Patent Application
20240311814
This patent application relates to event management and more particularly to leveraging wireless devices to increase customer engagement, increase and improve customer orientated service provisioning and automate aspects of service provisioning.
Retailing can be viewed as covering a wide range of activities from providing products and services to customers, to managing the staff and infrastructure for provision products and services, through to customer feedback, social media and data analytics.
Physical retailers can vary from a pop-up food stall with a few customers through single or multi-location bricks-and-mortar environments to sports arenas handing thousands or tens of thousands of customers per event. Whilst a variety of software applications exist to target many aspects of retailing such as payroll, invoicing, payment processing for retailers at any scale those relating to retail logistics, supply chain management etc. tend to be directed to multi-location environments. Further, many retailers only directly manage part of their activities relying on external partners to manage the remaining elements. These external services require that the retailer offset these additional costs either into increased pricing or reduced margins.
However, there are a massive number of retailers where small margins and/or customer pricing expectations limit the retailers ability to pass on these costs and for whom all of these additional external relationships cost time and effort to manage. Further, for a retailer operating in a regular mode periodically scaling their operations to host events can be a burden that acts as a barrier to them. For example, wedding venues have become a dedicated market segment due to their requirements of catering to large numbers of guests regularly within narrow time frames which are very different to those of a restaurant for example which may serve as many guests but over the course of a day or couple of days.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide retailers with a software based system that allowed them to manage both their regular day to day customer side operations (what we will refer to as guest management) but also handle high or higher volume guest management operations allow the retailer to manage both in a single coherent manner. Further, within this specification we will refer to a guest rather than a customer.
Further, retailer reputation or what was once called “word of mouth” is critical for many retailers. Whilst the traditional oral recommendations or cautionary tales still occur these have been augmented by social media on multiple portable electronic devices where a single customer comment can be read by tens, hundreds, thousands of potential customers and through the persistence of digital footprints exist forever essentially where rather than being lost they become old or just part of the overall deluge of comments/reviews etc. Further, these social media posts are essentially instantaneous and can be made real time during the guest's experience of the retailers guest management activities.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide retailers with an ability to leverage these portable electronic devices to provide the guests with increased interaction within the guest management service and/or product provisioning as well as integrating the guest management chain into a single application. Accordingly, reflecting the real time instantaneous power of guest messaging the embodiments of the invention provide real time instantaneous interactions for the guest and retailer. In addition to seeking to increase guest approval either leading to improved ratings, referrals or repeat business the application within other aspects of embodiments of the invention seeks to expedite guest-retailer interactions and lower the operating costs of the retailer.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
It is an object of the present invention to mitigate limitations within the prior art relating to event management and more particularly to leveraging wireless devices to increase customer engagement, increase and improve customer orientated service provisioning and automate aspects of service provisioning.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention there is provided a method comprising providing a user with a unique one time machine readable code (code) with respect to an order for
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
The present invention is directed to event management and more particularly to leveraging wireless devices to increase customer engagement, increase and improve customer orientated service provisioning and automate aspects of service provisioning.
The ensuing description provides representative embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an embodiment or embodiments of the invention. It being understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, an embodiment is an example or implementation of the inventions and not the sole implementation. Various appearances of “one embodiment,” “an embodiment” or “some embodiments” do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiments. Although various features of the invention may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the invention may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the invention can also be implemented in a single embodiment or any combination of embodiments.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “some embodiments” or “other embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the inventions. The phraseology and terminology employed herein is not to be construed as limiting but is for descriptive purpose only. It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to “a” or “an” element, such reference is not to be construed as there being only one of that element. It is to be understood that where the specification states that a component feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can” or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included.
Reference to terms such as “left”, “right”, “top”, “bottom”, “front” and “back” are intended for use in respect to the orientation of the particular feature, structure, or element within the figures depicting embodiments of the invention. It would be evident that such directional terminology with respect to the actual use of a device has no specific meaning as the device can be employed in a multiplicity of orientations by the user or users.
Reference to terms “including”, “comprising”, “consisting” and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components, features, steps, integers or groups thereof and that the terms are not to be construed as specifying components, features, steps or integers. Likewise, the phrase “consisting essentially of”, and grammatical variants thereof, when used herein is not to be construed as excluding additional components, steps, features integers or groups thereof but rather that the additional features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, device or method. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.
A “wireless standard” as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refer to, but is not limited to, a standard for transmitting signals and/or data through electromagnetic radiation which may be optical, radio-frequency (RF) or microwave although typically RF wireless systems and techniques dominate. A wireless standard may be defined globally, nationally, or specific to an equipment manufacturer or set of equipment manufacturers. Dominant wireless standards at present include, but are not limited to IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, IMT-1000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband and WiMAX. Some standards may be a conglomeration of sub-standards such as IEEE 802.11 which may refer to, but is not limited to, IEEE 802.1a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, or IEEE 802.11n as well as others under the IEEE 802.11 umbrella.
A “wired standard” as used herein and throughout this disclosure, generally refer to, but is not limited to, a standard for transmitting signals and/or data through an electrical cable discretely or in combination with another signal. Such wired standards may include, but are not limited to, digital subscriber loop (DSL), Dial-Up (exploiting the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP)), Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS), Ethernet, Gigabit home networking (G.hn), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), and Power Line Communication (PLC, wherein data is overlaid to AC/DC power supply). In some embodiments a “wired standard” may refer to, but is not limited to, exploiting an optical cable and optical interfaces such as within Passive Optical Networks (PONs) for example.
A “user” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, an individual or group of individuals. This includes, but is not limited to, private individuals, employees of organizations and/or enterprises, members of community organizations, members of charity organizations, men and women. In its broadest sense the user may further include, but not be limited to, software systems, mechanical systems, robotic systems, android systems, etc. that may be characterised by an ability to exploit one or more embodiments of the invention. A user may also be associated through one or more accounts and/or profiles with one or more of a service provider, third party provider, enterprise, social network, social media etc. via a dashboard, web service, website, software plug-in, software application, and graphical user interface.
