Mobile-Controlled Food Vendor Displays

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Solution Overview

Problem

Food vendors face challenges in providing customers with control over displays for entertainment and food ordering, leading to inefficient employee operations and potential loss of income due to lack of customer engagement.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that enables customers to control displays of food vendors via mobile computing devices, allowing personalized content presentation and location-based service assistance, utilizing a central control unit to manage multiple devices and employ AI for predictive analytics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If employees manually control displays to change content, then customer entertainment needs can be met, but employee time is wasted away from food service

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay content controlVSAvoidemployee time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables customers to autonomously control display content through mobile devices, selecting entertainment options and menu items without employee intervention. This self-service mechanism resolves the contradiction by transferring control from employees to customers, eliminating time loss for employees while maintaining display adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

A central control unit acts as an intermediary between customers and displays, receiving customer selections via mobile devices and automatically managing display content. This intermediary system eliminates the need for direct employee-display interaction, allowing employees to focus on food service while displays remain adaptable to customer preferences.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of manufacture

If food vendors use traditional paper menus, then menu printing costs are incurred, but menu alteration flexibility is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemenu updatingVSAvoidprinting cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces physical paper menus with digital displays controlled through a centralized system. Menu content is updated electronically via the central control unit based on customer selections, eliminating the need for physical menu printing and redistribution. This substitution resolves the contradiction by providing unlimited menu alteration flexibility without recurring printing costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The digital display system serves multiple functions: presenting menus, providing entertainment content, and enabling customer ordering. A single digital infrastructure replaces the need for separate physical menus, reducing material costs while enhancing flexibility for menu updates across all display locations simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If customers cannot choose displayed content, then display control is simplified, but customer satisfaction and engagement decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay controlVSAvoidcustomer satisfaction

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adapts display content based on real-time customer selections and preferences communicated through mobile devices. The central control unit processes customer inputs and automatically adjusts displayed entertainment and menu content accordingly. This dynamic responsiveness resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple automated control while significantly improving customer satisfaction through personalized content selection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Manufacturing precision

If employees manually update multiple displays, then content accuracy is maintained, but operational efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent accuracyVSAvoiddisplay update efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges control of multiple displays into a single centralized control unit that receives customer selections and distributes content updates simultaneously to all connected displays. This consolidation maintains content accuracy across all locations through unified control while dramatically improving operational efficiency by eliminating manual updates at each individual display location.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS20250191090A1System and method for controlling content presented on displays of food vendors using a mobile computing device

Publication Date: 2025.06.12 HANSON II ROBERT

AI summary

A system and method for controlling displays of food vendors is provided. The system generally comprises one or more computing devices having user interfaces, processor operably connected to said one or more computing devices, display operably connected to said processor, and non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to said processor and having instructions stored thereon. Users of the system may control content presented on displays of food vendors via their computing device, allowing users to display content as decided on by the user on the displays.