JP2005346067A - Image output method, image output device and image output program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the same advertisement from being outputted redundantly to the same customer. <P>SOLUTION: When an image with an advertisement is outputted, a customer is decided to be the same customer or not and if the customer is not the same, selection flags of all advertisement data are turned off; and when charge payment is affirmed, reduction instruction of image data is performed (step 220 and 222). Thereafter, when advertisement data whose selection flag is off are selected, the selection flag of the selected advertisement data is set to be on, and the number of distribution sheets of the advertisement data is incremented (step 226 to 230). Thereafter, by instructing composite print processing of the selected advertisement data and reduced image data to an image output device, the advertisement of the selected advertisement data and an image of the image data are recorded on a recording sheet and outputted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image output device and an image output method, and more particularly to an image output method, an image output device, and an image output program for recording an image on a recording sheet based on image data and outputting the image.

  Retailers and the like have conventionally promoted sales by flyer advertisements that have been printed by printing companies and advertisements such as TV commercials. However, a small retailer such as a private store has a small area where advertisements are required. Therefore, not only a TV commercial but also a large number of leaflets as requested by a printing company is not required, and the advertising cost is rather high.

  By the way, in recent years, convenience store stores and the like have introduced image output devices that record and output images based on image data such as copy machines on recording paper, and neighboring residents etc. charge a fee according to the number of output sheets. The document can be copied into the apparatus and copied.

  As an effective advertising means for a small-scale retailer, conventionally, an advertisement is printed in advance on a recording sheet on which an image is recorded by using an image output device installed in a convenience store or the like. However, in this case, all the same advertisements are printed, and it is not possible to handle a plurality of types of advertisements.

  For this reason, JP-A-8-256256 and JP-A-11-192760 disclose a technique for downloading advertisement data from a server device on a network and printing an advertisement in a blank area of a recording sheet at the time of copying / printing. There is. In such a case, the billing for the advertising fee is generally determined by the number of printed advertisements as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-90832.

  However, when the same user continuously copies the originals while making copies, the same advertisement appears, and the advertisement is effective for both the advertiser and the third party who is the user of the image output device. There are times when the effect cannot be obtained.

  In addition, the present invention was made to solve the above-described problems, and an image output method and an image that prevent the advertisement effect from being reduced by the same advertisement being output to the same user. An object is to provide an output device and an image output program.

  An image output method of the present invention for achieving the above object is an image output method for recording and outputting an image according to image data on a recording paper, and from a plurality of advertisement data stored in a storage means, When advertisement data output in association with image output of the image data is selected, and the selected advertisement data is output in association with the advertisement data, the advertisement is based on reference data indicating whether the advertisement data can be selected. In addition to selecting data, the reference data of the selected advertisement data is rewritten, and it is determined whether the third party to which the advertisement data is disclosed is the same as the previous advertisement data output, and the selection based on the determination result The reference data of the advertisement data that has been sent is rewritten.

  In the image output method of the present invention, when the image data is input, it is determined whether a third party to whom the advertisement data is disclosed is the same as the previous output of the advertisement data. Features.

  According to this invention, for each advertisement data, reference data (for example, a selection flag) indicating whether or not output is possible in relation to image output is set, and an image is selected from the advertisement data that can be selected by the reference data. Select the advertisement data to be output in relation to the output.

  The reference data is rewritten so that the advertisement data is excluded from the selection target when the advertisement data is selected. Further, when it is determined that the third party to which the advertisement data is disclosed has been replaced, the reference data of the selected advertisement data is rewritten.

  As a result, the advertisement data already selected to be output in association with the image output is not selected again, and all advertisement data can be selected when a third party is replaced. It is trying to become.

  An image output apparatus to which the present invention is applied is an image output apparatus that records and outputs an image according to image data on a recording sheet, and includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of advertisement data, and the advertisement data. Selecting and selecting advertisement data to be output in association with the image output of the image data from the plurality of advertisement data stored in the storage unit based on reference data indicating whether or not each can be selected A selection unit that rewrites reference data of data, and the advertisement data selected by the selection unit is output in association with the image output of the image data, thereby controlling the advertisement data to be disclosed to a third party. Output control means, determination means for determining whether or not the third party to which the advertisement data is disclosed is the same as the previous advertisement data output, and the determination result of the determination means And rewriting means for rewriting the reference data of the advertisement data selected by the selection means according to the information, and when the image data is input, the judgment means A third party to whom data is disclosed may determine whether or not it is the same as the previous output of the advertisement data.

  The image output program to which the present invention is applied records an image corresponding to the image data on a recording paper and outputs the image, and outputs a plurality of advertisement data stored in the storage means in association with the image output. An image output program that is made public by performing a step of determining replacement of a third party to which the advertisement data is disclosed, and selectable for each of the advertisement data when it is determined that the third party has been replaced Reselecting reference data indicating whether or not there is selection, and when the image output is instructed, selecting advertisement data to be output in association with the image output from the plurality of advertisement data based on the reference data Rewriting the reference data so that the selected advertisement data is a non-selection target, A step of instructing the output of the selected advertisement data may include.

  The output control means may be controlled so that the advertisement data is output from the image output device, or further includes an output means for outputting the advertisement data, and the output control means The advertisement data may be controlled to be output from the output means, and may be output from the output means or from both the output means and the image output device.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is determined that the advertisement data to be output in relation to the image output from the advertisement data stored in the storage means is replaced when the advertisement data is selected and by a third party. Since the selection is made based on the reference data for each advertisement data that is sometimes rewritten, it is possible to prevent the same advertisement from being disclosed to the same customer and to improve the advertisement effect of the advertisement data. Is obtained.

<First Embodiment>
Next, an example of an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an external view of an image output system including an image output apparatus to which the present invention is applied. An image output system 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which a touch panel is overlaid on a display panel made up of a liquid crystal display plate as a user interface, and an image output device (so-called multifunction device) 12 having a copy, printer, and FAX function. A personal computer (PC) 16 having a touch panel display 14 and a billing device 18 for permitting the number of copies / prints corresponding to the amount of money inserted. The personal computer 16, the image output device 12, and the billing device 18 are connected to each other by a wired connection via a predetermined cable or a wireless connection such as infrared communication.

  In the present embodiment, image output systems 10 are installed in a plurality of convenience stores, etc., and each image output system 10 is connected to a network 20 such as a LAN or the Internet as shown in FIG. , And can communicate with each other via the network 20.

  An auxiliary table 24 is attached to the mounting table 22 on which the personal computer 16 is mounted. The auxiliary base 24 is a rectangular flat plate type, one side of which is attached to the mounting table 22 by a hinge, and a handle part 26 is formed on the opposite side. The auxiliary base 24 is normally stored so that the handle portion 26 faces the floor surface and is perpendicular to the floor surface. The user has the handle portion 26 and is attached to the mounting table 22 by a hinge. When the auxiliary base 24 is rotated around the side where it is lifted, the auxiliary base 24 can be set horizontally with the floor surface. On the auxiliary table 24 after setting, a device owned by a user such as a notebook computer or a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as “user possessed device”) can be placed.

  The auxiliary base 24 stores a user interface cable (not shown) such as a USB cable, one end of which is connected to the personal computer 16 in advance, and the other end is a cable storage port (not shown) of the auxiliary base 24. (Omitted) can be connected to the user-owned device.

  In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the auxiliary base 24 on which the user-owned device can be placed is attached to the mounting base 22 by a hinge so that the auxiliary base 24 can be stored. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is only necessary to have a stand on which the user holding device is placed and the user can easily operate the user holding device. Moreover, the stand on which the user-owned device can be placed may not be storable.

  FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the image output system 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image output apparatus 12 is provided on the upper surface of the image output apparatus, the scanner module 40 constituting the scanner function, the printer module 42 constituting the printer function, the FAX module 44 constituting the FAX function. And a user interface 46 such as a display panel and operation buttons, and an image output unit (IOT-SYS) 48 as output means. The scanner module 40, printer module 42, FAX module 44, and user interface 46 include: Each is connected to the image output unit 48 by a bus or the like.

  The scanner module 40 includes a document feeding unit that transports a document in a predetermined direction and an image recorded on a document transported by the document feeding unit or a document placed on a document placing table by a fixed reading optical system. The image reading unit and the like are read out, and the image data read by the image reading unit is output to the image output unit 48.