A “guest” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a user who is provided with one or more products and/or services during an event. Whilst the guest may be providing a financial instrument with respect to payment for the one or more products and/or services during the event it would be evident to one of skill in the art that the embodiments of the invention presented and described do not rely upon a financial transaction or financial instrument to achieve the provisioning of the one or more products and/or services during an event.
An “event” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, something which happens or takes place. This may include, but not be limited to, a ceremony, a convention, a meeting, a festival, a concert, a happening, a media event, a party, a sporting event, a scheduled activity, and an unscheduled activity.
A “sensor” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a transducer providing an electrical output generated in dependence upon a magnitude of a measure and selected from the group comprising, but is not limited to, environmental sensors, medical sensors, biological sensors, chemical sensors, ambient environment sensors, position sensors, motion sensors, thermal sensors, infrared sensors, visible sensors, RFID sensors, and medical testing and diagnosis devices.
A “portable electronic device” (PED) as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refers to a wireless device used for communications and other applications that requires a battery or other independent form of energy for power. This includes devices, but is not limited to, such as a cellular telephone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computer, pager, portable multimedia player, portable gaming console, laptop computer, tablet computer, a wearable device and an electronic reader.
A “fixed electronic device” (FED) as used herein and throughout this disclosure, refers to a wireless and/or wired device used for communications and other applications that requires connection to a fixed interface to obtain power. This includes, but is not limited to, a laptop computer, a personal computer, a computer server, a kiosk, a gaming console, a digital set-top box, an analog set-top box, an Internet enabled appliance, an Internet enabled television, and a multimedia player.
A “server” as used herein, and throughout this disclosure, refers to one or more physical computers co-located and/or geographically distributed running one or more services as a host to users of other computers, PEDs, FEDs, etc. to serve the client needs of these other users. This includes, but is not limited to, a database server, file server, mail server, print server, web server, gaming server, or virtual environment server.
An “application” (commonly referred to as an “app”) as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a “software application”, an element of a “software suite”, a computer program designed to allow an individual to perform an activity, a computer program designed to allow an electronic device to perform an activity, and a computer program designed to communicate with local and/or remote electronic devices. An application thus differs from an operating system (which runs a computer), a utility (which performs maintenance or general-purpose chores), and a programming tools (with which computer programs are created). Generally, within the following description with respect to embodiments of the invention an application is generally presented in respect of software permanently and/or temporarily installed upon a PED and/or FED.
An “enterprise” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a provider of a service and/or a product to a user, customer, or consumer. This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, a market, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, a charity, a utility, and a service provider. Such enterprises may be directly owned and controlled by a company or may be owned and operated by a franchisee under the direction and management of a franchiser.
A “service provider” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a third party provider of a service and/or a product to an enterprise and/or individual and/or group of individuals and/or a device comprising a microprocessor. This includes, but is not limited to, a retail outlet, a store, a market, an online marketplace, a manufacturer, an online retailer, a utility, an own brand provider, and a service provider wherein the service and/or product is at least one of marketed, sold, offered, and distributed by the enterprise solely or in addition to the service provider.
A “third party” or “third party provider” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a so-called “arm's length” provider of a service and/or a product to an enterprise and/or individual and/or group of individuals and/or a device comprising a microprocessor wherein the consumer and/or customer engages the third party but the actual service and/or product that they are interested in and/or purchase and/or receive is provided through an enterprise and/or service provider.
“Biometric” information as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, data relating to a user characterised by data relating to a subset of conditions including, but not limited to, their environment, medical condition, biological condition, physiological condition, chemical condition, ambient environment condition, position condition, neurological condition, drug condition, and one or more specific aspects of one or more of these said conditions. Accordingly, such biometric information may include, but not be limited, blood oxygenation, blood pressure, blood flow rate, heart rate, temperate, fluidic pH, viscosity, particulate content, solids content, altitude, vibration, motion, perspiration, EEG, ECG, energy level, etc. In addition, biometric information may include data relating to physiological characteristics related to the shape and/or condition of the body wherein examples may include, but are not limited to, fingerprint, facial geometry, baldness, DNA, hand geometry, odour, and scent. Biometric information may also include data relating to behavioral characteristics, including but not limited to, typing rhythm, gait, and voice.
“User information” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, user behavior information and/or user profile information. It may also include a user's biometric information, an estimation of the user's biometric information, or a projection/prediction of a user's biometric information derived from current and/or historical biometric information.
A “wearable device” or “wearable sensor” relates to miniature electronic devices that are worn by the user including those under, within, with or on top of clothing and are part of a broader general class of wearable technology which includes “wearable computers” which in contrast are directed to general or special purpose information technologies and media development. Such wearable devices and/or wearable sensors may include, but not be limited to, smartphones, smart watches, e-textiles, smart shirts, activity trackers, smart glasses, environmental sensors, medical sensors, biological sensors, physiological sensors, chemical sensors, ambient environment sensors, position sensors, neurological sensors, drug delivery systems, medical testing and diagnosis devices, and motion sensors.
“Electronic content” (also referred to as “content” or “digital content”) as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, any type of content that exists in the form of digital data as stored, transmitted, received and/or converted wherein one or more of these steps may be analog although generally these steps will be digital. Forms of digital content include, but are not limited to, information that is digitally broadcast, streamed or contained in discrete files. Viewed narrowly, types of digital content include popular media types such as MP3, JPG, AVI, TIFF, AAC, TXT, RTF, HTML, XHTML, PDF, XLS, SVG, WMA, MP4, FLV, and PPT, for example, as well as others, see for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_file_formats. Within a broader approach digital content mat include any type of digital information, e.g. digitally updated weather forecast, a GPS map, an eBook, a photograph, a video, a Vine™, a blog posting, a Facebook™ posting, a Twitter™ tweet, online TV, etc. The digital content may be any digital data that is at least one of generated, selected, created, modified, and transmitted in response to a user request, said request may be a query, a search, a trigger, an alarm, and a message for example.
