Virtual beverage bar design and analysis system
AssigneeBunn-O-Matic Corporation
InventorThomas Thompson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system, method and computer program product for planning an arrangement of beverage equipment on a virtual surface or counter. The system allows a user to create a virtual surface of chosen dimension (32) and then select one or more beverage machines (36) to place on that surface while verifying that there is sufficient open space for the selected beverage machine (38). Also disclosed is a method of determining projected profit (48) based on the selection of beverage machines, entered values related to costs, and entered values related to serving size and pricing. The system reports on projected profits and/or how long the equipment needs to be operated to pay off the equipment's cost.
Claims30
A computer-implemented method for planning an arrangement of equipment on a surface, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing an interface having a graphical representation of the surface;
- providing on the interface a graphical representation of at least one piece of equipment;
- and
- iteratively allowing a user to select a piece of beverage equipment and place a graphical representation of the selected equipment onto the graphical representation of the surface.
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A computer-implemented method for planning an arrangement of equipment on a surface having a selected area value and projecting income related to the arrangement, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing an interface having a graphical representation of the surface;
- providing on the interface a graphical representation of at least one piece of equipment;
- and
- iteratively allowing a user to select a piece of equipment and place a graphical representation of the selected equipment onto the graphical representation of the surface to create a particular equipment configuration;
- assigning a cost value to the equipment configuration;
- calculating a projected income value for the equipment configuration;
- and
- displaying a profitability report based on the cost value and projected income value.
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A computer-implemented method for planning an arrangement of equipment on a surface having a selected area value and projecting income related to the arrangement, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing an interface having a graphical representation of the surface;
- providing on the interface a graphical representation of at least one piece of equipment;
- and
- iteratively allowing a user to select a piece of equipment and place a graphical representation of the selected equipment onto the graphical representation of the surface to create a particular equipment configuration;
- assigning a cost value to the equipment configuration;
- calculating a projected income value for the equipment configuration;
- displaying a profitability report based on the cost value and projected income value;
- and
- allowing the user to connect via a communication network to an interface for purchasing at least one of the pieces of equipment in the equipment configuration.
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A computer-readable medium or modulated signal being encoded with computer-executable instructions to perform a method of planning an arrangement of beverage equipment on a surface having a selected area value and projecting income related to the arrangement comprising:
- providing an interface having a graphical representation of the surface;
- iteratively allowing a user to select a piece of beverage equipment and place a graphical representation of the selected beverage equipment onto the graphical representation of the surface to create a beverage bar configuration;
- assigning a cost value to the beverage bar configuration;
- calculating a projected income value for the beverage bar configuration;
- and
- displaying a profitability report based on the cost value and projected income value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.