JP7605522B2 - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system and method for accepting advance orders.

Currently, when a customer wishes to receive a meal or other product or service at a restaurant, the customer must first enter the restaurant, sit down at a table, look at the menu, and once the customer has decided on the product or service they wish to have, call a waiter and convey the order information to the waiter to place the order.

As a result, customers need time to sit down at a table in the store, check the menu, decide what products and services they want, and call a waiter to convey their order, which is a problem that needs to be solved, resulting in wasted time not only for the customer but also for the store. In addition, the need to call a waiter means that the store needs to have enough waiters to take orders.

In recent years, an increasing number of restaurants and other eateries have adopted an ordering method in which a self-service terminal for inputting orders is installed on each table in the establishment, and customers who enter the establishment use the terminal to send their order to a store server or the like. However, even when using such a terminal, customers are required to confirm their order while viewing the menu displayed on the terminal screen, which means that the problem of the long time it takes to decide on the products and services they want to eat and drink after entering the establishment has not yet been solved.

To solve these current problems, an order management system has been proposed that uses a customer's mobile terminal to register orders in advance. For example, Patent Document 1, JP 2003-187112 A, discloses an "order management method, order management system, mobile terminal, and order management server" that uses a customer's mobile terminal to register orders in advance.

JP 2003-187112 A

However, in the "order management method, order management system, mobile terminal, and order management server" described in Patent Document 1, the customer must operate the mobile terminal in the store after entering the store.

Object of the Invention
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an advance order receiving system and an advance order receiving method that eliminate the need for customers to operate their own mobile terminals after entering a store.

To solve the above problems, the advance order reception system and advance order reception method according to the present invention mainly adopt the following characteristic configurations.

(1) The advance order receiving system according to the present invention comprises:
An advance order reception system comprising: a mobile terminal owned by a customer; a store system having a store server installed in a store and configured to receive orders from the customer and an in-store terminal installed in the store; and an advance order reception server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and the store system via a network,
The mobile terminal includes:
a means for accepting order information of a customer in advance as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order accepting server via the network;
having
The in-store terminal includes:
a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information, and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server via the network, either directly or via the store server;
a means for displaying on a screen the advance order information received from the advance order reception server over the network, either directly or via the store server, and for transmitting order information determined by an operation of the customer to the store server;
having
The advance order reception server includes:
a means for storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal and the first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a means for searching for the stored first biometric authentication information when the second biometric authentication information of a customer is received from the in-store terminal via the network, and when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the in-store terminal via the network directly or via the store server;
having
The store server includes:
means for receiving and accepting the order information from the in-store terminal;
It is characterized by:

(2) The advance order receiving system according to the present invention further comprises:
An advance order reception system comprising: a store system including a mobile terminal owned by a customer, a store server installed in a store for receiving orders from the customer, and an in-store terminal installed in the store; and an advance order reception server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and the store server via a network,
The mobile terminal includes:
a means for accepting order information of a customer in advance as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order accepting server via the network;
having
The in-store terminal includes:
a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the store server;
a means for receiving the advance order information from the store server and displaying the information on a screen;
having
The advance order reception server includes:
a means for storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal and the first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a means for searching the stored first biometric authentication information when the second biometric authentication information of a customer is received from the store server via the network, and when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the store server via the network;
having
The store server includes:
a means for receiving the second biometric authentication information from the in-store terminal and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server via the network;
a means for receiving the advance order information from the advance order reception server via the network and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the in-store terminal that is a source of the second biometric authentication information;
having
It is also characterized by the following.

(3) Furthermore, the advance order receiving system according to the present invention includes:
A pre-order receiving system comprising: a mobile terminal owned by a customer; a store system including a store server that receives orders from customers and an in-store terminal that is installed in each of a plurality of stores having a common ordering menu; and the mobile terminal and the store server of each store system are capable of communicating with each other via a network,
The mobile terminal includes:
a means for receiving advance order information of a customer as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the store server via the network;
having
The in-store terminal includes:
a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the store server of the store system;
a means for displaying on a screen the advance order information received from the store server of the store system;
having
The store server includes:
a means for storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal and the first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a means for receiving the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the in-store terminal of its own store system, searching for the stored first biometric authentication information, and when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the in-store terminal that is the source of the second biometric authentication information;
having
It is also characterized by the following.

(4) The advance order receiving method according to the present invention comprises:
An advance order reception method in an advance order reception system having a mobile terminal owned by a customer, a store system having a store server installed in a store for receiving orders from the customer and an in-store terminal installed in the store, and an advance order reception server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and the store system via a network, comprising:
The mobile terminal includes:
receiving advance order information of a customer as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order receiving server via the network;
having
The in-store terminal includes:
acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information, and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server via the network, either directly or via the store server;
a step of displaying the advance order information received from the advance order reception server via the network, either directly or via the store server, on a screen, and transmitting order information determined by an operation of the customer to the store server;
having
The advance order reception server includes:
storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal in association with the first biometric authentication information;
a step of searching for the stored first biometric authentication information when the second biometric authentication information of the customer is received from the in-store terminal via the network, and if it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the in-store terminal via the network directly or via the store server;
having
The store server includes:
receiving and accepting the order information from the in-store terminal;
having
It is characterized by:

(5) Furthermore, the advance order receiving method according to the present invention includes:
An advance order reception method in an advance order reception system having a mobile terminal owned by a customer, a store system having a store server installed in a store for receiving orders from the customer and an in-store terminal installed in the store, and an advance order reception server capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and the store server via a network, comprising:
The mobile terminal includes:
a step of accepting advance order information of a customer as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order accepting server via the network;
The in-store terminal includes:
acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the store server;
receiving the advance order information from the store server and displaying it on a screen;
having
The advance order reception server includes:
storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal in association with the first biometric authentication information;
a step of searching for the stored first biometric authentication information when the second biometric authentication information of the customer is received from the store server via the network, and if it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the store server via the network;
having
The store server includes:
receiving the second biometric authentication information from the in-store terminal and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server via the network;
receiving the advance order information from the advance order reception server via the network, and transmitting the advance order information to the in-store terminal that is a source of the second biometric authentication information;
having
It is also characterized by the following.

(6) Furthermore, the advance order receiving method according to the present invention includes:
1. An advance order reception method in an advance order reception system, comprising: a mobile terminal owned by a customer; a store system including a store server for receiving orders from customers and an in-store terminal installed in each of a plurality of stores having a common ordering menu, the store server being installed in each of the stores, the store server receiving orders from the customers, the store system being capable of communicating with the mobile terminal and the store server of each store system via a network, the method comprising:
The mobile terminal includes:
receiving advance order information of a customer as advance order information, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the store server via the network;
having
The in-store terminal includes:
acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who enters a store as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the store server of the store system;
displaying the advance order information received from the store server of the store system on a screen;
having
The store server includes:
storing the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal in association with the first biometric authentication information;
receiving the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the in-store terminal of its own store system, searching for the stored first biometric authentication information, and if it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the in-store terminal that is the source of the second biometric authentication information;
having
It is also characterized by the following.

The present invention provides a system and method for accepting advance orders that eliminates the need for customers to operate their own mobile terminals after entering a store.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration when registering user information of a customer in the advance order reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a configuration when a customer places an advance order and order information is determined in a first embodiment of the advance order receiving system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific configuration example of a first embodiment of an advance order receiving system according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation when a customer is registered as a user in the customer database of the advance order reception server from a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal, in the advance order reception system of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the advance order reception system of FIG. 3 in which order information for a store is registered in advance in a customer database of the advance order reception server from a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal owned by the customer, before the customer arrives at the store of the store, and the order information is confirmed when the customer enters the store. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific configuration example of a second embodiment of the advance order receiving system according to the present invention. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a store system, which is one of the components constituting the advance order reception system shown in FIG. 6. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a tabletop terminal which is one of the components constituting the advance order reception system shown in FIG. 6. 9 is a first half of a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8 as the second embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a second half of a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8 as the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific configuration example of a third embodiment of the advance order receiving system according to the present invention. 11 is a first half of a sequence chart illustrating an example of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as the third embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a second half of a sequence chart illustrating an example of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as the third embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of an operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as a fourth embodiment. 13 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of an operation subsequent to the sequence chart of FIG. 12 of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as a fourth embodiment. 11 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of an operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as a fifth embodiment. 15 is a first half of a sequence chart for explaining an example of an operation subsequent to the sequence chart of FIG. 14 of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as a fifth embodiment. 15 is a second half of a sequence chart for explaining an example of an operation subsequent to the sequence chart of FIG. 14 of the operation of the advance order receiving system illustrated in FIG. 10 as the fifth embodiment.

Below, preferred embodiments of the advance order acceptance system and advance order acceptance method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In the following explanation, the advance order acceptance system and advance order acceptance method according to the present invention will be described, but it goes without saying that such an advance order acceptance method may be implemented as an advance order acceptance program executable by a computer, or that the advance order acceptance program may be recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer. In addition, it goes without saying that the reference symbols attached to the following drawings are given to each element for convenience as an example to aid understanding, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated aspects.

(Features of the present invention)
Prior to describing the embodiments of the present invention, an overview of the features of the present invention will be first described. In the present invention, when a customer is about to receive a desired product or service at a store (e.g., when he/she is about to eat at a restaurant or the like), order information (advance order information) and biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) such as facial authentication information of the customer are transmitted in advance to an advance order reception server or a store server installed in the store via a network such as the Internet. After that, when the customer enters the store and sits at a table, the tabletop terminal installed on the table is operated to obtain biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) such as facial authentication information of the customer, and the biometric authentication information is transmitted to the advance order reception server or the store server installed in the store. The advance order reception server or a store server installed in the store compares the stored biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer, and order information (advance order information) corresponding to the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer is sent to the tabletop terminal or store server, and is accepted as order information. The customer does not need to operate the mobile terminal he or she owns after entering the store. Thus, after entering the store, the customer does not need to look at an order menu and place an order, and it is possible to shorten the time it takes to receive the desired product or service (for example, to eat at a restaurant).

The features of the present invention are further explained as follows:

First, the first feature of the present invention will be described. This is an advance order reception system that accepts customer orders for a store in advance, and includes a store system that is installed in each store and accepts customer orders, an advance order reception server that is communicatively connected to the store system via a network such as the Internet, and a mobile terminal owned by the customer.

Then, the mobile terminal owned by the customer accepts the order for the store input by the customer in advance before entering the store as advance order information, and acquires the customer's biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information, etc.) as first biometric authentication information, and transmits the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information to the advance order reception server via a network such as the Internet, and the advance order reception server stores the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information in association with each other.

In addition, each table in the store is provided with a tabletop terminal, which is one of the components of the store system, that acquires biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information, etc.) of a customer who enters the store and sits down as second biometric authentication information. Then, when the tabletop terminal acquires the second biometric authentication information of the customer who has entered the store, it transmits the information to the advance order reception server via a network such as the Internet.

When the advance order reception server receives the second biometric authentication information from the tabletop terminal, it searches the stored first biometric authentication information for the first biometric authentication information that matches the second biometric authentication information received from the tabletop terminal, extracts the advance order information corresponding to the matching first biometric authentication information, and transmits it to the tabletop terminal that transmitted the second biometric authentication information.

When the tabletop terminal receives the advance order information from the advance order reception server, it displays the received advance order information on a screen. When the advance order information is confirmed as order information by an operation of the customer, the tabletop terminal transmits the order information to a store server of the store system. The store server accepts it as order information.

Next, a second feature of the present invention, in which the advance order information is accepted as order information as is, will be described as a modified example. As with the first feature, this is an advance order acceptance system that accepts customer orders for stores in advance, and includes a store system that is installed in each store and accepts customer orders, an advance order acceptance server that is communicatively connected to the store system via a network such as the Internet, and a mobile terminal owned by the customer.

Then, similar to the first feature, the mobile terminal owned by the customer accepts an order for the store input by the customer as advance order information before the customer enters the store, and obtains the customer's biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information, etc.) as first biometric authentication information, and transmits the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information to the advance order reception server via a network such as the Internet, and the advance order reception server stores the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information in association with each other.

In addition, each table placed in the store is provided with a tabletop terminal, as one of the components of the store system, that acquires biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information, etc.) of a customer who enters the store and sits down as second biometric authentication information. Then, when the tabletop terminal acquires the second biometric authentication information about the customer who has entered the store, it transmits the information to a store server that constitutes the store system of the store, unlike the first characteristic and case. The store server transmits the second biometric authentication information received from the tabletop terminal to the advance order reception server via a network such as the Internet.

When the advance order reception server receives the second biometric authentication information from the store server, it searches the stored first biometric authentication information for the first biometric authentication information that matches the second biometric authentication information received from the store server, extracts the advance order information corresponding to the matching first biometric authentication information, and transmits it to the store server that transmitted the second biometric authentication information.

When the store server receives the advance order information from the advance order reception server, it accepts the received advance order information as order information for the customer at the table number where the tabletop terminal that transmitted the second biometric authentication information is installed.

(First embodiment of the present invention)
Next, a first embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration when a customer's user information is registered in the advance order reception system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows an example of the configuration when a customer registers as a user in the advance order reception server via a network such as the Internet (as one of the components constituting the advance order reception system according to the present invention). Also, Figure 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration when a customer places an advance order and confirms order information in the advance order reception server according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows an example of the configuration when the customer places an advance order in the advance order reception server using a mobile terminal owned by the customer and enters a store to confirm the order information that was pre-ordered.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system configuration of the advance order reception system 100 when a customer performs user registration is such that an advance order reception server 10 that receives advance orders and a mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer are connected via a network 40 such as the Internet. The advance order reception server 10 has a customer database 11 for registering the registration details of a customer who has performed user registration on the advance order reception server 10 from the mobile terminal 30 via the network 40 (i.e., registration information that associates a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer with customer facial photo information used as the customer's first biometric authentication information).