A “profile” as used herein, and throughout this disclosure, refers to a computer and/or microprocessor readable data file comprising data relating to settings and/or limits of an adult device. Such profiles may be established by a manufacturer/supplier/provider of a device, service, etc. or they may be established by a user through a user interface for a device, a service or a PED/FED in communication with a device, another device, a server or a service provider etc.
A “computer file” (commonly known as a file) as used herein, and throughout this disclosure, refers to a computer resource for recording data discretely in a computer storage device, this data being electronic content. A file may be defined by one of different types of computer files, designed for different purposes. A file may be designed to store electronic content such as a written message, a video, a computer program, or a wide variety of other kinds of data. Some types of files can store several types of information at once. A file can be opened, read, modified, copied, and closed with one or more software applications an arbitrary number of times. Typically, files are organized in a file system which can be used on numerous different types of storage device exploiting different kinds of media which keeps track of where the files are located on the storage device(s) and enables user access. The format of a file is defined by its content since a file is solely a container for data, although, on some platforms the format is usually indicated by its filename extension, specifying the rules for how the bytes must be organized and interpreted meaningfully. For example, the bytes of a plain text file are associated with either ASCII or UTF-8 characters, while the bytes of image, video, and audio files are interpreted otherwise. Some file types also allocate a few bytes for metadata, which allows a file to carry some basic information about itself.
“Metadata” as used herein, and throughout this disclosure, refers to information stored as data that provides information about other data. Many distinct types of metadata exist, including but not limited to, descriptive metadata, structural metadata, administrative metadata, reference metadata and statistical metadata. Descriptive metadata may describe a resource for purposes such as discovery and identification and may include, but not be limited to, elements such as title, abstract, author, and keywords. Structural metadata relates to containers of data and indicates how compound objects are assembled and may include, but not be limited to, how pages are ordered to form chapters, and typically describes the types, versions, relationships and other characteristics of digital materials. Administrative metadata may provide information employed in managing a resource and may include, but not be limited to, when and how it was created, file type, technical information, and who can access it. Reference metadata may describe the contents and quality of statistical data whereas statistical metadata may also describe processes that collect, process, or produce statistical data. Statistical metadata may also be referred to as process data.
An “artificial intelligence system” (referred to hereafter as artificial intelligence, AI) as used herein, and throughout disclosure, refers to machine intelligence or machine learning in contrast to natural intelligence. An AI may refer to analytical, human inspired, or humanized artificial intelligence. An AI may refer to the use of one or more machine learning algorithms and/or processes. An AI may employ one or more of an artificial network, decision trees, support vector machines, Bayesian networks, and genetic algorithms. An AI may employ a training model or federated learning.
“Machine Learning” (ML) or more specifically machine learning processes as used herein refers to, but is not limited, to programs, algorithms or software tools, which allow a given device or program to learn to adapt its functionality based on information processed by it or by other independent processes. These learning processes are in practice, gathered from the result of said process which produce data and or algorithms that lend themselves to prediction. This prediction process allows ML-capable devices to behave according to guidelines initially established within its own programming but evolved as a result of the ML. A machine learning algorithm or machining learning process as employed by an AI may include, but not be limited to, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, cluster analysis, reinforcement learning, feature learning, sparse dictionary learning, anomaly detection, association rule learning, inductive logic programming.
A “graphical user interface” (GUI) as employed herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, instead of text-based user interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation. The actions in a GUI being usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements that form part of the GUI rendered upon a display of an electronic device such as a PED or FED for example.
An “omnichannel system” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, one or more of a software application, a method and a system providing a centralized guest management experience to a guest from initial event communications and/or registration, through to event specific activities during the event, and post-event activities. Within embodiments of the invention described below such an omnichannel system is described within the context of an Omnichannel Guest Management (OGL) System, Application and Platform (OGL-SAP) where a guest may exploit the application directly and therein the system/platform just as an event venue, event manager etc. may exploit an application (which may be the same application or a different application) to establish settings, rules, content, menus, events, etc. and therein access/interact with the system/platform.
A “machine readable code” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a visual code which presents data in a barcode or Quick Response (QR) code, an encrypted packet of digital data, an encrypted element of digital content, a packet of digital data, or an item of digital content.
A “barcode” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a representation of data as a series of parallel lines with varying the widths and spacings. Such linear or one-dimensional (1D) barcodes can be read by optical scanners or processing of an image acquired with a camera.
A “QR code” as used herein may refer to, but is not limited to, a matrix barcode or two-dimensional (2D) barcode using a pattern of dots, rectangles, hexagons etc. Such 2D barcodes can be read by image processing of an image acquired with a camera.
Whilst the embodiments of the invention are described and depicted with respect to what may be referred to as high volume guest management their principles apply equally to small volume and very high volume guest management.
Referring to
Within the cell associated with first AP 110A the first group of users 100A may employ a variety of PEDs including for example, laptop computer 155, portable gaming console 135, tablet computer 140, smartphone 150, cellular telephone 145 as well as portable multimedia player 130.
Within the cell associated with second AP 110B are the second group of users 100B which may employ a variety of FEDs including for example gaming console 125, personal computer 115 and wireless/Internet enabled television 120 as well as cable modem 105. First and second cellular APs 195A and 195B respectively provide, for example, cellular GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) telephony services as well as 3G and 4G evolved services with enhanced data transport support. Second cellular AP 195B provides coverage in the exemplary embodiment to first and second user groups 100A and 100B. Alternatively the first and second user groups 100A and 100B may be geographically disparate and access the Network 100 through multiple APs, not shown for clarity, distributed geographically by the network operator or operators. First cellular AP 195A as show provides coverage to first user group 100A and environment 170, which comprises second user group 100B as well as first user group 100A. Accordingly, the first and second user groups 100A and 100B may according to their particular communications interfaces communicate to the Network 100 through one or more wireless communications standards such as, for example, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, and IMT-1000. It would be evident to one skilled in the art that many portable and fixed electronic devices may support multiple wireless protocols simultaneously, such that for example a user may employ GSM services such as telephony and SMS and Wi-Fi/WiMAX data transmission, VOIP and Internet access. Accordingly, portable electronic devices within first user group 100A may form associations either through standards such as IEEE 802.15 or Bluetooth as well in an ad-hoc manner.
