WO2009101534A1

WO2009101534A1 - Intelligent service interface for paper and board applications

Info

Publication number: WO2009101534A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/000424
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juha Lehtola; Marko Merenheimo
Original assignee: Stora Enso Oyj
Priority date: 2008-02-12
Filing date: 2009-02-11
Publication date: 2009-08-20

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and a method for collecting user data from a user of a user device and distributing said user data to a service provider.

Description

INTELLIGENT SERVICE INTERFACE FOR PAPER AND BOARD

APPLICATIONS

FIELD OF INVENTION

BACKGROUND

In the service sector it is known to use wireless electronic menu devices. One such device is known from US2007/0144835 where the menu device includes a menu body and a menu base, with a plurality of menus being placed on the menu body. A photo-sensor is used to automatically detect the menu that a customer is reading through an induction stylus being pointed to the menu and emitting a signal to indicate the coordinates of the position it is pointed to. The menu body collects the related data and transfers it to the menu base with a wired communication device or a wireless communication device. The menu base retrieves the data corresponding to the coordinates, such as voice, audio, text, image and video data, from its storage device or an external storage device. The menu base then presents the multimedia data to aid the customers to acquire meal information and order meals. US2007/0144835 also discloses an ordering system containing a wireless electronic menu device.

It is also known to combine a portable wireless device with a book. One such use is described in US200/0198438, which describes a portable wireless data device. The portable wireless data device includes one or more physical pages. An array of inputs is embedded in the pages. A wireless transceiver is operably coupled to the array of inputs. One or more text sections are furthermore provided on the pages.

However it would be interesting to use this type of technology in a more general way allowing an improved use and where the surveillance of the processing related to the data input by a customer is performed independently and separately from the service provider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards providing a system for collecting data from a user of a user device and distributing said user data to a service provider. Said system comprising;

a user device made of a paper or cardboard medium provided with at least one user input area, an electronic control unit and a radio communication unit, said control unit being arranged to receive user inputs via said -user input area regarding selections of items presented on the medium and transmit data regarding the item selections wirelessly via the radio communication unit, and

- a data collection device comprising a user data database, a server, and a radio communication device, wherein the server is arranged to receive said data regarding the item selection via the radio communication device, store said data regarding the item selection associated with the user device in the database, forward user selection data corresponding to the item selection to a service provider system for enabling processing in relation to said item selection, and monitor the progress of the processing.

The invention is further directed to a method for collecting data from a user of a user device and distributing said user data to a service provider. Said method comprises the steps of:

receiving, in the user device, which is made of a paper or cardboard medium provided with at least one user input area, user inputs via said user input area regarding selections of items presented on the medium,

wirelessly transmitting data regarding the item selections wirelessly via the radio communication unit to a data collecting device, and

wirelessly receiving, by the data collecting device, said data regarding the item selection,

storing, by the data collecting device, said data regarding the item selection associated with the user device,

forwarding, by the data collecting device, user selection data corresponding to the item selection to the service provider system for enabling processing in relation to said item, and monitoring, by the data collecting device, the progress of the processing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following, a detailed description of preferred embodiments of a system and a method according to the present invention will be given.

In. fig. 1 there is shown a system according to the present invention. The system includes a data collection device 10 including a server 16, a database 18 and a radio communication device 14 for communicating with a user device 12, which user device 12 is in fig. 1 shown as displaying a food menu and being held by a user, which user is actually a customer of the service provider. In the following this user of the user device will be termed customer. The server 16 is here also denoted or ISIPBA Data Collector (Compliance Module) . ISIPBA here denotes Intelligent

Service Interface for Paper and Board Applications. The user device 12 is here a part of the system of the present invention. However it is also possible that it is directly associated with a service provider. The radio communication device 14 of the data collecting device 10 also communicates with a portable wireless service provider terminal 20 via a wireless connection. The portable wireless service provider terminal 20 may with advantage be and is here held by a waiter of a restaurant belonging to the service provider. In fig. 1 there is furthermore shown a service provider system 22, here in the form of restaurant system 22. The service provider system here includes a group of computers, including computers 24, 26, 28 and 30, where one 24 may provide an order handling system and thus be dedicated to order handling, here also termed restaurant workflow management, one 26 may provide a billing system and thus be dedicated to billing, one 28 may provide a customer loyalty program system and thus be dedicated to customer loyalty programs and one 30 may be used for handling the organization/staff of the service provider. In the service provider system 22 there are furthermore a number of stationary service provider terminals 32, 34 and 36 connected to the group of computers via a local interface 38. These stationary terminals include a restaurant kitchen terminal 32, a cashier terminal 34 as well as a further user terminal 36. The service provider system 22 is here also connected to the system of the present invention via a suitable network 40, which may be the Internet, a LAN a WAN or any other type of suitable network. As an alternative it is possible to connect the service provider system to the data collecting device via a wireless network and the radio communication device. Thus the use of network 40 may be omitted.

