Information processing system, information processing method and program

Abstract

To enable a plurality of menus of a restaurant to be easily managed and to prevent an erroneous order.SOLUTION: An information processing system has a control unit. The control unit associates and stores a plurality of food and drink items providable in a restaurant, and controls an order terminal of the restaurant or an ordering interface of a user terminal of a user who uses the restaurant so as to prevent other food and drink items associated with one selected food and drink item from being ordered only for a prescribed period in the case of selecting the food and drink item among the plurality of food and drink items that are associated by a prescribed trigger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program capable of transmitting response information to a question about a menu from a user terminal in a restaurant. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are techniques for preventing restaurant staff or customers from ordering incorrect menu items in restaurants.

[0003] For example, the following Patent Document 1 describes an order management system that provides multiple types of menu books, such as a morning menu, lunch menu, regular menu (dinner menu), cafe menu, and all-you-can-eat menu, and displays a table ID that identifies the table to be used by a customer group and menu list information for the category selected by that customer group (for example, all-you-can-eat yakiniku lunch) on the order terminal, thereby preventing operational errors (misorders). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7209404 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to prepare in advance a number of menu books according to the type of all-you-can-eat option and the time period, which makes menu management cumbersome.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program that can easily manage a plurality of menus of a restaurant and prevent erroneous orders. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit that links and stores a plurality of food and beverage items that can be served at a restaurant, and when one of the linked food and beverage items is selected by a predetermined trigger, controls an ordering interface of an ordering terminal of the restaurant or a user terminal of a user who uses the restaurant so that other food and beverage items linked to the selected food and beverage item cannot be ordered for a predetermined period of time.

[0008] With this configuration, the information processing system can easily manage multiple menus and prevent erroneous orders by linking multiple menus of a restaurant and making it impossible to order anything other than the selected menu. The above-mentioned predetermined trigger includes, for example, a selection of food and drink items by a restaurant staff member, an order for the food and drink items by a user, or an automatic selection process due to the arrival of a predetermined date and time. In addition, the predetermined period is, for example, until the user finishes paying, until a predetermined number of orders are completed, until the end of lunchtime / dinnertime, or any other period specified by the restaurant. It also includes cases where the restaurant side forcibly ends the predetermined period before the end of the period.

[0009] The control unit may extract one of the first plurality of linked food and beverage items and one of the second plurality of linked food and beverage items to form a group item, and store the group item in association with group identification information that identifies the group item.

[0010] This allows the information processing system to configure group items, such as course menus or all-you-can-eat menus, with food and beverage items extracted from a number of linked food and beverage items, thereby preventing a user from mistakenly ordering food and beverage items that are not included in a group item when ordering the group item.

[0011] The control unit may extract different food and beverage items from the first plurality of food and beverage items and the second plurality of food and beverage items, create multiple different group items, and store them in correspondence with the respective group identification information, and when any of the group identification information is selected, control the ordering interface so that food and beverage items among the first plurality of food and beverage items other than the food and beverage items corresponding to the selected group identification information, and food and beverage items among the second plurality of food and beverage items other than the food and beverage items corresponding to the selected group identification information, cannot be ordered for the specified period of time.

[0012] This makes it possible for the information processing system to prevent a user who orders a group item from mistakenly ordering a food or beverage item included in another group item, even when there are multiple types of group items.

[0013] The first and second food and beverage items may be the same food and beverage items each having a different price including a normal price and a free price. In this case, the control unit may extract the free price food and beverage items from the first and second food and beverage items to form the group items, and store group identification information for identifying the group items in association with a predetermined price to be assigned to the group items.

[0014] This enables the information processing system to set a regular price and a free price for the same food and beverage item, and to accept orders for items other than group items (a la carte orders) at the regular price, accept orders for group items at a fixed price, and accept orders for individual food and beverage items included therein at the free price.

[0015] The control unit may additionally associate the group identification information with food and beverage items at the regular price or a discounted price of the regular price, in response to a request from the terminal of the restaurant, and store the food and beverage items.

[0016] This enables the information processing system to easily add additional food and drink items to the regular group items as needed for a fee and then accept the order.