  The FAX module 44 is connected to a telephone line (ISDN) and the personal computer 16 respectively. The FAX module 44 dials a transmission destination based on a signal from the user interface 46 or the personal computer 16 and acquires image data acquired by the scanner module or the personal computer 16. The image data is converted into a signal corresponding to the communication mode of the transmission destination and transmitted via the telephone line. In addition, a signal received via the telephone line is converted into image data and output to the image output unit 48.

  The printer module 42 is connected to a hub 52 connected to the network 20 via the communication control unit 50, and can communicate with other devices connected to the hub 52 and devices connected to the network 20. ing.

  The printer module 42 also includes a memory 54 that stores print jobs and image data. The printer module 42 receives print jobs transmitted from other devices through communication via the communication control unit 50 and temporarily stores them in the memory 54. When the image output device 12 becomes capable of performing an image output operation based on the print job, the print job is read from the memory 54, developed into image data, and output to the image output unit 48.

  The image output unit 48 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor based on the image data from the scanner module 40, the FAX module 44, or the printer module 42, and the formed electrostatic latent image is monochrome toner or color toner. The developed image is transferred to a recording sheet as a recording medium and output (this series of operations is referred to as “image output operation”).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the personal computer 16 includes a CPU 60, a memory 62 such as a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD, and an input / output port 64 for inputting and outputting data. The CPU 60, the memory 62, and the input / output port 64 are connected to each other via a bus.

  The input / output port 64 is connected to the hub 52 via the communication control unit 66, and can communicate with other devices (for example, the image output device 12) connected to the hub 52 and devices connected to the network 20. It has become.

  Further, the personal computer 16 is connected to the image output device 12, the billing device 18, and various peripheral devices via the input / output port 64 by wired connection via a predetermined cable or wireless connection such as infrared communication. Has been.

  As peripheral devices, in addition to the touch panel display 14, there are a keyboard 68, a mouse 70, a speaker 72, an external storage device 74, and the like. The external storage device 74 may be an FD drive, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-ROM writer, an MO drive, or the like that reads / writes data from / to an FD, CD-ROM, CD-RW, or MO. The speaker 72 may be built in the touch panel display 14.

  Various programs for operating the image output system 10 are preinstalled and stored in the memory 62, and the CPU 60 reads and executes these programs as appropriate. Specifically, not only the OS but also the copy, printer, and fax application programs for driving the copy, printer, and fax functions of the image output apparatus 12, and application programs for registration and distribution of advertisement data, respectively. A billing information collecting application program for calculating a charge, a billing management program for managing the amount of money input to the billing apparatus 18, and the like are installed. By executing these programs, various user interface screens are displayed on the touch panel display, and an instruction from the user can be accepted.

  Further, by reading and executing these programs from the memory 62 by the CPU 60 as appropriate, the personal computer 16 functions as a registration unit, a registration management unit, an output control unit, a registration fee charging instruction unit, and a sample fee charging instruction unit. It has become.

  The memory 62 also stores programs such as typical word processing software, layout software, and photo retouching software that are installed in advance. Furthermore, the memory 62 also stores a printer driver software program for the image output device 12 in advance. For example, the user-owned device is connected to the personal computer 16 via the user interface cable stored in the auxiliary table 24 described above. Then, the printer driver software program can be downloaded and installed in the user-owned device.

  Further, in the memory 62, various screen data displayed on the touch panel display 14 and various data related to registration / distribution of advertisement data, for example, each store where the image output system 10 connected by the network 20 is installed. The location information that includes the name and location information (map information, zip code, address, etc.), etc., and template data for sample printing for confirmation of advertisement data are stored in advance. ing.

  Further, the memory 62 reads and inputs an image recorded on a document using the scanner module 40 of the image output device 12, or reads it from an FD or CD-ROM set in the external storage device 74. The input advertisement data is also stored. The scanner module 40 or the external storage device 74 corresponds to the input means.

  The advertisement data may be stored in the memory 62 of the image output device 12, or a dedicated database may be provided in the image output system 10 and stored in the database. Alternatively, the personal computer 16 and the user possession device may be connected via a user interface cable, and advertisement data may be input from the user possession device.

  The billing device 18 uses a coin kit, and inserts coins or bills, a display panel for displaying the amount of money to be inserted and the balance, a return instruction button for instructing the return of the balance, and returning the balance. It has a return opening for the purpose.

  When the user inserts coins or bills from the insertion slot, the billing device 18 counts the amount inserted and displays the amount inserted on the display panel. In addition, when a user inputs a copy or print instruction by operating the user interface 46 of the image output apparatus 12 or the touch panel display 14 of the personal computer 16 and the image output apparatus 12 performs an image output operation. Then, the balance after subtracting the charge corresponding to the output number is displayed on the display panel. Further, when an instruction to return the balance is issued by operating the balance return button or the touch panel display 14 of the personal computer 16, the balance is returned to the user from the return slot.

  In the present embodiment, a case where a coin kit is used as the charging device 18 will be described as an example. However, a prepaid card, a cash card, an internet connection credit, or the like may be used.

  Next, as operations of the present embodiment, processing related to registration / distribution of advertisement data executed by the personal computer 16 will be described. 4 to 8 show processing routines of registration processing and image output processing as processing related to registration / distribution of advertisement data executed by the personal computer 16.

[registration process]
When an advertiser such as a retailer registers advertisement data, after preparing and preparing advertisement data to be registered in advance, registration of advertisement data is selected from a menu displayed on the touch panel display 14.

  In response to this, as shown in FIG. 4, the personal computer 16 determines that advertisement registration has been requested, proceeds from step 100 to step 102, and displays an advertisement registration screen for registering advertisement data on the touch panel display 14. indicate. In this embodiment, as an example, an advertisement registration screen 500 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

  Then, in the next step 104, the advertisement data prepared by the advertiser is read. For example, when advertisement data is recorded as an image on a recording paper or the like, a message is displayed on the touch panel display 14 to urge the recording paper to be placed on the document placement table of the image output device 12, and the advertiser touches the touch panel. When the start button is pressed from the display 14, an instruction to read the advertisement data (image) recorded on the recording paper is transmitted to the image output device 12, thereby causing the image output device 12 to operate the scanner module 40 and the document. The advertisement data is read from the storage paper on the mounting table. In the present embodiment, when the advertiser selects a button 502 for instructing the start of reading advertisement data on the advertisement registration screen 500, reading of advertisement data is started.

  Further, when advertisement data is recorded on a recording medium that can be read directly from the personal computer 16 such as an FD or a CD-ROM, a message is displayed on the touch panel display 14 to record the advertisement data. Is set in the external storage device 74, and when the recording medium is set, advertisement data is read from the recording medium.

  When the advertisement data is read, the process proceeds to step 106, and an instruction to select whether to perform sample printing or to set the next advertisement distribution store and distribution number without performing sample printing is received. The distribution number corresponds to the number of advertisements.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a button 504 for instructing execution of sample printing and a button for instructing execution of setting of an advertisement distribution store and the number of distributions on the advertisement registration screen 500 506 is provided.

  The advertiser selects button 504 if he wants to print a sample. As a result, the process proceeds from step 106 to step 108, the input amount of the charging device 18 is checked, and if it is confirmed that an amount more than the sample print charge as the sample output charge is input, the process proceeds to step 110, The template data stored in the memory 62 for sample printing and the read advertisement data are synthesized, sample data is generated and transmitted to the image output device 12, and printing is instructed.

  As a result, the image output unit 48 of the image output device 12 performs an image output operation based on the sample data. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a margin portion 510 generated by reducing an image based on a document or page data. An advertisement sample 512 in which images and characters based on advertisement data are arranged is printed on a recording sheet and output.

  The billing device 18 calculates the total amount of money immediately after coins (or banknotes) are inserted, and notifies the personal computer 16 of the result. Judgment of input of a print fee, determination of input of an advertisement fee as a registration fee, which will be described later, and determination of input of a discount print fee and a normal print fee are performed. Further, in the personal computer 16, when the input amount notification is received from the charging device 18, the input amount display fields 508 (see FIGS. 9, 12, 13, and 14) provided on each screen displayed on the touch panel display 14. The display is updated to the notified total amount.

  When the advertisement sample is printed, the process proceeds to step 112, where the billing device 18 is instructed to charge the sample print fee, and the billing device 18 receives a notification of the remaining amount obtained by subtracting the print fee from the total amount of the input amount. The notified balance is displayed in the display field 508. At this time, the balance return instruction may be transmitted to the billing device 18 so that the balance is returned from the billing device 18. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 116, and the advertisement distribution store / distribution number setting process shown in FIG. 5 is performed.

  If an amount equal to or greater than the print fee has not been entered into the charging apparatus 18 even after the predetermined period has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 108 to step 114 and step 116, and the sample print process is cancelled.

  On the other hand, when the sample print is unnecessary, the advertiser selects a button 506 for instructing execution of setting of the advertisement distribution store and the distribution number from the advertisement registration screen 500. As a result, the process directly moves from step 106 to step 116, and the advertisement distribution store / distribution number setting process shown in FIG. 5 is performed.

  In the advertisement distribution store / distribution number setting process, first, in step 140, an advertisement is distributed (output) from all stores where the image output system 10 is installed by displaying a selection screen (not shown) on the touch panel display 14. ) Whether to select a store to be distributed, or to distribute an advertisement only at the store, that is, to select an image output system 10 to output advertisement information from among the image output systems 10 connected to the network 20, The selection of whether to output the advertisement information only with the image output system 10 is accepted.

  Then, when an instruction to select a store to distribute the advertisement is input by the advertiser, the process proceeds from step 140 to step 141, and a search condition setting screen for designating a store to distribute the advertisement (advertisement distribution store) is displayed on the touch panel. Displayed on the display 14 and accepts the search condition settings.

  When a search condition for designating an advertisement distribution store is set from the search condition setting screen by the advertiser, the process proceeds from step 141 to step 142 and is connected to the network 20 based on the installation location information stored in the memory 62. A store corresponding to the set search condition is searched from all stores where the image output system 10 is installed, and the searched store is designated as an advertisement distribution store.

  In this embodiment, the store is classified into two types: “advertisement distribution store designation” that directly designates an advertisement distribution store and “advertisement distribution distance designation” that indirectly designates the center and the distance from the center. For example, a search condition setting screen 520 as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 to accept the search condition setting.

  The search condition setting screen 520 includes a button 522A for designating a store to which an advertisement is distributed from a map, a button 524A for designating from a name, a button 526A for designating from a zip code, for designating an advertisement distribution store. A button 528A for specifying by keyword search is provided. Similarly, for specifying an advertisement distribution distance, a button 522B for specifying from a map, a button 524B for specifying from a name, and a button for specifying from a zip code are provided. A button 526B and a button 528B for specifying by keyword search are provided.

  When the advertisement distribution store is designated by the advertisement distribution store designation, the advertiser operates one of the buttons 522A to 528A provided for the advertisement distribution store designation on the search condition setting screen 520. When the button 522A for designating on the map is operated, the personal computer 16 displays a map that can be selected in units of prefectures on the touch panel display 14, and a map or city that can be selected in units of cities, towns or villages when a prefecture is selected. When is selected, the map and the selection unit that can be selected in order of the street address are reduced in order, and the search is performed using the area selected last as a search condition. Thereby, for example, when a municipality is selected last, a store located in the municipality is searched and designated as an advertisement distribution store.

  When the button 524A for designating from the name, the button 526A for designating from the postal code, or the button 528A for designating by keyword search is operated, the personal computer 16 displays the place name corresponding to the operated button, An input field (not shown) for inputting a zip code or a keyword is displayed on the touch panel display 14, and a search is performed using the place name, zip code, or keyword input in the input field as a search condition. As a result, a store corresponding to the search condition based on the place name, zip code, or keyword input in the input field is searched and designated as an advertisement distribution store.

  On the other hand, when the advertisement distribution store is designated by specifying the advertisement distribution distance, the advertiser operates one of the buttons 522B to 528B provided for designating the advertisement distribution distance, and first, as in the case of designating the advertisement distribution store. By designating a store, a store (central store) as a central location is designated. A plurality of central stores can be designated.

  When the central store is designated, the personal computer 16 displays an input field (not shown) for designating the range in which the advertisement is distributed by the distance from the central store for each designated central store. Based on the stored installation location information, a store located within the distance range input in the input field from the central store is searched, and the central store and the searched store are designated as an advertisement distribution store.

  Thus, when an advertisement distribution store is specified, either a distribution number calculation instruction for calculating the distribution number from the input amount (step 144) or an advertisement charge calculation instruction for calculating the advertisement fee from the distribution number (step 146). Accepts input.

  On the other hand, when an instruction indicating that the advertisement is distributed only at the store where the image output system 10 is installed is entered, the process proceeds from step 140 to step 143, and the store is designated as the advertisement distribution store. Thereafter, similarly, an input of either a distribution number calculation instruction for calculating the distribution number from the input amount (step 144) or an advertisement charge calculation instruction for calculating the advertisement fee from the distribution number (step 146) is accepted.

  In this embodiment, when an advertisement distribution store is specified, a distribution number setting screen 530 for setting the distribution number for each store as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 to calculate the distribution number. An instruction or an instruction fee calculation instruction input is accepted.

  In the distribution number setting screen 530 shown in FIG. 12, the name of each store designated as the advertisement distribution store is displayed in a list in the store display field 532, and an input for inputting the distribution number for each store displayed in the list. A field 534, a button 536 for inputting an instruction for automatically calculating the number of distributions based on the input amount, a button 538 for inputting an instruction for calculating an advertisement fee based on the number of distributions, and a button 539 for instructing registration of advertisement data are provided. ing. In addition to a display field 508 for displaying the input amount, a display field 540 for displaying the advertisement fee and a display field 542 for displaying the shortage amount are provided.

  When it is desired to automatically calculate the number of distributions from the inserted amount, the advertiser inserts coins and bills prepared in the charging device 18 and selects the button 536. When the button 536 is selected, it is determined that an instruction to automatically calculate the number of distributions has been input, the process proceeds from step 144 to step 148, and it is confirmed whether coins or bills are inserted into the billing device 18. If not, the message indicating that is displayed on the touch panel display 14, and the process returns to step 144.

  When the insertion is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 150, where the number of advertisements that can be distributed is calculated based on the amount of input that has been input to the charging apparatus 18, and the total number of distributions is set to the calculated number of copies. Allocate to each advertisement distribution store.

  For example, if two stores are designated as advertisement distribution stores, the advertising fee per sheet is 60 yen, and the input amount is 12,000 yen, each store has 100 (= 12000 ÷ 60 ÷ 2) sheets. It is allocated as a distribution number. Then, the process proceeds to step 152 where the allocated number of distributions is automatically input and displayed in the input field 534 for each store, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

  In addition, when the advertisement distribution store is specified in the advertisement distribution distance specification, the distribution number of the central store is the largest, the distribution number is decreased as the distance from the central store is reduced, and weighting is performed according to the distance from the central store, You may make it allocate the number of distribution. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the distribution of advertisements is performed by displaying an input field 534 for the number of distributions of each advertisement distribution store along with the store name at a position corresponding to the location of each distribution store on the map. The stores may be displayed with the positional relationship between the stores displayed, and a concentric circle 544 centered on the central store may be displayed to determine the number of distribution copies.

  On the other hand, when it is desired to calculate the advertising fee from the distribution number, the advertiser inputs a desired distribution number in the input field 534 for inputting the distribution number of each store, and selects the button 538. When the button 538 is selected, it is determined that an instruction for calculating the advertising fee has been input based on the number of distributions, the process proceeds from step 144 to step 146 and step 154, and the distribution number is input to the input field 534 of each advertisement distribution store. Check that it is set.

  If the distribution number is not set, a message indicating that is displayed on the touch panel display 14 and the process returns to step 144.

  When the setting of the distribution number is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 156, where the total distribution number of the advertisement distribution store is obtained, and the advertisement fee is calculated based on the total distribution number. For example, if the advertising fee per sheet is 60 yen, two stores are designated as advertisement distribution stores, and the number of distributions at each store is 100, 12000 (= 60 × (100 + 100)) yen. Advertising fee.

  Then, the process proceeds to step 158 to automatically display the calculated advertisement fee in the display field 540 and if the amount charged in the charging device 18 is less than the advertisement fee, the insufficient fee is displayed in the display field 542. Is automatically displayed, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

  Returning to the main routine of FIG. 4, the personal computer 16 waits until an advertisement data registration instruction is input (step 118) or until a predetermined time has elapsed since the touch panel display 14 was last operated (step 120). .

  When the advertiser confirms the advertisement distribution store, the distribution number for each store, and the advertisement fee on the distribution number setting screen 530 and determines that the advertisement data can be registered, the advertiser starts from the distribution number setting screen 530. A button 539 for instructing registration of advertisement data is selected. As a result, the personal computer 16 determines that the registration of advertisement data has been instructed, and proceeds from step 118 to step 122.

  If no advertisement data registration instruction is input even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 118 to step 120, a negative determination is made in step 120, and the process ends as a timeout (registration cancellation).

  In step 122, the charged amount of the charging device 18 is checked to confirm that an amount that is equal to or greater than the advertisement fee has been inserted. If the advertising fee is not charged to the charging device 18 after a predetermined time has passed after the advertisement data registration instruction is input, the process proceeds from step 122 to step 124, a negative determination is made in step 124, and the process is terminated as a timeout. (Registration cancellation).

  When it is confirmed that the advertisement fee has been charged, the process proceeds to step 126, where the advertisement data is transmitted to each image output system 10 installed in each store designated as the advertisement distribution store, and each advertisement distribution store Each of the advertisement data is stored (registered) in the memory 62 of the image output system 10 installed in the system. Subsequently, in step 128, for each image output system 10 installed in each advertisement distribution store, a distribution number counter for counting the number of distributions of the advertisement data is set to 0, and the number of distributions corresponding to the store is set. And the maximum countable value of the distribution number counter is set.

  Then, the process proceeds to step 130, where the billing device 18 is instructed to charge the advertisement fee, receives a notification of the balance from the billing device 18 minus the advertisement fee, and notifies the input amount display field 508 of the notification. Display the remaining balance. At this time, the balance return instruction may be transmitted to the billing device 18 so that the balance is returned from the billing device 18.

  When the registration process of the advertisement data is completed in this way, the print with the advertisement registered from the image output system 10 installed in each store designated as the store to which the advertisement is distributed becomes possible. If the advertiser registers coupon data as advertisement data, printing with a coupon is also possible.

[Image output processing]
When a customer who visits a store where the image output system 10 is installed wants to copy a document using the image output device 12, he / she sets the document on the document table and selects a copy from the menu displayed on the touch panel display 14 ( Press). If you want to print data created with word processing software, set a storage medium such as FD that stores the data in an external storage device, or connect a user-owned device that stores the data in the internal memory to a user interface cable. Is selected (pressed) from a menu displayed on the touch panel display 14.

  In response to this, the personal computer 16 determines that copying or printing (hereinafter collectively referred to as “image output”) is requested, as shown in FIG. 6, and proceeds from step 200 to step 202. For example, FIG. The image output instruction screen 550 for instructing to output an image with an advertisement or an image without an advertisement is specified on the touch panel display 14 by designating the number of copies to be copied or printed as shown in FIG.

  The customer inputs a desired number of copies in the number of copies input field 552 on the image output instruction screen 550. When an advertisement may be posted, the button 554 for instructing output of an image with an advertisement is selected. When the advertisement is not desired to be posted, the button 556 for instructing output of an advertisement-free image is selected, and the billing apparatus A fee will be charged to 18.

  When any of the buttons 554 and 556 is operated, the personal computer 16 determines that an image output has been instructed (copy / print job input), proceeds from step 204 to step 206, and is the same as the previous image output. Determine if you are a customer.

  The determination as to whether or not the customer is the same customer is made, for example, by selecting a button for instructing charge return (clearing) from the touch panel display 14 or the user interface 46 of the image output apparatus 12 or operating the return instruction button of the charging apparatus 18. It can be determined based on the ON / OFF state of the same customer flag that is turned off (cleared) when the fee is settled. Alternatively, the same customer flag may be turned off when the balance becomes 0. Alternatively, a sensor that detects whether or not there is a customer in front of the image output system (forward with respect to the touch panel display 14) is installed, and when it is determined by the sensor that there is no customer for a predetermined time, the same customer The flag may be turned off. Moreover, you may combine these. That is, a button for instructing a charge return (clearing) on the user interface 46, a return instruction button on the charging device 18, or a sensor for detecting whether or not there is a customer corresponds to the detecting means.

  If it is determined that they are not the same customer, all the selection flags that are turned on when all advertisement data registered in the image output system 10 are selected as output advertisement data in step 208 are turned off. If it is determined that the customer is the same customer, the process proceeds to step 210 as it is. In step 210, it is determined whether or not an advertisement may be posted.

  When the button 554 for instructing image output with advertisement is selected in the above-described step 204 and the image output is instructed, it is determined in step 210 that the advertisement may be posted, the process proceeds to step 212, and FIG. The advertisement-added image output process shown is executed. On the other hand, when the button 556 for instructing the image output without advertisement is selected and the image output is instructed, it is determined in step 210 that the insertion of the advertisement is not permitted, the process proceeds to step 214, and the image with no advertisement shown in FIG. Execute output processing.

[Image output processing with advertisement]
In the image output process with advertisement, as shown in FIG. 7, first, in step 220, it is confirmed whether or not an amount equal to or more than the discount print fee for one sheet has been input to the charging device 18. If it is confirmed that an amount equal to or greater than the discount print fee has been entered, the process proceeds to step 222, and an instruction to reduce the image data that has been instructed to be copied or printed by the customer is transmitted to the image output apparatus 12.

  Upon receiving this reduction instruction, the image output apparatus 12 reduces the image data obtained by reading the original with the scanner module 40 in the case of copying, and the image data in which the page data in the print job is expanded in the printer module 42 in the case of printing. A blank area is created when recording on a recording sheet.

  If the charging device 18 does not confirm that the discount print fee has been charged even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 220 to step 224, a negative determination is made in step 224, and the process ends as a timeout. At this time, the billing device 18 may be instructed to return the balance.

  When the image data reduction instruction is transmitted, the process proceeds to step 226, and one advertisement data whose selection flag is OFF is selected as the advertisement data for output from the advertisement data registered in the memory 62. In step 228, The selection flag of the selected advertisement data is turned ON, and in step 230, the distribution number counter of the selected advertisement data is incremented.

  In the next step 232, the selected advertisement data is transmitted to the image output device 12, and an instruction to synthesize print of the advertisement data and the image data reduced by the reduction instruction in step 222 is transmitted.

  In response to the advertisement data and the composite print instruction, the image output device 12 combines the image data based on the advertisement data with the reduced image data so that the image based on the advertisement data is recorded in the blank area. An image output operation is performed based on the combined image data. As a result, the image based on the image data that is copied or printed by the customer is reduced and recorded on the recording paper, and the image based on the advertisement data (advertisement image) is recorded and output in the margin area.

  Subsequently, in the next step 234, it is determined whether or not the count number of the distribution number counter incremented in the above-mentioned step 230 is the set distribution number (the maximum countable value set in the above-mentioned step 128). In the case of the set number of distributions, it is determined in step 236 that distribution for the set number of distributions has been completed, and the advertisement data is deleted from the memory 62 and then the process proceeds to step 238.

  If the count number of the distribution number counter is not the set distribution number, the process proceeds to step 238 as it is, and the charging device 18 is instructed to apply the discount fee, and the discount fee is calculated from the total amount of money input from the charging device 18. In response to the notification of the balance remaining after deducting, the display in the display column of the input money amount is updated to the notified balance.

  Then, in the next step 240, it is determined whether or not the image output based on the job input in the above-mentioned step 204 has been completed, and if the image output based on the job remains, the image output of the next page is performed. Therefore, the process returns to step 220 and the above process is repeated. When the image output based on the job is finished, the process is finished.

[Image output without advertisement]
In the advertisement-free image output process, as shown in FIG. 8, first, in step 250, it is confirmed whether or not an amount equal to or more than the normal print fee for one sheet has been put into the charging device 18. If it is confirmed that an amount more than the normal print fee has been input, the process proceeds to step 252 to transmit a print instruction to the image output apparatus 12.

  In response to this print instruction, the image output apparatus 12 obtains image data obtained by reading a document with the scanner module 40 for copying, and develops page data in a print job with the printer module 42 for printing. A normal image output operation is performed based on the image data, and an image based on the image data is recorded on a recording sheet and output.

  If the charging device 18 does not confirm that the normal print fee has been charged even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 250 to step 254, a negative determination is made in step 254, and the process ends as a timeout. At this time, the billing device 18 may be instructed to return the balance.

  When the print instruction is transmitted, the process proceeds to step 256, where the charging device 18 is instructed to apply the normal charge, receives a notification of the remaining amount obtained by subtracting the discount fee from the total of the input amount, and receives the amount of the input amount. The display in the display column is updated to the notified balance.

  Then, in the next step 258, it is determined whether or not the image output based on the job input in the above-mentioned step 204 has been completed. If the image output based on the job still remains, the image output of the next page is performed. To do so, return to step 250 and repeat the above process. When the image output based on the job is finished, the process is finished.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the image output device 12 and the billing device 18 as conventionally installed in a convenience store or the like are used, and the operations of the image output device 12 and the billing device 18 are performed by the personal computer 16. If the advertiser sets the store where the image output system 10 is installed as a store that distributes the advertisement (outputs the advertisement data), the scanner module 40 reads the advertisement data from the document in which the advertisement data is stored. Or by reading the advertisement data from the FD or the like set in the external storage device 74 to input the advertisement data, register it in the memory 62, and copy or print when the customer selects the image output with advertisement The image data to be reduced is reduced, and an image based on the advertisement data is printed in the margin area. Thus, the advertiser can individually register the advertisement data, and can output the advertisement data without requiring a dedicated server device.

  Further, when selecting a store to distribute an advertisement from among the stores in which the image output system 10 connected to the network 20 is installed, when the search condition is input from the touch panel display 14 by the advertiser, the personal computer 16 A store corresponding to the search condition is searched and set as an advertisement distribution store, and the advertisement data input from the scanner module 40 or the external storage device 74 is sent to the image output system 10 installed in the advertisement distribution store through the network. Sent through. In the image output system 10 installed in the advertisement distribution store, the advertisement data transmitted via the network is registered in the memory 62, and when the customer selects the image output with advertisement, the image data to be copied or printed is reduced. An image based on the advertisement data registered in the margin area is printed.

  That is, by arbitrarily setting an advertisement distribution store in accordance with an advertiser's request, an image output system that outputs advertisement data can be arbitrarily set from the image output system 10 connected to the network 20, and a store with low advertising effectiveness. Thus, it is possible to prevent the advertisement from being distributed unnecessarily. Further, since the number of distributions can be set for each advertisement distribution store, for example, for a store having a high advertising effect, a larger number of distributions can be set, and effective advertisement is possible.

  When an advertisement distribution store is designated, the number of distributions for each advertising store is automatically calculated by the personal computer 16 based on the input amount of the charging device, or when the number of distributions is set for each advertising store, based on the total distribution number. Since the advertisement fee is automatically calculated, the advertiser can easily register the advertisement without performing complicated work.

  Further, since the registered advertisement data is deleted when the specified number of distributions is output, it is possible to prevent the same advertisement data from being output indefinitely even if the advertisement effect is weakened, and the storage capacity of the memory 62 is increased. There is also an effect to prevent. Further, by charging the advertisement fee based on the designated total number of distributions (collecting the advertisement fee from the advertiser), it is possible to increase the charging revenue of the image output system.

  In addition, the advertiser can confirm the advertisement data by performing a sample print when registering the advertisement. Since this sample print has no advertising effect, it does not have to be charged. However, as with the present embodiment, charging for this sample print also has the effect of preventing mass printing due to chilling.

  In addition, when outputting images with advertisements, by applying a discount fee lower than the normal charge, it is possible to charge customers appropriately and to improve the usage rate of image output with advertisements. Improvements can be made.

  Also, when a copy or print job is submitted, it is determined whether the customer is the same as the previous customer. If the customer is different, the selection flag for all advertisement data is turned OFF. The image output process with an advertisement and the image output process without an advertisement are performed without changing the setting. In the image output process with an advertisement, the advertisement data to be combined (printed) is selected from the advertisement data whose selection flag is OFF. It is like that. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the same advertisement from being printed twice for the same customer, and efficient advertisement distribution becomes possible.

  If the same customer makes a large number of copies or prints, and all advertisement data selection flags are turned on during the process, that is, if all advertisements have been printed for the same customer, all advertisements The data selection flag may be turned off to continue the advertisement-added image output process, or the advertisement-added image output process may be switched to the advertisement-free image output process.

  Further, when a plurality of copies or prints are made for one original or page data, the same advertisement may be placed on the same page of the original or page data. Alternatively, the customer can select whether or not to post the same advertisement by displaying on the touch panel display 14 a screen for selecting whether or not to place the same advertisement on the same page manuscript or page data. You may do it. Here, an image output process with an advertisement (an image output process with the same advertisement on the same page) in the case where the same advertisement is placed on a document or page data on the same page will be described.

[Image output processing with same page and same advertisement]
FIG. 15 shows an image output process with an advertisement when multiple copies or prints are designated for one document or page data and the same advertisement is placed on the same page document or page data. . In FIG. 15, the same processing steps as in FIG. 7 are assigned the same step numbers as in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the first print for one document or page data is processed in the same manner as in FIG. 7 described above until the billing instruction applying the discount fee to the billing device 18 in step 238. If so, the process proceeds to step 270, and the count number of the copy counter that counts the number of copies is set to one. In the next step 272, it is confirmed whether or not an amount equal to or more than the discount print fee for one sheet has been put into the charging apparatus 18. If it is confirmed that an amount greater than the discount print fee has been input, the process proceeds to step 274 to transmit the same print instruction to the image output apparatus 12.

  Upon receiving this same print instruction, the image output apparatus 12 executes the same image output operation as that performed previously, that is, the same image output operation as that performed when receiving the composite print instruction in step 232 described above. Accordingly, a recording sheet on which an image obtained by combining image data based on the same advertisement data with the same reduced image data is recorded is output.

  If the charging device 18 does not confirm that the normal print fee has been charged even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds from step 272 to step 276, a negative determination is made in step 276, and the process ends as a timeout. At this time, the billing device 18 may be instructed to return the balance.

  When the same print instruction is transmitted, the process proceeds to step 278, where the charging device 18 is instructed to apply the discount fee, and the charging device 18 receives a notice of the remaining amount obtained by subtracting the discount fee from the total of the input amount. The display in the display column is updated to the remaining balance notified.

  In the next step 280, the copy counter is incremented. Subsequently, in step 282, it is determined whether or not the copy number of the copy counter matches the copy set by the customer. If they do not coincide with each other, it is determined that image output for the set number of copies for the document or page data has not been completed, and the process returns to step 272 to repeat the processing from step 272 onward.

  If the number of copies of the copy counter matches the set number of copies, the process proceeds to step 240 to determine whether or not the image output based on the job input in step 204 is completed, and the image output based on the job still remains. If YES, the process returns to step 220 to output the image of the next page of the document or page data, and the processes in and after step 220 are repeated. When the image output based on the job is completed, the process ends.

  By such processing, the same advertisement can be placed on the same page when copying or printing a plurality of copies. At this time, when a plurality of copies or prints of the same page of manuscript or page data, the distribution number counter of the selected advertisement data may be incremented by the number of copies, but as described above, the manuscript or page data By incrementing the page unit, it is possible to prevent billing of advertisement fees for advertisements distributed to the same customer, that is, advertisement printing with low advertising effectiveness.

  In the above description, the case where an image based on advertisement data is printed in the margin has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image based on advertisement data (advertisement image) may be printed on the back side of the recording paper, or a portion of image data overlapping the image based on advertisement data may be cut and printed. An advertisement image may be displayed on the touch panel display 14.

  In the above description, the advertisement data is used as image data and the image output unit 48 is used as output means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the advertisement data may be video data, the touch panel display 14 may be used as output means, and the advertisement video may be displayed on the touch panel display 14, the advertisement data may be sound data, the speaker 72 may be output means, and the speaker 72 Advertising voice (music) may be output from Further, the advertisement data may be a combination of a plurality of types of data. For example, if video data and audio data are combined and the touch panel display 14 and the speaker 72 are used as output means, video and music as in a television CM. You can also advertise with

  Further, the case where the scanner module 40 and the external storage device 74 are used as input means has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a microphone may be used as input means, and an advertiser may input voice data as advertisement data on the spot.

  In the above description, the case where the advertisement fee is set according to the number of distributions, that is, the number of advertisements has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, depending on the type of advertisement data, such as whether the advertisement data is image data, audio data, or video data, and if the image data or video data is color or black and white, etc. You may change the price. In the above description, the case where advertisement data is simply registered has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be possible to specify and register a genre (field).

<Second Embodiment>
Next, as a second embodiment, a case will be described in which advertising data is registered by specifying a genre, and an advertising fee is charged according to the type of the advertising data. Note that the image output system in the second embodiment may be the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[registration process]
First, a registration process for registering advertisement data executed on the personal computer 16 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following, a case where copying is performed will be described as an example.

  For example, a menu screen 600 as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 in order to input a request. On the menu screen 600 shown in FIG. 18, a button 602 for requesting execution of a normal copy for copying at a normal copy price without posting an advertisement, execution of a free copy for copying free of charge by posting an advertisement A button 604 for requesting registration and a button 606 for requesting registration of advertisement data are provided.

  When registering advertisement data, the advertiser creates and prepares advertisement data to be registered in advance, and then selects the button 606. In the following, a case where advertisement data is recorded as an image on a recording sheet or the like will be described as an example. However, as described in the first embodiment, it can be read from a personal computer 16 such as an FD or a CD-ROM. It may be recorded on any recording medium. In addition, in order to make the standard (size, etc.) of the advertisement data, format data is prepared in advance for creating advertisement data, and the advertiser downloads the format data via the store or the network, and the format data It is advisable to create advertisement data based on the above.

  When the button 606 is selected, the personal computer 16 determines that advertisement registration has been requested, as shown in FIG. 16, proceeds from step 300 to step 302, and registers advertisement for registering advertisement data on the touch panel display 14. Display the screen. Then, the advertiser selects the advertisement genre, the store where the advertisement is distributed, and the advertisement type (color or monochrome) from the displayed advertisement registration screen, and sets the number of distributions. That is, the touch panel display 14 functions as a field specifying unit.

  When the advertiser selects an advertisement genre, an advertisement distribution store, and an advertisement type from the advertisement registration screen by the advertiser, the personal computer 16 proceeds from step 302 to steps 304, 306, 308, and 310 in sequence, and the distribution number is When set, the process proceeds from step 310 to step 312 to calculate the advertisement fee based on the type of the selected advertisement and the set number of distributions.

  Specifically, in this embodiment, as an example, advertisement registration screens as shown in FIG. 19 to FIG. 24 are sequentially displayed on the touch panel display 14 to select an advertisement genre, an advertisement distribution store, and an advertisement type. And the number of distributions are set. In each figure, the advertisement registration screen is divided into left and right parts, options that can be selected by the user (in this case, an advertiser) are displayed in the divided right area, and selection results by the user are displayed in the left area by buttons. It has become so. Each of the advertisement registration screens in each figure is provided with a “return” button 608A for returning to the previous screen and redoing the selection, and a “cancel” button 608B for canceling registration of advertisement data. Although omitted in the flowchart of FIG. 16 for simplification of description, the personal computer 16 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 before displaying the advertisement registration screen when the “return” button 608A is selected. When the “Cancel” button 608B is selected, the advertisement registration process is canceled and the display on the touch panel display 14 is returned to the menu screen 600.

  When the above button 606 is selected, first, an advertisement registration screen 610 shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the touch panel display 14. The advertiser sets the recording paper on which the created advertisement data is recorded on the document placement table of the image output device 12 and selects the advertisement registration start button 612 provided on the advertisement registration screen 610 for instructing the start of advertisement registration. To do.

  In response to this, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the advertisement registration screen 620 shown in FIG. On the advertisement registration screen 620 of FIG. 20, in order to specify the genre of the advertisement data to be registered, a “general commercial advertisement” button 622, a “sell / buy” button 624, a “various coupon ticket” button 626, “ A “stray dog, cat: other” button 628 is provided, and the PC 16 determines that an advertisement genre has been selected by selecting any one of these buttons.

  In other words, the advertiser is “sell / buy” when the advertisement data to be registered is a general commercial advertisement such as a store or a company, and the “general commercial advertisement” button 622, and when the advertisement data is an advertisement related to selling / buying various products and services. Button 624, “various coupons” button 626 in the case of coupons such as discount tickets and gift vouchers, advertisements for asking for lost dogs and lost cats, and advertisements not corresponding to any of the above , Cat: Other ”button 628 is selected.

  When the advertisement genre is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the advertisement registration screen 630 shown in FIG. On the advertisement registration screen 630 in FIG. 21, in order to specify a store to distribute an advertisement, a “main store only” button 632, a “within a radius of 5 km” button 634, a “within a radius of 10 km” button 636, “all “Store” button 638 is provided. On the right side of the “within 5 km radius” button 634, a comment 634 </ b> A indicating the number of stores in which the image output system 10 within 5 km radius from the store is installed, “radius” On the right side of the “within 10 km” button 636 is a comment 636B indicating the number of stores in which the image output system 10 within a radius of 10 km from the store is installed. On the right side of the “all stores” button 638, there is an image output system. A comment 638A indicating the total number of stores in which 10 is installed is provided. In the personal computer 16, when any one of these buttons 632, 634, 636, and 638 is selected, it is determined that the store to distribute the advertisement has been selected.

  In other words, the advertiser confirms the number of stores corresponding to each of the comments 634A, 636A, and 638A, and among the stores where the image output system 10 is installed, the advertiser travels with the advertisement data. A “main store only” button 632 is used to distribute the advertisement only at the store, and an “within 5 km radius” button 634 is distributed to the store where the image output system 10 is located within a radius of 5 km from the store. If distribution is desired at a store where the image output system 10 is located within a radius of 10 km from the store, the “within radius 10 km” button 636 is selected. If distribution is desired at all stores, the “all stores” button 638 is selected. .

  When the store to distribute the advertisement is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the advertisement registration screen 640 shown in FIG. On the advertisement registration screen 640 in FIG. 22, in order to specify the type of advertisement for color advertisement (advertisement data is output in color) or monochrome advertisement (advertisement data is output in black and white), “color” ”Button 642 and“ Monochrome ”button 644 are provided. On the right side of the“ Color ”button 642, a comment 642 A indicating an advertisement fee per sheet when the advertisement data is output in color, and a“ Monochrome ”button 644. On the right side, a comment 644A indicating an advertisement fee per sheet when the advertisement data is output in black and white is arranged. In the personal computer 16, it is determined that one of these buttons 642 and 644 has been selected, thereby selecting an advertisement type.

  That is, the advertiser confirms the advertising fee per sheet with the comments 642A and 644A, and selects the “color” button 642 if the user wants to make a color advertisement, and selects the “black and white” button 644 if he wants to make the monochrome advertisement.

  When the advertisement type is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the advertisement registration screen 650 shown in FIG. On the advertisement registration screen 650 in FIG. 23, a number button 652 corresponding to each of 1 to 9 and 0 for inputting the number of distributions, and a “sheet” button for inputting a signal indicating the end of the input of the number of distributions 654 is provided. The advertiser arbitrarily selects the numeric button 652 and inputs information indicating a desired number of sheets. The personal computer 16 determines that the number of distributions has been set by selecting the numeric button 652, and calculates the advertising fee.

  In the personal computer 16, the advertisement fee calculated in accordance with this is displayed in the display column 656A with the number of distributions input by the advertiser, and the calculation result of the advertisement fee is displayed in the display column 656B, thereby reducing the number of distributions by one. The advertisement fee per sheet is multiplied, and an expression indicating the result is completed and displayed in the advertisement fee display field 656. The advertiser confirms the advertisement fee and selects the “sheet” button 654 if it is within the budget. In this embodiment, when outputting in color, it is 50 yen per sheet, and when outputting in black and white, it is 10 yen per sheet. The advertiser determines the type of advertisement according to the budget. Or set the number of distributions.

  When the “sheet” button 654 is selected on the personal computer 16, the number of distributions and the advertisement fee are confirmed, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the advertisement registration screen 660 shown in FIG. 24, and steps 312 to 314 in FIG. To accept the input of advertisement data registration instruction. If a registration instruction is not input even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last touch panel display 14 operation, the process proceeds from step 314 to step 316, a negative determination is made in step 316, and the process ends as a timeout (registration). Cancel).

  The advertisement registration screen 660 of FIG. 24 is provided with a “registration” button 662 for inputting a registration instruction. The advertiser inputs an advertisement fee to the charging apparatus 18 and selects the “registration” button 662. . As a result, the personal computer 16 determines that registration of advertisement data has been instructed, and proceeds from step 314 to step 318.

  In step 318, the charged amount of the charging device 18 is checked to confirm that an amount greater than the advertisement fee has been inserted. If the registration fee is not charged to the charging device 18 even after a predetermined time has elapsed after inputting the registration instruction, the process proceeds from step 318 to step 320, a negative determination is made in step 320, and the process is terminated as a timeout (registration). Cancel).

  When it is confirmed that the advertisement fee has been charged, the process proceeds to step 322, where an image reading instruction is transmitted to the image output device 12, so that the scanner module 40 is operated in the image output device 12 and set on the document table. The advertisement data is read from the recording paper. At this time, when color is selected as the advertisement type in the above-described step 308, the advertisement data is read as a color image, and when monochrome is selected, the advertisement data is read as a monochrome image.

  When the advertisement data is read, the process proceeds to step 324, where the read advertisement data is displayed on the touch panel display 14 to prompt the advertiser to confirm. In this embodiment, as an example, an image 672 of advertisement data is displayed on an advertisement confirmation screen 670 as shown in FIG. 25 to prompt confirmation. When the advertiser confirms the image 672 and determines that this is sufficient, the advertiser selects the “confirm” button 674 provided on the advertisement confirmation screen 670. As a result, the personal computer 16 determines that information indicating confirmation OK has been input by the advertiser, makes an affirmative determination in 326 in the next step, and proceeds to step 328.

  If the advertisement data is determined not to be desired from the image 672, for example, by setting an incorrect recording sheet on the document placement table of the image output apparatus, the advertiser is provided on the advertisement confirmation screen 670. By selecting the “Return” button 676A or the “Cancel” button 676B, registration and cancellation may be performed, or registration may be performed again. Further, as in the first embodiment, sample print may be performed so that the advertisement data can be confirmed.

  In step 328, the advertisement data is transmitted to each image output system 10 installed in each store selected as a store to distribute the advertisement, and the image output system 10 installed in each advertisement distribution store. Each of the advertisement data is stored (registered) in the memory 62. Subsequently, in step 330, for each image output system 10 installed in each advertisement distribution store, a distribution number counter for counting the number of distributions of the advertisement data is set to 0, and the number of distributions to each advertisement distribution store is set. And set the maximum value that can be counted by the distribution number counter. Note that the distribution number of each advertisement distribution store may be automatically allocated by the computer 16 (for example, uniformly allocated, weighted according to the distance from the store, or the like). The main may set for each store.

  Then, the process proceeds to step 332, where the billing device 18 is instructed to bill the advertisement fee, and the process is terminated. At this time, for example, a registration completion screen 680 indicating the completion of registration processing as shown in FIG. 26 may be displayed on the touch panel display 14 to notify the advertiser of registration completion.

  After the advertisement data is registered as described above, when an advertisement is issued from a customer and a copy execution request is input, an image with an advertisement for outputting the copy output with the registered advertisement data added Perform output processing.

  For example, after the advertisement data is registered, a menu screen 700 as shown in FIG. 27 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 in order to input a copy request. In the menu screen 700 shown in FIG. 27, a button 702 for requesting execution of a normal copy for copying at a normal charge without posting an advertisement, and requesting execution of a free copy for copying instead of posting an advertisement. A button 704 is provided. The customer selects the button 702 when he / she wants to make a copy at a normal charge without placing an advertisement. In response to this, the personal computer 16 performs an image output process without an advertisement similar to that in the first embodiment, for example, and performs a normal copy or print without posting an advertisement at a normal charge.

  The customer selects button 704 if he wishes to make a free copy instead of allowing the advertisement to be posted. In response to this, the personal computer 16 determines that execution of the free copy has been requested, and performs an image output process with an advertisement.

[Image output processing with advertisement]
Next, with reference to FIG. 17, the image output process with an advertisement performed by the personal computer will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 17, when the image output process with advertisement is started, first, at step 350, an image output setting screen for performing various settings for performing image output with advertisement is displayed on the touch panel display 14. From the displayed image output setting screen, the customer selects the type of image output (color / black and white), the genre of advertisement data permitted to be placed, and the advertisement placement method (reduction method / cut method) and sets the number of prints. Set. When the customer selects the image output type, the advertisement genre, and the advertisement posting method from the image output setting screen, the personal computer 16 proceeds from step 350 to steps 352, 354, 356, and 358, and sets the number of prints. Then, the process proceeds from step 358 to step 360, and the print fee is calculated based on the selected type of image output and the set number of prints. In this embodiment, the print fee is calculated up to 5 sheets for color image output and up to 20 sheets for black and white, and the excess is calculated as a print fee at the normal charge. However, without placing an upper limit on the free number of sheets, it is possible to print any number of sheets for free by allowing the advertisement to be posted, or a discount fee may be applied by posting the advertisement.

  Specifically, in this embodiment, as an example, image output setting screens such as those shown in FIGS. 28 to 32 are sequentially displayed on the touch panel display 14, and the type of image output (color / black and white) and advertisements permitted to be posted. Selection of the genre of data, the advertisement posting method (reduction method / cutting method), and setting of the number of prints (that is, copy output) are performed. In each figure, the image output setting screen is divided into two parts on the right and left, the divided right area displays options that a user (customer in this case) can select, and the left area displays the selection results by the user with buttons. It has become so. In addition, the image output setting screen of each figure is provided with a “return” button 706A for returning to the previous screen and redoing selection, and a “stop” button 706B for canceling image output. Although omitted in the flowchart of FIG. 17 for simplification of description, the personal computer 16 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 before displaying the image output setting screen when the “return” button 706A is selected. The displayed image output setting screen is displayed, and when the “CANCEL” button 706B is selected, the image output process with advertisement is stopped and the display on the touch panel display 14 is returned to the menu screen 700.

  When the above-described button 702 is selected, first, an image output setting screen 710 is displayed on the touch panel display 14 in FIG. The image output setting screen 710 of FIG. 28 is provided with a “monochrome” button 712 and a “color” button 714 for selecting whether to output an image in black and white (black and white copy) or to output an image in color (color copy). On the right side of the “black and white” button 712, a comment 712A indicating the number of prints that is free when outputting an image in black and white, and on the right side of the “color” button 714 is free when outputting an image in color. A comment 714A indicating the number of prints is arranged. The personal computer 16 determines that one of these buttons 712 and 714 has been selected, thereby selecting the type of image output.

  That is, the customer sets a document to be copied on the document placing table of the image output device 12 and confirms the number of prints to be free with the comments 712A and 714A. If the user wants to output an image in black and white, the user selects the “black and white” button 714.

  When the type of image output is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the image output setting screen 720 shown in FIG. On the image output setting screen 720 of FIG. 29, in order to specify the genre of advertisement data permitted to be posted, a “general commercial advertisement” button 722, a “sell / buy” button 724, and “various coupon tickets” buttons 726, a “stray dog, cat: other” button 728, and an “undesignated” button 730 for allowing the personal computer 16 to randomly select automatically, and one of these buttons is selected on the personal computer 16. Thus, it is determined that the advertisement genre has been selected.

  In other words, the “general commercial advertisement” button 722 allows the customer to post general commercial advertisements such as stores and companies, and “sell / buy” allows the customer to post advertisements related to selling and buying various products and services. Button 724, if you want to allow coupons such as discount coupons and gift vouchers to be posted, "Various coupons" button 726 When the permission is permitted, the “lost dog, cat: other” button 728 is selected. Further, when it is desired to have the personal computer 16 automatically select the genre at random, for example, the “undesignated” button 730 is selected.

  When the advertisement genre is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the image output setting screen 740 shown in FIG. On the image output setting screen 740 of FIG. 30, when the original is copied, the image data read from the original is reduced to reduce the image data read from the original. A “reduction method” button 742 and a “cut method” button 744 are provided in order to select a cut method for posting the advertisement data by cutting a portion overlapping with the advertisement data. The personal computer 16 determines that one of these buttons 742 and 744 has been selected, so that the advertisement placement method has been selected.

  That is, if the customer may reduce the document but wants to copy the document without cutting, the customer can click the “reduction method” button 742, and if the customer can cut but does not want to change the magnification, the “cut method” button 744 is clicked. select.

  When the advertisement posting method is selected, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the image output setting screen 750 shown in FIG. On the image output setting screen 750 in FIG. 31, in order to input the number of prints, “numbers” 752 respectively corresponding to 1 to 9 and 0 and “sheets” for inputting a signal indicating the end of input of the number of prints. A button 754 is provided. The customer arbitrarily selects the number button 752 and inputs information indicating the desired number of sheets, and selects the “sheet” button 754. In the personal computer 16, the “sheet” button 754 is selected to determine the number of prints, and based on the number of prints, the print fee is calculated by subtracting the free number of copies.

  Then, the display on the touch panel display 14 is switched to the image output setting screen 760 shown in FIG. 32, and the process proceeds from step 360 to step 362 in FIG. 17 to accept an input of a copy start instruction. If a start instruction is not input even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last touch panel display 14 operation, the process proceeds from step 362 to step 364, a negative determination is made in step 364, and the process ends as a timeout (registration). Cancel).

  The image output setting screen 760 of FIG. 32 is provided with a “copy start” button 762 for inputting a copy start instruction. If the number of prints is within the free number, the customer can leave it as free. If the number exceeds a certain number, the printing fee corresponding to that number is input to the accounting apparatus 18 and the “copy start” button 762 is selected. As a result, the personal computer 16 determines that the start of copying has been instructed, and proceeds from step 362 to step 366.

  In step 366, the charged amount of the charging device 18 is checked, it is confirmed that an amount more than the print fee has been input, and if the input of the print fee is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 370. If the print fee is not charged to the charging device 18 even after a predetermined time has elapsed after inputting the registration instruction, the process proceeds from step 366 to step 368, a negative determination is made in step 368, and the process ends as a timeout (registration). Cancel). If the number of prints is within the free number, of course, an affirmative determination is immediately made at step 366 and the routine proceeds to step 370.

  In step 370, it is determined whether or not the reduction method has been selected in step 356 described above as the advertisement data posting method. When the reduction method is selected, the process proceeds to step 372, an image data reduction instruction is transmitted to the image output apparatus 12, and the process proceeds to step 376. In response to this reduction instruction, the image output device 12 obtains image data obtained by reading a document with the scanner module 40 for copying, and develops page data in a print job with the printer module 42 for printing. The image data is reduced so that a blank area is formed when the image data is recorded on the recording paper.

  On the other hand, if the cut method is selected in step 356 described above, the process proceeds to step 374, an image data cut instruction is transmitted to the image output apparatus 12, and the process proceeds to step 376. Upon receiving this cut instruction, the image output device 12 previously stores image data obtained by reading a document or image data obtained by developing page data in a print job in advance when it is recorded on recording paper. A portion that overlaps the predetermined advertisement data arrangement area is cut so that a blank area is formed in the advertisement data arrangement area.

  In step 376, when the advertisement data of the genre permitted to be published selected in the above step 354 is selected from the advertisement data registered in the memory 62, and the color image output is selected in the above step 352. When the color advertisement data and the monochrome image output are selected, the monochrome advertisement data is selected, and in the next step 378, the distribution number counter of the selected advertisement data is incremented.

  In the next step 380, the selected advertisement data is transmitted to the image output device 12, and the advertisement data and the image data reduced by the reduction instruction in step 372 described above or cut by the cut instruction in step 374 are cut. Sends an instruction for composite printing with the received image data. In response to this, the image output device 12 synthesizes the reduced or cut image data and the advertisement data so that the image based on the advertisement data is arranged in the blank area formed by the reduction or cut of the image data. An image is recorded on a recording sheet based on the synthesized image data.

  Subsequently, in the next step 382, it is determined whether or not the count number of the distribution number counter incremented in the above-mentioned step 378 is the set distribution number (maximum countable value set in the above-mentioned step 330). If the set number of distributions has been reached, the process proceeds to step 384, assuming that the distribution for the set number of distributions has been completed, deletes the advertisement data from the memory 62, and then proceeds to step 386.

  If the number of distribution counters has not reached the set number of distributions, the process proceeds directly to step 386 to determine whether or not the job has ended, and if image output based on the job still remains, In order to output an image such as a page, the process returns to step 370 and the above processing is repeated. If the job is to end, the process proceeds from step 386 to step 388 to instruct the charging device 18 to charge the print fee and end the process. If the number of prints is within the free number of sheets, the charging device 18 may be instructed to charge 0 yen, but it is not necessary to perform the charging, so the processing may be ended from step 386 as it is. Further, at the end of the process, the image output completion is displayed on the touch panel display 14 as shown in FIG. 33 and an image output completion screen 770 prompting the next use is displayed, for example, to notify the customer of the completion of the image output. It may be.

  In this way, by making the advertising fee different according to the type of color or black and white advertising data, the advertising fee is commensurate with the advertising effect obtained according to the type of advertising data, that is, according to the quality of the advertisement. Can be collected from advertisers. In addition, since the advertisement data can be registered by designating a genre (field), the advertisement can be effectively distributed to customers who need the advertisement of the genre.

1 is an external view of an image output system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a network connection diagram of an image output system according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image output system concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the registration process (main routine) performed with the personal computer concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of an advertisement distribution store and distribution number setting process (subroutine) executed by the personal computer according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart of the image output process (main routine) performed with the personal computer concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the image output process (subroutine) with advertisement performed with the personal computer concerning 1st Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of an advertisement-free image output process (subroutine) executed by the personal computer according to the first embodiment. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of a sample print. It is an example of a search condition setting screen. It is an example of a distribution number setting screen. It is another example of a distribution number setting screen. It is an example of an image output instruction | indication screen. It is a flowchart of the same page same advertisement attached image output processing. It is a flowchart which shows the registration process performed with the personal computer concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the image output process with an advertisement performed with the personal computer concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is an example of a menu screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement registration screen. It is an example of an advertisement confirmation screen. It is an example of a registration completion screen. It is an example of a menu screen. It is an example of an image output setting screen. It is an example of an image output setting screen. It is an example of an image output setting screen. It is an example of an image output setting screen. It is an example of an image output setting screen. It is an example of an image output completion screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image output system 12 Image output device 14 Touch panel display 16 Personal computer 18 Billing device 40 Scanner module 42 Printer module 44 FAX module 46 User interface 48 Image output part 50 Communication control unit 52 Hub 54 Memory 60 CPU
62 Memory 64 I / O port 66 Communication control unit

Claims (5)

An image output method for recording and outputting an image according to image data on a recording paper,
When selecting the advertisement data to be output in association with the image output of the image data from the plurality of advertisement data stored in the storage means, and outputting the selected advertisement data in association with the image data,
Selecting advertisement data based on reference data indicating whether the advertisement data can be selected, and rewriting the reference data of the selected advertisement data;
Determining whether the third party to which the advertisement data is published is the same as the previous advertisement data output, and rewriting the reference data of the selected advertisement data based on a determination result;
An image output method characterized by the above.   2. The image according to claim 1, wherein when the image data is input, a third party to whom the advertisement data is disclosed determines whether or not it is the same as the previous output of the advertisement data. output method. An image output device for recording and outputting an image according to image data on a recording paper,
Storage means for storing a plurality of advertisement data;
Selecting advertisement data to be output in association with the image output of the image data from the plurality of advertisement data stored in the storage unit based on reference data indicating whether or not each advertisement data can be selected; A selection means for rewriting the reference data of the selected advertisement data;
Output control means for controlling the advertisement data selected by the selection means to be disclosed to a third party by outputting the advertisement data in association with the image output of the image data;
Determining means for determining whether or not the third party to which the advertisement data is published is the same as the previous advertisement data output;
Rewriting means for rewriting the reference data of the advertisement data selected by the selection means according to the judgment result of the judgment means;
An image output apparatus comprising:   The determination means, when the image data is input, determines whether or not a third party to which the advertisement data is disclosed is the same as the previous output of the advertisement data. 4. The image output apparatus according to 3. An image output program that records and outputs an image according to image data on a recording paper, and publishes a plurality of advertisement data stored in a storage unit by outputting the advertisement data in association with image output,
Determining a turnover of a third party to which the advertising data is published;
When it is determined that the third party has been replaced, the reference data indicating whether or not each advertisement data can be selected is rewritten to be selectable,
Selecting advertisement data to be output in association with image output from the plurality of advertisement data based on the reference data when the image output is instructed;
Rewriting the reference data so that the selected advertisement data is a non-selection target;
Directing output of the selected advertisement data in association with the image output;
An image output program comprising:

Images