`McNally et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,871,325 B1
`*Mar. 22, 2005
`
`US006871325B1
`
`(54)
`
`(75)
`
`INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND
`SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS
`SYSTEM WITH MENU GENERATION
`
`Inventors: Keith R. McNally, Santa Clarita, CA
`(US); William H. Roof, San Diego, CA
`(US); Richard Bergfeld, ChatsWorth,
`CA (US)
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee: Ameranth Wireless, Inc., San Diego,
`CA (US)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 706 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis
`clairner.
`
`(21)
`(22)
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`Filed:
`
`10/015,729
`Nov. 1, 2001
`
`(63)
`
`(51)
`(52)
`(58)
`
`(56)
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`Continuation of application No. 09/400,413, ?led on Sep.
`21, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,384,850.
`
`Int. Cl.7 ................................................ .. G06F 3/00
`
`US. Cl. ...................................... .. 715/810; 715/841
`Field of Search ............................... .. 715/810, 841,
`715/765, 781; 705/26, 27, 37
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,724,069 A * 3/1998 Chen ........................ .. 345/172
`5,802,526 A
`9/1998 Fawcett et al.
`5,912,743 A
`6/1999 Kinebuchi et al.
`5,991,739 A * 11/1999 Cupps et al. ............... .. 705/26
`
`6,107,944 A
`
`8/2000 Behr et a1.
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`EP
`W0
`W0
`
`0 779 759 A2
`WO 98/20434
`WO 98/41936
`
`6/1997
`5/1998
`9/1998
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`“Graphic User Interface Builder Menu Construction UsingA
`Tree—VieW Container” IBM Technical Disclosure Bullentin,
`vol. 38, No. 09 Sep. 1995.
`“Entertainment Industry Leder Rich Rank Takes Helm At
`Cybermeals, World’s Largest Online Meal Ordering Sys
`tem” Sep. 15, 1998, <URL:Http://WWW.food.com/food.sph/
`saisp .
`.
`. s/aboutus/pressrelease.jsp?id=228>, printed on
`Apr. 20, 2001.
`“W3C Putting Compact HTML, HDML to Test for Net
`Access—Mobile Markup Langueages Face Off”, Yoshiko
`Hara, Apr. 6, 1998, <URL:http://WWW.techWeb.com/se/
`directlinkcgi?eet19980406s0089>, printed Sep. 2, 1999.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner—Cao (Kevin) Nguyen
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Morgan & Finnegan, LLP
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`An information management and synchronous communica
`tions system and method facilitates database equilibrium and
`synchronization With Wired, Wireless and Web-based
`systems, user-friendly and efficient generation of computer
`iZed menus and reservations for restaurant and other appli
`cations that utiliZe equipment With nonstandard graphical
`formats, display siZe and application for use in remote data
`entry, information management and communication With
`host computer, digital input device or remote pager via
`standard hardwired connection, the internet, a Wireless link.
`
`15 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`POSce—System
`Login TcHEcKs T ORDER )5 VIEW 1 PAY
`Choose Item:
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`
`1
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`Browsel
`
`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 1
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 22,2005
`
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`US 6,871,325 B1
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`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 2
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 22,2005
`
`Sheet 2 0f 6
`
`US 6,871,325 B1
`
`Modifier
`Long Nome:
`
`§hort Nome:
`
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`
`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 3
`
`
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 22,2005
`
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`Petitioners‘ Exhibit, Page 4
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`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 4
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`
`Mar. 22,2005
`
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`
`Mar. 22,2005
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`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 22,2005
`
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`US 6,871,325 B1
`
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`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 7
`
`
`
`US 6,871,325 B1
`
`1
`INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND
`SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS
`SYSTEM WITH MENU GENERATION
`
`The present application is a continuation of application
`Ser. No. 09/400,413, ?led Sep. 21, 1999 US. Pat. No.
