JP2005297214A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can upload and download advertising data via a network to a network-connected advertising information management device. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 1 and the advertising information management device 10 are connected to each other via an electronic network such as the Internet or an intranet. The printer 1 uploads image information read by an image reading part by scanning and preliminarily stored image information as the advertising data to the advertising information management device 10 with adding advertising data conditions and advertising data use conditions. The printer 1 downloads desired advertising data among the advertising data stored and managed by the advertising information management device 10, and prints the advertising data by carrying out various setting related to advertising data printing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus connected to an electronic network such as the Internet or an intranet. More specifically, the present invention can upload and store desired advertisement data in an advertisement information management apparatus. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing data on printing paper.

  Conventionally, the means for an advertiser to distribute advertisements is that which is distributed to an unspecified number of recipients such as television, magazines, newspapers, etc. Distributed to a specific customer or a potential customer such as mail, facsimile, and e-mail.

  Conventionally, many proposals have been made to print advertisement data in the margin of printed matter and reduce the printing cost based on the advertising fee revenue from the advertiser.

  As one of such proposals, for example, an advertisement information presentation system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known.

  FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information presentation system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. In the information presentation system 50 shown in FIG. 23, an advertisement server 51 and a plurality of terminal devices 53, 54, and 55 are connected to the Internet 100 via connection devices 56 such as a modem, a router, and a TA (Terminal Adapter). And an output terminal device 57 connected to the advertisement server 51 via the telephone line 101.

  Each of the advertisement server 51, the output terminal device 57, the terminal device 53, the terminal device 54, and the terminal device 55 displays a keyboard for inputting various information, an input device such as a mouse, and various menu screens and processing results. A display is provided.

  The advertisement server 51 has a hard disk 52 for storing various databases and programs, and is owned by a system administrator who manages the information presentation system 50. The terminal device 53 is owned by each of a plurality of advertisement requesters who request advertisements using the information presentation system 50. Each terminal device 54 is owned by an advertiser who has signed a predetermined contract with the system administrator in order to use the information presentation system 50. The terminal device 55 is owned by a bank affiliated with the system administrator for the accounting process in the information presentation system 50.

  The advertisement server 51 functions as a WWW server. The terminal device 53, the terminal device 54, and the terminal device 55 function as a WWW client.

  That is, a WWW browser is installed in the terminal device 53, the terminal device 54, and the terminal device 55, and the advertisement server 51 can be arbitrarily accessed via the Internet 100 by starting this WWW browser. At this time, the access position is specified by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). For identifying the terminal device 52, the terminal device 53, and the terminal device 54, other location designation codes such as an IP (Internet Protocol) address and a URL are used.

  An output device 58 for printing information indicated by the advertisement data received from the advertisement server 51 is connected to the output terminal device 57. The output device 58 is connected to a coin kit 59 for collecting a part of the fee from the user of the output device 58.

  The output terminal device 57 is connected to the advertisement server 51 via the telephone line 101, and various information can be exchanged with the advertisement server 51 through mutual communication. Further, the advertisement server 51 can specify the output terminal device 57 by using the call number authentication function provided by the telephone company.

In the information presentation system 50 configured as described above, the advertisement data provided by the advertiser is stored in the hard disk 52 by the advertisement server 51, and the advertisement data indicating the advertisement requested by the advertisement requester is read out from the hard disk 52 and advertised. This is distributed to the requesting output terminal device 57. Then, processing is performed to charge the distribution cost related to the distribution of the advertisement data to the advertiser who provided the distributed advertisement data, and the output terminal device 57 requests the advertisement data to the advertisement server 51, and the request Accordingly, the advertisement data distributed from the advertisement server 51 is printed by the output device 58.
JP 2002-259818 A

  However, in the conventional configuration including the information presentation system 50 shown in FIG. 23, it is not possible to upload desired advertisement data to the advertisement server by a single printing apparatus. Specifically, the information presentation system 50 shown in FIG. 23 will be described as an example. In the information presentation system 59, the advertisement data provided by the advertiser is stored in the hard disk 52 in the advertisement server 51, and the output terminal device 57 The advertisement data is requested from the advertisement server 51 to download the advertisement data, and the downloaded advertisement data is printed by the output device 58 which is another machine. For this reason, when the advertisement data to be distributed is to be uploaded to the advertisement server 51, the output device 58 captures image information that is the basis of the advertisement data, and the output terminal device 57 advertises the captured image information as advertisement data. It was necessary to upload to the server 51. Therefore, every time the advertisement data is uploaded to the advertisement server 51, the output device 58 and the output terminal device 57 must be separately operated, and there is a problem that the advertisement distribution work is troublesome and the operation is complicated.