[0017] The plurality of food and beverage items may be identical food and beverage items each having a first price and a second price different from the first price. In this case, when the user orders the food and beverage items, the control unit may select the food and beverage items with the first price as the order target for orders up to a predetermined number of times from the first order as the trigger, and may select the food and beverage items with the second price as the order target for orders exceeding the predetermined number of times as the trigger.

[0018] This allows the information processing system to change the price of the same food or drink item depending on whether the number of orders exceeds a certain number. For example, it is easy to implement a process in which the first drink is free.

[0019] The control unit may link and store a plurality of different food and drink items having the same price, and select one of the plurality of different food and drink items each time a predetermined timing serving as the trigger arrives.

[0020] This allows the information processing system to switch the orderable food and drink items from the linked multiple food and drink items at each predetermined timing, such as the turn of the day, week, month, etc. For example, it becomes possible to easily provide a daily menu.

[0021] The control unit may control the ordering interface so that none of the linked plurality of food and beverage items can be ordered unless one of the linked plurality of food and beverage items is selected.

[0022] This allows the information processing system to make the selection process of multiple linked food and beverage items a prerequisite for ordering, thereby preventing any of the food and beverage items from being ordered by mistake before the selection process.

[0023] The control unit may store each single dish item in association with a group item made up of a plurality of dish items.

[0024] This allows the information processing system to exclusively switch between accepting orders for single dish items (orders from the a la carte menu) and orders for group items (orders from the course menu).

[0025] The control unit may accept selection of different food and beverage items from the linked plurality of food and beverage items for each of a plurality of tables in the restaurant.

[0026] This enables the information processing system to accept orders for the same food and drink items at different prices for each table (eg, depending on the number of people at the table) and to allow different food and drink items to be ordered for each table.

[0027] An information processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: Link and store multiple food and beverage items that can be provided at a restaurant, This includes controlling an ordering interface of the ordering terminal of the restaurant or the user terminal of a user using the restaurant so that, when one of the multiple linked food and beverage items is selected by a specified trigger, other food and beverage items linked to the selected food and beverage item cannot be ordered for a specified period of time.

[0028] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for an information processing device, Linking and storing a plurality of food and beverage items that can be provided at the restaurant; When one of the linked multiple food and beverage items is selected by a specified trigger, the method executes a step of controlling an ordering interface of the ordering terminal of the restaurant or the user terminal of a user using the restaurant so that other food and beverage items linked to the selected food and beverage item cannot be ordered for a specified period of time. Effect of the Invention

[0029] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of menus of a restaurant can be easily managed and erroneous orders can be prevented. However, the present invention is not limited to this effect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a restaurant menu ordering system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a restaurant information providing server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database included in a restaurant information providing server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of control processing of a menu ordering interface by the restaurant information providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a mobile order screen that the restaurant information providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention displays on a user terminal. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a mobile order screen that the restaurant information providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention displays on a user terminal. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of control processing of a menu ordering interface by a restaurant information providing server according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a mobile order screen that the restaurant information providing server according to the second embodiment of the present invention displays on a user terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a mobile order screen that the restaurant information providing server according to the second embodiment of the present invention displays on a user terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0032] First Embodiment First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. [System configuration] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a restaurant menu ordering system according to the present embodiment.

[0033] As shown in the figure, this system includes a restaurant information providing server 100 on the Internet 50, user terminals 200 for users who use tables T of a plurality of restaurants, and restaurant terminals 300 installed in each restaurant.

[0034] The restaurant information providing server 100 is a web server that operates a portal site that lists information about restaurants. The restaurant information providing server 100 is connected to a plurality of user terminals 200 and a plurality of restaurant terminals 300 of restaurants via the Internet 50.

[0035] The restaurant information providing server 100 provides a restaurant information search system for users of user terminals 200 on the portal site. Specifically, the restaurant information providing server 100 searches for restaurant information that matches search conditions based on a search request from the user terminal 200, generates a Web page listing the search results, and transmits it to the user terminal 200. The restaurant information providing server 100 also performs reservation acceptance processing for any restaurant from the user terminal 200 of the user who viewed the restaurant information.