When the customer sends the customer's facial photo information as the customer's first biometric authentication information from the mobile terminal 30 to the advance order reception server 10 to make a registration request to request user registration, the mobile terminal 30 generates and stores a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer, and creates information including the generated customer ID and the customer's facial photo information that will be the customer's first biometric authentication information, and sends this information to the advance order reception server 10 as a registration request.

However, the customer ID may be generated on the advance order reception server 10 side. That is, when customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information) is sent from the mobile terminal 30 as a registration request, the advance order reception server 10 may generate a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer and return it to the mobile terminal 30 that sent the registration request, and may associate the generated customer ID with the customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information) sent from the mobile terminal 30 and register it in the customer database 11. The mobile terminal 30 may hold the customer ID returned from the advance order reception server 10, and thereafter, when sending advance order information to the advance order reception server 10 for placing an advance order with the target store, the advance order information may be sent in a format with the held customer ID added.

In addition, the advance order reception server 10 not only has the function of registering a customer ID and customer facial photo information (first biometric authentication information) in the customer database 11 in association with each other in response to a user registration request from a mobile terminal 30 owned by a customer via the network 40, but also has the function of storing the received advance order information in the customer database 11 in association with the customer ID when the advance order information for a store is received from the mobile terminal 30, the function of performing face authentication using the customer facial photo information registered in the customer database 11 as first biometric authentication information when customer facial photo information is sent from the store as second biometric authentication information, and the function of transmitting the advance order information stored in association with the customer database 11 to the store based on the result of the authentication.

The mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer is, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet, and has the function of taking a photograph of the customer's face by operating an application installed on the mobile terminal, transmitting the photographed face photo information of the customer together with the customer ID as first biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, and further creating advance order information for the store and transmitting it to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40.

Next, when a customer places an advance order with a store and then enters the store, the system configuration of the advance order reception system 100 is configured as shown in FIG. 2, in which the advance order reception server 10 is connected to a mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer and each of the tabletop terminals 20 (store face authentication client terminals) installed at each table 28 in the store 29 via a network 40 such as the Internet. Note that within the store 29, a store system (store order reception system) is configured that has a store server 21 that manages the entire store 29 and dedicated business terminals 23 for each department within the store 29.

The tabletop terminal 20 is also one of the components of the store system (store order reception system), and is capable of wired or wireless communication with the store server 21 of the store system (store order reception system). In addition, in this first embodiment, the store 29 is assumed to be a restaurant or other food establishment with multiple tables 28, and a tabletop terminal 20 is installed on each table 28 in a manner corresponding to each table 28.

The tabletop terminal 20 has the following functions: when a customer enters the store and sits down at a table 28, the tabletop terminal 20 takes a photograph of the customer's face and transmits the photographed customer's face photograph information to the advance order reception server 10 directly or via the store server 21 as second biometric authentication information; when the customer approves the order (e.g., by pressing a decision button displayed on the tabletop terminal 20), the tabletop terminal 20 confirms the advance order information displayed on the screen as order information and transmits it to the store server 21.

The store server 21 can communicate with the tabletop terminal 20 and the dedicated business terminals 23 (such as a kitchen terminal or a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal in the case of a restaurant) located in each department of the store 29 via wired or wireless communication. The store server 21 is a device that manages the entire store system (store order reception system), and has at least the following functions: sending customer face photo information received from the tabletop terminal 20 as second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40; storing customer advance order information sent from the advance order reception server 10 and sending it to the tabletop terminal 20 on the table where the customer is seated; and, when confirmed order information is received from the tabletop terminal 20, accepting the order information as the order details of the customer who has entered the store and making arrangements for the order with the dedicated terminal 23 in each corresponding department.

In FIG. 2, when a customer who has not yet entered a target store 29 attempts to place an order for the store 29 in advance, the customer transmits order information for the target store 29 as advance order information from the customer's mobile terminal 30 to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, together with a customer ID that identifies the customer. When transmitting the advance order information to the advance order reception server 10, the customer does not need to take a new photograph of his or her face, and by transmitting the information together with the customer ID stored in the mobile terminal 30, the transmitted advance order information and the customer ID are associated with each other. When the advance order reception server 10 receives the advance order information and the customer ID transmitted by the mobile terminal 30, the advance order reception server 10 searches the customer database 11 based on the received customer ID, and stores the received advance order information in the customer database 11 in a format in which the received advance order information is further associated with customer face photo information that is associated with the same customer ID as the received customer ID and stored as first biometric authentication information.

After that, when a customer enters the target store 29 and sits down at one of the tables 28, the customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table 28 to take a photograph of his or her face, and transmits the photographed customer face photograph information as second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, either directly or via the store server 21 in the store 29. Here, the tabletop terminals 20 are associated with the tables 28 in the store 29, and each table 28 is assigned a table number (table number) to identify it. Therefore, within the store 29, the tabletop terminals 20 can be uniquely identified by the table number.

When the advance order reception server 10 receives the customer face photo information transmitted from the tabletop terminal 20 in the store 29 as the second biometric authentication information, it performs face authentication of the customer face photo information, accesses the customer database 11, and searches whether the customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is registered. If the customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is registered in the customer database 11, the advance order reception server 10 retrieves the customer ID and advance order information for the store 29 (advance order information that the customer ordered before entering the store) stored in the customer database 11 in association with the customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information), and returns them via the network 40 to the tabletop terminal 20 in the store 29 that is the sender of the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) directly or via the store server 21.

On the other hand, if customer face photo information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is not registered in the customer database 11, or if a matching customer face photo is registered but the advance order information is not stored in association with it, the advance order reception server 10 returns to the tabletop terminal 20 mismatch information (no advance order information) indicating that advance order information for the store 29 has not been saved.

When advance order information or discrepancy information (information without an advance order) is returned from the advance order reception server 10, the tabletop terminal 20 displays the returned advance order information or discrepancy information (information without an advance order) on the screen.

When the screen displays that the advance order information has been returned from the advance order reception server 10, the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the tabletop terminal 20, and if the customer confirms that there are no changes to the pre-registered information, the customer inputs this to the tabletop terminal 20 (for example, by pressing the Confirm button displayed on the screen of the tabletop terminal 20), and the tabletop terminal 20 confirms the advance order information as the order information of the customer. Alternatively, if the customer wishes to change the advance order information displayed on the screen and place an order again, the customer changes the advance order information displayed on the screen as necessary, and then inputs confirmation to the tabletop terminal 20 (for example, by pressing the Confirm button displayed on the screen of the tabletop terminal 20), and the tabletop terminal 20 confirms the advance order information as the order information of the customer.

The tabletop terminal 20 then transmits the confirmed order information to a store server 21 that constitutes the store system (store order reception system) of the store 29 via wired or wireless communication. When the store server 21 receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the confirmed order information, stores it in association with the table number that identifies the tabletop terminal 20 that sent it, and transfers it via wired or wireless communication to a dedicated terminal 23 set up in the department that handles the order information (for example, if the store 29 is a restaurant, a dedicated terminal 23 (kitchen terminal that displays the cooking menu) installed in the kitchen, etc.).

When the tabletop terminal 20 transmits the confirmed order information to the store server 21, the tabletop terminal 20 transmits the confirmed order information in a format that includes the table number that identifies the table 28 on which the tabletop terminal 20 is set. Alternatively, if the store server 21 previously stores a correspondence table that associates a terminal identification code that can uniquely identify the tabletop terminal 20 itself with the table number of the table 28 on which the tabletop terminal 20 is set, the tabletop terminal 20 may transmit the confirmed order information to the store server 21 together with the terminal identification code of the tabletop terminal 20, which is information indicating the sender. In such a case, the store server 21 may refer to the correspondence table stored in the store, extract the table number of the table 28 on which the tabletop terminal 20 is set from the terminal identification code of the sender tabletop terminal 20, and associate the order information received from the tabletop terminal 20 with the table number (table number) extracted from the correspondence table.

On the other hand, if the tabletop terminal 20 displays on its screen that mismatch information (no advance order information) has been returned from the advance order reception server 10, the customer must operate the tabletop terminal 20 to re-enter the order information, or call a store clerk and verbally provide the order information to the store clerk.

(Configuration Example of First Embodiment)
Next, a specific configuration example of the first embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific configuration example of the first embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention. In the advance order reception system 100 shown in Fig. 3, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is a smartphone, and that the store 29 used by the customer is a food service establishment such as a restaurant.

The advance order reception server 10 is a server for providing cloud services located on the Internet, which is an example of a network 40, and in some cases, a customer database 11 may be constructed on a public cloud service regardless of the hardware configuration. In addition, in the advance order reception system 100 shown in FIG. 3, only a tabletop terminal 20 is shown as a component of the store system in the store 29 that is necessary for the following explanation, but a store server that manages the store system and dedicated business terminals installed in each department in the store 29 are also installed.

The figure also shows a case where a smartphone, which is an example of a mobile terminal 30, is equipped with a mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a. The advance order reception server 10 is equipped with a server advance order reception application 10a, and the tabletop terminals 20 installed on each of a number of tables 28 in the store 29 are equipped with a tabletop terminal face photography and order confirmation application 20a. Note that the functions of the server advance order reception application 10a, the tabletop terminal face photography and order confirmation application 20a, and the mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a will be described as an example of the operation of the first embodiment described later.

Furthermore, in the server advance order reception application 10a, customer facial recognition will be performed as an example of customer biometric authentication, and of course this may be performed using a general service that is already provided as an existing solution. Note that if the functions of the advance order reception server 10 are provided as a public cloud service, the server advance order reception application 10a and customer database 11 will naturally also be built on the public cloud service.

(Explanation of an Operation Example of the First Embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100 shown in Fig. 3 as the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. First, with reference to Fig. 4, an example of the operation when a customer performs user registration in the advance order reception server 10 from a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer, will be described.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation when a customer is registered in the customer database 11 of the advance order reception server 10 from a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer, in the advance order reception system 100 of Figure 3. That is, Figure 4 shows an example of the operation of registering a user in the customer database 11 through mutual operation between a mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a installed on a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal 30, and a server advance order reception application 10a of the advance order reception server 10.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of registering order information for a target store 29 in advance in the customer database 11 of the advance order reception server 10 from a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal 30, owned by the customer before the customer arrives at the target store 29 in the advance order reception system 100 of FIG. 3, and then confirming the order information when the customer enters the store 29. That is, FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation of storing the advance order information in the customer database 11 of the advance order reception server 10 and confirming the order information at the store 29 through mutual operation between a mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a installed on a smartphone, which is a type of mobile terminal 30, a server advance order reception application 10a of the advance order reception server 10, and a tabletop terminal face photography and order confirmation application 20a installed on a tabletop terminal 20 installed on each table 28 in the store 29.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the mobile terminal 30 has at least four functions as a mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a: a face photographing function for taking a face photograph of the customer; a face photograph sending function for sending the taken face photograph as customer face photograph information (i.e., first biometric authentication information) together with a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer to the advance order reception server 10; an order candidate display function for displaying a menu of order candidates at the store 29 that the customer is interested in on a screen; and an advance order information sending function for determining in advance the order information that the customer will order from the store 29 and sending it to the advance order reception server 10. During user registration, the customer uses one of the four functions to take a face photograph of himself/herself, and further uses the face photograph sending function to send the information of the taken face photograph as customer face photograph information (i.e., first biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, with a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer attached.

When the advance order reception server 10 receives the customer's face photo information and customer ID from the mobile terminal 30, the server advance order reception application 10a stores the transmitted customer ID in the customer ID field 11a of the customer database 11 as shown in FIG. 4, and stores the transmitted customer's face photo information (i.e., the first biometric authentication information) in the face photo information field 11b of the customer database 11 in a format corresponding to the customer ID, thereby registering the customer as a user. Note that at the time of user registration, the customer has not yet placed an advance order with the store 29, so that the advance order information is not yet stored in the advance order information field 11c of the advance order reception server 10 in association with the user-registered customer ID and customer's face photo information (i.e., the first biometric authentication information), and remains blank, as shown in FIG. 4.

After the customer has registered as a user on the advance order reception server 10, the customer then uses the order candidate display function, one of the four functions of the advance order transmission application 30a for mobile devices shown in FIG. 4, to display the order menu for the target store 29 on the screen, and selects the order items to be ordered from the order menu displayed on the screen, thereby creating advance order information in advance before arriving at the store 29. After that, the advance order information transmission function is used to attach the customer's customer ID to the created advance order information and send it to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40.

When advance order information and a customer ID are sent from the mobile terminal 30, the advance order reception server 10 uses the server advance order reception application 10a to search the customer ID column 11a of the customer database 11 to check whether the sent customer ID has been registered or not. If it has been registered, the advance order information sent is stored in the advance order information column 11c of the customer database 11 in a format associated with the customer ID (and the customer face photo information set in the face photo information column 11b as the first biometric authentication information for the customer). For example, as shown in the bold frame in the customer database 11 of FIG. 5, if the advance order information of the customer with customer ID '0004' shown in the customer ID column 11a is 'curry' and 'soup', then 'curry' and 'soup' are stored in the advance order information column 11c of the customer database 11 in the same row as the customer ID '0004' in the customer ID column 11a in the customer database 11 in a format associated with the customer ID '0004'.

After that, when the customer arrives at the destination store 29 and sits down at one of the tables 28, he or she operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table 28 to take a photograph of his or her face. As shown in FIG. 3, the tabletop terminal 20 is equipped with a tabletop terminal face photographing and order confirmation application 20a.