  Further, in the conventional configuration, a printing device (which corresponds to the output device 58 in FIG. 23) that reads image information that is the basis of the advertisement data, and a computer device (output terminal device 57 in FIG. 23) that inputs and outputs the advertisement data. Therefore, when uploading advertisement data, these two devices had to be installed as a set. For this reason, the two devices cannot be installed in a place where the installation space is limited, and the advertisement data cannot be freely uploaded or downloaded.

  In addition, since this type of printing apparatus and computer apparatus are relatively expensive, there is a problem that even if an installation space can be secured, capital investment expenses such as installation costs and running costs increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and desired advertisement data can be downloaded from an advertisement information management apparatus and printed as necessary, and various kinds of advertisement data can be stored in the advertisement information management apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that can be uploaded.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a printing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a network-connected printing in which desired advertisement information can be downloaded from an advertisement information management apparatus that accumulates and manages various advertisement information. In the device
An image reading unit for reading image information;
A control unit that adds advertisement management information to image information read by the image reading unit or previously stored image information and outputs advertisement information;
And a communication control unit that transmits the advertisement information output by the control unit to the advertisement information management device.

The printing apparatus according to claim 2 is the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit includes an image composition unit that calculates a margin part for printing the advertisement information from the print information, and synthesizes the advertisement information with the print information with a size corresponding to the calculated margin part. Features.

The printing apparatus according to claim 3 is the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
When the control unit determines that color printing of advertisement information is necessary, print content determination for transferring print information including the advertisement information from a network-connected printing device to a printing device capable of color printing A processing unit is provided.

The printing apparatus according to claim 4 is the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit includes a print number determination processing unit that determines the number of printed sheets and transfers the print information including the advertisement information to a printing apparatus suitable for the determined number of output among networked printing apparatuses. It is characterized by that.

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, not only downloading of advertisement information from the advertisement information management apparatus but also uploading of advertisement information to the advertisement information management apparatus can be performed as needed by the printing apparatus alone. Thereby, it is not necessary to install an apparatus other than the printing apparatus in order to upload the advertisement information, and space can be saved, and equipment investment such as installation cost and running cost associated with the apparatus installation can be reduced.

  When printing the advertisement information, the margin part is calculated from the print information, and the advertisement information is combined with the print information according to the margin part so that the advertisement information fits in the margin part. The advertisement information can be printed without any problem.

  Even if the printing device itself is not color printing compatible and is a monochrome or two-color printer, if the content of the printing information including advertisement information is determined and it is determined that color printing is necessary, another printing device connected to the network Printing information including advertisement information can be transferred to a printing apparatus capable of color printing.

  If your printing device is a stencil printing device that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a large number of sheets, for example, if it is determined that the output number of printed materials is a small number, print a small number of sheets from other networked printing devices. Printing information including advertisement information can be transferred to other printing apparatuses (for example, laser printers) that are sometimes cost-effective and printed. On the other hand, if the printing apparatus is a laser printer that is advantageous in terms of cost, for example, when printing a small number of sheets, if it is determined that the output number of printed materials is a large number, the number of other printing apparatuses connected to the network is Therefore, printing information including advertisement information can be transferred to another printing apparatus (stencil printing apparatus) that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a large number of sheets.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an advertisement data distribution system employing a printing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block configuration of the advertisement information management apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of uploading advertisement data, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of confirming usage information of advertisement data, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of downloading advertisement data, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an initial screen at the time of advertisement data upload setting, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement data condition setting screen at the time of advertisement data upload setting, FIG. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are schematic diagrams showing a screen when data scanning or data call is completed, and FIG. 11 shows details of the set advertisement data. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement data use condition setting screen for setting the use conditions of the set advertisement data, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing that setting of the use conditions for the advertisement data is completed. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement data usage status confirmation screen for uploaded advertisement data, FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a search result screen when the usage status of advertisement data is searched, and FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an advertisement data download screen. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a screen when an advertisement data list is acquired from the advertisement information management apparatus, FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a screen including selection of advertisement data addition, and FIG. 19 is an example of margin calculation of printing paper. Schematic diagram, Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen when advertising data printing conditions are set, and Fig. 21 calls up advertising data that matches the set advertising data printing conditions. Schematic diagram showing an example of a case, FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing an example of displaying preview a print result of the advertisement data set.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an advertisement data distribution system employing a printing apparatus according to the present invention includes, for example, three printing apparatuses 1 and an advertisement information management apparatus 10 on the advertisement mediator side, for example, the Internet or an intranet. It can be connected via an electronic network.

