JP2003016356A - Contents distribution system, server, information transmitting method, program, and computer-readable recording medium with recorded program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents distribution system, a server, an information transmitting method, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium with the recorded program which enables the efficient transmission of information and advertisement information. SOLUTION: A TPNC server 101 which extract at least one or more pieces of information and advertisement information meeting at least one or more specific conditions from a database and sends them and a client computer 112 which receives at least one or more pieces of information and advertisement information from the TPNC server 1201 are connected to each other through a network.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content distribution system, a server, an information transmitting method, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium for recording the program, which appropriately transmits information and advertisement information to at least a recipient.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the advance of information technology, efficient acquisition of the latest information has become an important issue in corporate activities.

Typical media for quickly obtaining changes in social conditions, occurrence of incidents, etc. are newspapers, radios,
There are TV, internet, etc. Among them, newspapers are widely used in our daily lives, and many articles can be efficiently posted on a limited space, and they are portable and can be read even while commuting to school or commuting.

Further, it is excellent in recordability such that necessary articles can be cut out and stored. In addition, newspapers have the advantages that they can be delivered to the subscribers' homes, and that the page space can be easily listed and the article outline can be easily grasped.

[0007] Further, in newspapers currently purchased, advertisements are printed on paper together with articles, or leaflet advertisements for each region are folded.

[0006] In addition to the fact that the advertisement information paid by the company bears a part of the price of the newspaper, in addition to the fact that the information of the product that the company wants to advertise can be provided to the reader of the newspaper, the utility of the advertisement is The point is that the price of newspapers can be reduced.

[0007]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the currently sold newspapers, articles and advertisements are decided depending on the region where the subscriber purchases the newspaper. For example, the subscriber wants to see regional information near his / her place of work. In this case, if you subscribe to a newspaper at home, you will not be able to see it, and it is not always the case that the article is distributed to the subscribers that the subscriber wants to read or the advertiser wants to see.

On the other hand, recently, with the spread of the Internet, newspaper companies, portal sites, etc., deliver articles on the Internet for free or for a fee.

For example, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-50441, a mechanism has been proposed in which, together with a newspaper article, information on a company advertisement selected based on a customer's attribute is posted on the screen.

However, even if the above-described mechanism is used, for example, articles, advertisements, etc. in areas where subscribers often shop outside the area where they currently live are not necessarily posted.

The advertisement related to economic articles may be related to investment in stocks, bonds, job changes, corporate seminars, business magazines, etc. However, it is not always the case that the person who reads the economic article is in stock trading. Not necessarily, and not necessarily wanting to change jobs.

As described above, even if the above-mentioned method is used, articles and advertisements are delivered efficiently according to the intentions of both the advertised company and the subscriber, depending on the subscriber's action area, action content, taste, etc. Do not mean.

In other words, the attribute classification on the distributor side does not always maximize the advertisement effect for efficiently posting the article desired by the subscriber or for the advertisement leading to the purchase.

A conventional electronic newspaper is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-649.
Since it is supposed to be viewed on a display like the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 76, when trying to publish more information, the number of clicks for a subscriber to see an article increases. I can't find the articles I need in a short time, because I have to search by entering keywords.

Further, in order to carry an electronic newspaper like a normal newspaper, it is necessary to look at it with a mobile terminal or print it with a printer. Many articles cannot be viewed on a small mobile terminal, and the number of prints increases when printed and carried, which is costly, time consuming, and inconvenient to carry.

[0016] Further, if the selection of color / monochrome output is made only for the distributor's request for the articles and advertisements in the electronic newspaper, the distributor's request for the distribution data amount to the subscriber and the printing cost at the time of printing. It will be delivered as it is, and the wishes of the subscriber will not be reflected at all.

On the other hand, when an electronic newspaper is printed by a printer, consumables (toner, ink, etc.) accompanying the printing of advertisements
The printing cost of will be burdened to the subscriber.

Further, since the subscriber regularly receives electronic newspapers, it is desirable to be able to confirm the management of the replacement time of consumables (toner cartridges, ink cartridges, etc.) of the printer used for printing electronic newspapers at the time of receiving them.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems individually or collectively, and a content distribution system, a server, and an information transmission method that enable efficient transmission of information and advertisement information and management of consumables. An object of the present invention is to provide a program and a computer-readable recording medium having the program recorded therein.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, in the content distribution system according to the present invention,
At least one server which receives the first content from the first distributor and / or receives the second content from the second distributor and redistributes part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber In the content distribution system, the first content is
When the re-distributor receives the distribution, the re-distributor includes the content that is obliged to pay the price to the first distributor, and the second content re-distributes to the receiving contractor, so that the re-distributor receives the distribution from the second distributor. It is characterized in that the server includes content for which a right to collect a consideration arises, and the server redistributes the content to the client of the subscriber.

[0021] The distribution is performed via the Internet.

At least one or more of receiving the first content from the first distributor and / or receiving the second content from the second distributor and redistributing a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. In a content distribution system including a server, the re-distributed content includes management means for managing more detailed content than the re-distributed content or related content, and the server responds to a distribution request from a subscriber. Based on the content distribution system for distributing the details or related content, the content received by the server from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content redistributed by the server to the subscriber is , Including custom content code, and subscriber Over de, characterized in that it is managed by the data address including one or more of the reception date.

It is characterized in that the distribution is carried out via the Internet.

[0024] It is characterized in that after the reception contractor logs in, a content distribution request can be made by inputting a custom content code.

The content to be redistributed is automatically output by the image forming apparatus connected to the client of the receiving contractor during the time zone or time set by the receiving contractor.

In the content distribution system in which the distributor sets the color priority for the contents and the color desirability of the contents received by the reception contractor, the color priority set by the distributor And a means for judging whether or not a condition with the color desirability set by the receiving contractor is satisfied, and the server outputs the content to the receiving contractor in color or monochrome based on the judgment. It is characterized by

It has means for estimating the amount of toner, ink and other of the consumables required for outputting the second content, and means for calculating the amount of money according to the estimated amount of the consumables. Characterize.

In the means for estimating the amount of consumables required to output the second content, the image ratio is used as a parameter.

The present invention has means for calculating the replacement or replenishment time of the consumable item by comparing the estimated consumption amount of the consumable item required to output the content to be redistributed with the standard life of the consumable item. It is characterized by having a means for notifying the subscriber of the time of exchanging or replenishing consumables.

In the content distribution system, which is provided with a management unit for managing the contents that allows the subscriber to log in and can order consumables after logging in, an image formation connected to the client of the subscriber. It is characterized in that the consumable item remaining amount information of the consumable item is received from the device and is used for calculation of the replacement time of the consumable item.

In the content distribution system, which is provided with a management unit for managing contents that allows the subscriber to log in and can order consumables after logging in, purchase the consumables on the screen after login. It is characterized in that a warning prompting the user is displayed, and a consumable item of a type required by the receiving contractor is displayed on a screen where the consumable item can be ordered.

The image forming apparatus is a paper-like display.

In the server according to the present invention, the first content is received from the first distributor, and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is received by the subscriber. Server for re-delivering to the client, the first content includes content that is obliged to pay the price to the first distributor when the re-distributor receives the distribution, and the second content is the receiving contractor. Redelivering to includes the content that the redistributor has the right to collect the consideration from the secondary distributor,
It is characterized in that it is redistributed to the client of the subscriber in the time zone or time set by the subscriber.

In the server that receives the first content from the first distributor and / or the second content from the second distributor and redistributes a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. A server that includes a management unit that manages content that is more detailed than the content that has been redistributed or that is related to the redistributed content, and that distributes the details or related content based on a distribution request from the receiving contractor. Therefore, the content received from the first distributor is managed by the original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is managed by the data address including the receiving contractor code, the distribution date and time, and the custom content code. Is characterized by.

In the information transmitting method according to the present invention, the server receives the first content from the first distributor and / or the second content from the second distributor,
In the information transmission method including the step of redistributing a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber, the first content is obliged to pay the price to the first distributor when the redistributor receives the distribution. Is generated, the second content includes content for which the redistributor is entitled to collect the consideration from the second distributor by redistributing to the subscriber, and the server is a subscriber. It is characterized in that it is redistributed to the client of the subscriber in the time zone or time set by.

The server receives the first content from the first distributor, and / or the second content from the second distributor, and redistributes part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. In the information transmission method, the management means manages the re-distributed content that is more detailed than the re-distributed content or related content, and the server is based on a distribution request from the receiving contractor. And transmitting the details or related content, wherein the content received from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is the receiving contractor. Be managed with a data address that consists of a code, delivery date, and custom content code And it features.

In the program according to the present invention, the server is made to receive the first content from the first distributor, and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and a part of the received content or In a program comprising the step of re-delivering everything to a client of a subscriber, the first content includes content that is obliged to pay the consideration to the first deliverer when the re-deliverer receives the delivery. The content includes content in which the re-distributor has a right to collect the consideration from the second distributor by performing re-distribution to the subscriber, and the server has a time zone or time set by the subscriber, It is characterized by comprising the step of redelivering to the client of the subscriber.

The server is made to receive the first content from the first distributor and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is re-distributed to the client of the subscriber. In the program including the step of causing the managing means to manage the re-distributed content, more detailed content than the re-distributed content, or related content,
Based on the delivery request from the subscriber, to the server,
A program comprising a step of distributing the details or related content, wherein the content received from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is the receiving contractor code, distribution date and time. It is characterized by being managed by a data address consisting of a custom content code.

In the computer-readable recording medium recording the program according to the present invention, the server is
Receive first content from first distributor, or /
And a computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, which has a step of receiving the second content from the second distributor and redistributing a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. However, when the re-distributor receives the distribution, the re-distributor includes the content that is obliged to pay the price to the first distributor, and the second content re-distributes to the receiving contractor, so that the re-distributor is the second distributor. The method further comprises the step of causing the server to redistribute the content to the client of the subscriber in a time zone or time set by the subscriber.

The server is made to receive the first content from the first distributor, and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and some or all of the received content is re-distributed to the client of the subscriber. In a computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded with the step of causing the management means to manage, for the redistributed content, a more detailed content than the redistributed content or a related content, and the server, A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program including a step of distributing the details or related content based on a distribution request from a subscriber, wherein the content received from the first distributor is an original content code. Managed and redistributed to subscribers Ntsu is, subscriber code, distribution date, characterized in that it is managed by the data address consisting of custom content code.

