(12) UK Patent Application
`
`GB
`
`2 1 96 766m.A
`
`(43) Application published 5 May 1988
`
`(21) Application No 8624465
`
`'
`
`(22) Date of filing 13 Oct 1986
`V
`
`(51) INT CL‘
`HO4B 7/00 5/00 9/00
`
`(52) Domestic classification (Edition J):
`G4H 13D 14G 1A 60 NP
`U1 S 1739 G4H
`
`(71) Applicants
`_,
`Sangyai Pitayanukul,
`57 Fulmers Road, Alastan Beck, West Beckton, London
`E16 3TE.
`'
`I
`
`;
`
`,
`
`'
`Thomas Tjong,
`44 Ravensbank Road, Stopsley. Luton, Bedfordshire
`LU2 8EJ.
`
`(55) DOGUFHGMS Cited
`GB A 2151870
`GB A 2121651
`GB A 2087614
`GB 17424379
`Radio & Electronic Engineer, Vol 54 No 10, October
`1984, pages 424-430
`
`EP A2 0179283
`EP A2 0176354
`EP 0148458
`
`EP A1 0054582
`EP A1 0034859
`WO A1 83/04327
`
`William Lau,
`35A Kenmere Gardens, Alperton, Middlesex HA0 1TD. '
`
`(58) "Field of search
`G4H
`H4L
`
`Kim Wong,
`495A Northolt Road. Harrow, Middlesex HA2 8JN
`
`_
`
`H4B
`' H4-P
`Selected US specifications from IPC sub-classes GOGF
`
`(72) Inventors
`Sangyai Pitayanukul
`Thomas Tjong
`William Lau
`Kim Wong
`
`H048
`
`(74) Agent and /or Address for Service
`Hughes Clark & Co.
`63 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3JU.
`
`
`
`(54) Computer communication system
`
`(57) A computer system for use in a restaurant environment is described. The system comprises a central
`computer 10 provided with a communication module to enable communication between the central
`computer and a plurality of remote handheld computers 12. The handheld computers are used by waiters
`to enter customers orders which are then transmitted by radio or infra—red radiation to the communication
`module 11. Data concerning menus and available dishes may be transmitted from the central computer 10
`to the remote computers. Preferably, in order to prevent collisions in the communication channel, the
`remote computers are interrogated in turn by the central computer.
`'
`
`The drawing originally filed was informal an
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`Starbucks, Ex. 1101, Starbucks v. Ameranth, CBM2015-00091
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`Starbucks, Ex. 1101, Starbucks v. Ameranth, CBM2015-00091
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`SPECIFICATION
`
`Computer communication system
`
`This invention relates to a computer communi-
`cation system for communicationibetween one
`or more portable or hand held computer de-
`vices and a central computer.
`1
`a
`It is known to provide a plurality of so-
`called dumb terminals at remote locations
`from a central computer for the logging or
`retrieval of data and to connect such terminals
`to the central computer by means of cables.
`The need for connections by means of cables
`results in the terminals being restricted to.
`fixed locations and they are not readily porta-
`ble. Also it is known to connect a plurality of
`computing units together in a network by
`means of interconnecting cables. However
`such interconnected systems generally are
`permanently connected and hence are rela-
`tively inflexible. In order to provide greater
`flexibility, portable computer units have been
`provided with an interface for linking with the
`public telephone network to enable such units
`to communicate with other computers con-
`nected to the telephone network.
`It will be
`appreciated that all the systems referred to
`above are dependent for communication upon
`a cable connection and hence there are re-
`strictions on’ where such systems can be
`used.
`1
`There are situations where it would be con-
`venient to have portable computer units in
`communication with a central computer. For
`example, in a restaurant it would be conve-
`nient to provide each waiter with a portable
`computer unit for the remote entry of cus-
`tomer orders and to use this unit to communi-
`cate with a central computer for the process-
`ing of the order. However in such a situation
`the present need to provide cable connections
`between a portable unit and a central unit ren-
`ders the use of such a system impractical.
`According to the present invention a com-
`puter communication system includes a central
`computer unit provided with communication
`means operable to receive and transmit data
`by radiation signals from and to one or more
`remote units.
`In order to avoid contention between the
`remote units it is preferred to arrange the
`communication means to be operative to
`transmit an interrogation signal addressed to
`each remote unit in turn and each remote unit
`to be rendered operative by receipt of the
`interrogation signal addressed to that unit to
`transmit data from that remote unit to the
`communication means.
`The communication means -may be operative
`after data transfer from an addressed one of
`the remote units to transmit an interrogation
`signal to another of said remote units.
`Also the communication means may be op-
`erative after elapse of a predetermined time
`kEX
`
`GB2 196 766A
`
`from transmission of the interrogation signal
`addressed to one of the remote units to
`transmit the interrogation signal addressed to
`another of the remote units.
`Preferably the communication means is
`operable to transmit data to an addressed one
`of the remote units.
`The communication means may comprise a
`radiation transmitter; a radiation ‘receiver; an
`input buffer store; an output buffer store and
`means controlling transfer of data from the
`input buffer store to the transmitter and from
`the receiver to the output buffer store.