  Each printing apparatus 1 (1A, 1B, 1C) is configured by, for example, an ink jet printer apparatus or a laser printer apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, each printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 1a, a RAM 1b, a ROM 1c, a communication control unit 1d, a print information display unit 1e, an advertisement recipient list database 1f, an advertisement information storage unit 1g, and a completion notification destination address storage. 1h, a printing unit 1i, a print completion detection unit 1j, and an image reading unit 1k.

  The control unit 1a is composed of a CPU, and executes operation control related to the printing apparatus 1 and program processing related to advertisement data in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 1c. For example, various control and processing related to printing such as processing for uploading and downloading advertisement data, and processing for selecting an optimal printing apparatus according to the advertisement data are performed. In addition, the control unit 1a includes an image composition unit 1aa, a print content determination processing unit 1ab, and a print number determination processing unit 1ac.

  The image composition unit 1aa synthesizes the advertisement data and the print data. When the advertisement data is posted, the image composition unit 1aa calculates a margin portion of the print paper for printing the advertisement data, and calculates the calculated print paper margin. The advertisement data and the print data are combined so that the advertisement data fits in the portion.

  The print content determination processing unit 1ab determines the content of the print data including the advertisement data combined by the image combining unit 1aa, and determines that color printing is necessary, and performs color printing in other network-connected printing apparatuses. Print data including advertisement data is transferred to the printing apparatus capable of printing via the communication control unit 1d. The transfer of the print data including the advertisement data is performed when the printing apparatus (for example, the printing apparatus 1A) does not support color printing and is configured by, for example, a monochrome or two-color printer. In addition, when print data including advertisement data is transferred from another printing device (for example, the printing devices 1B and 1C), an instruction is given by, for example, a user's key operation whether to print the transferred print data. Can do.

  The number-of-prints-determination processing unit 1ac determines the number of printed sheets of data, and provides advertisement data to other apparatuses (stencil printing apparatuses and other printing apparatuses) that can print at a lower cost compared to the printing apparatus 1 itself. Is transferred via the communication control unit 1d. For example, when the printing apparatus 1 is a stencil printing apparatus that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a large number of sheets, the number-of-printing-number determination processing unit 1ac determines that the number of data printed is smaller than a preset set number of printed sheets. When the determination is made, the print data including the advertisement data is transferred from the other printing apparatuses connected to the network to another printing apparatus (for example, a laser printer) that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a small number of sheets. On the other hand, if the printing apparatus 1 is a printing apparatus such as a laser printer that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a small number of sheets, the print number determination processing unit 1ac sets the number of data to be printed in advance. If it is determined that the number of prints is large, print data including advertisement data is transferred from other printing apparatuses connected to the network to another printing apparatus (stencil printing apparatus) that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing multiple sheets. Forward.

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

  The ROM 1c includes a recording medium that can be read by the control unit 1a, such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. Note that a part or all of the programs and data stored in the recording medium of the ROM 1c may be received via an electronic network.

  The ROM 1c stores various programs relating to printing, such as a startup program for the printing apparatus 1, an advertisement information communication program, and advertisement data, and data necessary for program processing. Examples of the advertisement information communication program include an advertisement reception list and advertisement image transmission program, a web browser program and the like related to uploading advertisement data and advertisement information transmission / reception, an advertisement completion notification request determination program, and a completion notification transmission program.