[0041]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustratively described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
Unless otherwise specified, the material, the shape, the relative arrangement, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto.

Further, in the following drawings, the same members as those described in the above drawings are designated by the same reference numerals. Further, the following description of each embodiment of the content distribution system according to the present invention will be made with reference to the server, the information transmission method
It also serves as the description of each embodiment of the program and the computer-readable recording medium recording the program.

(First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the content distribution system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the type of content in the present invention can be applied to various forms such as an e-mail magazine of a predetermined content, content related to hobbies, etc., and is not limited to the type of content. In the embodiment, an electronic newspaper system with advertisement will be described as an example. Figure 1
It is a schematic block diagram of the electronic newspaper system with an advertisement which concerns on embodiment of this.

The electronic newspaper system with advertisement of the present embodiment is a system for distributing and managing the electronic newspaper customized for each receiving subscriber on the Internet and performing subscriber registration, article reception and distribution and subscriber management procedures. Is.

The Total Provi shown in FIG.
der of News Contents (hereinafter TP
The server 101 functions as a server that is a component of the present invention, and edits and distributes (transmits) information and advertisement information to the client computer 112 that is a client that is a component of the present invention.

The client computer 112 is a computer operated by the reception contractor 111 as a user who receives information which is a component of the present invention. The present invention corresponds to the main device that receives (receives) information for displaying content in the present invention. Further, since the internal block diagram has the same mechanism as that of FIG. 2 described later, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Further, the reception contractor 111 is a reception contractor who has signed a reception contract for information transmission from the TPNC server 101.

The client computer 112 is a terminal used by the reception contractor 111.

The printer 113 is a printer connected to the client computer 112 used by the reception contractor 111.

The printer 113 functions as an image forming apparatus which is a constituent element of the present invention. Further, the image forming apparatus as a component of the present invention is not limited to the printer, but may be a copying machine, a FAX, a printer equipped with a scanner function, or a composite machine combining these printers.

In this embodiment, the printer 113 serving as an image forming apparatus is used for print output, but an image forming apparatus for screen output or the like may be used. As an image forming apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-1
In the portable paper-like display described in Japanese Patent No. 46388 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-132121,
The screen can be output.

The news servers 121 to 126 are TPs
It is a server that delivers an article (information) and provides a news source to the NC server 101.

The advertisement servers 131 to 133 are TPNCs.
It is a server that delivers (provides) advertisement information to the server 101.

The TPNC server 101, the client computer 112, each news server, and each advertisement server are connected to each other via a network (Internet).

However, the network used in the present invention is not limited to the Internet, and any other network may be substituted or used together.

The network may be wired or wireless and may be a combination of wired and wireless.

Further, in place of or in combination with the client computer 112 shown in FIG. 1, a mobile terminal (a mobile phone, a PDA (personal digital), etc.
l assistants)) and the like can be used.

The numbers of the TPNC server 101, the client computer 112, each news server, and each advertisement server are not limited to the numbers shown in FIG. 1, and may be any other number of 1 or more. .

The TPNC server 101 holds in advance IP address related to the news server and the advertisement server, and attribute information such as a mail address for sending and receiving electronic mail.

Here, the TPNC server 1 shown in FIG.
The internal structure of 01 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of the TPNC server 101 used in the information distribution system shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the TPNC server 1
01 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201
An input device 202, a main storage device 203, an output device 204, an auxiliary storage device 205, and a clock device 206.
And a communication device 209.

The CPU 201 is a member conceived as an alias processing device, and is a control device 207 for sending a command to each device in the system to control the operation thereof, and a calculation for performing a calculation process of digital data in the central part of the server. Device 208
Consists of.

Here, the CPU 201 cooperates with the programs stored in the main storage device 203 and the auxiliary storage device 205 to determine the management means, the determination means, and the amount of consumables, which are the components of the present invention. It functions as a means for estimating, a means for calculating the amount of money according to the amount of consumables, a means for calculating the replacement time of consumables, and a means for notifying. Here, regarding the details of the consumables in the present embodiment, in addition to the toner cartridges as the consumables consumed in the output of the content, the toner for the copying machine, the photosensitive drum, the ink for the inkjet printer, and other consumable parts of the main body. , Paper, OHP sheet and the like can be cited as examples.

The management means, which is a component of the present invention,
Each of the determining means, the estimating means of the amount of consumable goods, the calculating means of the amount of money according to the amount of consumable goods, the means of calculating the replacement time of the consumable goods, and the notifying means are as described above.
The PU 201 may be configured integrally with the TPNC server 101, or may be connected to the TPNC server 101 via a network and configured independently of the TPNC server 101.

Further, the CPU 201 functions as a storage means for storing information in the main storage device 203 and the auxiliary storage device 205, and as an updating means for updating the information stored therein.

Here, the function of each of the above means is the CPU 20.
1 may be realized in cooperation with a program stored in the main storage device 203 or the output device 204.

When the internal block diagram shown in FIG. 2 is applied to the client computer 112, C
The PU 201 serves as a receiving unit that cooperates with the communication device 209 to receive information and advertisement information.

The control device 207 reads the data input from the input device 202 and a given procedure (for example, program or software) into the main storage device 203 according to the timing of the clock generated by the clock device 206, and the read contents. Based on the above, an instruction is sent to the arithmetic unit 208 to perform arithmetic processing. The result of this operation is
Based on the control of the control device 207, the main storage device 203,
The data is transmitted to internal devices such as the output device 204 and the auxiliary storage device 205 and external devices.

The input device 202 is a member for inputting various data, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device, a touch panel, a mouse pad, and a CC.
D camera, card reader, paper tape reader,
A magnetic tape device or the like can be considered.

The main storage device 203 is a member that is considered as another name of a memory, and is a member that refers to all of the addressable storage space used for executing instructions in the processing device and the internal storage device. This main storage device 203
Is mainly composed of a semiconductor memory element, stores and holds an input program or data, and controls the controller 2
In accordance with the instruction of 07, this stored and held data is read out to, for example, a register.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) or R is used as a semiconductor memory element constituting the main memory device 203.
It is composed of an OM (Read Only Memory) and the like.

Further, the output device 204 is the arithmetic device 208.
Is a member for outputting the calculation result of, for example, CR
T, a plasma display panel, a liquid crystal display and other display devices, a printing device such as a printer, a voice output device, and the like.

The auxiliary storage device 205 is a member for supplementing the storage capacity of the main storage device 203, and is, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a CD by a magnetic disk device, an optical disk device, a semiconductor disk device, or the like. -ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, MO, etc. correspond. The auxiliary storage device 205 can be a database.

The communication device 209 is a device for communicating with an external network, and performs data transmission / reception, digital-analog conversion, and the like as appropriate according to the connected network.

Here, the above-mentioned devices are mutually connected by an address bus or a data bus.

The numbers of the main storage device 203 and the auxiliary storage device 205 are not limited to one each.
Any number may be used. These, the main storage device 20
3 and the number of auxiliary storage devices 205 increases, the fault tolerance of the server improves accordingly.

The TPNC server 101 according to the present invention
Various programs for executing the process are stored (recorded) in at least one of the main storage device 203 and the auxiliary storage device 205.

Therefore, at least one of the main storage device 203 and the auxiliary storage device 205 corresponds to the computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to the present invention for causing the server to execute the processing is recorded. Become. However, in addition, CD-ROM, F
D, CD-R, CD-RW, and the like can also be used as the computer-readable recording medium recording the program according to the present invention.

The computer-readable recording medium in the present invention and this embodiment includes a recording medium readable by the server and a recording medium readable by the client.

Here, in the present invention, the program applied to the system means an individual program applied to each of a computer, a server, a database and an apparatus constituting the system, and an individual program applied to each such. Applicable to any combination of programs and all such programs as applicable to each of them.

Further, even when the program for realizing the processing of the system is composed of a plurality of steps, one apparatus may be provided with a recording medium in which all the steps are recorded, or the plurality of steps may be included. By providing a recording medium in which any one of the steps is recorded in any device that constitutes the system, the recording medium in which any one of the plurality of steps is recorded is arbitrary. It is also possible to configure a program that is provided in the above device to realize the processing of the system as a whole.

In the above description, the TP shown in FIG.
Although only the internal configuration of the NC server 101 has been described, the internal configuration of the client computer 112, each news server, and each advertisement server shown in FIG. 1 is also the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 2, and the same description holds.

Next, the operation of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 3
[Fig. 2] is an operation conceptual diagram of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in Fig. 1.

Between the TPNC server 101 and the newspaper company that provides information (corresponding to the first distributor of the present invention), the TPN
The C server 101 refers to information including contents (documents, images, programs, data (music data, etc.) or any combination thereof from a newspaper company. It refers to information that is a constituent element of the present invention. ), And pay the content distribution contract fee. Of course, the information provider is not limited to a newspaper company, but may be a magazine company or other person. Further, as the second content that is a component of the present invention, for example, an advertisement,
There is a questionnaire. In addition, from the newspaper company TPNC server 10
In actuality, the contents are distributed to the TPNC via an information processing device used by a newspaper company via a predetermined communication line (for example, a communication line using the Internet communication network).
It is realized by executing the process of transmitting the content information to the server 101. Further, the internal configuration of the information processing apparatus used by the newspaper company has the same mechanism as that described in FIG. 2 above, and therefore detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Here, as a method of collecting / paying various charges in the present embodiment (present invention), a mechanism using the Internet or the like, which is already known and used in electronic commerce, can be considered.

For example, here, electronic settlement processing (billing processing) associated with billing between the newspaper company and the TPNC server 101.
An example will be described.

In a server having an electronic settlement function (hereinafter referred to as an electronic settlement server), the authentication data (for example, the credit card of the TPNC server 101) received from the terminal device of the other party (for example, the information processing device used by a newspaper company). The approval information including the card number, the personal identification number corresponding to the card number, and the amount charged to the financial company (credit company) (commodity price) is acquired. Then, the examination is performed based on the acquired authentication data. For example, when it is confirmed that the card has not been reported as stolen, the result is generated as the approval result notification information.
Then, the payment according to the billing amount (transfer instruction to a predetermined account) is performed from the electronic settlement server to the newspaper company.

Further, when it is confirmed that the illegal card is used or the payment is not possible, the payment of the price is not made and the approval result notification information indicating the approval refusal is generated. A process of transmitting the generated approval result notification information to the information processing device used by the newspaper company is performed. It should be noted that the card company is responsible for collecting the payment paid by the card company from the customer.

