INTERACTIVE DISPLAY SYSTEM FOR FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS
The present disclosure describes an interactive menu display system providing retail establishments with a flexible electronic menu display that enables presentation of a large number of menu items by incorporating, among other things, a menu-item scrolling feature. The display system can be configured to subdivide a display system to include fields, such as physical portions of a display unit, or individual display units, that are designated for predetermined categories of menu items, and within those fields, the menu items may be sequentially displayed, such as in a scrolling, paging, or other step-wise fashion. The display system can also include a menu configuration user interface designed for the owner or manager of the retail establishment to conveniently and efficiently update menu content, layout, and other configuration settings. The display system can be configured to update the menu display in real-time based on updates to menu content and settings.
This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/844,348, filed on Jul. 9, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe present disclosure generally relates to interactive display systems which can be used in, for example but without limitation, food and entertainment industry retail establishments, such as restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. For example, some of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used in conjunction with electronic menu boards and/or point-of-sale systems used in restaurants or bars, as well as other types of entertainment establishments, such as dance clubs, etc.
Recently, electronic displays have become more widely used in retail establishments in the food and entertainment industry. For example, many restaurants and bars have adopted electronic menu displays for listing the available menu items and, optionally, their respective prices. Such systems allow the operators to change the items listed and/or their price. Additionally, some systems allow users to choose to alternate the display of menu items and advertisements.
SUMMARYAn aspect of at least one of the embodiments disclosed herein includes the realization that, in the context of some retail establishments in the food and/or entertainment industry, electronic display systems used for presenting lists of available selections, such as menu or bar selections, can be inadequate for displaying larger numbers of menu items. For example, some restaurants offer more menu items than can be displayed, simultaneously, on one or more display devices, such as commercially available televisions or video monitors. Similarly, some bars may offer a larger number of beverages, such as beers or microbrews, the particular list of which and pricing can change often. An aspect of at least one of the embodiments disclosed herein includes the realization that such electronic display systems can provide a user, such as a restaurant or bar manager, a convenient and simplified way of presenting a large number of menu items by incorporating a menu-item scrolling/paging feature. Optionally, the menu-item scrolling/paging feature can be associated with a list of menu items associated with categories and/or fields of the display system.
For example, in accordance with some embodiments disclosed herein, a display system can be configured to display menu items in a scrolling, paging, or other transitional fashion (e.g. fading in/out effects, boxing in/out effects, blinding effects, checkerboard effects, etc.). In an example of an environment of use, such as a bar, a display system can be configured to scroll or page through a list of beers, microbrews or other beverages that are available, where the list of those beverages is sufficiently long that they cannot reasonably be displayed simultaneously on the display system. Thus, some of the menu items are displayed while moving up or across a display unit, and other menu items are cached and are sequentially displayed in a scrolling, paging, or other transitional/step-wise fashion.
Further, in accordance with some embodiments, a display system can be configured to subdivide a display system so as to include fields, such as physical portions of a display unit, or individual display units, that are designated for predetermined categories of menu items, and within those fields, the menu items are sequentially displayed, such as in a scrolling, paging, or other transitional/step-wise fashion within areas of the display system dedicated to respective categories. Further, in some embodiments, a plurality of areas of the display system can be dedicated to a plurality of categories and including displayed titles associated with those categories, respectively, and can be configured to display and scroll/page menu items in those categories simultaneously, while the titles of the categories remain persistent during the scrolling/paging. Thus, a customer can more easily monitor a designated field of a display system and watch the scrolling/paging list of menu items so as to eventually see all of the available menu items, and in some embodiments, monitor multiple categories simultaneously.
Further, by incorporating at least two or more fields of the display system designated for respective two or more categories of menu items, a plurality of customers can simultaneously monitor the fields associated with two different categories of menu items with the various menu items scrolling, paging, or otherwise being changed therein.
The display system can also include a convenient user interface designed to allow a user to insert menu items into predetermined fields on the display system, which may be associated with various categories of menu items. The user interface can include predefined user templates and/or other features for conveniently changing menu items and/or other information displayed on the display system.
Further, the display system can allow for fields on the display unit or units to be reserved for other types of information, either scrolled or static, such as messages from social media websites and/or social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, instant messages, micro-blogs, embedded videos, etc.
A video display system can also be configured for listing a line-up, for example, of performers scheduled to perform. For example, in some types of entertainment establishments, dancers, comedians or other types of entertainers may take the stage in a sequential order. Some customers appreciate advance notice of the different performers that are scheduled to perform, and optionally statistical or personal information regarding each of those performers. Optionally, the display system can also display the estimated time until each of the sequential performers will take the stage.
These, as well as other features, aspects, embodiments and advantages of the display systems are further described below and illustrated in connection with various embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting.
The menu display configuration module 122 may be configured to, for example, manage various aspects of configuring a menu for a retail establishment. The menu display configuration module 122 may operate in conjunction with a user interface module 124 configured to generate and provide various menu configuration user interfaces described herein to enable the owner or manager to edit the menu, including menu content (e.g., food and drinks available at the retail establishment), notices (e.g., informational items), advertising content (e.g., banner advertisements, in-menu advertisements, etc.), and presentation settings including display and layout settings, font styles and alignments, and the like. Among other things, the menu display configuration module 122 and/or user interface module 124 may be configured to execute various processes, such as the process 1100 described with reference to
Also shown in
Also shown in
The user interface module 124 of the interactive menu display system 100 may be configured to, for example, generate one or more user interfaces, such as the user interfaces described herein (e.g.,
According to one example use case scenario, a retail establishment may have one or more display devices 166, such as commercial televisions or video monitors, to enable display of a menu of items and information for the retail establishment. For example, one display device 166 may enable display of a food menu, another display device 166 may enable display of a drinks menu, and yet another display device 166 may enable display of notices, advertisements, or other information. Of course, any combination may be possible (e.g., one display device 166 may display food and drinks, along with notices and advertising in any combination) using one, two, three, or more display devices 166. The display devices 166 may present one or more menu display user interfaces which are generated by the interactive menu display system 100 based at least in part on menu data accessed from the menu and content data store 170.
An owner or manager of a retail establishment may access the menu configuration user interfaces using a user computing device 162, The user computing device 162 may be, for example, a smart phone or tablet available to the owner, manager, or other employees at the retail establishment, or the user computing device 162 may be located elsewhere in a location remote from the retail establishment (e.g., the owner may be able to access the menu configuration user interfaces from home or anywhere else).
Example Menu Display User InterfacesDepending on the embodiment, the user interfaces and functionality described with reference to
As shown in
In some embodiments, certain portions of the menu may include content which may not entirely fit within the display area of the respective portion of the menu display UI. For example, a common scenario occurs when a drinks menu or submenu includes more available drinks than can concurrently be displayed in the corresponding portion of the menu display (e.g., the portion of the menu display may have sufficient display area to display up to ten available drink items at one time, but the entire drinks menu may include more than ten drinks). In such cases the menu display UI may be generated to enable automatic scrolling, paging, and/or other transitional rotation of the content within the respective portion, thereby updating the menu display UI in real-time to replace displayed menu content with other menu content that is not concurrently displayed. This way the entire contents of the menu may be displayed over a period of time, enabling the customer to view the entire menu or submenu contents in a single menu display UI. In other embodiments, instead of automatic scrolling, menu content may be periodically rotated or switched to update the menu display UI to present the entire menu or submenu contents in timed segments. For example, a drinks menu or submenu may rotate through a display pattern of showing a first set of ten drinks, followed by a second set of ten drinks, and so on until all available drinks in the menu or submenu have been presented, at which point the display pattern may be repeated. The pattern may be configured to present each timed segment for a default or a user defined period of time (e.g., 3 seconds, 5 seconds, etc.).
The example menu display UI 200 also includes a ticker UI element 202 for displaying a scrolling, paging, or otherwise automatically updating ticker of content. Although illustrated at the bottom of the menu display UI 200, the ticker UI element 202 may be presented in any position including across the top, the middle, on the left or right side of the UI. The ticker UI element 202 may be configured using for example the ticker configuration UI illustrated and described with reference to
In one embodiment, the menu display UI 200 is configured to update or refresh periodically in near real-time in order to display the most current menu content and configuration settings. In another embodiment, the menu display UI 200 is configured to update or refresh responsive to detection of or receipt of new or updated menu content and configuration settings. In either such embodiment, the menu content and configuration settings may be updated, for example, by the owner or manager of the retail establishment via the one or more menu configuration user interfaces described herein. In this way for example, the owner or manager may update the menu to add new items or to delete items no longer available, and the interactive menu display system 100 may generate and updated menu display UI 200 to be refreshed in near real-time. This way the owner or operator may be assured that the most current menu is displayed within the retail establishment based on “up-to-minute” changes to the menu or items available. One benefit to such an updated menu display is that it may prevent the customer from ordering an item that is no longer available, thus preventing the undesirable customer service outcome of having to inform the customer manually that an item she ordered is not available.
As shown in
In some embodiments, some the drink categories may include content which may not entirely fit within the display area of the respective portion of the menu display UI. For example, a brewery or bar often offers dozens or even hundreds of different beer brews which may not concurrently be displayed in the menu display, or may not concurrently be displayed in the menu display and remain legible or viewable by the customer. In such cases the menu display UI 400 may be generated to enable automatic scrolling, paging, other transitional change of the content within each respective portion, thereby updating the menu display UI in real-time to replace displayed available drinks with other menu content that is not concurrently displayed. This way the entire contents of the drinks menu may be displayed over a period of time, enabling the customer to view a legible or readable presentation of the entire drinks menu a single menu display UI. In other embodiments, instead of automatic scrolling, drinks menu content may be periodically rotated or switched to update the menu display UI to present the entire drinks menu or submenu contents in timed segments. For example, a drinks menu or submenu may rotate through a display pattern of showing a first set of ten drinks, followed by a second set of ten drinks, and so on until all available drinks in the menu or submenu have been presented, at which point the display pattern may be repeated. The pattern may be configured to present each timed segment for a default or a user defined period of time (e.g., 3 seconds, 5 seconds, etc.). In one embodiment, each respective drink category and corresponding portion of the menu display UI 400 may be configured to scroll or rotate content independently of each other, enabling concurrent display of multiple scrolling or rotating lists of drinks organized by the respective categories, which may be identified with names or titles (e.g., Pilsners and Pale Ales, Hoppy, Wheat and Belgian, Malty and Dark, of FIG. 4). In some embodiments, the names or titles (e.g., Pilsners and Pale Ales, Hoppy, Wheat and Belgian, Malty and Dark, of
Similarly to the embodiment shown and described in
Although not illustrated in
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Similarly to the embodiments shown and described in
Although not illustrated in
Depending on the embodiment, the user interfaces and functionality described with reference to
When the user has finished providing item and content configuration settings for the menu item configuration options, the user may choose to Accept 828 the changes or Cancel 830 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the item and content configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
When the user has finished providing item default configuration settings for the item default configuration options, the user may choose to Accept 924 the changes or Cancel 926 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the item default 14 configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
As shown in
When the user has finished providing point of sale interface configuration settings for the point of sale options, the user may choose to Accept 1008 the changes or Cancel 1010 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the point of sale interface configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
When the user has finished providing background configuration settings for the background options, the user may choose to Accept 1308 the changes or Cancel 1310 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the background configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
When the user has finished providing ticker content configuration settings for the ticker options, the user may choose to Accept 1510 the changes or Cancel 1512 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the ticker configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
When the user has finished providing style configuration settings for the style options, the user may choose to Accept 1612 the changes or Cancel 1614 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the style configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
In another embodiment, the banner configuration UI 1700 may also provide an option to add or create a new banner image. The user may want to utilize this feature to, for example, create a custom banner image from a photograph of a menu item (e.g., food or drink) available at the retail establishment, or of a performer who performs at the retail establishment, and so on. For example, the user may be provided with options to choose an existing photo (e.g., from a photo library that may be stored locally on the user's computing device), or to take anew photo (e.g., using a camera or video capture device on the user's computing device). Once a photo is selected, the user may be presented with one or more photo editing options including options to crop the photo, apply photo filters (e.g., such as a filter optimized or designed to improve the appearance or presentation of food items in photographs), and/or apply other image processing to the photo (e.g., color manipulation, image/photo rotation, resizing and/or zooming, image lighting effects, etc.). The user interface may also provide the user with an option to add text to be displayed with the photo, such as a title and/or a price. The user interface may also present options for the user to edit styles associated with the text (e.g., font size, text color, font style, etc.) via a similar style setting UI as described in the present disclosure. Once the user has finished uploading the photo and selecting text, font, and style settings, the user may name the banner and be able to save the banner for use throughout the menu display. For example, the newly created banner may be saved to the menu and content data store 170 and accessed for use later in managing banner display settings via the banner configuration UI 1700. In another embodiment, the banner configuration UI 1700 may also provide an option for the user to apply any of the one or more photo editing options described above (e.g., crop the photo, apply photo filters, and/or apply other image processing to the photo) to an image selected for the banner (e.g., to an image that is already previously uploaded and/or available for use in the menu display, such as an image stored in the menu and content data store 170). This way the user can customize banner images in the image repository before or at the time of upload, or after uploading, depending on the circumstances. For example, the user may wish to re-use a certain image multiple times to create various different types of custom banners, such as with different types of filters applied and/or with different custom text (e.g., different prices for different times of day, for special offers or events, and so on).
When the user has finished providing banner configuration settings for the banner options, the user may choose to Accept 1720 the changes or Cancel 1722 the changes. In response to the user accepting the changes, the user computing device may provide the banner configuration settings to the interactive menu display system 100, which may in turn re-generate or update any of the menu display UIs which may be affected by any updates. In response to the user cancelling the changes, the user may be returned to another menu configuration UI, depending on the embodiment.
The example portal UI 1800 of
The example portal UI 1800 of
Also shown in the sample portal UI 1800 of
The administrator portal UI 1900 may also include a Users control panel 1904, which may for example, enable the user to add new users 1906 or edit existing users 1908, including managing/setting access levels, restrictions, and/or viewing options. For example, the owner or manager may wish to add a new user when a new employee is hired and grant the new user/employee certain rights and privileges with respect to administration of the menu for the retail establishment. For example, newer employees may initially be granted only viewing privileges and not be able to add to or edit the menu; or, employees under the age of 21 may be denied access or authorization to any configuration settings related to alcoholic beverages offered by the retail establishment; and so on.
The administrator portal UI 1900 may also include a View Logs control panel 1910, which may for example, enable the user to view access logs and other system information related to user activity. The view logs may present an option to select filter options 1912, including for example different types of filters such as pages accessed, login frequency, change log frequency, and other similar administrative log metrics which may be of interest to the owner or manager of the retail establishment.
Example Processes for Providing Menu Display and Configuration User InterfacesAt block 2005 of
At block 2010, the interactive menu display system 100 provides the generated menu display UI for display on a first electronic display device at the retail establishment. In one embodiment, the generated menu display UI is provided directly to the first electronic display device. In another embodiment, the generated menu display UI is provided to an intermediary system, such as another computing system at the retail establishment, which may in turn provide the generated menu display UI to the first electronic display device.
At block 2015, the interactive menu display system 100 may generate a menu display commander user interface to enable an owner or manager of the retail establishment to configure content and layout settings for the menu. The menu display commander user interface may be, for example, any of the example menu configuration user interfaces illustrated and described with reference to
At block 2020, the interactive menu display system 100 provides the menu display commander user interface for display on a computing device distinct from the first electronic display device. For example, the computing device may be a user computing device, such as a smart phone or a tablet, accessible by the owner or manager of the retail establishment.
At block 2025, the interactive menu display system 100 receives from the computing device content and layout settings for the menu. The content and layout settings may include any of the configuration settings described and discussed herein, such as the configuration settings described and discussed with reference to
At block 2030, the interactive menu display system 100 updates the menu display UI based on the received content and layout settings. For example, if the user updated the menu dimensions and/or layout (e.g., the number and/or arrangement of rows and columns), the menu display UI may be re-generated or updated to reflect the updated menu dimensions and/or layout. In another example, if the user removed an item from the menu (e.g., a beer on tap may have run out and is no longer available, or a limited supply food item may have run out and is no longer available, etc.), the menu display UI may be re-generated or updated to remove the item from the menu display.
At block 2035, the interactive menu display system 100 provides the updated menu display UI for display on the first electronic display device at the retail establishment. In one embodiment interactive menu display system 100 provides the updated menu display UI in near-real time, such that changes or updates made by the owner or manager via the menu configuration UI are propagated to the first electronic display device for display in seconds or less. In one embodiment the first electronic display device replaces the menu display UI with the updated menu display UI immediately after the interactive menu display system 100 provides the updated menu display UI to ensure that the most “current” menu is displayed at any given time.
Once the process 2000 completes blocks 2025 to 2035, the process may be repeated on recurring, continuing, and/or periodic basis so that changes to the menu configuration may be received or detected, and the appropriate menu display user interface(s) may be updated in a timely manner.
At block 2105, the interactive menu display system 100, for example via the user interface module 124, generates an interactive menu configuration user interface to enable an owner or manager of a retail establishment to manage a display menu for the retail establishment. The interactive menu configuration user interface may be, for example, any of the example configuration menu user interfaces illustrated and described with reference to
At block 2110, the interactive menu display system 100 receives a selection of configuration settings for respective menu display configuration options. In one embodiment, the interactive menu display system 100 may receive configuration settings serially for respective menu display configuration options which are presented in respective menu configuration user interfaces. For example, in response to the user clicking on an “Accept” button or navigating away from a respective menu configuration user interface, the interactive menu display system 100 may receive configuration settings data from the respective menu configuration user interface. In another embodiment, the interactive menu display system 100 may receive configuration settings in batches for respective menu display configuration options which are presented in several user interfaces. For example, the interactive menu display system 100 may receive configuration settings data from several of the respective menu configuration user interfaces in response to the user clicking on a “Sync” button in order to synchronize updates to multiple configuration options across several of the respective menu configuration user interfaces.
At block 2115, the interactive menu display system 100 generates one or more menu display user interfaces based on the received configuration settings. The menu display user interfaces may then be provided to, for example, one or more display devices 166 to enable the display devices 166 to present the menu display at the retail establishment. Examples of menu display user interfaces which may be generated and provided by the interactive menu display system 100 are illustrated and discussed with respect to
Once the process 2100 completes blocks 2105 to 2115, the process may be repeated on recurring, continuing, and/or periodic basis so that changes to the menu configuration may be received or detected, and the corresponding menu display user interface(s) may be updated in a timely manner.
Example System Implementation and ArchitectureThe interactive menu display system 100 includes, for example, a personal computer that is IBM, Macintosh, or Linux/Unix compatible or a server or workstation. In one embodiment, the interactive menu display system 100 comprises a server, a laptop computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a kiosk, or an media player, for example. In one embodiment, the exemplary interactive menu display system 100 includes one or more central processing unit (“CPU”) 150, which may each include a conventional or proprietary microprocessor. The interactive menu display system 100 further includes one or more memory 130, such as random access memory (“RAM”) for temporary storage of information, one or more read only memory (“ROM”) for permanent storage of information, and one or more mass storage device 120, such as a hard drive, diskette, solid state drive, or optical media storage device. Typically, the modules of the interactive menu display system 100 are connected to the computer using a standard based bus system 180. In different embodiments, the standard based bus system could be implemented in Peripheral Component Interconnect (“PCI”), Microchannel, Small Computer System Interface (“SCSI”), Industrial Standard Architecture (“ISA”) and Extended ISA (“EISA”) architectures, for example. In addition, the functionality provided for in the components and modules of interactive menu display system 100 may be combined into fewer components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.
The interactive menu display system 100 is generally controlled and coordinated by operating system software, such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, Unix, Linux, SunOS, Solaris, iOS, Blackberry OS, or other compatible operating systems. In Macintosh systems, the operating system may be any available operating system, such as MAC OS X. In other embodiments, the interactive menu display system 100 may be controlled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional operating systems control and schedule computer processes for execution, perform memory management, provide file system, networking, I/O services, and provide a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (“GUI”), among other things.
The exemplary interactive menu display system 100 may include one or more commonly available input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces 110, such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, and printer. In one embodiment, the I/O devices and interfaces 110 include one or more display devices, such as a monitor, that allows the visual presentation of data to a user. More particularly, a display device provides for the presentation of GUIs, application software data, and multimedia presentations, for example. The interactive menu display system 100 may also include one or more multimedia devices 140, such as speakers, video cards, graphics accelerators, and microphones, for example.
In the embodiment of
According to
The menu content data source(s) 170 may store, for example, data for the interactive menu display system, such as information or data about menu items available at a retail establishment including food and drinks; notices including information about upcoming events, special offers for the retail establishment, information about performers and performance schedules, and the like; advertising content, including ads for the retail establishment and/or ads for related products or services which may be displayed on the menu display user interfaces in exchange for a service fee; data related to display settings and/or layout settings for the menu display user interfaces; images and other display content for the menu; and so forth.
In the embodiment of
Retail establishment systems(s) 168 may include a point of sale (“POS”) system. Interfacing between the POS system and the interactive menu display system may provide several benefits, including the ability to synchronize menu and content data for menus associated with the retail establishment with data from the POS system, which may include for example menu data related to items for sale at the retail establishment.
Retail establishment systems(s) 168 may also include or be in communication with one or more display device(s) 166 to enable display of the menu display user interfaces described herein. In one embodiment, the interactive menu display system 100 may be in communication with the one or more display device(s) 166, such that the menu display user interfaces may be provided directly from the interactive menu display system 100 to the display device(s). In another embodiment, the interactive menu display system 100 may be in communication with the retail establishment system(s) 168, such that the menu display user interfaces may be provided indirectly from the interactive menu display system 100 to the display device(s) through the retail establishment system(s) 168.
Embodiments can be implemented such that all functions illustrated herein are performed on a single device, while other embodiments can be implemented in a distributed environment in which the functions are collectively performed on two or more devices that are in communication with each other. Moreover, while the computing system has been used to describe one embodiment of interactive menu display system 100, it is recognized that the user systems may be implemented as computing systems as well.
In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, Lua, C or C++. A software module may be compiled and linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpreted programming language such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will be appreciated that software modules may be callable from other modules or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Software modules configured for execution on computing devices may be provided on a computer readable medium, such as a compact disc, digital video disc, flash drive, or any other tangible medium. Such software code may be stored, partially or fully, on a memory device of the executing computing device, such as the interactive menu display system 100, for execution by the computing device. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be further appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein are preferably implemented as software modules, but may be represented in hardware or firmware. Generally, the modules described herein refer to logical modules that may be combined with other modules or divided into sub-modules despite their physical organization or storage.
It is recognized that the term “remote” may include systems, data, objects, devices, components, or modules not stored locally, that are not accessible via the local bus. Thus, remote data may include a system which is physically stored in the same room and connected to the computing system via a network. In other situations, a remote device may also be located in a separate geographic area, such as, for example, in a different location, country, and so forth.
Other EmbodimentsEach of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in the preceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automated by, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computer processors comprising computer hardware. The code modules may be stored on any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or computer storage device, such as hard drives, solid state memory, optical disc, and/or the like. The systems and modules may also be transmitted as generated data signals (e.g., as part of a carrier wave or other analog or digital propagated signal) on a variety of computer-readable transmission mediums, including wireless-based and wired/cable-based mediums, and may take a variety of forms (e.g., as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or as multiple discrete digital packets or frames). The processes and algorithms may be implemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results of the disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently or otherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, e.g., volatile or non-volatile storage.
The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y and at least one of Z to each be present.
While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular element, feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed herein. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of certain of the inventions disclosed herein.
It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure. The foregoing description details certain embodiments. It will be appreciated, however, that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the systems and methods can be practiced in many ways. For example, a feature of one embodiment may be used with a feature in a different embodiment. As is also stated above, it should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the systems and methods should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the systems and methods with which that terminology is associated.
Claims
1. A system comprising:
- an electronic data store configured to at least store content and layout settings data associated with a menu for a retail establishment; and
- a computing device including a processor, the computing device in communication with the electronic data store and configured to at least: generate a menu user interface comprising at least the menu, wherein the menu includes one or more food items offered by the retail establishment, one or more drink items offered by the retail establishment, and/or one or more notice items provided by the retail establishment, and wherein the menu user interface is generated according to the content and layout settings data associated with the menu that are accessed from the electronic data store; transmit the generated menu user interface to a first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present at least a portion of the menu user interface; generate a display commander user interface including one or more user-selectable configuration options for the content and layout settings data associated with the menu, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a menu items option to enable a user to edit content and layout settings associated with the one or more food items, the one or more drink items, and/or the one or more notice items; transmit the display commander user interface to a mobile computing device to enable the mobile computing device to present the display commander user interface; receive, from the mobile computing device, content and layout settings data associated with the menu; update the menu user interface based on the received content and layout settings data associated with the menu; and transmit the updated menu user interface to the first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present the updated menu customer user interface.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the menu user interface further includes advertising content, announcements, or content from a social media feed.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first electronic display device periodically and automatically refreshes in order to present the updated menu user interface substantially in real time.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the retail establishment is a restaurant, a bar, a night club, or a performance venue.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a background settings option, a ticker settings option, or a banner settings option.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the ticker settings option is configured to, upon selection by a user, present one or more configuration options associated with a scrolling ticker display portion of the menu user interface, the one or more configuration options including at least a social media feed URL user input element to enable the user to specify a social media content source for the scrolling ticker display portion.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the menu user interface comprises a display area configured to (1) display a portion of the menu and (2) automatically scroll the portion of the menu within the display area when the portion of the menu may not be displayed in its entirety within the first display area.
8. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- under control of a hardware computing device configured with specific computer-executable instructions: generating a menu user interface comprising at least a menu for a retail establishment, wherein the menu includes one or more food items offered by the retail establishment, one or more drink items offered by the retail establishment, and/or one or more notice items provided by the retail establishment, and wherein the menu user interface is generated according to the content and layout settings data associated with the menu that are accessed from the electronic data store; transmitting the generated menu user interface to a first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present at least a portion of the menu user interface; generating a display commander user interface including one or more user-selectable configuration options for the content and layout settings data associated with the menu, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a menu items option to enable a user to edit content and layout settings associated with the one or more food items, the one or more drink items, and/or the one or more notice items; transmitting the display commander user interface to a mobile computing device to enable the mobile computing device to present the display commander user interface; receiving, from the mobile computing device, content and layout settings data associated with the menu; updating the menu user interface based on the received content and layout settings data associated with the menu; and transmitting the updated menu user interface to the first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present the updated menu customer user interface.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the menu user interface further includes banner advertising content, announcements, or content from a social media feed.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the first electronic display device periodically and automatically refreshes in order to present the updated menu user interface substantially in real time.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the retail establishment is a restaurant, a bar, a night club, or a performance venue.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a background settings option, a ticker settings option, or a banner settings option.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the ticker settings option is configured to, upon selection by a user, present one or more configuration options associated with a scrolling ticker display portion of the menu user interface, the one or more configuration options including at least a social media feed URL user input element to enable the user to specify a social media content source for the scrolling ticker display portion.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the menu user interface comprises a display area configured to (1) display a portion of the menu and (2) automatically page the portion of the menu within the display area when the portion of the menu may not be displayed in its entirety within the first display area.
15. Non-transitory computer-readable storage comprising computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a hardware processor, are configured to perform operations comprising:
- generating a menu user interface comprising at least a menu for a retail establishment, wherein the menu includes one or more food items offered by the retail establishment, one or more drink items offered by the retail establishment, and/or one or more notice items provided by the retail establishment, and wherein the menu user interface is generated according to the content and layout settings data associated with the menu that are accessed from the electronic data store;
- transmitting the generated menu user interface to a first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present at least a portion of the menu user interface;
- generating a display commander user interface including one or more user-selectable configuration options for the content and layout settings data associated with the menu, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a menu items option to enable a user to edit content and layout settings associated with the one or more food items, the one or more drink items, and/or the one or more notice items;
- transmitting the display commander user interface to a mobile computing device to enable the mobile computing device to present the display commander user interface;
- receiving, from the mobile computing device, content and layout settings data associated with the menu;
- updating the menu user interface based on the received content and layout settings data associated with the menu; and
- transmitting the updated menu user interface to the first electronic display device to enable the first electronic display device to present the updated menu customer user interface.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, wherein the menu user interface further includes banner advertising content, announcements, or content from a social media feed.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, wherein the retail establishment is a restaurant, a bar, a night club, or a performance venue.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, wherein the one or more user-selectable configuration options include a background settings option, a ticker settings option, or a banner settings option.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 18, wherein the ticker settings option is configured to, upon selection by a user, present one or more configuration options associated with a scrolling ticker display portion of the menu user interface, the one or more configuration options including at least a social media feed URL user input element to enable the user to specify a social media content source for the scrolling ticker display portion.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the menu user interface comprises a display area configured to (1) display a portion of the menu, and (2) automatically scroll the portion of the menu within the display area when the portion of the menu may not be displayed in its entirety within the first display area.
21-84. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 9, 2014
Publication Date: Mar 19, 2015
Inventors: Nima Bahrami (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA), Anthony Vernaglia (Anaheim Hills, CA), Kip Vernaglia (Anaheim Hills, CA)
Application Number: 14/327,126
International Classification: G06Q 30/06 (20060101); G06Q 50/00 (20060101); G06F 3/0485 (20060101); G06Q 30/02 (20060101); G06F 3/0482 (20060101); G06F 3/0484 (20060101);