  The communication control unit 1d is an Internet communication protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) or TCP / IP (Transfer Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) or POP (Post Office Protocol). Implement a protocol for email communication. Using these protocols, the communication control unit 1d establishes a network connection with the advertisement information management apparatus 10 via the electronic network, and transmits / receives the advertisement information in a format according to the form of the electronic network.

  Further, the communication control unit 1d converts the data received via the electronic network into a format that can be processed by the printing apparatus 1. Furthermore, the communication control unit 1d has a unique IP address so that it can be distinguished from the printing apparatus 1 of other advertisement recipients.

  The print information display unit 1e displays information related to settings and operations of the printing apparatus 1, operation information such as setting keys for processing advertisement information such as uploading and downloading of advertisement data, and confirmation of use information, and a print image of advertisement data. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the print information display unit 1e displays selection keys such as “upload”, “use information confirmation”, “download”, and “use (print)”. Then, when uploading advertisement data from the printing apparatus 1, select “upload” from the selection keys such as “upload”, “confirm usage information”, “download”, “use (print)”, and upload. Condition setting according to the advertisement (in this example, for example, “advertisement period”, “number of sheets”, “image position”, “image size”, “color designation”, “distribution destination designation”, “reduction price”) And upload ad data.

  The advertisement recipient list database 1f stores advertisement recipient list data. Here, the “advertisement recipient” refers to a specific customer of the advertiser or a potential customer that the advertiser wants to distribute advertisement data for promotion. Also, in the advertisement recipient list, for example, the advertisement recipient name, the IP address given to the printing device 1 on the advertisement recipient side, information on the transfer account of the advertisement recipient (bank name, branch name, account number, Account name etc.) is recorded for each advertisement recipient.

  The advertisement information storage unit 1g stores various information related to advertisement data. Specifically, image information that has been captured in advance from an external computer device or the like that is the basis of advertisement information to be uploaded to the advertisement information management device 10, image information that has been read by a scanning operation of the image reading unit 1k, and an advertisement information management device 10, the advertisement management number of the advertisement data uploaded to the advertisement information, the advertisement data downloaded from the advertisement information management apparatus 10, the use conditions of the advertisement data set in the printing apparatus 1, and the like are stored.

  The completion notification destination address storage unit 1h stores the IP address of the transmission destination (in this example, the advertisement information management apparatus 10) that transmits the print completion notification.

  The printing unit 1i prints print information on a designated portion of the printing paper according to control by the control unit 1a. In addition to the normal printing operation, the printing unit 1i prints the advertisement image based on the advertisement data received from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 on the margin of the printing paper.

  The print completion detection unit 1j detects the state of the advertising image printing process by the printing unit 1i, and outputs a print completion signal to the control unit 1a according to the completion of printing.

  Whether the printing unit 1i has completed the printing process is determined by referring to the ink discharge amount counted by the ink discharge control circuit when the printing apparatus 1 is an inkjet printer apparatus, for example. This is done by detecting.

  When uploading the advertisement data to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, the image reading unit 1k reads the advertisement data using a reading function such as a scanner.

  The advertisement information management device 10 is configured by a computer device such as a personal computer, a workstation, or a general-purpose computer. As shown in FIG. 3, the advertisement information management device 10 includes a control unit 10a, a RAM 10b, a ROM 10c, a communication control unit 10d, an advertisement data storage unit 10e, an advertiser information storage unit 10f, and an advertisement receiver information storage unit 10g. Yes.

  The control unit 10a includes a CPU, and performs management control related to advertisement information according to a program stored in the ROM 10c. For example, a PDL (Page Description Language) conversion program and data necessary for executing the program are loaded from the ROM 10c and the storage units 10e, 10f, and 10g into the RAM 10b, and instructions and processing described in the program are executed. .

  The RAM 10b secures a work area for temporarily storing programs and data related to various processes executed by the control unit 10a.

