US5899502A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of making individualized restaurant menus
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1993-07-07
•
Granted: 1999-05-04
•
Expires: 2013-07-07
Abstract
Abstract A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of customer-selected ingredients. A database is loaded into a computer. Names of all the ingredients used by the restaurant are loaded into the database. A plurality of recipes are loaded into the database. Each recipe comprises ingredients selected from the ingredients, named in the database. The customer selects any ingredients the customer wishes to avoid. The customer's name is entered into the database in association with the names of ingredients which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided. The database of recipes is automatically searched for the ingredients-to-be-avoided. All available recipes not containing ingredients-to-be-avoided are printed on a menu, customized for the customer. The menu includes the customer's name, the names of ingredients-to-be-avoided, and a list of names of servings of selected available recipes.
Inventors
- 👤 Joseph Del Giorno
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 16:16
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42D; B42D15/00; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q99/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
194 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database by an input device at the restaurant; entering into the database, via said input device, a name of an ingredient which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided and select from said database all available recipes not containing the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; outputting to an output device, a menu, perceptible to the customer and customized for said customer, said menu comprising a list of names of servings, said servings consisting of the selected available recipes; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
194 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database by an input device at the restaurant; entering into the database, via said input device, a name of an ingredient which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided and select from said database all available recipes not containing the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; outputting to an output device, a menu, perceptible to the customer and customized for said customer, said menu comprising a list of names of servings, said servings consisting of the selected available recipes; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
56 words
A method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: determining a name of the customer; entering the customer's name into the database in association with the names of the ingredients to-be-avoided when the names of the ingredients to-be-avoided are entered; and printing the customer's name and a list of ingredients to-be-avoided on the menu.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method to claim 1 in which the output device is a printer and the menu is a printed menu.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
267 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising recipe ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database from the restaurant; entering into the database a name of an ingredient which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided by the following steps: displaying upon a display screen at least a portion of the plurality of names of ingredients; said display screen comprising a cursor; manipulating said display screen, by an interactive human control apparatus, to focus the cursor upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; manipulating said interactive human control apparatus to enter said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be-avoided for comparison to recipe ingredients in the database of recipes; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided; compare the ingredient-to-be-avoided to the recipe ingredients of each recipe, select each recipe whose recipe ingredients do not include the ingredient-to-be-avoided, and output all selected recipes to an output device; said output device outputting the selected recipe names in a form perceptible to the customer as a menu; presenting the menu to the customer; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
267 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising recipe ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database from the restaurant; entering into the database a name of an ingredient which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided by the following steps: displaying upon a display screen at least a portion of the plurality of names of ingredients; said display screen comprising a cursor; manipulating said display screen, by an interactive human control apparatus, to focus the cursor upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; manipulating said interactive human control apparatus to enter said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be-avoided for comparison to recipe ingredients in the database of recipes; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided; compare the ingredient-to-be-avoided to the recipe ingredients of each recipe, select each recipe whose recipe ingredients do not include the ingredient-to-be-avoided, and output all selected recipes to an output device; said output device outputting the selected recipe names in a form perceptible to the customer as a menu; presenting the menu to the customer; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
122 words
A method according to claim 4, in which: the human interactive control apparatus is a pointing device comprising a pointing means and an actuator; said display screen comprises control areas; said step of manipulating said interactive human control apparatus, further comprising: locating the cursor upon the control area, and triggering the actuator to scroll the portion of the plurality of names of ingredients through the plurality of names of ingredients in order to display, the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; manipulating said pointing means to place the cursor upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; triggering the actuator to enter said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be-avoided for comparison to the recipe ingredients in the database of recipes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 4 in which said interactive human control apparatus comprises an alpha-numeric keyboard.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