`6,384,850. The contents of application Ser. No. 09/400,413
`are incorporated herein by reference.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates to an information management and
`synchronous communications system and method for gen
`eration of computerized menus for restaurants and other
`applications With specialiZed display and synchronous com
`munications requirements related to, for example, the use of
`equipment or softWare With non-PC-standard graphical
`formats, display siZes and/or applications for use in remote
`data entry, information management and synchronous com
`munication betWeen host computer, digital input device or
`remote pager via standard hardWired connection, the
`internet, a Wireless link, smart phone or the like.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`While computers have dramatically altered many aspects
`of modem life, pen and paper have prevailed in the hospi
`tality industry, e.g., for restaurant ordering, reservations and
`Wait-list management, because of their simplicity, ease of
`training and operational speed. For example, ordering pre
`pared foods has historically been done verbally, either
`directly to a Waiter or over the telephone, Whereupon the
`placed order is recorded on paper by the recipient or
`instantly ?lled.
`Although not previously adapted for Wide-scale use in the
`hospitality industry, various forms of digital Wireless com
`munication devices are in common use, e.g., digital Wireless
`messengers and pagers. Also in common use are portable
`laptop and handheld devices. HoWever, user-friendly infor
`mation management and communication capability not
`requiring extensive computer expertise has not heretofore
`been available for use in everyday life such as for restaurant
`ordering, reservations and Wait-list management. Hundreds
`of millions of dollars have been spent on personal digital
`assistant (“PDA”) development seeking to produce a small,
`light-Weight and inexpensive device that could be adapted to
`such uses; yet none have yielded a satisfactory solution.
`One of the inherent shortcomings of PDA type devices is
`that, as they strive for small siZe, loW Weight and loW cost,
`they must compromise the siZe and clarity of the operator
`display medium interface itself, Which in most cases is one
`of a variety of LCD (liquid crystal display) type devices. As
`the siZe of the display shrinks, the amount of information
`that may be displayed at any one point or time is commen
`surately decreased, typically requiring multiple screens and
`displays to display information to the operator. This reduces
`the overall utility of the device. Additionally, the smaller
`display and keyboard results in a non-optimal operator
`interface, Which sloWs doWn operation and is thus unaccept
`able for the time criticality of ordering, reservation and
`Wait-list management and other similar applications. This
`necessitates many design compromises Which in the aggre
`gate have resulted in limited acceptance of PDA type
`devices in the restaurant and hospitality ?elds.
`Many of the negatives prevalent in earlier devices have
`been eliminated, but, to date, there is still no integrated
`solution to the ordering/Waitlist/reservation problem dis
`cussed above. With the advent of the Palm® and other
`
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`2
`handheld Wireless devices, hoWever, the efforts to make such
`devices ubiquitous have begun to bear fruit at least in some
`areas, e.g., personal calendars. HoWever, substantial use of
`such devices in the restaurant and hospitality context has not
`occurred to date. As discussed above, at least one of the
`reasons PDAs have not been quickly assimilated into the
`restaurant and hospitality industries is that their small dis
`play siZes are not readily amenable to display of menus as
`they are commonly printed on paper or displayed on, e.g.,
`large, color desktop computer screens. Another reason is that
`softWare for fully realiZing the potential for Wireless hand
`held computing devices has not previously been available.
