JP2006004370A - Image information providing system, image information providing method, and control program of image information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem in an image information providing system for providing commodity information or the like as contents wherein it is difficult to speedily provide image information having added contents of high advertising effect to a user. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing section 12 previously rasterizes the contents to be provided and stores them in a content storage section 6. Attached information such as a relation between the contents is stored in a content database 8. A main advertisement content extracting section 20 extracts a main advertisement content according to a request of the user received from a terminal device 4 from the content storage section 6. A sub-advertisement content extracting section 22 extracts a sub advertisement content related to the main advertisement content from the content storage section 6 based on the attached information of the content database 8. An image information creating section 24 creates image information by combining these previously rasterized contents, and the image information is distributed to the terminal unit 4 and printed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image information providing system that generates image information obtained by combining advertisement content according to a user's request and other advertisement content and provides the image information to the user.

  Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1 below, recording, duplication, print output of information such as manuscript images, and image output of information content obtained from a remote location via a transmission medium such as the Internet are charged for a fee. An image information providing system provided to a user has been proposed. In the system, when information content according to a user's request is printed and provided, advertisement information is added to the print, and the user's usage fee is reduced accordingly to make it easier for the user to use the service. .

  In a conventional system, image data in which main advertisement content related to product information requested by a user is retrieved from a recording unit or the Internet, and additional advertisements are combined as sub-advertisement content, which are arranged in a predetermined layout. Is generated. The image data is generated by rasterizing each content given in the form of vector data, for example, and is printed out using the generated raster data.

As a conventional method related to electronic advertisement, the following Patent Document 2 shows a method in which purchase results obtained by browsing advertisements are associated with billing to advertisers, and the advertiser can be charged for advertising fees according to the advertising effectiveness. Yes.
JP 2001-77953 A JP 2002-236842 A

  Conventionally, after the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content are combined and the layout of the entire image to be formed is determined, the rasterization is performed using the processing device. The rasterizing process requires a relatively large load. For this reason, the conventional method has a problem that a turn around time (TAT) until image information is provided to the user becomes long due to the rasterization processing time of the image data.

  As a result, whether or not the system is used by a user may depend on a trade-off relationship between a reduction in charges and an increase in TAT. That is, if TAT generally increases, the user refrains from the service of adding advertisements as sub-contents, and the advertising effect is reduced due to the loss of advertising opportunities associated therewith. In order to cope with this, it becomes necessary to increase the reduction of the user fee, and the cost burden of the advertiser becomes heavy.

  On the other hand, even if an advertisement is added to the dark clouds, there is no guarantee that the advertisement will attract the user's interest. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the advertiser, there is a problem that even if the cost burden is increased, there is a possibility that the advertising effect corresponding to the cost burden cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is expected to have a favorable advertising effect from the viewpoint of the advertiser because it is easily used by the user and the advertisement to be added easily attracts the user's interest. It is an object to provide an image information providing system.

  The image information providing system according to the present invention includes a content server that generates image information including advertisement content in response to a user request, and the image information that is transmitted from the content server to the content server and received from the content server. The content server includes a content storage unit that stores pre-rasterized advertising content, an auxiliary information storage unit that stores auxiliary information for each advertising content, and A main advertisement content extraction unit that extracts main advertisement content in response to a user's request from the content storage unit, and a sub advertisement that retrieves sub advertisement content related to the main advertisement content based on the attached information and extracts the content from the content storage unit Content extracting means, and Ntsu and synthesizes the raster data representing the sub-advertising content having an image information generating means for generating the image information.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the content server includes user information storage means for storing user information for each user, and the sub-advertisement content extraction means includes the attached information and the user information. Based on the above, the sub-advertisement content is searched.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the terminal device has sub-advertisement content presence / absence specifying means for specifying whether to include the sub-advertisement content in the image information in response to a request from the user. The content server has a user billing unit that charges the user when the image information is provided to the user, and the user billing unit includes the sub-advertisement content in the image information provided to the user. The user billing amount is determined according to whether or not there is.