[0036] Furthermore, restaurant information providing server 100 provides a management screen (web page) of restaurant information for restaurants (affiliated restaurants) listed on the portal site. Through the management screen, users of restaurant terminals 300 can edit and update restaurant information on a web page provided to general users as the search results, and upload the web page to the portal site.

[0037] The user terminals 200 (200A, 200B, 200C...) are terminals used by users, such as smartphones, mobile phones, tablet PCs, etc. The user terminals 200 access the restaurant information providing server 100, receive the above-mentioned web page, and display it on a screen using a browser or the like.

[0038] The user terminal 200 determines search conditions for restaurants on the portal site based on a user operation, and transmits a restaurant search request based on the search conditions to the restaurant information providing server 100.

[0039] Meanwhile, restaurant information providing server 100 can receive orders for food and drink at each table of each restaurant from a user using each table T of the restaurant via user terminal 200. When user terminal 200 reads two-dimensional barcode C printed on a card, plate, stand, or the like and placed on each table of the restaurant, and accesses restaurant information providing server 100 based on the read information (URL), restaurant information providing server 100 displays an order screen for the restaurant's menu on the display unit of user terminal 200.

[0040] Then, when restaurant information providing server 100 accepts an order input from the user via the order screen, it transmits the accepted order information to restaurant terminal 300 of the restaurant. The order information is transferred from restaurant terminal 300 to a terminal (not shown) in the kitchen. Restaurant information providing server 100 also stores the accepted order information, and when it accepts a request for accounting from the user, it executes the accounting in cooperation with a POS terminal (not shown) of the restaurant via restaurant terminal 300.

[0041] In this case, the user terminal 200 also functions as a mobile order terminal for receiving orders from users using each table T of the restaurant and transmitting order information to the restaurant information providing server 100. The user terminal 200 may have installed therein an application (hereinafter also referred to as an MO app) capable of executing processing related to mobile orders in cooperation with the restaurant information providing server 100.

[0042] Restaurant terminal 300 is a terminal installed in each restaurant, and may be a tablet PC, notebook PC, desktop PC, or the like. Restaurant terminal 300 can execute processes related to its own restaurant information, such as editing and updating the restaurant information, based on the operation of an administrator, by communicating with restaurant information providing server 100. Restaurant terminal 300 also mediates communication between restaurant information providing server 100 and a kitchen terminal or a POS terminal in the mobile order process. Of course, restaurant terminal 300 may also function as the kitchen terminal or POS terminal and communicate directly with restaurant information providing server 100.

[0043] In this embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 links multiple menus (individual food and drink items) of each restaurant, and can control the ordering interface so that menus other than one menu selected by a trigger such as a user's order cannot be ordered for a predetermined period of time. The details of the control process of the ordering interface will be described later.

[0044] [Hardware configuration of restaurant information server] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in the figure, the restaurant information providing server 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 (server control unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface 15, and a bus 14 connecting these to each other.

[0045] The CPU 11 appropriately accesses the RAM 13 etc. as necessary, and performs various arithmetic processing while controlling all the blocks of the restaurant information providing server 100. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory in which the OS, programs, various parameters, and other firmware to be executed by the CPU 11 are fixedly stored. The RAM 13 is used as a working area for the CPU 11, and temporarily stores the OS, various applications being executed, and various data being processed.

[0046] The input / output interface 15 is connected to a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like.

[0047] The display unit 16 is a display device using, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic ElectroLuminescence Display (OLED), a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), or the like.

[0048] The operation reception unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or other input device. When the operation reception unit 17 is a touch panel, the touch panel can be integrated with the display unit 16.

[0049] The storage unit 18 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (SSD; Solid State Drive), or other solid-state memory. The storage unit 18 stores the OS, various applications, and various data.

[0050] Particularly in this embodiment, storage unit 18 stores data, applications, and other programs for restaurant information providing server 100 to execute control processing of an order interface, which will be described later. As will be described later, storage unit 18 has a restaurant information database, a user information database, a menu linking information database, and a POS information database as databases containing such data.

[0051] The communication unit 19 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication such as wireless LAN, and is responsible for communication processing between the user terminal 200 and the restaurant terminal 300.

