JP2004110644A - Information contents printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To independently perform accounting for the contents use charge and the printing charge in printing the contents. <P>SOLUTION: This information contents printing system includes: a server 1101 storing information contents in a storage medium; and an image forming apparatus 1201 for printing the information contents input through a communication medium 1301. In the image forming apparatus 1201, the information contents stored in the server 1101 are selected to be printed, the printing charge is calculated depending on the preset print mode to perform accounting for the printing charge. In the server 1101, the selected information contents data are transferred in a designated data format to the image forming apparatus 1201, and accounting for the using charge is performed depending on the data format of the transferred information contents, whereby accounting can be performed for the contents using charge and the printing charge independently. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information content print system that prints content on a server that stores information content from a printer or a copier via a network, and uses the content and charges for print output at that time. is there.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, printer terminals capable of printing images taken by a digital camera and downloading and printing image data such as a CD jacket or bromide have been widely used in color digital copying machines in convenience stores and the like. A variety of content printing services are provided.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, with conventional copiers and printer terminals, it is difficult to separately charge and manage the content usage fee and the print fee. Therefore, various content print services in cooperation between the content provider and the print service provider are required. There was a problem that deployment was difficult.
[0004]
For this reason, for example, when printing an advertisement or a flyer, a service of providing both the content usage fee and the print fee free to the user and charging the print fee to the content provider such as the advertiser, When printing in black and white, it has been difficult to realize services such as free use of content for the user.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information content print system capable of independently charging and managing a content usage fee and a print fee when printing content. With the goal.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An information content printing system according to the present invention includes a server that stores information content in a storage medium, an image forming apparatus that prints input information content, and a communication medium that connects the server and the image forming unit. An information content printing system, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: an information content selection unit for selecting information content stored in the server; and a color mode, resolution, and output size when printing the selected information content. Print mode setting means for setting a print mode including page designation, number of copies, print charge calculation means for calculating a print charge according to the print mode set by the print mode setting means, and calculation by the print charge calculation means Print charge management means for charging the set print charge, wherein the server The information content data selected by the selection means is transferred to the image forming apparatus via the communication medium in a data format according to the print mode setting means, and a content usage fee corresponding to the data format of the transferred information content is charged. It is characterized by having content charging management means for charging.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of an information content printing system of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0008]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information content print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The information content server 1101 includes a control unit 1102, a content data unit 1103, a charging management unit 1104, and a network communication unit 1105.
[0009]
The control unit 1102 performs input / output management of content data, access control to content data, and control of data exchange with the outside including content data and billing information. The content data unit 1103 stores printable data in the image forming apparatus 1201, for example, bitmaps, encoded images, text data, PDF files, and the like on its hard disk. Further, the content data section 1103 also stores usage fee data of each content data. The billing management unit 1104 manages billing for the usage fee of each content data. Here, the usage fee of the content data differs depending on the type of data, and free content may exist.
[0010]
The image forming apparatus 1201 includes a control unit 1202, a printer unit 1203, a content data selection unit 1204, a print mode setting unit 1205, a content print charge management unit 1206, and a network communication unit 1207. . The connection with the information content server 1101 is performed by connecting the network communication unit 1207 and the network communication unit 1205 of the information content server 1101 via the communication network 1301.
[0011]
The control unit 1202 is connected to the printer unit 1203, the content data selection unit 1204, the print mode setting unit 1205, the content print accounting management unit 1206, and the network communication unit 1207, and renders data input through the network communication unit 1207. Is input to the printer unit 1203 to implement the print function. At this time, a print mode such as a paper size to be printed, a color mode, and an image processing setting is performed by the print mode setting unit 1205.
[0012]
The content data selection unit 1204 has a function of displaying names and contents of a plurality of pieces of content data on the information content server 1101 and selecting a content to be printed out from the plurality of pieces of content data. Here, the content of the content data to be displayed is obtained from the control unit 1102 of the information content server 1101 at an arbitrary timing such as when the image forming apparatus 1201 starts up, when the content data content is updated, every time a fixed time elapses, or when a user operates. It is downloaded to the control unit 1202 of the forming apparatus 1201.
