JP2003196540A - Advertisement providing system, information processor, advertisement providing method and advertisement acquiring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately provide as many pieces of advertisement information conforming to the preference and needs of users as possible, and provide a mechanism enabling efficient return of an advertising rate by disclosing their effect of advertising to an advertisement requester. <P>SOLUTION: An advertisement providing server 1 is provided with an advertisement information holding means 10 holding advertisement information, and a user information holding means 11 holding possessed points and preference information of the user. When the advertisement providing server 1 receives an advertisement information acquisition request from a host device 20 of an image recorder user, it selects advertisement information on the basis of margin information included in the request and the preference information of the user information holding means 11, and it sends the advertisement information to the host device 20. When the advertisement providing server 1 receives completion notice of advertisement printing from the host device 20, it issues points responding to the advertisement printing to the user. The user can receive a return service from the advertisement requester in response to the points. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device by using a computer network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of computers and networks, the chances of outputting information from an image recording apparatus have increased, and it is a problem for manufacturers how to suppress the running cost, which is the cost required for consumable items such as ink and recording medium. Is. In particular, when printing image data such as photographs, trial printing is inevitably performed, so the net running cost is increased.

When printing information on the Internet, the advertising information on the page is also printed at the same time, which wastes ink and increases the net running cost.

1. As a method of reducing the running cost, a method is known in which advertisement information is attached to a package of a product or a consumable item and the purchase price of the item is reduced by an amount corresponding to an advertisement fee from an advertisement client. For example, a postcard in the summer with an advertisement is widely used, and a method aimed at reducing the purchase price by attaching an advertisement to an expensive battery (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-40966) has been proposed.

2. In addition, in recent years, a return service is known in which a homepage can be accessed on the Internet and a coupon can be printed at a discount to print a product at a low price.

3. Alternatively, in a system (maintenance contract) that charges a usage amount (output number) that is generally used in a copying machine or the like, an advertisement image is formed by using an image forming apparatus that can combine an advertisement image with an original image as an additional image. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-90832 proposes an image forming apparatus that appropriately distributes billing to an advertisement requester and a user based on the output mode.

[0007]

However, since the above-mentioned method 1 only displays the fixed advertisement information that accompanies the purchase of consumables, it is doubtful how much advertisement effect can be expected. In other words, whether the user can be a target for the advertisement information, and the means for repeatedly showing fixed advertisement information has a low value as an advertisement, and the advertisement fee paid by the advertisement client is reduced. Is a problem.

In the second method, the number of times the coupon ticket can be printed is not limited, so the advertiser is forced to set a low discount rate. Therefore, it is difficult to efficiently return the advertising fee to the user.

Therefore, the first problem to be solved by the present invention is that it is possible to obtain an advertisement fee, which is a resource for providing the return service to the user of the image recording apparatus, from a larger number of advertisement clients. In other words, by providing more and more appropriate advertising information that matches the user's tastes and needs, and by disclosing the advertising effect to the advertising client, efficient advertising can be achieved. The purpose is to build a mechanism that enables the return of fees. The term "return service" as used herein refers to general discounting of merchandise such as consumables and the general act of providing a certain kind of convenience to the user of the image recording apparatus using the advertising revenue as a source.

Further, since the above-mentioned method 3 is premised on the maintenance contract, it cannot be a means for reducing the running cost in a general usage form such as an individual user.

Therefore, the second problem to be solved by the present invention is to avoid troublesome procedures such as maintenance contracts.
It is to provide the above-mentioned mechanism to the user of the image recording apparatus by a simple method.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, in the advertisement providing system of the present invention, the advertisement information of the advertisement client is provided to the user of the image recording apparatus by using the computer network. And an advertisement information holding unit for holding link information pointing to advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client in advance, and an image recording device. As information about the user, based on a user information holding unit that holds user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of advertisement information, and an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, An advertisement selection means for selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means and transmitting the advertisement information to the user terminal, and an image recording device connected to the user terminal. When notified that tell information is printed, characterized in that and a point management means for giving the points corresponding to the print of the advertisement information to the user.

Further, an advertisement providing system of another invention is an advertisement providing system for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording apparatus by using a computer network. Advertising information provided by the advertising client, or advertising information holding means for holding link information pointing to advertising information held in the terminal of the advertising client, and information regarding the user of the image recording device,
Based on a user information holding unit that holds user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of advertisement information, and an advertisement information acquisition request received from the terminal of the user,
Advertisement selection means for selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means and transmitting the advertisement information to the user's terminal, and a message indicating that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal A point management means for giving the user points according to the printing of the advertisement information when the notification is received, and a means for making it possible to confirm the user's points on the terminal of the advertisement client Is characterized by.

Further, the information processing apparatus of the present invention is an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus, which is capable of communicating with a server providing advertisement information via a computer network. When an image is printed by the recording device, a selection unit that allows a user to select whether or not to add advertisement information to the image, and the server when the selection to add the advertisement information is made An advertisement information acquisition unit for adding advertisement information to be printed to the image, and an advertisement printing unit for adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device. And

An information processing apparatus according to another invention is an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus, which is capable of communicating with a server providing advertisement information via a computer network. When an image is printed by the image recording device, an advertisement information acquisition unit for acquiring advertisement information to be printed by adding it to the image from the server, and an image recording by adding the acquired advertisement information to the image It is characterized by comprising an advertisement printing means for printing on the device, and a preference information setting means for causing the user to preset the type of advertisement information that can be acquired from the server.

The advertisement providing method of the present invention is an advertisement providing method of providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording apparatus by using a computer network, which is provided by the advertisement client in advance. The advertising information holding means for holding the advertising information, or the link information pointing to the advertising information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and the information about the user of the image recording device, the user responds to the printing of the advertising information. And a user information holding unit that holds user information including the acquired points, and selects the advertisement information from the advertisement information holding unit based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal. Then, the step of transmitting the advertisement information to the user terminal, and the server,
When the image recording device connected to the user's terminal receives the notification that the advertisement information has been printed, a step of giving the user points according to the printing of the advertisement information is included. Characterize.

An advertisement providing method of another invention is an advertisement providing method of providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording apparatus by using a computer network, which is provided in advance by the advertisement client. The advertisement information holding means for holding the created advertisement information or the link information pointing to the advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and the information about the user of the image recording device, the user can print the advertisement information. A user information holding means for holding user information including points obtained according to the server, based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, the advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means. Selecting and transmitting the advertising information to the user's terminal;
When the image recording device connected to the user's terminal receives the notification that the advertisement information has been printed, the step of giving points according to the printing of the advertisement information to the user, and the server, And a step of confirming the point of the user at the terminal of the advertisement client.