  The ROM 10c includes various programs such as a startup program for the advertisement information management apparatus 10, an advertisement distribution fee calculation program, an advertisement printing fee calculation program, a billing notification transmission program, a printing fee transfer program, an IP address extraction program, a PDL conversion program, and a web browser program. Stores data necessary for programs and program processing.

  The communication control unit 10d has basically the same configuration as that of the communication control unit 1d of the printing apparatus 1, but prints via the Internet such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) together with a protocol implemented in the printing apparatus 1. A protocol for processing is also implemented, and an operation according to this protocol is also executed.

  The advertisement data storage unit 10e and the advertisement recipient information storage unit 10g are respectively provided in the advertisement information database. The advertisement receiver information storage unit 10g stores an advertisement receiver list of advertisement receivers transmitted from the printing apparatus 1, the status of advertisement data used by the advertisement receiver, usage status data such as the number of downloads and a print history.

  The advertisement data storage unit 10e stores various information related to the advertisement data such as the advertisement data setting conditions communicated from the printing apparatus 1 and the advertisement publication fee provided for the use of the advertisement data and the advertisement return information regarding the printing cost. To do. The advertiser information storage unit 10f stores information related to the advertiser's transfer account.

  The printing apparatus 1 and the advertisement information management apparatus 10 configured as described above are connected to each other via an electronic network. Each printing apparatus 1 can upload arbitrary advertisement data to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, and can download desired advertisement data from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 and print it.

  Next, processing contents of the advertisement data distribution system including the printing apparatus 1 and the advertisement information management apparatus 10 described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  First, when uploading predetermined advertisement data from the printing apparatus 1 to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, the initial screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed, and “Upload” is selected from the item keys of this initial screen. . In the advertisement data setting items displayed on the print information display unit 1e as shown in FIG. 9, the advertisement data conditions (in this example, “name”, “size”, “color information”) are operated using the numeric keypad or item key. Then, the advertisement data condition for setting the image data read by the image reading unit 1k or the image data previously stored in the printing apparatus 1 as advertisement data is set (ST1).

  Here, the “name” of the advertisement data condition is specified to distinguish the advertisement data to be uploaded from other stored advertisement data, and the name is set by key input, for example.

  “Size” refers to the size at which the advertisement data to be uploaded is printed. The vertical / horizontal dimensions of the advertisement data are key-operated by, for example, inputting a numeric keypad or selecting an item key, and the size of the advertisement data is set as “XX × XX cm”. By specifying the size of the advertisement data that the advertiser wants to place on the printing paper, it becomes a standard for printing the desired advertising data in the margin of the printing paper.

  “Specify color” is used to specify the color tone of the advertisement data to be posted. For example, “Color 6 colors”, “Color 4 colors”, “Grayscale”, “Monochrome”, etc. are selected and set. Do.

  When the above settings are completed and “Save Data Call” or “Advertisement Data Scan” on the screen of FIG. 9 is pressed, the saved data or the image data read by the image reading unit 1k is read as advertisement data. In this state, a guidance message such as “data scan completion” or “data call completion” as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is displayed. Also, on the screens of FIGS. 10A and 10B, selection keys such as “OK”, “Cancel”, and “Reference” are displayed, and when the “OK” selection key is pressed, the advertisement data condition setting is performed. Is completed.

  Then, in order to upload the advertisement data for which the advertisement data condition setting has been completed in ST1 to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, advertisement data (for example, advertisement paper such as a flyer, FAX, mail, or the like stored in advance in the printing apparatus 1) Is read (ST2).

  Note that “reference” is selected in order to preview the content of the set advertisement data on the display screen. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, a preview of the advertisement data such as the name, size, and data size of the advertisement data is displayed, and the setting contents can be confirmed.

  Then, when the “OK” selection key on the screen of FIG. 10 is pressed to set the usage conditions for the advertisement data, usage condition setting items as shown in FIG. 12 are displayed. In this setting item screen, use conditions of advertisement data (in this example, “advertisement period”, “number of sheets (Max, Min)”, “image position”, “distribution destination designation”, “reduction price”) are entered using the numeric keypad. The item data operating conditions are set by operating the item keys (ST3).