The tabletop terminal face photography/order confirmation application 20a has at least four functions, as shown in FIG. 5, a face photography function for taking a face photo of a customer seated at a table 28, a face photo transmission function for transmitting the captured face photo of the customer as customer face photo information (i.e., second biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10 directly or via the store server 21, a pre-order information display function for displaying on a screen the advance order information transmitted from the advance order reception server 10 directly or via the store server 21, and an order information transmission function for transmitting the order information confirmed by the customer pressing the confirm button to the store server 21 in the store 29 via wired or wireless communication.

Then, the customer sits at a table 28 in the store 29 and operates the tabletop terminal 20 to take a photo of his or her face using the face photo taking function out of the four functions of the tabletop terminal face photography/order confirmation application 20a, and then uses the face photo sending function to send the information of the taken face photo as customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, either directly or via the store server 21.

When the advance order reception server 10 receives customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 in the store 29, the server advance order reception application 10a performs face authentication of the face photo in the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) transmitted from the tabletop terminal 20, and as shown in FIG. 5, searches for face photo information registered in the face photo information column 11b of the customer database 11 (customer face photo information transmitted in advance from the customer's mobile terminal 30 as first biometric authentication information) to confirm whether face photo information matching the face photo transmitted from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information) is stored.

If the confirmation result indicates that face photo information (first biometric authentication information) matching the face photo (second biometric authentication information) transmitted from the tabletop terminal 20 is stored, the advance order information column 11c associated with the face photo information (first biometric authentication information) in the face photo information column 11b of the customer database 11 is referenced, and the information stored in the referenced location is extracted as advance order information that the customer has ordered in advance. The advance order reception server 10 then transmits the extracted advance order information via the network 40, directly or via the store server 21, to the tabletop terminal 20 that is the source of the customer face photo information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 in the store 29.

For example, if the face photo information (first biometric authentication information) in the face photo information field 11b in which the customer ID field 11a of the customer database 11 shown in FIG. 5 is associated with '0004' matches the face photo (second biometric authentication information) sent from the tabletop terminal 20, then the information on 'curry' and 'soup' in the advance order information field 11c, which is further associated with the face photo (first biometric authentication information) in the face photo information field 11b in which the customer ID field 11a is associated with '0004', is extracted as advance order information and sent from the advance order reception server 10 to the tabletop terminal 20. The advance order reception server 10 then deletes the face photo (second biometric authentication information) sent from the tabletop terminal 20 and deletes the advance order information sent to the tabletop terminal 20 from the customer database 11.

When the tabletop terminal 20 receives the advance order information transmitted from the advance order reception server 10, it uses the advance order information display function out of the four functions of the tabletop terminal face photography/order confirmation application 20a to display the received advance order information on the screen and prompt the customer to confirm it. If the customer wishes to place an order with the store 29 in accordance with the advance order information displayed on the screen, the customer confirms it as order information by pressing the decision button displayed on the screen.

On the other hand, if the customer wishes to add, change or delete items in the pre-order information displayed on the screen, they can add new order items to the pre-order information displayed on the screen, or change or delete previously set order items, and then press the confirm button to confirm the order information.

When the customer confirms the order information, the tabletop terminal 20 then uses its order information transmission function to the store server 21 to transmit the confirmed order information to the store server 21 via wired or wireless communication. The store server 21 stores the order information transmitted from the tabletop terminal 20 in association with the table number of the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 is installed, and transmits the information on the order items to each dedicated terminal installed in the department corresponding to each order item in the order information. As a result, processing related to the order information is carried out, and the products and services of store 29 corresponding to the order information are provided to the customer.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
The advance order receiving system 100 in the first embodiment described above is preferably applicable to a normal eating establishment such as a restaurant, but the system can also be applied to a store such as a food court where a customer first secures a seat at a table, checks the menu of each store, and then places an order. Note that in the case of a food court, tabletop terminals 20 are fixedly installed on each table, just like in the case of an eating establishment such as a restaurant.

In the case of a food court, a customer, like a restaurant, uses a mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer to register the customer's customer ID, facial photo information (first biometric authentication information), and advance order information in advance with the advance order reception server 10. Then, when the customer secures a seat at a table, the customer takes a facial photo of the customer using a tabletop terminal 20 fixedly installed on each table and transmits the photograph to the advance order reception server 10 as second biometric authentication information. As a result, the advance order reception server 10 returns the advance order information registered in association with the facial photo information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the facial photo in the second biometric authentication information, and the registered advance order information can be displayed on the screen of the tabletop terminal 20.

When a customer checks the pre-order information displayed on the screen and presses the confirm button, the information is confirmed as order information, and the confirmed order information is sent by wired or wireless communication via a store server installed in the food court to a dedicated terminal (kitchen terminal) in the store that corresponds to the order information. Thereafter, when the dedicated terminal (kitchen terminal) becomes able to provide the product or service that corresponds to the order information in the store, it notifies the store server 21 to that effect. In the case of a food court, unlike in the case of a food service establishment such as a restaurant, the store server 21 notifies the tabletop terminal 20 that sent the order information that the ordered product or service is available.

When applied to a food court, the tabletop terminal face photography/order confirmation application 20a of the tabletop terminal 20 is provided with an additional function of displaying a notification from the store server 21 that a product or service is available on the screen, in addition to the four functions described above with reference to FIG. 5. Using this additional function of the tabletop terminal face photography/order confirmation application 20a, a customer who confirms the notification displayed on the screen that a product or service is available can go to the store in question and pick up the ordered product or service.

As described in detail above, the advance order reception system 100 in this first embodiment has the following features:

That is, the advance order reception system 100 comprises a mobile terminal 30 owned by a customer, a store system having at least a store server 21 installed in a store 29 to receive orders from the customer and tabletop terminals 20 installed on each table 28 in the store 29, and an advance order reception server 10 arranged on a network 40 and connected to the mobile terminal 30 and the store system in a communicable state. The mobile terminal 30 has a means for receiving order information of the customer as advance order information before the customer enters the store 29 of the customer's choice, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40.

The tabletop terminal 20 of the store system also has a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who has entered the store and is seated at a table 28 as second biometric authentication information, and transmitting the information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, either directly or via the store server 21, and a means for displaying the advance order information received from the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, either directly or via the store server 21, on a screen, and transmitting the determined order information to the store server 21 when the seated customer has decided on the order information.

The advance order reception server 10 also has a means for storing the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 in the customer database 11 in association with each other, and a means for searching the stored first biometric authentication information when the advance order reception server 10 receives the customer's second biometric authentication information from the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system via the network 40, and for extracting the advance order information stored in the customer database 11 in association with the matching first biometric authentication information as the advance order information of the customer of the received second biometric authentication information, if it is confirmed that the customer's first biometric authentication information matches the received second biometric authentication information, and for transmitting the extracted advance order information via the network 40 to the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system that transmitted the second biometric authentication information.

The store server 21 of the store system has a means for transmitting the second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40 when it receives second biometric authentication information for the advance order reception server 10 from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system, a means for transmitting the received advance order information for the tabletop terminal 20 from the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40 to the tabletop terminal 20 that sent the second biometric authentication information, and a means for accepting the order information determined from the tabletop terminal 20 when it receives the order information. Note that if the tabletop terminal 20 communicates directly with the advance order reception server 10, the store server 21 of the store system only needs to have a means for accepting the order information determined from the tabletop terminal 20 when it receives the order information.

The advance order receiving system 100 in the first embodiment can also be configured as follows.
First, the store server 21 of the store system further has a means for, when the store server 21 transmits the second biometric authentication information of a customer acquired by the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, determining and accepting the received advance order information as order information of the customer, and a means for, when transmitting the preorder information for the tabletop terminal 20 to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the second biometric authentication information, transmitting the preorder information with information indicating that the preorder information has been accepted as the customer's order information attached thereto, and the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system can also be configured to further have a means for, when the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system receives from the store server 21 preorder information with information indicating that the preorder information has been determined as the customer's order information attached thereto, displaying on a screen the preorder information with information indicating that the preorder information has been determined as the customer's order information attached thereto.

Secondly, although not described in the above operational example, the advance order reception server 10 can also be configured to further include a means for deleting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information that are received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored in association with each other when a predetermined time has elapsed from the time that they were stored, which is set as a time threshold.

Thirdly, when the advance order reception server 10 receives the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system via the network 40, it searches the stored first biometric authentication information, and if it confirms that there is no first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information, it further has a means for transmitting mismatch information indicating that there is no advance order information related to the customer of the received second biometric authentication information to the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system that sent the second biometric authentication information via the network 40, and the tabletop terminal 20 of the store system can further be configured to have a means for displaying the mismatch information received from the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40 directly or via the store server 21 on a screen and presenting it to the seated customer.

Fourth, as a biometric authentication method, in addition to face authentication (facial photograph information), it is also possible to configure the system to use various authentication methods such as fingerprint authentication, iris authentication, palm print authentication, finger vein authentication, and palm vein authentication. In this case, the mobile terminal 30 and the tabletop terminal 20 need to be equipped with devices that can acquire authentication information for each authentication method.

(Explanation of Effects of the First Embodiment)
As described in detail above, in the advance order reception system 100 according to the first embodiment, a customer transmits order information for a target store 29 as advance order information from his/her mobile terminal 30 to the advance order reception server 10 in which a customer's face photo together with a customer ID has been registered in advance as first biometric authentication information, before arriving at the target store 29, thereby achieving the following effects.

After sending the advance order information to the advance order reception server 10, when the customer enters the store 29, the customer does not need to operate the mobile terminal 30 or the like that he or she owns. All the customer has to do is take a picture of his or her face as second biometric authentication information on a tabletop terminal 20 that is permanently installed in the store 29, and the advance order information sent to the advance order reception server 10 is displayed on the screen of the tabletop terminal 20 and can be confirmed as order information. The customer can then receive the products and services from the store 29 that correspond to the confirmed order information.

In other words, if a customer determines the desired order information in advance while looking at the order menu, etc., and transmits this as advance order information from the mobile terminal 30 to the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40, it is possible to save time from entering the target store 29 to checking the order menu and determining the order information. Furthermore, at the store 29, there is no need for a store clerk to inquire about the order of a customer who has entered the store, which shortens the time it takes for the customer to obtain the confirmed order information, and also prevents the risk of the store clerk getting the order information wrong.

Second Embodiment of the Invention
Next, a second embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 6 to Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B. In the first embodiment, the advance order reception server 10 has a customer database 11 in which customer face photo information is registered as the first biometric authentication information of the customer. In the second embodiment, the advance order reception server does not have a customer database, and the first biometric authentication information such as customer face photo information and advance order information are temporarily stored in the advance order reception server and deleted when no longer necessary. In the second embodiment, for ease of understanding, a case where a restaurant or other eating establishment is used as the store that the customer is interested in, as in the first embodiment, will be described. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such a case.

(Configuration Example of Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific configuration example of the second embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention. Unlike the advance order reception server 10 shown in FIG. 3 as the first embodiment, this embodiment shows a case in which an advance order reception server 10A that does not have a customer database 11 is installed.

The mobile terminal 30 shown in FIG. 6 is a portable information terminal owned by a customer, such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, as in the first embodiment of FIG. 3. The mobile terminal 30 is equipped with a device (camera, fingerprint sensor, infrared camera for photographing irises, etc.) that acquires one or more pieces of biometric authentication information, such as a face photo, fingerprint, or iris, of the customer as the customer's first biometric authentication information. The mobile terminal 30 is also capable of communicating with the advance order reception server 10A via a network 40 such as the Internet.

Furthermore, in the case of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, only one store 29 is shown, but in FIG. 6, N (multiple) stores from the first (No. 1) to the Nth (No. N) are each provided with a first store system 251, a second store system 252, ... an (N-1) store system 25 (N-1), and an Nth store system 25N, and each store system is capable of communicating with the advance order reception server 10A via a network 40 such as the Internet.

Each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1) and the Nth store system 25N is configured as a store order reception system that has the function of receiving and managing customer order information at each store, and the first store server 211, the second store server 212, ... the (N-1)th store server 21(N-1) and the Nth store server 21N exist inside each store system as one of the components that form each store system. The first store server 211, the second store server 212, ... the (N-1)th store server 21(N-1) and the Nth store server 21N are all configured with the same internal configuration. In the following explanation, if a term is common to the first store server 211, the second store server 212, ..., the (N-1)th store server 21(N-1), and the Nth store server 21N, and if no confusion arises, it will simply be referred to as the store server 21 in order to simplify the explanation.

In addition, in this second embodiment, as described above, the N (plural) stores from the first (No. 1) to the first (No. N) in which the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1) store system 25(N-1) and the Nth store system 25N are installed are all assumed to be restaurants or other eating and drinking establishments. In terms of products and services provided to customers, all of the N (plural) stores from the first (No. 1) to the Nth (No. N) provide the same products and services in common, and a common ordering menu is presented to customers.

Next, the internal configuration of each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a store system, which is one of the components that make up the advance order reception system 100A shown in FIG. 6, and the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N are all configured with the same internal configuration. In the following explanation, if there is something common to each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N and there is no particular misunderstanding, in order to simplify the explanation, it will be simply described as store system 25.

As shown in the block diagram of Figure 7, in addition to the store server 21, the store system 25 of each store is configured to include an order terminal 52 carried by store staff in the store to accept orders from customers, a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal 53 to process payments for ordered products and services, a kitchen terminal 54 installed in the kitchen, and other dedicated terminals for each department, as well as K (multiple) tabletop terminals installed on each of the K tables installed in the store, a first tabletop terminal 201, a second tabletop terminal 202, ..., a Kth tabletop terminal 20K.

