U.S. patent application number 10/462114 was filed with the patent office on 2004-01-22 for customer-operated ordering system that sets prices based on customer profile.
This patent application is currently assigned to EMN8, Inc.. Invention is credited to Dunn, Walter H., Sidlo, Paul.
Application Number | 20040015414 10/462114 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29740832 |
Filed Date | 2004-01-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040015414 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sidlo, Paul ; et
al. |
January 22, 2004 |
Customer-operated ordering system that sets prices based on
customer profile
Abstract
A customer-operated ordering system and method that
automatically sets the price of an item offered to a customer to
purchase based on a stored profile of that customer. The system may
include an input device, output device, customer profile storage
media, sales price storage media, price rules storage media and a
processing system.
Inventors: |
Sidlo, Paul; (Santa Monica,
CA) ; Dunn, Walter H.; (Atlanta, GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCDERMOTT, WILL & EMERY
Suite 3400
2049 Century Park East
Los Angeles
CA
90067
US
|
Assignee: |
EMN8, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
29740832 |
Appl. No.: |
10/462114 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10462114 |
Jun 12, 2003 |
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10454010 |
Jun 3, 2003 |
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60392758 |
Jul 1, 2002 |
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60388220 |
Jun 12, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.61 ;
705/7.36 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/202 20130101;
G09F 27/00 20130101; G06F 21/10 20130101; G06F 2221/0797 20130101;
G06Q 30/0625 20130101; G06F 21/34 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06F 2221/2119 20130101; G06F 2221/0711 20130101; G06Q 10/0637
20130101; G06F 2221/2115 20130101; G06F 2221/2135 20130101; G07F
7/00 20130101; G06F 2221/2117 20130101; G06F 2221/2121 20130101;
G06Q 30/00 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101; G06Q 20/204 20130101;
G06F 21/35 20130101; G06F 2221/2151 20130101; G06F 2221/0775
20130101; G06F 2221/2101 20130101; G06Q 30/0623 20130101; G06Q
30/0643 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101; G06Q 30/0633 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26 ;
705/9 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A customer-operated ordering system comprising: an input device;
an output device; customer profile storage media configured to
store customer profiles about a plurality of customers; sales price
storage media configured to store sales prices; price rules storage
media configured to store price rules that are based on customer
profiles; a processing system configured to: communicate with the
input device, the output device, the customer profile storage
media, the sales price storage media and the price rules storage
media; obtain the identity of the customer from the input device;
query the customer profile storage media for a customer profile of
the customer based on the obtained identify; query the price rules
storage media for price rules associated with the obtained customer
profile; query the sales price storage media for sales prices; and
deliver sales prices to the output device that are in accordance
with the obtained price rules.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein: the customer-operated ordering
system is configured for the customer to select and consummate a
sale himself; the input device is configured to be operated by the
customer during the selection and consummation process; and the
output device is configured for the output to be delivered to the
customer during the selection and consummation process.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein certain customer profiles include
information about prior purchases made by the customers.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the identity of the products or services that
were purchased.
5. The system of claim 3 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the type of the products or services that were
purchased.
6. The system of claim 3 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the sales prices of the products or services
that were purchased.
7. The system of claim 3 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the number of the products or services that were
purchased.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein certain customer profiles include
information about the number of prior visits by the customers.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sell items from a merchant and wherein certain
customer profiles include information about prior contacts that the
customers had with that merchant.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sell items from a merchant and wherein certain
customer profiles include information about prior contacts that the
customers had with a person other than that merchant.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sell items from a merchant and wherein
certain-customer profiles include information about the status of
the customer within a loyalty or rewards program of a party other
than the merchant.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein certain customer profiles include
demographic information about the customers.
13. The system of claim 1 wherein certain price rules affect the
price of only some of the items that the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sell.
14. The system of claim 1 wherein certain price rules are based on
information about prior purchases made by the customers.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the identity of the products or services that
were purchased.
16. The system of claim 14 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the type of the products or services that were
purchased.
17. The system of claim 14 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the sales prices of the products or services
that were purchased.
18. The system of claim 14 wherein the information about prior
purchases includes the number of the products or services that were
purchased.
19. The system of claim 1 wherein certain price rules are based on
information about the number of prior visits by the customers.
20. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sale items from a merchant and wherein certain
price rules are based on information about prior contacts that the
customers had with that merchant.
21. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sale items from a merchant and wherein certain
price rules are based on information about prior contacts that the
customers had with a person other than that merchant.
22. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer-operated ordering
system offers to sell items from a merchant and wherein certain
price rules are based in information about the status of the
customer within a loyalty or rewards program of a party other than
the merchant.
23. The system of claim 1 wherein certain price rules are based on
demographic information about the customers.
24. A customer-operated ordering process comprising: obtaining the
identity of a customer from an input device; querying a customer
profile, storage media containing customer profiles about a
plurality of customers for a customer profile of the customer based
on the obtained identify; querying a price rules storage media
containing price rules that are based on customer profiles for
price rules associated with the obtained customer profile; querying
a sales price storage media containing sales prices; and delivering
sales prices to an output device that are in accordance with the
obtained price rules.
25. A customer-operated ordering system including a processing
system that automatically sets the price of an item offered to a
customer to purchase based on a stored profile of that
customer.
26. A customer-operated ordering process including setting the
price of an item offered to a customer based on a stored profile of
that customer.
27. An ordering system including a processing system that
automatically sets the price of an item offered to a customer to
purchase based on a stored profile of that customer.
28. An ordering process including setting the price of an item
offered to a customer based on a stored profile of that customer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/______, attorney docket number
63859/24, entitled "Point of Sale Computer System Delivering
Composited Two- and Three-Dimensional Images," filed on Jun. 3,
2003. This application is also based upon and claims priority to
U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/392,758, filed Jul. 1,
2002, entitled "Real Time Engine with 2D/3D Detail," and U.S.
Provisional Application Serial No. 60/388,220, filed Jun. 12, 2002,
and entitled "Customer-Operated Ordering System and Method." This
application is also related to: U.S. application Ser. No.
10/______, attorney docket number 63859-027, entitled
"Customer-Operated Ordering System and Method That Issues Admission
Tickets But Does Not Dispense Products," filed Jun. 12, 2003; and
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/______, attorney docket number
63859-028, entitled "Customer-Operated Ordering System and Method
That Accepts Coupons With Interactive Multimedia Content," filed on
Jun. 12, 2003. The content of all five of these applications is
hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth
herein.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This application relates to ordering systems and, more
particularly, to ordering systems that are operated by a
customer.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] The traditional selection and ordering process presents
challenges to both the merchant and the customer.
[0006] The merchant must often incur significant costs to train
personnel and to have them present to communicate with the customer
during the selection and ordering process. It is also often
challenging for the merchant to control the presentation that his
personnel make to the customer, a challenge sometimes compounded by
the skill level of the personnel and a high turnover rate.
[0007] The customer, on the other hand, is often hesitant to speak
with a salesperson. The customer may be apprehensive of
difficulties in accurately communicating his preferences and
purchase decisions. He may also be concerned over having his
personal choices evaluated by someone else.
[0008] The traditional ordering process also sometimes makes it
difficult to encourage customer loyalty. The traditional process is
often impersonal, sometimes making it difficult to recognize a
loyal customer. The need to keep the process simple also sometimes
makes it difficult to reward the loyal customer, even when he or
she is recognized.
[0009] Traditional sales systems also often fail to take advantage
of the opportunity to promote or sell products or services of a
different merchant, thereby overlooking other potential avenues of
revenue.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0010] A customer-operated ordering system may include an input
device, an output device, a customer profile storage media
configured to store customer profiles about a plurality of
customers, a sales price storage media configured to store sales
prices, a price rules storage media configured to store price rules
that are based on customer profiles, and a processing system.
[0011] The processing system may be configured to communicate with
the input device, the output device, the customer profile storage
media, the sales price storage media and the price rules storage
media. The processing system may obtain the identity of the
customer from the input device, query the customer profile storage
media for a customer profile of the customer based on the obtained
identify, query the price rules storage media for price rules
associated with the obtained customer profile, query the sales
price storage media for sales prices, and deliver sales prices to
the output device that are in accordance with the obtained price
rules.
