JP2004054548A - Newspaper delivery system and prediction system of amount of consumable of newspaper delivery system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To predict consumables which are consumed for printing of a content to smoothly operate a system that automatically delivers a newspaper content online. <P>SOLUTION: The newspaper content, which is specified by each subscriber of the newspaper, is regularly delivered to a printer of the subscriber of the newspaper 5 from a newspaper server 1, and is printed. An advertisement content is regularly delivered to the printer of the subscriber of the newspaper 5 from an advertisement server 3, and is printed in the same way. Information indicating kinds of the content which is delivered is stored in a subscriber table 33, and an amount consumed prediction part 34 refers to a delivery calendar 35, which indicates newspaper holiday, and confirms the date of delivery within the counting time specified. Then, the amount of the consumables such as printing paper, ink, toner, which are used by each printer 5, is predicted based on the amount of the content transmitted to each printer 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for automatically distributing and printing newspaper content, and more particularly to a technique for estimating the amount of consumables used at the time of printing.
[0002]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, newspapers printed on paper have been delivered to homes, businesses, and the like by a delivery person at a newspaper store. For various reasons, there is a need to manage newspaper content on a computer and distribute it online to a newspaper subscriber's computer.
[0003]
Newspaper subscribers who receive content in this online distribution system display newspaper articles on the display device of the computer that has received the content, or print them on paper with a printer and read them. At this time, if the newspaper article is displayed on the display device and read, it may be difficult to read, or it may be inconvenient to carry the newspaper article.
[0004]
In this case, if the remaining amount of consumables such as printing paper, ink or toner for printing is not properly managed, these consumables are depleted at the time of printing, which is very troublesome for newspaper subscribers.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for smoothly operating a system for automatically distributing newspaper content online.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A newspaper distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a content server that provides newspaper content, a plurality of printing devices that receive and print newspaper content from the content server, and each of the printing devices is configured to perform A forecasting system for predicting the amount of consumables used for printing newspaper content, wherein the content server sends information indicating a type of newspaper content to be delivered to the plurality of printing devices to the printing device. Storage means for storing the contents of each newspaper, and distribution means for distributing the newspaper contents to each printing device based on the information stored in the first storage means. Receiving means for receiving, and printing means for printing the received newspaper content at a predetermined time, the prediction system A second storage unit that stores, for each of the printing devices, information indicating the type of newspaper content that the content server periodically distributes; And a predicting unit for predicting the amount of consumables used for printing newspaper content received therein for each printing apparatus, and an output unit for outputting a prediction result by the predicting unit.
[0007]
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a consumable consumption predicting system for a newspaper distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured such that a newspaper server that provides newspaper content outputs information indicating a type of newspaper content to be distributed to a plurality of printing devices for each of the printing devices. Storage means for storing, referring to the storage means, prediction means for predicting the amount of consumables used for printing the newspaper content received by each printing device within a predetermined period, for each printing device, Output means for outputting a prediction result by the prediction means.
[0008]
In a preferred embodiment, the information processing apparatus further includes a storage unit that stores information indicating a newspaper suspension date, and the prediction unit refers to the storage unit, and stores the newspaper content received on a day excluding the suspension date within a predetermined period. Predict the amount of consumables used for printing.
[0009]
In a preferred embodiment, the information indicating the type of newspaper content is information indicating a category of a newspaper article.
[0010]
In a preferred embodiment, the storage unit further stores, for each of the printing devices, information indicating a type of the advertising content that the advertisement server that provides the advertising content periodically distributes to the plurality of printing devices, The prediction unit further predicts, for each of the printing devices, the amount of consumables used by each of the printing devices for printing the advertisement content received within a predetermined period.