[0052] [Database configuration of restaurant information server] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0053] As shown in the figure, restaurant information providing server 100 has, in storage unit 18, a restaurant information database 31, a user information database 32, a menu linking information database 33, and a POS information database 34. These databases are mutually referenced and used as necessary in the control process of the ordering interface by restaurant information providing server 100.

[0054] Restaurant information database 31 stores, for each restaurant, the restaurant's name, location (address or latitude and longitude) information, area information, access information (nearest station information, walking distance information from the nearest station), telephone number, ID (store ID) identifying the restaurant, information on the restaurant's business type and service genre, information introducing the restaurant (information showing the characteristics of the restaurant, such as store PR text, information on events held by the restaurant, etc.), image data related to the restaurant (introducing the restaurant), menu information related to the menu offered by the restaurant, average budget information, business hours, website URL, etc. This information is input from restaurant terminal 300 of each restaurant via a management screen provided by restaurant information providing server 100.

[0055] The menu information corresponds to the menus posted on the website of each restaurant on the portal site, and stores the names of multiple menus that each restaurant can provide for each restaurant. The menu information may be stored for each menu category, such as appetizer / main / meat dish / fish dish / carbohydrate / side dish, lunch / dinner / course, etc. The menu information may also include text information indicating the menu name, price, description, etc., as well as image information such as a photograph of the menu, which is stored in association with the menu. Furthermore, information regarding the calories, amount, and ingredients of each menu may also be stored.

[0056] The genre information may include main categories such as Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French, and grilled meat, as well as more detailed subcategories such as yakitori and tempura in Japanese cuisine, and pasta and pizza in Italian cuisine.

[0057] The user information database 32 stores information about users who own user terminals 200 and are users (members) of the restaurant information service via the portal site provided by the restaurant information providing server 100. Specifically, the user information database 32 stores information such as a user ID, password, name, email address (and other information to be used as a message destination), phone number, address, age (group), sex, and date of birth for each user.

[0058] The menu linking information database 33 stores linking information for multiple menus (individual food and drink items) at each restaurant. The linked menus may be different menus (which may be in the same category or different categories), or may be the same menu with different prices. The number of linked menus may be two or more.

[0059] The linking of menus, which will be described later, is a process for making it impossible to order any menu other than one selected from the linked menus. For example, menus may be conceptually mutually exclusive or opposite to each other, such as a vegetarian menu and a non-vegetarian menu, or alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages.

[0060] The POS information database 34 stores POS data based on orders received from the user terminal 200 in each table T. The POS data includes, for example, a table ID, time of entry, number of customers, ordered menu items, number of orders (number of items served), sales amount, time of order, etc. The POS information database 34 may also store inventory information for each menu item and its raw materials (information on sold-out menu items, inventory amount of raw materials, etc.).

[0061] [System Operation] Next, the operation of the system (mainly the restaurant information providing server 100) configured as above will be described. The operation is executed by the cooperation of hardware such as the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 and software stored in the storage unit 18. For convenience, in the following description, the CPU 11 is the subject of operation.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing of the menu ordering interface by the restaurant information providing server 100.

[0063] First, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether or not a request to start using table T (a request to start mobile order) has been received from the user terminal 200 (step 41).

[0064] The request to start using table T includes information about the number of users who will use the table T. When the CPU 11 determines that the request to start using the table T has been accepted (Yes in step 41), the CPU 11 stores the information about the number of users in the POS information database 34 of the storage unit 18, and transmits an order screen for mobile ordering to the user terminal 200 (step 42).

[0065] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an order for any menu item has been accepted on the order screen (step 43).

[0066] If it is determined that the order has been accepted (Yes in step 43), the CPU 11 transmits order information, including a menu ID identifying the menu to be ordered, the order quantity, and a category ID indicating the category of the menu, to the kitchen terminal via (or without) the restaurant terminal 300, and stores the order information in the POS information database 34 (step 44).

[0067] 5 and 6 are diagrams showing examples of mobile order screens that the restaurant information providing server 100 causes the user terminal 200 to display.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 5, the mobile order screen can display tabs for each menu (food and drink) category, such as "recommended," "a la carte," "course / all-you-can-eat," and "drinks," and each tab displays a menu button 51 showing each menu item (name, price, photo, etc.). When a user taps any of the menu buttons 51, the screen transitions to an individual order screen (not shown), and when the user selects the quantity and confirms the order, the order information is sent to the kitchen terminal.

[0069] Next, the CPU 11 refers to the menu linking information database 33 and determines whether or not there is a menu linked to the ordered menu (step 45).

[0070] If it is determined that there is a menu linked to the ordered menu (Yes in step 45), the CPU 11 displays the menu linked to the menu in gray out form on the mobile order screen to indicate that the menu cannot be ordered (step 46). If it is determined that there is no menu linked to the ordered menu (No in step 45), the CPU 11 proceeds to step 47.

[0071] If a user orders, for example, the "vegetarian salad" shown in the upper left corner on the mobile order screen of FIG. 5, the CPU 11 searches the menu (food and drink items) linked to the "vegetarian salad" from the menu linking information database 33.

[0072] For example, if the "vegetarian salad" is linked to "garlic dumplings" and "wagyu beef hamburger", then the CPU 11 will grey out the menu buttons 51b and 51c for the linked "garlic dumplings" and "wagyu beef hamburger" as shown in FIG. 6 to indicate that they cannot be ordered, and will also superimpose an order unavailable mark 52 indicating that they cannot be ordered.

[0073] In this figure, only the menu of the "Recommended" tab on the mobile order screen is shown, but if other menus of other tabs are linked, they will also be displayed as not being able to be ordered.

[0074] In this embodiment, the user's ordering operation triggers the process of disabling the order, so unless the user orders (selects) any one of the linked menu items on the mobile order screen, all of the linked menu items will be unavailable for ordering.

[0075] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the end of use of table T (a billing request) has been received from the user via a billing button or the like displayed on the mobile order screen (step 47).

[0076] If it is determined that the termination of use has been accepted (Yes in step 47), CPU 11 executes the accounting process in cooperation with the POS terminal via (or without) restaurant terminal 300 (step 48). At this time, CPU 11 also cancels the grayed-out display (order unavailable state) of the linked menu item.

[0077] As long as the end of use is not accepted (No in step 47), the CPU 11 returns to step 43 and repeats the subsequent processes.

[0078] [summary] As described above, according to this embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 links multiple menus (food and drink items) of a restaurant and prevents the user from ordering anything other than the menu selected by the user, thereby making it possible to easily manage multiple menus and prevent erroneous orders.

[0079] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment will not be described.

[0080] In the first embodiment described above, the multiple linked menus (food and beverage items) were different menus, but the multiple linked menus may be the same menu (food and beverage items) with multiple prices attached, and a set of multiple identical menus with multiple prices attached may exist for the different menus.

[0081] 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing of a menu ordering interface by the restaurant information providing server 100 according to this embodiment. In the example shown in the figure, for the same drink on the menu of a restaurant, a drink with a paid price and a drink with a free price are linked, and such links exist for different drinks (e.g., beer and wine, etc.).

[0082] As shown in the figure, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 first determines whether or not a request to start using table T (a request to start mobile order) has been received from the user terminal 200 (step 71).

[0083] If it is determined that the request to start using the service has been accepted (Yes in step 71), the CPU 11 stores the number of users information in the POS information database 34 of the storage unit 18, and transmits an order screen for mobile ordering to the user terminal 200 (step 72).

[0084] At this time, the CPU 11 displays paid drinks from the menu as unavailable for order on the mobile order screen.

[0085] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the mobile order screen. As shown in the figure, when the mobile order screen is first used, in the "Drinks" tab, menu buttons 51f and 51h for paid drinks, draft beer and red wine by the glass, are displayed in gray with a mark 52 indicating that they cannot be ordered, and menu buttons 51e and 51g for free drinks, draft beer (first glass free) and red wine by the glass (first glass free), are displayed so that they can be ordered.

[0086] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an order for any menu item has been accepted on the order screen (step 73).

[0087] If it is determined that the order has been accepted (Yes in step 73), CPU 11 transmits order information identifying the menu item to be ordered to the kitchen terminal via (or without) restaurant terminal 300, and stores the order information in POS information database 34 (step 74).

[0088] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether the ordered item is a free drink (step 75).

