Take-out order screen preview management and delayed print terminal system and method

Abstract

This invention discloses a screen preview management and delayed printing terminal system and method for food delivery orders. After receiving food delivery order data from at least one order source, the terminal first caches the order data as a food delivery order task that can be displayed, searched, sorted, and manipulated on the screen in a task view or receipt preview view. Then, printing is triggered based on user operation, task status changes, task sorting results, packaging or labeling needs, reprinting needs, or preset conditions, rather than using the order receipt time as the sole trigger point for printing the paper receipt. The terminal can be a standalone screen device, a software application running on a mobile phone, tablet, or general-purpose computing device, or an integrated food delivery receipt printing device integrating a display screen and a printing module. The printing function can be implemented through an integrated printing module or by forwarding data to an external printer via Bluetooth, network, USB, serial port, or a printing port proxy. The terminal can also report the merchant's food preparation status to the order source using an order identifier or platform identifier when the food delivery order task is marked as packaged complete. The above solution changes the traditional "print as soon as an order arrives" method of online food delivery receipt printers to "screen preview management first, then print on demand", solving the problems of receipt accumulation, lost receipts, difficulty in finding receipts, messy packaging, and duplicate reprints during peak periods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the fields of food delivery order processing terminals, screen task management, and receipt printing technology, and particularly to a food delivery order screen preview management and delayed printing terminal system and method. Background Technology

[0002] After a takeout order is received, the most common device is still the online receipt printer. Once a platform order or an aggregated order arrives, the printer immediately outputs a paper receipt. For stores with a small order volume, this method is simple and direct; however, in pure takeout stores, kiosk stores, cloud kitchens, and during peak lunch and dinner hours, continuous and instant ticket printing can easily amplify problems.

[0003] On the one hand, receipts are often left hanging on the printer or piled up on the table. Packing staff need to find the order among the paper receipts, check the dishes or goods, and then attach the receipt to the package. With many orders, the paper receipts are easily crushed, torn to the wrong place, taken by mistake, lost, or mixed with already packed packages. When delivery drivers arrive at the store and report the order number to expedite the process, on-site staff often have to first check the receipts, find the packages, and ask the kitchen staff to determine whether the order has not yet been prepared, is ready to be packed, has been packed and is ready for pickup, or has been mistakenly picked up by another delivery driver.

[0004] On the other hand, even if some existing food delivery devices have added screens to traditional online receipt printers, they often still operate on a basic model of printing receipts as soon as an order arrives. The screens are only used for auxiliary viewing or configuration and do not change the process of issuing a large number of receipts as soon as an order comes in. If paper receipts are continuously ejected, scattered, folded, or misattached to packages, it is still necessary to repeatedly search and check among the paper receipts on-site.

[0005] For aggregated order-taking services or food delivery platform order-taking services, the terminal can already obtain food delivery order data, including order identifier, pickup number, estimated pickup time, and product details. What actual stores need is for orders to first form a task pool or receipt preview on the screen, so that packing staff can process them according to pickup number, estimated pickup time, late delivery risk, rider arrival status, or order completion status; printing is only required when packaging, delivery, or reprinting is needed.

[0006] Currently, POS machines, order aggregation devices, and network receipt printers can all receive food delivery orders, but they typically still trigger immediate ticket issuance based on order arrival events. This invention does not primarily focus on improvements to cashier, order taking, dine-in management, or order splitting at the restaurant; instead, it improves receipt previewing, task management, and printing timing in food delivery fulfillment.

[0007] Therefore, a terminal or software is needed so that food delivery orders are no longer driven solely by instant-printed receipts, but are first managed through a task pool on the screen or a receipt preview interface, and then printed on demand based on actual fulfillment needs. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to provide a system and method for managing and delaying the printing of food delivery order screen previews, which solves the problems of order accumulation, difficulty in finding tickets, messy packaging, duplicate printing, and difficulty in locating orders when riders urge delivery, caused by traditional food delivery receipt printers that print tickets immediately after the order arrives.

[0009] The core technical solution of this invention is as follows.