  In the image information providing system according to the present invention, the attached information includes the number of times the corresponding advertisement content is used for the image information, and the content server provides the user with the image information. On the other hand, there is a provider billing unit that charges the provider of the advertisement content included in the image information, and the provider billing unit determines the provider billing amount according to the number of times of use.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the attached information includes a use history of the corresponding advertisement content for the image information, and the sub-advertisement content extraction unit is configured to execute the sub-advertisement based on the use history. Search for advertising content.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the auxiliary information includes a main advertisement content restriction condition for restricting the main advertisement content that can use the advertisement content corresponding to the accessory information as the sub-advertisement content. And the sub-advertisement content extracting means searches the sub-advertisement content based on the main advertisement content restriction condition.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the content server charges the provider of the advertising content included in the image information for providing the image information to the user. And the provider billing means determines a provider billing amount according to the presence / absence of the main advertisement content restriction condition in the attached information.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the auxiliary information restricts the sub-advertising content that can be extracted when the advertising content corresponding to the auxiliary information is the main advertising content. The sub-advertisement content extraction unit includes a restriction condition, and searches for the sub-advertisement content based on the sub-advertisement content restriction condition.

  In another image information providing system according to the present invention, the content server charges the provider of the advertisement content included in the image information for providing the image information to the user. And the provider billing unit determines a provider billing amount according to the presence / absence of the sub-advertisement content restriction condition in the attached information.

  An image information providing method according to the present invention generates image information including advertising content in response to a user request and provides the user with the content storing step of storing pre-rasterized advertising content; Attached information storing step for storing attached information for each advertisement content, a main advertisement content extracting step for extracting main advertisement content according to the user's request from the content storage means, and sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content A sub-advertisement content extracting step for searching based on the attached information and extracting from the content storage means, and an image information generating step for generating the image information by combining raster data representing the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content, respectively. And having.

  The image information providing system control program according to the present invention includes a content server that generates image information including advertisement content according to a user request, and the user request is transmitted to the content server and received from the content server. A program for controlling an image information providing system having a terminal device that outputs image information, a content accumulation procedure for accumulating pre-rasterized advertising content in a computer that controls the content server, and each advertising content An auxiliary information storage procedure for storing the auxiliary advertisement content, a main advertisement content extraction procedure for extracting the main advertisement content corresponding to the user's request from the content storage means, and a sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content as the auxiliary information. Search based on the content And sub-advertising content extraction procedure to retrieve from the storage means, and image information generating step of generating the image information by synthesizing the raster data, each representing the advertiser content and the sub-advertising content, is executed.

  According to the present invention, the main advertisement content requested by the user and the sub-advertisement content provided in combination with the content are rasterized in advance and stored in the content storage unit. Image information is generated using advertising content stored in the content storage means, and each of these advertising content is already at least partially rasterized, so that the processing load of image information generation after receiving a user request Is reduced and TAT is shortened. Also, when searching for sub-advertisement content, the sub-advertisement content that the user is interested in is estimated based on the attached information for each advertisement content. As described above, the TAT shortening and the selection of the sub-advertisement content in consideration of the user's interest make the image information providing service easy to be used by the user, and the added advertisement is easily provided to the user. An image information providing system in which the advertising effect of the advertising content is improved is realized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image information providing system according to the present invention. This system stores information contents (advertisement contents) that are intended to be distributed to the world by content providers (content provider companies, etc.) such as information on products and services, stores that provide them, and the like. It is provided in response to a request, and includes the content server 2 and the terminal device 4. The content server 2 includes a content storage unit 6, a content database 8, a user information database 10, an image processing unit 12, a content distribution processing unit 14, and a billing processing unit 16.

  The user operates the terminal device 4 to acquire the image information of the advertising content from the content server 2. The terminal device 4 is, for example, a multi-function device installed in a convenience store or the like, and a device (for example, a system including a personal computer and a printer) that is placed in a user's home or office and enables remote printing from the content server 2 It is. These terminal devices 4 are connected to the content server 2 through a communication line such as the Internet so that they can communicate with each other.

  The content storage unit 6 of the content server 2 is a content storage unit that stores advertisement content provided by a content provider. For example, the advertisement content is provided in the form of non-raster data such as vector data from the content provider, and is rasterized by the image processing unit 12 and then stored in the content storage unit 6. Here, the rasterizing process in the image processing unit 12 may completely rasterize each advertisement content, or may be partial.

  Here, it is preferable to perform rasterization in accordance with the resolution of the terminal device 4 that prints the generated raster data. Therefore, when a plurality of types of terminal devices 4 having different resolutions are connected to the content server 2, for example, the image processing unit 12 converts the entire advertising content into a plurality of raster data corresponding to each resolution. Each of them can be configured to be stored in the content storage unit 6. In addition, as an example of performing partial rasterization, the image processing unit 12 rasterizes only elements (for example, text portions) whose resolution is relatively less important among elements included in the advertisement content with a representative single resolution. In addition, a configuration is conceivable in which data in which a portion (for example, a photograph of a product or the like) that is required to be printed with a good resolution is left as it is without being rasterized is generated. In this case, the partially rasterized data need only be prepared, for example, regardless of the resolution type of the terminal device 4, and can be used in common by a plurality of terminal devices 4 having different printing resolutions. . At this time, a portion that has not been rasterized by the content server 2 is rasterized in accordance with its own print resolution by each terminal device 4, for example.

