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"That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced."
Scientific American ; Jan. 2 edition, 1909
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8060408 | Diagnostic data interchange The present invention provides a bi-directional communication network which provides monitoring, data collection, and control of food service industry operations. The system includes a computer and control logic implemented by the computer which may be configured to... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8041605 | Advance order system A system includes a master device and a slave device. The slave device is configured to provide a customer waiting to be seated at a restaurant with menu information for the restaurant, receive at least one of a drink order or a food order from the customer while th... | 10/18/2011 |
| RE42759 | Computer integrated communication system for restaurants A computer integrated communication system for restaurants that includes a central server and a series of table units and staff units. The table and staff units each include a display and wireless communication device that enables customer request information and ot... | 09/27/2011 |
| 7974881 | Method and system for assessing, scoring, grouping and presenting nutritional value information of food products A method and system for presenting nutritional information about food products. The method involves gathering nutritional data about food products, analyzing that data to determine a nutritional value, scoring the product, and applying a designation reflecting the n... | 07/05/2011 |
| 7953632 | Method and apparatus for managing food products in quick serve restaurants A product management system for quick serve restaurants that displays to the staff what to cook on a main control unit 1 is programmed with a sales forecast through the office computer 14. The main control unit communicates to the product hold timers | 05/31/2011 |
| 7945477 | Patron service system and method A patron service system and method is described herein with reference to several exemplary implementations. For example, in one described implementation, portable patron units are provided to patrons for use in a resort or other establishment. The portable patron un... | 05/17/2011 |
| 7930212 | Electronic menu system with audio output for the visually impaired An electronic talking menu system for the visually impaired includes a battery powered portable electronic, audio output device having large back-lighted buttons corresponding to menu items. Each button corresponds to contents of the restaurant's menu, such as appet... | 04/19/2011 |
| 7877291 | Diagnostic data interchange The present invention provides a bi-directional communication network which provides monitoring, data collection, and control of food service industry operations. The system includes a computer and control logic implemented by the computer which may be configured to... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7870166 | Method and apparatus for menu generation Methods and Apparatus related to generating representations of information. The information may include menu information for merchants such as restaurants. Referring to menus, methods may include receiving potential information for a first menu, and receiving indica... | 01/11/2011 |
| 7774231 | Electronic payment methods for a mobile device A system for facilitating electronic payments in a food service setting using a mobile device is provided. The mobile device interacts with a proximity reader to verify user upon entry into a food establishment and the rest of the transaction such as ordering items ... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7756746 | Method and apparatus for selling an aging food product Some embodiments provide methods and apparatus for determining a food product and determining a price range defining a maximum price and a minimum price. An indication is stored that the food product may be offered, as a set of one or more food products, in exchange... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7756745 | Method for accurately quoting wait time for a restaurant table The inventive method uses data received concerning the status of various tables in the establishment, the criteria provided by the customer as well as the status of the meals being prepared in a variety of courses for customers already seated to best determine how m... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7752075 | Method and system for auction or sales of deliverable prepared food via the internet A method and system for auctioning items via the Internet permit customers to bid on items and others to bid after delivery has been scheduled, and optionally commenced, to a previous bidder. A bid increment is set according to a geographic location of the new bidde... | 07/06/2010 |
| 7680690 | Intelligent menu ordering system A methodology for customers seeking to purchase a meal from a food service vendor such as a restaurant, a cafeteria, or a vending machine, by ordering a food preparation based upon menu-selections. In addition to receiving ordered food, customers receive suggestions... | 03/16/2010 |
| 7606732 | Distributed meter networks and systems for monitoring same A system for monitoring one or more nodes of a distributed meter network. The system includes at least one meter device at each node for metering a product and for generating a signal representative of a corresponding metering rate. A computation device in communica... | 10/20/2009 |
| 7603287 | Point of purchase display accessory A display accessory for use with a video monitor capable of displaying representations of portions of pizzas of different size which may be ordered by a customer where the representation is displayed true-to-size. Indicia comprising a plurality of concentric shapes ... | 10/13/2009 |
| 7593863 | System for measuring and testing a product using artificial olfactometry and analytical data The present invention relates to systems and methods for measuring and testing a product using artificial olfactometry and analytical data sensory to identify preferences. The system accurately facilitates a consumer's choice between products using descriptors of si... | 09/22/2009 |
| 7587333 | Method and apparatus for vending products A method and apparatus is disclosed for advancing the sale of vending machine products. The invention enables selling products without revealing the identity of the product. By concealing the identity of the products from a consumer prior to receiving payment, the p... | 09/08/2009 |
