초록 ▼

Disclosed is a vending system particularly adapted for a restaurant or retail sales outlet which includes a hand held portable data entry terminal having an operator addressable, programmable memory containing a repertoire or library of sales or menu items addressable by entering a product code. The

Disclosed is a vending system particularly adapted for a restaurant or retail sales outlet which includes a hand held portable data entry terminal having an operator addressable, programmable memory containing a repertoire or library of sales or menu items addressable by entering a product code. The hand held terminal upon receiving an operator entered order entry, relays the order to an order filling station as well as to a local and remote data processor over a pollable wireless bi-directional communications link. An alpha-numeric print out of an order inputted to the hand held terminal and other transactional information is provided by the terminal as well as the local data processor. The programmable memory is adapted to be reprogrammed from a programmer either directly or remotely through the bi-directional communications link. Each terminal also includes wireless transceiver apparatus for bi-directional communications, e.g. paging, with a plurality of customer order stations containing like customer operated transceiver apparatus.

대표청구항 ▼

In a vending system including a portable data terminal adapted to interact with a data processor for implementing an order transaction, the combination comprising: a plurality of ordering stations, each having respective bidirectional paging transceiver apparatus of a selected energy type adapted to

In a vending system including a portable data terminal adapted to interact with a data processor for implementing an order transaction, the combination comprising: a plurality of ordering stations, each having respective bidirectional paging transceiver apparatus of a selected energy type adapted to communicate with like paging transceiver apparatus located in at least one portable hand held ordering terminal; at least one portable hand held ordering terminal including, like transceiver apparatus of said selected energy type adapted to provide an indication of a page to an operator carrying said ordering terminal and to provide operator communications with said ordering stations and any other location having like transceiver apparatus of said selected energy type, a first digital memory, means for entering digital data corresponding to an order transaction into said first memory for temporary storage, a second digital memory and being of a down loaded reprogrammable type having stored data therein corresponding to a programmed library of product codes of orderable items and being operable to output an alpha-numeric code sequence of an ordered item in response to an order entry by said operator, means providing a print out of each ordered item in alpha-numeric form and means coupled to said first memory for transferring said data in temporary storage to a selectively addressed wireless communications link under program control; said communications link comprising a pollable bi-directional wireless communications link of a selected type including a controlled polling station, a plurality of pollable input stations coupled to said polling station, said polling station being operable to repetitively interrogate said plurality of input stations and lock onto an input station in communication with said hand held ordering terminal to accept data therefrom and couple said data to means providing a visual representation of an order entry and to a data processor; means coupled to said communications link and being responsive to the data from said temporary storage provided by said first memory to provide a visual representation of the order entry in said terminal, said visual representation means being located at an order filling location separate from said ordering station; a data processor coupled to said communications link and being responsive to data translated thereto from said first memory of said hand held ordering terminal to maintain a running account of the transaction and provide billing information therefrom; and means coupled to said data processor for providing a printed record including a bill at the end of the transaction.