The advertisement acquisition method of the present invention is an advertisement acquisition method in which an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus acquires advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network. When an image is printed by the recording device, the information processing device has a step of allowing the user to select whether or not to add the advertisement information to the image, and a selection of adding the advertisement information. In this case, the information processing apparatus adds the acquired advertisement information to the image and the image recording apparatus adds the acquired advertisement information to the image from the server. And a step of printing on.

Further, an advertisement acquisition method of another invention is an advertisement acquisition method in which an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus acquires advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, When the image recording apparatus prints an image, the information processing apparatus acquires from the server advertisement information to be added to the image and printed, and the information processing apparatus acquires the image into the image. Printing the image recording device with the added advertising information, the information processing device causing the user to set in advance the type of advertising information that can be acquired from the server,
It is characterized by including.

Further, the advertisement providing program of the present invention is an advertisement providing program for providing the advertisement information of the advertisement client to the user of the image recording apparatus by using the computer network. As advertisement information holding means for holding the link information indicating the advertisement information provided or the advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and as the information about the user of the image recording apparatus, the user prints the advertisement information. A user information holding unit that holds user information including points acquired according to the advertisement information from the advertisement information holding unit based on an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user terminal. And sending the advertisement information to the user's terminal, and a message indicating that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal. When subjected to knowledge, the method comprising the steps of: applying a point in accordance with the printing of the advertisement information to the user,
Is executed.

An advertisement providing program of another invention is
An advertisement providing program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device using a computer network, the advertisement information provided by the advertisement client in advance, or the terminal of the advertisement client. An advertisement information holding unit that holds link information that points to the held advertisement information, and user information that includes points that the user acquired according to the printing of the advertisement information as information about the user of the image recording apparatus. A user information holding unit for selecting the advertisement information from the advertisement information holding unit based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, and setting the advertisement information to the user's terminal. And the step of sending the advertisement information to the user when the notification that the advertisement information is printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal is received. The method comprising the steps of: applying a point,
And a step of confirming the point of the user at the terminal of the advertisement client.

The advertisement acquisition program of the present invention is an advertisement acquisition program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network. When printing the image on the image recording device to the processing device,
The step of allowing the user to select whether or not to add the advertisement information to the image, and when the selection to add the advertisement information is made, the advertisement information to be added to the image and printed from the server is displayed. It is characterized in that a step of acquiring and a step of adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device are performed.

Further, an advertisement acquisition program of another invention is
An advertisement acquisition program for causing an information processing apparatus, which prints an image on an image recording apparatus, to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, wherein the image processing apparatus prints the image on the information processing apparatus. When performing, the step of acquiring advertisement information to be added to the image and printed from the server, the step of adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing to the image recording device, and the step of acquiring from the server And a step of causing the user to set the type of advertisement information to be obtained in advance.

The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording apparatus is stored using a computer network. Then, the program is an advertisement information holding unit for holding advertisement information provided in advance by the advertisement client or link information pointing to advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and a user of the image recording apparatus. Information acquisition request received from the user's terminal to a server having user information holding means for holding user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of advertisement information Selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on the above, and transmitting the advertisement information to the user terminal, the user terminal When notified that the advertisement information is printed by a connected image recording apparatus, comprising the steps of applying a point corresponding to the printing of the advertisement information to the user,
Is executed.

A recording medium according to another invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording apparatus is stored using a computer network. The program uses advertisement information holding means for holding advertisement information provided by an advertisement client in advance or link information pointing to advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and use of an image recording device. User information holding means for holding user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of advertisement information as information regarding the person, the advertisement information received from the user's terminal is acquired by the server. Selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on a request and transmitting the advertisement information to a terminal of the user; When the image recording device connected to the device receives a notice that the advertisement information is printed, a step of giving the user points according to the printing of the advertisement information; And a step of making the confirmation on the person's terminal.

The recording medium of another invention can be read by a computer in which a program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network is stored. A recording medium, the program causing the information processing apparatus to allow the user to select whether or not to add advertisement information to the image when the image is printed by the image recording apparatus, When the advertisement information is selected to be added, a step of obtaining advertisement information to be added to the image and printed from the server, and an image recording apparatus for adding the obtained advertisement information to the image And a step of performing printing on.

The recording medium of another invention can be read by a computer in which a program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network is stored. A recording medium, wherein the program, in the information processing apparatus, when printing an image in the image recording apparatus, a step of acquiring advertisement information to be added to the image and printed from the server, It is characterized by executing the steps of adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing it on the image recording device, and causing the user to set in advance the type of advertisement information that can be acquired from the server.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of the advertisement providing system of the present invention. First, the schematic configuration of the entire system and the flow of information in the system will be described with reference to FIG.

The present system provides the advertisement information of the advertisement client to the user of the image recording apparatus using a computer network such as the Internet, and provides the return service according to the printing of the advertisement information on the image recording apparatus. It is for giving back to the user.

As an advertisement requester, a manufacturer, a travel agency, a provider, an information provider, a rental business, which manufactures and sells products (products) such as image recording devices and their consumables, electric appliances, automobiles, daily necessities, toys, etc. A service provider that provides a predetermined service according to the above, a seller that sells a product, and the like are assumed.

As the image recording device, there is a device capable of recording characters, line drawings, images, etc. on a print medium such as paper, for example, a device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like. As the users of the image recording apparatus, not only general consumers who own the image recording apparatus personally or at home but also corporations or groups or one of them are envisioned.

The present system holds and manages the advertisement information and the user information of the image recording apparatus user, and provides the advertisement information based on the request of the user, and the advertisement providing server 1. An image recording device user terminal 2 is provided so as to be communicable with the providing server 1 via a computer network. Further, when the advertisement information is held in the advertisement client terminal 3 owned by the advertisement client, this system is configured to include the advertisement client terminal 3. The advertisement providing server 1, the image recording device user terminal 2, and the advertisement requester terminal 3 may each be single or plural, but one advertisement providing server 1
A plurality of image recording device user terminals 2, advertisement requester terminal 3
Can be managed.

The advertisement providing server 1 has the advertisement information holding means 1
It has two databases of 0 and the user information holding means 11. The advertisement information holding means 10 holds and manages the advertisement information provided in advance by the advertisement client or the link information indicating the advertisement information held in the database 30 of the advertisement client terminal 3. User information holding means 1
1 is information about the user of the image recording apparatus, for example,
Holds personal information such as name and address, information regarding the type of advertisement information that the user desires to obtain (preference information), information regarding points (point information) that the user has acquired by printing advertisement information, etc. To manage.