Fig. 2 shows a simplified interconnection between various storage entities in the data collection device, in the service provider system and in the user device. The user device, also termed handheld data collector, includes a local storage 42 including a table where data regarding orders placed via the user device are stored. The content of this local storage can also be forwarded to the database 18 of the data collection device. The user device may here be temporarily associated with a customer being serviced by the service provider and include data regarding customer selections of various services provided by the service provider, here typically various meals ordered by the customer in the restaurant. Such order data is stored in the table in the local storage 42. The contents of the local storage 42 are furthermore duplicated into the database 18 in a corresponding table.

It should here be realized that this database 18 may include data for several different user devices that may be associated with the same service provider. There may furthermore be several sets of tables for various different systems, for instance for different restaurants or even for other types of services. Likewise the service provider system includes a database with tables concerning the various orders recieved through user devices associated with the service provider. The database is here provided in a part of the order handling computer 24 and therefore has the same reference numeral. It should however be realized that it may as an alternative be provided as a separate entity. Orders may thus be submitted to the service provider via several user devices. Data received from a customer via a user device is replicated into this service provider database 24 by the server 16 of the data collection device. It should furthermore be realized that the server 16 also monitors orders and the deliveries of such orders.

Fig. 3 shows a block schematic of the electronics of the user device of the present invention. According to the invention the user device 12 includes a number of selectable buttons 46 - 64 being electrically connected to an electronic control unit 65. The control unit 65 is in turn connected to the previously mentioned local storage 42 and to a radio communication unit 44 for providing radio communication with the server of the data collection device.

Fig. 4 shows a front view of the user device 12 according to the present invention. The user device is made of paper or cardboard and displays a number of user selectable items relating to the service provided by the service provider. Here it displays a menu having a number of selectable dishes. The menu is here furthermore printed on the cardboard or paper. In relation to the selectable items there are a number of user input areas, where a first user input area provides a first set of buttons 46, 48, 50, 52, where each is here associated with a certain dish on the menu. There is furthermore a second user input area, which second user input area provides a second set of buttons 54, 56, 58, 60 and 62, which are directed towards a customer rating for enabling a customer to rate the quality of the service provided by the service provider. In the present example the rating may concern a rating of the dishes ordered. There is furthermore a third user input area providing a further button 64, which the customer may press in order to indicate that the service ordered has been delivered. It should here be realized that the various buttons may as an alternative be provided in one and the same user area. Fig. 5 shows a flow chart outlining a number of method steps being performed in the system of the present invention as well as by the service provider. The functioning of the present invention will now be described in more detail in relation to one type of service that is a restaurant service and with reference being made to fig. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

As a customer enters the premises of a service provider, like a restaurant being run by the service provider, he or she is first placed at a table by a waiter, which. waiter may be equipped with a portable wireless service provider terminal 20. The customer may then receive a user device 12 from the waiter on which the menu is printed, like the menu shown in fig. 4. The customer then selects a dish via one of the buttons 46, 48, 50, 52 in the first set. Thus the control unit 65 receives user inputs via the first user input area regarding selections of items presented on the medium. An indication of this selection is then stored in the local storage 42 of the user device 12, and data indicating the selection is thereafter transmitted wirelessly to the server 16 of the data collection device, step 66, via the radio communication unit 44 and. The server 16 thus receives the data regarding the item selection wirelessly via the radio communication device 14 and then registers the time of order and stores the data indicating the order in the database 18 together with the time the order was made. All this data is furthermore stored associated with the user terminal 12. The order is thus replicated in the database 18. Thereafter the server 16 forwards user selection data to the service provider system for enabling processing in relation to the item selection to be performed. The server 16 here sends data indicative of the order associated with the user device wirelessly to the portable wireless service provider terminal 20, which goes on and displays it to the waiter, step 68. The waiter may then confirm the order with the customer, step 70, and either receive a positive or a negative response, step 72. In case the response was positive, i.e. the order was correct, step 74, the data indicative of the order in association with the user device may then be provided to the workflow management database 24 in the service provider system, which in fig. 5 is shown as being provided via the terminal 20 of the waiter. In case it was not correct the customer may be allowed to place a replacement order. Thus in fig. 5 the waiter forwards the data indicative of the order from the portable wireless service provider terminal 20 to the service provider server 24.

However, it should be realized that the data might, as an alternative, be provided directly from the server 16 to the workflow management server 24. The order is then forwarded to the kitchen, step 72, where the dish is prepared. From the kitchen the dish is then given to the waiter, step 76, which then delivers it to the customer. At the same time data regarding the order may be forwarded to the billing system 26, where it is stored in the billing database, step 74. Here the customer acknowledges the reception of the ordered dish, by pressing the button 64, step 78. Thus the control unit 65 receives user inputs via the third user input area regarding a selection of an item presented on the medium, which item is here an acknowledgement of reception. The data regarding the receipt is then transferred from the user device 12 to the server 16, which stores it in the database 18 together with the time of delivery and associated with the particular user device.