[0089] If it is determined that the order is a free drink (Yes in step 75), the CPU 11 determines whether the number of free drinks ordered exceeds the number of users of the table T from which the order originated (step 76).

[0090] If it is determined that the number of orders exceeds the number of users (Yes in step 76), the CPU 11 grays out the free drink on the mobile order screen so that it cannot be ordered, while updating the mobile order screen so that the associated paid drink menu can be ordered (step 77). If it is determined that the order is not a free drink (No in step 75) or if it is determined that the number of orders is equal to or less than the number of users (No in step 76), the CPU 11 proceeds to step 78.

[0091] As shown in Figure 9, the menu buttons 51f and 51h for the paid beverages, draft beer and red wine by the glass, which were displayed as grayed out in Figure 8, have been changed to display so that they can be ordered, while the menu buttons 51e and 51g for the free beverages, draft beer (first glass free) and red wine by the glass (first glass free), which were displayed as available for order, are displayed as grayed out and cannot be ordered, and an order unavailable mark 52 is additionally displayed above them.

[0092] Here, the reason for determining whether the number of orders exceeds the number of users is to provide the first drink free of charge for all users of each table T. Instead, if the first two drinks are to be provided free of charge, for example, then in step 76 above, it is determined whether the number of free drink orders exceeds twice the number of users.

[0093] Steps 78 and 79 are similar to steps 47 and 48 in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0094] Thus, in this embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 associates paid and free drinks for the same menu (drinks), and when a user orders the drink, the paid drink is set as unavailable for a predetermined number of orders (one in this embodiment) from the first order, and the free drink is set as unavailable for orders beyond the predetermined number. In this case, the user's start of using mobile ordering triggers the unavailable order of paid drinks, and the user's ordering of the drink a predetermined number of times triggers the unavailable order of free drinks. This makes it possible to provide services to each user, such as the first drink being free.

[0095] <Modification> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0096] In the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to the creation of a course menu or an all-you-can-eat / drink menu (group items). That is, the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract one of the first plurality of linked menus (food and drink items) and one of the second plurality of linked menus (food and drink items) to create a group item, and store the group item in association with group identification information that identifies the group item.

[0097] In this case, the first plurality of menus could be, for example, a plurality of appetizer menus, and the second plurality of menus could be a main (meat or fish) menu, and the restaurant could easily create a course menu for each day by selecting the most suitable one from each (for example, the one with the largest number of items purchased) depending on the day's purchasing situation, etc.

[0098] The restaurant information providing server 100 may extract different menus from the first plurality of menus (items of food and drink) and the second plurality of menus (items of food and drink), respectively, to form different group items (course menus or all-you-can-eat menus), and store them in association with the respective group identification information. When any group identification information is selected, the mobile order screen may be controlled so that menus other than the menu corresponding to the selected group identification information among the first plurality of menus and menus other than the menu corresponding to the selected group identification information among the second plurality of menus cannot be ordered for a predetermined period (until the user's accounting is completed, until the end of lunchtime / dinnertime, or any other period specified by the restaurant). The predetermined period may also include a case where the restaurant side forcibly ends the predetermined period before the end of the period.

[0099] In other words, for example, if a user orders course A as a group item, only the menu items (food and drink items) included in course A can be ordered, and the menu items (food and drink items) included in another course B cannot be ordered. Therefore, even if there are multiple group items, it is possible to prevent a user who orders one group item from mistakenly ordering a menu item included in another group item.

[0100] In the above-mentioned second embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract menus (food and drink items) with free prices from the first plurality of menus (food and drink items) and the second plurality of menus (food and drink items) to form a group item, and may store group identification information that identifies the group item in association with a predetermined price to be applied to the group item (as a whole).

[0101] For example, the restaurant information providing server 100 associates draft beer (charged) with draft beer (free) (first plurality of menus), associates red wine by the glass (charged) with red wine by the glass (free) (second plurality of menus), configures an all-you-can-drink menu with draft beer (free) and red wine by the glass (free), and sets a group ID and a predetermined all-you-can-drink price for it. When a user selects the all-you-can-drink menu, instead of charging the predetermined all-you-can-drink price, only free beverages are displayed as orderable on the mobile order screen, and paid beverages cannot be ordered.