The image recording device user terminal 2 is an information recording device for printing an image and an information processing device for receiving advertisement information from the advertisement providing server 1 and for printing advertisement information on the image recording device 21. And a host device 20 which is a barrel. The image recording device 21 and the host device 2
Reference numeral 0 does not have to be a separate device, and the image recording device user terminal 2 can be configured by a computer having a printing function, a composite type copying machine having an information processing function, or the like.

In the system having the above-described configuration, when the host device 20 first transmits an advertisement information acquisition request to the advertisement providing server 1, the advertisement providing server 1 uses the advertisement information holding means 10 based on the received advertisement information acquisition request. The advertisement information is selected from and the advertisement information is transmitted to the host device 20.

The host device 20 prints the advertisement information received from the advertisement providing server 1 on the image recording device 21, confirms that the advertisement information has been printed normally, and then completes the advertisement printing on the advertisement providing server 1. Send a notification.

Upon receiving the advertisement print completion notice, the advertisement providing server 1 gives the user points according to the printing of the advertisement information, and updates the user information in the user information holding means 11. In the user information holding means 11, it is preferable to accumulate and hold the point information of the user for each image recording device and each advertisement requester.

The user can access the advertisement requester terminal 3 or the online shop site 40 established by the advertisement requester from the host device 20 and enjoy the return service according to the points.

For example, in the illustrated example, when the user A wants to receive the return service from the advertisement requester X, first, the host device 20 requests the advertisement requester terminal 3 of the advertisement requester X to purchase an item or make a service. Send a usage request.
This request includes information specifying the user A and information indicating that points are to be used (the number of points used, etc.). Upon receiving this request, the advertisement client terminal 3 makes an inquiry to the advertisement providing server 1 and determines whether or not the number of points owned by the user A has reached the number of points at which the return service can be enjoyed. Then, when the number of points of the user A has reached a predetermined number, a return service such as a discount of the product / service price is provided.

Further, FIG. 1 shows an example of receiving a return service at an online shop site 40 established by an image recording apparatus manufacturer who is an advertisement client. At this online shop site 40, consumables for the image recording device are sold. Also in this case, when the host device 20 transmits a product (consumable item) purchase request to the online shop site terminal 4 in the same manner as described above, the online shop site terminal 4 sends the point of the user A to the advertisement providing server 1. The information is confirmed, and if the number of points of the user A has reached a predetermined number, the consumable item is sold at a discounted price.

As described above, the point plays a role like a currency or a service ticket that is valid between the image recording apparatus user who uses this system and the advertisement client, and at the same time, who is the image recording apparatus and which image recording apparatus is used? Therefore, it also serves as an index for specifically grasping the advertising effect of which advertisement requester's advertisement is printed and to what extent. That is, the user can enjoy a predetermined return service from the advertisement requester by using the possessed points, and the advertisement requester can obtain the point information of the user who is going to receive the return service. By inquiring the advertisement providing server 1 for confirmation, it is possible to appropriately provide a return service according to the advertisement effect. In particular,
In this system, since the advertisement information to be transmitted is selected based on the user's preference information, the advertisement information that matches the taste and needs of each user is individually delivered, so that a high advertising effect can be obtained. , It becomes possible to provide highly efficient advertisement for both the user and the advertisement requester.

Next, a specific configuration example of the advertisement providing system will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the advertisement providing server 1.

As shown in the figure, the advertisement providing server 1
Is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101
A main storage device 102, an auxiliary storage device 103, an input device 104, a display device 105, and a network I / F.
And 106. This can be realized by a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a workstation.

The CPU 101 is a clock device (not shown).
Auxiliary storage device 1 according to the timing of the clock issued by
03, the data input from the input device 104 or the data received via the network I / F 106, or the program or the network I / F 106 stored in the auxiliary storage device 103.
It is a part that reads the program received via the main storage device 102 and performs arithmetic processing and the like based on the read contents. Further, the CPU 101, based on the result of this arithmetic processing, the main storage device 102, the auxiliary storage device 103,
It is also a part that controls internal devices such as the display device 105 and the network I / F 106 and external devices.

The main storage device 102 is a member that is considered as another name of memory, and refers to all of the addressable storage space used for executing program instructions in the server. The main storage device 102 is mainly composed of a high-speed semiconductor storage element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and temporarily stores and holds a program or data to be executed by the CPU 101.

The auxiliary storage device 103 is the main storage device 102.
Is a member for supplementing the storage capacity of the magnetic disk device, such as a magnetic disk device (hard disk, floppy (registered trademark) disk, etc.), optical disk device (CD-ROM, CD-R,
CD-R / W, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, etc.),
A magneto-optical disk device (MO, etc.), a semiconductor disk device (memory card, etc.), etc. are applicable.

The input device 104 is a device for inputting various data, and may be, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device, a touch panel, a CCD camera, a card reader, a paper tape reader, a magnetic tape device, or the like.

The display device 105 is a device for outputting the calculation result of the CPU 101, and corresponds to, for example, a CRT, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display or the like.

The network I / F 106 is a device for connecting the advertisement providing server 1 to a computer network such as LAN, WAN, Internet, etc., and corresponds to, for example, a network adapter, TA, modem or the like.

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

The numbers of the main storage device 102 and the auxiliary storage device 103 are not limited to one each.
Any number may be used. These are the main storage devices 10
2 and the number of auxiliary storage devices 103 increases, the fault tolerance of the server improves accordingly.

Various programs for causing the advertisement providing server 1 to execute the processes described later are stored in the auxiliary storage device 103.
Stored in the main memory 102 at the time of execution. Therefore, the recording medium in which the program for causing the advertisement providing server 1 to execute the processing described below is recorded is
At least one of the main storage device 102 and the auxiliary storage device 103 is applicable. In addition, in the description below, unless otherwise specified, the CPU 101 is the entity that executes the process in the advertisement providing server 1. Further, a program for causing the advertisement providing server 1 to perform the processing described below is
It may be configured by a single program or may be realized by combining a plurality of module programs.

Next, the functional configuration of the advertisement providing server 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the advertisement providing server 1.

As shown in the figure, the advertisement providing server 1
Advertising information holding means 10, user information holding means 11,
The advertisement selection unit 111, the point management unit 112, and the preference information setting unit 113 are provided. Each of these means is realized by reading the program and data stored in the auxiliary storage device 103 into the main storage device 102 and the CPU 101.