Also connected to the Network 100 are Social Networks (SOCNETS) 165, first and second service providers 170A and 170B respectively, first and second third party service providers 170C and 170D respectively, and a user (guest) 170E. Also connected to the Network 100 are first and second Guest Event Providers 175A and 175B respectively, first and second organizations 175C and 175D respectively, and a government entity 175E. Also depicted are first and second servers 190A and 190B may host according to embodiments of the inventions multiple services associated with a provider of contact management systems and contact management applications/platforms (OGL-SAPs); a provider of a SOCNET or Social Media (SOME) exploiting OGL-SAP features; a provider of a SOCNET and/or SOME not exploiting OGL-SAP features; a provider of services to PEDS and/or FEDS; a provider of one or more aspects of wired and/or wireless communications; an Guest Event Provider 160 such as Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exploiting OGL-SAP features; license databases; content databases; image databases; content libraries; customer databases; websites; and software applications for download to or access by FEDs and/or PEDs exploiting and/or hosting OGL-SAP features. First and second primary content servers 190A and 190B may also host for example other Internet services such as a search engine, financial services, third party applications and other Internet based services.
Also depicted in
Accordingly, a user/guest may exploit a PED and/or FED within a Guest Event Provider 160, for example, and access one of the first or second primary content servers 190A and 190B respectively to perform an operation such as accessing/downloading an application which provides OGL-SAP features according to embodiments of the invention; execute an application already installed providing OGL-SAP features; execute a web based application providing OGL-SAP features; or access content. Similarly, a guest may undertake such actions or others exploiting embodiments of the invention exploiting a PED or FED within first and second user groups 100A and 100B respectively via one of first and second cellular APs 195A and 195B respectively and first Wi-Fi nodes 110A. It would also be evident that a guest may, via exploiting Network 100 communicate via telephone, fax, email, SMS, social media, etc.
Now referring to
The Electronic Device 204 includes one or more processors 210 and a memory 212 coupled to processor(s) 210. AP 206 also includes one or more processors 211 and a memory 213 coupled to processor(s) 210. A non-exhaustive list of examples for any of processors 210 and 211 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instruction set computer (CISC) and the like. Furthermore, any of processors 210 and 211 may be part of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or may be a part of application specific standard products (ASSPs). A non-exhaustive list of examples for memories 212 and 213 includes any combination of the following semiconductor devices such as registers, latches, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory devices, non-volatile random access memory devices (NVRAM), SDRAM, DRAM, double data rate (DDR) memory devices, SRAM, universal serial bus (USB) removable memory, and the like.
Electronic Device 204 may include an audio input element 214, for example a microphone, and an audio output element 216, for example, a speaker, coupled to any of processors 210. Electronic Device 204 may include a video input element 218, for example, a video camera or camera, and a video output element 220, for example an LCD display, coupled to any of processors 210. Electronic Device 204 also includes a keyboard 215 and touchpad 217 which may for example be a physical keyboard and touchpad allowing the user to enter content or select functions within one of more applications 222. Alternatively, the keyboard 215 and touchpad 217 may be predetermined regions of a touch sensitive element forming part of the display within the Electronic Device 204. The one or more applications 222 that are typically stored in memory 212 and are executable by any combination of processors 210. Electronic Device 204 also includes accelerometer 260 providing three-dimensional motion input to the process 210 and GPS 262 which provides geographical location information to processor 210.
Electronic Device 204 includes a protocol stack 224 and AP 206 includes a communication stack 225. Within system 200 protocol stack 224 is shown as IEEE 802.11 protocol stack but alternatively may exploit other protocol stacks such as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multimedia protocol stack for example. Likewise, AP stack 225 exploits a protocol stack but is not expanded for clarity. Elements of protocol stack 224 and AP stack 225 may be implemented in any combination of software, firmware and/or hardware. Protocol stack 224 includes an IEEE 802.11-compatible PHY module 226 that is coupled to one or more Front-End Tx/Rx & Antenna 228, an IEEE 802.11-compatible MAC module 230 coupled to an IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module 232. Protocol stack 224 includes a network layer IP module 234, a transport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module 236 and a transport layer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module 238.
Protocol stack 224 also includes a session layer Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module 240, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module 242, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module 244 and a Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module 246. Protocol stack 224 includes a presentation layer media negotiation module 248, a call control module 250, one or more audio codecs 252 and one or more video codecs 254. Applications 222 may be able to create maintain and/or terminate communication sessions with any of devices 207 by way of AP 206. Typically, applications 222 may activate any of the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation and call control modules for that purpose. Typically, information may propagate from the SAP, SIP, RTSP, media negotiation and call control modules to PHY module 226 through TCP module 238, IP module 234, LLC module 232 and MAC module 230.
It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that elements of the Electronic Device 204 may also be implemented within the AP 206 including but not limited to one or more elements of the protocol stack 224, including for example an IEEE 802.11-compatible PHY module, an IEEE 802.11-compatible MAC module, and an IEEE 802.2-compatible LLC module 232. The AP 206 may additionally include a network layer IP module, a transport layer User Datagram Protocol (UDP) module and a transport layer Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) module as well as a session layer Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) module, a Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) module, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module and a Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) module, media negotiation module, and a call control module. Portable and fixed electronic devices represented by Electronic Device 204 may include one or more additional wireless or wired interfaces in addition to the depicted IEEE 802.11 interface which may be selected from the group comprising IEEE 802.15, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, UMTS, GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GPRS, ITU-R 5.138, ITU-R 5.150, ITU-R 5.280, IMT-1000, DSL, Dial-Up, DOCSIS, Ethernet, G.hn, ISDN, MoCA, PON, and Power line communication (PLC).