| 7584119 | Restaurant system A restaurant system includes an electronic kiosk having opposed first and second sides. A first display is situated on the first side for use by the customer and a second display is situated on the second side for use by a bartender. The kiosk includes a first input... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7440749 | Displaying advertisement on rear display and calculating communication costs to bill users and advertisers A mobile terminal acquires an advertising display program with advertising information from an advertising agency server by issuing an advertising display program acquisition request and displays the advertising information on its rear display by executing the acqui... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7430411 | Transmission of service availability information Methods and apparatuses for providing service availability information to a waiting customer using the customer's wireless device are generally introduced herein. ... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7418413 | System and method for synchronizing restaurant menu display with progress through a meal A system and method monitor the progress of a meal and provide course menus in synchronization with the monitored progress of the meal. The system includes a menu application for retrieving course menus and sending them to a patron communicator located at a table in... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7415375 | Systems and methods for food waste monitoring A food waste monitoring system and related methods are disclosed. The food waste monitoring system may include a local food waste monitoring device that is coupled to an electronic scale for weighing food waste. The monitoring device may capture and record the weigh... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7389919 | Products and processes for promoting multiple transactions at a retail establishment Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for promoting multiple transactions at a retail establishment are provided. According to an aspect of the invention, products and processes are disclosed for receiving, via a point-of-sale terminal that is not a vending ... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7385479 | Service personnel communication system A data processing system for analyzing customer and employee interactions in a service establishment is disclosed. The data processing system, comprises a plurality of remote customer, employee units and a central unit. The units each include a transceiver to send a... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7372361 | Restaurant service management system A restaurant service management system, for facilitating efficient communication between a customer and service staff in an establishment such as a restaurant. The service staff is equipped with a communication station having a display, and each customer is equipped... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7366512 | Notification method and device for service providers A customer is alerted to the availability or completion of service by a service provider through communication with a wireless terminal of the customer. The terminal has an assigned identification number and a control channel, and as a first step, the identification... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7357319 | External adapter for magnetic stripe card reader An adaptor in accordance with the present invention allows a conventional magnetic stripe card POS reader to receive information from contact-based or wireless sources while maintaining the concurrent ability of the reader to interact with a magnetic stripe card. In... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7359867 | Computer system, server, and method for supporting cooking, and computer program generator An information providing unit of a server reads a menu table in accordance with a request sent from a customer terminal. The customer terminal presents menu items together with their nutritive values to a customer in accordance with data sent from the server. A sele... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7353136 | Electronic drink coaster A system for ordering drink refills, comprising a coaster body with a processor, a wireless transmitter and at least one button, the processor responding to user inputs to activate the wireless transmitter to transmit wireless signals indicative of a desired order. | 04/01/2008 |
| 7349722 | Wireless communications system and method A system for communicating information facilitates wireless communication between electronic devices. The system includes a transceiver provided in a vehicle. The transceiver communicates with an electronic device located external to the transceiver using a Bluetoot... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7343174 | Wireless electronic drive-thru system and method In a particular embodiment, the disclosure is directed to a system including a customer authentication and payment server, a merchant data server, a merchant network, and a merchant station. The merchant data server is coupled to a public data network and the public... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7343319 | Multi-tier pricing of individual products based on volume discounts A point of sale system or other computer system stores a product pricing database in which a full price and discount prices corresponding to one or more discount pricing tiers are stored for each product available for sale. Each of the discount prices for a given pr... | 03/11/2008 |
| 7340431 | Systems and methods for determining the value of assets Systems and methods are provided for analyzing a set of assets. Generally, a distribution is computed for a characteristic of assets, setting a range in a tail of the distribution and partitioning the range into at least one partition. Subsequently, a multiplier is ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7330827 | Network commerce system, orderer terminal using the same, producing/processing terminal, headquarters terminal and payment system, and commercing method A network commerce system is provided that determines a seller that sells items by considering the location of a recipient. The network commerce system includes an orderer terminal 10 handled by an orderer ordering items, and a plurality of producing/processi... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7328174 | Sales enhancement system and method for retail businesses A sales enhancement system for retail businesses including: (a) an input mechanism for inputting (408, 413), into the system, selection information on a plurality of items selected by a patron, the information on each item including: (i) at least on item type... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7325741 | Enhanced system management and user assistance through software monitoring A data utilization installation has various components such as a management computer, a mobile computer system, an access point, a printer, and application software. The management system collects status information from the components, and evaluates whether the com... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7328186 | Client account and information management system and method An information repository and management system for data regarding a client base which integrates a plurality of information types including database records, word processor files, e-mail, other hyperlinked documents, web pages and web sites. Implemented as a databa... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7324958 | Information administering system for an eating house 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 infor... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7321732 | Method and apparatus for improving noise immunity for low intensity optical communication An optical communication probe enables a diagnostic tool to optically communicate with an external device, such as an appliance, through a low intensity indicator light of the external device. The communication probe includes an optical transmitter, an optical recei... | 01/22/2008 |