`Such features Would include fast and automatic synchroni
`Zation betWeen a central database and multiple handheld
`devices, synchroniZation and communication betWeen a
`World Wide Web (“Web”) server and multiple handheld
`devices, a Well-de?ned application program interface
`(“API”) that enables third parties such as point of sale
`(“POS”) companies, af?nity program companies and inter
`net content providers to fully integrate With computeriZed
`hospitality applications, real-time communication over the
`internet With direct connections or regular modem dialup
`connections and support for batch processing that can be
`done periodically throughout the day to keep multiple sites
`in synch With the central database. Asingle point of entry for
`all hospitality applications to communicate With one another
`Wirelessly has also previously been unavailable. Such a
`single point of entry Would Work to keep all Wireless
`handheld devices and linked Web sites in synch With the
`backoffice server (central database) so that the different
`components are in equilibrium at any given time and an
`overall consistency is achieved. For example, a reservation
`made online Would be automatically communicated to the
`backoffice server and then synchroniZed With all the Wireless
`handheld devices Wirelessly. Similarly, changes made on
`any of the Wireless handheld devices Would be re?ected
`instantaneously on the backoffice server, Web pages and the
`other handheld devices.
`For the foregoing reasons, paper-based ordering, Waitlist
`and reservations management have persisted in the face of
`Widespread computeriZation in practically all areas of com
`merce. At most, computeriZation of these functions has been
`largely limited to ?xed computer solutions, i.e., desktop or
`mainframe, because of the problems heretofore faced in
`con?guring Wireless handheld devices and maintaining data
`base synchroniZation for such applications. Speci?cally, the
`unavailability of any simple technique for creating restau
`rant menus and the like for use in a limited display area
`Wireless handheld device or that is compatible With ordering
`over the internet has prevented Widespread adoption of
`computeriZation in the hospitality industry. Without a viable
`solution for this problem, organiZations have not made the
`efforts or investments to establish automated interfaces to
`handheld and Web site menus and ordering options.
`Aprincipal object of the present invention is to provide an
`improved information management and synchronous com
`munications system and method Which facilitates user
`friendly and ef?cient generation of computeriZed menus for
`restaurants and other applications that utiliZe equipment
`With non-PC-standard graphical formats, display siZes and/
`or applications.
`A further object of the present invention is to provide an
`improved information management and synchronous com
`munications system and method Which provides for entry,
`management and communication of information from the
`operator as Well as to and from another computer, Web page
`menu, remote digital device using a standard hardWired
`connection, the internet or a Wireless link.
`
`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 8
`
`
`
`US 6,871,325 B1
`
`3
`A further object of the present invention is to provide an
`improved information management and synchronous com
`munications system Which is small, affordable and light
`Weight yet incorporates a user-friendly operator interface
`and displays menus in a readily comprehensible format.
`A further object of the present invention is to provide a
`synchronous information management and communications
`system Which enables automatic updating of both Wireless
`and internet menu systems When a neW menu item is added,
`modi?ed or deleted from any element of the system.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The foregoing and other objects of the present invention
`are provided by a synchronous information management and
`communications system and method optimiZed for simplic
`ity of operation Which incorporates menu generation for
`creation of menus to be used With Wireless remote handheld
`computer and PDA devices, the internet or any application
`Where simple and ef?cient generation of menus is appropri
`ate. The menu generation approach of the present invention
`includes a desktop softWare application that enables the
`rapid creation and building of a menu and provides a means
`to instantly doWnload the menu con?guration onto, e.g., a
`handheld device or Web page and to seamlessly interface
`With standard point of sale (“POS”) systems to enable
`automatic database updates and communication eXchanges
`When a change or input occurs in any of the other system
`elements. To solve the above and other related problems, an
`information management and communications system is
`provided Which results in a dramatic reduction in the amount
`of time, and hence cost, to generate and maintain comput
`eriZed menus for, e.g., restaurants and other related appli
`cations that utiliZe non-PC-standard graphical formats, dis
`play siZes or applications.
`The menu generation approach of the present invention
`has many advantages over previous approaches in solving
`the problem of converting paper-based menus or Windows@
`PC-based menu screens to small PDA-siZed displays and
`Web pages. In one embodiment, the present invention is a
`softWare tool for building a menu, optimiZing the process of
`hoW the menu can be doWnloaded to either a handheld
`device or Web page, and making manual or automatic
`modi?cations to the menu after initial creation.