This data regarding the reception is then forwarded from the server 16 to the terminal 20 of the waiter and/or directly to the order handling computer 24 and the billing computer 26 of the service provider system in order to record the delivery of the service in both the order handling system and the billing system. After the customer has finished his meal it is possible for him/her to indicate how satisfied he/she was with the meal, which may be done through pressing any of the buttons 54 - 62 in the second set of buttons in the second user area of the user device 12. Thus the control unit 65 receives user inputs via the second user input area regarding further selections of items presented on the medium. This data is then stored in the user device 12 and also forwarded to the server 18, which checks the data, possibly also stores it, and then forwards it to the portable wireless service provider terminal 20 and/or to the order handling computer 24 of the service provider system and/or to the customer loyalty handling computer 28. Data of the indication of amount of satisfaction is then stored in the various databases, such as in a customer loyalty database and the order database. The amount of satisfaction may be provided on a scale, for instance ranging from one to five. The server 16 monitors the progress of the processing made by the service provider in relation to the user selection data, i.e. in relation to the order placed by the customer. It may here do this through keeping a timer that starts to count the time from the placing of the order and compare the time of this timer with one or more thresholds. If a threshold is then exceeded, i.e. a certain time has elapsed since the order, the server may then send a reminder to the service provider system indicating that the order has not yet been fulfilled. The timer is then stopped and a timer value may be stored in association with the user terminal in the database 18 when the customer acknowledges reception of the selected dish, i.e. when the order has been fulfilled. This timer value may furthermore be transmitted to the service provider system together with the acknowledgement of reception. In this way the data collection device continuously tracks and monitors the order in order to make sure that it is fulfilled. The satisfaction indication data received by the data collection device from the user device may furthermore trigger the generation of a billing signal, which is sent to the billing system of the service provider. In this way the customer may be billed immediately after he/she is finished with a meal. The data collection device may also, in case the amount of satisfaction is low, for instance if the rating is below a minimum service threshold, generate an alarm that is sent to the service provider. This allows the service provider to perform possible corrective actions of the service before the customer leaves the premises. Also the timer value may be used to trigger the performance of various actions by the service provider in order to keep the customer satisfied. Various actions may here be triggered by various lengths of the time indicated by this timer value.

The buttons of the user device may be provided through electro-mechanical buttons provided on the cardboard or paper device. They may also be provided as pressure sensing units provided in the material of the user device, like in the cardboard or paper. The electronics can be integrated or used in connection with various intelligent and non-intelligent packaging applications such as cartons, pouches, blister cards and films. The control unit may be provided as a processor, the local storage as a memory such as ROM, flash memory etc, while the radio communication unit may be a suitable radio communication unit like a rfid-device, Bluetooth device, or any other suitable unit. It can furthermore be built based on e.g. RFID, NFC, bar code, Bluetooth, WiFi, Wimax and cellular data connections such as SMS/MMS, GPRS, HSPDA and CDMA/TDMA technologies.

The invention refers to applications where paper is currently used to display and store information. The main idea is to integrate paper with printed electronics, ready-made grids, chips or other electronics in such a way that it becomes possible to store data in the device and later transfer the data from it to a server. The example above was given in relation to a food service and restaurant business, where a consumer' s selection on a menu (dish, cooking style, side orders, any other options) were processed. Registered orders were then transferred to a service provider system for fulfilment, order handling etc and related later billing and follow-up. It should here be realized that the present invention is not limited to this type of service, but that other services may be provided in a similar fashion, like in a workshop, a hotel reception, car service & repair shops, automotive, hotels, airlines and transportation, car rentals, military, healthcare and hospitals, entertainment, homeland security, immigration and other administration.

The present invention has a number of advantages. It makes it possible for the consumer to easily evaluate service experience with a simple and reliable system, while business owners and managers can make a crucial last-minute intervention to rectify any bad treatment before customer leaves (in order to maintain the relationship and avoid major future loss-of-revenue and reputation) . The consumer may furthermore also be able to join various loyalty programs by choosing from the intelligent menu. The user device can thus be used to collect user information in connection with various service businesses links to and from mobile handheld devices. All this is monitored and tracked by the system according to the present invention.

The present invention furthermore provides an improved use of user devices as well as surveillance of the service to a customer independently and separately from the service provider. This guarantees that a customer will get a more fair treatment and also avoids the service provider having to be involved in complicated technology solutions. In this way the service provider can focus on providing the actual service. It also enables the provision of one system handling data for several service providers.

Claims

Patent Claims

1. A system for collecting user data from a user of a user device and distributing said user data to a service provider, comprising

a user device made of a paper or cardboard medium provided with at least one user input area, an electronic control unit and a radio communication unit, said control unit being arranged to receive user inputs via said user input area regarding selections of items presented on the medium and transmit data regarding the item selections wirelessly via the radio communication unit, and

2. A method for collecting user data from a user of a user device and distributing said user data to a service provider, comprising the steps of:

forwarding, by the data collecting device, user selection data corresponding to the item selection to the service provider system for enabling processing in relation to said item, and

monitoring, by the data collecting device, the progress of the processing.