JP2003196559A - Print order data transmission program and print order system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print order data preparation and transmission program capable of suppressing the preparation of unnecessary prints and a print order system. <P>SOLUTION: In response to the click operation of a transmission button L1 by a user, a terminal 11 changes a display screen on a display 11a according to the print order data preparation and transmission program, and the transmission button L1 disappears from the display screen on the display 11a (including such a state that the button is displayed in thin color and does not react to the click operation). Accordingly, the possibility that the button is pressed twice by the user due to the trembling of a finger can be eliminated. <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 print order data creating program and a print order system which are used, for example, when making a print order via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image data generating devices such as digital cameras and scanners have been improved by improving image processing technology.
It is popular with remarkable momentum. Along with this, users are becoming more aware of digital images, and are being used for various purposes such as creating Internet homepages and digital printing. On the other hand, in the conventional lab, prints were made using negative film,
With the spread of digital cameras, services such as output centers that provide image print services, minilabs (small-scale photo labs), and large laboratories that perform centralized processing are naturally increasing, and services that handle digital image data are increasing. Cross over.

On the other hand, with the spread of the Internet in general households, as an example of a service for handling such digital image data, a customer uploads print order data including image data to a center server via the Internet. From the laboratory side, access is made to obtain the print order data uploaded to the center server, printing is performed based on the image data of the obtained print order data, and the print order data is provided to the customer. According to such a service, there is an advantage that a customer can order a print of image data owned by the customer while staying at home.
Further, it is also considered to install a dedicated print order data creation device at a convenience store or the like for a customer who does not have such a terminal.

[0004]

By the way, when a customer places an order for prints from a terminal via a network, if he is unfamiliar with the operation, he mistakenly clicks the order button displayed on the display a plurality of times. There is a risk of doing it. In such a case, the same print order data will be sent from the terminal multiple times, but the server that received this will not be able to determine that the data other than the first print order data is incorrect, and as a result, the customer Contrary to the intent, you will end up creating multiple sets of the same print.

In response to such a problem, for example, when the same print order data is transmitted from the same terminal to the server, the server side may automatically invalidate the subsequent print order data. However, since the customer may intentionally send the same print order data, it may be against the customer's intention to arbitrarily invalidate the subsequent print order data in the server program.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems or problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a print order data creation / transmission program and a print order system which can suppress the creation of unnecessary prints.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print order data creation / transmission program for creating a print order data including at least image data transmitted via an information line using a computer and transmitting the print order data. In the print order data creation / transmission program, a send button for starting the sending of the created print order data is displayed on the display, and when the send button is operated, the display of the display is switched to a screen without the send button. Therefore, once the customer operates the send button, the send button disappears from the screen of the display, so that it is possible to prevent the customer from accidentally sending the print order data more than once.

A print order data creation / transmission program of the second aspect of the present invention is a print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending a print order data including at least image data transmitted via an information line using a computer. In step 1, a transmission button for starting transmission of the created print order data is displayed on the display, and when the transmission button is operated, the display on the display is switched so that the position of the transmission button is displaced on the screen. Therefore, when the customer operates the send button once, the position of the send button is displaced and displayed on the screen of the display. For example, when the customer presses the finger twice, the print order data is sent twice or more. It is possible to prevent such troubles. On the other hand, if the customer wants to send the same print order data, he / she will operate the displaced send button, so the lab that receives this will send the print order data received later as intended by the customer. It is possible to make a judgment and to make a print according to the customer's intention.

A print order data creation / transmission program according to a third aspect of the present invention is a print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data transmitted via an information line by using a computer. In the case where the time period from the previous operation of the send button to the operation of the next send button is within a predetermined time by displaying the send button on the display for starting the transmission of the created print order data , The latter does not allow the print order data to be transmitted by the operation with the send button, so that the customer mistakenly transmits the print order data twice or more in a short time due to a finger tremor or the like. In this case, the print order data received from the second time onward is ignored, so it is necessary to create prints according to the customer's intention. Ukoto can be. If the customer sends the print order data after a predetermined time, it is unlikely that the print order data was sent by mistake. It can be judged that the transmission was made by the user, and accordingly, the print can be created according to the intention of the customer. The predetermined time is preferably about 30 seconds, for example.