If the fee cannot be collected / paid using the Internet, etc., TPNC
Fees are deducted through a financial institution according to the amount of contents distributed to each destination recorded in the server 101 (stored in storage means) (number of contents or amount of contents information), or each distribution The present invention also envisions a form that uses a mechanism realized by payment of a fee through a financial institution according to the amount of content information received from the source (the number of contents or the amount of content information). .

Between the TPNC server 101 and the advertiser (corresponding to the second distributor of the present invention), the TPNC server 101
Receives an advertisement request from an advertiser, requests and receives an advertisement fee, and sends information about subscribers. The interaction with the advertiser may be via an advertising agency, as shown in FIG.

The advertiser in the present invention (embodiment) actually corresponds to an information processing device used by each advertiser, and the internal configuration of the information processing device is as described above. Since the mechanism is similar to that of the information processing apparatus described with reference to FIG. 2, detailed description will be omitted here. That is, the distribution of various content information from the advertiser is
When the information processing device used by the advertiser executes the transmission processing process for the information for displaying the content on the TPNC server 101 via the predetermined communication line (for example, the communication line using the Internet communication network). Shall be realized.

Between the TPNC server 101 and the receiving contractor, the TPNC server 101
Distribute content, request / receive subscription fee from customer, request update of customer information, etc.

Next, in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1, the operation when the receiving contractor 111 makes a receiving contract with the TPNC server 101 is shown in FIG.
Will be described with reference to. In the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the operation processed by the client computer 112 is the client computer 11
The operation performed by the second CPU in cooperation with the program and the processing performed by the TPNC server 101 is T
It is processed by the CPU 1001 of the PNC server 101 in cooperation with the program.

FIG. 4 shows that in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1, the client computer 112 of the receiving contractor 111 tells the TPNC server 101
It is a flow chart of operation at the time of making a reception contract. That is, it is a flowchart of the operation for a subscriber who will make a reception contract (however, in the explanation of FIG. 4, it means a person who will make a reception contract, not a person who has completed the reception contract).

First, in step S 401, the client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111 is the client computer 112 used by the reception contractor 111.
, Start a web browsing program (hereinafter, simply referred to as a browser).

Then, the client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111 who will make a reception contract from now on, using the web browsing program, uses the TPNC server 10
1. Access the URL of the site for subscription.

The TPNC server 101 detects access to the URL.

In step S402, the TPNC server 101 transmits form data for registering a new reception contract to the client computer 112 used by the reception contractor 111.

The form based on this form data is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, urged to input the name and address of the subscriber. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a new registration screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

The client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111 uses the data required for the registration form, for example,
Enter data such as the name and address of the receiving contractor 111,
It is transmitted to the TPNC server 101.

In step S403, the TPNC server 101 confirms, among the received data, whether or not there is registration data such as a name and an address that are the same as those of the reception contractor 111 in the database of the registration contractor 111.

If there is duplicate registration data, the TPNC server 101 sends error information to the client computer 112 in step S410 and ends the operation.

If the received data is new, the TPNC server 101 issues a reception contract ID in step S404.

Then, the TPNC server 101 authenticates the reception contract, that is, the client contractor sends data for prompting the setting of a password (authentication information) for the reception contractor 111 to access a specific URL of the TPNC server having an access restriction. Send to 112.

The reception contractor 111 inputs a password on the screen which becomes the received form and transmits it to the TPNC server 101, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. 6 is shown in FIG.
From the client computer 112 shown in FIG.
9 is a schematic diagram of a password input screen for confirmation of registration, which is transmitted to the C server 101. FIG.

At step S 404, the TPNC server 101 receives the password of the reception contractor 111.

Next, in step S405, the TPN
The C server 101 transmits form data to the client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111, which prompts the contract information regarding the news content desired to be distributed.

[0108] As the form for prompting the input of the contract information, for example, the distribution number setting, the connection form, and the
There are forms shown in FIG. 8 such as distribution conditions such as a newspaper company and a genre for which distribution is desired, and a form shown in FIG.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show the T shown in FIG.
6 is a schematic diagram of a contract information input screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the PNC server 101. FIG. By thus using the form as shown in FIG. 8, the user can set the content type for each of a plurality of applicable areas. On the other hand, T
The PNC server 101 manages the information input from the user and input through the form as shown in FIG. 8, so that the content of each type of a plurality of applicable areas for each user can be distributed. It will be possible. Further, in FIG. 8, a collection point (base point), a surrounding area range (application area) for the collection point, a type of information (genre),
Detailed parameters such as desired reception strength (reception strength), desired reception start date in FIG. 9 (delivery start date in FIG. 9), and the like can be set, and the TPNC server 101 that manages the set information is more effective. It becomes possible to deliver the content according to the user's request. In addition, FIG.
In the above setting form, the form in which the delivery start date is set has been described, but a form in which the delivery end date is also set is also envisaged in the present invention.

The reception contractor 111 describes desired delivery conditions, delivery method, etc. in the received form and sends it to the TPNC server 101 (step S405).

Next, in step S406, the TPN
The C server 101 extracts the item relating to the advertisement option from the data such as the distribution condition received from the reception contractor 111.

Then, when the layout with advertisement option is selected, the TPNC server 101 transmits form data for obtaining questionnaire information regarding the advertisement to the client computer 112 in step S407.

When the option with the layout with advertisement is selected, the receiving contractor 111 selects the TPNC server 1
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the reception condition for the advertisement layout is described in the form data for describing the questionnaire regarding the advertisement, which is transmitted from 01, and is transmitted to the TPNC server 101. FIG. 10 shows FIG.
6 is a schematic diagram of an information input screen such as a reception condition for an advertisement layout displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

The "base point" shown in FIG. 10 is the advertisement base point designated by the client, which is a component of the present invention. Similarly, the “application area (application area)” corresponds to the advertisement reception range, and the “genre” corresponds to the type. In this way, regarding the advertisement, the content type can be set for each of a plurality of applicable areas. In addition, in FIG.
It is possible to set detailed parameters such as the collection point (base point), the surrounding area range (application area) for the collection point, the type of information (genre), and the desired reception intensity (reception intensity). TPNC server 10 to manage
1 makes it possible to deliver contents more suited to the user's request to the terminal device used by the user.

Then, the TPNC server 101 receives the reception condition for the advertisement layout transmitted from the reception contractor 111.

Then, the TPNC server 101 stores the received reception conditions in the database as advertisement information regarding the reception contractor 111. This database may be configured by the auxiliary storage device 205 such as the hard disk of the TPNC server 101, or TPN.
The database server may be connected to the C server 101. Article information is also stored in this database.

Here, the TPNC server 1 shown in FIG.
The distribution contract information regarding the reception contractor 111 stored in 01 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. 11 and 12
Is stored in the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.
It is a schematic diagram of distribution contract information regarding the receiving contractor 111.

FIG. 11 shows notation data, user ID, distribution setting number, etc. for each user.

In FIG. 11, the address is the place where the user lives, but this address may be the location of the client computer 112 at the same time. This is because the address of the user and the location of the client computer 112 usually match. For example, as in the display state as shown in FIG. 8, when "home" is set in the "base point" setting, the home address is set in the "base point" in FIG. Become. Further, in FIG. 8, for example, when a home (in addition, a workplace, shopping, etc. is assumed) is set, this is not used only for specifying an address, but the TPNC server 101 uses the place of use. Shall also be used to identify Detailed description will be given later with reference to FIG.

Further, in FIG. 12, information about advertisement options, base points regarding advertisement information, applicable areas, etc. are described.

Next, in step S408 of FIG.
The TPNC server 101 creates an electronic mail account dedicated to the subscriber 111 in the TPNC server 101.

Then, the TPNC server 101 transmits this electronic mail account information to the reception contractor 111.

Further, the TPNC server 101 transmits to the reception contractor 111 an automatic reception program for transferring the electronic mail to the client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111 based on the electronic mail account.

Next, in step S209, the TPN
The C server 101 has the distribution information shown in FIG.
The electronic mail is transmitted to the news server side based on the reception setting shown in 2.

For example, the TPNC server 101 sends an electronic mail to the distribution manager of the news server 121 managed by A newspaper company or the distribution management system based on the distribution information shown in FIG. 11 and the reception settings shown in FIG. To send.

[0126] The electronic mail of this example is an electronic mail that prompts a setting to deliver an article in which the applicable area is World Wide and the genre is political to the TPNC server 101 at 3 am.

Similarly, the TPNC server 101 is a news server 122 managed by B newspaper company, a news server 123 managed by C newspaper company, a news server 124 managed by D newspaper company, and a news server 12 managed by E newspaper company.
5. An electronic mail urging each news server 126 managed by the F newspaper company to distribute articles is sent to the manager of each news server or the distribution management system.

The delivery manager of the news server 121, or the delivery management system, which has received the electronic mail urging the delivery setting, checks the duplication of the delivery condition list to be delivered to the TPNC server 101, checks the applicable area,
If the genre is a new distribution item, the TPNC server 10
1 is added to the article delivery condition.

Although not shown in the figure here, FIG.
The delivery information shown in (1) is not limited to one for one newspaper company, but may be more than one.

In this case, for each newspaper company, an electronic mail for urging article distribution under all conditions is transmitted to the manager of each news server or the distribution management system.

Next, the operation of the TPNC server 101 for receiving and storing the distributed articles and advertisements in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Further, in the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13, the operation processed by the TPNC server 101 is processed by the CPU 1001 of the TPNC server 101 cooperating with a program.

The articles and advertisements are articles delivered from the news servers 121 to 126 and advertisements delivered from the advertisement servers 131 to 133, respectively.

FIG. 13 shows that the TPNC server 101 in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1 receives the articles distributed from the news servers 121 to 126 and the advertisement distributed from the advertisement servers 131 to 133. 7 is a flowchart of an operation of saving.

First, in step S 1301, the news servers 121 to 126 send articles to the TPNC server 101 based on the article delivery request sent from the TPNC server 101.

For example, an article transmitted from the news server 121 is article data that is transmitted at 3:00 am and has an applicable area of World Wide and a genre of politics.

The above article is transmitted to the TPNC server 101 by electronic mail in accordance with the form shown in FIG. 14, for example. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of article data transmitted from the news server 121 shown in FIG. 1 to the TPNC server 101. Here, “distribution strength” shown in FIG. 14 is information attached to each content, and the distribution strength set here and the distribution strength set via FIG. 8 or FIG. TPNC server 101
Determines whether to deliver the content.