  Here, the “advertisement target period” in the advertisement data use condition is an item for selecting a posting period such as “date and time designation”, “completion date and time”, “start date and time”, “no designation”, and the like. “Date and time designation”, “Completion date and time”, and “Start date and time” are set by key input such as a numeric keypad according to the advertisement data, and “None” is selected when there is no such setting.

  “Number of sheets (Max, Min)” is an item for setting an upper limit / lower limit setting of the number of printed advertisement data by key input such as a numeric keypad. When the specified upper limit number is exceeded or within the specified period, the advertisement recipient is notified, for example, by a message display or an alarm signal.

  The “image position” is an item for the advertiser to set in which position on the printing paper the advertisement data is to be printed. For example, “upper OOcm”, “lower OOcm” can be input by key input such as a numeric keypad. , “Up and down within XX cm” is set. Thereby, the advertisement receiver can publish the advertisement data according to the blank portion of the printing paper to be printed.

  “Return price” sets the price to return advertisement data when it is printed on printing paper. For example, “1 sheet ○ yen”, “○○ when completed ○○ yen”, etc. This item is set by key input. As a result, the advertisement receiver can reduce the advertisement insertion fee according to the number of printed sheets or the designated number.

  In this example, the advertisement placement fee is reduced as the “reduction price”. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if it is returned with money other than money such as consumables such as ink and printing paper used in the printing apparatus 1. Good.

  When the above advertisement data use conditions are set and the upload is started by pressing “upload” on the screen of FIG. 12 (ST4), the set advertisement data is transmitted to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST5). Then, the advertisement information management apparatus 10 stores advertisement data (including setting information) transmitted from the printing apparatus 1 and registers it in the database (ST6). When this operation is completed, the advertisement data management number is transmitted from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 to the printing apparatus 1 (ST7). When the printing apparatus 1 receives the advertisement data management number from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST8), the screen shown in FIG. 13 is displayed and the upload of the advertisement data is completed.

  Next, an operation for confirming the usage status of advertisement data will be described. In this case, in the printing apparatus 1, “use information confirmation” is selected from the item keys on the initial screen shown in FIG. Thereby, the advertisement data usage status confirmation screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. Then, on this advertisement data usage status confirmation screen, advertisement data search information (for example, advertisement data management number, advertiser, update date, etc.) is input (ST11). Next, in order to make an inquiry to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, the “search” selection key on the screen of FIG. 14 is pressed, and the input information is transmitted to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST12).

  The advertisement information management apparatus 10 searches the advertisement data by comparing the advertisement information transmitted from the printing apparatus 1 with the advertisement information of the advertisement data stored in the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST13), and obtains the search result. It transmits to the printing apparatus 1. The printing apparatus 1 displays the usage status (for example, the number of downloads and the amount of income) of the advertisement data shown in FIG. 15 as a search result transmitted from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST14). Thereby, the utilization condition of advertisement data can be confirmed.

  Next, a method for downloading advertisement data stored in the advertisement information management apparatus 10 will be described.

  In this case, in the printing apparatus 1, “Download” is selected from the item keys on the initial screen shown in FIG. 8, the advertisement data download screen shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and “Get advertisement data list” is selected. Then, an advertisement data list is requested from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 (ST21). Then, in response to the advertisement data list request from the printing apparatus 1, the advertisement information management apparatus 10 transmits an advertisement data list as shown in FIG. 17 to the printing apparatus 1 (ST22). On the printing apparatus 1 side, advertisement data that matches the printing conditions is selected from the advertisement data list acquired from the advertisement information management apparatus 10, and the selected advertisement data is downloaded (ST23). The downloaded advertisement data is stored in the advertisement information storage unit 1g of the printing apparatus 1 (ST24).

  Next, the procedure for selecting / printing advertisement data will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, in the printing apparatus 1, “use (print)” is selected from the item keys of the initial screen shown in FIG. 8, and the print screen shown in FIG. 18 is displayed (ST31). Then, when printing the advertisement data (ST31-Yes), “with banner advertisement printing” is selected and the print data to be printed is read (ST33). If the advertisement is not printed (ST31-No), the process proceeds to a normal printing process, and printing is performed after print settings such as print paper selection, the number of prints and enlargement / reduction are set (ST32).