`The use of Wireless handheld devices in the restaurant and
`hospitality industry is becoming increasingly pervasive as
`restaurant oWners and managers become more aWare of the
`bene?ts. With the proper Wireless handheld system in place,
`restaurants can eXperience increased table turns from
`improved server productivity and shorter order taking and
`check paying times. Restaurants and POS companies seek
`ing to provide a Wireless handheld interface to their desktop
`based POS systems or a Web page equivalent face several
`challenges. These challenges include building a menu using
`their existing database and transferring the menu onto hand
`held devices or Web pages that Will interface With servers
`Wirelessly or to restaurants/customers over the internet. The
`menu generation approach of the present invention is the
`?rst coherent solution available to accomplish these objec
`tives easily and alloWs one development effort to produce
`both the handheld and Web page formats, link them With the
`eXisting POS systems, and thus provides a Way to turn a
`complicated, time-consuming task into a simple process.
`The information management and synchronous commu
`nications system of the present invention features include
`fast synchroniZation betWeen a central database and multiple
`handheld devices, synchroniZation and communication
`
`4
`betWeen a Web server and multiple handheld devices, a
`Well-de?ned API that enables third parties such as POS
`companies, af?nity program companies and internet content
`providers to fully integrate With computeriZed hospitality
`applications, real-time communication over the internet With
`direct connections or regular modem dialup connections and
`support for batch processing that can be done periodically
`throughout the day to keep multiple sites in synch With the
`central database.
`The communication module also provides a single point
`of entry for all hospitality applications, e.g., reservations,
`frequent customer ticketing, Wait lists, etc. to communicate
`With one another Wirelessly and over the Web. This com
`munication module is a layer that sits on top of any com
`munication protocol and acts as an interface betWeen hos
`pitality applications and the communication protocol and
`can be easily updated to Work With a neW communication
`protocol Without modifying the core hospitality applications.
`A single point of entry Works to keep all Wireless handheld
`devices and linked Web sites in synch With the backoffice
`server applications so that the different components are in
`equilibrium at any given time and an overall consistency is
`achieved. For eXample, a reservation made online can be
`automatically communicated to the backoffice server and
`then synchroniZed With all the Wireless handheld devices
`Wirelessly. Similarly, changes made on any of the Wireless
`handheld devices are re?ected instantaneously on the back
`of?ce server Web pages and the other handheld devices.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The foregoing features and advantages of the present
`invention can be appreciated more fully from the folloWing
`description, With references to the accompanying draWings
`in Which:
`FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a WindoW dis
`played on a computer display screen Which shoWs a hierar
`chical tree menu, modi?er WindoW and sub-modi?er Win
`doW in conformity With a preferred embodiment of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a modi?er dialog
`boX in conformity With a preferred embodiment of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a menu category
`dialog boX in conformity With a preferred embodiment of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a menu item dialog
`boX in conformity With a preferred embodiment of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a display customi
`Zation dialog boX in conformity With a preferred embodi
`ment of the present invention.
`FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a communications
`control WindoW in conformity With a preferred embodiment
`of the present invention.
`FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a point of sale
`interface on a Wireless handheld device for use in displaying
`page menus created in conformity With a preferred embodi
`ment of the present invention.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`Most personal computers today run under an operating
`system that provides a graphical user interface (“GUI”) for
`accessing user applications. A GUI is used in the preferred
`embodiment of the present invention. Through an interface
`
`65
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`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 9
`
`
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`US 6,871,325 B1
`
`5
`of WindoWs, pull-doWn menus, and toolbars, GUI operating
`systems have simpli?ed PCs and have rendered computer
`technology more user friendly by eliminating the need to
`memoriZe keyboard entry sequences. In addition, GUIs
`alloW users to manipulate their data as they Would physical
`entities. For example, a WindoW can represent a ?le and the
`contents of the WindoW can represent the records of the ?le.