  The content provider can provide a plurality of types of advertisement content with different amounts of information and formats for the same product or the like. For example, as advertisement content provided for a product or the like for which the user intends to acquire information, an image (main advertisement content) that includes a relatively large area on a printed sheet and includes a large amount of information is prepared. As ancillary advertisement content provided to the user in addition to the main advertisement content, an image (sub-advertisement content) in which the main advertisement content is simplified and expressed in a smaller size is prepared, both of which are stored in the content storage unit 6. Stored in

  The content database 8 is attached information storage means for storing attached information for each advertisement content. The content database 8 includes information related to the provider of the corresponding advertising content and information identifying whether the advertising content is the main advertising content or the secondary advertising content. It is possible to store information related to usage history such as genres to be used, keywords, and the number of times the advertising content is used.

  Furthermore, when the corresponding advertisement content is the main advertisement content, the content database 8 includes a condition (sub-advertisement content restriction condition) for limiting the sub-advertisement content that can be added to the main advertisement content, and the corresponding advertisement content. In the case of sub-advertisement content, a condition (main advertisement content restriction condition) for restricting the main advertisement content to which the sub-advertisement content can be added can also be stored. For example, if the content provider thinks that the advertising effect cannot be expected so much even if it is provided to the user in combination, the main advertisement content restriction is prohibited so that the combination of such main advertisement content and secondary advertisement content is prohibited. Conditions and sub-advertisement content restriction conditions can be registered. On the other hand, for example, when a content provider thinks that a high advertising effect can be expected due to a synergistic effect or the like when provided to a user in combination, such a main advertisement content and a secondary advertisement content are given priority. As combined, the main advertisement content restriction condition and the sub advertisement content restriction condition can be registered.

  The user information database 10 stores information related to the user, for example, the user's sex, age, and preference. The user can pre-register information about the user when using the system, and the content server 2 uses the user information when searching for advertising content, which will be described later. The result can be provided. The registration of user information can be arbitrary.

  As described above, the image processing unit 12 can rasterize the advertising content.

  The content distribution processing unit 14 receives a user request input from the terminal device 4. The main advertisement content extraction unit 20 of the content distribution processing unit 14 searches the content storage unit 6 for the main advertisement content in response to the request while referring to the auxiliary information stored in the content database 8, and extracts the sub advertisement content. Similarly, the unit 22 searches the content storage unit 6 for sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content while referring to the information in the content database 8. The image information generation unit 24 lays out the main advertisement content and the sub advertisement content within a predetermined paper size, and generates image information. Then, the content distribution processing unit 14 transmits the generated image information to the requesting terminal device 4.

  The billing processing unit 16 determines a charge to be charged according to the benefit received by the user of the system. The user billing unit 30 determines a fee for providing a print of image information to the user, and the provider billing unit 32 determines a fee required of the content provider for advertising to the user. Details of these will be described later.

  The content server 2 can be configured using, for example, a computer, and the operation and processing in each unit can be realized by executing a program.

  Next, the operation of this system will be described. First, an operation in which the content server 2 that receives a request from the user provides advertisement content will be described.

  The user operates the terminal device 4 to specify a provider such as a product, a keyword such as a name, a model number, and a genre, and requests the content server 2 to print out information related to the product. Here, a case where the user requests product information of the digital camera of company A will be described as an example. In this request, the content server 2 can be configured to allow the user to select whether or not to add the sub-advertisement content to the main advertisement content.

  When the content distribution processing unit 14 receives the request, the main advertisement content extracting unit 20 searches the content database 8 based on the designated keyword, specifies the target main advertisement content, and specifies the specified main advertisement content. Is taken out from the content storage unit 6. When the user designates the addition of the sub-advertisement content, the sub-advertisement content extraction unit 22 searches the content database 8 based on the keyword designated for the main advertisement content search and relates to the main advertisement content. The sub-advertisement content is specified, and the specified sub-advertisement content is extracted from the content storage unit 6. For example, the sub-advertisement content extraction unit 22 extracts sub-advertisement content related to a digital camera of another company corresponding to the keyword “digital camera”. If the type of memory card used in the digital camera is stored in the content database 8 as attached information corresponding to the main advertising content related to the digital camera of Company A, the sub-advertisement content extracting unit 22 stores the type of memory. Sub-advertisement content related to the card can be taken out.