  When the reading of the print data is completed in ST33, the print size of the print data is acquired for printing on the printing paper (ST34). This can be acquired by automatically recognizing the size of the print paper based on the print data or by designating the size of the print paper by the advertisement receiver. When the acquisition of the stamp size is completed, the margin portion of the printing paper is calculated to print the advertisement data (ST35).

  When the margin calculation is completed in ST35, the margin area of the printing paper is acquired based on the margin calculation result and the stamp surface data (ST36). This margin area indicates, for example, a portion indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 19, and the vertical size and horizontal size of the margin portion are calculated from the stamp surface data, and the portion of the printing paper where the margin portion is located is calculated. When print settings such as printing paper selection, the number of printed sheets, enlargement / reduction, and the like are completed, a detailed screen relating to printing as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed.

  Next, advertisement data matching the conditions is listed based on the area and position of the margin (ST37). Then, the advertisement receiver searches for advertisement data to be posted from a list of advertisement data stored in the advertisement information storage unit 1g as shown in FIG. If there is desired advertisement data, it is selected by the “select” key, and advertisement data is obtained (ST38).

  If the desired advertisement data is not stored in the advertisement information storage unit 1g and the advertisement data cannot be listed, the desired advertisement data can be downloaded by performing the download operation of ST21 to ST24.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the print data and the advertisement data are combined by the image combining unit 1aa, and the print screen data before printing is displayed as a preview (ST39). Thereby, the advertisement receiver can confirm the print screen data after the printing is completed in advance before printing, and unnecessary printing can be omitted and the printing cost can be further reduced.

  The print screen data is confirmed in the preview display, and if there is no problem with the contents of the print screen data, printing is performed by pressing the “print” selection key on the screen of FIG. 22 (ST40-Yes). On the other hand, when the preview display of the print screen data is not the desired content (ST40-No), the process returns to ST38 and the advertisement data is searched again.

  Then, after the printing of the advertisement data is completed, the advertisement data printing completion notification is displayed on the print information display unit 1e (ST41). The advertisement data print completion notification is displayed on the print information display unit 1e, and then communicated to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 via the electronic network (ST42), and the advertisement data print history is recorded in the advertisement receiver information storage unit 10g. To do. Thereby, the printing of the advertisement data is completed.

  The print history of the advertisement data stored in the advertisement receiver information storage unit 10g includes, for example, advertisement return information and advertisement return information related to the print cost according to the use status of the advertisement data (for example, the number of printed sheets or the specified number of sheets). Are transferred to the designated account of the advertisement receiver stored in the advertisement receiver list database 1h and returned to the advertisement receiver.

  In addition, what is returned from the advertiser is not limited to money such as an advertising fee, but may be consumables such as ink and printing paper used in the printing apparatus 1.

  Thus, according to the advertisement data distribution system of this example, the upload of advertisement data to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 and the download of advertisement data from the advertisement information management apparatus 10 are performed by one printing apparatus 1. Can do. As a result, a terminal device other than the printing device 1 is not required, and it can be installed even in a place with a small installation space, so that the equipment cost can be reduced. In addition, since the advertisement data can be uploaded and downloaded by one printing apparatus 1, the operation is simplified and the work efficiency is improved as compared with the conventional one.

  When printing the advertisement data, the margin portion is calculated from the print information, and the advertisement data is combined with the print information according to the margin portion so that the advertisement data fits in the margin portion. The advertisement data can be printed on the printing paper without becoming.

  If an inquiry is made to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 using the management advertisement number notified when the advertisement data is uploaded to the advertisement information management apparatus 10, the usage status of the advertisement data corresponding to the management advertisement number is displayed. The utilization status of advertisement data can be immediately grasped.

  Even if the printing device itself is a monochrome or two-color printer, the content of the print information including the advertisement information is determined, and when it is determined that color printing is necessary, the content of other printing devices connected to the network is Print information including advertisement information can be transferred to a printing apparatus capable of color printing and printed. In the case of the printing apparatus 1 capable of color printing, it is possible to print print information including advertisement information transferred from another printing apparatus configured with a monochrome or two-color printer.