Also depicted in
Accordingly,
Optionally, rather than wired and/or wireless communication interfaces devices may exploit other communication interfaces such as optical communication interfaces and/or satellite communications interfaces. Optical communications interfaces may support Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, SONET, Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) etc.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention facilitates the capture of customer data from every guest registered with the OGL-SAP allowing for the compilation of a more detailed guest profile (profile) with which to enhance service provisioning within the OGL-SAP.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention facilitates the purchasing of products and/or services during an event by a guest in real time without staff intervention and/or requiring that the guest be at a specific location within the event.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention facilitates purchasing of goods and/or services by leveraging biometric authentication upon the guest's PED and/or multi-factor authentication can remove the requirements and/or potential security issues with respect to financial instruments such as credit cards and debit cards that exploit “tap” interfaces, e.g. near-field wireless communications.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention facilitates exploitation of the OGL-SAP by an event provider for all events so that it can migrate existing retail functions to the OGL-SAP and handle special events etc.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can mitigate or reduce issues for an event provider including, but not limited to,
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can allow an event provider to provide customized menus to guests, guest specific marketing, guest specific promotions.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can enable real time contact with customer through single portal rather than multiple software applications, verbal instructions, etc.
With respect to the event producer and guest an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention provides for managing that all customers are guests and are all very unique, with each guest having their own very specific wants and needs. The OGL-SAP provides for each customer to establish and maintain their own unique identity when visiting an event venue and feel like they got exactly what they came for. Guests experience a heightened level of service as messaging is direct to them without delays through staff etc. and can be modified based upon the guest's profile within an overall OGL-SAP itself and/or as associated with a specific event or event venue for example.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can allow event venue owners and/or event managers to provide high quality service in a fast and efficient manner. Everything a customer needs to know about the event will be in the palm of their hands, giving them the feeling of complete control during their time within the event. Further, enhanced customization and integration to third party services and/or applications allows for improved customer engagement, knowledge and satisfaction. By leveraging the guest's PED an OGL-SAP places a highly effective powerful event centric sales tool into the hands of their customers. Further, the OGL-SAP can leverage the guest's PED to trigger actions and activities.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can also allow improved efficiency to event staff as routine customer activities are offloaded allowing the event front of house staff to process more orders with improved accuracy meaning increased business, fewer servers or both.
An OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention can also increase business efficacy while diminishing operating costs as previous activities requiring higher skill labour or where higher skilled labour was employed in appropriately to be reduced or eliminated by reducing the requirements to anyone with the appropriate certification/skills. For example, in Ontario the provisioning of food/drink requires that the employee has a SmartServe certificate. Further, processing delays as servers acquire orders, enter them, make errors, forget etc. are removed and the customer gets exactly what they ordered, right or wrong. Further, an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention provides improved communications within the event between different groups of staff as the kitchen orders are updated immediately with the customer's order and variations/amendments accepted within either a predetermined period of time or the customer being advised that their order has been started, finished etc.
It would be evident to one of skill in the art that through an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention guests can visit an establishment and achieve a higher level of service generally. For the vast majority of event venues their cost structures, margins etc. are such that staff are handling multiple functions, supporting potentially large numbers of guests concurrently and being bombarded with questions and information. Accordingly, an OGL-SAP reduces human error and miscommunication which often leads to unsatisfied customers even when the staff are trying their hardest. This dissatisfaction leads to poor online reviews, loss of potential repeat business or unknowingly building a bad reputation. Accordingly, an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention reduces these issues as control, or the prime point of guest interaction, is the guest themselves with their PED. Staff are not required to manage concurrently multiple disparate tasks, worry that they missed something or misunderstood the guest, as the guest generates their order and receives what they ordered every single time. Whilst errors in completing orders may arise the incorrect ordering is now solely at the guest without cause for argument.
Further, an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention removes the requirements for the event venue and the event staff to handle cash, credit cards, tokens, tabs, etc. These are all fully managed through the OGL-SAP itself. Staff no longer can manipulate receipts or bills.
Further, an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention provides the ability for an event venue or event manager to learn, in real time, about the buying patterns and behaviors of their guests. This can allow for modification of menus, adjustments in options presented to users, automated updating of orders from suppliers, and presentation of limited quantities etc. so that a guest knows that what they order will be delivered rather than being told a period of time after ordering it is unavailable and now their order is out of step with others in their group. Further, an OGL-SAP according to embodiments of the invention allows a group to all order at the same time but manage their own payment removing the splitting of a bill, the arguments over who had what etc.
Now referring to
As depicted Flow 300 comprises first to eighth steps 310 to 380 respectively, these being:
As an event may facilitate purchase of products and/or services from multiple vendors, e.g. considering the example above this may be those of Overflow as the event venue and “The Northern Pikes”, then the guest can combine multiple items to a single order with single payment, single receipt. Alternatively, within the scenario of a large event such as Ottawa BluesFest with multiple stages, multiple vendors, multiple locations etc. then the guest may have these accessible in a single OGL-SAP as these are onboarded to the event which is then accessed by the user. It would also be evident that as the OGL-SAP can access real time information that the options, menus, products, services, etc. can be updated in real time as well to the user.
Now referring to
For example, using the example above a user of the OGL-SAP may have previously attended Overflow wherein their profile is such that notifications relating to events for Overflow are pushed to them. This profile may as it relates to a brewery/restaurant in Ottawa mean that events relating to other breweries, restaurants may be pushed to them unless the user has initially set a threshold that only want events to match those they have previously registered for, attended etc. A lower threshold set by the user and/or OGL-SAP may result in the other breweries, restaurants etc. being pushed to them until the user defines within the OGL-SAP that do not want to receive notifications for the other event venue, event etc. It would be evident that these thresholds may be established by the user, by the OGL-SAP, established by an AI engine associated with the OGL-SAP, etc. These thresholds may be considered as filters with or without a degree of tolerance. Within other embodiments of the invention an OGL-SAP may be associated with a specific event venue, event, set of event venues, set of events etc.
