JP2006031735A - Additional information printing support system, server, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To synthesize and print additional information related to document information in a margin area of a paper medium for printing the document information acquired via a network. <P>SOLUTION: A user terminal calculates the size of the margin area for deciding a synthesized information size. Then, connection with an advertisement information providing server is made by using an address stored in association with the document information for transmitting advertisement request information. In receipt of advertisement information related to the document information from the advertisement information providing server after output of the advertisement request information, the user terminal creates print information formed by combining the document information and the acquired advertisement information together. The user terminal prints the created print information by means of an output device. Accordingly, the additional information related to the document information can be composed to be printed in the margin area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an additional information printing support system, an additional information printing support server, an additional information printing support method, and additional information capable of printing additional information in a remaining area of a paper medium on which document information acquired via a network is printed. The present invention relates to an additional information printing support program for causing a computer to execute processing for printing or supporting printing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a user who browses and collects information using the Internet browses and prints information posted on a Web page established on the Internet. Most of the information posted on the Web page includes internal advertisement information called a banner advertisement. Therefore, when the web page publication information is printed, the publication information including the banner advertisement is printed.

JP-A-8-256256

  However, since the banner advertisement is merely a finding, it is difficult to express in detail the object to be advertised such as a product or service. Therefore, a wider space is required to advertise with a wide range of contents, but if an extra paper medium is used for the advertisement, there is a disadvantage for the user who performed the printing. In addition, since a page on which only an advertisement is posted can be discarded immediately after printing, there is a possibility that the advertisement method may be inefficient. As described above, there is a problem that it is difficult to efficiently add advertisement information without penalizing the user when the information posted on the Web page is printed.

  When the information posted on the Web page is printed, a margin with some space may be formed on the last page or the like. For example, there is an image forming system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-133260 that synthesizes and prints advertisement information in the margin area of such document information. However, the image forming system described above is assumed to be applied to a copying apparatus, and is intended to meet the needs of users of the copying apparatus. Needs are not considered. In the image forming system described above, the advertisement information is synthesized regardless of the interest of the user who wants to utilize the information posted on the web page, so that it may not be an effective advertisement but may become an inefficient advertisement. There is. Therefore, the problem that it is difficult to efficiently add advertisement information without penalizing the user when the information posted on the Web page is printed has not been solved.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to synthesize and print additional information related to document information in a surplus area of a paper medium on which document information acquired via a network is printed. And

  An additional information printing support system according to the present invention includes a server (for example, advertisement information providing server 40) that provides additional information (for example, advertisement information) to be added to document information including insertion information (for example, banner advertisement), A terminal device (for example, a user terminal 20) connected to the server via a network, and the terminal device displays display means (for example, realized by the display device of the user terminal 20) for displaying document information; Request information (for example, advertisement request information) including insertion information specifying information (for example, a URL of a banner advertisement posted in the document information) for specifying insertion information to be displayed by being included in the document information by means. Terminal side transmission means for transmitting to the server (for example, by the CPU and network interface unit of the user terminal 20 operating according to the program And means for creating print information in which the additional information received from the server is combined with the remaining area of the medium (for example, paper medium) on which the document information is printed (for example, the user terminal 20 operating according to the program). The server includes storage means (for example, database 41) for storing additional information in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information, and request information from the terminal device. When received, the additional information selecting means (for example, the CPU of the advertisement information providing server 40 operating in accordance with the program) selects additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage means. And server-side transmission means for transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device (for example, according to a program) Characterized in that it comprises a to) and implemented by the CPU and a network interface unit of the advertisement information providing server 40.

  The additional information printing support system includes a server that provides additional information to be added to document information including insertion information, and a terminal device connected to the server via a network. Display means for displaying, original information specifying information for specifying original information displayed by the display means (for example, URL of a page that is set as original information), and insertion information displayed in the original information are displayed. A terminal-side transmitting means for transmitting request information including insertion information specifying information for specifying to the server, and print information in which the additional information received from the server is combined with the remaining area of the medium on which the document information is printed. The server stores additional information in association with original information specifying information for specifying original information and insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information. When the request information is received from the storage means and the terminal device, additional information selection is performed to select additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storing means. And a server-side transmission unit that transmits the selected additional information to the terminal device.

