Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a tiffin service aggregator system that is capable of providing a user a list of tiffin providers along with their food menu, price and delivery time based upon user’s location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Employees often have limited options for their lunch break due to their work location and/or the amount of time they are allowed for lunch. For example, people who work in an office building may have access to a cafeteria or sandwich shop in the building, but there may be no other restaurants nearby. As a result, the employees may have limited lunch choices, such as bringing their own lunch or eating at the same place every day.

[0003] When employees do decide to use an on-site cafeteria or sandwich shop they often find that they are caught in the lunchtime rush with many other employees in the building who are all trying to get served at the same time. This often leads to employees waiting in lines to be seated and/or served. The wait time can be unpredictable and varies depending upon who many other employees decided to use the on-site facilities that day. Similar delays and waiting lines are also experienced at off-site locations, which further include delays caused by driving to the off-site locations.

[0004] When an employee is served during a lunchtime rush, the food quality often varies depending upon the number of customers and the facility's ability to serve the customer load. The employee often receives re-warmed food from a buffet or steam table instead of freshly prepared, hot out of the oven food. Additional delays during lunchtime food service occur when customers pay. The employee/customer pays the server, cashier, or cook, who has to process the payment and handle the cash register or credit card reader. This introduces an unhygienic element to the lunch service. There is a need to pre-pay for employee lunch service to improve service time and reduce the number of people who have to handle a transaction.

[0005] Food trucks that offer different types of standard and gourmet foods may serve office buildings and other commercial locations for lunchtime meals. These food trucks provide some variety to the employees at these locations. However, limited time for the employee's lunch break and municipal regulations that restrict how long a food truck can sell in one location can make it difficult for employees to take advantage of the food trucks that visit their worksite.

[0006] WO1989001659A1 discloses a manual food service system is provided for precluding a food server from touching currency or other items which may contaminate food. The system includes food preparation and assembly stations co-operable with an order payment station for receiving a token representing a certain value, for determining and updating the value of the token to account for the cost of an entered food order.

[0007] Conventionally, many systems have been mentioned in the prior arts, that is capable of providing a user an interface for ordering food, but none of the existing systems are capable of providing user list of tiffin providers based upon the location of the user, cuisine and price of the food, or allowing a user to provide a feedback based upon the food recently consumed by the user or providing the user a real-time update over the status of the order placed by the user

[0008] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, there is a requirement to develop a system that is capable of providing user list of tiffin providers based upon the location of the user, cuisine and price of the food, or allowing a user to provide a feedback based upon the food recently consumed by the user or providing the user a real-time update over the status of the order placed by the user.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to develop a system that is capable of providing user list of tiffin providers based upon the location of the user, cuisine and price of the food.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to develop a system that is capable allowing a user to provide a feedback based upon the food recently consumed by the user.

[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to develop a system that is capable of providing the user a real-time update over the status of the order placed by the user.

[0013] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention relates to a tiffin service aggregator system, capable of providing list of tiffin providers based upon the location of the user, thereby aiding the user to receive the food in a short period of time.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a tiffin service aggregator system comprises a user interface installed within a user’s computing unit, allows a user to interact with the system, a location detection module linked with the interface is capable of determining the user’s real time location, a database for storing information over different tiffin service providers, wherein the database also stores their location coordinates and food menus, a filtering module is capable of providing a list of tiffin service provides within a predefined radius, an ordering module allows the user to select and order food from the menu provided by the listed tiffin services.

[0016] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the proposed system further comprises a communication module interlinked the interface with a device carried by the tiffin providers along with order details provided by the user, the filtering module is also capable of sorting down the list of tiffin providers based on user selected cuisine, price range or delivery time, the database gets updated on a real time basis and a review module is linked with the interface for allowing the user to provide rating regarding a specific tiffin provider whose food was recently consumed by the user.

[0017] While the invention has been described and shown with particular reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that variations might be possible that would fall within the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of a tiffin service aggregator system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The following description includes the preferred best mode of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be clear from this description of the invention that the invention is not limited to these illustrated embodiments but that the invention also includes a variety of modifications and embodiments thereto. Therefore, the present description should be seen as illustrative and not limiting. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, it should be understood, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0020] In any embodiment described herein, the open-ended terms "comprising," "comprises,” and the like (which are synonymous with "including," "having” and "characterized by") may be replaced by the respective partially closed phrases "consisting essentially of," consists essentially of," and the like or the respective closed phrases "consisting of," "consists of, the like.

[0021] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” designate both the singular and the plural, unless expressly stated to designate the singular only.