[0102] On the other hand, if the user does not select the all-you-can-drink course (orders paid drinks a la carte), only paid drinks will be displayed as available for ordering on the mobile order screen, and free drinks will not be available for ordering.

[0103] In this way, a regular price and a free price can be set for the same food and beverage item, and orders other than group items (a la carte orders) can be accepted at the regular price, orders for group items can be accepted at a fixed price, and orders for individual food and beverage items included in the group items can be accepted at the free price.

[0104] In this case, the restaurant information providing server 100 may additionally associate a menu (food and drink items) with a regular price or a discounted price of the regular price with the group identification information and store it in response to a request from a terminal of the restaurant.

[0105] As a result, even if a user selects a group item, it is possible to easily add additional menu items, for a fee, to the free menu items included in the group item and then accept the order.

[0106] In the above-described embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 may link and store multiple different menus (food and drink items) with the same price, and select one of the multiple different food and drink items when a predetermined timing is reached.

[0107] This allows the restaurant information providing server 100 to switch and provide an orderable menu from the linked menus at the turn of the day, week, or month, at the start of lunchtime or dinnertime each day, or at a specific time designated by the restaurant. For example, it is easy to provide a daily menu. In this case, other menu items cannot be ordered until the turn of the next day, week, or month arrives, or until lunchtime or dinnertime ends.

[0108] In the above-described embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 may store each single item (a la carte) menu (dish item) in association with a group item made up of a plurality of menus (dish items).

[0109] This allows the restaurant information server 100 to exclusively switch between accepting orders for single dish items (orders from the ala carte menu) and orders for group items (orders from the course menu) depending on, for example, the restaurant's purchasing situation or reservation status (for example, if there is a small variety of ingredients purchased or there are many reservations, only course orders can be accepted and ala carte orders cannot be made).

[0110] In the above embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 may accept the selection of a different menu from the linked menus (food and drink items) for each of the tables T in the restaurant. The menu for each table T is selected, for example, at the start of ordering for each table T, and linked menus other than the selected menu cannot be ordered until the end of the transaction.

[0111] This makes it possible for the information processing system to accept orders for the same menu at different prices for each table T (e.g., depending on the number of people at table T) or to vary the menu items that can be ordered for each table T. For example, it is possible to provide a lower-priced menu from among multiple linked menu items with different prices to tables T with a predetermined number or more of users, and to provide a higher-priced menu from among the different price menus to tables T with fewer than the predetermined number of users. It is also possible to provide only the group menu from among the linked group menus and a la carte menus to tables T with a predetermined number or more of users, and to provide the a la carte menu from among the linked group menus and a la carte menus to tables T with fewer than the predetermined number of users.

[0112] The processing of the restaurant information providing server 100 in the above-described embodiment may be distributed and executed by a plurality of servers. For example, the order acceptance processing of the mobile order and the processing of controlling the unavailability of any of the linked menu items may be executed by different servers.

[0113] In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the restaurant information providing server 100 on the cloud executes restaurant search processing for multiple user terminals 200, but a server having the same functions as the restaurant information providing server 100 may be installed for each restaurant, and control processing of the menu ordering interface may be executed.

[0114] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the present invention is applied to a mobile ordering system that allows ordering from a user terminal 200, but the present invention can also be applied to an ordering terminal installed in each restaurant, i.e., a tabletop ordering system that allows ordering from a tabletop terminal installed at each table T, a smart speaker ordering system that allows ordering from a smart speaker (with microphone) installed at each table T, or other systems that allow ordering from a floor robot that patrols the floor of a restaurant. When ordering through a smart speaker, the mobile order screen is not presented to the user, and order acceptance is controlled only by voice. For example, if a menu item ordered by voice is set as unavailable, the user is notified by voice, such as "You cannot order that menu item."

[0115] Furthermore, the manner in which a menu item is controlled to be unavailable for ordering on the order screen is not limited to the grayed-out display (and display of an unavailable order mark) described in the above embodiment, but may be, for example, just the display of an unavailable order mark, or the display may be left unchanged and only the unavailable order mark displayed when selected by the user, or unavailable menu items may be hidden from the order screen in the first place.