`A computer communication system embody-
`ing the present invention will now be de-
`scribed with reference to the drawing.
`Referring to the drawing, a central computer
`unit 10 is provided with a communications
`processor 11 for communication with one or
`more hand held computer units 12. The cen-
`tral computer unit 10 may be a. personal com-
`puter consisting of a data processing unit 13,
`display monitor 14 and keyboard -15 together
`with disc data storage such as a hard disc
`store 16 and floppy disc store 17. A number
`of data output devices such as printers 18
`may be connected to the central computer
`unit by means of a software controlled switch
`19. Preferably a data buffer 30 is provided for
`each printer to permit data to be output by
`the central computer unit 10 in blocks to each
`of the printers.
`r
`The communications processor 11 is con-
`nected to an input/output port of the central
`computer unit 10. The processor 11 includes
`a transmitter 20, a receiver 21 and a buffer
`store 22 interconnected by means of a data
`bus. The buffer store 22 has a first section
`for receiving data from the port of the central
`computer unit 10 and a second section for
`sending data to the port of the central.com—
`puter unit 10. Preferably both sections operate
`in a first in first out mode but if desired other
`modes may be used. A microprocessor 29
`controls transfer of data via the bus from the
`first section of the buffer store to the
`transmitter and from the receiver to the sec-
`ond section of the buffer store. The transmit-
`ter 20 and receiver 21 operate at radio fre-
`quency preferably in the UHF range. Alterna-
`tively, instead of operating at radio frequency,
`they may operate in the infra-red band.
`Each hand held computer unit 12 includes a
`microprocessor 28 together with an alphanu-
`meric display 23, a keyboard 24 and a ran-
`dom access memory 25.
`In order to enable
`the unit to be small in size, the display is
`implemented by a liquid crystal device. A re-
`ceiver 26 and a transmitter 27 are connected
`to an input/output port of the data processor
`28. The receiver 26 and transmitter 27 oper-
`ate in the same radiation range as the
`transmitter 20 and receiver 21. Data may be
`input to the data processor 28 by means of
`130 the keyboard 24 and the entered data is then
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`Starbucks, Ex. 1101, Starbucks v. Ameranth, CBM2015-00091
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`displayed on the alphanumeric display 23. This
`data may then be written into the memory 25.
`The transmitters and receivers in the han-
`
`dheld computer units and the receiver and
`transmitter in the communications processor
`enable the transmission of data in both direc-
`
`tions between the central computer unit and
`each of the handheld computer units. The re-
`ceivers 26 of all the remote units 12 operate
`at the same frequency as the transmitter 20
`of the communications processor 11 and the
`transmitters 27 of all the remote units 12 op-
`erate at the same frequency as the receiver
`21 of the communications processor 11. The
`transmitter 20 and receiver 21 may operate at
`different frequencies. However, as will be ex-
`plained hereinafter, the remote units do not
`initiate transmission but only transmit in re-
`sponse to an interrogation signal from the
`communications processor and therefore the
`transmitter 20 and receiver 21 may operate at
`the same frequency.
`is in-
`It will be appreciated that since it
`tended that the system should include a plu-
`is
`rality of remote hand held computer units,
`it
`possible that more than one of the units may
`wish to communicate with the central com-
`
`puter unit at the same time. Accordingly to
`avoid contention between the remote units,
`communication from the remote units to the
`
`central computer unit and in the reverse direc-
`tion is controlled by the central computer unit.
`This is achieved by the central computer unit
`transmitting an interrogation signal which in-
`cludes an address of one of the remote units
`
`and upon receipt of this signal by the ad-
`dressed remote unit this unit responds by
`transmitting data stored in its memory 25 to
`the central computer unit via the communi-
`cations processor 11. The other remote units
`also receive this interrogation signal but be-
`cause the address in the signal does not cor-
`respond to these other remote units they do
`not respond to it. After transfer of data from
`the addressed remote unit the communications
`
`processor interrogates another of the remote
`units in a similar manner. This sequence is
`repeated so that all the remote units are re-
`peatedly interrogated in turn. Thus each re-
`mote unit reads data out from its store when
`
`it is addressed by an interrogation signal from
`the central computer unit but is unable to initi-
`ate transmission of such data to the central
`
`it will be appreciated that at
`computer unit.
`the time of its interrogation, a remote unit
`may not have any data to transmit or the
`remote unit may be inoperative. Therefore the
`communications processor is arranged so that
`if a response from an addressed remote unit
`has not been received by the end of a predet-
`ermined time limit the communications proces-
`sor interrogates the next remote unit.
`It may
`also be desired to transmit data from the cen-
`
`tral computer unit to the remote units via the
`communications processor. This is accom-
`
`130
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`GB 2 196 766A
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`plished by transmitting the data together with
`the address of the unit intended to receive the
`data. The addressed remote unit recognises
`the address and operates to write the re-
`ceived data into its store 25 from where it
`may be read and displayed by the display 23
`by keying in an appropriate instruction on the
`keyboard 24.