[0013]
The communication network 1301 according to the present embodiment may be any communication network such as the Internet, a dedicated communication network, or a public communication network as long as it enables data communication between the information content server 1101 and the image forming apparatus 1201. It is possible to apply.
[0014]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an information content selection screen.
The information content selection screen 2001 is displayed on the touch panel LCD, and displays a list of content names 2002 and content charges 2003 from the content data stored in the content data section 1103. If the list to be displayed does not fit on one screen, scroll display can be performed using the slide bar 2004.
[0015]
In FIG. 2, the content 2005 of “content name 2” is selected by the user and is highlighted. When a detail display button 2006 is pressed after selecting a content to be used on the information content selection screen 2001, the screen transitions to an information content detail display screen.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the information content detail display screen.
The information content detail display screen 3001 displays detailed information 3002 such as the name, fee, and total number of pages of the selected content, and a thumbnail image 3005 of each page of the content. Here, if there are pages that cannot be displayed on the thumbnail display section 3003, all pages can be scroll-displayed using the slide bar 3004.
[0017]
The user confirms the content on the information content detail display screen 3001 and determines whether to print the selected content. Here, in the case of printing, the user presses a print setting button 3006 to move to a print setting screen. On the other hand, if the user does not want to print after checking the details of the content, the user presses the content selection button 3007 to move to the information content selection screen 2001.
[0018]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the print setting screen.
Here, print setting of the content selected on the information content selection screen 2001 and confirmed in detail on the information content detail display screen 3001 is performed. The print setting screen 4001 includes a print charge display unit 4002 for one page, a print mode setting unit 4003, a charge confirmation unit 4004 for displaying a current charge estimate, and a print start button 4005.
[0019]
The print fee display unit 4002 displays the print fee according to the output paper size and the color mode per page. A print mode setting unit 4003 specifies a color mode, a resolution, an output paper size, a print range for specifying a page to be printed, and the number of print copies.
[0020]
The color mode in the print mode setting unit 4003 can be selected from three types of “auto”, “color”, and “black and white”. When “auto” is selected, the color page is in color. Printed, black and white pages are printed in black and white. When "black and white" is selected, even a color page is printed in black and white, and a black and white fee is charged.
[0021]
The resolution in the print mode setting unit 4003 is selected from “100 (dpi)”, “200 (dpi)”, “300 (dpi)”, “600 (dpi)”, and “1200 (dpi)”.
[0022]
The print range in the print mode setting unit 4003 sets a range of pages to be printed when the selected content is a content including a plurality of pages. If this print range is set to "All", all pages of the selected content are printed. If the print range is set to "Page" and the specified page is entered in the text box, only the specified page is specified. Is printed.
[0023]
The fee confirmation unit 4004 displays the fee required to print the selected content with the current print settings. Each time the user selects a new mode in the print mode setting unit 4003, the displayed fee is displayed after detecting a user input and calculating the fee.
[0024]
When the setting in the print mode setting unit 4003 is changed, the current print mode is notified from the image forming apparatus 1201 to the information content server 1101 via the communication network 1301. Then, the charging management unit 1104 of the information content server 1101 calculates a content usage fee according to the notified print mode, transmits the calculated content usage fee to the image forming apparatus 1201 via the communication network 1301, and It is displayed in the content fee portion of the confirmation unit 4004. At this time, depending on the print mode setting, the content fee or the print fee of the selected content data may be free for the print service user.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a print process in the information content print system.
Note that S5001 to S5007 in the figure represent each step.
In step S5001, the content selected by the user using the information content selection screen 2001 is selected. Subsequently, in step S5002, the print mode of the selected content is designated. Subsequently, in step S5003, a content print fee for printing the designated content in the designated print mode is calculated.
[0026]
Subsequently, in step S5004, it is determined whether a print start instruction has been issued. If the result of this determination is that print start has been instructed, processing for printing the specified number of copies of the specified page of the content selected by the user is started. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S5004 is that printing has not been instructed, processing returns to step S5003. When returning to step S5003, the print mode designation can be changed.
[0027]
Subsequently, in step S5005, print processing of one page of the content selected by the user is performed. After this one-page printing process is performed, subsequently, in step S5006, a fee for one page subjected to the printing process is charged.
[0028]
Subsequently, in step S5007, it is determined whether the specified number of prints has been completed. If the result of this determination is that printing of the specified number has not been completed, the flow returns to step S5005 to print the remaining pages and perform billing processing. On the other hand, when the printing of the specified number of sheets is completed, the process returns to the start again. By performing the above processing, the print processing of the content selected by the user can be performed.
[0029]
(Another embodiment of the present invention)
The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including one device.
[0030]
Further, various devices are operated so as to realize the functions of the above-described embodiment, for example, the respective components of the information content print system shown in FIG. 1, and the devices connected to the various devices or the computers in the system are operated. On the other hand, a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied from a storage medium or via a transmission medium such as the Internet, and a program stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus. The present invention also includes those implemented by operating the various devices according to the above.
[0031]
In this case, the program code of the software implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the program code itself and a unit for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, the program code is stored. The storage medium described constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for storing such a program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and the like can be used.
[0032]
When the computer executes the supplied program code, not only the functions described in the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) or other operating system running on the computer. Such a program code is also included in the embodiment of the present invention when the functions described in the above embodiment are realized in cooperation with application software or the like.
[0033]
Further, after the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, a CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit based on the instruction of the program code. The present invention also includes a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing some or all of the actual processing.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, when printing a content, the usage fee and the printing fee of the content are separately charged, so that the content provider and the print service provider can cooperate with each other to print various contents. Print service can be provided. For example, when printing an advertisement or a flyer, for example, a service in which both the content fee and the print fee are provided to the user free of charge and the print fee is charged to the content provider such as the advertiser, In the case where printing is performed by the user, services such as making the content usage fee free to the user can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information content print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an information content selection screen.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an information content detail display screen.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a print setting screen.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a print process in the information content print system.
[Explanation of symbols]
1101 Information content server 1102 Control section 1103 Content data section 1104 Charging management section 1105 Network communication section 1201 Image forming apparatus 1202 Control section 1203 Printer section 1204 Content data selection section 1205 Print mode setting section 1206 Content print charging management section 1207 Network communication section 1301 Communication network

Claims (6)

A server for storing information content in a storage medium,
An image forming apparatus that performs print processing of the input information content,
An information content print system comprising a communication medium that connects the server and the image forming unit,
The image forming apparatus includes: an information content selection unit for selecting information content stored in the server; and a print mode including a color mode, a resolution, an output size, a page designation, and the number of copies when printing the selected information content. Print mode setting means, a print charge calculation means for calculating a print charge according to the print mode set by the print mode setting means, and a print charge for charging the print charge calculated by the print charge calculation means. Management means,
The server transfers the information content data selected by the information content selection means to the image forming apparatus via the communication medium in a data format according to the print mode setting means, and the data format of the transferred information content An information content print system comprising a content charge management unit for charging a content usage fee according to the content. 2. The information content printing system according to claim 1, wherein the server further includes an access control unit that controls access to the information content from the image forming apparatus via the communication medium. 3. The information content print system according to claim 1, wherein the content charge management unit charges a content usage fee according to a resolution of the information content data transferred to the image forming apparatus. 3. The information content printing system according to claim 1, wherein the content accounting management unit charges a content usage fee according to a color attribute of the information content data transferred to the image forming apparatus. The server is a server managed and operated by an information content service provider, the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus managed and operated by a print service provider, and the access control unit is configured to transmit the information content from the image forming apparatus to the information content. Identifying the print service provider from the access, and when the image forming apparatus prints out the information content, the content charging management unit charges the identified print service provider a usage fee for the information content, 5. The information content print according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus charges a user who uses a print service a total amount of the information content usage fee and the printing fee. 6. system. The server is a server managed and operated by an information content service provider, the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus managed and operated by a print service provider, and the access control unit is configured to transmit the information content from the image forming apparatus to the information content. Identifying the print service provider from the access, and when the image forming apparatus prints out the information content, the content charge management unit charges the identified print service provider a charge for information content including free of charge. The image forming apparatus charges a fee for using the information content to a user who uses a print service, and in accordance with the printed information content, charges the print fee to the print service user or the service user of the information content. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the user is charged for Placing information content printing system.

Images