Systems and methods for delivering prepared food products

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for ordering prepared food products via a network using an electronic device. A menu of available prepared food products may be presented on a display, and one of the prepared food products may be selected using an interface of the device. A menu of bread items available may be presented including visual representations of each available bread item. One of the bread items may be selected, whereupon a visual representation of the selected bread may be presented. One or more ingredients may be selected using the interface, whereupon visual representations of the ingredients are superimposed on the visual representation of the selected bread item. The systems and methods may provide an enhanced visual experience similar to ordering the product in person and watching the product being made.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for ordering prepared food products via a network using a wireless electronic device, comprising:
 presenting, on a display of the electronic device, a menu of available prepared food products;   selecting, using an interface of the electronic device, one or more prepared food products to be included in an order;   indicating, using the interface, that the order is complete;   selecting, using the interface, a desired vendor location to fulfill the order;   presenting, on the display, a drop-off menu including a plurality of physical locations and drop-off times available for the desired vendor location;   selecting, using the interface, a desired physical location and a desired drop-off time from the drop-off menu; and   transmitting an order including the one or more selected food products via a network to a vendor server for the desired vendor location to arrange delivery of the order to the desired physical location at the desired drop-off time.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adding one or more additional food items to the order before transmitting the order to the vendor server. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein adding one or more additional food to the order comprises:
 selecting, using the interface, a shared cart icon to activate a wireless communication interface of the electronic device; and   receiving, via the wireless communication interface, a communication from another electronic device, the communication including the one or more additional food items.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein adding one or more additional food items comprises selecting, using the interface, one or more additional food items from the menu. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising presenting, on the display, a map including the vendor location and a plurality of icons of drop-off physical locations available from the drop-off menu. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting, on the display, a drop-off menu comprises:
 presenting, on the display, a group menu identifying groups of drop-off locations; and   selecting, using the interface, one of the groups of drop-off locations, whereupon a list of drop-off locations are presented on the display, and wherein the desired physical location and desired drop-off time are selected from the list.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the physical locations are identified based on landmarks associated with public places. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the physical locations are identified based on non-address-based descriptions of the physical locations. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the drop-off menu includes photo icons associated with the plurality of physical locations, the method further comprising:
 selecting, using the interface, a photo icon associated with a desired vendor location; and   presenting, on the display, a photograph of the desired vendor location.   
     
     
         10 . A method for ordering prepared food products via a network, comprising:
 receiving a drop-off schedule for a vendor location, the drop-off schedule including a plurality of physical locations available for drop-off orders from the vendor location, and a schedule of drop-off times for the physical locations;   adding the drop-off schedule to a vendor database;   sending the drop-off schedule to a customer electronic device;   receiving an order from the customer electronic device, the order including one or more prepared food products and identifying a desired physical location and a desired drop-off time from the drop-off schedule; and   transmitting the order to the vendor location for the vendor location to arrange for delivery of the order to the desired physical location at the desired drop-off time.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the drop-off schedule includes photographs of available physical locations, and wherein the photographs are sent to the customer electronic device to allow a customer to review a photograph of a desired physical location. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the drop-off schedule includes a plurality of groups of drop-off locations and plurality of physical locations associated with each of the groups. 
     
     
         13 . An electronic device for ordering prepared food products via a network, comprising:
 a user interface;   a display;   one or more processors coupled to the interface and display for:   presenting on the display a menu of available prepared food products;   receiving via the user interface one or more prepared food products to be included in an order;   receiving via the user interface a desired vendor location to fulfill the order;   presenting on the display a drop-off menu including a plurality of physical locations and drop-off times available for the desired vendor location;   receiving via the user interface a desired physical location and a desired drop-off time from the drop-off menu; and   a communications interface coupled to the processor for transmitting an order including the one or more selected food products via a network to a vendor server for the desired vendor location to arrange delivery of the order to the desired physical location at the desired drop-off time.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the interface comprises a touch screen on the display. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the communications interface comprises a wireless transceiver. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 13 , further comprising memory storing a database including a plurality of groups of drop-off locations, a plurality of physical locations associated with each of the groups, and one or more drop-off times associate with each of the physical locations,
 wherein the processor accesses the database to present the groups of drop-off locations on the display, and when one of the groups of drop-off locations is selected via the interface, presents on the display a list of drop-off locations associated with the selected group, and wherein the desired physical location and desired drop-off time are selected from the list.   
     
     
         17 . A method for ordering prepared food products via a network using a wireless electronic device, comprising:
 accessing a default database stored in memory of the electronic device to generate a menu of available prepared food products;   presenting, on a display of the electronic device, the menu;   selecting, using an interface of the electronic device, one or more prepared food products from the menu;   selecting, using the interface, a desired vendor location from the local database;   indicating, using the interface, that the order is complete;   communicating with a remote server to reconcile the order with a vendor database including the menu for the desired vendor location;   presenting the reconciled order on the display; and   transmitting an order including the one or more selected food products via a network to a vendor server for the vendor location to arrange for delivery of the order.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the default database is accessed before the desired vendor location is selected. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein communicating with the remote server comprises:
 receiving one or more price changes for the one or more prepared food products wherein a price in the vendor database supersedes a price in the default database; and   presenting an updated order on the display reflecting the one or more price changes.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein communicating with the remote server comprises:
 receiving one or more menu changes for the one or more prepared food products wherein at least one prepared food product in the order is not available in the vendor database;   presenting a notice on the display that the at least one prepared food product is not available;   presenting an updated menu on a display of the electronic device; and   selecting one or more prepared food products to replace the at least one prepared food product that is not available.