In FIG. 7, the store server 21 manages the entire store system, has the function of receiving and managing order information of customers who enter the store, and is capable of communicating with the advance order reception server 10 via the network 40. The order terminal 52 is carried by a store clerk, has the function of receiving orders from customers who enter the store, and is capable of wireless communication with the store server 21.

The POS terminal 53 has a function of settling the price of products and services ordered by customers, is installed near the entrance of the store, and is capable of wired or wireless communication with the store server 21. The kitchen terminal 54 has a function of issuing cooking instructions for the meals and services ordered by customers, is installed in the kitchen, and is capable of wired or wireless communication with the store server 21.

The first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., the Kth tabletop terminal 20K are each installed at each table in the store, and have a function of acquiring biometric authentication information such as the face and fingerprint of a customer seated at each table as second biometric authentication information, and a function of displaying advance order information made by the customer before entering the store on a screen and confirming it as order information, and are capable of wired or wireless communication with the store server 21.

Next, the internal configuration of each of the first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., and the Kth tabletop terminal 20K will be described. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a tabletop terminal, which is one of the components that make up the advance order reception system 100A shown in Figure 6, and the first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., and the Kth tabletop terminal 20K are all configured with the same internal configuration. In the following explanation, if something is common to each of the first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., and the Kth tabletop terminal 20K and will not cause any particular misunderstanding, in order to simplify the explanation, it will simply be referred to as tabletop terminal 20.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 8, the tabletop terminal 20 installed on each table in the store has a control unit 61 that controls the overall operation of the tabletop terminal 20, as well as a display unit 62, an input unit 63, a communication unit 64, and a biometric authentication information acquisition unit 65 that are connected to the control unit 61 so that data can be transmitted and received, and further includes a memory unit 61A within the control unit 61.

In FIG. 8, the control unit 61, as described above, has a memory unit 61A capable of storing various information therein, and controls the operation of the entire tabletop terminal 20. The display unit 62, based on instructions from the control unit 61, displays pre-order information placed in advance by a customer seated at the table where the tabletop terminal 20 is installed, confirmed order information, payment information, and the like. The input unit 63, based on instructions from the control unit 61, accepts operations performed by the seated customer.

The communication unit 64 also communicates with the store server 21 in the store system 25 in the store based on instructions from the control unit 61. The biometric authentication information acquisition unit 65 also acquires biometric authentication information (e.g., facial photo information, fingerprint information, etc.) of a customer seated at the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 is installed as second biometric authentication information based on instructions from the control unit 61.

Each tabletop terminal 20 is associated with a table number that identifies the table on which it is installed, and the correspondence between the table number and an identification code that uniquely identifies the tabletop terminal 20 is registered in the store server 21 as a tabletop terminal registration table. Therefore, when the store server 21 transmits some data (e.g. advance order information, etc.) to a tabletop terminal 20, it can uniquely identify which tabletop terminal is installed on which to transmit the data. The table number of the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 is installed may be further registered in the memory unit 61A of the tabletop terminal 20, and when transmitting data to the store server 21, information indicating the table number registered in the memory unit 61A may be added to the data to be transmitted to the store server 21.

The functions of each tabletop terminal 20 will be described in more detail below.
(1) A function of acquiring biometric authentication information (such as facial photo information and fingerprint information) of a customer seated at a table on which the tabletop terminal 20 is installed as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the information to a store server 21 within the store.
(2) A function of receiving advance order information that a customer seated at a table where a tabletop terminal 20 is installed has previously sent to the advance order reception server 10A using a mobile terminal 30 before entering the store via the store server 21 and displaying it on the screen to present to the customer.
(3) A function of confirming the order information based on the operation performed by the customer on the advance order information displayed on the screen (operation of the decision button after making changes or additions as necessary) and transmitting the order information to the store server 21.

Furthermore, each tabletop terminal 20 may have a function (i.e., a function as a self-ordering terminal) to display a menu for ordering on a screen in response to an operation by a customer seated at the table on which the respective tabletop terminal 20 is installed, to accept a selection operation performed by the customer, to confirm the menu items selected by the customer as order information, and to transmit the information to the store server 21.

(Explanation of an Operation Example of the Second Embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100A illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8 as the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence charts of FIGS. 9A and 9B. FIGS. 9A and 9B are the first and second half of a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100A illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8 as the second embodiment of the present invention. This sequence chart is divided into the first and second half, which are illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, respectively. The circled A at the bottom of FIG. 9A indicates that it is connected to the circled A at the top of FIG. 9B. In other words, the bottom of FIG. 9A is connected to the top of FIG. 9B, and the two drawings, FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, represent one sequence chart. Therefore, in the following, both FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B will be regarded as one drawing, and the two drawings will be collectively referred to as FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100A, focusing on the information exchanged between the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer, the advance order reception server 10A, and the store server 21 and tabletop terminal 20 that constitute the store system 25 of the store targeted by the customer.

The sequence chart in FIG. 9 shows an example of a sequence in which, before arriving at a destination store, a customer uses a mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer to transmit order information for the destination store as advance order information to the advance order reception server 10A, and then, upon entering the destination store, the customer operates a tabletop terminal 20 installed on a table in the store to confirm the advance order information that was previously transmitted to the advance order reception server 10A, and determines the final order information based on the results, until the determined order information is accepted by the store server 21 in the destination store.

In the sequence chart of FIG. 9, first, before arriving at the target store, the customer operates the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer to launch the mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a required to use the advance order reception system 100A, inputs advance order information for the target store into the mobile terminal 30, and performs operations to obtain the customer's biometric authentication information as the first biometric authentication information (STEP 1). Note that the mobile terminal advance order sending application 30a required to use the advance order reception system 100A needs to be downloaded and installed in advance on the mobile terminal 30 from a registration site or the like that registers various applications for the advance order reception system 100A.

Here, any method may be used to acquire the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) as long as the method is capable of acquiring biometric authentication information capable of uniquely identifying the customer on the mobile terminal 30. For example, in addition to the face authentication (face photo information) used in the first embodiment, various authentication methods such as fingerprint authentication, iris authentication, palm print authentication, finger vein authentication, and palm vein authentication may be used. Furthermore, the acquired customer's biometric authentication information may be raw biometric data, or may be feature data obtained by extracting feature points from the biometric information.

Next, the mobile terminal 30 accepts the advance order information and acquires the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), and then transmits the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10A via the network 40 (STEP 2).

When the advance order reception server 10A receives advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the customer's mobile terminal 30 (STEP 3), it stores the received advance order information in a format that correlates it with the customer's received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) (STEP 4).

After transmitting the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10A, the customer arrives at the destination store and sits down at a table in the store. The customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table to have the tabletop terminal 20 acquire the customer's biometric authentication information as second biometric authentication information (STEP 5). The tabletop terminal 20 transmits the acquired customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 constituting the store system 25 in the store in a format with an identification code (or table number) that uniquely identifies the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 6).

When the store server 21 receives the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 7), it stores the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) in association with the identification code (or table number) of the tabletop terminal 20 indicating the sender, and transmits the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the advance order reception server 10A via the network 40 in a format that includes an identification code (or an identification code of the store system 25) that uniquely identifies the store server 21 (STEP 8).

When the advance order reception server 10A receives the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) transmitted from the store server 21 (STEP 9), it stores the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) in association with the store server 21 identification code (or the store system 25 identification code) indicating the transmission source. Furthermore, it searches for the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) received and stored together with the advance order information from the mobile terminal 30, and checks whether biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information received from the store server 21 (second biometric authentication information) is stored (STEP 10).

If there is any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the store server 21 (YES in STEP 10), proceed to STEP 11.

Then, when proceeding to STEP 11, the advance order reception server 10A retrieves the matching customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), i.e., the advance order information stored in association with the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the mobile terminal 30, and transmits it to the store server 21, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the store server 21, via the network 40 (STEP 11). After that, the advance order reception server 10A deletes both the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) from the store server 21 and the advance order information stored in association with the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information). The advance order reception server 10A also deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information).

When the store server 21, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), receives the advance order information sent from the advance order reception server 10A (STEP 12), it sends the received advance order information to the tabletop terminal 20, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (STEP 13).

The store server 21 then deletes both the advance order information received from the advance order reception server 10A and the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20. Note that the timing for deleting the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) and the advance order information received and stored from the advance order reception server 10A is not limited to the aforementioned time, and may be deleted at the latest by the time the store server 21 accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

When the tabletop terminal 20, which transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21, receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 (STEP 14), it displays the received advance order information on the display unit 62. If the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the screen and decides that it is OK to place the order according to the order details of the advance order information, the customer presses the decision button displayed on the screen, causing the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the advance order information as the final order information for the store.

Here, the customer can operate the input unit 63 of the tabletop terminal 20 to change the order items in the pre-order information displayed on the screen or delete some of the items to be ordered, and can confirm the changed pre-order information displayed on the screen and press the confirm button. Alternatively, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a self-ordering terminal function, the customer can operate the input unit 63 to add further items to be ordered as order information and press the confirm button. Then, when the tabletop terminal 20 has confirmed the order information, it sends the confirmed order information to the store server 21 (STEP 15).

When the store server 21 receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the received order information, stores it in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the order information is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal that constitutes the store system 25 in the store and is in charge of the department that corresponds to the order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be carried out according to the order information (STEP 16).

On the other hand, in STEP 10, if the advance order reception server 10A finds that the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) received from the mobile terminal 30 does not contain any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the store server 21 (NO in STEP 10), it proceeds to STEP 17.

Then, when moving to STEP 17, the advance order reception server 10A transmits mismatch information to the store server 21, which is the source of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the store server 21, via the network 40, indicating that there is no biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) for the customer in the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the store server 21, and that there is no advance order information for the relevant customer. The advance order reception server 10A then deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the store server 21 and stored therein (STEP 17).

When the store server 21, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), receives the mismatch information sent from the advance order reception server 10A (STEP 18), it sends the received mismatch information (i.e., mismatch information indicating that the advance order information for the customer who has the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent from its own store server 21 was not present in the advance order reception server 10A) to the tabletop terminal 20 that sent the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21, and then deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received and stored from the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 19).

When the tabletop terminal 20, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21, receives the mismatch information sent from the store server 21 (STEP 20), it displays the received mismatch information (i.e., mismatch information indicating that biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent from its own tabletop terminal 20 does not exist in the advance order reception server 10A and that there is no advance order information for the customer) on the display unit 62 (STEP 21). Therefore, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a function as a self-ordering terminal, the customer needs to operate the tabletop terminal 20 to create new order information and send it to the store server 21, or verbally notify a store clerk of the order information.

(Modification of the second embodiment)
9 in the store server 21 is not limited to the above-mentioned operations, and may be configured to perform the following operations, for example: In other words, the store server 21 may directly accept the advance order information transmitted from the advance order reception server 10A as order information, transmit the information to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the received order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instruct the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

That is, in STEP 12, when the store server 21, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), receives the advance order information sent from the advance order reception server 10A (STEP 12), the store server 21 performs operations substantially similar to those of STEP 16 described above, and accepts the advance order information received from the advance order reception server 10A as order information for the customer at the table number where the tabletop terminal 20 that sent the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed (STEP 13A).

The store server 21 then stores the received order information (i.e., the advance order information received from the advance order reception server 10A) in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal of a department that corresponds to the order content of the order information among the dedicated terminals that make up the store system within the store, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

The store server 21 then performs the same operation as in STEP 13 described above, and transmits the received advance order information, together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information, to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (STEP 13). The store server 21 then deletes both the received advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20.

The tabletop terminal 20, which transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21, receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information (STEP 14). The received advance order information is then displayed on the display unit 62 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information. The customer confirms that the advance order information displayed on the screen has been accepted as order information.

Therefore, after the operation of STEP 14, there is no need to carry out the two steps of STEP 15 (operation of the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the order information and send it to the store server 21) and STEP 16 (operation of the store server 21 to accept the confirmed order information).

In addition, in order to prevent information from being leaked to a third party, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and the advance order information stored in advance order reception server 10A may be deleted from advance order reception server 10A after a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) has elapsed, which is set as a threshold for the elapsed time, after they have been received and stored from mobile terminal 30.

As described in detail above, the advance order reception system 100A in this second embodiment has the following features:

That is, the advance order reception system 100A, like the first embodiment, is configured to include a mobile terminal 30 owned by a customer, a store system having at least a store server 21 installed in a store to receive orders from the customer and tabletop terminals 20 installed on each table in the store, and an advance order reception server 10A (but not having a customer database 11) that is placed on a network 40 and connected to the mobile terminal 30 and the store system in a state in which it can communicate with the mobile terminal 30. The mobile terminal 30 has a means for receiving order information of the customer as advance order information in advance before the customer enters the store of the customer's choice, acquiring biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10A via the network 40.

The tabletop terminal 20 of the store system also has a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who has entered the store and sat down at a table 28 as second biometric authentication information, and transmitting the information via the store server 21 and the network 40 to the advance order reception server 10A, and a means for displaying the advance order information received from the advance order reception server 10A via the store server 21 and the network 40 on a screen, and transmitting order information determined by the customer's operation to the store server 21.

The advance order reception server 10A also has a means for storing the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 in the customer database 11 in association with each other, and a means for searching the stored first biometric authentication information when receiving the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the store server 21 of the store system via the network 40, and for extracting the advance order information stored in the customer database 11 in association with the matching first biometric authentication information as the advance order information of the customer of the received second biometric authentication information when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the received second biometric authentication information, and for transmitting the extracted advance order information via the network 40 to the store server 21 of the store system that transmitted the second biometric authentication information, and then deleting the second biometric authentication information of the customer received from the store server 21, and the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information stored for the customer.