`The WindoW can be opened, closed, or set aside on a desktop
`as if it Were an actual object. The records of the ?le can be
`created, deleted, modi?ed and arranged in a drag-and-drop
`fashion as if they also Were physical objects. The most
`common GUI operating systems that provide this “object
`oriented” environment for personal computers are Microsoft
`Windows@ systems, including WindoWs CE® for handheld
`Wireless devices and the like. Generally, a particular appli
`cation program presents information to a user through a
`WindoW of a GUI by draWing images, graphics or text Within
`the WindoW region. The user, in turn, communicates With the
`application by “pointing” at graphical objects in the WindoW
`With a pointer that is controlled by a hand-operated pointing
`device, such as a mouse, or by pressing keys on a keyboard.
`The use of menus is conventional in GUIs for softWare
`applications. Menus are typically utiliZed to provide end
`users of applications With available choices or processing
`options While using the applications. For example, in a
`typical desktop or interactive application, selection of a
`“?le” from a menu bar may cause display of a context menu
`Which provides “?le” options. File options can have addi
`tional subordinate or child options associated With them. If
`a ?le option having subordinate options is selected, the child
`options are displayed in context in a child menu or submenu
`proximate to the selected parent option. One or more of the
`child options provided in the child menu may have further
`subordinate options. Thus, such a menu system comprises
`cascading sets of menus Which are displayable in context to
`shoW the parent/child relationships betWeen options of the
`context menu. A menu system of this type is incorporated
`into the preferred embodiment of the invention.
`The preferred embodiment of the present invention uses
`typical hardWare elements in the form of a computer
`Workstation, operating system and application softWare ele
`ments Which con?gure the hardWare elements for operation
`in accordance With the present invention. A typical Work
`station platform includes hardWare such as a central pro
`cessing unit (“CPU”), e.g., a Pentium® microprocessor,
`RAM, ROM, hard drive storage in Which are stored various
`system and application programs and data used Within the
`Workstation, modem, display screen, keyboard, mouse and
`optional removable storage devices such as ?oppy drive or
`a CD ROM drive. The Workstation hardWare is con?gured
`by softWare including an operating system, e.g., Windows@
`95, 98, NT or CE, netWorking softWare (including internet
`broWsing softWare) and application softWare components.
`The preferred embodiment also encompasses a typical ?le
`server platform including hardWare such as a CPU, e.g.,
`Pentium® microprocessor, RAM, ROM, hard drive,
`modem, and optional removable storage devices, e. g., ?oppy
`or CD ROM drive. The server hardWare is con?gured by
`softWare including an operating system, e. g., Windows@ 95,
`98, NT or CE, netWorking softWare (including Web server
`softWare) and database softWare.
`A computer Workstation for use in the preferred embodi
`ment also includes a GUI. As is conventional, the GUI is
`con?gured to present a graphical display on the display
`screen arranged to resemble a single desktop. Execution of
`an application program involves one or more user interface
`objects represented by WindoWs and icons. Typically, there
`
`6
`may be several WindoWs and icons simultaneously present
`on the desktop and displaying information that is generated
`by different applications.
`The WindoW environment is generally part of the operat
`ing system softWare that includes a collection of utility
`programs for controlling the operation of the computer
`system. The computer system, in turn, interacts With appli
`cation programs to provide higher level functionality,
`including a direct interface With the user. Speci?cally, the
`application programs make use of operating system func
`tions by issuing task commands to the operating system
`Which then performs the requested task. For example, an
`application program may request that the operating system
`display certain information on a WindoW for presentation to
`the user.
`
`An aspect of the preferred embodiment of the information
`management and communications system of the invention is
`shoWn in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shoWs an example of the GUI
`provided by the operating system of the preferred embodi
`ment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the
`preferred embodiment includes an intuitive GUI 1 from
`Which to build a menu on a desktop or other computer. A
`hierarchical tree structure 2 is used to shoW the different
`relationships betWeen the menu categories 3 (e.g., soups,
`salads, appetiZers, entrees, deserts, etc.), menu items 4 (e.g.,
`green salad, chicken caesar salad, etc.), menu modi?ers 5
`(e.g., dressing, meat temperature, condiments, etc.) and
`menu sub-modi?ers 6 (e.g., Italian, French, ranch, bleu
`cheese, etc.).