[0012] The customer-operated ordering system may be configured for
the customer to select and consummate a sale himself. The input
device may be configured to be operated by the customer during the
selection and consummation process. The output device may be
configured for the output to be delivered to the customer during
the selection and consummation process.
[0013] Certain customer profiles may include information about
prior purchases made by the customers. The information may include
the identity of the products or services that were purchased, the
type of the products or services that were purchased, the sales
prices of the products or services that were purchased, and/or the
number of the products or services that were purchased.
[0014] Certain customer profiles may include information about the
number of prior visits by the customers, information about prior
contacts that the customers had with the merchant, information
about prior contacts that the customers had with a person other
than the merchant or the status held by the customers within
loyalty or other rewards programs operated by persons other than
the merchant, and/or demographic information about the
customers.
[0015] Certain price rules may only affect the price of some of the
items that the customer-operated ordering system offers to sell and
may be based on information about prior purchases made by the
customers. The information about prior purchases may include the
identity of the products or services that were purchased, the type
of the products or services that were purchased, the sales prices
of the products or services that were purchased, the number of the
products or services that were purchased, and/or the number of
prior visits by the customers.
[0016] Certain price rules may be based on information about prior
contacts that the customers had with the merchant, information
about prior contacts that the customers had with a person other
than the merchant or their status within a loyalty or other rewards
program operated by a person other than the merchant, and/or
demographic information about the customers.
[0017] A customer-operated ordering process may include obtaining
the identity of a customer from an input device, querying a
customer profile storage media containing customer profiles about a
plurality of customers for a customer profile of the customer based
on the obtained identify, querying a price rules storage media
containing price rules that are based on customer profiles for
price rules associated with the obtained customer profile, querying
a sales price storage media containing sales prices, and delivering
sales prices to an output device that are in accordance with the
obtained price rules.
[0018] A customer-operated ordering system may include a processing
system that automatically sets the price of an item offered to a
customer to purchase based on a stored profile of that
customer.
[0019] A customer-operated ordering process may include setting the
price of an item offered to a customer based on a stored profile of
that customer.
[0020] An ordering system may include a processing system that
automatically sets the price of an item offered to a customer to
purchase based on a stored profile of that customer.
[0021] An ordering process may include setting the price of an item
offered to a customer based on a stored profile of that
customer.
[0022] These as well as still further features, benefits and
objects will now become clear upon an examination of the following
detailed description of illustrative embodiments and the attached
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a customer-operated ordering
system.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagram of one schema for customer profiles data
that may be stored in the customer profile storage media 105.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram of one schema for sales prices data that
may be stored in the sales price storage media 107.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram of one schema for price rules data that
may be stored in the price rules storage media 109.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0027] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a customer-operated ordering
system. The system includes an input device 101, an output device
103, a customer profile storage media 105, a sales price storage
media 107 and a price rules storage media 109.
[0028] The input device 101 may include a touch screen, keyboard,
mouse, panel buttons, joystick, card reader, proximity detector,
TV-type remote control, RFID tag reader, microphone, or any other
type of known or hereinafter invented input device, as well as any
combination of such devices. The input device 101 may also include
a wireless connection to a remote input device, such as a laptop,
mobile phone or PDA. The input device 101 may be configured to be
operated by the customer as the customer selects and consummates a
sale.
[0029] The output device 103 may include a display and/or a sound
transducer. The output device may be configured such that the
customer may directly view the display and/or hear the sound.
[0030] The display may operate in the graphics mode and may include
an electroluminous display, such as a CRT, plasma display, LCD or
even LEDs. The display may also include a front or rear
projector.
[0031] The sound transducer may include a loudspeaker or
headphones.
[0032] The output device 103 may also include a remote connection
to a remote output device, such as a wireless connection to a
laptop or cellular device, or a connection over the telephone line.
The output device 103 may also include any other type of known or
later invented output device, as well as any combination of such
devices.
[0033] The customer profile storage media 105 may contain customer
profile information, as described in more detail below in
connection with FIG. 2. The sales price storage media 107 may
contain sales prices, as explained in more detail below in
connection with FIG. 3. The price rules storage media 109 may
contain rules about prices, as described in more detail below in
connection with FIG. 4. Access to all of this data may be managed
and regulated by one or more database management systems.
[0034] The customer profile, sales price and price rules storage
media 105, 107 and 109, respectively, may include magnetic media,
such as hard disk and floppies, optical media, such as CDs or DVDs,
or electronic media, such as a ROM or memory stick. Each media
could be a single device or multiple devices. All of the various
storage media could be a single storage media, large enough to
store all of the various information that is needed. Each media
could also be any other type of storage device now known or later
developed, or any combination of these. Each media may be
configured to be loaded and updated locally and/or remotely.
[0035] The customer-operated ordering system in FIG. 1 may also
include a processing system 111. The processing system 111 may
communicate with and ultimately control each of the other
components in the customer-operated ordering system, such as the
input device 101, output device 103, and the customer profile,
sales price and price rules storage media 105,107 and 109,
respectively.
[0036] The processing system 111 may consist of a single
microprocessor or several microprocessors. It may include
associated interface, memory and communication devices. It may
include one or more complete computer and/or network systems. It
may include both hardware and software, all in accordance with
well-known design techniques.
[0037] In one mode of operation, the processing system 111 obtains
information identifying the customer that is using the input device
101 and the output device 103. It may do this through information
that is supplied by the input device 101.
[0038] For example, a customer might type in his name or customer
number on a keyboard that is part of the input device 101. The
customer may also or instead insert a card into a card reader that
is part of the input device 101 that contains customer-identifying
information. The customer may also or instead carry some other type
of identifying information that the input device 101 can detect,
such as an RFID tag. If needed in the particular application, the
processing system 111 may first deliver a message to the customer
through the output device 103, alerting the customer of the need to
enter identifying information in the input device 101.
[0039] The processing system 111 in this configuration may next
query the customer profile storage media 105 to locate a customer
profile that matches the customer that has been identified.
[0040] If no matching profile is located, the processing system 111
may direct that the customer be given the "regular" prices from the
sales price storage media 107. It might instead consult the price
rules 109 for the appropriate price(s) rule to apply. It may
instead or in addition send a message to the customer over the
output device 103 asking the customer to enter desired profile
information into the input device 101.
[0041] If the processing system 111 does locate a matching profile
in the customer profile storage media 105, it may extract that
profile and query the price rules storage media 109 for the price
rules that match the obtained profile.
[0042] If no matching price rule is found, the processing system
may proceed to offer the customer the "regular" prices from the
sales price storage media 107 or query the price rules storage
media for default instructions.
[0043] If one or more matching price rules are found, the
processing system 111 may implement those price rules. One such
implementation would be to consult the sales price storage media
107 for sales prices. The prices might be the "regular" prices,
which the processing system 111 would then adjust based on the
price rules that were obtained. Alternatively, or in addition, the
price rules may dictate that the processing system 111 seek certain
classes of prices from the sales price storage media 107, as
explained in more detail below in connection with a discussion of
the sales price storage media in FIG. 3 and the price rules in FIG.
4, in which event the processing system 111 might query the sales
price storage media 107 for those classes of prices.
[0044] After obtaining the specified classes of prices from the
sales price storage media 107 or after adjusting the sales prices
that are obtained from the sales price storage media 107, all in
accordance with the price rules from the price rules storage media
109, the processing system 111 may then deliver these prices to the
output device 103 for the customer to receive.
[0045] Of course, it is to be understood that only the prices of
certain items may be sought or calculated and delivered to the
output device 103. These may be of items that the customer has
expressed interest in during the course of his communication with
the customer ordering system. In addition or instead, these might
be of selected items that the processing system has been programmed
to provide automatically, such as prices of daily specials.
[0046] In certain situations, the customer profile may elicit more
than a single price rule in connection with a single item. In this
event, the processing system 111 may need to harmonize these
differences. One approach might be for the processing system 111 to
provide the customer with the highest price that a rule dictates,
the lowest price, or the average of the prices dictated by the
rules. Another approach might be to include a price rule within the
price rules storage media 109 that specifies how conflicts in price
rules should be resolved.
[0047] The net effect is that the customer receives prices that are
a function of the customer's profile, in accordance with the price
rules.
[0048] FIG. 2 is a diagram of one schema for customer profile data
that may be stored in the customer profile storage media 105. As
shown in FIG. 2, the customer profile data may include a Customer
ID field 201 and a Profile field 203 on the customer, including a
Prior Purchases field 205, a Prior Contacts With Merchant field
207, a Prior Contacts With Third Party field 209, one or more
Demographics fields 211 and other profiling information field
213.
[0049] The Customer ID field 201 may be any of the well-known
types, as well as any new types that are later invented. In FIG. 2,
the Customer ID field 201 is shown as simply the name of the
customer, such as John Doe in record 215. Of course, it is to be
understood that other forms of ID could be used, such as a customer
code.
[0050] The Prior Purchases field 205 may signify the number of
purchases that the customer previously made, such as the "7"
indicated in record 215. The Prior Purchases field 205 may also or
instead specify information concerning the identity, types and/or
sales prices of products or services that were previously
purchased, as well as the total number of prior purchases and/or
the total dollar volume of prior purchases.
[0051] The Prior Contacts With Merchant field 207 may indicate the
number of contacts that the customer has previously had with the
merchant, such as the "10" indicated in record 215. These could be
a tally of personal visits, phone calls, etc.
[0052] The Prior Contacts With Third Party field 209 may be used to
track contacts that the customer may have had with a third party
merchant, such as the "8" indicated in record 215. It may instead
or in addition be used to record the status that the customer holds
within a third party's loyalty or rewards program with which the
merchant has some relationship, including any agreement for
cross-promotional activities with that third party's loyalty or
rewards program. This information can later be used in connection
with the price rules (discussed below) as part of a cross-selling
or cross-promotional campaign.
[0053] The Customer Profile field 203 may also include one or more
Demographics fields 211 about the customer, such as the "72 years
old" entry in record 215. Of course, other demographics, such as
residence location, sex or marital status, could also be used.
[0054] Other profile information could also be stored in record 215
in connection with remaining field 213.
[0055] The customer profiles that are stored in the customer
profile storage media 105 can contain as many or as few fields of
information as are desired. Although often discussed in the
singular above, each of the fields discussed above could, in fact,
be representative of several fields.
[0056] FIG. 3 is a diagram of one schema for sales price data that
may be stored in the sales price storage media 107. As shown in
FIG. 3, an Item ID field 301 may include an identification of the
items that may be shown to the customer for purchase on the output
device 103, such as the "Jumbo Burger" shown in record 303. The ID
may take the form of the name of the item, such as is shown in the
record 303, a code for the item, or any other form.
[0057] A Price field 305 that is associated with the Item ID field
301 may also be stored in the sales price storage media 107. In
this example, various classes of prices are shown for each item,
such as a Regular price field 307, a Class 1 price field 307, and a
Class 2 price field 309.
[0058] As will later be demonstrated, certain price rules may
include formulas for calculating discounts to be applied to the
regular prices stored in the Regular price field 307. Other price
rules may designate that a price in a specified class field in the
sales price storage media 107 be used, such as the prices from the
Class 1 field 309. The use of price classes makes it easy for
prices to be changed on an individual item-by-item basis, without
having to change the price rules. Either or both approaches can be
used in a single system.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a diagram of one schema for price rules data that
may be stored in the price rules storage media 109. As shown in
FIG. 4, each price rule record, such as price rule records 401, 403
and 405, may include a Customer Profile field 407 and an associated
Price Rule field 409.
[0060] The customer profile field 407 may consist of a logical,
Boolean expression that refers to one or more of the Profile fields
203 in the customer profiles that are stored in the customer
profile storage media 105. In record 401, for example, the Customer
Profile 407 tests for whether the Prior Purchases field 205 in the
customer profile is greater than $1,000. The customer profile in
record 403, on the other hand, tests for whether the Customer Age
field, which may be one of the Demographics fields 211, is greater
than 60. The Customer Profile 407 in record 405 tests for whether
the Prior Contacts With Third Party field 209 is greater than
10.
[0061] Of course, other and more complex expressions could be
created. A greater or lesser number of price rules records could
also be provided.
[0062] Associated with each Customer Profile 407 may be a Price
Rule 409. In connection with record 401, when the Prior Purchases
exceed $1,000, the Price Rule 409 dictates that a 10% discount
should be provided on non-beverages. This demonstrates that meeting
a particular aspect of a customer profile may only result in the
price of certain products being adjusted, not all products.