The store server 21 of the store system also has a means for transmitting the received second biometric authentication information to the advance order reception server 10A via the network 40 when it receives the second biometric authentication information for the advance order reception server 10A from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system, a means for transmitting the received advance order information for the tabletop terminal 20 from the advance order reception server 10A via the network 40, and then deleting the advance order information and the second biometric authentication information when it receives a notification from the tabletop terminal 20 that the information has been determined to be order information, and a means for accepting the order information.

(Explanation of Effects of the Second Embodiment)
As described in detail above, in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the customer operates his/her mobile terminal 30 to transmit order information for the target store to the advance order reception server 10A in advance before arriving at the target store. Therefore, after the customer enters the store, there is no need for the customer to operate his/her mobile terminal 30 at all, and the customer can receive the products and services from the store corresponding to the confirmed order information.

Furthermore, in this second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information and second biometric authentication information) is temporarily stored together with the advance order information in the advance order reception server 10A or the store server 21 and is deleted after appropriate processing is performed, thereby reducing the risk that personal information such as the customer's biometric authentication information will be stolen by a malicious third party.

Third embodiment of the present invention
Next, a third embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 10, 11A and 11B. In the first embodiment, a case was shown in which an advance order reception server 10 having a customer database 11 in which customer facial photo information is registered as customer biometric authentication information was installed, but in this third embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, no advance order reception server 10 itself is installed, and therefore no customer database 11 for registering customer biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) or advance order information is held.

In other words, unlike the first and second embodiments, the third embodiment does not have a pre-order reception server, and instead shows a case where the biometric authentication information and pre-order information of the customer are temporarily stored in the store server of the target store. Here, in the third embodiment, the mobile terminal held by the customer is capable of communicating with the store server constituting the store system in the target store via a network such as the Internet, and is configured to be able to transmit the biometric authentication information and pre-order information of the customer from the mobile terminal to the store server. Also, in the third embodiment, for ease of understanding, as in the first embodiment, the case of a food establishment such as a restaurant will be described as the store that the customer is aiming for, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such cases.

(Configuration Example of the Third Embodiment)
Fig. 10 is a system configuration diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the advance order reception system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which does not have the advance order reception server 10 and customer database 11 shown in Fig. 3 as the first embodiment. In other words, in the advance order reception system 100B shown in Fig. 10, a first store system 251, a second store system 252, ... an (N-1) store system 25 (N-1), and an N-th store system 25N are installed in each of N (plural) stores from a first (No. 1) to an N-th (No. N), and each store system is capable of connecting to a mobile terminal 30 owned by a customer, rather than to a advance order reception server, via a network 40 such as the Internet, unlike the first and second embodiments, and is capable of communicating with the mobile terminal 30.

The first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N are each configured as a store order reception system having the function of receiving and managing customer order information at each store, similar to the case of FIG. 6 of the second embodiment.

The mobile terminal 30 shown in FIG. 10 is a mobile information terminal owned by a customer, such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, as in the first and second embodiments. The mobile terminal 30 is also equipped with a device (camera, fingerprint sensor, etc.) that acquires biometric authentication information such as a customer's face photo or fingerprint as first biometric authentication information. However, in the third embodiment, as described above, there is no advance order reception server, and the mobile terminal 30 shown in FIG. 10 is capable of communicating with a store server constituting a store system in each store via a network 40 such as the Internet.

The internal configuration of each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N is the same as the internal configuration shown in FIG. 7 as the second embodiment, and the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N are all configured with the same internal configuration. In the following explanation, as in the second embodiment, if there is something common to each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ... the (N-1)th store system 25(N-1), and the Nth store system 25N and there is no particular confusion, in order to simplify the explanation, it will be simply referred to as store system 25.

The first store server 211, the second store server 212, ..., the (N-1)th store server 21 (N-1), and the Nth store server 21N exist inside each of the first store system 251, the second store system 252, ..., the (N-1)th store server 21 (N-1), and the Nth store server 21N as one of the components that form the respective store systems. The first store server 211, the second store server 212, ..., the (N-1)th store server 21 (N-1), and the Nth store server 21N are all configured with the same internal configuration. In the following explanation, as in the second embodiment, if there is something common to the first store server 211, the second store server 212, ..., the (N-1)th store server 21 (N-1), and the Nth store server 21N and there is no particular misunderstanding, in order to simplify the explanation, it will be simply described as the store server 21.

In each store, as shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the store server 21, an order terminal 52, a POS terminal 53, a kitchen terminal 54, a first tabletop terminal 201, a second tabletop terminal 202, ..., a K-th tabletop terminal 20K are installed in the store system 25.

The first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., the K-th tabletop terminal 20K installed in each store system are similar to those in the second embodiment, and each has the internal configuration shown in FIG. 8 as the second embodiment. In the following explanation, as in the second embodiment, if there is something common to each of the first tabletop terminal 201, the second tabletop terminal 202, ..., the K-th tabletop terminal 20K and there is no particular risk of misunderstanding, in order to simplify the explanation, it will simply be referred to as tabletop terminal 20.

(Explanation of an Operation Example of the Third Embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in FIG. 10 as the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence charts of FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B. FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B are the first and second parts of a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in FIG. 10 as the third embodiment of the present invention, and show an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B by focusing on the information exchanged between the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer, the store server 21 and the tabletop terminal 20 constituting the store system 25 of the store the customer is visiting. This sequence chart is divided into the first and second parts, which are depicted in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, respectively. The circled B at the bottom of FIG. 11A indicates that it is connected to the circled B at the top of FIG. 11B. In other words, the bottom of FIG. 11A is connected to the top of FIG. 11B, and one sequence chart is represented by two drawings, FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B. Therefore, in the following, both FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B will be regarded as one figure, and the two figures will be collectively referred to as FIG.

The sequence chart in FIG. 11 shows an example of a sequence of information exchange in which, before a customer arrives at a target store, the customer uses a mobile terminal 30 to transmit order information for the store as advance order information to the store server 21 in the target store together with the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), and then, when the customer enters the target store, the customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the advance order information that was previously transmitted, and the final order information is then accepted by the store server 21 in the target store.

In the sequence chart of FIG. 11, as in the second embodiment, first, before arriving at the target store, the customer launches an application required to use the advance order reception system 100B on the customer's mobile terminal 30, inputs advance order information for the target store into the mobile terminal 30, and performs an operation to obtain the customer's biometric authentication information as the first biometric authentication information (STEP 101). Note that the application required to use the advance order reception system 100B needs to be downloaded and installed in advance on the mobile terminal 30 from a registration site or the like that registers various applications for the advance order reception system 100B. Here, the method of obtaining the customer's biometric authentication information is the same as in the second embodiment.

Next, the mobile terminal 30 transmits the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 of the destination store via the network 40 (STEP 102).

When the store server 21 receives the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the customer's mobile terminal 30 (STEP 103), it stores the received advance order information in a format that correlates it with the received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer (STEP 104).

After transmitting the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the store server 21, the customer arrives at the store of his/her choice and sits down at a table in the store. The customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table to have the tabletop terminal 20 acquire the customer's biometric authentication information as second biometric authentication information (STEP 105). The tabletop terminal 20 transmits the acquired customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 constituting the store system 25 in the store in a format with an identification code (or table number) that uniquely identifies the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 106).

When the store server 21 receives the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 107), it stores the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) in association with the identification code (or table number) of the tabletop terminal 20 indicating the sender. The store server 21 then searches for the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that was received and stored together with the advance order information from the mobile terminal 30, and checks whether biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is stored (STEP 108).

If there is any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (YES in STEP 108), the process proceeds to STEP 109. Then, the process proceeds to the same operations as in STEP 13 to STEP 16 shown in FIG. 9 as the second embodiment.

That is, when proceeding to STEP 109, the store server 21 first extracts the advance order information stored in association with the matching customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), and transmits it to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) (STEP 109).

The store server 21 then deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored therein (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information), and also deletes both the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored therein, and the biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information). Note that the deletion of the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored therein is not limited to this time, and may be performed at the latest by the time the store server 21 accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

When the tabletop terminal 20, which transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21, receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 (STEP 110), it displays the received advance order information on the display unit 62. If the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the screen and decides that it is OK to place an order according to the order details of the advance order information, the customer presses the decision button displayed on the screen, causing the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the advance order information as the final order information for the store.

Here, as in the second embodiment, the customer can operate the input unit 63 of the tabletop terminal 20 to change the order details of the pre-order information displayed on the screen or delete some of the items to be ordered, and can confirm the screen display of the changed pre-order information and press the confirm button. Alternatively, if the tabletop terminal 20 has the function of a self-ordering terminal, the customer can operate the input unit 63 to add further items to be ordered as order information and press the confirm button. Then, when the tabletop terminal 20 has confirmed the order information, it transmits the confirmed order information to the store server 21 (STEP 111).

When the store server 21 receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the received order information, stores it in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the order information is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal that constitutes the store system 25 in the store and is in charge of the department that corresponds to the order content of the order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be carried out according to the order content of the order information (STEP 112).

On the other hand, in STEP 108, if the store server 21 does not find any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 among the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) received from the mobile terminal 30 (NO in STEP 108), the store server 21 proceeds to STEP 113. Then, from this point on, the store server 21 performs the same operations as STEP 19 to STEP 21 shown in FIG. 9 as the second embodiment.

That is, when proceeding to STEP 113, the store server 21 first transmits mismatch information to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), indicating that the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 does not contain any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 and that there is no advance order information related to the customer, and then deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) that was received from the tabletop terminal 20 and stored (STEP 113).

When the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 receives the mismatch information transmitted from the store server 21 (STEP 114), it displays the received mismatch information (i.e., mismatch information indicating that the store server 21 does not have biometric authentication information that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) transmitted from its own tabletop terminal 20 and that there is no advance order information for the customer) on the display unit 62 (STEP 115). Therefore, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a function as a self-ordering terminal, the customer needs to operate the tabletop terminal 20 to create new order information and transmit it to the store server 21, or verbally notify a store clerk of the order information.

(Modification of the third embodiment)
11, similar to the case of the operation from STEP 13 onwards in the second embodiment, is not limited to the above-mentioned operation, and may be, for example, the following operation: In other words, at the time of STEP 109, the store server 21 may accept the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 as order information as is, and transmit it to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the accepted order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instruct cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

That is, in STEP 109, the store server 21 performs operations similar to those in STEP 112 described above, and accepts the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 as order information for the table number at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed (STEP 109A).

The store server 21 then stores the received order information (i.e., the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30) in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal of a department that corresponds to the order content of the order information among the dedicated terminals that make up the store system 25 within the store, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

Then, the store server 21 performs the same operation as in STEP 109 described above, and transmits the received advance order information, together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information, to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (STEP 109).

The store server 21 then deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20, and also deletes both the advance order information received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 and the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20.

The tabletop terminal 20, which transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21, receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information (STEP 110). The received advance order information is then displayed on the display unit 62 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information. The customer confirms that the advance order information displayed on the screen has been accepted as order information.

Therefore, after the operation of STEP 110, there is no need to carry out the two steps of STEP 111 (operation of the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the order information and send it to the store server 21) and STEP 112 (operation of the store server 21 to accept the confirmed order information).

Furthermore, in this third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, in order to prevent information from being leaked to a third party, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information stored in the store server 21 may be received from the mobile terminal 30, stored, and then deleted from the store server 21 when a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) has elapsed as a threshold for the elapsed time.

As described in detail above, the advance order reception system 100B in this third embodiment has the following features:

In other words, unlike the first and second embodiments, the advance order reception system 100B is configured such that the advance order reception server is not installed on the network 40, and includes a mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer, a store system that includes at least a store server 21 installed in each of one or more stores having a common order menu and that accepts orders from the customer, and a tabletop terminal 20 installed on each table in the store, and the mobile terminal 30 and the store server 21 in each store system 25 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via the network. The mobile terminal 30 has a means for accepting the order information of the customer as advance order information in advance before the customer arrives at the first candidate store that the customer is initially planning to visit, acquiring the biometric authentication information of the customer as first biometric authentication information, and transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information via the network 40 to the store server 21 of the store system 25 installed in the first candidate store.

The tabletop terminal 20 of the store system 25 also has a means for acquiring biometric authentication information of a customer who has entered the store and sat down at a table as second biometric authentication information and transmitting the information to the store server 21 of its own store system 25, and a means for displaying advance order information received from the store server 21 of its own store system 25 on a screen and notifying the store server 21 of order information determined by an operation of a single customer.

The store server 21 of the store system 25 also has a means for storing the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 or from the store server 21 of the store system 25 installed in another store in association with each other, a means for searching the stored first biometric authentication information when receiving the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system 25, and when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information exists, a means for extracting the advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information as the advance order information of the customer of the received second biometric authentication information, and transmitting the extracted advance order information to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the second biometric authentication information, and then deleting the second biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 and the first biometric authentication information and advance order information stored for the customer, and a means for accepting the order information when a notification is received from the tabletop terminal that the order information has been determined.

(Explanation of Effects of the Third Embodiment)
As explained in detail above, in the third embodiment, the customer operates his/her mobile terminal 30 to transmit order information for the target store to the store server 21 in the store before arriving at the store. Therefore, as in the first and second embodiments, after the customer enters the store, there is no need for the customer to operate his/her mobile terminal 30 at all, and the customer can receive the products and services from the store corresponding to the confirmed order information.

Furthermore, in this third embodiment, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information and second biometric authentication information) is temporarily stored in the store server 21 together with the advance order information and deleted after appropriate processing is performed, so that, as in the second embodiment, the risk of personal information such as the customer's biometric authentication information being stolen by a malicious third party can be reduced.