[0011]
In a preferred embodiment, the information processing apparatus further includes a storage unit storing information indicating a date on which the advertisement is delivered, for each type of advertisement content, and the prediction unit refers to the storage unit to read the advertisement delivered within a predetermined period. Predict the amount of consumables used to print the content.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a newspaper distribution system according to one embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
[0014]
The system includes a newspaper server 1 for a newspaper provider such as a newspaper company to distribute newspaper content, and a printer installed at the home or office of a newspaper subscriber (hereinafter referred to as a subscriber) from the newspaper server 1. 5 to distribute and print newspaper contents online. Further, the present system includes an advertisement server 3 for delivering an advertisement to the printer 5, the advertisement server 3 delivers the advertisement to the printer 5, and the printer 5 prints the advertisement. A printer 6 and a display device 7 are connected to the advertisement server 3. The present system may include a plurality of advertisement servers 3. In that case, it is preferable that each advertisement server 3 be installed at each newspaper store that currently undertakes newspaper delivery. The newspaper store or the like in which the advertisement server 3 is installed provides services such as management of the advertisement server, replenishment of the printer 5 consumables of the subscriber, and collection of used paper that has been printed. For each newspaper store, the scale currently managed by the newspaper store (number of subscribers and regional spread) is appropriate for managing subscribers and providing services such as consumable supplies replenishment and waste paper collection. That's why.
[0015]
The printer 5 receives and prints newspaper content and advertisement content.
The printer 5 may include a buffer (not shown) for temporarily storing the received content, and may print the content stored at a predetermined time. Further, the printer 5 may be replaced with a printer capable of printing on a large-sized printing paper (for example, about current newspaper paper) or a printer having a display device for displaying received content. good. Further, the printer 5 can be replaced with a combination of a host device for controlling the printer and the printer.
[0016]
Each of the newspaper server 1 and the advertisement server 3 is configured by, for example, a general-purpose computer system, and individual components or functions in each server described below are realized, for example, by executing a computer program.
[0017]
The newspaper server 1 has, as its internal functions, a network interface 11 for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices via a network, a newspaper content storage unit 12 for storing newspaper content, a distribution destination of the newspaper content, and a distribution destination of the newspaper content. And a distribution table 13 in which distribution contents are stored in association with each other.
[0018]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the distribution table 13. The distribution table 13 associates, for example, a distribution destination address 131, a newspaper content 132 to be distributed, and a distribution timing 133. The distribution table 13 can be registered by an administrator of the newspaper server 1 by inputting from an input device (not shown), or can be automatically registered after being transferred from the advertisement server 3.
[0019]
The distribution destination address 131 is an address for specifying a distribution destination when the content is distributed.
[0020]
The distribution content 132 indicates the type of newspaper content to be distributed, for example, a category of a newspaper article, designation of a summary version, and the like, and stores information specified in advance by a newspaper subscriber.
[0021]
The distribution timing 133 indicates the time and frequency of distributing the newspaper content for each destination. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, a case where distribution is performed on a daily basis or a case where distribution is performed only on a weekend is illustrated.
[0022]
Referring to FIG. 1, the network interface 11 refers to the distribution table 13 and a clock mechanism (not shown), and when the distribution timing specified for each distribution destination comes, the specified newspaper content is stored in the newspaper content storage unit 12. Get from and distribute.
[0023]
The advertisement server 3 has, as its internal functions, a network interface 31 that transmits and receives data to and from another device via a network, an advertisement content storage unit 32 that stores advertisement content, and is distributed to each newspaper subscriber. The system includes a subscriber table 33 storing information such as contents, a consumable amount estimating unit 34 for estimating the amount of consumables used by the printer 5 of each subscriber, and a distribution calendar 35.
[0024]
FIG. 3 shows an example of the subscriber table 33. The subscriber table 33 includes, for example, an address 331 of a content distribution destination for each subscriber, a newspaper content 332 distributed from the newspaper server 1, an advertisement content 333 distributed by the advertisement server 3, and a timing 334 for distributing the advertisement content. And the timing 335 of printing the content received by each printer 5 and the last replenishment date 336 at which the consumables were last replenished. The information stored in the subscriber table 33 can be input and registered by an administrator of the advertisement server 3 from an input device (not shown).
[0025]
The delivery destination address 131 is a delivery destination address to which newspaper content and advertisement content are delivered, and can uniquely identify a subscriber.