Within embodiments of the invention the timing between release of the ticket and the event may be different allowing more time for others users to acquire a ticket returned to the ticket pool by a user who subsequently decides not to attend.
Within other embodiments of the invention other users may offer a premium to be notified first of returning tickets having failed to purchase one initially. However, in this instance the excess value paid by the user is distributed to the event venue and/or event rather than to another user who resells the ticket. Within embodiments of the invention the machine readable code may encrypt an identity of the PED the user purchased the ticket upon which is validated when the machine readable code is acquired thereby preventing the ticket being resold and/or passed to another individual.
Optionally, a user may purchase multiple tickets but must provide the electronic addresses of the other users for whom the tickets are intend for wherein the OGL-SAP contacts each advising them that a ticket has been purchased and requiring confirmation through the OGL-SAP application on their PED allowing the machine readable code for the one time use to be generated and encrypted with the identities of their PEDs which are acquired by the OGL-SAP when the other users confirm. Optionally, the one-time code for other users when a user purchases multiples may be provided to the user in a series of emails/SMS messages or other electronic means such that the user forwards a one-time code discretely to one user they wish to invite. In this manner, each other user receives only a single code.
Within embodiments of the invention upon validation of a one-time code upon presentation by a user the OGL-SAP may trigger automatic network authentication of the user to a wireless network or networks associated with the event and/or event venue. This authentication being by provisioning of an access code to the wireless network to the PED which is then used by an OGL-SAP in execution upon the user's PED to associate with the wireless network where the access code is presented during the authentication, such as through a combination of Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP) and IEEE 802.1x thereby allowing the wireless network to automatically generate session-specific and dynamic encryption keys with rotating WEP keys. Accordingly, a user's authentication with the network is only valid for that specific session for that user and/or user's PED.
Optionally, a machine readable code comprising a one-time use access token may be generated and presented to the user's PED when the user's one time code for the ticket is acquired/validated. The benefit of wireless techniques being that they can be performed once the user passes the access point rather than potentially slowing entry through the need to acquire the one-time code for the ticket, validate, generate the one-time access token, render upon a display and have the user acquire. However, within embodiments of the OGL-SAP this may be performed in real time without significant delay to user entry.
Accordingly, to the nature of information being exchanged then it may be appropriate for a Wi-Fi Protected Access protocol such as WPA2 or WPA3 to be employed. For example, if financial transactions are routed through the event network enhanced security may be appropriate rather than the scenario where the user orders, the event systems prompt the user to select a payment means with an order code, the payment is completed by the user through a financial application for their financial institution where the user includes the order code and the event is then notified of the payment from the institution with the order code which is matched to an order. Other approaches as known in the art may be employed for completing a financial transaction with single factor authentication or multi-factor authentication.
Now referring to
Accordingly, an event may be a brunch at a restaurant with a fixed number of diners for a fixed window, e.g. 10 am-noon, or it may be a concert, dinner, breakfast, tasting session etc. Essentially, an event should be construed to mean an activity with a defined number of guests within a defined period of time. Accordingly, a restaurant may employ the OGL-SAP to schedule diners for its regular evening dinners. Diners may though the OGL-SAP see that the restaurant is fully booked but be notified of a no-show allowing them to acquire these unused reservations. As such a ticket may have no specific transactional value or monetary value unlike a ticket for a concert, race, sporting event etc. but defines the user's ability to attend the event. It would be evident that, for example, a brewery may have a capacity within its restaurant/bar area of N people and that by issuing tickets it can verify that it does not exceed its legal capacity. Further, a user with the OGL-SAP may through being “registered” with multiple event venues can see that a specific bar has capacity for them this evening and register thereby ensuring they can be served rather than attending to find it at capacity. A venue may also, therefore, return tickets itself upon guests departing or the guest not turning up rather than the user cancelling their ticket. Accordingly, a venue can dynamically publish ticket availability as guests attend and depart during the course of a day, evening, afternoon, etc.
Once the user has attended the event and is registered with the wireless network then first to eighth steps 520 to 590 are executed, these comprising:
It would be evident that alternate flows to Flow 500 may allow a user to generate one or more other orders each with a unique single use code before collecting another order. Further, the notifications may be based upon fulfillment rather than the order the guest generates them. Optionally, a user can align orders to reduce trips such that two orders generated within a threshold period of time are serviced by the same location.
Optionally, within another embodiment of the invention the user may present the unique one time code to a reader at the service location and be advised of which “bin” to retrieve it from whereby the “bin” scans the unique one time code to open. In this manner, for example, a retailer may provide a pick-up service without the requirement for the guest to interact with employee(s) but be confident that their order is secure until they collect it. Alternatively, the user is advised of the “bin” identifier upon notification to pick up their order.
It would be evident that steps within Flow 500 may be varied without departing from the scope of the method presented. For example, seventh step 580 may be immediately after second step 530 such that the user is only provided with a one-time use code once their order has been paid for. Alternatively, this may be thresholded such that a user can establish a tab and orders processed until their tab limit reached wherein the guest must pay their tab before further orders can be established. This may be preferable where the event wishes to minimize the number of financial transactions as it is required to pay a fee per transaction. As such this threshold may be varied according to the financial instrument the guest denotes that they will pay for the order with.
An OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may present, as an alternate embodiment for fifth step 560, the guest with a notification that their order is complete and that it will be delivered to them. This may include, for example, additional information such as the identity of the server delivering the order to increase guest engagement with the server for example. However, the process described within Flow 500 may describe scenarios with large events with multiple locations provisioning the products/services. For example, at a large event the location established for the fulfillment of the order may be established based upon the guest's location so that the fulfillment is that closest to them or it may be selected based upon lowest fulfillment processing time with or without a threshold for distance/travel time.
Within other embodiments of the invention the OGL-SAP may select the location rather than the provider of the product/service. For example, a guest may simply want at a large event a burger, fries and a bottle of water without preference of provider wherein the OGL-SAP will select the nearest and/or fastest provider of that order to fulfill it and provide that location information to the user.
