff member; and

receiving guidance information from the terminal associated with a staff member, wherein the guidance information includes information associated with a plurality of cooking states.

10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the instruction information comprises at least one of a selection of a refreshment, a quantity of a refreshment, cancellation of a selected refreshment, and a reminder for a selected refreshment.

11. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the guidance information further comprises at least one of price information of refreshments, menu information of refreshments, food value information, and average cooking time information.

12. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the plurality of cooking states comprises a served state, an undertaken state, and an untouched state.

13. A method for fulfilling restaurant orders, comprising:

receiving instruction information from a terminal associated with a customer;

accepting guidance information from a staff member, wherein the guidance information includes information associated with a plurality of cooking states; and

transmitting the guidance information to the terminal associated with the customer.

14. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the instruction information comprises at least one of a selection of a refreshment, a quantity of a refreshment, cancellation of a selected refreshment, and a reminder for a selected refreshment.

15. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the guidance information further comprises at least one of price information of refreshments, menu information of refreshments, food value information, and average cooking time information.

16. The system according toclaim 13, wherein the plurality of cooking states comprises a served state, an undertaken state, and an untouched state.