(Fourth embodiment of the present invention)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 12 and 13. As in the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment does not have an advance order reception server, and therefore does not have a customer database for registering a customer's biometric authentication information, but instead has a mobile terminal carried by a customer that can communicate with a store server constituting a store system in a store via a network such as the Internet, and the customer's biometric authentication information and advance order information are transmitted from the mobile terminal to the store server, whereby the customer's biometric authentication information and advance order information are temporarily stored in the store server.

However, unlike the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment shows an example of operation in which a customer can receive a product or service from a store corresponding to the advance order information without any problem even if the customer has not yet decided which store to ultimately visit among multiple stores that have the same order menu, if the customer has changed the store that he or she originally intended to visit, or if the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information are mistakenly transmitted from the mobile terminal in advance to a store other than the store that the customer will visit.

In this fourth embodiment, when the store server of the first candidate store that the customer originally intended to visit receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the customer's mobile terminal, the store server further transfers the received customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information to the store servers of all other stores that have the same order menu.

In the fourth embodiment, for ease of understanding, the first candidate store and other stores to which the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information are further transferred will be described as restaurants, as in the first embodiment, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such restaurants.

(Configuration Example of Fourth Embodiment)
The specific system configuration of the fourth embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention is exactly the same as that shown in Fig. 10 as the third embodiment, and the internal configurations of each store system and tabletop terminal are also the same as those shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 as the second embodiment. In the following description, when the store systems 25 and store servers 21 of stores having the same order menu are displayed separately for each store, they will be displayed as a first store system 251 and a first store server 211, a second store system 252 and a second store server 212, ..., an Nth store system 25N and an Nth store server 21N corresponding to the first store, the second store, ..., the Nth store, respectively, as shown in the advance order reception system 100B of Fig. 10 as the third embodiment.

In the fourth embodiment, in the advance order reception system 100B of FIG. 10, the first candidate store that the customer initially intended to visit (correctly or mistakenly) is, for example, the first store in which the first store system 251 is installed, and when the first store server 211 of the first store system 251 receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the mobile terminal 30 via the network 40, it is configured to further transfer the received customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information to the second store servers 212, ..., Nth store server 21N of the second store systems 252, ..., Nth store systems 25N installed in all other stores that have the same order menu as the first candidate store, for example, the second store, ..., Nth store, via the network 40.

(Explanation of an Operation Example of the Fourth Embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in Fig. 10 as the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart of Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in Fig. 10 as the fourth embodiment, and shows an example of the operation from when a store server 21 in a first candidate store (e.g., a first store server 211 in a first store) that a customer is initially going to receives biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer and advance order information from a mobile terminal 30, to when the store server 21 further transfers the received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer and advance order information to each of the store servers 21 in all other stores that have the same order menu as the first candidate store (e.g., a second store server 212 in a second store, ..., an N-th store server 21N in an N-th store).

In other words, FIG. 12 shows an example of the operation of the fourth embodiment of the advance order reception system 100B until the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) of the first candidate store where the customer is planning to go further transfers the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 to each of the store servers 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) that constitute the store systems of all other stores that have the same order menu (e.g., the second store system 252 of the second store, ..., the Nth store system 25N of the Nth store).

In the sequence chart of FIG. 12, as in the second embodiment, first, before going to a store, a customer launches an application required to use the advance order reception system 100B on the customer's mobile terminal 30, inputs advance order information for a first candidate store (e.g., the first store) that the customer is initially planning to visit, and performs an operation to obtain the customer's biometric authentication information as first biometric authentication information (STEP 201). Note that the application required to use the advance order reception system 100B needs to be downloaded and installed in advance on the mobile terminal 30 from a registration site or the like that registers various applications for the advance order reception system 100B. Here, the method of obtaining the customer's biometric authentication information is the same as in the second embodiment.

Next, the mobile terminal 30 transmits the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) via the network 40 to the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) (STEP 202).

When the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) receives the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer (STEP 203), it stores the received advance order information in a format associated with the received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer (STEP 204). Thereafter, the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) transfers the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information received from the mobile terminal 30 to each of the store servers 21 of all other stores (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) that have the same order menu as the first candidate store (e.g., the first store) via the network 40 (STEP 205).

When the store servers 21 of all other stores (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) that have the same order menu as the first candidate store receive the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) transmitted from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), they store the received advance order information in a format that associates it with the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information).

Next, the operation after the advance order information sent from the customer's mobile terminal 30 and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) are stored in the store servers 21 of all stores that have the same ordered menu (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the second store server 212 of the second store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) through the operation of the sequence chart in Figure 12 will be described with reference to the sequence chart in Figure 13.

Figure 13 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation subsequent to the sequence chart of Figure 12 of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in Figure 10 as a fourth embodiment, and shows an example of information exchange between the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 in the second store) in a store actually visited by a customer who transmitted advance order information and customer biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from a mobile terminal 30 among all stores having the same order menu, and the tabletop terminal 20 in the store (e.g., in the second store). It goes without saying that even if the store the customer visits is the first candidate store that was initially envisioned, the exact same operation as in the sequence chart of Figure 13 is performed.

In other words, the sequence chart in FIG. 13 shows an example of a sequence of information exchange from when the advance order information sent from the customer's mobile terminal 30 and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) are stored in the respective store servers 21 of all stores having the same ordered menu (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the second store server 212 of the second store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store), until the store server 21 in the store (e.g., the second store server 212 in the second store) that the customer has entered accepts the final confirmed order information based on the confirmation results of the advance order information of the customer at the store where the customer has entered (e.g., the second store).

The sequence chart in FIG. 13 performs exactly the same operations as the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11 as the third embodiment, except for the operation (STEP 211) in which the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) notifies other store servers (the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) that the customer has entered the store (e.g., the second store). That is, STEP 206 to STEP 210 of the sequence chart in FIG. 13 perform the same operations as STEP 105 to STEP 109 of the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11, and STEP 212 to STEP 217 of the sequence chart in FIG. 13 perform the same operations as STEP 110 to STEP 115 of the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11.

In the sequence chart of FIG. 13, after the customer transmits advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), the customer determines the desired store, enters the store (e.g., the second store), and sits at a table in the store. The customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table to cause the tabletop terminal 20 to acquire the customer's biometric authentication information as second biometric authentication information (STEP 206). The tabletop terminal 20 transmits the acquired customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 constituting the store system 25 in the store (e.g., the second store server 212 constituting the second store system 252 in the second store) in a format with an identification code (or table number) that uniquely identifies the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 207).

When the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 208), it stores the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) in association with the identification code (or table number) of the tabletop terminal 20 indicating the sender. Thereafter, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) searches for the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that was received and stored together with the advance order information from the mobile terminal 30, either directly or via the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first candidate first store), and checks whether biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is stored (STEP 209).

If there is any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that has been received directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via a store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (YES in STEP 209), proceed to STEP 210.

When proceeding to STEP 210, first, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) retrieves the advance order information stored in association with the matching customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), and transmits it to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) (STEP 210).

Then, the store server 21 (e.g. the second store server 212) deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that has been received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via another store server 21 (e.g. the first store server 211 of the first store) that matches the biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information), and also deletes both the advance order information that has been received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via another store server 21 (e.g. the first store server 211 of the first store) and the biometric authentication information of the customer that has been received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information). Note that the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information that have been received and stored directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store server 21 of another store (for example, the first store server 211 of the first store) are not limited to being deleted at this time, but may be deleted at the latest by the time the store server 21 accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

Then, as an operation specific to the fourth embodiment different from the third embodiment, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) notifies each of the store servers 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) of all other stores that have the same ordered menu as the store (e.g., the second store) of information indicating that a customer whose biometric authentication information matches the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) transmitted directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) has entered the store, and information instructing the deletion of the advance order information and biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) related to the customer stored in each of the store servers 21 of the other stores (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) (STEP 211).

When the store servers 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) of the other stores where the customer is not present and whose biometric authentication information matches the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that was transmitted directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store servers 21 of the other stores (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), receive a notification from the store server 21 of the store where the customer is present (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store), they delete the pre-order information and biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that they have stored for the customer in response to the notification.

In a store (e.g., a second store) where a customer has biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) identical to the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) received directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), after the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) has completed the operation of STEP 211, the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) (STEP 212), and displays the received advance order information on the display unit 62. If the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the screen and decides that the customer can place an order according to the order contents of the advance order information, the tabletop terminal 20 confirms the advance order information as the final order information for the store by pressing the decision button displayed on the screen.

Here, as in the second and third embodiments, the customer can operate the input unit 63 of the tabletop terminal 20 to change the order contents of the pre-order information displayed on the screen or delete some of the items to be ordered, and can confirm the screen display of the changed pre-order information and press the confirm button. Alternatively, if the tabletop terminal 20 has the function of a self-ordering terminal, the customer can operate the input unit 63 to add further items to be ordered as order information and press the confirm button. Then, when the tabletop terminal 20 has confirmed the order information, it transmits the confirmed order information to the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) (STEP 213).

When the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the received order information, stores it in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the order information is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal, such as the kitchen terminal 54, of the department corresponding to the order content among the dedicated terminals constituting the store system (e.g., the second store system 252) within the store, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information (STEP 214).

On the other hand, in STEP 209, if the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) does not have any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that it has received from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (NO in STEP 209), it proceeds to STEP 215. Then, from this point on, it performs the same operations as STEP 19 to STEP 21 shown in FIG. 9 as the second embodiment.

That is, when proceeding to STEP 215, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) first transmits mismatch information indicating that the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information) does not exist in the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer from the mobile terminal 30 and that there is no advance order information for the relevant customer to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the biometric authentication information of the customer (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212), and then deletes the biometric authentication information of the customer (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 and stored therein (STEP 215).

When the tabletop terminal 20, which is the sender of the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212), receives the mismatch information sent from the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) (STEP 216), it displays the received mismatch information (i.e., mismatch information indicating that biometric authentication information that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent from its own tabletop terminal 20 does not exist in its own store's store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) and that there is no advance order information for the customer) on the display unit 62 (STEP 217). Therefore, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a function as a self-ordering terminal, the customer needs to operate the tabletop terminal 20 to create new order information and send it to the store server 21, or verbally notify the order information to a store clerk in the store.

(Modification of the fourth embodiment)
13 (e.g., the second store server 212 where the relevant customer has entered) is not limited to the above-mentioned operations as in the case of the operations from STEP 13 onwards in the second embodiment, and may, for example, be configured to perform the following operations: That is, at the time of STEP 210, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) may accept, as order information, the advance order information transmitted directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), and transmit the advance order information to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the accepted order information, e.g., the kitchen terminal 54, and instruct the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

That is, in STEP 210, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) performs operations similar to those in STEP 214 described above, and accepts the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via a store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) as order information for the table number where the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed (STEP 210A).

Then, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) stores the received order information (i.e., the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30) in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the order information among the dedicated terminals constituting the store system 25 in the store (e.g., the second store system 252 in the second store), such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

Then, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) performs the same operation as in STEP 210 described above, and transmits the received advance order information, together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information, to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 of its own store (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) (STEP 210).

Then, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that it has received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via another store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) that matches the biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information), and also deletes both the advance order information that it has received and stored from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via another store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) and the biometric authentication information of the customer that it has received from the tabletop terminal 20 (second biometric authentication information).

Then, as an operation specific to the fourth embodiment that differs from the third embodiment, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) notifies each of the store servers 21 (e.g., the first store server 211, the third store server 213, ..., the Nth store server 21N) of all other stores that have the same ordered menu as the store (e.g., the second store) of information indicating that a customer has entered the store whose biometric authentication information matches the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that was sent directly from the mobile terminal 30 or via the store server 21 of another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), and information instructing the deletion of the advance order information and biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) related to the customer stored in each of the store servers 21 of the other stores (e.g., the first store server 211, the third store server 213, ..., the Nth store server 21N) (STEP 211).

The tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store's store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 in the second store) receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information (STEP 212). The tabletop terminal 20 then displays the received advance order information together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information on the display unit 62 and presents it to the customer. The customer confirms that the advance order information displayed on the screen has been accepted as order information.

Therefore, after the operation of STEP 212, there is no need to carry out the two steps of STEP 213 (operation of the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the order information and send it to the store server 21) and STEP 214 (operation of the store server 21 to accept the confirmed order information).

In addition, in this fourth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, in order to prevent information from being leaked to a third party, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information stored in the store server 21 may be received from the mobile terminal 30, stored, and then deleted from the store server 21 when a predetermined time (e.g., one hour) has elapsed as a threshold for the elapsed time.

In the sequence chart shown in FIG. 12, the store server 21 of the store to which the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) are transmitted in advance from the customer's mobile terminal 30 is the store server 21 of the first candidate store to which the customer was originally going to be taken, but the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) may be transmitted from the customer's mobile terminal 30 to the store servers 21 of all stores having the same ordered menu (not only the first store server 211, but also the second store server 212, the third store server 213, ..., the Nth store server 21N). When performing such a transmission operation, the operations of STEP 203 and STEP 204 in FIG. 12 are performed in the store servers 21 of all stores that have the same ordered menu item (first store server 211, second store server 212, third store server 213, ..., Nth store server 21N), so the operation of STEP 205 in FIG. 12 is not necessary.

As described in detail above, the advance order reception system 100B in this fourth embodiment has the same features as the third embodiment, but in addition, in this fourth embodiment, it has the following features:

That is, the store server 21 of the store system 25 installed in the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store system 251) has a means for transmitting the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information received from the mobile terminal 30 via the network 40 to each of the store servers 21 of the store systems 25 installed in all other stores that have the same order menu as the first candidate store (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store system 252, the third store server 213 of the third store system 253, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store system 25N).