[0026]
The distributed newspaper content 332 is a newspaper content distributed from the newspaper server 5 and corresponds to the distributed content 132 of the distribution table 13.
[0027]
The advertisement content 333 to be distributed indicates the type of advertisement content to be distributed to the distribution destination 331. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the category of the advertisement is specified. The category of the advertising content to be distributed may be specified by the subscriber.
[0028]
The advertisement content distribution timing 334 indicates the time and frequency at which the advertisement content is distributed for each delivery destination. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, a case where distribution is performed on a daily basis or a case where distribution is performed only on a weekend is illustrated.
[0029]
The print timing 335 indicates the time and frequency at which newspaper content and advertisement content are printed by each printer 5 installed at the subscriber's home or the like. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, a case where printing is performed at a fixed time every day or a case where printing is performed only on a weekend is illustrated.
[0030]
The last replenishment date 336 indicates the date when the administrator who manages the advertisement server 3 goes to the subscriber's home or the like where the printer 5 is installed and replenishes consumables. Since the administrator who manages the advertisement server 3 replenishes the consumables of each printer and collects used paper, the last replenishment date 336 stores the date of the last replenishment of the consumables.
[0031]
The distribution calendar 35 is, for example, a calendar indicating the content 352 distributed on the distribution date 351 in the morning and evening editions, as shown in FIG. As a result, it can be seen that the newspaper content is not distributed on the first day of the newspaper or the evening of the evening, and it is also possible to know when each category of the advertisement content is distributed. The distribution calendar 35 is appropriately updated by the administrator of the advertisement server 3.
[0032]
Referring to FIG. 1, the network interface 31 refers to the subscriber table 33 and a clock mechanism (not shown), and when a distribution timing specified for each distribution destination comes, the specified advertisement content is stored in the advertisement content storage unit 22. Get from and distribute.
[0033]
The consumable amount estimating unit 34 estimates the amount of consumables such as printing paper and ink or toner that are consumed when each printer 5 prints newspaper content and advertisement content within a predetermined tabulation period.
[0034]
For example, the consumption amount prediction unit 34 sets the period from the previous replenishment date 336 to the date when this prediction process is performed as a totaling period, and within that period, the amount of printing paper and ink used by each printer 5 for printing newspaper content. And the amount of printing paper, ink, and the like used for printing the advertisement content, respectively.
[0035]
In newspaper content, the number of pages to be printed is determined according to the category of the newspaper article. Therefore, by referring to the subscriber table 33, the category of the newspaper article distributed for each printer of each subscriber can be known, and the number of printed pages per day can be known for each printer. Further, the amount of ink or toner used for printing per page is almost fixed. Further, by referring to the distribution calendar 35, it is possible to confirm the date on which the distribution was actually performed within the counting period. As a result, the consumption amount prediction unit 34 knows the amount of content distributed from the newspaper server to each printer. Then, from the amount of content delivered to each printer during the aggregation period, it is possible to predict the amount of printing paper used by each printer and the amount of consumables such as ink or toner.
[0036]
The advertisement content is determined in such a manner that an approximate information amount is determined for each advertisement category, and the amount of consumables used for printing is substantially constant for each category. By doing so, it is possible to predict the amount of consumables used for printing the advertising content, as in the case of the newspaper content. That is, by referring to the subscriber table 33, the category of the advertisement content distributed to each printer is obtained. Then, with reference to the distribution calendar 35, the number of distribution days actually distributed within the aggregation period is calculated for each advertisement category. Thereby, the consumption amount prediction unit 34 knows, for each printer 5, the content amount distributed from the advertisement server 3 during the aggregation period. Then, from the content amount, it is possible to predict the use amount of the printing paper and the consumables such as ink or toner used by each printer for printing the advertisement content.
[0037]
The consumption amount of the consumable item predicted by the consumption amount prediction unit 34 can be output from the printer 6 or displayed on the display device 7. The administrator of the advertisement server 3 checks the output result, and based on the output result, recovers used paper and replenishes consumables.