A print order data creation / transmission program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data transmitted via an information line using a computer. In the case where the time period from the previous operation of the send button to the operation of the next send button is displayed within a predetermined time by displaying the send button on the display for starting the transmission of the created print order data , It gives an alarm, so if the customer accidentally sends the print order data more than once, the customer can know the fact by the alarm, so if the second and subsequent print order data is unnecessary. If you take measures such as cancellation, and if the second and subsequent print order data are as intended, While print can waiting to be created, it makes it possible to perform a print created in accordance with the intention of customers.

The print ordering system of the fifth invention is
In a print order system in which print order data including at least image data is transmitted from a customer terminal to a print order data storage server that stores the print order data via an information line, the print order data storage server transmits the print order data from the same customer. If there are two print order data whose transmission time at the customer's terminal is within a predetermined time interval among the print order data of the plurality of orders, the print with the later transmission time at the customer's terminal is printed. Since it is determined that there is a possibility of an incorrect order in the order data, for example, an alarm can be issued to notify the laboratory worker or the like.

That is, when it is determined that there is a possibility of an erroneous order in the print order data whose transmission time at the customer's terminal is slow, an alarm is issued to alert the workers of the laboratory. By confirming the customer, it is possible to create a print according to the customer's intention.

Furthermore, when it is determined that there is a possibility of an incorrect order in the print order data whose transmission time is slow at the customer's terminal, the print order data whose transmission time is slow is stored in a predetermined folder. If it is stored, for example, by using a predetermined folder for storing order pending data that is separate from the print queue storage folder, it is possible to make mistakes before the laboratory worker or the like confirms the customer. It is possible to prevent execution of print creation based on certain print order data.

In this specification, the term "data transmission" includes not only uploading data to the other party but also permitting the data downloading request from the other party. "When receiving data", in addition to downloading the data from the other party,
This includes allowing the data upload request from the other party. Further, the "print order data" is sufficient to include at least information for specifying image data (regardless of where it is stored) and information for requesting printing based on the image data. However, in the following embodiments, the image data relating to the image to be printed is included in the print order data.

Further, in the present specification, the image data generally means digitized image data, and specifically, a transparent original such as a negative film or a positive film, a reflective original such as a printing paper or a printed matter. Such as data that is quantized and digitized from information stored in analog, data that is directly stored as digital information like a digital camera, image data that a customer arbitrarily draws on a computer (generally Means CG) and the like.

The information line here means a computer
A system, terminal, and data communication equipment are mutually connected. The connection may be a wired line such as a private line or a public line, may be wirelessly connected through a communication satellite or the like, or may be a composite form thereof.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print ordering system according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a customer terminal (including a print order data creation device installed in a convenience store, etc.) 11, a center server 21 which is a print order data storage server, and a lab server 31 installed in a lab.
Is connected to a network (WAN) such as the Internet via a router, a modem or the like (not shown).
Although not shown, the lab server 31 is connected to a printer capable of forming a print based on print order data.

The flow of the print order will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Here, it is assumed that the customer desires a print in the laboratory based on image data taken by, for example, a digital still camera (not shown). In such a case, the customer transfers the image data from the digital still camera to the terminal 11.

The terminal 11 is capable of creating image data and print order data including the number of prints and print size corresponding to the image data. The print order data is transmitted to the center server 21 via the WAN and stored in the predetermined storage area. On the other hand, the lab server 31 accesses a predetermined storage area of the center server 21 at a predetermined timing and acquires print order data. In the lab, printing is performed by a printer (not shown) according to the order content of the print order data acquired by the lab server 31. The formed print will be delivered from the photo shop to the customer by means such as mailing or home delivery.

