JP2003030534A - Advertisement distributing system and distribution mediating device, and printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform an advertisement distribution processing capable of obtaining the satisfaction of both an advertiser and an advertisement receiver. SOLUTION: Advertisement information is distributed from an advertisement distributing device 1 at an advertiser side through a distribution mediating device 2 at the advertisement mediator side to a printer device 3 at an advertisement receiver side. Also, the advertisement mediator returns a part of the advertisement distribution margin to be paid from the advertiser to the advertisement receiver as an advertisement printing fee.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an advertisement distribution system, a distribution mediation apparatus, and a printing apparatus suitable for application to, for example, a process of distributing advertisement information to a specific customer or a potential customer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, as means for distributing an advertisement by an advertiser, one that distributes to an unspecified number of recipients such as television, magazines, newspapers, etc. Some are delivered to a small number of people (in the sense that the area is limited), some are delivered to specific customers or potential customers such as mail, facsimile, and email.

[0003]

The above-described conventional advertisement distribution means, particularly the advertisement distribution means for distributing to a specific customer or a potential customer, has the following problems to be solved. .

[0004]

[Table 1] As shown in Table 1, firstly, when distributing advertisement information by using e-mail as a medium for browsing advertisements, a display device such as a display device is used. The person can browse the advertisement information only in the place where the display device is installed. Also,
Recently, mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Data Assistant)
The portable information communication terminals such as those have been put on the market, and the advertisement receiver has come to be able to use such portable information terminals as an advertisement browsing medium. However, since the size and resolution of the display screen of the portable information communication terminal are generally small, the content of the advertisement that can be displayed is limited.

Secondly, regarding the degree of recognition of the delivered advertisement content by the recipient, when the advertisement information is delivered by mail, the postal matter is discarded without being opened and viewed. Since it may not be performed, the probability of being recognized by the advertisement receiver is low. Similarly, when the advertisement information is delivered using an email, the email may be deleted without being opened, so that the advertisement content is less likely to be recognized by the advertisement receiver.

Thirdly, from the advertiser's point of view, the costs required for advertisement distribution are e-mail, facsimile,
It becomes higher in the order of mail. On the contrary, from the side of the advertisement receiver, the cost for receiving the advertisement information increases in the order of mail, electronic mail, and facsimile. In addition, when the advertisement receiver intends to receive the advertisement information by using e-mail or facsimile, the advertisement receiver must prepare a receiving device such as a personal computer or a facsimile device, and Since the ink and the printing paper for printing the information are consumed, the financial burden on the advertisement receiver is further increased.

[0007] Therefore, the conventional advertisement distribution means cannot perform the advertisement distribution satisfying both the advertiser and the advertisement receiver.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its objects are aspects of advertisement browsing mode, probability that the content of advertisement information is recognized by an advertisement receiver, advertisement distribution cost, and advertisement reception cost. Then, it is to provide an advertisement distribution system, a distribution mediation device, and a printing device that can satisfy both the advertiser and the advertisement receiver.

[0009]

The first feature of the present invention is to:
(1) An advertisement distribution device that is provided on the advertisement distributor side and that includes an advertisement information database that stores advertisement information and a distribution destination database that stores information about a distribution destination that distributes the advertisement information, (2) via an electronic network Storage means for storing the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement distribution device and the information regarding the distribution destination, and referring to the information regarding the distribution destination according to the instruction from the advertisement distribution device, distributing the advertisement information through the electronic network. A distribution intermediary device that includes a distribution unit that distributes first, a unit that calculates an advertisement printing fee paid to a distribution destination that has printed the distributed advertisement information, and a unit that calculates an advertisement distribution fee charged to the advertisement distributor. (3) A printing device which is provided on the delivery destination side and prints the advertisement information delivered from the delivery intermediary device via an electronic network. Characterized in that it has.

According to this structure, the advertisement information is distributed from the advertisement distribution device on the advertiser side to the printer device on the advertisement receiver side via the distribution mediation device on the advertisement mediator side. Further, the advertisement intermediary returns a part of the advertisement distribution fee paid by the advertiser to the advertisement receiver as an advertisement printing fee.

Therefore, the advertisement receiver can freely carry the advertisement information printed on the paper by the printer device, and there is no restriction on the place to browse the advertisement information.

[0012] Further, the content of the advertisement information is always viewed by the advertisement receiver, and the advertiser can expect a high advertisement effect.

[0013] Further, the advertisement receiver pays consumables (ink, toner, printing paper, etc.) for printing the advertisement information.
And communication fees for receiving (Internet services,
Since the advertisement printing fee can be used for expenses such as connection fees and line usage fees paid to the provider, the advertisement receiver does not have any disadvantages in receiving the advertisement. Further, if the amount of the reward for browsing the advertisement is paid in addition to the above-mentioned cost, the advertisement receiver can be expected to more actively browse the advertisement.

Further, the advertiser does not have to pay the fee for delivering the advertisement which is less effective, and the advertisement can be delivered with high cost efficiency.

If the advertisement intermediary undertakes the advertisement distribution business from a plurality of advertisers, the unit price of the fixed cost of the costs related to the advertisement distribution business can be reduced, and therefore the advertisement distribution fee can be reduced. If this advertisement distribution fee is set to a lower price than the postage cost of the postal service or the freight cost of the courier, the advertiser will feel the advantage.

Further, since the advertisement is distributed via the electronic network, the advertisement can be distributed more quickly as compared with the case where the printed matter is printed and delivered by physical distribution, and the advertiser advertises the timely advertisement. Can be delivered to recipients.

There are various methods for the advertiser to specify the advertisement receiver. When the advertiser wants to deliver the advertisement to a specific customer, the customer list may be uploaded to the delivery intermediary device of the advertisement intermediary. Alternatively, the advertisement intermediary may register and classify the advertisement receiver in advance based on the demographic information, and deliver it to the advertisement receiver corresponding to the classification specified by the advertiser. In the latter case, the advertisement can be delivered to potential customers.

"Printing device" according to the first aspect of the present invention
Is not particularly limited as long as it can print the advertisement information distributed from the distribution mediation device via the electronic network. For example, it may be a facsimile connected to a public line and having a function of printing an image on paper. Alternatively, it may be a printer directly connected to the Internet or a printer locally connected to a personal computer connected to the Internet.

When home networks will spread to general households in the future, printers will be installed in each household as a part of home electric appliances and receive cooking menus from a Web server for printing or receiving newspaper articles. It is expected that they will be printed. Therefore, the “printing device” is not positioned as a “special receiving device”, and it can be expected to be used as a general-purpose advertisement receiving means.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the advertiser and the advertisement receiver are in terms of the advertisement browsing mode, the degree of the advertisement information being recognized by the advertisement receiver, the advertisement distribution cost, and the advertisement reception cost. It becomes possible to satisfy both.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the delivery mediating apparatus delivers, together with the advertisement information, a control command for controlling a printing process of the advertisement information by the printing apparatus. The control command includes at least a print completion notification transmission command that controls the printing apparatus to transmit a print completion notification indicating that the printing process of the advertisement information is completed to a predetermined electronic network address.

Whether or not the recipient of the advertisement actually printed the advertisement is an important issue for the advertiser. Therefore,
By returning the return print completion notification from the advertisement receiver, the degree of recognition of the advertisement can be grasped for each advertisement receiver.

Further, if the advertiser is charged only for the advertisement distribution fee related to the advertisement recipient who has returned the print completion notice, the advertiser will not pay the advertisement distribution fee which is less effective and the cost will be reduced. It is possible to deliver highly effective advertisements.

The print completion notification may be sent by the printing device on the side of the advertisement receiver, or may be sent by a device such as a personal computer to which the printing device is connected.

When the printing device on the advertisement receiver side has a page buffer memory, or when the data is temporarily buffered in the connected personal computer,
It is desirable that the print completion notification be sent at the time when the data is read from the buffer and actually printed, not at the time when the data is stored in those buffers.

A third feature of the present invention is that, in the printing apparatus on the side of the advertisement receiver, receiving means for receiving the advertisement information distributed via the electronic network, printing means for printing the advertisement information, and the advertisement And a sending unit that sends a print completion notification indicating that the printing process of the information is completed to a predetermined electronic network address, and the receiving unit gives an instruction to send the print completion notification together with the advertisement information. A transmitting means for transmitting the print completion notification to a predetermined electronic network address when the print completion notification transmission instruction is included. Characterize.

The printing device on the advertisement receiver side is provided with a function of directly connecting to the network to receive data and further directly sending a print completion notice.
It can be installed as a component of a home network as an information transmitting / receiving device compatible with 6 (Internet Protocol Version 6).

Further, the printing apparatus on the advertisement receiver side can prevent wasteful transmission by transmitting the print completion notice when the print completion notice transmission command is included in the received data.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An advertisement distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention is from a computer device on the advertiser side to a printer device on the advertisement receiver side via a distribution mediation device on the advertisement mediator side. And the advertisement image (advertising information) is delivered. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12,
The configuration and operation of this advertisement distribution system will be described in detail.

[Structure of Advertisement Distribution System] As shown in FIG. 1, this advertisement distribution system includes an advertisement distribution device 1 on the advertiser side, a distribution mediation device 2 on the advertisement mediator side, and an advertisement receiver side. The printer device 3 in the above is connectable via an electronic network such as the Internet.