[0022] The present invention relates to a tiffin service aggregator system capable of allowing a user to select a food as per their choice based upon the menu provided by the different tiffin services.

[0023] Referring to Figure 1, illustrates a block diagram of a tiffin service aggregator system.

[0024] The present invention relates to a system for Tiffin Service aggregation and is particularly designed for ease in ordering food from the nearest service providers of Tiffin. This system shall be implemented through a mobile or web-based application running on user devices such as smartphones, tabs, computers, and others. The application incorporates various modules to implement an effective user experience in locating a local Tiffin service all the way through ordering and paying for it. A Tiffin Service Aggregator system is implemented either as a user interface or web-based application that can be set up on different kinds of user computing unit. This application is the interface between the user and the system. Users can either download the application from an app store or access it via the web browser. The application is user-friendly, availing users through a series of steps of finding and ordering food from Tiffin service providers nearby.

[0025] A Location Detection Module is one of the most important modules of the system, based on which the application gets the information about the current geographical location of the user. This module utilizes GPS to pinpoint the location of a user precisely. The identified location is utilized in an intelligent search for Tiffin service providers around the location identified such that users get a list of providers within reasonable proximity. A database of the system stores detailed information related to a plurality of Tiffin service providers. Such details may include geographical locations, available menu options, prices, and any other relevant information. The database is updated daily in order to keep the latest information on special offers and withdrawals of services. This real-time updating feature ensures that users are well guided when it comes to choosing a Tiffin service.

[0026] The filtering module is designed to create a list of Tiffin service providers based on the user's location obtained from the location-detection module. The filtering module also improves the user experience by allowing users to sort the Tiffin service provider list based on user-defined preferences. User preferences may include factors like cuisine type, price point, delivery time, or any other preference factors selected by the user. These user-customized preferences help users quickly choose a Tiffin service that meets their user-defined needs. The ordering module is an essential part of the application that enables users to select food options and order food from the list of Tiffin service providers. Once the user selects the Tiffin service provider and selects the menu items, the ordering module facilitates the creation of an order. The ordering module may provide options for customization such as order size, special instructions, choosing delivery or pickup options, and other variables.

[0027] The communication module is responsible for the user's order data to be sent to the selected Tiffin service provider. The communication module ensures that the order is sent accurately to the Tiffin service provider which reduces the likelihood of mistakes. The communication module may also be designed to send confirmations to the user, and also send updates received from the provider indicating when orders are accepted by the provider, and when the order is prepared and dispatched for delivery to the user. In one variation of the system, the application includes a review module that allows users to rate and review the Tiffin service providers from which they have ordered food. The review module collects and utilizes user input to affect the order of service provider choices in future inquiries, with providers receiving higher average user ratings appearing at a higher rank than other service providers in the list.

[0028] It has also provided an in-built payment option in the ordering system such that users can also make transactions online. The payment gateway factor can accept the various modes of payment such as credit/debit card, mobile wallet, and net banking which provides flexibility to the users. Through this, one is fully assured of the ability to pay for orders placed without necessarily having to go through physical cash transactions, or at all, have to worry about security of the same. The system proposed above for aggregation of Tiffin Services incorporates a convenient way of ordering food from Tiffin services nearby. Using location-based services, real-time data updates, the option of setting filters and secure payment for services, the system increases customer satisfaction. Its integration increases the overall value by enhancing aspects of trust between parties, more so the users and the service providers. This invention goes a long way in improving on the Food delivery services especially to those who wish to access homemade food through Tiffin services.

[0029] Although the field of the invention has been described herein with limited reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention.
, Claims:We Claim:
1) A tiffin service aggregator system, comprising:
a) a user interface associated with said system installed within a user’s computing unit, wherein said interface allows a user to interact with said system;
b) a location detection module associated within said system, wherein said detection module linked with said interface is capable of determining the user’s real time location;
c) a database associated within said system and linked with said interface for storing information over different tiffin service providers, wherein said database also stores their location coordinates and food menus;
d) a filtering module associated with said system and linked with said interface, wherein said filtering module is capable of providing a list of tiffin service provides within a predefined radius;
e) an ordering module associated with said system and linked with said interface, wherein said ordering module allows said user to select and order food from said menu provided by said listed tiffin services; and
f) a communication module interlinked said interface with a device carried by said tiffin providers along with order details provided by said user.

2) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, said filtering module is also capable of sorting down said list of tiffin providers based on user selected cuisine, price range or delivery time.

3) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said database gets updated on a real time basis.

4) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a review module is linked with said interface for allowing said user to provide rating regarding a specific tiffin provider whose food was recently consumed by said user.