`The procedure folloWed in con?guring a menu on the
`desktop PC and then doWnloading the menu con?guration
`onto the POS interface on the handheld device in conform
`ance With the preferred embodiment is as folloWs.
`
`The menu con?guration application is launched by click
`ing on the appropriate icon on the desktop display screen.
`FIG. 1 Will then be displayed. There are three WindoWs on
`the screen shoWn in FIG. 1. The left WindoW is the menu tree
`7, also called the tree vieW. The top right WindoW is the
`Modi?ers WindoW 8 and the bottom right WindoW is the
`Sub-Modi?ers WindoW 9. The Sub-Modi?ers WindoW lists
`the sub-modi?ers that correspond to the modi?er that is
`selected. The vieWs on the right are referred to as list vieWs.
`There are several Ways of invoking a command, including
`using the menu options; using the context menu (right
`mouse click); using the keyboard or using the toolbar icons.
`For example, if it is desired to add a category to the menu,
`the folloWing four options are available: (1) clicking on Edit,
`Add Category; (2) right mouse clicking on Menu, then
`clicking on Add Category; (3) highlighting Menu, then
`typing Ctrl+T or (4) clicking on the Add Category icon on
`the toolbar. To add an item to a category, the folloWing
`options are available: (1) highlighting the category to Which
`it is desired to add an item and then clicking on Edit>Add
`Item; (2) right mouse clicking on the desired category and
`then clicking on Add Item; (3) highlighting the desired
`category, then typing Ctrl+N or (4) clicking on the Add icon
`on the toolbar.
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`When building a menu, it should be kept in mind that the
`menu items are stored using a tree metaphor similar to hoW
`?les are stored on a PC With folders and subfolders. The
`menu structure is similar to the Windows@ File Explorer in
`the Way the items are organiZed hierarchically. BeloW is an
`example of hoW an item may be con?gured:
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`65
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`Petitioners' Exhibit, Page 10
`
`
`
`US 6,871,325 B1
`
`Menu
`>> Entrees
`>> Red Meat
`>> NYStrip
`>> Vegetables
`>> Tomato
`>> Lettuce
`Meat Temperature
`>> Medium Rare
`
`In the above example, Menu is the root. Entrees is a menu
`category. Red Meat is an Entree category. NY Strip is a
`modi?er. Vegetable is a modi?er. Meat Temperature is a
`modi?er. Medium Rare is a sub-modi?er of Meat Tempera
`ture.
`The steps taken in building a menu are as follows:
`1. Add Modi?ers;
`. Add Sub-Modi?ers and link them to the Modi?ers;
`. Create Menu categories;
`. Add menu items to the categories;
`. Assign Modi?ers to the menu items;
`. Preview the menu on the POS emulator on the desktop
`PC;
`7. Download the menu database to the handheld device.
`To add modi?ers, a user clicks on the inside of the
`Modi?ers window, then (1) clicks on Edit>Add Modi?er; (2)
`Presses Ctrl+N; (3) right mouse clicks in the Modi?ers
`window, then clicks on Add Modi?ers or (4) clicks on the
`Add icon from the toolbar. If a menu is being built from
`scratch, the procedure is to enter the Long Name, Short
`Name, Code and Price in the Modi?er dialog box 10 shown
`in FIG. 2. The Long Name is the full descriptive name of the
`item. The Short Name is the abbreviated name that will be
`displayed on the handheld device. The Code is the numeric
`or alphanumeric code for the item. If there is an existing
`database, the existing database can be browsed and menu
`items retrieved from the database. Clicking on the Browse
`button will bring up the existing database of menu items.