Similarly to the news server 121, the news servers 122 to 126 also transmit article data to the TPNC server 101 by electronic mail.

The TPNC server 101 receives the article transmitted from the news server.

In step S1302, the TPNC server 101 checks the electronic mail of the article data transmitted from the news server at a predetermined time, for example, 4:00 am, and stores all the article data in the article database.

For example, the article data in the form shown in FIG. 14 is stored in the article database by the TPNC server 101 according to the form shown in FIG. Figure 15 shows
It is a conceptual diagram when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 stores article data.

Next, in step S1303, the TPNC server 101 receives advertisement data.

First, the advertisement servers 131 to 133 send the T
The update information is transmitted to the TPNC server 101 based on the advertisement distribution request transmitted from the PNC server 101.

For example, at 3:00 am, the advertisement server 131 sends the update information to the TPN according to the form shown in FIG.
It is transmitted to the C server 101. 16 is a schematic diagram of update information data transmitted to the TPNC server 101 by the advertisement server 131 shown in FIG.

When there is no advertisement information to be updated, the above update information is transmitted to the TPNC server 101 by electronic mail in a format in which only the update flag is not updated, and when there is advertisement information to be updated, the update information is updated. E-mail information to T
It is transmitted to the PNC server 101.

The TPNC server 101 checks the electronic mail of the advertisement data transmitted from the advertisement server at a predetermined time, for example, 4:00 am.

Next, the TPNC server 101 determines in step S1304 whether there is advertisement data to be updated.

If there is data to be updated, the TPNC server 101 stores all the advertisement data to be updated in the advertisement database in step S1305.

For example, the TPNC server 101 is shown in FIG.
18 using the advertiser number of the advertiser database shown in FIG.
According to the form shown in, the advertisement data of the form shown in FIG. 16 is stored in the database. 17 is shown in FIG.
18 is a conceptual diagram of advertiser data stored in the database of the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.
6 is a schematic diagram of a format of saving advertisement data in a database in the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

Next, the TPNC server 10 shown in FIG.
1 is a client computer 1 of the subscriber 111
With reference to FIG. 19, an operation when delivering an article to the subscriber 12 based on the contract content of the reception contractor 111 will be described. FIG. 19 shows the TPNC server 10 shown in FIG.
1 is a client computer 1 of the subscriber 111
12 is a flowchart of an operation when an article is distributed to 12 based on the contract content of the receiving contractor 111. In addition, in the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.
The operation processed by the PNC server 101 is the TPNC.
The processing is performed by the CPU 201 of the server 101 cooperating with the program.

[0150] In step S1901, the TPNC server 101, based on the distribution information of the reception contractor 111,
The articles (information) to be distributed are extracted from the article database according to predetermined conditions.

As the predetermined condition, for example, the information distributor sets the distribution area (distribution area) of the information, and the user on the client computer 112 side also sets the reception area of the information to be received, and the distribution area ( Information transmission area) is included in the reception area (information reception area set by the client) (including cases where they match)
Can be mentioned.

The distribution area included in the reception area means that the distribution area is higher than the distribution area, for example, the distribution area is Chiyoda Ward and the reception area is Tokyo.

For example, the “application area” shown in FIG. 11 corresponds to the information on the distribution area.

Further, as the predetermined condition, for example, the type of information to be received set in the client computer 112 and the type of information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 match, or It is possible to set a condition that the type of information to be received includes the type of information to be transmitted.

The type of information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 corresponds to, for example, the "genre" shown in FIG. This genre includes, for example, politics, economy, society, life, accommodation, and baseball, but other types (genres) can also be included.

The fact that the type of information to be transmitted includes the type of information to be transmitted means that when the information to be received is "politics", the type of information to be received is the case when the information to be transmitted is "the prime minister". This is the case when the data is sent at a higher rank than the type of information sent by.

As the predetermined conditions, for example, at the time of receiving the information to be received set in the client computer 112 and at the time of transmitting the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 (at the time of distribution) It is possible to set a condition that "when the information is transmitted" is included when the received information is received.

Here, when the information is transmitted when the information to be received is included, it means that when the date and time of the information to be received is January, the date and time of the information to be transmitted is January 1st. , The date and time of the received information may be higher than the date and time of the transmitted information.

As the unit at the time of receiving and transmitting,
The unit can be seconds, minutes, hours, days, days of the week, weeks, months, or years.

The distribution of the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 is not shown in FIG. However, the distribution date and time regarding the advertisement information is described in FIG. 12, and the same distribution date and time can be set as the distribution time of the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101.

As the predetermined condition, for example, the reception strength of the information to be received set in the client computer 112 is equal to or higher than the distribution strength of the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101. Conditions can be set.

The reception strength of the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 corresponds to the "reception strength" shown in FIG. 11, for example. The reception strength includes, for example, strong, medium, and weak. When expressed by a numerical value, the higher the strength, the larger the numerical value. On the contrary, the “delivery intensity” has, for example, strong, medium and weak, and when expressed by a numerical value, the stronger the intensity, the smaller the numerical value.

By doing so, assuming that the reception intensity is x and the distribution intensity is y, the information actually received is:
It can be expressed that the reception intensity x satisfies x ≧ y. Of course, the intensity classification is not limited to the three-level intensity classification, and the intensity classification may be performed in another number of levels.

Next, in step S1902, TP
The NC server 101, for each article from the first to the n-th article of the n articles managed by the original content code extracted in step S1901, has a unique number 1 to n ( Assign a custom content code).

The original content code in the present invention is assigned to each content distributed by the content distributor to the TPNC server 101, and the TPNC server 10 is assigned.
It is a unique code managed by 1.

The custom content code in the present invention is a data address that is issued by the TPNC server 101, includes the original content code, and includes one or more of the contractor code and the reception date and time, and is the TPN.
The code is managed by the C server 101, and is intended to make it easy for the subscriber to search for articles, and may be a letter or symbol such as an alphabet, and is not limited to a number. By managing in this way, as described later, if the subscriber wants to know the details of the content information printed on the paper by the printer, for example, the W
It becomes possible to easily extract detailed information from the eb or the like.

Returning the explanation to the article extraction flow, TPNC
The server 101 stores the assigned numbers 1 to n as a custom content code in the article number conversion table log of the reception contractor 111 in the reception contractor information database.

Further, the TPNC server 101 allocates and stores the original content code of the article corresponding to each assigned custom content code in the article number conversion table log of the receiving party 111 in the receiving party information database. To do.

FIG. 20 is a conversion table between the assigned custom content code and the original content code used in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG.

This conversion table is created for each reception contractor and held as distribution log information. According to this conversion table, for example, an article with a custom content code of 1 has an original content code of 00-200007.
It is associated with 02-000103-0001.

When the TPNC server 101 reaches a preset time (eg, 3:00 am every day), the TPNC server 101 searches for and manages the data address issued within the preset time (eg, 3:00 am on the previous day). Convert the custom content code that has been created. For example, the custom content code assigned as “1 to n” on July 1, 2000 is “200007” at 3:00 am on July 2, 2000.
01001-20000701n ". And, the custom content code is newly added to" 1- "for the latest article distributed after 3:00 am on July 2, 2000.
n ″ is assigned. By performing this conversion, the subscriber can easily retrieve the latest article and also retrieve the back number.

Next, in step S1903, TP
The NC server 101 determines whether or not the layout is with an advertisement.

When there is no advertisement, the TPNC server 101
In step S1904, in step S1902.
The custom content code assigned in step 1 and the extracted article data corresponding to the custom content code are laid out based on the contract information of the receiving contractor 111.

The layout method is not the subject matter of the present invention. However, for example, as a layout method, the technique described in the embodiment of "Electronic Newspaper Display Device and Electronic Newspaper Distribution System" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-062688, that is, a technique for displaying structured information, etc. Can be used.

[0175] If the advertisement option is selected in step S1903, the TPNC server 101 determines in step S1905 the advertisement layout ratio,
Calculate the number of ads that can be delivered from the number of deliveries.

Next, in step S1906, TP
The NC server 101 determines whether or not each of all the advertisements in the advertisement database satisfies a predetermined condition (a predetermined condition when extracting advertisement information which is a component of the present invention). Create a list of advertising candidates.

That is, as the above-mentioned predetermined condition, [Condition 1] the base address of the receiving contractor 111 (advertisement base point designated by the client) is included in the distribution desired area (advertisement transmission range) of the advertiser. ] [Condition 3] Receiving Contractor 11 including the advertiser's base address (predetermined advertisement base) in the distribution desired area (advertising receiving range) of Receiving Contractor 111
1 desired genre (type of advertisement information) matches or is included in the advertiser's advertisement genre (type set in advertisement information) [Condition 4] Base point attribute of the receiving contractor 111 (specified by the client) The attribute of the advertisement base point) matches or is included in the distribution base attribute of the advertiser (attribute set in the advertisement information), and [condition 5] the reception intensity of the contractor 111 is equal to or greater than the distribution intensity of the advertiser. [Condition 6] The delivery date and time (at the time of receiving the advertisement information) of the subscriber 111 matches or is included in the delivery date and time of the advertiser (at the time of transmitting the advertisement information) [Condition 7] User of the subscriber 111 The attribute (user's attribute) matches or is included in the user attribute of the advertiser's delivery target (attribute of the advertisement information set by the server), [Condition 8] current advertisement distribution number + 1 is the advertisement distribution target customer number. Is less than That extracts all conditions are satisfied advertisement data, in order to hold the extracted advertisement, the distribution candidate list, and Ad number, stores the distribution strength, can be cited as an example.

However, in the above description, the advertisement information which satisfies all the above conditions is extracted, but the present invention is not limited to such a case, and for example, some of the above conditions are arbitrarily selected. The combination may be used as a condition. In addition, the color priority described later can be added as a condition.

Here, the base point attribute of the reception contractor 111 is
Included in the distribution base attribute of the advertiser is, for example, when the base attribute of the subscriber is an amusement park, and when the distribution base attribute of the advertiser is a resort, the base attribute of the subscriber 111 is included. Is a subordinate concept of the distribution origin attribute of the advertiser.