Furthermore, each of the store servers 21 of the store systems 25 installed in each store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store system 251, the second store server 212 of the second store system 252, the third store server 213 of the third store system 253, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store system 25N) confirms that the first biometric authentication information received from the store server 21 of the store system 25 installed in the first candidate store matches the second biometric authentication information received from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system 25, or The device further has a means for searching the first biometric authentication information stored in the mobile terminal 30 and, when it is confirmed that the first biometric authentication information of the customer matches the second biometric authentication information received from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system 25, sending a notification to each of the store servers 21 of the store systems 25 installed in all other stores that have the same order menu as its own store, instructing them to delete the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information for that customer that have been received from the mobile terminal 30 directly or via the store servers 21 of other store systems 25.

(Explanation of Effects of the Fourth Embodiment)
As described in detail above, in the fourth embodiment, before a customer arrives at any store that has the order items set in the advance order information as part of its order menu, the advance order information etc. are stored in each of the store servers 21 in the stores that have the same order menu. Therefore, as in the first to third embodiments, after the customer enters any store, there is no need for the customer to operate the mobile terminal 30 that the customer owns, and the customer can receive the products and services from that store that correspond to the confirmed order information.

Furthermore, in this fourth embodiment, the customer's biometric authentication information (the first biometric authentication information and the second biometric authentication information) is temporarily stored in the store server 21 together with the advance order information and is deleted after appropriate processing is performed, so that, as in the second and third embodiments, the risk of personal information such as the customer's biometric authentication information being stolen by a malicious third party can be reduced.

In addition, in this fourth embodiment, when a customer transmits advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 only to the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) of the first candidate store that the customer initially intended to visit, even if the customer visits the wrong store or intentionally visits a store other than the first candidate, the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 can be used to confirm the order information at the visited store, and the store server 21 of the store that the customer actually visits can accept the confirmed order information.

Fifth embodiment of the present invention
Next, a fifth embodiment of the advance order reception system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 14, 15A and 15B. As in the third and fourth embodiments, the fifth embodiment does not have an advance order reception server, and therefore does not have a customer database for registering a customer's biometric authentication information, but instead has a mobile terminal carried by a customer that can communicate with a store server constituting a store system in a store via a network such as the Internet, and the customer's biometric authentication information and advance order information are transmitted from the mobile terminal to the store server, whereby the customer's biometric authentication information and advance order information are temporarily stored in the store server.

However, in the fifth embodiment, as in the fourth embodiment, an example of operation is shown in which a customer can receive a product or service from a store corresponding to the advance order information without any problem even if the customer has not yet decided which store to ultimately visit among multiple stores that have the same order menu, if the customer has changed the store that he or she originally intended to visit, or if the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information are mistakenly transmitted from the mobile terminal in advance to a store other than the store that the customer will visit.

However, in this fifth embodiment, unlike the fourth embodiment, the store server of the first candidate store that the customer originally intended to visit (e.g., the first store server of the first store) receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the customer's mobile terminal, but does not further transfer the received customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information to the store servers of all other stores that have the same order menu.

In other words, in the fifth embodiment, when a store server (e.g., the second store server in the second store) in a store where a customer actually enters does not previously store biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer who entered the store and detects that there is no advance order information associated with the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer, the store server in the second store (e.g., the first store server, the third store server, ..., the Nth store server) of all other stores having the same order menu is inquired as to whether there is advance order information associated with biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer who entered the store.

In the fifth embodiment, for ease of understanding, the store that the customer actually enters and all other stores that the store contacts will be described as restaurants and other food service establishments, as in the first embodiment. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such food service establishments.

(Configuration Example of Fifth Embodiment)
As in the fourth embodiment, the specific system configuration of the advance order reception system according to the present invention is exactly the same as that shown in Fig. 10 for the third embodiment, and the internal configurations of each store system and tabletop terminal are also the same as those shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 for the second embodiment. In the following description, when the store systems 25 and store servers 21 of stores having the same ordered menu are displayed separately for each store, they will be displayed as a first store system 251 and a first store server 211, a second store system 252 and a second store server 212, ..., an Nth store system 25N and an Nth store server 21N, respectively, as shown in Fig. 10 for the third embodiment, corresponding to the first store, the second store, ..., the Nth store.

In the fifth embodiment, in the advance order reception system 100B of FIG. 10, the first candidate store that the customer initially intended to go to (correctly or mistakenly) is, for example, a first store in which a first store system 251 is installed, and the first store server 211 of the first store system 251 receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the mobile terminal 30 via the network 40.

On the other hand, if the store that the customer actually entered is, for example, a second store that has a second store system 252 installed, the second store server 212 of the second store detects that the second store server 212 does not previously store biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer who entered the store, and detects that there is no advance order information associated with the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer. Therefore, the second store server 212 inquires, via the network 40, of each of the other stores that have the same order menu (the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) whether there is biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer who entered the store and whether there is advance order information associated with the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information).

A store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) of a store that has biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent from the store where the customer actually entered (e.g., the second store) among all other stores that have the same ordered menu, and that has advance order information associated with the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), sends the advance order information of the customer to the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) of the store that made the inquiry about the advance order information of the customer via the network 40. Thereafter, the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) that sent the advance order information of the customer deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information of the customer that it had stored.

Therefore, the store server 21 of the store where the customer actually enters (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) can obtain the advance order information of the entered customer from the store server 21 of the store where the inquiry was made (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), and can confirm the order information of the customer based on the obtained advance order information and accept the order information.

(Explanation of an Operation Example of the Fifth Embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in Fig. 10 as the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart of Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a sequence chart for explaining an example of the operation of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in Fig. 10 as the fifth embodiment, and shows an example of the operation from when the store server 21 in a first candidate store that the customer is initially going to (e.g., the first store server 211 in the first store) receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the mobile terminal 30, to when the received customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information are stored.

In other words, FIG. 14 shows an example of the operation of the fifth embodiment of the advance order reception system 100B until the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) of the first candidate store that the customer initially plans to visit stores the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 in the store server 21.

In the sequence chart of FIG. 14, as in the second embodiment, first, before going to a store, a customer launches an application required to use the advance order reception system 100B on the customer's mobile terminal 30, inputs advance order information for a first candidate store (e.g., the first store) that the customer is initially planning to visit, and performs an operation to acquire and store the customer's biometric authentication information as first biometric authentication information (STEP 301). Note that the application required to use the advance order reception system 100B needs to be downloaded and installed in advance on the mobile terminal 30 from a registration site or the like that registers various applications for the advance order reception system 100B. Here, the method of acquiring the customer's biometric authentication information is the same as in the second embodiment.

Next, the mobile terminal 30 transmits the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) via the network 40 to the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) (STEP 302).

When the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) receives the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer (STEP 303), it stores the received advance order information in a format that correlates it with the received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer (STEP 304).

Next, the operation after the advance order information transmitted from the customer's mobile terminal 30 and the biometric authentication information of the customer (first biometric authentication information) are stored in the store server 21 of the first candidate store (for example, the first store server 211 of the first store) by the operation of the sequence chart of FIG. 14 will be described with reference to the sequence charts of FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B. FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B are sequence charts for explaining an example of the operation following the sequence chart of FIG. 14 of the operation as the fifth embodiment of the advance order reception system 100B illustrated in FIG. 10, and show an example of information exchange between the store server 21 (for example, the second store server 212 of the second store) and the tabletop terminal 20 in the store where the customer actually entered. This sequence chart is divided into a first half and a second half, which are respectively drawn in FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B. It is shown that the circled C at the bottom of FIG. 15A is connected to the circled C at the top of FIG. 15B. In other words, the bottom of Figure 15A is connected to the top of Figure 15B, and the two figures, Figure 15A and Figure 15B, represent one sequence chart. Therefore, in the following, Figure 15A and Figure 15B will be considered as one figure, and both figures will be referred to as Figure 15.

Here, the sequence chart in FIG. 15 is different from the sequence chart in FIG. 11 as an operation example of the third embodiment and the sequence chart in FIG. 13 as the fourth embodiment. In the case where the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) of a store where a customer actually enters has not received biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer from the mobile terminal 30 in advance, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) of the store performs an operation of inquiring each of the store servers 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) of all other stores that have the same order menu as the store in question about the presence or absence of advance order information associated with biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer.

Then, as a result of the inquiry, advance order information associated with the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer is obtained from the store server 21 of another store that has biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), and order information is confirmed based on the acquired advance order information of the customer, and FIG. 15 shows an example sequence of information exchange up to the store server 21 accepting the confirmed order information.

In other words, in the sequence chart of FIG. 15, when biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of a customer who has entered a store (e.g. the second store) has not been received in advance from the customer's mobile terminal 30, an inquiry is made to each of the store servers 21 (e.g. the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) of all other stores that have the same order menu as the store (e.g. the second store), and the advance order information of the customer is obtained and accepted as order information (STEP 313 to STEP 318), with the exception of these operations being exactly the same as those in the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11 as the third embodiment. That is, STEP 305 to STEP 312 in the sequence chart of FIG. 15 perform the same operations as STEP 105 to STEP 112 in the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11, and STEP 319 to STEP 321 in the sequence chart of FIG. 15 perform the same operations as STEP 113 to STEP 115 in the sequence chart shown in FIG. 11.

In the sequence chart of FIG. 15, after a customer transmits advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), the customer determines the desired store, enters the store (e.g., the second store), and sits at a table in the store. The customer operates the tabletop terminal 20 installed on the table to cause the tabletop terminal 20 to acquire the customer's biometric authentication information as second biometric authentication information (STEP 305). The tabletop terminal 20 transmits the acquired customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 constituting the store system 25 in the store (e.g., the second store server 212 constituting the second store system 252 in the second store) in a format with an identification code (or table number) that uniquely identifies the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 306).

When the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) from the tabletop terminal 20 (STEP 307), it stores the received customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) in association with the identification code (or table number) of the tabletop terminal 20 indicating the sender. Furthermore, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) searches for the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that was received and stored together with the advance order information from the mobile terminal 30, and checks whether biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is stored (STEP 308).

If there is any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (YES in STEP 309), this does not mean that the customer has entered a store (e.g., the second store) that has not received the customer's advance order information and biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 in advance as described above, but rather that the customer has entered a store (e.g., the first store) that has received the advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the customer's mobile terminal 30 in advance as the first candidate store that the customer originally intended to visit, proceed to STEP 309.

When proceeding to STEP 309, the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) retrieves the advance order information stored in association with the matching customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information), and transmits the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the information to its own store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) (STEP 309).

The store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) then deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 from among the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored, and also deletes both the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored and the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20. Note that the deletion of the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored is not limited to this time, and may be performed at the latest by the time the store server 21 accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

When the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) (STEP 310), it displays the received advance order information on the display unit 62. If the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the screen and decides that it is OK to place the order according to the order details of the advance order information, the customer presses the decision button displayed on the screen, causing the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the advance order information as the final order information for the store.

In this fifth embodiment, as in the second to fourth embodiments, the customer can operate the input unit 63 of the tabletop terminal 20 to change the order contents of the pre-order information displayed on the screen or delete some of the items to be ordered, and can confirm the screen display of the changed pre-order information and press the confirm button. Alternatively, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a function as a self-ordering terminal, the customer can operate the input unit 63 to add further items to be ordered as order information and press the confirm button. Then, when the tabletop terminal 20 has confirmed the order information, it transmits the confirmed order information to the store server 21 (e.g. the first store server 211) (STEP 311).

When the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the received order information, stores it in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the order information is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal, such as the kitchen terminal 54, of the department corresponding to the order content among the dedicated terminals constituting the store system (e.g., the first store system 251) within the store, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information (STEP 312).

On the other hand, in STEP 308, if the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) of the store where the customer entered does not have any biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the mobile terminal 30 that matches the biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 (NO in STEP 308), then as described above, the store (e.g., the second store) is not the first candidate store (e.g., the first store) that the customer originally intended to visit, but is a store (e.g., the second store) that did not receive advance order information in advance from the mobile terminal 30, and so the operation proceeds to STEP 313.

When proceeding to STEP 313, the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) sends the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 in its own store (e.g., in the second store) to each of the store servers 21 of all other stores (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store, the third store server 213 of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) that have the same ordered menu as the store in question, and inquires as to whether matching biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) is present (STEP 313).

Among the store servers 21 of other stores that are the destination of an inquiry from the store server 21 of the store that the customer entered (e.g. the second store server 212 of the second store), the store server 21 of the first candidate other store (e.g. the first store server 211 of the first store) receives and stores the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the mobile terminal 30 owned by the customer in the operation of the sequence chart of Figure 14, and therefore stores biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent by the store server 21 of the store that originated the inquiry (e.g. the second store server 212 of the second store). Therefore, in response to an inquiry from the store server 21 of a store (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store), the store server 21 of the first candidate store extracts advance order information corresponding to the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), and returns it to the store server 21 of the store that originated the inquiry (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store).

Thereafter, the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) deletes the stored biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer and the advance order information together with the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer sent by the store server 21 of the store that originated the inquiry (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store). Note that among the store servers 21 of other stores that are the destination of an inquiry from the store server 21 of the store where the customer has entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store), each store server 21 (the third store server of the third store, ..., the Nth store server 21N of the Nth store) other than the first candidate store (e.g., the first store) does not store biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer sent by the store server 21 of the store that originated the inquiry (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store). Therefore, the server responds to an inquiry from the inquiring store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) that the information does not exist, and deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) sent by the inquiring store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store).

When the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) receives the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) among all the store servers 21 of the other stores to which the inquiry was made (YES in STEP 314), it proceeds to STEP 315.

When proceeding to STEP 315, the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) transmits the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the first candidate store, which is another store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) (STEP 315).