  In addition, when the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus such as a stencil printing apparatus that reduces the cost when printing a large number of sheets, if a small number of printing instructions are issued, the number of other printing apparatuses connected to the network is reduced. Print information including advertisement information is transferred to a printing apparatus (for example, a laser printer) that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing the number of sheets. On the other hand, if your printing device is a printing device that reduces the cost when printing a small number of sheets, such as a laser printer, when a print instruction for a large number of sheets is issued, it will be selected from other network-connected print feeds. Printing information including advertisement information is transferred to a printing apparatus (for example, a stencil printing apparatus) that is advantageous in terms of cost when printing a large number of sheets. As a result, printing information including advertisement information can be transferred to a printing apparatus that is more cost effective in accordance with the number of printed sheets to be printed, and the printing cost can be further reduced.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus 1 and the advertisement information management apparatus 10 are connected via an electronic network. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to directly use a connector such as a cable. .

  The printing apparatus 1 of this example is not limited to the advertisement data distribution system constructed by connecting to the advertisement information management apparatus 10 via a network, and a plurality of computer apparatuses such as a personal computer, a workstation, a general-purpose computer, and the like are connected. It can be employed in various network configurations such as a network.

  Although the best mode has been described using the present invention, the present invention is not limited by the discussion and the drawings according to this mode. That is, it is a matter of course that all other forms, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this form are included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the advertisement data delivery system which employ | adopted the printing apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a block block diagram of the advertisement information management apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of upload of advertisement data. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of the usage information confirmation of advertisement data. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement of downloading of advertisement data. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement of selection / printing of advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows the initial screen at the time of the upload setting of advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows the advertisement data condition setting screen at the time of the upload setting of advertisement data. (A) It is a schematic diagram which shows the screen at the time of a data scan completion. (B) It is a schematic diagram which shows the screen at the time of data call completion. It is a schematic diagram which shows the screen about the detail of the set advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows the advertisement data use condition setting screen which sets the use condition of the set advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows that the setting of the use condition of advertisement data was completed. It is a schematic diagram which shows the advertisement data usage condition confirmation screen of the uploaded advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows a search result screen when searching the usage condition of advertisement data. It is a schematic diagram which shows an advertisement data download screen. It is a schematic diagram which shows a screen when an advertisement data list is acquired from an advertisement information management device. It is a schematic diagram of the screen containing advertisement data provision selection. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the margin calculation of printing paper. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a screen when the printing conditions of advertisement data are set. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example when the advertisement data which matched the set advertisement data printing conditions are called. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example which displayed the print result of the set advertisement data as a preview. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional information presentation system disclosed by patent document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 (1A, 1B, 1C) Printing apparatus 1a Control unit 1aa Image composition unit 1ab Print content determination processing unit 1ac Print number determination processing unit 1b RAM
1c ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1d Communication control part 1e Print information display part 1f Advertisement recipient list database 1g Advertisement information storage part 1h Completion notification destination address storage part 1i Print part 1j Print completion detection part 1k Image reading part 10 Advertisement information management apparatus 10a Control part 10b RAM
10c ROM
10d communication control unit 10e advertisement data storage unit 10f advertiser information storage unit 10g advertisement receiver information storage unit

Claims (4)

In a printing apparatus connected to a network so that desired advertisement information can be downloaded from an advertisement information management apparatus that accumulates and manages various advertisement information.
An image reading unit for reading image information;
A control unit that adds advertisement management information to image information read by the image reading unit or previously stored image information and outputs advertisement information;
A printing apparatus comprising: a communication control unit that transmits advertisement information output by the control unit to the advertisement information management device. The control unit includes an image composition unit that calculates a blank portion for printing the advertisement information from the print information, and combines the advertisement information with the print information with a size according to the calculated blank portion. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the control unit determines that color printing of the advertisement information is necessary, print content determination for transferring the print information including the advertisement information from the network-connected printing devices to a printing device capable of color printing The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processing unit. The control unit includes a print number determination processing unit that determines the output number of printed matter and transfers the print information including the advertisement information to a printing device that is suitable for the determined output number among the network-connected printing devices. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

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