[0116] Among the inventions described in the claims of this application, the invention described as an "information processing method" is one in which each step is automatically performed by at least one device such as a computer through information processing by software, and is not performed by a human using a device such as a computer. In other words, the "information processing method" is an information processing method by computer software, and is not a method in which a human operates a calculation tool called a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 11...CPU 18...Storage section 19…Communications Department 31…Restaurant information database 32...User information database 33…Menu linking information database 34…POS information database 51...Order button 52…Order not allowed mark 100: Restaurant information server 200...User terminal 300…Restaurant terminal C…Code (2D barcode)

Claims

1. The system memorizes multiple food and beverage items that can be offered at the restaurant. A control unit controls the ordering interface of the restaurant's ordering terminal or the user terminal of a user using the restaurant, so that when one of the aforementioned multiple food and beverage items is selected, at least one other food and beverage item is unavailable for ordering for a predetermined period of time. An information processing system equipped with the following features.

2. The information processing system according to Claim 1, The control unit stores the multiple food and beverage items linked together, and when one of the multiple food and beverage items is selected, it controls the ordering interface so that the other food and beverage items linked to the selected item become unavailable for ordering for a predetermined period of time. Information processing system.

3. The information processing system according to claim 2, The control unit extracts one of the first group of linked food and beverage items and one of the second group of linked food and beverage items to form a group item, and stores it in association with group identification information that identifies the group item. Information processing system.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, The control unit extracts different food and beverage items from the first and second sets of food and beverage items, constructs multiple different group items, stores them in association with their respective group identification information, and when any of the group identification information is selected, controls the ordering interface so that the food and beverage items from the first set of items other than those corresponding to the selected group identification information, and the food and beverage items from the second set of items other than those corresponding to the selected group identification information, become unavailable for ordering for a predetermined period of time. Information processing system.

5. The information processing system according to claim 3, The first and second sets of food and beverage items are each a set of identical food and beverage items with different prices, including regular prices and free prices. The control unit extracts food and beverage items to which the free price is assigned from the first and second plurality of food and beverage items to constitute the group items, and stores group identification information that identifies the group items and a predetermined price assigned to the group items in association with each other. Information processing system.

6. The information processing system according to claim 5, The control unit, in response to a request from the restaurant's terminal, additionally associates and stores food and beverage items with the regular price or a discounted price of the regular price attached to the group identification information. Information processing system.

7. An information processing system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, The aforementioned multiple food and beverage items are the same food and beverage items, each assigned a first price and a second price different from the first price. When the user orders food or beverages, the control unit selects the food or beverages with the first price as the target of the order for orders from the first order that acts as a trigger up to a predetermined number of orders, and selects the food or beverages with the second price as the target of the order for orders that exceed the predetermined number of orders that act as a trigger. Information processing system.

8. An information processing system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, The control unit stores a number of different food and beverage items with the same price, and selects one of these items each time a predetermined trigger timing occurs. Information processing system.

9. An information processing system according to claims 2 to 5, The control unit controls the ordering interface such that all of the linked food and beverage items become unavailable for order unless any of the linked food and beverage items are selected. Information processing system.

10. An information processing system according to claims 2 to 5, The control unit stores individual dish items and group items consisting of multiple dish items in a linked manner. Information processing system.

11. An information processing system according to claims 2 to 5, The control unit receives a selection of a different food or beverage item from the linked food or beverage items for each of the multiple tables in the restaurant. Information processing system.

12. The system memorizes multiple food and beverage items that can be offered at the restaurant. When one food or beverage item is selected from a group of items, the ordering interface of the restaurant's ordering terminal or the user terminal of a user using the restaurant is controlled so that at least one other food or beverage item is unavailable for ordering for a predetermined period. Information processing methods.

13. In an information processing device, The steps involve associating and memorizing multiple food and beverage items that can be offered at a restaurant, The steps include controlling the ordering interface of the restaurant's ordering terminal or the user terminal of a user using the restaurant so that when one food or beverage item is selected from among several food or beverage items, at least one other food or beverage item cannot be ordered for a predetermined period of time. A program that executes the command.

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