[0010] The order receiving module receives takeout order data from takeout platform servers, aggregated order servers, takeout order management servers, merchant order receiving services, or print data sources. The screen task caching module, upon receiving the takeout order data, caches it as a takeout order task that can be displayed and manipulated on the screen in task view or receipt preview view, and saves the task status and printing status. The display interaction module displays and manipulates the takeout order tasks on the screen. The printing control module ensures that at least some receipts are not printed immediately upon order receipt, but are triggered by user operation, task status changes, task sorting results, packaging or labeling needs, reprint needs, or when preset conditions are met. Furthermore, when a takeout order task is marked as packaged complete, the terminal can report the merchant's food preparation status to the takeout order source using the order identifier, pickup number, platform identifier, or fulfillment node status.

[0011] This invention explicitly covers the following implementation forms: the terminal can be a standalone screen device or a dedicated hardware terminal, or a software application running on a mobile phone, tablet, or general-purpose computing device, or an integrated takeaway receipt printing device integrating a display screen and a printing module. The printing function can be implemented through an integrated printing module, or through an external Bluetooth printer, network printer, USB printer, serial printer, or traditional takeaway receipt printer that communicates with the terminal. A purely software-based takeaway order management application, combined with the merchant's existing printer, also constitutes an implementation of this invention. Beneficial effects

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0013] First, after a food delivery order enters the terminal, it first forms a screen task pool instead of immediately outputting all paper receipts, reducing the accumulation, disarray, loss, and disorder caused by continuous printing of receipts during peak periods.

[0014] Secondly, the terminal form of the present invention is flexible. It can be a dedicated hardware device or a pure software application running on a mobile phone or tablet. It can be used in conjunction with the merchant's existing Bluetooth or network printer without replacing the existing printing hardware.

[0015] Third, store staff can quickly locate orders by pressing the pickup number, order number, last three digits of the phone number, estimated pickup time, risk of exceeding the time limit, or rider arrival status on the screen, effectively dealing with riders urging them to expedite orders.

[0016] Fourth, the printing control has changed from "printing as soon as an order arrives" to "printing when needed for fulfillment," which helps reduce invalid receipts, duplicate receipt searches, messy packaging, and the number of reprints.

[0017] Fifth, the present invention can be manifested as a standalone screen, as mobile phone or tablet software, or as an integrated device combining a screen and a printing module, making it easy to deploy under different store conditions.

[0018] Sixth, the terminal can adjust the processing priority based on the expected pickup time, the risk of exceeding the time limit, the rider's arrival at the store, or the platform's order reminder, so that stores are no longer limited to packing according to the order of the receipt printing.

[0019] Seventh, the terminal can report the food preparation status to the merchant using the order identifier or platform identifier when the packaging is completed, so that the screen task operation is connected with the fulfillment status update on the food delivery platform. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the module structure of the terminal of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating the process of entering the screen task pool for food delivery orders and printing them on demand.

[0022] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating the interface for delivery drivers to check task status using the pickup number or order number when expediting orders.

[0023] Figure 4 A deployment diagram illustrating how screen devices or mobile software forward print data to an external printer.

[0024] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an integrated takeout receipt printing device that integrates a display screen and a printing module.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a deployment diagram of a pure software terminal combined with an external Bluetooth or network printer.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of reporting the food preparation status to the merchant using order identifiers upon completion of packaging. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will be further described below with reference to embodiments. These embodiments are used to illustrate the implementation of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] Example 1: Food delivery orders are entered into the screen task pool instead of being printed immediately. For stores that primarily offer takeout, the system installs takeout order screen cache printing software on a mobile phone or tablet, and prints the orders via an existing network or Bluetooth thermal printer. The aggregated order server pushes structured takeout order data to this terminal, which includes the platform identifier, order identifier, pickup number, product or dish details, remarks, estimated pickup time, and delivery status. After receiving this data, the order receiving module saves it as a takeout order task through the screen task cache module.

[0029] The interactive display module shows task cards on the screen. Each task card displays the order number, platform, estimated pickup time, order status, and a summary of remarks. After the terminal receives an order, the printing control module does not immediately print all order receipts, but waits for the user to click print, for packaging to be completed, or for preset printing conditions to be met before printing. Even during peak periods, when a large number of orders come in continuously, a long string of unprocessed paper receipts will not be generated on-site.

[0030] Example 2: Pure software terminal combined with existing external printer The store already has a thermal network printer or Bluetooth printer and does not want to replace the hardware. In this case, the store owner installs the software of this invention on their mobile phone or tablet and configures the software to connect to the existing external printer. The software communicates with the external printer via Bluetooth or local area network. When packaging is complete, the user clicks print on the screen, and the software generates the packaging receipt data and sends it to the external printer for ticketing. The entire process requires no new hardware purchase; the external printer is only used as an output device.