[0038]
Also, if the remaining amount of consumables at the time of the previous replenishment is stored in the subscriber table, it is possible to determine the remaining amount to be replenished this time by comparing the current amount of consumables with the remaining amount at the time of the previous refill.
[0039]
According to the present system, there is an advantage that manual newspaper delivery as in the related art is not required, and the delay of newspaper delivery is almost eliminated. Further, when the administrator of the advertisement server 3 replenishes consumables used in the printer at the subscriber's home or the like, the administrator can know the amount to be replenished.
[0040]
The embodiments of the present invention described above are exemplifications for describing the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0041]
For example, in the present embodiment, the process of estimating the amount of consumables used is performed on the advertisement server.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a system for automatically distributing newspaper content online can be smoothly operated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a newspaper distribution system according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution table.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a subscriber table.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution calendar.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Newspaper server 3 ... Advertising server 5 ... Printer 12 ... Newspaper content storage unit 13 ... Distribution table 32 ... Advertising content storage unit 33 ... Subscriber table 34 ... Consumption amount prediction unit 35 ... Distribution calendar

Claims (8)

A content server that provides newspaper content,
A plurality of printing devices for receiving and printing newspaper content from the content server,
A newspaper delivery system, wherein each of the printing apparatuses includes a prediction system for predicting the amount of consumables used for printing newspaper content within a predetermined period,
The content server,
First storage means for storing information indicating the type of newspaper content to be distributed to the plurality of printing apparatuses for each of the printing apparatuses;
Distribution means for distributing newspaper content to each printing device based on the information stored in the first storage means,
The printing device,
Receiving means for receiving newspaper content;
Printing means for printing the received newspaper content at a predetermined time,
The prediction system comprises:
Second storage means for storing information indicating the type of newspaper content periodically distributed by the content server for each printing device;
Prediction means for predicting, for each of the printing devices, an amount of consumables used by each of the printing devices for printing newspaper content received within a certain period of time with reference to the second storage device;
An output unit that outputs a result of the prediction by the prediction unit. A storage means for storing, for each printing device, information indicating a type of newspaper content to be distributed to a plurality of printing devices by a newspaper server for providing newspaper content;
With reference to the storage unit, a prediction unit for predicting, for each printing device, a consumable amount used for printing the newspaper content received by each of the printing devices within a predetermined period,
An output unit for outputting a result of the prediction by the prediction unit. Further comprising storage means for storing information indicating a newspaper suspension date,
3. The consumable according to claim 2, wherein the predicting unit refers to the storage unit and predicts an amount of consumable used for printing the newspaper content received on a day excluding a suspension date within a predetermined period. Usage forecasting system. 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the information indicating the type of the newspaper content is information indicating a category of a newspaper article. The storage means further comprises:
An advertisement server that provides advertisement content stores information indicating a type of advertisement content that is periodically delivered to the plurality of printing devices, for each of the printing devices,
The consumable item according to claim 2, wherein the prediction unit further estimates, for each of the printing devices, a consumable amount used for printing the advertisement content received by each of the printing devices within a predetermined period. Usage forecasting system. Storage means for storing information indicating the date on which the advertisement was delivered for each type of advertisement content,
6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the prediction unit refers to the storage unit to predict a consumable amount used for printing the advertisement content delivered within a predetermined period. A process in which a newspaper server that provides newspaper content stores information indicating the type of newspaper content to be distributed to a plurality of printing devices in a storage unit for each of the printing devices; A process of estimating the amount of consumables used to print the newspaper content received within a predetermined period for each printing device;
A method for predicting the consumption of a consumable in a newspaper distribution system, which performs a process of outputting the prediction result. When executed on a computer,
A process in which a newspaper server that provides newspaper content stores information indicating the type of newspaper content to be distributed to a plurality of printing devices in a storage unit for each of the printing devices; A process of estimating the amount of consumables used to print the newspaper content received within a predetermined period for each printing device;
A computer program for predicting the amount of consumables used in a newspaper distribution system that performs a process of outputting the prediction result.

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