[0063] In record 403, a profile showing an Age greater than 60 will
cause the Class 2 prices to be selected from the sales price
storage media 107. This demonstrates how a price rule may make
cause a particular class of prices within the sales price storage
media 107 to be utilized. As previously indicated, this facilitates
adjusting prices on an item-by-item basis. It also facilitates the
use of a single price class in connection with multiple customer
profile criteria.
[0064] Record 405 illustrates a Customer Profile 407 that tests
when a customer has had more than 10 prior contacts with a third
party. If this criteria is met, the Price Rule 409 is applied to
offer the customer an order of french fries at one-half price.
[0065] The customer-operated ordering system may be configured for
the customer to select and consummate the sale himself. The input
device 101 may be configured for the customer to operate directly.
Similarly, the output device 103 may be configured for the customer
to see and/or hear directly.
[0066] The customer-operated ordering system may allow the customer
to select and consummate a sale of one or more products and/or
services. The products may include retail products. The service may
include tickets to events.
[0067] The products or services may be ones that are provided by
the merchant at whose location the customer-operated ordering
system is located. It may also be products or services from a
third-party merchant, i.e., not the merchant at whose location the
customer-operated ordering system is present.
[0068] All or some of the components of the customer-operated
ordering system may be in a stand-alone kiosk or may be part of
another structure, such as an order desk. The kiosk and/or other
components may, as indicated above, be located on the premises of
the merchant that is selling the products or services. It may be at
a public location, as part of a drive-through, at a concession
stand, at a public transportation stop, at a ticketed venue, or at
any other location.
[0069] Although having been thus-far described as being a "customer
operated" system, it is to be understood that the system could
instead or in addition be operated by someone other than the
customer, such as the salesperson.
[0070] The customer-operated ordering system may also be part of a
larger system containing several customer-operated ordering
systems. Some of these may be at different locations, such as the
various locations of a franchise. The various customer-operated
ordering systems may be centrally managed or managed through
regional offices which, in turn, may be centrally managed. The data
that is placed in the customer profile, sales price and price rules
storage media 105, 107 and 109, respectively, may originate locally
at the merchant or other organization on whose premises the
customer-operated ordering system is present, or may originate
remotely from a regional or main office, or may originate at one
location and be modified or updated by a system at a different
location.
[0071] The customer-operated ordering system may also be integrated
as an add-on to a business's existing point-of-sale computer
system. Through appropriate and known database communication
techniques, existing databases can be used as the source of at
least some of the data in the customer profile, sales price and/or
price rules storage media 105, 107 and 109, respectively. All or
some of the components of the customer-operated ordering system may
be shared with the existing system into which the customer-operated
ordering system is integrated. All that might need to be added is
appropriate software, data and, perhaps, the input devices 101 and
output devices 103.
[0072] The customer-operated ordering system may have a broad
variety of other components and/or functions. For example, the
system may include a payment acceptance device that would accept
payment and/or a cash dispenser that would dispense cash (including
change), all as needed in connection with the transaction. The
system might also include a device that prints and delivers
promotional messages. The output device 103, in cooperation with
the processing system 111 and other systems, might also deliver
graphic presentations to the customer that include rich and
possibly interactive multimedia content in a manner that would keep
the customer's attention throughout the selection and consummation
process. The ordering system could also include a device that
issues admission tickets, which could be purchased as part of the
ordering process or given as part of a promotion or reward. The
ordering system could also be multilingual and function with
different currencies, the particular one of which might be selected
by the customer. The ordering system might also operate in
real-time, meaning that the output the customer receives on the
output device 103 follows very quickly the input that the customer
might deliver to the input device 101.
[0073] Other embodiments and further details about customer
ordering systems are set forth in the patent applications that are
identified in the "Cross-Reference to Related Applications" section
of this application. Each of these represents further variations of
the customer-operated ordering system of this application and are
all incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth.
[0074] The descriptions that have now been provided are of the
illustrative embodiments and should enable a person of ordinary
skill in the art to make and use the technology that is set forth
in the claims below without undue experimentation. Numerous
modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to
those skilled in the art, and the principles set forth in this
discussion may be applied to other embodiments, all without
departing from the spirit or scope of the technology that is set
forth and covered solely by the claims below.
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