  For example, the image information generation unit 24 generates image information so that the main advertisement content is arranged at the top of the sheet at the time of printing, and the sub advertisement content is arranged subsequently. The generated image information is distributed to the terminal device 4, printed out at the terminal device 4, and provided to the user.

  When the user is a person registered in the user information database 10, the user operates the terminal device 4 and inputs his / her identification information (for example, a nomination, a registration number, and a personal identification number). The content distribution processing unit 14 performs user authentication based on the identification information, and the main advertisement content extraction unit 20 and the secondary advertisement content extraction unit 22 refer to information registered in the user information database 10 regarding the authenticated user. Thus, the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content can be searched. For example, if the popularity level for each age group and sex is registered in the content database 8 as attached information for each of the digital cameras of company A, the main advertisement content extraction unit 20 determines the age and sex of the requested user. The main advertising content of popular models can be extracted. For example, if “camera” is registered as a user's hobby, information on a relatively high-function digital camera such as a large number of shooting modes or a high degree of freedom of exposure adjustment can be extracted as sub-advertisement content. .

  In addition, for example, sub-advertisement content restriction conditions for prohibiting the addition of sub-advertisement content related to digital cameras of other companies are registered in the content database 8 as information attached to the digital camera of company A searched as the main advertisement content. If it is, the sub-advertisement content extraction unit 22 searches for the sub-advertisement content within a range that satisfies the restriction condition. In this case, for example, the sub-advertisement content of a digital camera of another model of company A is taken out.

  On the other hand, as ancillary information of the digital camera of company A, for example, a sub-advertisement content restriction condition that preferentially adds a sub-advertisement content related to the camera accessory can be registered in the content database 8.

  In addition, when sub-advertising content is provided to the user, the sub-advertising content provider is charged as an advertising fee. There may be a request to select content. The main advertisement content restriction condition can be set and used in such a case.

  The user billing unit 30 in the billing processing unit 16 is notified from the content distribution processing unit 14 that the image information can be distributed, taking into consideration the number of prints, the presence / absence of sub-advertisement content, and the like. , Calculate the fee. The fee is presented to the user before distributing the image information. For example, in the terminal device 4 installed in a convenience store or the like, when the user pays the fee, the content distribution processing unit 14 that receives the notification from the terminal device 4 sends the generated image information to the terminal device 4. To deliver. In addition, when the user's charge debiting account or the like is registered in the user information database 10 in advance, the user billing unit 30 receives the notification that the user has approved the payment of the charge, Charging is performed, and the content distribution processing unit 14 distributes the image information to the terminal device 4.

  On the other hand, the provider billing unit 32 performs a billing process for the content provider who provided the advertisement content provided to the user.

  The main advertisement content extraction unit 20 and the sub-advertisement content extraction unit 22 update the usage history information such as the number of usages recorded in the content database 8 for the extracted advertisement content.

  In the present system, for example, when the image information of the main advertisement content is provided in response to the user's request, the sub advertisement content can be provided together. Since this secondary advertisement content is selected based on the content database 8, it is possible to expect a suitable advertising effect for the provider of the secondary advertisement content. For example, the provider billing unit 32 may be configured to charge the sub-advertisement content provider every time the sub-advertisement content is used, for example, as consideration for providing a suitable advertisement opportunity. By charging the sub-advertisement content provider in this way, the usage fee of the user when selecting to add the sub-advertisement content can be set lower than the charge when selecting not to add. .

  Further, considering that the main advertisement content may be a kind of commercial advertisement, the main advertisement content provider may be charged. For example, the usage fee when the user takes out the main advertisement content at the terminal device 4 which is a multifunction device can be set lower than the fee when the user copies the document with the multifunction device.

  The billing for the content provider can be set so as to increase according to the number of times the advertising content is used. As described above, the billing according to the actual number of advertisements reduces the cost-effective risk of the content provider as compared to a relatively high flat fee regardless of the number of advertisements. The increase in billing according to the number of uses can be non-linear. For example, in view of the fact that as the number of uses increases, the profit of the operator (print service company, etc.) of the system can increase, the amount of charge per step can be lowered step by step as the number of uses increases. . Substantially the same billing can be realized by a method of giving a back margin from the print service company to the content provider according to the number of uses.

  The content provider may be requested to pay a basic registration fee for each advertising content registered in the content storage unit 6. Further, depending on the number of keywords registered in the content database 8, etc., a difference may be provided in the basic registration fee, or an additional registration fee may be set. In particular, the content provider can enjoy merits by setting the main advertisement content restriction condition and the sub-advertisement content restriction condition. In this case, the registration fee may be set higher than when the conditions are not set.