The advertisement information holding means 10 is realized as a database as described above, and the advertisement information 114 provided by the advertisement requester in advance and the advertisement held in the database 30 of the advertisement requestor terminal 3. It holds and manages link information 115 that points to information.

The advertisement information 114 is a bitmap,
In addition to image data such as JPEG and GIF, various data formats such as text data, HTML data, PDF data, and metadata can be handled. Link information 1
15 may be information that defines a procedure for accessing the database 30 of the advertisement requester terminal 3 to obtain advertisement information, or information such as a URL that directly indicates the storage location of advertisement information on the network. Good. The advertisement information 114 and the link information 115 are managed in association with the information for identifying the advertisement client.

The user information holding means 11 is realized as a database as described above, and holds and manages information (user information) about the user of the image recording apparatus registered in this system. . As user information, personal information 116, preference information 117, and point information 118 for each user are held.

The personal information 116 is information for identifying the user, for example, name / name, mail address, postal code, address, telephone number, work place (job type, industry).
Including information such as. The personal information 116 is registered when the user joins the system.

The preference information 117 is information regarding the type of advertisement information that the user desires to obtain.

The point information 118 is information relating to points acquired by the user according to the printing of the advertisement information, and holds the number of points accumulated for each image recording apparatus and each advertisement client. Retaining services by image recording device is that one user may have a plurality of image recording devices (a plurality of image recording devices are connected to one host device 20), and a return service. This is because it is more appropriate to simply provide the return service according to the printing frequency of the advertisement information, regardless of which advertisement requester has printed the advertisement information, when performing a discount service for the consumables price of the image recording device. . Further, the information is held for each advertisement requester so that the fact that the advertisement effect is exhibited can be grasped as an objective and concrete numerical value.

The advertisement selecting means 111 selects the advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means 10 based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the image recording device user terminal 2 (host device 20) and records the advertisement information in the image. It has a function of transmitting to the device user terminal 2.

When selecting the advertisement information to be transmitted to the image recording device user terminal 2, the advertisement selection means 111 includes information (margin information) about the print size of the image recording device included in the advertisement information acquisition request and the user information. The preference information 117 of the user stored in the storage unit 11 is referred to.

The margin information includes the vertical and horizontal sizes of the area in which the advertisement information can be printed by the image recording device of the user, the number of the areas, and the like. For example, if the information of two areas, one area of 4 cm in length × 17 cm in width and one area of 6 cm in length × 17 cm in width, is included,
The advertisement selection means 111 selects the advertisement information 114 or the link information 115 that is sized to fit within those areas. At this time, the advertisement selection unit 111 also performs a calculation process for optimally arranging a plurality of advertisement information in one area.

Further, in the preference information, information on the type of advertisement information that the user desires to acquire, such as the genre of the product / service, the company, and the area, is set in advance. For example,
When the user desires to acquire advertisement information regarding the genres “computer” and “sports and leisure”, the advertisement selecting unit 111 selects the advertisement information 114 or the link information 115 related to those genres.

The selected information is the link information 115.
In this case, the advertisement selection unit 111 acquires actual information (advertisement information) from the advertisement client terminal 3 based on the link information 115.

The advertisement selecting means 111 transmits the advertisement information thus selected to the image recording device user terminal 2 (host device 20).

The point management means 112 is the point information 11 of the user held in the user information holding means 11.
8 and manages various functions described below.

First, when the point management means 112 receives a notification from the image recording apparatus user terminal 2 that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording apparatus (print completion notification), it responds to the printing of the advertisement information. It has a function to calculate the number of points. The number of points is changed according to the print size, number, contents, etc. of the advertisement information. That is, the larger the print size of the advertising information is, the higher the advertising effect is expected to be. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the number of points and accumulate the number of points according to the number of advertising information. In addition, the number of points may be determined according to the advertisement effect given to the user such as the print mode of the advertisement information (for example, when only the advertisement information is printed).

Then, the point management means 112 has a function of updating the point information 118 of the user information holding means 11 in order to give the calculated number of points to the user. At this time, the point management unit 112 performs update processing so that points are accumulated for each image recording device and each advertisement client.

When the point management means 112 receives a confirmation request for the number of points owned by the user from the image recording apparatus user terminal 2 or the advertisement requester terminal 3, the point management means 112 uses the user information holding means 11 for the utilization. Point information 11
8 is acquired and transmitted to the image recording device user terminal 2 or the advertisement requester terminal 3. As a result, the user can check the number of possessed points on his / her own image recording device user terminal 2, and the advertisement requester can use the advertisement requester terminal 3 to provide a point-based return service to a certain user. It is possible to check the number of points of the user.

Further, when the point management means 112 receives a notification from the image recording device user terminal 2 or the advertisement requester terminal 3 that the user has enjoyed the point-based return service, the point management means 112 It has a function of subtracting the number of points according to the return service from the number of possessed points and updating the point information 118 of the user information holding means 11.

In this way, the user's point information 118
Are centrally managed by the advertisement providing server 1.

The preference information setting means 113 has a function of causing the user to set his / her preference information in the image recording device user terminal 2. A method of setting the preference information 117 will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image recording apparatus user terminal 2. In the present embodiment, an example in which a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a workstation is adopted as the host device 20 is shown.

As shown in the figure, the host device 20
Is a CPU 201, a main storage device 202, an auxiliary storage device 203, an input device 204, and a display device 205.
And a network I / F 206.
Since these members have the same functions and functions as the members of the same name constituting the advertisement providing server 1 shown in FIG. 2, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The image recording device 21 is a device such as a printer or a copying machine for obtaining the printed matter 22, and the host device 2
0 may be directly connected to the local port, or L
It may be connected by a network such as AN.

Various programs for causing the host device 20 (image recording device user terminal 2) to execute the processes described later are stored in the auxiliary storage device 203, and are read into the main storage device 202 at the time of execution. Therefore, at least one of the main storage device 202 and the auxiliary storage device 203 corresponds to the recording medium in which the program for causing the host device 20 (the image recording device user terminal 2) to execute the processing described later is recorded. Further, in the following description, unless otherwise noted, the host 2 (image recording device user terminal 2) executes the process mainly by the CPU 2.
01. Further, the program for causing the host device 20 (the image recording device user terminal 2) to perform the processing described below may be configured by a single program, or may be realized by combining a plurality of module programs. It doesn't matter.