Next, a method of creating print order data will be described. 2 to 7 are diagrams showing examples of screens displayed on the monitor 11 a of the terminal 11. First, after the customer transfers all the image data from the digital still camera and stores it in the hard disk of the terminal 11, a print order data creation / transmission program (which may be stored in advance in the hard disk of the terminal 11 as a storage medium, Or C
2) may be read out), the display shown in FIG. 2 is automatically performed. In this example, each frame selection screen (each frame selection mode) is set by default. Needless to say, the all-frame selection screen (all-frame selection screen mode) may be set as the default.

Now, a method of creating print order data on each frame selection screen (each frame selection mode, in which each frame selection button B2 is selected in FIG. 2) will be described. In FIG. 2, all file names of image data stored in the hard disk of the terminal 11 can be displayed in the area A1. By placing the cursor on buttons A2 and A3 and clicking, the file name is scrolled up and down, and the displayed file name (here, 007.jpg)
When is pressed, the file is specified and the file name 0
07. Image data of jpg (also called image file)
Will be selected for the print order. At the same time, the thumbnail image G1 is displayed on the left side, and a black star mark is added to the left side of the selected file so that it can be visually recognized that the file has been selected. ing. Then, the customer who determines that the selection is completed clicks the selection OK button B3, and the screen is switched to the display shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, when the select all button B2 is pressed and selected, a black star mark is automatically added to the left side of all image file names, and all image files are selected as the image files for which print ordering is desired. Will be.

The selected image data constitutes a part of a single or a plurality of print order data according to the customer's intention or automatically.

Next, the print order folder list screen shown in FIG. 3 will be described. "Order 00" displayed on the screen
“1” to “order 004” are print order folders (that is, print order data), and are created corresponding to a set of image files that belong to one print order.

When any of the print order folders is clicked in FIG. 3 (for example, the folder of order 002), the screen is switched to that shown in FIG. 4 and desired for each image file belonging to this print order folder. The number of prints and the print size can be changed and input. still,
At the initial stage when there is no input, the number of prints is set to 1 and the print size is set to L based on the default data. Also on the screen shown in FIG. 4, the file name is scrolled up and down by clicking the F1 and F2 keys, and by clicking the file name, the thumbnail image is displayed for the designated image data. The number of prints and the print size corresponding to the designated image data can be changed by clicking the keys H1 and J1. When the customer determines that the number of prints and the print size have been decided and clicks the decision key K1, the number of prints and the print size corresponding to each image data are decided.

In this way, it is possible to change the number of prints or the print size other than the default value. Then, when the confirm key K1 is clicked, the setting change of the number of prints or print size of the print order folder (in this case, order 002) for which the default value of the number of prints or print size is to be changed is confirmed, and the screen shown in FIG. Return to the screen. When the customer determines that the number of prints and the print size of the orders 001 to 004 are the desired values and clicks the send button L1, the terminal 11 orders the center server 21 to print the print order via the network WAN. Send data.

Here, in response to the customer clicking the send button L1, the terminal 11 displays the display screen of the display 11a from that shown in FIG. 3 to that shown in FIG. 5 in accordance with the print order data creation and transmission program. Change to. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5, the send button L
Since No. 1 is erased from the screen (including a state in which it is displayed in a light color and does not respond to the click operation), there is no fear that the customer presses it twice due to trembling of the finger or the like. The send button L1 may be displayed again after a relatively long time (for example, 30 minutes) has elapsed.

By the way, in such a form, when the customer immediately wants to send the same print order data, it is troublesome to perform the operation again from the screen shown in FIG. Therefore, as another embodiment, in response to the customer clicking the send button L1, the display 11 is displayed in accordance with the print order data creation / transmission program.
It is possible to change the display screen of a from the screen shown in FIG. 3 to the screen shown in FIG. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6, the send button L1 is displaced upward on the screen, but the position of the cursor (not shown) used for the click operation does not change. There is no fear of pushing.

Furthermore, in another embodiment, the send button L1 is clicked twice or more within a predetermined time on the same screen according to the print order data creation / transmission program without changing the display screen of the display 11a (FIG. 3). When operated, it is conceivable to ignore the transmission request for the print order data other than the first one (that is, not execute the transmission). As a result, the center server 21
Only the first print order data is sent, which prevents erroneous print creation.

Further, in another embodiment, when the send button L1 is clicked twice or more on the same screen according to the print order data creation / transmission program, an alarm as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. It is also possible to switch to the screen. On such a screen, the date and time when the transmission is accepted and the print order data number are displayed.
A warning message is displayed, "The print order data afterwards may have been sent incorrectly. Please check." If the customer who has checked this notices that the print order data sent later is his / her mistake, he / she clicks the cancel button M1 only afterwards to cancel the second or subsequent print order data. Can be transmitted to the center server 21. In response to this, the center server 21 can cancel the second and subsequent print order data.

In the above-described embodiments, the processing is performed on the terminal 11 side, but in the following embodiments,
The processing is performed by the center server 21 or the lab server 31, which is a print order data storage server. More specifically, in the center server 21 or the lab server 31, the print order data of a plurality of orders transmitted from the same customer's terminal 11 can be transmitted to the customer's terminal 11 within a predetermined time interval. If there is print order data, it is determined that there is a possibility of an incorrect order in the print order data whose transmission time at the customer's terminal 11 is later.

In such a case, when it is determined that there is a possibility of an incorrect order in the print order data of the one with the slower transmission time at the customer's terminal 11, the center server 21 or the lab server 31 should issue an alarm. , The administrator of the center server 21 or the operator of the laboratory can confirm whether the print order is correct or not by using the means such as telephone, FAX, and mail to the customer, and thereby the print creation intended by the customer can be performed. Can be done.

At this time, if the print order data with the later transmission time is automatically stored in a predetermined folder different from the folder for storing the data to be transmitted to the printer in the hold state, the customer's confirmation can be obtained. It is possible to prevent the production of prints based on print order data that may be erroneous in advance. If it is confirmed that the print order data for the subsequent print order data is also intended to be created, the print order data is stored in the print folder, and the print execution data is intended to be created by waiting for the print execution. If not confirmed, it will be erased.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the exemplary embodiments, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments, but it goes without saying that appropriate modifications and improvements are possible. is there.

[0035]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a print order data creation / transmission program and a print order system which can suppress the creation of unnecessary prints.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print order data transmission / reception system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of the terminal 11.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 terminals 21 Center server 31 Lab Server WAN network

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data transmitted via an information line by using a computer, and starts sending the created print order data. A print order data transmission program, characterized in that a transmission button is displayed on a display, and when the transmission button is operated, the display of the display is switched to a screen without the transmission button. 2. A print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data, which is transmitted via an information line, by using a computer, and starts transmission of the created print order data. A print order data transmission program, characterized in that a transmission button is displayed on a display, and when the transmission button is operated, the display on the display is switched so that the position of the transmission button is displaced on the screen. 3. A print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data, which is transmitted via an information line, using a computer, and starts transmission of the created print order data. If the time from the previous operation of the send button to the next operation of the send button is within a predetermined time by displaying the send button on the display, the printing by the operation of the latter send button is performed. A print order data transmission program characterized in that order data is not transmitted. 4. A print order data creation / transmission program for creating and sending print order data including at least image data, which is transmitted via an information line, by using a computer, and starts transmission of the created print order data. The print order data, which displays a transmission button to be displayed, and issues an alarm if the time from the previous operation of the transmission button to the next operation of the transmission button is within a predetermined time Send program. 5. A print order data storage system for transmitting print order data including at least image data from a customer's terminal to a print order data storage server for storing the print order data via an information line. , Among the print order data of multiple orders sent from the same customer,
When there are two print order data whose transmission time at the customer's terminal is within a predetermined time interval, it is determined that there is a possibility that the print order data having the later transmission time at the customer's terminal is wrongly ordered. A print ordering system characterized by: 6. The print order according to claim 5, wherein an alarm is issued when it is determined that there is a possibility of an erroneous order in the print order data having a later transmission time at the customer's terminal. system. 7. When it is determined that there is a possibility of an incorrect order in the print order data whose transmission time is later on the customer's terminal, the print order data whose transmission time is later is stored in a predetermined folder. The print ordering system according to claim 5, wherein the print ordering system stores the print ordering system.