The delivery date and time of the receiving contractor 111 is included in the delivery date and time of the advertiser, for example, when the receiving contractor 111 is received on January 1st, and the delivery date and time of the advertiser is 1. As in the case of the month, the date and time of the information to be received may be lower than the date and time of the information to be transmitted.

Further, the user attribute of the reception contractor 111 is
The distribution target user attribute included in the advertiser means that the age of 30 is set as the user attribute of the receiving contractor 111, and the age is 25 to 3 as the distribution target user attribute of the advertiser.
It includes the case of setting 5 years old. Further, as the user attribute of the reception contractor 111 and the distribution target user attribute of the advertiser, for example, age, sex, place of origin, occupation, educational background, etc. can be raised.

The concept of [condition 1] and [condition 2] is shown in FIG. 22, and the concept of [condition 5] is shown in FIG.

21 and 22 are conceptual diagrams of conditions for extracting advertisement data in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. Further, in FIG. 22, an asterisk is the base address of the subscriber or the base address of the advertiser.

At this time, if each condition is set to "ALL", this condition is skipped.

Further, it is possible to set the distribution desired area of the advertiser to have priority over the distribution desired area of the receiving subscriber, and in this case, the condition of [condition 2] is skipped.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21 relating to the condition 5, there are strong, medium, and weak reception strengths of the advertisement information. In terms of numerical values, the higher the strength, the larger the numerical value. On the contrary, "delivery strength"
Is, for example, strong, medium, and weak, and when expressed numerically, the stronger the strength, the smaller the numerical value.

By doing so, assuming that the reception intensity is x and the distribution intensity is y, the information actually received can be expressed as the reception intensity x satisfies x ≧ y. Of course, the intensity classification is not limited to the three-level intensity classification, and the intensity classification may be performed in another number of levels.

Next, in step S1907, TP
When the number of advertisements in the distribution candidate list obtained in step S1906 is smaller than the number of deliverables, the NC server 101 determines the distribution candidate list as the distribution list, and the advertisements in the database shown in FIG. Update the number of real customers for advertisement distribution.

That is, the TPNC server 101 inputs the predetermined condition set in the advertisement information and calculates the number of client computers 112 to which the advertisement information is transmitted.

If the number of advertisements in the distribution candidate list obtained in step S1906 is greater than the number of deliverables, TPN
The C server 101 determines, as a distribution list, advertisement numbers corresponding to the number of deliverables in order from the advertisement with the highest reception desired strength of the reception contractor 111, and updates the number of actual customers of advertisement distribution in the determined advertisement database. .

In step S1908, the TPNC server 101 lays out the article data extracted together with the custom content code assigned in step S1902, based on the contract information of the reception contractor 111.

Further, the TPNC server 101 arranges the layout of the advertisement data extracted based on the distribution list obtained in step S1907 based on the contract information of the reception contractor 111.

As a layout method, as described above,
For example, the technology of the embodiment of “Electronic Newspaper Display Device and Electronic Newspaper Distribution System” described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-062688, that is, the technology of displaying structured information can be used.

In step S1909, the TPNC server 101 has the reception contractor 1 laid out in step S1904 or step S1908.
A distribution data file to be distributed to 11 is created.

Then, the TPNC server 101 determines whether to output color or monochrome of the created distribution data file. The operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 determines whether to output color data or monochrome of distribution data based on the contract content of the reception contractor 111 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 determines whether to output color data or monochrome data of distribution data based on the contract content of the receiving contractor 111. In the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 23, the operation processed by the TPNC server 101 is processed by the CPU 201 of the TPNC server 101 cooperating with a program.

First, in step S2301, TP
The NC server 101 extracts the distribution article data of the distribution data file created in step S1909 of FIG.

Next, in step S2302, TP
The NC server 101 sets N = 0 as the integer N corresponding to the custom content code of the numbers 1 to n uniquely assigned to the reception contractor 111 for each distribution article data from the first to the nth.

Next, in step S2303, the TPNC
The server 101 adds 1 to the integer N and sets it as N + 1.

At step S2304, the TPNC server 101 selects the distribution article data of the custom content code corresponding to the integer N set at step S2303.

Then, in step S2305, T
The PNC server 101 determines whether the distribution article data selected in step S2304 is in color.

If the distribution article data is monochrome instead of color, the TPNC server 101 proceeds to step S2308, where the integer N is the distribution article number M corresponding to the article number n to which the custom content code is assigned. It is determined whether they are equal (N = M). If N = M, the process is terminated as it is, and if N is not equal to M, the process returns to step S2303.

If color output is selected for the distribution article data selected in step S2305, in step S2306, the TPNC server 101 satisfies the condition that the article distribution of the distribution article data selected in step S2305 is color output. Determine whether.

As a condition for determining whether the selected distribution article data is to be output in color or monochrome, for example, the color desirability of information to be received, which is set in the client computer 112, is stored in the TPNC server 101. It is possible to set a condition that color output is performed when the color priority of the information set in the article data is equal to or higher than the color priority. In this case, if the color desirability is less than the color priority, monochrome output is performed.

The color desirability of the information set in the information stored in the TPNC server 101 is as follows.
As the subscription setting of the reception contractor 111, for example, “color desirability” set in the same manner as the reception intensity of FIG. 11 corresponds.
This color desirability is, for example, A, as shown in FIG.
There are B and C, and when expressed numerically, the numerical value can be set to be larger as it goes forward in the alphabetical order. On the contrary, for example, the “color priority” set for each data of the distribution articles 1 to 6 in FIG. 11 is, for example, large, medium, or small as shown in FIG. The higher the priority, the smaller the numerical value. The “color desirability” is set in addition to the form of FIG. 8, and the “color priority” is added to the advertisement data of FIG. 16 in advance.

By doing so, the TPNC server 101, assuming that the numerical value of the color desirability is α and the numerical value of the color priority is β, the numerical value α of the color desirability is α ≧ When β is satisfied, it can be determined that color output is performed. Of course, the frequency classification is not limited to the three-level frequency classification, and the frequency classification of other number of levels may be used.

If the color output conditions are satisfied by the determination in step S2306, the flow advances to step S2308, and the integer N becomes equal to the number M of distributed articles corresponding to the number n of articles to which the custom content code is assigned (N = M). If N = M, the process is terminated as it is, and if N is not equal to M, step S23.
Return to 03.

If the condition of color output is not satisfied and monochrome output is obtained by the determination in step S2306,
In step S2307, the TPNC server 101
Converts color article data to monochrome article data. The data-converted monochrome distribution article data is updated and registered in the distribution data file.

After the monochrome data conversion, step S23
08, it is determined whether the integer N is equal to the number M of distributed articles corresponding to the number n of articles to which the custom content code is assigned (N = M). If N = M, the process is terminated as it is, and if N is not equal to M, the process returns to step S2303.

[0209] The color of the distribution data file
The monochrome output determination has been described for the distribution article data, but the same applies to the advertisement data of the distribution data file. For example, in step S2302 of FIG. 23, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 23 can be performed by associating the advertisement data in the order determined in the distribution list as the integer N. However, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, as for the advertisement, since the amount of consumption of the consumable item (toner) consumed in the printout is returned, the advertiser's request or the reception contractor 111's request is returned. As long as the advertisement condition is satisfied, the color advertisement data is output in color.

Then, the TPNC server 101 attaches the distribution data file for which the color / monochrome output has been determined as described above to the spooler of the electronic mail account dedicated to the receiving contractor 111 in the TPNC server 101. Place in the format of. Hereinafter, the flow chart shown in FIG. 19 will be described again.

In step S1910 of FIG. 19, the client computer 11 used by the reception contractor 111.
When the automatic reception program installed in the second hard disk reaches the set time, for example, 5 am, the client computer 11 used by the reception contractor 111.
2 and the printer 113 is activated.

Then, the automatic reception program is TPNC.
The distribution data file spooled in the electronic mail account dedicated to the reception contractor 111 in the server 101 is received as an electronic mail.

Then, the automatic reception program extracts the attached distribution data file from the received electronic mail and outputs it to the printer 113.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the TPN
The C server 101 can select an article or advertisement to be delivered according to the location or preference arbitrarily set by the subscriber, edit it, and send it to the subscriber 111.

Therefore, the subscriber 111 can obtain articles and advertisements that match his or her wishes, and the advertiser can advertise more appropriate and effective subscribers.

Further, the receiving contractor 111 can set the color / monochrome output of articles and advertisements in accordance with his / her wishes, and the distribution data amount and the printing cost at the time of printing can be distributed as desired by the distributor. It will not be done.

In the present embodiment, when the printer 113 connected to the client computer 112 prints out the distribution content in which the distribution data of the distribution data file is laid out for each page, the advertisement is also printed. In order to prevent the printing cost of a consumable product associated with printing an advertisement (here, toner is taken as an example, ink and other materials are also applicable in addition to toner) from being burdened to the subscriber 111, distribution is performed. Calculate the return amount based on the toner consumption used to print the advertisement, and
The refund amount is deducted from the subscription fee of 1. The TPNC server 101 charges the advertiser for the amount of money returned from the subscription fee of the receiving contractor 111.

[0218] Note that the TPNC server 101 does not mediate the return of the amount of money to be returned, as described above.
Information on the amount of money to be returned may be sent from 01 to the advertiser, and the amount of money to be returned may be sent directly from the advertiser to the receiving contractor 111.

When the amount of money to be returned is returned,
Regarding the operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 calculates the return amount based on the toner consumption amount used for printing the delivery advertisement in the printer 113 when the printer 113 connected to the client computer 112 prints out, This will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 25
3 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 calculates the amount of money to be returned based on the toner consumption amount used for printing a distribution advertisement in the printer 113.

In step S2501, the TPNC server 101 extracts a distribution advertisement from the distribution data file created in step S1909 of FIG. In addition,
The distribution data file used here is the distribution data after the color / monochrome output determination is made according to the flowchart of FIG.

Next, in step S2502, TP
The NC server 101 initializes the variables of the advertisement counter N and the estimated cumulative toner consumption amount X, N = 0, X =
Set to 0. Here, the distribution advertisement counter N corresponds to distribution advertisements in the order determined by the distribution list.

Next, in step S2503, TP
The NC server 101 sets the advertisement counter N to 1
And set to N + 1.

[0223] In step S2504, the TPNC server 101 calculates how many times the printed area after the layout of the distributed advertisement corresponding to the posted advertisement counter N set in step S2503 is the unit area.