  The print service company can provide information on the usage history of the advertisement content recorded in the content database 8, and this service can be charged. For example, it is possible to provide information such as what is a popular product in a certain product field, and what kind of main advertisement content is added to the content provider's sub-advertisement content.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image information providing system according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  2 content server, 4 terminal device, 6 content storage unit, 8 content database, 10 user information database, 12 image processing unit, 14 content distribution processing unit, 16 billing processing unit, 20 main advertisement content extraction unit, 22 sub-advertisement content extraction Part, 24 image information generation part, 30 user billing part, 32 provider billing part.

Claims (11)

An image comprising: a content server that generates image information including advertising content in response to a user request; and a terminal device that transmits the user request to the content server and outputs the image information received from the content server. An information providing system,
The content server
Content storage means for storing pre-rasterized advertising content;
Adjunct information storage means for storing adjunct information for each advertising content;
Main advertisement content extraction means for extracting main advertisement content in response to the user's request from the content storage means;
Sub-advertisement content extracting means for searching for sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content based on the attached information and extracting from the content storage means;
Image information generating means for generating the image information by combining raster data representing the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content respectively;
A system for providing image information, comprising: The image information providing system according to claim 1,
The content server has user information storage means for storing user information for each user,
The sub-advertisement content extracting means searches the sub-advertisement content based on the attached information and the user information;
A system for providing image information. In the image information providing system according to claim 1 or 2,
The terminal device has sub-advertisement content presence / absence specifying means for specifying whether to include the sub-advertisement content in the image information in response to a request from the user,
The content server
A user charging means for charging the user when the image information is provided to the user;
The user billing means determines a user billing amount according to the presence or absence of the sub-advertisement content in the image information provided to the user;
A system for providing image information. The image information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The attached information includes the number of times the corresponding advertising content has been used for the image information,
The content server
A provider charging unit that charges the provider of the advertising content included in the image information for providing the image information to the user;
The provider billing means determines a provider billing amount according to the number of times of use;
A system for providing image information. In the image information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The attached information includes a usage history of the corresponding advertising content to the image information,
The sub-advertisement content extracting means searches the sub-advertisement content based on the usage history;
A system for providing image information. In the image information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The attached information includes a main advertisement content restriction condition for restricting the main advertisement content that can use the advertisement content corresponding to the attached information as the sub-advertisement content,
The sub-advertisement content extracting means searches the sub-advertisement content based on the main advertisement content restriction condition;
A system for providing image information. The image information providing system according to claim 6,
The content server
A provider charging unit that charges the provider of the advertising content included in the image information for providing the image information to the user;
The provider billing means determines a provider billing amount according to the presence or absence of the main advertisement content restriction condition in the attached information;
A system for providing image information. The image information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The auxiliary information includes a sub-advertisement content restriction condition that restricts the sub-advertisement content that can be extracted when the advertising content corresponding to the auxiliary information is the main advertising content.
The sub-advertisement content extracting means searches the sub-advertisement content based on the sub-advertisement content restriction condition;
A system for providing image information. The image information providing system according to claim 8,
The content server
A provider charging unit that charges the provider of the advertising content included in the image information for providing the image information to the user;
The provider billing means determines a provider billing amount according to the presence or absence of the sub-advertisement content restriction condition in the attached information;
A system for providing image information. An image information providing method for generating image information including advertising content in response to a user request and providing the user with the image information,
A content accumulation step for accumulating pre-rasterized advertising content;
Attached information storage step for storing attached information for each advertising content;
A main advertisement content extraction step for extracting the main advertisement content according to the user's request from the content storage means;
A sub-advertisement content extraction step for searching for sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content based on the attached information and extracting it from the content storage means;
An image information generating step for generating the image information by combining raster data representing the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content, respectively;
A method for providing image information, comprising: An image comprising: a content server that generates image information including advertising content in response to a user request; and a terminal device that transmits the user request to the content server and outputs the image information received from the content server. A program for controlling the information providing system, the computer controlling the content server,
A content storage procedure for storing pre-rasterized advertising content;
Attached information storage procedure for storing attached information for each advertising content;
A main advertisement content extraction procedure for retrieving from the content storage means main advertisement content according to the user's request;
A sub-advertisement content extraction procedure for retrieving the sub-advertisement content related to the main advertisement content based on the attached information and retrieving it from the content storage means;
An image information generation procedure for generating the image information by combining raster data representing the main advertisement content and the sub-advertisement content, respectively;
An image information providing system control program for executing

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