Patron service system and method
Patent No. US9202244 (titled "Patron service system and method") on Mar 28, 2011. The application was issued on Dec 1, 2015.
What is this patent about?
’244 is related to the field of wireless service management within hospitality and entertainment venues. It specifically addresses the logistical challenges of providing high-touch service in large, fluid environments like resorts, stadiums, and beaches where patrons are mobile and traditional fixed-point ordering systems are inefficient.
The underlying idea behind ’244 is the synchronization of order status and real-time spatial data across a distributed network of mobile devices. By integrating dynamic location tracking with a two-tier communication architecture, the system ensures that staff can locate a moving patron for delivery without manual check-ins, while allowing direct device-to-device interaction for immediate service adjustments.
The claims of ’244 focus on a method and system that utilizes a central venue server to authenticate portable units and manage orders over a primary link, while simultaneously enabling a direct secondary communication link between the patron and staff units that bypasses the server. The claims specifically require the use of GPS, Bluetooth, or NFC to automatically update the patron’s coordinates in real-time on all networked devices.
In practice, the invention functions as a closed-loop service ecosystem. When a patron places an order, the system captures their precise coordinates and pushes this data to a staff member's handheld unit. As the patron moves—for instance, from a beach chair to a poolside lounge—the real-time coordinate updates ensure the staff member is guided to the patron's current position rather than the original point of sale.
This approach differentiates itself from prior art by eliminating the reliance on static kiosks or verbal location descriptions. By utilizing a server-independent link for direct patron-to-staff communication and automated proximity-based tracking, the system reduces delivery latency and prevents the common failure point of staff searching for patrons who have relocated during the fulfillment cycle.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the early 2000s when ’244 was filed, service management in large-scale hospitality and entertainment venues was typically implemented using stationary point-of-sale terminals or centralized kiosks. At a time when wireless networking was beginning to transition into commercial spaces, systems commonly relied on manual staff circulation or fixed-line intercoms rather than integrated mobile client-server architectures. Hardware and software constraints of the era made the real-time tracking of mobile users across expansive outdoor or unstructured environments, such as beaches or resort grounds, non-trivial due to the limited range of early wireless protocols and the high power consumption required for continuous location signaling on portable devices.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a meaningful technical advancement through the architectural integration of specialized portable patron units and portable staff units linked via a central management node. This structural solution addresses the technical problem of service latency and delivery inaccuracies in dynamic environments by enabling bidirectional wireless data exchange coupled with real-time location tracking. The system achieves a technical effect where the physical coordinates of a service requester are dynamically mapped and transmitted to a mobile service provider, overcoming the constraint of static delivery points. This shift from fixed-location ordering to a mobile-to-mobile service mesh enables a capability for precise fulfillment in unstructured spaces, ensuring that service delivery can adapt to the movement of the patron without requiring manual intervention or verbal coordination.
Claims
The patent includes a total of 20 claims, with claims 1, 17, and 20 serving as the independent claims. These independent claims focus on a method, a system, and a computer-readable medium for managing patron orders within a venue by utilizing wireless patron and staff units that communicate via a server, featuring real-time location tracking through GPS, Bluetooth, or NFC and a secondary direct communication link between patrons and staff. The dependent claims serve to further define the hardware configurations of the patron units, specify additional functionalities such as bill payment, assistance requests, and order emulation, and detail the integration of historical order data, entertainment media, and specific network environments like the Internet.
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US9202244
- Application Number
- US13073368A
- Filing Date
- Mar 28, 2011
- Publication Date
- Dec 1, 2015
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents