JP2002170034A - Contents server and contents delivery method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents server and contents delivery method capable of adding advertisement data as occasion demands in the transmission of printing data to a communication terminal having print output function such cellular phone or the like. SOLUTION: This contents server 12 accessible from the communication terminal having display function and printing function comprises a display data accumulating means 222 for accumulating display data to be displayed on the communication terminal with respect to the contents delivered through a network; a printing data accumulating means 223 for accumulating the printing data of higher quality than the display data attached to the contents; an advertisement data accumulating means 224 for accumulating the advertisement data added to the printing data and printed together with the printing data; a printing data transmitting means 211 for transmitting the printing data on the basis of the information for a printer kind connected to the communication terminal according to a print request from the communication terminal; and an advertisement data adding means 213 for obtaining the agreement to advertisement addition according to the print request from the communication terminal, and adding the advertisement data to the printing data with the agreement to advertisement addition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content server and a content distribution method for distributing contents including documents and images to a communication terminal device such as a mobile phone, and more particularly, to a communication terminal device having a print output function. The present invention relates to a content server and a content distribution method that can add advertisement data when transmitting print data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable telephones (including simple portable telephones called PHS) have rapidly spread, and their functions are not limited to the original telephones. Internet access functions and the like have been added. It is now possible to send and receive messages such as e-mails and access various web sites. In particular, access to the website
It is possible to receive various services using a mobile phone. Recently, there have been many websites dedicated to mobile phones. For website types,
For example, there are those that provide banking transactions, securities transactions, various reservations, provision of entertainment-related information, and various other services.

[0003] As one of such websites, a service for distributing an image of a character or the like that can be pasted on a standby screen of a mobile phone for a fee has also started. On the other hand, printers for mobile phones that can be connected to a mobile phone to perform print output have also been developed.

[0004]

However, there is a problem that a desired print quality cannot be ensured even if data distributed to a mobile phone is printed as it is.

[0005] Further, print data may be separately distributed, but if a fee-based service is charged by the same billing system as in the past, the cost becomes extremely high, so that many users cannot be collected. is there.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and when transmitting print data to a communication terminal device such as a mobile phone having a print output function, advertisement data can be added as necessary. It is an object to provide a content server and a content distribution method as described above.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content server accessed from a communication terminal device having a display function and a printing function, which is distributed via a network. Display data storage means for storing display data to be displayed on the communication terminal device with respect to content, and print data storage means for storing, along with the content, print data of higher quality than the display data; An advertisement data storage unit for storing advertisement data added to the print data and printed together with the print data, and a printer type connected to the communication terminal device in response to a print request from the communication terminal device A print data transmission unit for transmitting print data based on the information; and an advertisement addition unit in response to a print request from the communication terminal device. In content server, characterized by comprising the advertisement data transmission means for adding the advertisement data to the print data consent advertisement additional condition together with obtaining a meaning.

A second aspect of the present invention is the content server according to the first aspect, wherein the advertisement data is printed in a margin of a print area of the print data.

[0009] In a third aspect of the present invention based on the first or second aspect, the advertisement data adding means reduces the communication cost and reduces the number of printing times when the proposal for obtaining the consent to add the advertisement data is made. The content server presents at least one of the increase.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server which is accessed from a communication terminal device having a display function and a print function via a network, for displaying data and print data relating to contents to be delivered to the communication terminal device. When data is stored and print data is transmitted based on printer type information connected to the communication terminal device in response to a print request from the communication terminal device, consent for addition of an advertisement is obtained and The content distribution method is characterized in that advertisement data is added to the print data and transmitted on condition of consent.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the content distribution method according to the fourth aspect, wherein the advertisement data is printed in a margin of a print area of the print data.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth or fifth aspect, at least one of a reduction in communication cost and an increase in the number of times of printing is presented when making a proposal for obtaining consent to add the advertisement data. And a method of distributing content.

According to the present invention, when printing the content print data, the advertisement data can be added as necessary, and the user can obtain benefits such as reduction in communication costs and relaxation of the number of times of printing. This is useful for a content printing service via a communication terminal device.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a mobile phone will be described as an example of a communication terminal device (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a communication terminal or a terminal) of the present invention.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to terminals having various other communication functions, such as game machines, televisions, television set-top terminals, car navigation devices, and the like.

First, the configuration of the entire system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The mobile phone 10 as a communication terminal according to the present embodiment has a function of connecting a mobile phone group to the Internet 15 and a dedicated network 14.
Is also connected to various web (Web) servers 12 via. The dedicated network 14 configures a closed (closed) network that is isolated from the Internet 15, and cannot be accessed from the open Internet 15. That is, the private network 14 can be entered only through an access point that can be accessed only from a specific mobile phone. Of course, the mobile phone 10 can also access a Web site on the Internet 15 via the relay server 16, but a document or image (content) suitable for print output management described later is printed on a dedicated network. 14
On the web server 12 on the side. Thus, the print target can be protected from a device such as a personal computer that cannot restrict the free operation of the content.

It is also possible to arrange the web server 12 on the Internet 15. That is, if a mechanism is provided that can be accessed only from a specific type of communication terminal device such as a mobile phone (one that cannot perform free file operations, etc.), it can be placed on the open Internet 15 instead of on a dedicated network. Becomes One example of such a mechanism is that the server determines whether or not the communication terminal device can access the server using “UserAgent: xxx” in the header information of the HTTP request. In the following, for convenience of explanation, an example in which the web server 12 is placed on the dedicated network 14 will be described. However, the case where the web server 12 is placed on the Internet 15 is substantially the same. The web server 12 is a content server that provides various contents to the mobile phone 10. What is focused on in the present invention as the content is printable data such as a document and an image. Any web server 12 from mobile phone 10
, A desired image or document can be fetched therefrom, and this can be printed and output from the printer 18 to the paper 19 using the print output function of the mobile phone 10. The printer 18 is a printer dedicated to the mobile phone 10, and is connected to the mobile phone 10 via the connection cable 17.
Is connected to the connection terminal. However, the printer 18 connected to the mobile phone 10 does not necessarily need to be dedicated to the mobile phone, but may be connected to an ordinary printer for a personal computer as long as hardware and software interfaces are provided.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a schematic hardware configuration of the mobile phone 10. In this configuration, the central processing unit (C
The PU 101 controls the entire mobile phone 10. CP
U101 includes a ROM 105, a nonvolatile storage device 10
7, a RAM 108, a printer control unit 109, a flat display 122, various keys 131, a communication control unit 133, and an audio processing unit 138.

The ROM 105 is a read-only nonvolatile memory, and stores various computer programs executed by the CPU 101 and necessary data.

The nonvolatile storage device 107 is a rewritable storage device for storing various data that the user wants to store in a nonvolatile manner. The various data includes downloaded file data in addition to a telephone number, a FAX number, an e-mail address, a URL, and the like. A program that can be upgraded can also be stored in the nonvolatile storage device 107. As the nonvolatile storage device 107, besides a static storage medium such as a flash memory, a dynamic recording medium such as various disks may be used depending on the communication terminal.

The RAM 108 provides a temporary storage area and a work area necessary for the CPU 101 to execute a program, and an area for storing various data necessary for executing the program.

The printer control unit 109 provides a connection interface with the printer 18 shown in FIG. 1 and controls printing. It should be noted that the print output management itself of the present invention is based on R
This is realized by the CPU 101 executing a computer program stored in the OM 105 (or the nonvolatile storage device 107).

The flat display 122 is a device that displays on its screen various types of information on the mobile phone to inform the user.

The various keys 131 are used when the user
Numerical keys and various control keys for inputting various data and operation instructions to the device.

The communication control section 133 is a section for controlling wireless communication of voice and data. The communication control section 133 is connected to the antenna 135 via the RF section 134 and performs processing of radio signals.

The audio processing unit 138 is connected to the microphone 136 and the speaker 137, and performs audio input / output processing.

In FIG. 2, detailed configurations (for example, a display memory, a display controller, an input / output control unit, etc.) are not shown.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic hardware configuration example of the web server 12. The web server 12 includes a high-performance data processing unit 210 and a large-capacity data storage unit 220.
They are roughly divided into

The data storage unit 220 stores in advance an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) document 221, display image data 222, print (high quality) image data 223, and advertisement data 224 which constitute various contents. . The HTML document 221 includes the display image data 2
22 or the print image data 223 is embedded or linked, and further, the advertisement data 224 is embedded or linked.

The data processing unit 210 is connected to the dedicated network 14 (FIG. 1) and transmits / receives data. The transmission / reception unit 211 receives the printer type information transmitted from the mobile phone 10 and determines the printer type. The determination unit 212 determines whether or not to add an advertisement when printing, and when adding, an advertisement presence / absence determination unit 213 that adds advertisement data to print data, and an HTML document 221 stored in the data storage unit 220. A document processing unit 214 for reading and writing data, an image processing unit 215 for reading and writing and processing image data stored in the data storage unit 220, and a control unit 216 for controlling these functional units.

Here, the transmission / reception unit 211 and the printer type determination unit 212 transmit print data based on the type information of the printer connected to the mobile phone 10 in response to a print request from the mobile phone 10. The transmission / reception unit 211 and the advertisement presence / absence determination unit 21 constitute data transmission means.
Reference numeral 3 denotes an advertisement data adding unit that obtains consent to add an advertisement in response to a print request from the mobile phone 10 and adds advertisement data to the print data on condition that the consent to add an advertisement is a condition.

The operation of the present embodiment in the above system configuration will be described below.

FIG. 4 shows the printer 1 with respect to the mobile phone 10.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by both parties when connection is made. When the printer 18 is connected to the mobile phone 10, the mobile phone 10 requests the printer 18 for the printer type information (S11). The printer type information is identification information (for example, a number or a symbol) for identifying the attribute information of the printer itself or a combination of the attribute information, such as the resolution of the printer 18, monochrome / color, the number of colors, and the like. . Upon receiving this request (S21), the printer 18 transmits its own printer type information stored in advance (S22). Mobile phone 10
Receives the printer type information (S12) and stores it in the nonvolatile storage device 107 (FIG. 2) (S13).

Although the example in which the printer type information is transmitted and received when the printer is connected has been described, the information may be transmitted and received prior to each execution of printing.

Next, transmission and reception of data between the mobile phone 10 and the web server 12 will be described. Between the mobile phone 10 and the web server 12, a known HTTP (Hyper T
extTransfer Protocol) is used to transfer data. The data transmitted and received by the HTTP protocol is a document mainly described in a markup language such as HTML. However, the present invention is applicable to other markup languages other than HTML (for example, XM
L, SGML, etc.).

The mobile phone 10 can access a document on a web site using a dedicated web browser installed therein. In the present embodiment, a print management function described later is incorporated in the web browser.

When the user of the mobile phone 10 designates an address (URL) or a site of a specific web server 12 by a predetermined operation, the web browser specifies the content of a specific page of the web server 12 specified by the address (URL). For example, the transfer of an HTML file) is requested. In response, the web server 12 returns the HTML file of the page to the mobile phone 10. The browser receives the request, analyzes the content, and displays the content on the screen of the mobile phone 10. If an inline image is embedded in this page, the information is also requested to the web server 12. In response, the web server 12 returns the display image file. The browser receives this and displays the image at the designated position in the page. When the user designates an anchor point (or hot spot) on a page displayed on the screen, the user further requests information of another page or a location in the page to which the link is directed, or jumps to another site. be able to. The above is a general web browsing operation.

The operation of the mobile phone 10 and the web server 12 during printing will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Now, it is assumed that the mobile phone 10 is displaying some content captured from the web server 12. For a paid website, a warning is given to the user when the website is paid for. When the user of the mobile phone 10 gives a print instruction to a print target such as a displayed page or image, the process at the time of printing of the mobile phone 10 in FIG. 5 is started. In this example,
First, it is determined whether the print target is the display image itself or the corresponding high-quality image (S31). If the image is not a high-quality image, the process proceeds to the printing process in step S34. In this case,
Since the display data is printed as it is, there is no determination whether to add the advertisement data.

In the case of printing a high-quality image, a request is made to the web server 12 (S32). At this time, the above-described printer type information is also transmitted. Web server 1
2 receives this request and confirms the printer type (S41). Based on the printer type, high-quality image data that matches this is created or selected (S
42). Here, “creating” means performing processing such as resolution conversion and color number conversion on the base image so as to match the printer type. The purpose is to select image data matching the printer type from the image data for the type.

The web server 12 asks the user to determine whether or not the advertisement data can be added to the print data, and the advertisement is added to the image data to be transmitted on condition that the user's consent is obtained. High-quality image data to which data is added is created or selected (S43).

More specifically, it is determined whether advertisement data may be added to print data under the condition of a communication fee service for downloading print data,
For print data for which the number of prints is restricted, it is determined whether advertisement data may be added to the print data on condition that the number of prints is added. Note that the communication fee and the like as a service when consent is obtained are charged to the advertiser, for example.

If consent to the addition of the advertisement data is obtained (S44, Yes), an advertisement such as a company name or a product name is added to the margin of the print data (S45), and the high-quality image data is added. Create or select. For example, when the printing paper is sticker paper, the advertisement is printed outside the area to be used as the seal. If the consent is not obtained (S44, No), the high-quality image data remains without the advertisement.

The high quality image data thus created or selected is transmitted to the mobile phone 10 (S46).
The mobile phone 10 receives this (S33) and performs a printing process (S34). Of course, the high-quality image data itself is not displayed on the display screen of the mobile phone 10 but is used only for printing.

The number of printable times n (described later) as a print attribute is given to the content to be printed, and 1 is subtracted from this numerical value when printing is completed (S35). This new n
The print attribute stored in the RAM 108 and / or the nonvolatile storage device 107 is updated for the value of
36).

When the reduced n value becomes "0" (S3
7, Yes), and prohibits subsequent printing of the print target (S
38), this process ends. If it is not “0”, the process bypasses step S38 and ends. Prohibition of printing
Specifically, for example, this can be done by setting a “print” item in a menu for selecting a print instruction to be unselectable, or by deleting the print item itself from the menu. The specific means for prohibiting printing is not limited to these, and any method may be adopted.

By the way, if the power is turned off or overwritten while the print target data having the valid printable number remaining is stored only in the volatile RAM 108, before the printable number is exhausted, The data may disappear. In order to prevent such an inconvenience, a data erasure process as shown in FIG. 6 is performed. In this process, first, when it is detected that the above-mentioned print target data disappears (S51, Yes), it is checked whether the printable number n is "1" or more (S5).
2). Otherwise, the process ends. n is
If it is 1 "or more, the data to be printed is automatically saved in the non-volatile storage device 107 (or a warning is issued to the user to urge the user to save the data) (S53). In addition, it is possible to prevent the print target data having the valid printable number remaining from being erased.

FIG. 7A shows a screen example of the mobile phone 10 displaying an HTML document. The part that does not fit in the screen can be viewed by scrolling the screen by a predetermined operation (for example, operation of an arrow key or a scroll key).
When printing the entire currently displayed document (called a page), a menu window 71 as shown in FIG. 7B is displayed by a predetermined operation (for example, pressing a menu key), and a menu is displayed by a key operation. "Page printing" 72 in the item is selected. In the example shown in the figure, the printable number of times display of “(3 times possible)” is added to this menu item. This corresponds to the print attribute "print =" 3 "" added to the BODY tab of the HTML document. When this menu selection is confirmed, a screen asking for consent as to whether an advertisement may be added as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

FIG. 8 (a) shows whether or not the advertisement data may be added to the print data under the condition of a communication fee service for downloading the print data. FIG. 8 (b) shows whether to add advertisement data to the print data on condition that one print count is added to the print data for limiting the print count. Yes on these screens
When 81 is selected, as described above, the advertisement data is added to the print data and transmitted, and printing is executed.
When "No" 82 is selected, the document is printed without adding the advertisement data.

FIG. 9 shows a print image when the consent to the addition of the advertisement data is obtained, and shows a state in which the advertisement 92 is printed in the margin of the print area 91. Of course, the advertisement may be performed in the advertisement print area instead of the margin.

As described above, according to the present invention, an advertisement can be incorporated into the printing of content based on the consent of the user, and the user can reduce a part or all of the communication fee, or can perform printing. The advantage of increasing the number of prints of the content whose content is restricted can be obtained.

On the other hand, the advertiser can place advertisements for users who access specific contents, so that effective advertisements can be distributed.

In the above embodiment, the mobile phone 10
It is assumed that communication terminals such as a general-purpose personal computer cannot freely print out any file on the memory regardless of the presence or absence of a print attribute, unlike a general-purpose personal computer. . That is, the present invention manages whether or not printout is possible and the number of printable times on the assumption that printout is permitted only for print targets permitted by a program such as a browser in the mobile phone 10, and prints a copyrighted work. Is appropriate.

Further, in the above embodiment, the print data is an HTML document similar to the display data.
The print data file may be different from the display data. In this case, the display data is displayed on the screen via a web browser mounted on the mobile phone 10,
The print data is transmitted to a printer and printed without passing through a web browser.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, specific examples of the configuration, flowcharts, screen examples, and the like are provided to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is limited. It is not intended to be.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a communication terminal device such as a mobile phone having a print output function, an advertisement can be incorporated in the printing of the content based on the user's consent, and the user can reduce a part or all of the communication fee, or The advantage of increasing the number of prints of the content whose content is restricted can be obtained. On the other hand, the advertiser can put out an advertisement for a user who accesses a specific content, so that an effective advertisement can be delivered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration example of a mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration example of a web server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by a printer connected to a mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining operations of the mobile phone and the web server at the time of printing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process when data disappears according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen example of the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for obtaining consent to add an advertisement in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a print example in which an advertisement is provided in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile telephone 12 Web server 14 Dedicated network 15 Internet 16 Relay server 17 Connection cable 18 Printer 19 Paper

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Hosoi 1-8-8 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture Inside of Eiko Instruments Inc. (72) Inventor Ryoji Ebisawa 1-8-1, Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture Inside of Iko Instruments Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomohisa Kamata 2-8-16 Sarugakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Access to the Company (72) Inventor Yoshinari Okada 4-3-20 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Moribi Kamiyacho (72) Inventor Shinji Terada 4-3-20 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Kamiyacho Mori Building Incorporated (72) Inventor Yasumichi Takase 4-3-20, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Kamiyacho Mori Building Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A content server accessed from a communication terminal device having a display function and a printing function, the display server storing display data displayed on the communication terminal device with respect to contents distributed via a network. Data storage means, print data storage means for storing print data of higher quality than the display data accompanying the content, and advertisement added to the print data and printed together with the print data Advertisement data storage means for storing data, print data transmission means for transmitting print data based on printer type information connected to the communication terminal in response to a print request from the communication terminal device, and the communication terminal Obtaining consent to add an advertisement in response to a print request from the apparatus, and subjecting the print data to the Content server characterized by comprising the advertisement data transmission means for adding advertisement data. 2. The advertising data according to claim 1, wherein
A content server which is printed in a margin of a print area of the print data. 3. The advertisement data adding unit according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement data adding unit presents at least one of a reduction in communication cost and an increase in the number of print restrictions when making a proposal for obtaining consent to add advertisement data. Content server characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A display device and a print function, wherein display data and print data relating to contents to be delivered to the communication terminal device are stored on a server accessed via a network from a communication terminal device having a display function and a print function. When transmitting print data based on the printer type information connected to the communication terminal device in response to a print request from the terminal device, obtaining the consent to add an advertisement and the print data A method of distributing content, wherein advertisement data is added to the content and transmitted. 5. The advertising data according to claim 4, wherein:
A method of distributing content, wherein printing is performed in a margin of a print area of the print data. 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein at least one of a reduction in communication cost and an increase in the number of print restrictions is presented when making a proposal for obtaining consent to add the advertisement data. Content delivery method.