Next, in step S2505, TP
The NC server 101 stores the customer database shown in FIG.
The print printer name and the image mode are extracted from the distribution contract information shown in 1 to determine the toner consumption amount per unit area.
Toner consumption per unit area is calculated by the TPNC server 10
The printer information for each printer type shown in FIG. 26 stored in 1 can be used to determine the print printer name and image mode. In FIG. 26, the printer name is LBP.
-1000, when the image mode is standard, the toner consumption amount per unit area, the character 2 pico-g, and the image data 20 pico-g are known.

Next, in step S2506, TP
The NC server 101 multiplies the toner consumption amount per unit area determined in step S2505 by a value of the print area after layout of the distribution advertisement calculated in step S2504 that is several times the unit area, and calculates the estimated toner consumption coefficient. X (N)
Calculate the value of.

The calculation of the value of the estimated toner consumption coefficient X (N) is performed, for example, by using the bitmap once to determine the print area after the layout of the distribution advertisement as in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-329404. It is also possible to develop and count the number of dots for each color of the toner to be used, and integrate it with the toner consumption amount per dot to obtain the cumulative number of dots.

Then, in step S2507, T
The PNC server 101 calculates the estimated toner consumption amount X calculated in step S2506 for the estimated toner consumption amount X.
Add (N) and set as X + X (N).

In step S2508, it is determined whether the posted advertisement counter N is equal to the number of posted advertisements extracted from the distribution data file (N = the number of posted advertisements). If N = the number of posted advertisements, the process proceeds to step S2509, and if N is not equal to the number of posted advertisements, the process returns to step S2503.

[0229] In step S2509, the TPNC server 101 calculates the amount of money to be returned. The return amount is the estimated toner consumption cumulative amount X calculated in step S2507.
Then, the toner unit price for each subscription contractor of the reception contractor 111 is added up for calculation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the return amount is calculated based on the toner consumption amount used for printing the distributed advertisement, and the return amount is subtracted from the subscription fee of the receiving contractor 111. It is possible to prevent the printing cost of the consumables associated with the above from being a burden on the subscriber 111, and eliminate one factor that the subscriber is reluctant to place an advertisement.

Further, in this embodiment, when the printer 113 connected to the client computer 112 prints out only the distribution contents of the distribution data file, a consumable cartridge associated with the printing (here, a toner as a consumable product is used). The toner cartridge is used as an example. The present invention is also applicable to a cartridge containing other consumables such as an ink cartridge.) The TPNC server 101 notifies the receiving contractor 111 of the replacement time, and the toner cartridge Encouraging replacement.

When prompting the replacement of the toner cartridge, when the printer 113 connected to the client computer 112 prints out, the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 consumes toner used for printing the distribution data file for each distribution. The operation of calculating the cumulative amount will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 27 shows
6 is a flowchart of the operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 calculates the cumulative total amount of toner used for printing the distribution data file for each distribution.

In step S2701, the TPNC server 101 extracts the distribution contents for each page in which articles and advertisements are laid out from the distribution data file created in step S1909 of FIG. The distribution data file used here is the distribution data after the color / monochrome output determination is made according to the flowchart of FIG.

Next, in step S2702, TP
The NC server 101 initializes the variables of the posted content counter N and the estimated cumulative toner consumption amount X, N =
Set 0 and X = 0. Here, the distributed content corresponds to the posted content counter N in the distributed page order.

Next, in step S2703, TP
The NC server 101 adds 1 to the posted content counter N and sets it to N + 1.

[0236] In step S2704, the TPNC server 101 calculates how many times the print area after layout of the distributed content corresponding to the posted content counter N set in step S2703 is a unit area.

Next, in step S2705, TP
The NC server 101 stores the customer database shown in FIG.
The print printer name and the image mode are extracted from the distribution contract information shown in 1 to determine the toner consumption amount per unit area.
Toner consumption per unit area is calculated by the TPNC server 10
By using the printer information shown in FIG. 26 stored in No. 1, it can be determined if the print printer name and the image mode are known.

Next, in step 2706, the TPN
The C server 101 integrates the toner consumption amount per unit area determined in step S2705 with a value of the print area after layout of the distribution content calculated in step S2704 that is several times the unit area, and calculates the estimated toner consumption coefficient. X
Calculate the value of (N).

Note that the value of the estimated toner consumption coefficient X (N) is calculated, for example, by a method such as the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-329404. It is also possible to develop and count the number of dots for each color of the toner to be used, and integrate it with the toner consumption amount per dot to obtain the cumulative number of dots.

Then, in step S2707, T
The PNC server 101 calculates the estimated toner consumption amount X calculated in step S2706 for the estimated toner consumption amount X.
Add (N) and set as X + X (N).

In step S2708, it is determined whether the posted content counter N is equal to the number of posted contents of the distributed contents extracted from the distributed data file (N = the number of posted contents). If N = the number of posted contents, the estimated cumulative toner consumption amount X in this distribution is stored and this process is terminated. If N is not equal to the number of posted contents, the process returns to step S2703.

Next, when prompting the replacement of the toner cartridge, the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.
The operation of notifying the toner cartridge replacement time after the calculation of the estimated cumulative toner consumption amount X will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 28 is a flowchart of the operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 notifies the toner cartridge replacement time after calculating the estimated toner consumption cumulative amount X after following the flowchart of FIG.

In step S2801, the TPNC server 101 obtains the previous order date / hour of the toner cartridge after calculating the estimated toner consumption cumulative amount X. The last order date / hour is registered in the toner cartridge information stored in the TPNC server 101.

In step S2802, the TPNC server 101 calculates the toner consumption amount C. The toner consumption amount C is calculated by accumulating the estimated toner consumption amount total X for each distribution calculated in the flowchart of FIG. 27 from the previous order date / hour.

Then, in step S2803, T
The PNC server 101 determines whether the toner consumption amount C has become equal to or larger than the standard usable amount of the toner cartridge, that is, whether the standard life has been reached. The standard usable amount of the toner cartridge is registered in the toner cartridge information stored in the TPNC server 101. Here, the standard life in the present embodiment is, for example, in the case of a toner cartridge, the number of sheets that can be output when one cartridge is used in a standard manner. It is (often 500 sheets) or the number of paper boxes to be purchased (often 2500 sheets). That is, the standard life is the length of time until the operation of consuming or consuming, replacing or replenishing, and purchasing the next product is required.

If it is determined in step S2803 that the toner consumption amount C is not equal to or larger than the standard usable amount, the process is terminated.

If the toner consumption amount C is equal to or more than the standard usable amount in step S2803, the process proceeds to step S2804, and the TPNC server 101 notifies the receiving contractor 111 of the toner cartridge replacement time. The notification of the replacement time of the toner cartridge is performed by transmitting the notification screen data for notifying the replacement time of the toner cartridge to the client computer 112 used by the reception contractor 111 at the same time as transmitting the distribution data file.

At the same time as the transmission of the distribution data file, only the notification of the toner cartridge replacement time is given, and the notification screen data indicates that the reception contractor 111 is the client computer 112 and the reception contractor 1 of the TPNC server 101.
11 may be transmitted after accessing a site for management of contents or contracts that can be logged in.

After the notification of the time to replace the toner cartridge, the reception contractor 111 indicates that the time to replace the toner cartridge is approaching on the client computer 112, for example, on the notification screen as shown in FIG. 29 (a). Can be confirmed. FIG. 29A shows the TP shown in FIG.
6 is a schematic diagram of a toner cartridge replacement time notification screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112, which is notified from the NC server 101. FIG.

On the toner cartridge replacement time notification screen of FIG. 29A, not only the replacement time is notified, but also the replacement toner cartridge is delivered by clicking the Yes button 2901 on the screen for ordering the toner cartridge. You can move to the screen of the delivery form to do. This delivery form data is stored in the TPNC server 10
It is included in the notification screen data transmitted from 1. Further, if the No button 2902 is clicked without requesting the order of the toner cartridge on the toner cartridge replacement time notification screen of FIG. 29A, this screen disappears, but is redisplayed after a fixed time.

The delivery form is, for example, as shown in FIG. 29B, in a form prompting the reception contractor 111 to input the first and second desired delivery dates and times of the purchased toner cartridge. FIG. 29B shows the client computer 11 that has moved from the toner cartridge replacement time notification screen.
It is a schematic diagram of the delivery form screen displayed on the screen of FIG.

The reception contractor 111 inputs the data necessary for the delivery form of FIG. 29 (b) and the data of the first and second desired delivery dates and times on the client computer 112,
By clicking the send button 2903, the data is sent to the TPNC server 101.

The TPNC server 101 receives the first,
The delivery date is adjusted based on the second desired delivery date and time data. If the adjustment is possible, the TPNC server 101 transmits the delivery date data to the client computer 112.

On the screen displaying the data of the delivery date, as shown in FIG. 30, for example, the delivery date and time can be notified, and the notified delivery date and time can be determined and changed. O
When the K button 3001 is clicked, the client computer 112 T
It is transmitted to the PNC server 101. When the change button 3002 is clicked, the display returns to the delivery form screen of FIG. 29B, and the first and second desired delivery dates and times are input again.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the printer 113 prints out only the distribution data file, the TPNC server 101 informs the receiving contractor 111 of the toner cartridge replacement time accompanying printing. Since the notification is given and the replacement of the toner cartridge is prompted, the reception contractor 111 can easily manage the replacement time of the toner cartridge.

After the notification of the toner cartridge replacement time, the order of the toner cartridge is placed in the TPNC server 1.
01 and the delivery date can be determined, so that the receiving contractor 111 can save the trouble of exchanging the toner cartridge, such as going out to buy or ordering by telephone or the Internet.

Further, in this embodiment, the reception contractor 111 can refer to the detailed article more easily by using the assigned custom content code after the delivery content is output.

The operation of referring to the detailed article using the custom content code will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 31 is a flowchart of an operation of referring to a detailed article by using a custom content code of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement according to the present invention. Further, in the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 31, the operation processed by the TPNC server 101 is the CPU 2 of the TPNC server 101.
01 is processed by cooperating with the program.

The TPNC server 101 uses the reception contractor 11
From the first client computer 112, a predetermined URL (uniform) as the address of the server site
When you receive a (resource locator),
Data that prompts the user ID and password to be input is transmitted to the reception contractor 111.

The above-mentioned predetermined URL includes, for example, a URL dedicated to article reference from the receiving contractor 111 and a URL having a character string of a custom content code added to the end.