[0031] Example 3: Quickly determine order status when delivery drivers urge delivery. Upon arriving at the store, the delivery driver gave the order number, stating that the corresponding package could not be found. The store clerk entered the order number into the interactive display module, and the terminal immediately retrieved the corresponding delivery order from the screen task cache module and displayed the current status of the order.

[0032] If the task status is "In Production" or "Pending Packaging," the staff can inform the delivery driver that the order is not yet complete and mark the task as expedited depending on the timeout. If the task status is "Ready to Pack," the staff can immediately arrange packing and print and attach a packaging receipt as needed. If the task status is "Paid" but the package cannot be found on-site, it can be marked as abnormal or suspected of being mistakenly taken by another delivery driver, and the packing time, printing time, and related operation records can be viewed in the task log. This method eliminates the need for stores to search for paper receipts to determine the order status.

[0033] Example 4: Forwarding data from a standalone screen device to an external printer In one implementation, the terminal itself can be a screen device without a printing mechanism. After receiving the takeout order data, the screen device is only responsible for creating a task pool, receipt preview, and operation interface on the screen. When the user confirms on the screen that printing is required, the printing control module sends the order receipt or package slip data to an existing network receipt printer, Bluetooth thermal printer, or USB printer.

[0034] In this implementation, the existing printer is no longer directly driven by the incoming order event to issue tickets instantly, but is used as a controlled output terminal of the screen device. This preserves the merchant's existing printing hardware while shifting the printing timing from the moment the order arrives to the moment of packaging, labeling, delivery, or reprinting.

[0035] Example 5: Prioritize packaging and printing of orders with fast timeouts During lunch and evening rush hours, the terminal adjusts task priorities based on estimated pickup time, rider arrival status, and platform order tracking status. The display module shows orders nearing their expiration date, orders where riders have arrived, or manually marked as urgent orders in the priority area. Packaging staff process tasks according to the order displayed on the screen, rather than the order in which paper receipts are printed.

[0036] In an optional implementation, when the packing staff marks the takeout order as completed on the screen, the terminal reports the merchant's order status to the corresponding takeout platform server, aggregated order server, takeout order management server, or merchant order service based on the order identifier, pickup number, platform identifier, or fulfillment node status saved in the task. This reporting can be triggered in conjunction with the printing of the packaging receipt, or it can be triggered when the user confirms the packing is complete.

[0037] Example 6: Integrated Takeout Receipt Printing Device with Screen and Printing Module In another implementation, the terminal is an all-in-one takeout receipt printing device that integrates a display screen and a printing module. This device may resemble a traditional network receipt printer in appearance, but it adds a screen for displaying order tasks and receipt previews, and internally includes a screen task caching module and a printing control module.

[0038] Upon order arrival, the device first displays the order on the screen without immediately activating the print head to issue the ticket. The staff can view the order on the screen, adjust the order sequence, mark it as expedited, or wait for packaging to complete. When the user clicks print, reprint, or when the order meets preset printing conditions, the print control module then calls the device's internal print module to output a paper receipt or label.

[0039] Example 7: Screen preview management only, printing not yet implemented In some stores, the screen devices or mobile apps can only serve as order preview and task management functions, without connecting to the printer. After an order arrives, packing staff can process it directly based on the task list, receipt preview, product details, and notes on the screen.

[0040] When paper vouchers, package labels, or reprinted receipts are needed later, the terminal can connect to an external printer or call the integrated printing module to complete the printing. This implementation illustrates that the key to this invention is not that it must have a built-in printing mechanism, but rather that orders are first previewed on the screen and cached for tasks, and then a decision is made on whether and when to print based on actual needs.