[Configuration of Advertisement Distribution Device] Advertisement Distribution Device 1
Is configured on a computer device such as a personal computer, a workstation, or a general-purpose computer, and as shown in FIG. 2, CPU 1a, RAM 1b, RO
It has M1c, communication control unit 1d, advertisement recipient list database 1e, advertisement information database 1f, and advertisement mediator database 1g.

The CPU 1a controls the operation of the advertisement distribution device 1 according to the program stored in the ROM 1c.
For example, the CPU 1a loads the bill notification reception program A, the fee transfer program B, and the data necessary for executing these programs from the ROM 1c or the database into the RAM 1b, and executes the instructions or processes described in the programs. To do.

The RAM 1b secures a work area for temporarily storing programs and data relating to various processes executed by the CPU 1a.

The ROM 1c is, for example, a startup program (not shown) of the advertisement distribution device 1, a bill notification reception program A, a fee transfer program B, an advertisement reception list and an advertisement image transmission program (not shown), a web browser program (FIG. Various programs (not shown) and data necessary for program processing are stored.

Here, the ROM 1c is configured to include a recording medium readable by the CPU 1a, such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory.
The programs and data stored in this recording medium are
A part or all of them may be received via an electronic network.

The communication control unit 1d is, for example, HTTP (Hype
r Text Transfer Protocol), TCP / IP (Transfer
Internet communication protocols such as Control Protocol / Internet Protocol, for example, SMTP (Simple M
ail Transfer Protocol) and POP (Post Office Proto)
col) and other electronic mail communication protocols are implemented. The communication control unit 1d uses these protocols to establish a network connection with the distribution intermediary device 2 via the electronic network, and transmits data in a format according to the form of the electronic network. In addition, the communication control unit 1d uses the data received via the electronic network for the advertisement distribution device 1
Is converted to a format that can be processed.

The advertisement recipient list database 1e stores list data of advertisement recipients. Here, the “advertisement recipient” in this embodiment refers to a specific customer of the advertiser or a potential customer who the advertiser wants to deliver the advertisement image for advertising. Further, in the advertisement receiver list, as shown in FIG. 3, the advertisement receiver name, the IP address given to the printer device 3 on the advertisement receiver side, and the information regarding the transfer account of the advertisement receiver (bank name, Branch name, account number, account name, etc.) are recorded for each advertisement recipient.

The advertisement information database 1f stores advertisement information of characters and image data. When the advertisement information stored in the advertisement information database 1f is image data, the image data is converted into, for example, TIFF (Tag Image File F
ormat), PCL (Printer Control Language), Po
stScript, PDF (Portable Document Format)
It is desirable to use a standard data format that is easy for the printer device 3 on the advertisement receiver side to read, such as.

The advertisement intermediary information database 1g stores information about the transfer account of the advertisement intermediary.

[Configuration of Delivery Mediation Device] Delivery Mediation Device 2
Is configured on a computer device such as a personal computer, a workstation, a general-purpose computer or the like as in the advertisement distribution device 1, and as shown in FIG.
2a, RAM 2b, ROM 2c, communication control unit 2d, advertisement receiver list storage unit 2e, advertisement image storage unit 2f, and advertiser information storage unit 2g.

The CPU 2a controls the operation of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 according to the program stored in the ROM 2c.
For example, the CPU 2a uses the PDL (Page Description Lan)
guage) The conversion program and the data necessary for executing the program are loaded from the ROM 2c or the storage unit into the RAM 2b, and the instructions and processes described in the program are executed.

The RAM 2b secures a work area for temporarily storing programs and data relating to various processes executed by the CPU 2a.

The ROM 2c is, for example, a start-up program (not shown) of the distribution mediating apparatus 2, an advertisement distribution fee calculation program C, an advertisement printing fee calculation program D, a bill notification transmission program E, a printing fee transfer program F, an IP address extraction program. G, PDL conversion program (not shown),
It stores various programs such as a web browser program (not shown) and data necessary for program processing.

The communication control unit 2d has basically the same configuration as that of the advertisement distribution apparatus 1, but the IPP (Internet Print) together with the protocol implemented in the advertisement distribution apparatus 1 are used.
ingProtocol) and other protocols for print processing via the Internet are also implemented, and operations according to this protocol are also executed.

The advertisement receiver list storage unit 2e and the advertisement image storage unit 2f store an advertisement receiver list of advertisement receivers and an advertisement image transmitted from the advertisement distribution device 1, respectively. Further, the advertiser information storage unit 2g stores information regarding the transfer account of the advertiser.

[Configuration of Printer Device] Printer Device 3
Is configured on a general printing device such as an inkjet printer device or a laser printer device, and as shown in FIG. 5, a CPU 3a, a RAM 3b, a ROM 3c, a communication control unit 3d, a completion notification destination address storage unit 3e, and a printing unit. Three
f, and a print completion detection unit 3g.

The CPU 3a controls the operation of the printer device 3 according to the program stored in the ROM 3c.
The RAM 3b secures a work area for temporarily storing programs and data relating to various processes executed by the CPU 3a.

The ROM 3c stores various programs such as a boot program (not shown) for the printer device 3, a completion notification request determination program H, a completion notification transmission program I, and data necessary for program processing.

The communication control unit 3d implements a protocol having the same form as that implemented in the communication control unit 2d of the distribution mediation device 2. In addition, the communication control unit 3d has a unique I-value so that it can be distinguished from the printer devices 3 of other advertisement recipients.
It has a P address.

The completion notification destination address storage unit 3e stores the IP address of the transmission destination (delivery mediation device 2 in this embodiment) to which the print completion notification is transmitted.

The printing unit 3f prints the advertisement image received from the processing device 2 on the printing paper under the control of the CPU 3a. Further, the print completion detecting unit 3g detects the state of the print processing of the advertisement image by the printing unit 3f, and outputs a print completion signal to the CPU 3a in response to the completion of printing. When the printing unit 3f has completed the printing process, for example, when the printer device 3 is an inkjet printer device, the ink discharge amount is counted by referring to the ink discharge amount counted by the ink discharge control circuit. This is done by detecting.

Further, the print completion detecting portion 3g may be constructed so as to directly detect the printing paper which is printed and discharged by using a sensor, a switch or the like.

[Operation of Advertisement Distribution System] The advertisement distribution process using the above-described advertisement distribution system is roughly divided into three processes of an advertisement image registration process, an advertisement distribution process, and a payment process. Therefore, in the following, FIG. 6, FIG.
Also, the operation of the advertisement distribution system will be divided into these three processes and described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Advertisement Image Registration Processing] In FIG. 6, the advertiser creates an advertisement recipient list and an advertisement image in the advertisement recipient list database 1e and the advertisement information database 1f, respectively, and distributes the advertisement via the electronic network. It starts by connecting the device 1 and the distribution mediation device 2 to the network.

First, the communication control unit 1d of the advertisement distribution device 1
Accesses the distribution mediation device 2 through the electronic network to establish a network connection with the distribution mediation device 2, and the CPU 1a of the advertisement distribution device 1 reads from the advertisement recipient list database 1e and the advertisement information database 1f. The advertisement receiver list and the advertisement image are transmitted to the distribution mediation device 2 (Step 01). As a result, this advertisement distribution device 1
The processing of Step 01 in step 1 is completed, and the process proceeds to step 02 in the distribution mediating apparatus 2.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 1a outputs the advertisement receiver list and the advertisement image to the communication control unit 1d in the form of electronic mail, and the communication control unit 1d uses the electronic mail communication protocol. Then, the advertisement receiver list and the advertisement image are transmitted to the distribution intermediary device 2 as an electronic mail. In the electronic mail shown in FIG. 7, the transmission source and the transmission destination are the mail addresses of the advertiser and the distribution intermediary, respectively, and the advertisement receiver list and the advertisement image are attached as attached data.

In the present embodiment, the advertisement receiver list and the advertisement image are delivered as electronic mail by the delivery intermediary device 2.
However, a web page that can be browsed via an electronic network, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A is prepared on the distribution intermediary device 2, and the advertiser operates the advertisement distribution device 1. The network may be connected to the distribution mediation device 2 to upload the advertisement recipient list and the advertisement image to this web page via a web browser.

Specifically, when the advertiser operates the advertisement distribution device 1 to make a network connection with the distribution mediation device 2 via an electronic network, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediation device 2 operates as follows.
The web page shown in FIG. 8A is output on the advertisement distribution device 1. When the web page is output, the advertiser uses an input device such as a keyboard connected to the advertisement distribution device 1 to input his / her advertiser number via the web browser. After that, the advertiser clicks the upload button on the web page using an input device such as a mouse pointer and, for example, "Specify an upload file" as shown in Fig. 8 (b) and (c). The advertisement recipient list and the data file of the advertisement image are specified according to a guidance message such as ". Then, in response to the advertiser clicking, for example, the “send” button or the like and instructing to upload the advertisement recipient list and the advertisement image, the communication control unit 1d of the advertisement distribution device 1 specifies the advertiser number. The advertisement recipient list and the data file of the advertisement image are transmitted (uploaded) to the distribution mediation device 2.

Further, in this embodiment, the advertiser transmits the advertisement receiver list in which the advertisement receivers who deliver the advertisement image are described to the distribution mediation device 2. However, the advertisement mediator uses the demographic information. The advertisement receiver is classified and registered in advance in the distribution mediation device 2 based on the above, and the advertiser designates the classification via the electronic network to identify the advertisement receiver who distributes the advertisement image. May be instructed to. According to such a method, the advertiser can deliver the advertisement image to potential customers.

Returning again to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 gives the same registration number to the received advertisement recipient list and the advertisement image, and stores the advertisement recipient list storage section 2e and the advertisement image storage respectively. It is stored in the section 2f (Step 02).

Next, the CPU 2a of the distribution intermediary device 2 generates a registration acceptance notification indicating that the advertisement recipient list and the advertisement image have been registered, and the communication control unit 2d issues this registration acceptance notification via the electronic network. It is transmitted to the advertisement distribution device 1 (Step 03). Upon receiving the registration acceptance notification, the CPU 1a of the advertisement distribution device 1 stores the registration acceptance notification in the ROM 1c. As a result, a series of processes related to the advertising image registration process is completed.

Here, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 is
The registration acceptance notification is generated in the form of an email as shown in FIG. 9, and the communication control unit 1d transmits the registration acceptance notification as an email to the advertisement distribution device 1 by using an email communication protocol such as SMTP. To do. In the registration acceptance notification shown in FIG. 9, a message text indicating that registration is completed, a received advertisement recipient list, and a registration number given to the advertisement image are described.

[Advertisement Delivery Process] After the registration process is completed, the process proceeds to the advertisement delivery process shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 refers to the advertisement receiver list stored in the advertisement receiver list storage unit 2e to refer to the IP of the printer device 3 on the advertisement receiver side which distributes the advertisement image. Extract address (Step1
1).

Next, the communication control unit 2d of the distribution mediation device 2
Connects to the printer device 3 corresponding to the extracted IP address via the electronic network (Step 12).

Next, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 extracts the advertisement image having the same registration number as the advertisement recipient list from the advertisement image storage unit 2f, and the communication control unit 2d packetizes the extracted advertisement image, The packetized advertisement image and the control command for the printer device 3 are transmitted to the printer device 3 (Step 13).

Here, the communication control unit 2d is an IPP (Internet Printing) which is one of the installed protocols.
The advertisement image and the control command are transmitted to the printer device 3 in accordance with (Protocol). IPP is one of the protocols for outputting data to a printer connected to a network using HTTP. Specifically, the queue of the printer connected to the network is set to the URL (Universal
(Resource Location) notation, data is sent to this URL and printed. The queue of the printer device on the advertisement recipient side is described and specified as (http://192.168.1.1/) (Note: 192.168.1.1 indicates the IP address of the printer device). According to this IPP, two-way communication between the distribution mediation device 2 and the printer device 3 becomes possible, the distribution mediation device 2 transmits the advertisement image to the printer device 3, and the state of the print job of the advertisement image in the printer device 3. Can be monitored.

When the advertisement image is distributed, the CPU 2a
Reads the PDL conversion program G from the ROM 2c to the RAM 2
Then, the extracted advertisement image is converted into a PDL data format printable by the printing unit 3f of the printer device 3 according to the PDL conversion program G.

The control command is a control command for controlling the printing operation of the advertisement image by the printer device 3, and has a format such as "C1C2C3 ... Cn". Here, “C1, C2, ... Cn” are individual commands, and for example, as shown in Table 2, there are a printer reset command, an image transfer command, a paper size designation command, a print completion notification request command, and the like.

[0070]

[Table 2] Specifically, when a printer reset command is input to the printer device 3 as a control command, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 clears the data buffer of the printing unit 3f and sets the printing unit 3f in hardware. And / or software reset. The printer reset command is described as, for example, “ST & (0x00) & TE” (“ST &” and “& TE” are identifiers indicating the start and end of the command, respectively).

When a paper size designation command is sent to the printer device 3 as a control command, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 interprets the content of the paper size designation command and uses the paper size designated in the command. The printing unit 3f is controlled to print the advertisement image.

The paper size designation command is described as, for example, "ST & (0x02) & Size &TE"("&" in the middle of the command is an identifier indicating a break in the parameter, and "Size" is, for example, A4, A3. , B4, etc. is a character string indicating the paper size).

Further, when an image transfer command is sent to the printer device 3 as a control command, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 transfers the advertisement image to the transfer destination specified in the command, and the communication control section 3d. To control.

The image transfer command is, for example, "ST & (0x
(01) & B1 & (image data) & TE "(" B1 "is the number of bytes that indicates the size of the image data, and (image data) is the value of the image data. The image data is the RGB raw data. However, the compressed data may be, for example, JPEG format).

Furthermore, when the print completion notification request command is transmitted to the printer device 3 as the control command, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 loads the completion notification transmission program H from the ROM 3c to the RAM 3b and transmits the completion notification. In accordance with the program H, the communication control unit 3d is controlled so as to transmit the print completion notification of the advertisement image to the distribution mediation device 2. This completion notification transmission process will be described later in detail.

The print completion notification command is described as, for example, "ST & (0x03) &TE".

Returning again to the flowchart of FIG. 10, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 first interprets the control command transmitted from the distribution mediation device 2, controls the printing unit 3f based on the interpretation result, and executes the distribution mediation. The advertisement image transmitted from the device 2 is printed (Step 14).

Next, the CPU 3a of the printer device 3 sends the completion notification request determination program H from the ROM 3c to the RAM 3
Whether the distribution mediating apparatus 2 requests a print completion notification of the advertisement image according to the completion notification request determination program (= print completion notification request command (“ST & (0x03) & TE ”) is included) (Step 15).

Then, the distribution mediating apparatus 2 requests the print completion notification of the advertisement image (= the print completion notification request command is included in the transmitted control commands).
In this case, this advertisement distribution process shifts to the next Step 16. On the other hand, when the distribution mediating apparatus 2 does not request the print completion notification of the advertisement image (= the print command is not included in the control command), this series of advertisement distribution processing is completed.

In Step 16, the print unit 3f completes the printing process of the advertisement image, and at the same time, the print completion detecting unit 3g performs C
A print completion signal is output to PU3a. When the print completion signal is input, the CPU 3a causes the completion notification transmission program I
Accordingly, the communication control unit 3d is controlled so as to generate the print completion notification and transmit the print completion notification to the distribution mediation apparatus 2 connected to the network. Here, when transmitting the print completion notification, the communication control unit 3d uses the IP of the distribution mediation device 2 stored in the completion notification destination address storage unit 3e.
By referring to the address, the print completion notification output from the CPU 3a is transmitted to the distribution mediation apparatus 2. The address of the completion notification destination may be included in the control command or the like and transmitted to the printer device 3.

A series of advertisement distribution processing is completed by the above processing of Step 11 to Step 16.

In this embodiment, the printer device 3 sends a print completion notification to the distribution mediating device 2 in response to the completion of the print processing by the printing unit 3f. If there is a limit on the number of times of communication or communication time via the electronic network, such as when the contract for the electronic network connection fee or the line usage fee is made, the printer device 3 Together, or for each predetermined cycle (for example, 1 day
The print completion notification may be transmitted once a week, once a week, etc.). Although the print completion notification is sent by the printer device 3, when there is another device that can be network-connected to the distribution mediation device 2, such as when the printer device 3 is locally connected to a computer device. In this case, the apparatus may be made to transmit a print completion notice.

When the printer device 3 has a page buffer memory or when the advertisement image temporarily buffered by the computer system to which the printer device 3 is connected is printed, the print completion notification is stored in the buffer. It is desirable that the advertisement image is read from the buffer and transmitted when it is actually printed, not when the advertisement image is stored.

[Payment Processing] In FIG. 11, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 causes the advertisement distribution fee calculation program C
Is loaded from the ROM 2c to the RAM 2b, the number of received printer completion notices is counted according to the advertisement distribution fee calculation program C, and the advertisement distribution fee charged to the advertiser is calculated (Step 21).

Here, the advertisement distribution fee calculation program C
Calculates the sum of the advertisement distribution cost to the printer device 3 that has transmitted the print completion notification and the profit of the advertisement intermediary as the advertisement distribution fee. As a result, the advertiser does not have to pay the advertisement delivery cost to the advertisement receiver who does not print the advertisement image, and can perform a more reliable advertisement delivery process. On the other hand, if the advertisement intermediary undertakes the advertisement distribution work from a plurality of advertisers, it is possible to reduce the unit price of fixed costs and the advertisement distribution fee. If the advertisement distribution fee is calculated to be lower than the postage fee or the transportation fee, it is possible to make the advertiser feel the advantage.

Next, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 loads the bill notification transmission program E from the ROM 2c to the RAM 2b and generates an advertisement distribution fee bill notification in which the advertisement distribution fee calculated according to the bill notification transmission program E is described ( Step22).

Next, the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 follows the bill notification transmission program E to transmit the advertisement distribution fee bill notification to the advertisement distribution device 1 and the communication control section 2d.
Control (Step 23).

Here, the advertisement distribution fee bill notification is, for example, in the form of electronic mail as shown in FIG.
Sent to. In the advertisement distribution fee request notification shown in FIG. 12, information regarding the advertisement recipient (printer device 3) that has transmitted the print completion notification is described together with the advertisement distribution fee. Thereby, the advertiser can confirm the advertisement effect by the advertisement distribution process by looking at the advertisement distribution fee bill notification.

Next, when the communication control unit 1d of the advertisement distribution apparatus 1 receives the advertisement distribution fee request notification transmitted from the distribution mediation apparatus 2, the CPU 1a of the advertisement distribution apparatus 1 transfers the fee transfer program B from the ROM 1c to the RAM 1b. Then, in accordance with the fee transfer program B, the advertisement distribution fee is transferred to the transfer account of the advertisement agent stored in the advertisement agent information database 1g (Step 24).

Next, the CPU 1a of the advertisement distribution apparatus 1 transmits a transfer completion notification indicating that the transfer of the advertisement distribution fee has been completed to the distribution mediation apparatus 2 according to the fee transfer program B (Step 25).

Next, when the CPU 2a of the distribution mediating apparatus 2 receives the transfer completion notice transmitted from the advertisement distributing apparatus 1, the advertisement printing fee calculating program D is read from the ROM 2c and read from the ROM 2c.
It is loaded into AM2b and the advertisement printing fee paid to the advertisement recipient is calculated according to the advertisement printing fee calculation program D (Step
26).

Here, it is desirable to calculate the advertisement printing fee based on the following concept. That is, when printing the advertisement image, consumables (ink for the inkjet printer device, toner for the laser printer device, etc.) and printing paper for the printer device 3 on the advertisement receiver side are consumed. On the other hand, in order to receive the advertisement image, a connection fee to the electronic network and a line usage fee are required. Therefore, in order to compensate for such expenses on the advertisement receiver side, the advertisement printing fee calculation program D calculates the advertisement printing fees so that the advertisement printing fees are at least about the same as the expenses. It should be noted that it is even better to calculate the amount of money that is obtained by adding a reward money to this expense as the advertisement printing fee so that the advertisement receiver feels profitable.

Next, the CPU 2a of the distribution intermediary device 2 loads the printing fee transfer program F from the ROM 2c to the RAM 2b, and according to the printing fee transfer program F, advertises in the transfer account of the advertisement recipient who received the print completion notice. Transfer the printing fee (Step 27).

As is clear from the above description, according to the advertisement distribution system of this embodiment, the advertisement image distributed from the advertisement distribution device 1 via the distribution mediation device 2 is a printer on the advertisement receiver side. Since the content is printed reliably by the device 3, the content of the advertisement image is always viewed by the advertisement receiver, and a high advertisement effect can be expected. Further, since the delivered advertisement image is printed on the paper, the advertisement receiver can freely carry the advertisement image, and there is no restriction on the place where the advertisement image is viewed. Further, since the advertisement image is delivered via the electronic network, the advertisement delivery process can be performed quickly, and the advertiser can deliver the timely advertisement to the advertisement receiver at a low cost and in a timely manner. it can.

Further, according to the advertisement distribution system of this embodiment, since the advertisement receiver does not have to pay the advertisement printing fee and bear the cost of printing the advertisement image by himself, the advertisement receiver receives the advertisement. There is no disadvantage due to receiving, and when the advertisement printing fee includes a reward, it feels good.

Further, according to the advertisement distribution system of this embodiment, the print completion notification is transmitted to the distribution mediation apparatus 2 upon the completion of printing the advertisement image by the printer apparatus 3, and the distribution mediation apparatus 2 sends the print completion notification. Since the advertisement distribution device 1 is charged with an advertisement distribution expense for the transmitted advertisement recipient as an advertisement distribution fee, the advertiser does not pay an ineffective advertisement distribution fee, and the advertisement distribution with high cost effectiveness is performed. In addition, the advertising intermediary can gain the trust of the advertiser. Furthermore, since the advertisement receiver only needs to connect the printer device 3 to the electronic network, it does not take much time to receive the advertisement.

Furthermore, according to the advertisement distribution system of this embodiment, the printer device 3 executes the print processing according to the control command distributed with the advertisement image, and the distribution mediation device 2 requests the reply of the print completion notice. Since the print completion notification is transmitted only while the reply is in progress, it is possible to prevent unnecessary reply processing.

Although the embodiments to which the present invention is applied have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the description and drawings according to the embodiments. That is, it goes without saying that all other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0099]

According to the present invention, both the advertiser and the advertisement receiver are satisfied in terms of the advertisement browsing mode, the degree of recognition of the contents of the advertisement information by the advertisement receiver, the advertisement distribution cost, and the advertisement reception cost. It is possible to build an advertisement distribution system that can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an advertisement distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the advertisement distribution device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a format of an advertisement recipient list according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distribution mediation device shown in FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the printer device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a registration flow according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a format of a registration application notification according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement registration screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a format of a registration acceptance notification according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an advertisement distribution flow according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a payment processing flow according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement distribution fee request notification according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 .. Advertisement distribution device 2 .... Delivery intermediary device 3 .... Printer device 1a, 2a, 3a .... CPU 1b, 2b, 3b .... RAM 1c, 2c, 3c .... ROM 1d, 2d, 3d ... Communication control unit 1e .... Advertising recipient list database 1f .... Advertising information database 1g .... Advertising mediator database 2e .... Advertising recipient list storage section 2f .... Advertising image storage 2g .... Advertiser information storage section 3e .... Completion notification destination address storage unit 3f .... Printing department 3f .... Print completion detector A .... Billing notification receiving program B .... Commission transfer program C .... Advertising distribution fee calculation program D .... Advertising printing fee calculation program E .... Billing notification sending program F .... Printing fee transfer program G .... PDL conversion program H .... Completion notification request judgment program I .... Completion notification transmission program

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An advertisement distribution apparatus, which is provided on the advertisement distributor side and has an advertisement information database that stores advertisement information and a distribution destination database that stores information about a distribution destination to which the advertisement information is distributed, and an electronic network via an electronic network. Storage means for storing the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement distribution device and the information regarding the distribution destination, and referring to the information regarding the distribution destination according to the instruction from the advertisement distribution device, distributing the advertisement information through the electronic network. A distribution intermediary device including a distribution unit that distributes first, a unit that calculates an advertisement printing fee paid to a distribution destination that has printed the distributed advertisement information, and a unit that calculates an advertisement distribution fee charged to the advertisement distributor. A printing device which is provided on the delivery destination side and prints advertisement information delivered from the delivery intermediary device via an electronic network Ad delivery system which is characterized in that it has a. 2. The advertisement distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution mediating apparatus distributes, together with the advertisement information, a control command for controlling a printing process of the advertisement information by the printing apparatus. 3. A print completion notification transmission for controlling the printing device to transmit a print completion notification indicating that the print processing of the advertisement information is completed to at least a predetermined electronic network address in the control command. The advertisement distribution system according to claim 2, further comprising instructions. 4. The advertisement distribution system according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined electronic network address is an address on the electronic network of the distribution mediation device. 5. The delivery mediating apparatus identifies a delivery destination by the printing apparatus that has transmitted the print completion notification,
The advertisement delivery system according to claim 4, wherein an advertisement printing fee paid to the identified delivery destination is calculated. 6. The distribution mediating device comprises means for notifying the advertisement distributor of the calculated bill for the advertisement distribution fee, and means for notifying the distribution destination of the remittance of the advertisement printing fee. The advertisement distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising means for notifying the distribution mediation apparatus of the remittance of the advertisement distribution fee in response to a request from the distribution mediation apparatus. 7. A storage unit for storing advertisement information input from an advertisement distributor side and information about a distribution destination, and referring to the information about the distribution destination via an electronic network according to an instruction from the advertisement distributor side. And a distribution means for distributing the advertisement information to a printing device provided on the distribution destination side, a means for calculating an advertisement printing fee paid to the distribution destination printed with the advertisement information, and an advertisement billed to the advertisement distributor. A delivery mediation device comprising: means for calculating a delivery fee. 8. The delivery means, together with the advertisement information,
The delivery mediating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a control command for controlling the print processing of the advertisement information is delivered to the printing apparatus. 9. A print completion notification transmission for controlling the printing device to transmit a print completion notification indicating that the print processing of the advertisement information is completed to at least a predetermined electronic network address in the control command. The distribution mediating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the distribution mediating apparatus includes an instruction. 10. The distribution mediating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined electronic network address is an address on the electronic network of the distribution mediating apparatus. 11. The device according to claim 10, further comprising means for specifying a distribution destination to which the printing completion notification is transmitted by the printing device, and calculating an advertisement printing fee paid to the specified distribution destination. Delivery intermediary device. 12. The distribution mediating device notifies the advertisement distributor of a request for the calculated advertisement distribution fee,
8. The distribution mediating apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for notifying the distribution destination of the remittance of the advertisement printing fee upon receipt of the remittance notification of the advertisement delivery fee from the advertisement distributor side. 13. A receiving means for receiving advertisement information distributed via an electronic network, a printing means for printing the advertisement information, and a predetermined print completion notification indicating that the print processing of the advertisement information is completed. Determining means for transmitting to the electronic network address, wherein the receiving means determines whether or not a print completion notification transmission command instructing to transmit the print completion notification is received together with the advertisement information. The printing apparatus, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the print completion notification to a predetermined electronic network address when the print completion notification transmission command is included. 14. The printing means for printing the advertisement information comprises:
The printing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a print completion detection unit that detects a printed printing sheet. 15. The transmission to the predetermined electronic network address is performed to an electronic network address previously stored in the printing device or an electronic network address included in the received advertisement information. The printing device according to claim 13.