Next, the processing operation of each program executed by the advertisement providing server 1 and the host device 20 will be described with reference to the flowcharts and the like.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen of a program operating on the host device 20. This program operates in the form of a printer driver.

In order for the user to print using the image recording device 21 the information edited by the user using the application software such as word processor software in the host device 20 or the information displayed on the display device 205, When the print command is executed from the application, the print setting screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. In addition, here, the above information that the application tried to print is referred to as "advertising information".
In order to distinguish it from, it is simply called "image".

The print setting screen includes a print range setting section 211,
A print setting unit 210 that performs general settings related to printing, such as a print execution button 212 and a printer setting change unit 213.
In addition to the above, the advertisement option unit 220 is provided with a portion for making settings regarding advertisement.

The advertisement option section 220 transmits a check box 221 for setting whether to insert an advertisement, a check box 222 for setting whether to print only an advertisement, a print preview button 223, and an advertisement print status. A check box 224 for setting whether or not to set, a cumulative points display portion 225, a purchase page connection button 226, and an advertisement update button 227 are provided.

When using the advertisement providing system for the first time,
Alternatively, when the personal information or preference information registered in the advertisement providing server 1 is changed, the registration information update button 227 is pressed. When the registration information update button 227 is pressed, the CPU
201 is a preference information setting means 113 of the advertisement providing server 1.
To display a registration information setting screen as shown in FIG. On the registration information setting screen, a personal information setting unit 120 for setting / changing the user's personal information and a preference information setting unit 121 for setting / changing the preference information are displayed.

In the personal information setting section 120, a family name, mail address, postal code, address, telephone number, work place (job type,
Enter a profile such as industry. The preference information setting unit 121 selects a genre for which advertisement distribution is desired from the list. When the setting is completed, the setting end button 122
This information is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 1 by pressing. Preference information setting means 113 of the advertisement providing server 1
Stores the personal information and preference information input in the host device 20 in the user information holding means 11.

The check box 221 is a selection means for selecting whether or not the advertisement information is added to the image when the image recording device 21 prints the image. If the check box 221 is checked, the advertisement information is printed, and if not checked, only the image is printed normally. By providing this selection means, the user can select whether or not to print the advertisement information. For example, if it is not desirable to add advertisement information such as a public document, the check may be removed.

The check box 222 is means for setting the print mode of the advertisement information. Check box 22
If 2 is checked, it is set to obtain a printed matter on which only advertising information is printed, and if not checked, it is set to print by combining an image and advertising information. When only the advertising information is printed, the advertising effect is great, and the number of points given is accordingly large.

When the print preview button 223 is pressed, the CPU 201 displays a print preview screen as shown in FIG. Thereby, it is possible to confirm in advance how the image area 231 and the advertisement information area 232 are laid out on the print medium 230. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the image area 2 is set so that the image area 231 and the advertisement information area 232 do not overlap each other.
The advertisement information area 232 is laid out in the margin of 31.

The check box 224 is means for setting whether or not the past record of printing the advertisement information is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 1 via the network. The CPU 201 records the print record of the advertisement information up to now in the auxiliary storage device 203 as a log file. If the check box 224 is checked, the contents of the log file will be sent to the advertisement providing server 1 after printing is completed, and if not checked, the record of printing the advertisement information will be additionally written in the log file.

Check boxes 221, 222, 224
When the print execution button 212 is pressed after the setting of, the CPU 201 shifts to the execution of print processing.

FIG. 8 shows the CPU 201 of the host device 20.
It is a flowchart which shows the process which a (program) performs, and FIG.9 and FIG.10 is CPU1 of the advertisement provision server 1.
It is a flowchart which shows the process which 01 (program) performs. Both programs work in cooperation with each other.

When the printing process is started, the CPU 201
First checks whether or not the check box 221 is checked, and determines whether or not to acquire the advertisement information from the advertisement providing server 1 (step S200).

If it is determined that the check has been made, the size of the blank portion of the image is checked to calculate and determine the printable advertisement size (step S201).

Then, the advertisement information acquisition request is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 1 (step S202). At this time, the advertisement information acquisition request includes the margin information determined in step S201, the identification information for identifying the image recording apparatus, the identification information for identifying the user, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 9, the CPU 101 (advertisement selecting means 111) of the advertisement providing server 1 has the host device 20.
When an advertisement information acquisition request is received from (step S10)
0), the preference information 117 of the user is acquired from the user information holding unit 11, and the advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information holding unit 10 using the preference information 117 as a search key (step S101).

Next, the advertisement selecting means 111 performs step S10 based on the margin information included in the advertisement information acquisition request.
Further narrow down the advertisement information selected in 1 (step S
102), the layout calculation of each advertisement information is performed, and the advertisement information to be transmitted to the host device 20 is determined (step S103).

It is checked whether or not the link information is included in the determined advertisement information (step S104),
For the link information, the advertisement information (actual information) is acquired from the advertisement client terminal 3 (step S10).
5).

Then, the advertisement selecting means 111 transmits the advertisement information thus selected to the host device 20,
The process ends (step S106).

Returning to FIG. 8 again, the processing in the host device 20 will be described. The CPU 201 of the host device 20 receives the advertisement information from the advertisement providing server 1 (step S20).
3). When there are a plurality of pieces of advertisement information, the layout information is also received together.

Then, the image which the user has tried to print in the image recording device 21 is combined with the advertisement information received in step S203 (step 204), and the combined image is printed in the image recording device 21. (Step S20
5).

An example of the printed matter 240 output here is shown in FIG. The image 243 is printed in the image area 241 and the advertisement information 244 is printed in the advertisement information area 242 according to the layout confirmed on the print preview screen. Here, an example in which five pieces of advertisement information 244 are added is shown.

Upon completion of printing on the image recording device 21,
The CPU 201 checks whether or not the check box 224 is checked, and determines whether or not to send a print completion notification to the advertisement providing server 1 (step S206).

If it is determined that the check has been made, a print completion notice is sent to the advertisement providing server 1 (step S20).
7) Then, the contents of the print result log file are erased (step S208), and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not checked, the processing content of this time is additionally output to the log file of the print result (step S209), and the processing ends.

The CPU 101 of the advertisement providing server 1
(Point management means 112), as shown in FIG.
When the print completion notification is received from the host device 20 (step S110), the number of points corresponding to the printing of the advertisement information is calculated (step S111), and the points are accumulated in the point information 118 of the user information holding unit 11 (step S).
112).