`The system described above is particularly
`useful, for example,
`in a restaurant environ-
`ment and may be used as follows. information
`such as the menu of food items available for
`
`the day may be input by means of the key-
`board 15 into the central computer unit where
`it
`is displayed on the display 14. This data
`may then be written into memory of the cen-
`tral computer and output to the communi-
`cations processor 11 where it is held in the
`first section of the buffer store 22 for
`
`transmission to the remote units. A specific
`remote unit can be loaded with this data by
`keying in an appropriate command on its key-
`board 24. The data is transmitted from the
`communications processor and is then written
`into the store 25 of this remote unit.
`A waiter enters customers orders into his
`
`remote unit by means of the keyboard and
`this data is displayed on the display 23 to
`enable a visual check that the data entry is
`correct. He is also able to key in an instruc-
`tion to read data previously written into the
`store, from the central computer unit via the
`communications processor, and display this
`data, for example, to check the availability of
`items. The customer orders entered into the
`remote unit are then written into the store 25.
`
`Each remote unit is interrogated in turn as
`described above by the communications pro-
`cessor and if the remote unit being addressed
`has data in its store 25 for transmission to
`
`it operates its
`the central computer unit,
`transmitter to transmit the data to the com-
`
`munications processor 11 where it is held in
`the buffer store. Data held in the buffer store
`is read out,
`in the order in which it is re-
`ceived, by the central computer unit and is
`written to store for example to the floppy or
`hard disc units. This data relating to a cus-
`tomer order is output to a selected one of the
`printers 18. These printers may conveniently
`be situated in the kitchen, the bar and the
`accounts department. Thus that portion of the
`order relating to food items will be output to
`the printer in the kitchen while the portion
`relating to drinks will be output to the printer
`in the bar. This provides the kitchen and the
`bar with a printout of the customer's require-
`ments. At the end of a meal when the cus-
`
`tomer is leaving the restaurant, the customer
`identification such as the table number is input
`to the central computer unit by means of the
`keyboard 24 on the remote unit or the key-
`board 15 of the central computer unit with a
`command for the central computer unit to
`carry out an accounting operation. Data relat-
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`Starbucks, Ex. 1101, Starbucks v. Ameranth, CBM2015-00091
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`GB 2 196 766A
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`3
`
`central computer unit includes a data process-
`ing device; a keyboard; a visiual display unit;
`data storage means and an interface for trans-
`fer of data to and from the communication
`means.
`
`11. A computer communication system con-
`structed and arranged to operate substantially
`as hereinbefore described with reference to
`the drawing.
`
`Published 1988 at The Patent Office. State House. 66/71 High Holborn,
`London WC1R 4-TP. Further copies may be obtained from
`The Patent Office, Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR5 3RD.
`Printed by Burgess 84 Son (Abingdon) Ltd. Con. 1/87.
`
`ing to the customer's account is output to the
`printer in the accounting department to pro-
`duce a bill for the customer.
`The term radiation signals used in this spe-
`cification is intended to mean signals which
`do not require a cable or similar connection
`between the remote units and the communi-
`cations processor. Such radiation signals may
`for example be radio or infra-red and may also
`be signals transmitted by inductive coupling
`between the remote units and the communi-
`
`cations processor.
`
`CLAIMS
`
`1. A computer communication system in-
`cluding a central computer unit provided with
`communication means operable to receive and
`transmit data by radiation signals from and to
`one or more portable remote units.
`A
`2. A computer communication system as
`claimed in claim 1
`in which the communication
`means is operative to transmit an interrogation
`signal addressed to each remote unit in turn
`and in which each remote unit is rendered
`
`operative by receipt of the interrogation signal
`addressed to that unit to transmit data from
`that remote unit to the communication means.
`3. A computer communication system as
`claimed in claim 2 in which the communication
`
`means is operative after data transfer from an
`addressed one of the remote units to transmit
`an interrogation signal to another of said re-
`mote units.
`4. A computer communication system as
`claimed in claim 2 in which the communication
`means is operative after elapse of a predeter-
`mined time from transmission of the interroga-
`tion signal addressed to one of the remote
`units to transmit the interrogation signal ad-
`dressed to another of the remote units.
`
`5. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any preceding claim in which the
`communication means is operable to transmit
`data to an addressed one of the remote units.
`6. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any preceding claim in which the
`communication means comprises a radiation
`transmitter; a radiation receiver; an input
`buffer store; an output buffer store and means
`controlling transfer of data from the input
`buffer store to the transmitter and from the
`receiver to the output buffer store.
`7. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any preceding claim in which the or
`each remote unit comprises a data processor;
`a keyboard; a visual display; a memory; a ra-
`diation transmitter and a radiation receiver.
`8. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any preceding claim in which the
`radiation signals are at radio frequency.
`9. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any one of claims 1to 7 in which
`the radiation signals are in the infra-red band.
`10. A computer communication system as
`claimed in any preceding claim in which the
`
`Starbucks, Ex. 1101, Starbucks v. Ameranth, CBM2015-00091