As an example of such a URL, a URL dedicated to article reference is http: // www. × △△△. jp
If the custom content code of the referenced article is 2, it is written as http: // www. × △△△. jp /
There are two types of URLs.

The predetermined URL as described above is created by the client computer 112.

That is, when the receiving contractor inputs the custom content code (for example, 2), the client computer 112 uses the URL (for example, h
http: // www. × △△△. jp / 2) is created.

Then, the client computer 112
The browser accesses the file of the TPNC server 101 designated by the created URL.

Therefore, the reception contractor 111 generally does not need to input a URL consisting of several tens of characters, and can access a desired site only by inputting a custom content code.

Next, as the user authentication operation, the TPNC server 101 receives the user ID and password from the reception contractor 111 (user authentication).

Then, the TPNC server 101 collates with the database of the registered reception contractor 111.

Then, the TPNC server 101 ends the operation if the received data is invalid.

If the received data is valid, the TPNC server 101 acquires the custom content code from the URL having the custom content code at the end. In this case it will be 2.

Then, based on the user ID and the custom content code (2), the TPNC server 101 selects the reception contractor 1 from the database of the registration reception contractor 111.
The latest delivered / outputted article history in item 11 is extracted.

That is, since the original content corresponding to the custom content code is uniquely determined for each receiving contractor 111, the receiving contractor 111 can extract the original content using the custom content code. .

Then, the TPNC server 101 transmits the original content data corresponding to the custom content code in the article history to the reception contractor 111.

As described above, the reception contractor 111 can easily access the detailed article of the desired article by using the custom content code.

In the present embodiment described above, the TPNC server 10 distributes from the news server.
There was no association between articles in the articles saved in 1.

However, if there is a relationship with an article distributed in the past, the related distribution data may be in the article data format described in the article data.

Here, an example will be described in which, when there is a relationship with an article distributed in the past, the related distribution data is in the article data format described in the article data.

For example, as shown in FIG. 32, an article data format including items related to related articles is distributed from the news server to the TPNC server 101. FIG. 32 is a conceptual diagram of an article data format in which items related to related articles distributed from the news server to the TPNC server 101 are added in the first embodiment of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement according to the present invention.

In FIG. 32, the number of related articles 3201 corresponding to the distribution source number 121 and the information 3 of the first related article are shown.
202 and information 3203 of the second related article. Of course, the number of related articles is not limited to two as shown in FIG. 32, and may be any other number.

[0279] The TPNC server 101 builds in the database an article in a format in which items related to this distributed related article are added.

[0280] Then, the TPNC server 101 distributes the article data including items related to related articles to the reception contractor 111.

The operation of an example in which the related distribution data is described in the article data when there is a relationship with the article distributed in the past will be further described with reference to FIG. First, the subscriber is his client computer 1
Access the self-dedicated site from 12 ((a) of FIG. 33). Each item is listed as a menu on this self-dedicated site. FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram of a screen displayed on the client computer 112 in the first embodiment of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement according to the present invention.

Then, the desired content (information) is accessed by using the technique described in the operation of referring to the detailed article using the above-mentioned custom content code. The access operation by the technique of referring to the detailed article using the above-mentioned custom content code will be described below again.

[0283] That is, "Dissolution of the House of Representatives" is given the custom content code 1, "Providing profits from XX company" is given the custom content code 2, and "Completion of the human genome" is given the custom content code 3. , "A record heavy rain in Tokyo" has been given a custom content code 4.

Therefore, the subscriber who wants to investigate the “human genome decoding completion” in more detail inputs the custom content code 3.

Then, the client computer 1
12 is the URL of the site shown in FIG.
The TPNC server 101 is accessed with the URL assigned with 3.

The TPNC server 101, upon receiving the URL to which the above-mentioned custom content code 3 is added, authenticates the user (reception contractor).

When the TPNC server 101 determines that the user is a valid user as a result of user authentication, the TPNC server 101 sends detailed information of the information designated by the custom content code to the client computer 112.
The above is the operation of the part for referring to the detailed article using the above-mentioned custom content code.

In this example, the related article is featured in the transmitted information.

That is, the client computer 11
The information received by 2 includes not only the article "human genome decoding completed" as shown in (b) of FIG.
"Press conference video", "Past related articles", "Ministry of Health and Welfare hp
(Homepage), "Experts'comments","○○ company hp", etc. are linked. Therefore, the user can easily access the related articles.

Therefore, in this example, not only the desired information can be properly obtained, but also the information related to the information can be obtained by the expression using a potato.

Here, in the present embodiment described above, the advertisement option only bears a part of the subscription fee of the reception contractor 111 by the advertisement.

However, the output layout condition of the receiving contractor 111 to the output printer 113, for example, the paper size,
Depending on the maximum number of output sheets, color ratio, etc., not only will the burden of advertising be part of the subscription fee, but the subscriber 1
For example, the printer 113 of 11 can be expanded to additional services such as provision of a predetermined number of consumable items such as toner, ink, and paper, discount sale of consumable items, and provision of money and securities.

Further, the reception intensity of the advertisement information shown in FIG. 12 may be changed according to the reaction of the receiving contractor 111 to the advertisement, for example, the access history to the link destination URL of the advertisement.

That is, the TPNC server 101 records an access log which is information relating to access from the receiving contractor 111 to the TPNC server 101, and when the information recorded in this access log becomes predetermined information,
Change the conditions set in the advertisement information.

For example, if the reception strength is not strong due to the number of accesses to the linked URL exceeding 20 times, the reception strength is changed to strong.

However, the condition to be changed according to the access history is not limited to the reception intensity, and the distribution intensity and other conditions can be arbitrarily changed as required.

Therefore, according to this example, it is possible to provide a service more suited to the needs of the user.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the content distribution system according to the present invention will be described. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned first embodiment. This embodiment will also be described by taking an electronic newspaper system with advertisement as an example.

The configuration of this embodiment, the structure of the TPNC server 101, the client computer 112, the news server, the advertisement server, etc. are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the above-described first electronic newspaper system with advertisement, except for the operation of the parts described below. Therefore, in the following description, points different from the above-described first embodiment will be described.

In the above-described first embodiment, the notification of the replacement time of the toner cartridge is calculated from the consumption amount of toner used for printing the distribution data file.

However, if the printer 113 transmits the remaining toner amount information, it is not limited to the case where the printer 113 prints out only the distribution data file, and the toner cartridge is used even if the printer 113 is used for other printouts. It is possible to manage the replacement time of.

The operation for notifying the TPNC server 101 of the remaining amount of toner from the printer 113 when prompting the replacement of the toner cartridge will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing data transmission / reception among the three parties of the TPNC server 101, the client computer 112, and the printer 113.

As shown in FIG. 34, when the client computer 112 receives distribution data (electronic mail distribution data file) from the TPNC server 101,
From client computer 112 to TPNC server 1
The toner remaining amount P is transmitted to 01.

Further, when the distribution data is transmitted from the client computer 112 to the printer 113 and the print output is executed, the toner remaining amount P after the print output is transmitted from the printer 113 to the client computer 112.

That is, when the toner remaining amount P1 shown in FIG. 34 is described as an example, the printer 113 detects the toner remaining amount P1 after the print output of the distribution data 0 by the printer 113 is executed on the Mth month Nth. . The remaining toner amount P1 of the printer 113 can be detected by detecting it with a toner sensor as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-339274.

After the print output is executed, the detected toner remaining amount P1 is transmitted to the client computer 112, and the client computer 112 transmits the toner remaining amount P1.
Remember.

Next, on the Nth day of the Mth month, the TPNC server 1
When the distribution data 1 is sent from 01 to the client computer 112, the client computer 1 is sent first.
The information of the remaining toner amount P1 stored in 12 is transmitted to the TPNC server 101.

In this way, the remaining toner amount P is detected by the printer 113 after the printout of the distribution data is executed, and the TPN
The C server 101 receives the data of the toner remaining amount P from the client computer 112 at the next distribution of distribution data.

Next, when prompting the replacement of the toner cartridge, the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.
The operation of notifying the replacement time of the toner cartridge after receiving the remaining toner amount P will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 35 shows the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.
34 is a flowchart of the operation for notifying the toner cartridge replacement time after receiving the remaining toner amount P transmitted according to the flowchart of FIG. 34.

In step S3501, the TPNC server 101 obtains the previous toner remaining amount R of the toner cartridge. The previous toner remaining amount R is determined by the TPNC server 10
1 is registered in the toner cartridge information stored.

In step S3502, the TPNC server 101 updates the toner remaining amount R to the value of the received toner remaining amount P after receiving the toner remaining amount P transmitted according to the flowchart of FIG.

Then, in step S3503, T
The PNC server 101 determines whether the remaining toner amount R is equal to or less than the toner minimum remaining amount of the toner cartridge.
The toner minimum remaining amount set as the cartridge usage limit of the toner cartridge is registered in the toner cartridge information stored in the TPNC server 101.

If it is determined in step S3503 that the toner remaining amount R is not less than the toner minimum remaining amount, the process ends.

If it is determined in step S3503 that the toner remaining amount R is equal to or less than the toner minimum remaining amount, step S350.
4, the TPNC server 101 determines that the receiving contractor 111
Notify when to replace the toner cartridge. The notification of the replacement time of the toner cartridge can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the TPNC server 101 obtains the remaining amount of toner from the printer 113, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement according to the present invention described above. While you can
Since the amount of remaining toner to be detected is accurate, it is possible to accurately determine the replacement time. Moreover, the printer 113 is not limited to the case where only the distribution data file is printed out, and the printer 113 is used for other outputs. However, it is possible to manage the replacement time of the toner cartridge.

[0317]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide online article transmission that enables detailed settings for different needs of each customer.

[0318] Also, from the custom content code, the original article can be simply
Further information such as related articles can be provided.

[0319] Further, by allowing the user to access the link to the advertisement, it is possible to easily provide services such as discount of the subscription fee.

Since the extraction conditions for the information and the advertisement information are changed based on the access log, it is possible to transmit the information more in line with the user's taste and the advertiser's intention.

In the case of printing, the printing cost of consumable items (toner, ink, etc.) involved in printing an advertisement can be refunded from the advertiser without burdening the subscriber.

Further, the management of the replacement time of the consumable cartridge (toner cartridge, ink cartridge, etc.) of the printer used for printing can be confirmed at the time of reception.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic newspaper system with an advertisement according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of a TPNC server 101 used in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operation concept diagram of the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1.

4 is a client computer 1 of a subscriber 111 in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG.
12 is a flowchart of the operation when making a reception contract with the TPNC server 101.

5 is a schematic diagram of a new registration screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a client computer 11 shown in FIG.
2 is a schematic diagram of a password input screen for confirming registration, which is transmitted from 2 to the TPNC server 101. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a contract information input screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

8 is a schematic diagram of a contract information input screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

9 is a schematic diagram of a contract information input screen displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

10 is a schematic diagram of an information input screen such as a reception condition for an advertisement layout displayed on the screen of the client computer 112 based on an instruction from the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of distribution contract information stored in the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 and related to the reception contractor 111.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of distribution contract information stored in the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 and related to the reception contractor 111.

FIG. 13 is a news server 12 in which the TPNC server 101 in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG.
Articles distributed from 1 to 126 and advertisement server 131
Is a flowchart of the operation of receiving and storing the advertisements distributed from 1 to 133.

FIG. 14 shows the news server 121 to T shown in FIG.
3 is a schematic diagram of article data transmitted to the PNC server 101. FIG.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 stores article data.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the advertisement server 131 shown in FIG.
3 is a schematic diagram of update information data transmitted to the C server 101. FIG.

17 is a conceptual diagram of advertiser data stored in the database of the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

18 is a schematic diagram of a format of saving advertisement data in a database in the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

19 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 delivers an article based on the contract content of the reception contractor 111 to the client computer 112 of the reception contractor 111. FIG.

FIG. 20 is a conversion table of assigned custom content codes and original content codes used in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a conceptual diagram of conditions when extracting advertisement data in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1.

22 is a conceptual diagram of conditions when extracting advertisement data in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 decides whether to output color data or monochrome of distribution data based on the contract content of the reception contractor 111.

FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram of conditions when determining whether to output color data or monochrome of distribution data in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement shown in FIG. 1.

25 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 calculates the amount of money to be returned based on the toner consumption amount used for printing a distribution advertisement in the printer 113. FIG.

26 is a schematic diagram of printer information data for each printer type of the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 calculates the total amount of toner consumption used for printing a distribution data file for each distribution.

28 is a flowchart of an operation when the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 notifies the toner cartridge replacement time after calculating the estimated cumulative toner consumption amount X after following the flowchart of FIG. 27.

29A is a schematic diagram of a toner cartridge replacement timing notification screen, and FIG. 29B is a schematic diagram of a delivery form screen.

FIG. 30 is a schematic view of a screen displaying data of delivery date.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart of an operation of referring to a detailed article using a custom content code.

FIG. 32 is a conceptual diagram of an article data format delivered from the news server to the TPNC server 101, in which items related to related articles are added.

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram of a screen displayed on the client computer 112.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing data transmission / reception among three parties of the TPNC server 101, the client computer 112, and the printer 113 in the electronic newspaper system with advertisement according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a toner remaining amount P transmitted by the TPNC server 101 shown in FIG. 1 according to the flowchart of FIG. 34.
6 is a flowchart of the operation when notifying the replacement time of the toner cartridge after receiving the.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 TPNC server 111 Subscriber 112 Client computer 113 Printer 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 News server 131, 132, 133 Advertising server 201 CPU 202 Input device 203 Main storage device 204 Output device 205 Auxiliary storage device 206 Clock Device 207 Control device 208 Computing device 209 Communication device 3201 Number of related articles 3202 Information of first related article 3203 Information of second related article

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme code (reference) G06F 13/00 540 G06F 13/00 540S (72) Inventor Takayuki Nagatsuka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Tanaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. At least one of receiving first content from a first distributor, and / or receiving second content from a second distributor, and redistributing a part or all of the received content to a client of a subscriber. In the content distribution system including the server described above, the first content includes content that is obliged to pay the price to the first distributor when the re-distributor receives the distribution, and the second content is to the receiving contractor. A content distribution system, which includes content for which a redistributor has a right to collect a consideration from a second distributor by performing redistribution, wherein the server redistributes to the client of the subscriber. 2. The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution is performed via the Internet. 3. At least one of receiving first content from a first distributor, and / or receiving second content from a second distributor, and redistributing a part or all of the received content to a client of a subscriber. In the content distribution system including the server described above, the re-distributed content includes a management unit that manages a more detailed content than the re-distributed content or a related content, wherein the server distributes from the subscriber. Based on your request
A content distribution system for distributing the details or related content, wherein the content received by the server from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content redistributed by the server to a subscriber is a custom content. A content distribution system including a code, and being managed by a data address including one or more of a reception contractor code and a reception date and time. 4. The content distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the distribution is performed via the Internet. 5. The content distribution request can be made by inputting the custom content code after the subscriber has logged in.
Content distribution system described in. 6. The content to be re-distributed is automatically output by an image forming apparatus connected to a client of the receiving contractor at a time zone or time set by the receiving contractor. The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A content distribution system in which the distributor sets a color priority for content and sets the color desirability of the content received by the receiving contractor, wherein the color set by the distributor is set. The server has means for judging whether or not the conditions of the priority and the color desirability set by the receiving contractor are satisfied, and the server outputs the content to the receiving contractor in color output or monochrome based on the judgment. It outputs, The content delivery system of any one of Claim 1 to 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. A means for estimating toner, ink, and other amounts of consumables required to output the second content, and means for calculating an amount of money according to the estimated amount of consumables. The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: 9. The content distribution system according to claim 8, wherein the means for estimating the amount of consumables required to output the second content uses an image ratio as a parameter. 10. A means for calculating the replacement or replenishment time of the consumable item by comparing the estimated consumption amount of the consumable item consumed in the output of the content to be redistributed with the standard life of the consumable item. The content distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising means for notifying a receiving contractor of a time for exchanging or replenishing the consumable item. 11. A content distribution system comprising a management unit for managing contents, which enables the subscriber to log in, and can order consumables after logging in, wherein the subscriber is connected to the client of the subscriber. 2. The consumable item remaining amount information of the consumable item is received from the image forming apparatus, and is used for calculation of the replacement time of the consumable item.
10. The content distribution system according to any one of 1 to 9. 12. In a content distribution system, which is provided with a management unit for managing contents to which the subscriber can log in and can order consumables after logging in, in the screen after login, the contents of the consumables are displayed. 12. A consumable item of a type required by the subscriber is displayed on a screen where a warning prompting purchase is displayed, and the consumable item order can be displayed. Content distribution system. 13. The content distribution system according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is a paper-like display. 14. A server that receives first content from a first distributor and / or second content from a second distributor and redistributes part or all of the received content to a client of a subscriber. Then, the first content includes content that requires the re-distributor to pay the price to the first distributor when the re-distributor receives the distribution, and the second content is re-distributed to the subscriber. A server characterized in that the distributor includes content for which the right to collect the consideration from the second distributor is included, and the content is redistributed to the client of the contractor at the time zone or time set by the contractor. 15. A server for receiving first content from a first distributor and / or second content from a second distributor and redistributing a part or all of the received content to a client of a subscriber. A management means for managing the content of the re-distributed content, which is more detailed than the re-distributed content, or related content, and distributes the detail or related content based on a distribution request from the receiving contractor. In the server, the content received from the first distributor is managed by the original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is managed by the data address including the receiving contractor code, the distribution date and time, and the custom content code. A server characterized by 16. The server receives the first content from the first distributor and / or receives the second content from the second distributor, and re-distributes a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. In the method for transmitting information, the first content includes content which is obliged to pay the consideration to the first distributor when the redistributor receives the distribution, and the second content is reproduced to the receiving contractor. The content includes content for which the re-distributor has a right to collect the consideration from the second distributor by performing the distribution, and the server re-distributes to the client of the recipient contractor in the time zone or time set by the recipient contractor. An information transmission method characterized by: 17. The server receives the first content from the first distributor and / or receives the second content from the second distributor, and re-distributes a part or all of the received content to the client of the subscriber. In the information transmitting method, the management means manages the re-distributed content, which is more detailed than the re-distributed content, or related content, and the server makes a distribution request from the receiving contractor. Based on the above, there is provided an information transmitting method comprising the step of delivering the details or related content, wherein the content received from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is received. Managed by a data address consisting of contractor code, delivery date and time, custom content code An information transmission method characterized by the following. 18. The server is caused to receive the first content from the first distributor, and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is sent to the client of the subscriber. In the program including the step of re-delivering, the first content includes content that is obliged to pay the consideration to the first distributor when the re-distributor receives the distribution, and the second content is re-distributed to the subscriber. Redelivery to the client of the receiving contractor is included in the server at the time zone or time set by the receiving contractor, including the content that the redistribution person has the right to collect the consideration from the second distributor by performing the distribution. A program comprising the steps of: 19. The server is caused to receive the first content from the first distributor, and / or the second content is received from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is sent to the client of the subscriber. In a program including a step of re-delivering, the management means manages the content of the re-delivered content, which is more detailed than the re-delivered content, or related content, and causes the server to deliver a delivery request from a subscriber On the basis of,
A program comprising a step of distributing the details or related content, wherein the content received from the first distributor is managed by an original content code, and the content re-distributed to the receiving contractor is the receiving contractor code, distribution date and time. A program that is managed by a data address consisting of a custom content code. 20. The server is caused to receive the first content from the first distributor and / or the second content from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is sent to the client of the subscriber. In a computer-readable recording medium recording a program having a step of re-distributing, the first content includes content which, when the re-distributor receives the distribution, has a duty to pay the price to the first distributor. (Ii) The content includes content in which the re-distributor has a right to collect the consideration from the second distributor by performing re-distribution to the subscriber, and the server has a time zone or time set by the subscriber. And a computer-readable recording program, characterized by the step of re-delivering to the client of the subscriber. Recordable media. 21. The server is caused to receive the first content from the first distributor and / or to receive the second content from the second distributor, and a part or all of the received content is sent to the client of the subscriber. In a computer-readable recording medium recording a program having a step of re-distributing, the management unit manages a more detailed content of the re-distributed content than the re-distributed content, or a related content, Based on the delivery request from the subscriber,
A computer-readable recording medium recording a program having a step of distributing the details or related content, wherein the content received from the first distributor is managed by an original content code and re-distributed to a subscriber. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, which is managed by a data address including a receiving contractor code, a delivery date and time, and a custom content code.