With the above processing, the print processing of the advertisement information is completed, and the user is given points according to the printing of the advertisement information. Next, a process of receiving a return service using the points thus obtained will be described.

User information holding means 1 of the advertisement providing server 1
The accumulated points of the user held and managed in 1 can be confirmed on the print setting screen described above (FIG. 5). The accumulated point display section 225 of the advertisement option section 220 of the print setting screen displays the number of points owned by the user classified by advertisement requester, and prompts the user to use the points.

When the user uses points for the advertisement requester, first, the accumulated points display unit 2
After selecting the advertisement client from the menu of 25, the connection button 226 may be pressed on the purchase page.

When the CPU 201 detects that the connect button 226 has been pressed on the purchase page, it activates a Web browser or the like to connect to the online shop site of the advertisement requester on the network. FIG. 12 is an example of a display screen of an online shop site.

On this display screen, points for printing the advertisement information of the advertisement client (reference numeral 300) are displayed, and a list of products handled by the advertisement client is displayed. By clicking on the corresponding product name 301,
Jump to the more detailed purchase page. When purchasing a product on the online shop, by inputting the number of points used on the purchase screen, it is possible to enjoy a return service such as a discount according to the number of points.

On the other hand, when the coupon coupon print button 302 is clicked, the CPU 201 issues (prints) a coupon ticket based on the points of the user in the image recording device 21.
To do. This coupon ticket can be used as a discount ticket when purchasing a product at the nearest store or the like, instead of purchasing the product at an online shop.

The user can also use the points by accessing the online shop site of the consumable supplier of the image recording device 21 by displaying the ink-free notice screen of the image recording device 21. .

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an ink-free notice screen of the image recording device 21. CPU2 of host device 20
When 01 detects that the amount of ink in the image recording device 21 is low, it displays a no-ink notice screen as shown in the figure to inform the user that the amount of ink is low.

At this time, the accumulated points for the advertisement printing on the image recording device 21 are displayed (reference numeral 250). This is different from the fact that only the accumulated points for printing the advertisement information of the advertisement client can be used in the online shop of the advertisement client. It is more appropriate to provide the return service according to the printing frequency of the advertisement information, regardless of which advertisement client has printed the advertisement information, when the discount service of the consumable price of the image recording apparatus is performed. Because.

When the CPU 201 detects that the connection button 251 has been pressed on the purchase page for consumables,
Launch a web browser and connect to the online shop site of the supplier on the network. Figure 1
4 is an example of a display screen of a supply article purchase page of the online shop site.

Reference numeral 400 indicates that the user is the image recording device 21.
The cumulative points for printing the advertisement information by using are shown, and reference numeral 401 denotes the discount amount for the cumulative points. By purchasing supplies at this online shop, you can enjoy the return service according to points.

On the other hand, when the coupon coupon print button 402 is clicked, the CPU 201 issues (prints) a coupon ticket based on the points of the user in the image recording device 21.
To do. This coupon ticket can be used as a discount coupon when purchasing a supply article at a store nearby, instead of purchasing the supply article at an online shop.

When the user tries to receive the reward service corresponding to points by any of the methods described above, that is, when the purchase button is clicked on the online shop or the coupon ticket print button is clicked. ,
As described above, the terminal of the advertisement client or the supplier can confirm the number of points held by the user by making an inquiry to the advertisement providing server 1. Further, when this confirmation is completed and the user receives the point-based return service, the advertisement requester or the supplier terminal sends a notification to that effect to the advertisement providing server 1, and the point management of the advertisement providing server 1 is performed. The means 112 updates the point information of the user.

According to the system having the above configuration, the user can enjoy the predetermined return service from the advertisement client by using the possession points, and the advertisement client can receive the return service. By inquiring and confirming the point information of the user who is going to receive the advertisement, the return service according to the advertisement effect can be appropriately provided.

In particular, in this system, since the advertisement information to be transmitted is selected based on the user's preference information, the advertisement information matching the user's preference and needs is individually delivered, which is high. The advertisement effect is obtained, and it becomes possible to provide highly efficient advertisement for both the user and the advertisement client.

Also, in an environment in which a computer network can be used, registration to the system, transmission / reception of advertisement information, use / confirmation of points, etc. can be performed online without going through troublesome procedures such as maintenance contracts. The system is very convenient.

Further, the advertisement information holding means 10 holds the link information pointing to the advertisement information held in the advertisement requester terminal 3, so that the advertisement requester can transmit the advertisement information via the advertisement providing server 1. I did so,
The advertisement requester can manage the number of accesses to the advertisement information by himself, and it becomes easy to understand the advertisement effect. In addition, when the advertisement information is updated, the advertisement information held in the advertisement requester terminal 3 need only be replaced, so that complicated operations such as data change of the advertisement providing server 1 are unnecessary, which is convenient. The property is improved.

On the other hand, when placing the advertisement information (actual information) in the advertisement information holding means 10, the advertisement requester needs to register the advertisement information in advance in the advertisement providing server 1. However, in this case, since it is not necessary to connect the advertisement client terminal 3 to the network at all times, there is a merit of facility management reduction for a small advertisement client who uses a dial-up connection or the like.

Further, in this system, since the advertisement information is selected based on the print size of the advertisement information that can be printed by the image recording device, it is possible to deliver the appropriate advertisement information according to the usage state of the image recording device. This improves the convenience of the system. In addition, the print size is determined based on the size of the margin area of the image, and the advertising information is laid out in the margin area of the image, increasing the opportunities for advertising printing and enabling efficient operation of the system. Become.

Further, in this system, since the user can select whether or not to add the advertisement information, the advertisement information is printed when it is not desirable to add the advertisement information such as a public document. It can be banned and the system is very convenient.

Further, since the points according to the printing of the advertising information are accumulated for each advertising client, it is possible to grasp to the advertising client that the advertising effect is exhibited as an objective and concrete numerical value. can do.

Further, since the points corresponding to the printing of the advertising information are accumulated for each image recording apparatus, the printing frequency of the advertising information is simply irrelevant regardless of which advertising client has printed the advertising information. It is also possible to carry out a return service.

Further, in the present system, as a method of using points, there are a method of using the points on the online shop and a method of printing a coupon ticket and using it at an actual shop or the like.
Since the two methods can be used, the system is flexible and convenient.

In the above system, the points regarding the advertisement client and the points regarding the image recording device are independent, but the points regarding the image recording device may be added to the points of the advertisement client.

In this case, the points for printing the advertisement of the advertisement client and the points for printing by the image recording apparatus are added to the result of printing the advertisement. By doing this, points are concentrated,
The rate of return to the user of the image recording apparatus increases. Regarding the purchase of supplies for the image recording device, the manufacturer of the image recording device may also be the advertisement client.

[0131]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the advertisement information to be transmitted is selected based on the user's preference information, the advertisement information that matches the taste and needs of each user is individually delivered, and thus a high advertising effect is obtained and Highly convenient for both advertisers,
It becomes possible to provide efficient advertisement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall configuration of an advertisement providing system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an advertisement providing server.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an advertisement providing server.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image recording device user terminal.

FIG. 5 is an example of an operation screen of a program operating on the host device.

FIG. 6 is an example of a registration information setting screen.

FIG. 7 is an example of a print preview screen.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the host device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the advertisement providing server.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the advertisement providing server.

FIG. 11 is an example of a printed matter to which advertisement information is added.

FIG. 12 is an example of a display screen of an online shop site of an advertisement client.

FIG. 13 is an example of an ink-free notice screen of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 14 is an example of a display screen of a supply item purchase page of an online shop site.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Advertisement server 2 Image recording device user terminal 3 Advertising requester terminal 4 Online shop site terminals 10 Advertising information holding means 11 User information holding means 20 Host device 21 Image recording device 22 printed matter 30 databases 40 online shop sites 101 CPU 102 main memory 103 auxiliary storage 104 input device 105 display device 106 Network I / F 111 Advertisement selection means 112 points management means 113 Preference information setting means 114 Advertising information 115 Link information 116 Personal information 117 Preference information 118 points information 120 Personal information setting section 121 Preference information setting section 122 Setting end button 201 CPU 202 main memory 203 auxiliary storage device 204 input device 205 display device 206 Network I / F 210 Print setting section 211 Print range setting section 212 Print execution button 213 Printer setting change section 220 Advertising Option Department 221, 222, 224 check boxes 223 Print preview button 225 cumulative point display 226 Connect button on purchase page 227 Update Registration Information Button 230 print media 231 image area 232 Advertising information area 240 printed matter 241 image area 242 Advertising information area 243 images 244 Advertising information 250 point display 251 Connect button to purchase consumables page Display of 300 points 301 Product name 302 Print button for coupon 400 point display 401 Display of discount amount 402 Coupon ticket print button

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G09F 19/00 G09F 19/00 Z (72) Inventor Sohei Tanaka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Noriyuki Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Takuji Katsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. In-house (72) Inventor Masafumi Wataya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (35)