Within other embodiments of the invention the OGL-SAP may select the location based upon that location having the shortest queue to collect an order with or without a threshold for distance/travel time and then notify that location of the order it is to fulfill and then the guest. In this manner, for example, at an event with multiple locations providing the same product, e.g. a beer at a football match, the user is directed to the location with the shortest queue where the queue is based upon the OGL-SAP knowing which guests it has directed to each location and based upon the scanning of their unique one time codes which have collected their order. In this manner the OGL-SAP can dynamically allocate guests to locations whereby real time order fulfillment issues that slow a location are accommodated automatically without any server or other individual notifying of an issue.
An OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may present a customized menu to the user based upon a standard menu which is then filtered based upon preferences of the user accessible to the OGL-SAP from the user's profile. As noted above an OGL-SAP may provide the guest with an ability to set preferences for an event(s)/location(s) which are applied such as vegetarian/non-vegetarian, gluten free/non-gluten free, etc. These may be presented as standard buttons within a GUI rendered to the user such that these toggle to one option of the other allowing the user to make these filtering options applied to that event, e.g. they may wish to select vegetarian for this event having selected non-vegetarian within a prior event or vice-versa. Other filters and/or modifiers may be automatically applied such as those relating to allergies of the user such that options with constituents the guest is allergic to are not presented or options are pre-selected to comply with the allergy restrictions. For example, a lactose allergy may mean that an order for coffee with milk is automatically set to a dairy free option or if more than one is available only the non-dairy options are provided.
Within the embodiment of the invention described and presented with respect to
An OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may further provide menu options based upon real time availability. For example, a restaurant may have a fixed number of portions of an item such that once these have been ordered this item is automatically filtered from the menus presented to subsequent guests removing the issue of guest disappointment that an item they want is now no longer acceptable. As outlined below in respect of other merchandise where this may be delivered to the guest after the event the options may be presented not on immediate availability but on delivery time. For example, a guest seeking to buy a “Northern Pikes” shirt, where the system knows the user is male and an extra-large (XL) may be advised that an XL t-shirt can be delivered tomorrow but that an XL sweatshirt will take 3 days and an XL hoodie 2 weeks. Accordingly, the guest can made purchasing decisions without disappointment as they are provided with the information prior to purchase and the event may still make sales knowing that the products sold are currently not immediately available for delivery.
An OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may provide a guest with a cancellation option where the cancellation option is available for a period of time. This period of time may be established in dependence upon, for example, an aspect of the product(s) ordered, a projected fulfillment time, a project cost of having to throw the part prepared product away, etc. For example, an order for an item with long preparation time may have a short cancellation window as the preparation of the item will be started quickly whereas an item with shorter preparation time will be started later in view of currently pending orders. For example, an order for a burger within a brewery may have a high probability of being ordered quickly by another guest if a guest cancels such the likely cost of waste is lower so a longer cancellation window can be provided than perhaps for an order of fish and chips for example. Similarly, cancellation of items pre-packaged/sealed etc. may be much longer than those that are freshly prepared.
Optionally, within embodiments of the invention a notification is provided that the order has been completed at the location of collection.
Now referring to
Based upon selection of an option of first to N Option Selections 620(1) to 620(N) respectively then the OGL-SAP proceeds to the associated option flow of first to N Option Flows 630, 640, 650, 660, 670, 680 and 690 respectively. Upon completion of the selected option of first to N Option Selections 620(1) to 620(N) respectively the OGL-SAP determines in first step 6010 whether the guest is leaving the event and/or event is terminating. If the determination to either is negative then Flow 600 loops back, which for simplicity is depicted to first Sub-Flow 610 although it may be to an intermediate process step which re-renders the GUI without requirement for any of the steps of first Sub-Flow 600A. If the determination in first step 6010 is positive then Flow 600 proceeds to second step 6020 wherein the OGL-SAP determines whether any final product and/or service is required or not wherein a positive determination leads to the execution of third step 6030 before Flow 600 terminates at fourth step 6040 otherwise Flow 600 proceeds immediately to fourth step 6040. Examples of options within third step 6030 are described and depicted with respect to
Considering Option 1, selected by first Option Selection 620(1) leading to Option Flow 630 then this corresponds to a process flow for a guest ordering products/services associated with an event such as described and depicted with respect to Flow 500 in
Considering Option 2, selected by second Option Selection 620(2) leading to second Option Flow 640 then a guest is able to access additional information relating to the event that they are attending. For example, considering the exemplary scenario above then in Option Flow 640 the guest is attending the event of “The Northern Pikes” playing at the Overflow brewery. Within Option Flow 640 the guest is able to access additional options relating to the event such as first to fourth Sub-Options 641 to 644 as depicted. These comprising within this exemplary scenario:
Considering Option 3, selected by third Option Selection 620(3) leading to third Option Flow 650 wherein the guest is presented with options specific to that specific event rather than the event generally and/or event venue generally. For example, using the exemplary scenario again the guest can view merchandise associated with the specific event, i.e. the band “The Northern Pikes”, rather than the venue, Overflow, although within other embodiments of the invention the guest may always be presented with the venue merchandise and then specific other merchandise added for specific events. Accordingly, in this scenario the guest is presented with both venue merchandise and band merchandise such as records, t-shirts, shirts, hats, glasses etc. These items can be purchased and the guest in fifth Sub-Option 651 the option of collecting these at the event wherein a unique one time use code is generated as with first Option Flow 630 or in sixth Sub-Option 652 the guest is provided with the option of having them shipped to a selected location, e.g. their your home the next day, thereby eliminating the need for the guest to carry anything during the event and/or where the items are fragile reducing likelihood of the guest breaking their purchase.