100 words
A method according to claim 6 in which the cursor is focused upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided by depressing keys on the keyboard to begin spelling said name of the ingredient to-be-avoided until a combination of letters is selected, which combination is unique among the plurality of names of ingredients, thereby causing the cursor to focus upon said selected name of the ingredient to-be-avoided; subsequently entering said name of the ingredient to-be-avoided by depressing a key means for entering said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be-avoided, for comparison to recipe ingredients in the database of recipes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
64 words
A method according to claim 6 in which the portion on the display screen is scrolled through the plurality of names of ingredients by depressing page-up, and page-down key means, and the cursor is moved by depressing arrow-key means for focusing the cursor on the name of the ingredient to-be-avoided, and the name of the ingredient to-be-avoided is entered by depressing an enter-key means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method according to claim 4 comprising the following further steps: providing said customized menu to said customer; taking an order from said customer for one of the names of servings on the list comprising the menu; preparing said serving, consisting of ingredients named in the recipe corresponding to said serving, and not comprising the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; delivering the serving to the customer.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
316 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising recipe ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database from the restaurant; entering into the database a name of an ingredient, which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided by the following steps: displaying upon a display screen at least a portion of the plurality of names of ingredients; said display screen comprising a cursor; manipulating said display screen, by an interactive human control apparatus, to focus the cursor upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; manipulating said interactive human control apparatus to enter said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be avoided for comparison to recipe ingredients in the database of recipes; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided, compare the ingredient-to-be-avoided to the recipe ingredients of each recipe, select each recipe whose recipe ingredients do not include the ingredient-to-be-avoided, and output names of the selected recipes to an output device, said output device presenting the selected recipe names to the customer in a form perceptible to the customer as a menu; presenting the menu to the customer; receiving a choice of a recipe name from the customer; preparing a serving according to a recipe corresponding to the chosen recipe name, said meal not containing the ingredient-to-be-avoided; delivering said serving to said customer and thereby locating said serving at said customer; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
316 words
A method of making an individualized restaurant menu for a customer desirous of avoiding ingestion of selected ingredients, said method comprising the following steps: loading a database into a computer; loading a plurality of names of ingredients into said database, said ingredients comprising all ingredients used by the restaurant; loading a plurality of recipes into said data base, each recipe comprising recipe ingredients selected from the ingredients, the names of which are in the database; inquiring of the customer which of the ingredients the customer wishes to avoid; accessing the database from the restaurant; entering into the database a name of an ingredient, which the customer has selected as to-be-avoided by the following steps: displaying upon a display screen at least a portion of the plurality of names of ingredients; said display screen comprising a cursor; manipulating said display screen, by an interactive human control apparatus, to focus the cursor upon the name of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided; manipulating said interactive human control apparatus to enter said cursor-focused name of the ingredient to-be avoided for comparison to recipe ingredients in the database of recipes; analyzing the database by instructing the computer to: search the database of recipes for the ingredient to-be-avoided, compare the ingredient-to-be-avoided to the recipe ingredients of each recipe, select each recipe whose recipe ingredients do not include the ingredient-to-be-avoided, and output names of the selected recipes to an output device, said output device presenting the selected recipe names to the customer in a form perceptible to the customer as a menu; presenting the menu to the customer; receiving a choice of a recipe name from the customer; preparing a serving according to a recipe corresponding to the chosen recipe name, said meal not containing the ingredient-to-be-avoided; delivering said serving to said customer and thereby locating said serving at said customer; thereby safeguarding the customer against ingestion of the ingredient selected as to-be-avoided.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
121 words
A method according to claim 10 in which: the output device is a printer; outputting includes printing: the names of the selected recipes, a name of the customer, and the name of the ingredient-to-be-avoided on a menu; presenting includes delivering the menu to the customer; the customer chooses a recipe name by marking the chosen recipe name on the menu; receiving the choice includes receiving the marked menu from the customer; further comprising delivering the marked menu to a kitchen; preparing the meal includes observing the name of the ingredient-to-be-avoided and specifically excluding the ingredient-to-be-avoided; and serving the meal includes: observing the customer's name, confirming said name to the customer, and delivering said meal to the customer with the marked menu.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-05-03 | 2002-11-02 | 2003-05-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-05-03 | 2006-11-02 | 2007-05-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-05-03 | 2010-11-02 | 2011-05-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |