JP2002288513A - Network data print model - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print solution simultaneously having a function for allowing a user to print the latest information on a network, and a function for applying the information as the advertisement efficient for an advertiser. SOLUTION: Apparatuses 20, 21 provided with a print function connectable to the network automatically access a predetermined site on the Internet 10, and print out the contents included in the site with the advertisement. The detailed information of the actual advertisement data can be called on the network through a providing server 30 by operating an operating part of the apparatus 20, and printed out. By printing out the contents with the advertisement, the print cost can be imposed on the advertiser 40 without the self- payment by the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a business model for a printer device connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The invention described in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-368679 discloses information necessary for advertisement data downloaded from a network when a user prints (outputs) the advertisement data. In addition, by combining and outputting, the printing cost on the user side is reduced by utilizing the advertising revenue from the advertiser. On the other hand, the present invention can print the latest information on the Internet, such as news, in a state where an advertisement is included,
Further, location information (ULR, etc.) on the network having detailed information on the advertisement is stored in a memory of the device, and further detailed information can be added when the user operates the device as necessary. In addition, a solution that can be printed out for free or at a low price is provided. A model for making an estimate on the Internet and displaying the result on a browser is already known, but in this case, the cost of printing out the estimate increases the burden on the user. Therefore,
The model of the present application allows paper-based quotes to be provided at no cost to the user.

[0003]

Heretofore, when a user wants to print out and read news on the Internet, for example, a cost for printing has been incurred.

[0004] The present invention combines the function of allowing a user to print the latest information on a network at no printing cost and the function of enabling an advertiser to make an efficient advertisement by utilizing the advertising revenue. It aims to provide printing solutions. This solution appears to pass on the cost of printing to advertisers, but in reality, if the ads themselves are not efficient, such use is not possible and reasonable ads are more effective This is useful for both advertisers and users.

[0005] In addition, an estimate is made on the Internet,
In a model that displays the results in a browser, the cost of printing out the estimate is burdensome to the user. In view of this, the model of the present invention aims to provide paper-based quotes and detailed information on products at no cost to the user.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus having a printer function connectable to a network automatically accesses a predetermined site on the Internet. This is a print model that prints (prints out) content included in the site. Here, "a device having a printer function connectable to a network" refers to an MFP, a copier, a facsimile, a printer, and the like on the network.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the model of the first aspect, advertisement data is added to the content to be printed. In order for the user to pay the printing cost without the burden of the user or to pay the advertiser, it is indispensable to print out the advertisement data as contents in addition to the necessary information on the network. Advertisers are willing to pay advertising fees, or in other words, printing costs, based on the fact that their advertisements appear in printed content.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the model of the second aspect, together with the added advertisement data, information indicating the location on the network where the detailed information of the advertisement data is located is simultaneously transferred. The advertisement data and the advertiser's location information (such as ULR) are essential for anyone who watches the advertisement and tries to contact the detailed information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the model of the third aspect, the location information of the transferred advertisement information on the network is stored in a storage medium such as a memory or a hard disk of the device. Specific advertisements, their advertisers and their location information are stored so that they can be read when needed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the model of the fourth aspect, the position information on the advertisement information can be read by operating the operation unit of the device.
The ability to read location information from the device at any time is an important feature of this model. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the model of the fifth aspect, the detailed information of the actual advertisement data is called out from the network and printed by operating the operation unit. It is a further feature of this model that printed detailed information is readily available.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the model of the sixth aspect, the information of the accessed device and data such as the number of accesses are managed on a server having details of the advertisement data by using a protocol for reading data. . According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the model of the sixth aspect, data such as accessed server information, accessed device information, and the number of accesses is managed by the proxy server.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the model of the seventh or eighth aspect, the advertiser is charged according to the information including the total number of accesses.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the models of the first to ninth aspects, the printing cost is covered by the advertising cost. According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medium including a magnetic storage device containing software for realizing the model according to any one of the first to tenth aspects.

According to the present invention, a device having a printer function connectable to a network automatically accesses a predetermined site on the Internet and prints the content included in the site. In this example, the advertisement data is added, and the added advertisement data and the information indicating the location of the detailed information of the advertisement data on the network are simultaneously transferred and distributed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the location information of the transferred advertisement information on the network is stored in a storage medium such as a memory of a device or a hard disk, and a specific advertisement, its advertiser and its location information are stored. So that they can be read when needed. By operating the operation unit of the device, position information can be read from the device at any time, so that there is an advantage that necessary information can be accessed when needed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, detailed information of advertisement data can be called out from a network and printed by operating an operation unit of the device. It is an advantage of this model that printed detailed information is easily obtained.

According to a protocol at the time of reading data, accessed device information and data including the number of accesses can be managed on a server having details of advertisement data. Also, accessed server information, accessed device information and access information can be managed. Data including numbers is managed by the proxy server.

According to the present invention, it is possible to charge the advertiser and cover the printing cost by the advertising cost according to the information including the totaled number of accesses.

[0019]

[Operation] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the present invention. Less than,
The operation of claims 1 to 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, when installing the MFP 20 or the laser printer 21 (22), the user connects these devices to the network, and registers items to be delivered, desired printing time, and the like from menu settings and the like of the devices. By this registration, information is automatically delivered to the user in a predetermined time zone. These settings may be made from the operation unit of the device, or may be made from a computer connected to the device via a network or the like.

At the designated time, the device connects to the distribution server 30 via the Internet 10. The distribution server 30 stores advertisement data and positional information (URL and the like) of the advertiser server 40 on the network together with various news and new product information. In response to a request from the device, the distribution server 30 sends information obtained by combining information such as news stored in the server and the advertisement data, and also sends the URL of the advertiser to the device.

The devices (20, 21) that have received the information print out the received information. At this time, when performing this printing, the counter for charging the print is not incremented. The image printed at this time is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, a column for new product information is provided in addition to general information such as news and weather forecast.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION When a user of a device sees this advertisement and wants detailed information and a quote, he / she can use the “Priport” illustrated on the menu on the operation panel or a connected personal computer (PC).
Select "JP1350 Document Request". Then, the user accesses the address (URL) of the server of the advertiser stored in association with the menu selected by operating the device.

As described above, since the position information of the advertisement information on the network is stored in a storage medium such as a memory of a device or a hard disk, the position information is read whenever necessary based on the advertisement, advertiser and position information. be able to.

When accessing from the device, the number of accesses from the device is counted on the advertiser's server side based on the "access source information", and the advertiser's server manages it including the cost to be charged.

For example, when making a request for detailed data or an estimate, the number of accesses such as requesting data is counted on this relay server via a dedicated relay server. By performing such processing, the management of the access count can be centralized, and the accounting based on the count can be centrally managed, thereby improving the efficiency.

Of course, when printing the information accessed in this way, the device does not increment the counter for charging for printing. In order to obtain a similar result, as an alternative, both the “billing counter” and the “free information counter” are increased, and the actual billing is obtained by subtracting the latter from the former: billing counter−free information counter = billing The charge may be made by calculating the count number of the counter obtained in step (1).

The advertiser is charged an advertisement fee according to the access counter, and this revenue covers the printing cost on the device side.

In this example, the example is described focusing on the charging counter. However, it is needless to say that the paper fee, the toner price, and the like may be refunded according to the “free information counter”. Further, in this example, the example in which the printing cost on the device side is made free is given, but it is also possible to make a change so that a discount is provided instead of free.

[0029]

According to a print model in which a device having a print function connectable to a network automatically accesses a predetermined site and prints out the content included in the site, advertisement data is added to the content to be printed. So that the user has no
Alternatively, it is possible to cause the advertiser to bear the printing cost. The location information of the transferred advertising information on the network is stored in a storage medium such as a device memory or a hard disk, and can be read out when necessary, making it easy to access the advertiser's website. Also, there is an advantage for the advertiser that the efficiency of the advertisement is improved.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the invention, there is an advantage that the user can read out the position information on the advertisement information by operating the operation section of the device.

According to the present invention, since advertisement-based revenue allows paper-based information to be provided to users free of charge, there is a direct effect of reducing printing costs for users.

In addition, it is possible to efficiently send advertisements and quotes to advertisers, and increase the access to advertisements and quote creation databases (DB) because no cost is required on the user side. Can be expected. Thus, it is clear that this is an effective and reasonable printing business model for both advertisers and users.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the present invention. FIG. 2 schematically shows a situation where a distribution server or a proxy server makes an advertiser and a user (printing device) function organically with an internet network interposed therebetween.

FIG. 2 is an example of a printed matter with advertisement distributed in the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a menu "Priport JP1350 request for material" is shown as an example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Internet Network 12 Internet Network or Dedicated Network Network 20 MFP 21 Laser Printer 22 Laser Printer 30 Distribution Server 31 Proxy Server 40 Detailed Information Transmission Server (Advertiser 1) 41 Estimation Server (Advertiser 1) 42 Advertiser 2 43 Advertiser 3

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 332 G06F 17/60 332 502 502 13/00 540 13/00 540P

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A network data printing model wherein a device having a printer function connectable to a network automatically accesses a predetermined site on the Internet and prints the contents included in the site. 2. A print model according to claim 1, wherein advertisement data is added to the content to be printed. 3. The model according to claim 2, wherein the information indicating the position on the network where the detailed information of the advertisement data is located is simultaneously transferred together with the advertisement data to be added. 4. The model according to claim 3, wherein positional information of the transferred advertisement information on the network is stored in a storage medium including a memory and a hard disk of the device. 5. The model according to claim 4, wherein the position information on the advertisement information can be read by operating the operation unit of the device. 6. The model according to claim 5, wherein detailed information of the advertisement data can be called out from a network and printed by operating an operation unit of the device. 7. The model according to claim 6, wherein information on the accessed device and data including the number of accesses are managed on a server having details of the advertisement data by a protocol for reading data. 8. The model according to claim 6, wherein data including accessed server information, accessed device information and the number of accesses is managed by its proxy server. 9. The model according to claim 7, wherein
A model characterized by charging an advertiser according to information including the totaled number of accesses. 10. The model according to claim 1, wherein the printing cost is covered by the advertising cost. 11. A medium including a magnetic storage device containing software for realizing the model according to claim 1.