Then, the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) deletes both the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) which is another store, and the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) which was received from the tabletop terminal 20. Note that the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) which is another store is not limited to being deleted at that time, and may be deleted at the latest by the time the store server 21 accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

When the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) (STEP 316), it displays the received advance order information on the display unit 62. If the customer checks the advance order information displayed on the screen and decides that it is OK to place the order according to the order details of the advance order information, the customer presses the decision button displayed on the screen, causing the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the advance order information as the final order information for the store.

Here, the customer can operate the input unit 63 of the tabletop terminal 20 to change the order details of the pre-order information displayed on the screen or delete some of the items to be ordered, and can confirm the screen display of the changed pre-order information and press the confirm button. Alternatively, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a function as a self-ordering terminal, the customer can operate the input unit 63 to add further items to be ordered as order information and press the confirm button. Then, when the tabletop terminal 20 has confirmed the order information, it transmits the confirmed order information to the store server 21 (e.g. the second store server 212) (STEP 317).

When the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the confirmed order information from the tabletop terminal 20, it accepts the received order information, stores it in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table on which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the order information is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal, such as the kitchen terminal 54, of the department corresponding to the order content among the dedicated terminals constituting the store system (e.g., the second store system 252) within the store, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information (STEP 318).

On the other hand, in STEP 314, if the store server 21 of the store where the customer entered (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) receives a response from all other store servers 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) indicating that the store does not exist (NO in STEP 314), it proceeds to STEP 319. Then, from this point on, it performs the same operations as STEP 19 to STEP 21 shown in FIG. 9 as the second embodiment.

That is, when proceeding to STEP 319, first, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) transmits mismatch information indicating that there is no advance order information for the relevant customer to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information), since biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) that matches the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20 is not present in the store server 21 of its own store (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) and is not present in the store servers 21 of any other stores, and then deletes the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) that was received from the tabletop terminal 20 and stored (STEP 319).

When the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) receives the mismatch information transmitted from the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212) (STEP 320), it displays the received mismatch information on the display unit 62 (STEP 321). Therefore, if the tabletop terminal 20 has a self-ordering terminal function, the customer needs to operate the tabletop terminal 20 to create new order information and transmit it to the store server 21, or verbally notify a store clerk of the order information.

(Modification of the fifth embodiment)
15 in the store server 21 is not limited to the above-mentioned operations, as in the case of the operations from STEP 13 onward in the second embodiment, and may be configured to perform the following operations, for example: In other words, at the time of STEP 309, the store server 21 may accept the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30 as order information as is, and transmit the information to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the accepted order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instruct the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

That is, in STEP 309, the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) performs operations similar to those in STEP 312 described above, and accepts the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30 as order information for the table number at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed (STEP 309A).

Then, the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) stores the received order information (i.e., the advance order information received from the mobile terminal 30) in association with a table number that uniquely identifies the table at which the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) is installed, and transmits the order information to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the order information among the dedicated terminals that make up the store system 25 in the store (e.g., the first store system 251 in the first store), such as the kitchen terminal 54, and instructs the cooking to be performed according to the order content of the order information.

Then, the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) performs the same operation as in STEP 309 described above, and transmits the received advance order information, together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information, to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) (STEP 309).

The store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211) then deletes the biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) of the customer that it has received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored, that matches the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20, and also deletes both the other advance order information that it has received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored, and the biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) of the customer that it has received from the tabletop terminal 20.

When the tabletop terminal 20, which transmitted the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) to its own store's store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store), receives the advance order information transmitted from the store server 21 together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information (STEP 310), it returns an affirmative response indicating understanding to the store server 21. Then, the tabletop terminal 20 displays the received advance order information together with information indicating that it has been accepted as order information on the display unit 62 and presents it to the customer. The customer confirms that the advance order information displayed on the screen has been accepted as order information, and that an instruction has already been given to a dedicated terminal of a department corresponding to the order content of the order information, such as the kitchen terminal 54, to cook the food according to the order content of the order information.

Therefore, after the operation of STEP 310, there is no need to carry out the two steps of STEP 311 (operation of the tabletop terminal 20 to confirm the order information and send it to its own store server 21) and STEP 312 (operation of the store server 21 to accept the confirmed order information).

It goes without saying that the operations from STEP 315 to STEP 318 in the store server 21 in the sequence chart shown in FIG. 15 may be modified to perform the same operations as described above as a modified example of the operations from STEP 309 to STEP 312. However, the modified example of the operations from STEP 315 to STEP 318 is a modified example of the operations in the case of a store server 21 of another store (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) different from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) that has received the advance order information and the first biometric authentication information in advance from the mobile terminal 30. Therefore, in the operation of transmitting the advance order information to the tabletop terminal 20 in STEP 315, the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) performs an operation of deleting both the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store) which is another store, and the customer's biometric authentication information (second biometric authentication information) received from the tabletop terminal 20. However, the deletion of the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the first candidate store (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) which is another store is not limited to this time, and may be performed at the latest by the time the store server 21 (e.g., the second store server 212 of the second store) accepts the order information from the tabletop terminal 20.

Also, in this fifth embodiment, as in the second embodiment, in order to prevent information from being leaked to a third party, the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) and advance order information stored in the store server 21 (for example, the first store server 211 of the first store, which is the first candidate store) may be received from the mobile terminal 30, stored, and then deleted from the store server 21 when a predetermined time (for example, one hour) has elapsed as a threshold for the elapsed time.

As described in detail above, the advance order reception system 100B in this fifth embodiment has the same features as the third embodiment, but in addition, in this fifth embodiment, it has the following features:

That is, when the store server 21 of the store system 25 receives the second biometric authentication information of a customer from the tabletop terminal 20 of its own store system 25, it searches the stored first biometric authentication information, and if it confirms that there is no first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information, it has a means for transmitting the second biometric authentication information received from the tabletop terminal 20 for the customer via the network 40 to each of the store servers 21 of the store systems 25 installed in all other stores that have the same order menu as its own store, inquiring whether or not they have stored first biometric authentication information that matches the second biometric authentication information, and if they have stored first biometric authentication information that matches the second biometric authentication information, requesting that they transmit the advance order information stored in association with the first biometric authentication information.

In such a case, when the store server 21 of the store system 25 receives a notification inquiring whether or not there exists first biometric authentication information that matches the second biometric authentication information transmitted from the store server 21 of the store system 25 in any other store that has the same order menu as its own store, the store server 21 searches the first biometric authentication information received from the mobile terminal 30 and stored, and if it confirms that there exists first biometric authentication information of a customer that matches the second biometric authentication information transmitted from the store server 21 of the store system 25 in the other store, it also has a means for transmitting advance order information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the store server 21 of the store system 25 in the other store that transmitted the notification, and then deleting the second biometric authentication information of the customer received from the store server 21 of the store system 25 in the other store, and the first biometric authentication information and the advance order information stored for the customer.

Furthermore, the store server 21 of the store system 25 transmits advance order information received from the store server 21 of the store system 25 in any other store that has the same order menu as its own store to the tabletop terminal 20 that transmitted the second biometric authentication information, and then deletes the second biometric authentication information of the customer received from the tabletop terminal 20 and the advance order information received from the store server 21 of the store system 25 in the other store.

(Explanation of Effects of Fifth Embodiment)
As described in detail above, in the fifth embodiment, a customer operates his/her mobile terminal 30 to transmit order information as advance order information to a first candidate store that the customer originally intended to go to before arriving at any store that has the order items set in the advance order information as part of its order menu. Thereafter, even if the customer enters any store that has the order items in the advance order information as part of its order menu, the store server 21 of that store can transfer the advance order information transmitted in advance from the store server 21 of the first candidate store to obtain it. Therefore, as in the first to fourth embodiments, after the customer enters any store, there is no need for the customer to operate his/her mobile terminal 30 at all, and the customer can receive the products and services of that store that correspond to the confirmed order information.

Furthermore, in this fifth embodiment, the customer's biometric authentication information (the first biometric authentication information and the second biometric authentication information) is temporarily stored in the store server 21 together with the advance order information and deleted after appropriate processing is performed, so that, as in the second to fourth embodiments, the risk of personal information such as the customer's biometric authentication information being stolen by a malicious third party can be reduced.

In addition, in the fifth embodiment, when a customer transmits advance order information and the customer's biometric authentication information (first biometric authentication information) from the mobile terminal 30 only to the store server 21 (e.g., the first store server 211 of the first store) of the first candidate store that the customer initially intended to visit, even if the customer visits the wrong store or visits a store other than the first candidate, the order information can be confirmed at the visited store using the advance order information transmitted from the mobile terminal 30, as in the fourth embodiment, and the store server 21 of the store where the customer enters can accept the confirmed order information.

In any of the second to fifth embodiments, the tabletop terminal 20 in each store system 25 may be configured not only to have a biometric authentication information acquisition unit that acquires one type of biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information), but also to have a biometric authentication information acquisition unit that can acquire two or more types of biometric authentication information (e.g., facial authentication information and fingerprint authentication information, etc.) to enable support for two or more types of biometric authentication methods.

The above describes the configuration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, please note that such an embodiment is merely an example of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will easily understand that various modifications and alterations are possible according to specific applications without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Advance order reception server 10A Advance order reception server 10a Advance order reception application for server 11 Customer database 11a Customer ID field 11b Face photo information field 11c Advance order information field 20 Tabletop terminal 20a Face photography and order confirmation application for tabletop terminal 21 Store server 23 Dedicated terminal 25 Store system 28 Table 29 Store 30 Mobile terminal 30a Advance order transmission application for mobile terminal 40 Network 52 Order terminal 53 POS (Point Of Sales) terminal 54 Kitchen terminal 61 Control unit 61A Memory unit 62 Display unit 63 Input unit 64 Communication unit 65 Biometric authentication information acquisition unit 100 Advance order reception system 100A Advance order reception system 100B Advance order reception system 201 First tabletop terminal 202 Second tabletop terminal 20K Kth tabletop terminal 211 Store server 212 Store server 21 (N-1) Store server 21N Store server 251 First store system 252 Second store system 25(N-1) (N-1) store system 25N Nth store system 25N

Claims (9)

a means for storing the received reservation information and the customer's first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a means for receiving second biometric authentication information of a customer from a first in-store terminal, searching for stored first biometric authentication information, and if it is confirmed that first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information exists, transmitting the reservation information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the first in-store terminal, and displaying a confirmation screen on the first in-store terminal to allow the customer to confirm whether or not there has been a change in the reservation information;
and when the customer inputs information indicating that there is a change to the reservation information in response to the confirmation screen from the first in-store terminal, transferring the input information to a second in-store terminal as confirmed reservation information. The information processing device includes:
a means for generating a customer ID that uniquely identifies the customer when the first biometric authentication information is received from a customer terminal, returning the customer ID to the customer terminal, and storing the first biometric authentication information and the generated customer ID in advance in association with each other;
a means for, when receiving the reservation information with the customer ID attached thereto from the customer terminal, searching based on the received customer ID, and storing the received reservation information in a format in which the received reservation information is further associated with the first biometric authentication information stored in association with the same customer ID as the customer ID,
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The information processing device includes:
a means for searching for stored first biometric authentication information when the second biometric authentication information is received from the first in-store terminal, and if it is not possible to confirm that there is first biometric authentication information of a customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information, inquiring of another information processing device via a network as to whether or not there is first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the second biometric authentication information;
means for transmitting the received reservation information to the first in-store terminal and displaying the reservation information on a screen when the other information processing device returns reservation information corresponding to the first biometric authentication information of the customer that matches the second biometric authentication information in response to an inquiry to the information processing device,
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The information processing device includes:
and a means for deleting the second biometric authentication information, the first biometric authentication information, and the reservation information after transmitting the reservation information to the first in-store terminal.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The information processing device includes:
a means for deleting the first biometric authentication information and the reservation information when a predetermined time, which is a threshold time for elapsed, has elapsed after the first biometric authentication information and the reservation information are received and stored,
The information processing device according to claim 1 . the first biometric authentication information and the second biometric authentication information of the customer are face photo information of the customer;
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The information processing device includes:
a means for receiving the second biometric authentication information from the first in-store terminal, searching for stored first biometric authentication information, and if it is not possible to confirm that there is first biometric authentication information of a customer that matches the received second biometric authentication information, sending discrepancy information to the first in-store terminal indicating that the reservation information has not been stored, and displaying the discrepancy information on a screen of the first in-store terminal;
means for transferring, when the customer inputs order information from the first in-store terminal in response to the screen on which the discrepancy information is displayed, the input order information to a second in-store terminal;
The information processing device according to claim 1 . storing the received reservation information and the customer's first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a step of receiving second biometric authentication information of a customer from a first in-store terminal, searching for stored first biometric authentication information, and if it is confirmed that first biometric authentication information of the customer matching the received second biometric authentication information exists, transmitting the reservation information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the first in-store terminal, and displaying a confirmation screen on the first in-store terminal to allow the customer to confirm whether or not there has been a change in the reservation information;
and when the customer inputs information indicating that there has been a change to the reservation information in response to the confirmation screen from the first in-store terminal, transferring the input information to a second in-store terminal as confirmed reservation information. storing the received reservation information and the customer's first biometric authentication information in association with each other;
a step of receiving second biometric authentication information of a customer from a first in-store terminal, searching for stored first biometric authentication information, and if it is confirmed that first biometric authentication information of the customer matching the received second biometric authentication information exists, transmitting the reservation information stored in association with the matching first biometric authentication information to the first in-store terminal, and displaying a confirmation screen on the first in-store terminal to allow the customer to confirm whether or not there has been a change in the reservation information;
and when the customer inputs information indicating that there has been a change to the reservation information in response to the confirmation screen from the first in-store terminal, transferring the input information to a second in-store terminal as confirmed reservation information.

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