[0041] The above description is only a partial embodiment of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, any equivalent substitutions or combinations made regarding the source of takeaway orders, terminal implementation form, task display method, printing triggering conditions, type of external printing device, or form of integrated printing module without departing from the concept of the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A terminal for managing and delaying printing of takeout orders via screen preview, comprising an order receiving module, a screen task caching module, a display interaction module, and a printing control module, characterized in that: The order receiving module is used to receive takeaway order data from at least one takeaway order source, including at least one of a takeaway platform server, an aggregated order server, a takeaway order management server, a merchant order receiving service, or a print data source; the screen task caching module is used to cache the takeaway order data as a takeaway order task that can be displayed and operated on the screen in a task view or a receipt preview view after receiving the takeaway order data, and save the task status and print status of the takeaway order task; The display interaction module is used to display the takeaway order task or its receipt preview content, and to receive user operations such as querying, sorting, filtering, expediting, packing completion, completion, exception marking, or printing of the takeaway order task; the printing control module is used to change the working mode of traditional takeaway receipt printers that immediately print paper receipts when the order arrives, so that at least some takeaway orders are previewed and managed in the screen task cache module after being received, instead of immediately printing paper receipts when the order is received, and printing is triggered when the user prints, the task status changes, the task sorting result, the need for packing or attaching, the need for reprinting, or when preset printing conditions are met; The printing control module executes printing by calling the integrated printing module or by sending printing data to an external printing device that is connected to the terminal.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The terminal is at least one of the following: a dedicated terminal with a display screen, a software application running on a mobile phone or tablet, a software program running on a general-purpose computing device, a screen device used only for order preview and task management, a screen device communicating with an external printer, or an integrated takeaway receipt printing device that integrates a display screen and a printing module.

3. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The external printing device includes at least one of the following: a thermal printer, a label printer, a network receipt printer, or a traditional takeout receipt printer, which communicates with the terminal via Bluetooth, LAN, Internet, USB, serial port, or print port proxy.

4. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The food delivery order data includes structured order data or order data parsed from printed data. The structured order data includes at least one of the following: JSON format data, XML format data, Protobuf format data, platform interface push data, aggregated order interface data, message queue data, Webhook data, or long connection push data.

5. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The food delivery order task includes at least one of the following information: platform identifier, store identifier, order identifier, pickup number, delivery identifier, product or dish name, quantity, specifications, attributes, remarks, estimated pickup time, estimated delivery time, order status, task status, or print status.

6. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display interaction module displays the food delivery order tasks in at least one of the following ways: task list, task card, receipt view, platform partition, waiting to be packaged area, abnormal area, or rider pickup area. It also supports searching, sorting, or filtering the food delivery order tasks by pickup number, order identifier, last four digits of mobile phone number, platform identifier, estimated pickup time, estimated delivery time, timeout status, rider arrival status, expedited status, printing status, or abnormal status.

7. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing control module is used to prevent at least one of the following from being printed immediately upon order receipt: order receipt, packaged receipt, food preparation notice receipt, delivery receipt, or label. Instead, it is printed when the order is packaged, packaged, delivered, reprinted, processed in batches, confirmed by the user, or when preset fulfillment conditions are met.

8. The terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing control module determines the printing order, printing timing, or whether to print based on the sorting results of the takeaway order tasks, the estimated pickup time, the risk of timeout, the rider's arrival status, the task priority, the packaging completion status, or the batch processing results. The terminal is also used to report the merchant's food preparation status to the corresponding takeaway platform server, aggregated order server, takeaway order management server, or merchant order receiving service when the takeaway order task is marked as packaged complete, based on at least one of the order identifier, pickup number, platform identifier, or fulfillment node status in the takeaway order task. When the takeaway order task is marked as packaged complete, the terminal can trigger at least two of the following operations in conjunction: printing the packaging receipt attached to the package, updating the task status, and reporting the merchant's food preparation status.

9. A method for managing screen previews and delaying printing of takeout orders, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step S1: Receive takeaway order data from at least one takeaway order source; Step S2: After receiving the takeaway order data, first cache the takeaway order data as a takeaway order task that can be displayed and operated on the screen in task view or receipt preview view, and save the task status and printing status of the takeaway order task; Step S3: Display the takeaway order task or its receipt preview content through the display interaction module, and receive user operations such as viewing, searching, sorting, filtering, expediting, packaging completion, completion, exception marking, printing or reprinting of the takeaway order task; Step S4: Ensure that at least some takeout orders are not printed as paper receipts immediately upon order receipt, but are printed via an integrated printing module or by sending the print data to an external printing device that is communicatively connected to the terminal executing the method when the user performs a printing operation, the task status changes, the task sorting result is obtained, packaging or labeling is required, reprinting is required, or preset printing conditions are met.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The terminal performing the method is at least one of the following: a dedicated terminal with a display screen, mobile phone or tablet software, general computing device software, a screen device used only for order preview and task management, a screen device that communicates with an external printer, or an integrated takeaway receipt printing device that integrates a display screen and a printing module.

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