Considering Option 4, selected by fourth Option Selection 620(4) leading to fourth Option Flow 660 wherein one or more options relating to the event can be provided allowing direct within event interaction on non-transaction aspects. For example, the guest in seventh Sub-Option 661 may be able to interact with the event such as, in the exemplary scenario, a band that takes requests by messaging them in real time from the OGL-SAP or alternatively within eighth Sub-Option 662 the guest is able to notify the event of an issue quickly and easily, such as a faulty washroom, broken chair, etc.
Considering Option 5, selected by fifth Option Selection 620(5) leading to fifth Option Flow 670 then the guest may be provided with specific options upon their exit from the event and/or the termination of the event. For example, within the exemplary scenario and with reference to
Accordingly, selection of GUI element “Last Call” triggers first GUI 800A in
Accordingly, the first GUI 800A provides the option for the guest to purchase “carry out” wherein as they progress through this they are provided with the option of taking it then or having it delivered. Whilst a final order for consumption within the event could be handled through this sub-flow it can also be handled by routing the guest to first Option Flow 630 such that fifth Option Flow 670 is solely relating to carry out or next day delivery sales. Optionally, this option may automatically default to any order placed after this defined time being shipped to the customer.
Accordingly, selection of GUI element “Gratuity” triggers second GUI 800B in
However, if the guest has paid multiple times through the event then this option allows a gratuity to be calculated across all these orders and paid rather than the user selecting a gratuity per transaction and may be optionally notified that as they exit the event they will be provided with the option to make a single gratuity payment at the end to reflect their overall experience etc. Optionally, upon completion of the gratuity the guest may be automatically directed to third GUI 800C in
Selection of GUI element “Taxi” triggers third GUI 800C in
Considering Option N−1, selected by N−1 Option Selection 620(N−1) leading to sixth Option Flow 680 then this may, for example, allow the guest to provide direct feedback on one or more SOCNETs or platforms such as Google™, Facebook™, Twitter™, Trip Advisor™, etc. The SOCNETs/platforms may, for example, be determined by the OGL-SAP establishing what applications are installed on the guest's PED and/or by the event.
Considering Option N, selected by N Option Selection 620(N) leading to seventh Option Flow 690 then this may present other options to the guest. Accordingly, it would be evident that an OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may provide multiple options within it for a user to interact with and/or engage with the event. Which options presented within the OGL-SAP may vary according to one or more factors including, but not limited, preferences defined by the event, guest, location, time, date, etc.
Tenth to fourteenth Fields 730 to 734 may, for example as depicted represent
An OIGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may support contact tracing, such as has become an issue for events with Covid-19, but allowing the user to be contacted in respect of any issue relating to the event arising from an issue such as virus, infection, contaminated product(s), potential contamination(s) etc.
Now referring to
An OGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention allows all customer data to reside in a backend system, e.g. a point-of-sale (POS) system or the OGL-SAP upon the user's PED thereby removing the requirement for the user to carry cash, cards, tokens etc. to an event.
An OGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention allows an event venue to configure options for the user and manage everything from an initial entry coat check to drinks, to food, to merchandise, to booking a ride home.
An OGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention allows finalizes an order at the point that a Service Team Member scans the unique one time machine readable code wherein the financial transaction is undertaken for that order. This may be completion of payment or a “hold” applied to the financial instrument as known in the art.
An OGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention allows issuance of constantly changing machine readable codes, e.g. QR codes, for every single order making it difficult for them to be duplicated, copied or imitated. A machine readable code, e.g. QR code, may contain seed data that can only be run through an authentication algorithm so even if a photograph of a visual machine readable code, e.g. QR code, is taken then it can only be used once by the system and then it is discarded forever.
As noted above the OGL-SAP can include within the user profile a profile photo of the user which can be rendered together with the visual machine readable code, e.g. QR code, to provide an additional layer of authentication.
It would be evident that an event could “lock down” a user account in the event the guests PED is lost to reduce the potential for fraudulent transactions.
Machine readable code scanners may within an OGL-SAP according to an embodiment of the invention may be proximity based via radio frequency identification (RFID) with an authentication chip locked to a particular server. In this manner, a scanner will not work if away from a service team member but also the exact individual performing a transaction with the scanner can be logged.
It would be evident that whilst the exemplary scenarios and descriptions with respect embodiments of the invention presented above in respect of
Specific details are given in the above description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it is understood that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.
Implementation of the techniques, blocks, steps and means described above may be done in various ways. For example, these techniques, blocks, steps and means may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described above and/or a combination thereof.
Also, it is noted that the embodiments may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, scripting languages, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages and/or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, scripting language and/or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium, such as a storage medium. A code segment or machine-executable instruction may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a script, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures and/or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters and/or memory content. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.
For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methodologies described herein. For example, software codes may be stored in a memory. Memory may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor and may vary in implementation where the memory is employed in storing software codes for subsequent execution to that when the memory is employed in executing the software codes. As used herein the term “memory” refers to any type of long term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other storage medium and is not to be limited to any particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.
Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels and/or various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.
The methodologies described herein are, in one or more embodiments, performable by a machine which includes one or more processors that accept code segments containing instructions. For any of the methods described herein, when the instructions are executed by the machine, the machine performs the method. Any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine are included. Thus, a typical machine may be exemplified by a typical processing system that includes one or more processors. Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics-processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM, and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD). If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth.
The memory includes machine-readable code segments (e.g. software or software code) including instructions for performing, when executed by the processing system, one of more of the methods described herein. The software may reside entirely in the memory, or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, the memory and the processor also constitute a system comprising machine-readable code.
In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., networked to other machines, in a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. The machine may be, for example, a computer, a server, a cluster of servers, a cluster of computers, a web appliance, a distributed computing environment, a cloud computing environment, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. The term “machine” may also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
The foregoing disclosure of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents.
Further, in describing representative embodiments of the present invention, the specification may have presented the method and/or process of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This patent application claims the benefit of priority (as a Continuation) from U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/891,527 (filed Aug. 19, 2022), which itself claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/234,897 (filed Aug. 19, 2021), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63234897 | Aug 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17891527 | Aug 2022 | US |
| Child | 18671210 | US |