`The item to be added is then selected and “OK” is clicked.
`The ?elds will then be ?lled with the information from the
`database. Clicking on OK again will add the item as a
`modi?er. To delete a modi?er, the modi?er is selected and
`the Delete key pressed on the keyboard. To edit a modi?er,
`either the modi?er is double clicked or the Enter key is
`pressed.
`Sub-modi?ers represent the last level of modi?ers that can
`be assigned to a menu tree. To add sub-modi?ers, the
`modi?er to which sub-modi?ers are to be assigned is
`selected. Then, the focus is set on the sub-modi?er window
`by clicking inside the Sub-Modi?er window as follows: (1)
`clicking on Edit>Add Sub-Modi?er; (2) pressing Ctrl+N; (3)
`right mouse clicking in the Sub-Modi?ers window, then
`clicking on Add Sub-Modi?ers or (4) clicking on the Add
`icon from the toolbar. If a menu is being built from scratch,
`the procedure is to enter the Long Name, Short Name, Code
`and Price in a Sub-Modi?er dialog box similar to the
`Modi?er dialog box shown in FIG. 2. As with modi?ers, the
`Long Name is the full descriptive name of the item. The
`Short Name is the abbreviated name that will be displayed
`on the handheld device. The Code is the numeric or alpha
`numeric code for the item. As before, if there is an existing
`database, the existing database can be browsed and menu
`items retrieved from the database. Clicking on the Browse
`button will bring up the existing database of menu items.
`The item to be added is then selected and OK clicked. The
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`?elds will then be ?lled with the information from the
`database. Clicking on OK again will add the item as a
`sub-modi?er. To delete a sub-modi?er, the sub-modi?er is
`selected and the Delete key depressed on the keyboard. To
`edit a sub-modi?er, either the sub-modi?er is double clicked
`or the Enter key is pressed.
`Menu categories are created from the root. Some
`examples of categories are Appetizers, Soups, Salads,
`Entrees, Desserts, etc. The ?rst step is to click on Menu in
`the menu tree window. Categories are added by (1) clicking
`on the Add Category icon from the toolbar; (2) clicking on
`Edit>Add Category or (3) pressing Ctrl+T. As shown in FIG.
`3, Menu Category dialog box 11 then appears in which to
`enter the Long and Short names for the menu category.
`To add menu items to categories, the menu category
`which is being built is clicked. For example, if items are
`being added to Appetizers, the Appetizers branch is clicked
`on. Then the Edit>Add Item is clicked on or Ctrl+N pressed.
`As before, if a menu is being built from scratch, the
`procedure is to enter the Long Name, Short Name, Code,
`Prep Time, Recipe and Price into the Menu Item dialog box
`12 shown in FIG. 4. The Long Name is the full descriptive
`name of the item. The Short Name is the abbreviated name
`that will be displayed on the handheld device. The Code is
`the numeric or alphanumeric code for the item. Prep Time is
`the time it takes to prepare the meal and Recipe would
`include preparation methods and ingredients that are used in
`the preparation of the item. If there is an existing database,
`the existing database can be browsed and menu items
`retrieved from the database. Clicking on the Browse button
`will bring up the existing database of menu items. The item
`to be added is then selected and OK is clicked. The ?elds
`will then be ?lled with the information from the database.
`Clicking on OK again will add the item to the category.
`Once the menu items have been entered, it may be desired
`to assign some modi?ers to the menu items. For example, it
`may be desired to assign meat temperature to a steak order.
`To accomplish this, ?rst the modi?er to be assigned is
`selected, then the menu item on the tree view that is to be
`assigned the modi?er is clicked on and then Edit>Assign
`Modi?er is clicked on. Or, the modi?er can simply be
`dragged and dropped onto the menu item to link them. A
`dialog box is then displayed asking if this modi?er i