[Claims] 1. An advertisement providing system for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device by using a computer network, the advertisement information being provided by the advertisement client in advance, or an advertisement. Advertising information holding means for holding link information pointing to advertising information held in the terminal of the client, and information about the user of the image recording device includes points acquired by the user according to printing of the advertising information. Based on the user information holding unit that holds the user information and the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, the advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information holding unit, and the advertisement information is sent to the user terminal. When the advertisement selection unit to be transmitted and the notification that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal, the user is instructed to print the advertisement information. An advertisement providing system comprising: a point management means for giving points. 2. An advertisement providing system for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device using a computer network, the advertisement information being provided by the advertisement client in advance, or an advertisement. Advertising information holding means for holding link information pointing to advertising information held in the terminal of the client, and information about the user of the image recording device includes points acquired by the user according to printing of the advertising information. Based on the user information holding unit that holds the user information and the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, the advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information holding unit, and the advertisement information is sent to the user terminal. When the advertisement selection unit to be transmitted and the notification that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal, the user is instructed to print the advertisement information. An advertisement providing system comprising: a point managing means for giving points and a means for making it possible to confirm the user's points on the terminal of the advertisement client. 3. The user information includes preference information relating to the type of advertisement information that the user desires to obtain, and the advertisement selecting means receives the advertisement information acquisition request from the user's terminal. The advertisement providing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the advertisement information to be transmitted to the terminal of the user is selected based on the user's preference information. 4. The advertisement providing system according to claim 3, further comprising preference information setting means for setting the preference information of the user in the user's terminal. 5. The advertisement information acquisition request includes information about a print size of advertisement information that can be printed by the image recording device of the user, and the advertisement selection unit requests the advertisement information acquisition request from the user's terminal. The advertisement information to be transmitted to the terminal of the user is selected based on the information about the print size included in the advertisement information acquisition request when the advertisement information is received.
4. The advertisement providing system according to any one of 4. 6. The print size of the advertisement information is determined based on the size of a margin portion of an image which the user has tried to print with the image recording apparatus.
The advertisement providing system described in. 7. When printing an image with an image recording device,
The advertisement providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the terminal of the user includes selection means for selecting whether or not to add advertisement information to the image. 8. An advertisement printing unit for adding a piece of advertisement information received from the advertisement selecting unit to an image which the user intends to print on the image recording device and printing the image on the image recording device at the user's terminal. Claim 1 characterized by having
7. The advertisement providing system according to any one of 7. 9. The advertisement providing system according to claim 8, wherein the advertisement printing unit has a function of printing only the advertisement information. 10. The advertisement providing system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the advertisement printing means adds the advertisement information to a margin portion of an image that the user intends to print. 11. The advertisement providing system according to claim 1, wherein the point management unit accumulates points according to printing of advertisement information for each advertisement client. 12. The advertisement providing system according to claim 1, wherein the point management unit accumulates points according to printing of advertisement information for each image recording device. 13. The advertisement providing system according to claim 1, wherein the point management unit changes the points to be given according to the print size of the advertisement information. 14. The point management means reduces the number of points corresponding to the redemption service from the points of the user when the user receives a notification that the point-based redemption service is enjoyed. Claims 1 to 1
The advertisement providing system according to any one of 3. 15. The advertisement providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a coupon issuing means for issuing a coupon ticket based on the points of the user in the image recording device. . 16. The advertisement providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the terminal of the user is provided with means for confirming the point of the user. 17. An information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus, the information processing apparatus being capable of communicating with a server providing advertisement information via a computer network, wherein the image recording apparatus prints the image. At the time of execution, a selection unit that allows the user to select whether or not to add the advertisement information to the image, and when the selection to add the advertisement information is made, the server adds the image to the image and prints the image. An information processing apparatus, comprising: an advertisement information acquisition unit that acquires advertisement information to be displayed; and an advertisement printing unit that adds the acquired advertisement information to the image and prints the image on an image recording device. 18. An information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus, wherein the information recording apparatus is capable of communicating with a server providing advertisement information via a computer network. When performing, advertisement information acquisition means for acquiring advertisement information to be added to the image to be printed from the server, advertisement printing means for adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device, An information processing apparatus comprising: a preference information setting unit that allows a user to set in advance the type of advertisement information that can be acquired from the server. 19. The point use means for enabling a predetermined return service to be used based on the points given by the server in response to the printing of the advertisement information. Information processing equipment. 20. The advertisement information acquisition means transmits an advertisement information acquisition request including information regarding a print size of advertisement information printable by the image recording device to the server. Alternatively, the information processing device according to Item 19. 21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the advertisement information acquisition unit determines a print size of the advertisement information based on a size of a margin portion of the image. 22. The advertisement printing means has a function of printing only the advertisement information.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of 7 to 21. 23. The advertisement printing means adds the advertisement information to a margin portion of the image.
The information processing apparatus according to any one of 7 to 22. 24. Utilizing a computer network,
An advertisement providing method of providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device, the link indicating advertisement information provided by the advertisement client in advance, or advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client. An advertisement information holding unit that holds information and a user information holding unit that holds user information including points acquired by the user according to the printing of the advertisement information as information about the user of the image recording apparatus. A step in which the provided server selects advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, and transmits the advertisement information to the user's terminal; A step of giving points according to the printing of the advertisement information to the user when receiving the notification that the advertisement information is printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal, Method for providing an advertisement characterized in that it comprises a. 25. Using a computer network,
An advertisement providing method of providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device, the link indicating advertisement information provided by the advertisement client in advance, or advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client. An advertisement information holding unit that holds information and a user information holding unit that holds user information including points acquired by the user according to the printing of the advertisement information as information about the user of the image recording apparatus. A step in which the provided server selects advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, and transmits the advertisement information to the user's terminal; A step of giving points according to the printing of the advertisement information to the user when receiving the notification that the advertisement information is printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal, The server, advertisement providing method characterized by comprising the step of check points of the user at the terminal of the advertisement requester, the. 26. An advertisement acquisition method in which an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus acquires advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, wherein the image recording apparatus prints the image. When performing, the information processing apparatus causes the user to select whether or not to add the advertisement information to the image, and when the information processing apparatus selects to add the advertisement information, the information processing apparatus A step of obtaining advertisement information to be printed from the server by adding the advertisement information to the image, and the information processing apparatus adding the obtained advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording apparatus. An advertisement acquisition method characterized by the above. 27. An advertisement acquisition method in which an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus acquires advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, wherein the image recording apparatus prints the image. When performing, the information processing apparatus acquires from the server advertisement information to be added to the image and printed, and the information processing apparatus adds the acquired advertisement information to the image to record an image. An advertisement acquisition method comprising: a step of printing on an apparatus; and a step of causing the information processing apparatus to set a type of advertisement information that can be acquired from the server in advance to a user. 28. Utilizing a computer network,
An advertisement providing program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device, the advertisement information provided in advance by the advertisement client, or the advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement client. Advertisement information holding means for holding pointing link information, and user information holding means for holding user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of advertisement information as information about the user of the image recording apparatus, Selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, and transmitting the advertisement information to the user's terminal, A step of giving points according to the printing of the advertisement information to the user when the notification that the advertisement information is printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal is received, Advertisement providing program for causing executed. 29. Utilizing a computer network,
An advertisement providing program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement requester to a user of an image recording device, the advertisement information provided in advance by the advertisement requester or the advertisement information held in the terminal of the advertisement requester. An advertisement information holding unit for holding pointing link information, and a user information holding unit for holding user information including points acquired by the user according to printing of the advertisement information as information about the user of the image recording apparatus, Selecting advertisement information from the advertisement information holding means based on an advertisement information acquisition request received from the user's terminal, and transmitting the advertisement information to the user's terminal. A step of giving points according to the printing of the advertisement information to the user when the notification that the advertisement information is printed by the image recording device connected to the user's terminal is received, An advertisement providing program characterized by executing the step of confirming the point of the user on the terminal of the advertisement client. 30. An advertisement acquisition program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, the information processing apparatus including: When the user prints the image, the step of letting the user select whether or not to add the advertisement information to the image, and when the selection to add the advertisement information is made, the server adds the image to the image. An advertisement acquisition program characterized by executing the steps of: adding advertisement information to be printed and acquiring the advertisement information; and adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device. 31. An advertisement acquisition program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network, the information processing apparatus including: A step of acquiring advertisement information to be added to the image and printed from the server when the image is printed, and a step of adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device, An advertisement acquisition program, characterized by causing a user to set in advance the type of advertisement information that can be acquired from the server. 32. Using a computer network,
A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device, wherein the program is advertisement information provided by the advertisement client in advance, or Advertising information holding means for holding link information indicating advertising information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and points acquired by the user according to the printing of the advertising information as information about the user of the image recording device. A user information holding unit that holds the user information including the selected advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information holding unit based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user terminal, and the advertisement information is stored in the server. To the terminal of the user, and when receiving the notification that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the terminal of the user, A recording medium characterized by causing a step of giving points according to printing of advertisement information to the user. 33. Using a computer network,
A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for providing advertisement information of an advertisement client to a user of an image recording device, wherein the program is advertisement information provided by the advertisement client in advance, or Advertising information holding means for holding link information indicating advertising information held in the terminal of the advertisement client, and points acquired by the user according to the printing of the advertising information as information about the user of the image recording device. A user information holding unit that holds the user information including the selected advertisement information is selected from the advertisement information holding unit based on the advertisement information acquisition request received from the user terminal, and the advertisement information is stored in the server. To the terminal of the user, and when receiving the notification that the advertisement information has been printed by the image recording device connected to the terminal of the user, A recording medium characterized by causing a step of giving the user points according to printing of advertisement information and a step of confirming the points of the user at the terminal of the advertisement client. 34. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network is stored. The program includes a step of causing the information processing apparatus to select whether or not to add advertisement information to the image when the image is printed by the image recording apparatus, and a selection to add the advertisement information. And performing a step of adding advertisement information to be printed to the image from the server, and a step of adding the acquired advertisement information to the image and printing the image on an image recording device. A recording medium characterized by the above. 35. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing an information processing apparatus for printing an image on an image recording apparatus to acquire advertisement information from a server communicable via a computer network is stored. The program obtains the advertisement information to be added to the image from the server when the image is printed by the image recording apparatus, from the server, and the obtained advertisement information is added to the image. And a step of causing the user to set the type of advertisement information that can be obtained from the server in advance, and a step of printing the image on the image recording apparatus.