  In the additional information printing support system, the terminal device further includes calculation means (for example, realized by the CPU of the user terminal 20 that operates according to a program) that calculates the size of the remaining area of the medium on which the document information is printed. The request information further includes the size of the remainder area calculated by the calculation means (for example, the combined information size), the storage means further stores additional information for each different size, and the additional information selection means further includes Additional information corresponding to the size of the remaining area included in the received request information may be selected.

  An additional information printing support server according to the present invention is connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network, and provides an additional information printing support server that provides additional information to be added to document information (for example, An advertisement information providing server 40), which stores the additional information in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information and the terminal device to be included in the manuscript information and displayed. Additional information for selecting additional information corresponding to the inserted information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage means when receiving the request information including the inserted information specifying information for specifying the inserted information In order to create the print information by combining the selection means and the selected additional information with the remainder area of the medium on which the document information on which the terminal information is displayed is printed. Characterized by comprising a server-side transmission unit that transmits to the end device.

  The additional information printing support server is an additional information printing support server that is connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network and provides additional information to be added to document information. Document information for specifying document information from a terminal device and storage means for storing additional information in association with document information specifying information for specifying document information and insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information When the request information including the information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included in the document information to be displayed on the terminal device is received, the additional information stored by the storage unit is changed to the received request information. The additional information selection means for selecting additional information corresponding to the included document information specifying information and insertion information specifying information, and the terminal device displays the selected additional information. To be the document information to create a synthesized print information too region of the medium to be printed, or may be provided with a server-side transmission unit that transmits to the terminal device.

  Further, in the additional information printing support server, the request information further includes the size of the surplus area calculated by the terminal device, the storage means further stores additional information for each different size, and the additional information selection means further includes The additional information corresponding to the size of the remaining area included in the received request information may be selected.

  The additional information printing support method according to the present invention is an additional information printing support method in which a server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information provides additional information to be added to the document information. The storage means stores the additional information in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information, and the additional information selection means is included in the document information from the terminal device to the terminal device. When request information including insertion information specifying information for specifying the displayed insertion information is received, additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information is selected from the additional information stored by the storage unit. The step and the server-side transmission means create print information in which the selected additional information is combined with the remaining area of the medium on which the document information on which the terminal information is displayed is printed. To, characterized in that it comprises a step of transmitting to the terminal device.

  The additional information printing support method is an additional information printing support method in which a server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information provides additional information to be added to the document information. The storage means stores the additional information in association with the original information specifying information for specifying the original information and the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information, and the additional information selecting means includes the terminal When request information including document information specifying information for specifying document information and insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information included in the document information and displayed on the terminal device is received from the apparatus, the storage means Selecting additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information to be stored; Includes a step of transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the remaining information on the medium on which the document information on which the additional information is displayed is printed. May be.

  An additional information printing support program according to the present invention causes a server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information to execute a procedure for providing additional information to be added to the document information. An additional information printing support program, in a computer having storage means, a procedure for storing additional information in the storage means in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information, and from a terminal device to a terminal When the request information including the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information to be displayed included in the document information is displayed on the apparatus, the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information is added from the additional information stored by the storage unit. The procedure for selecting the additional information corresponding to the information and the selected additional information are matched with the remaining area of the medium on which the document information on which the terminal information is displayed is printed. To create the print information, it is intended to execute a step of transmitting to the terminal device.

  The additional information printing support program is an addition for causing a server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information to execute a procedure for providing additional information to be added to the document information. An information printing support program, which corresponds to a computer having storage means, additional information, original information specifying information for specifying original information, and insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information. A request including the document information specifying information for specifying the document information and the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included in the document information and displayed on the terminal device. When the information is received, the additional information stored in the storage means is added to the information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information. A procedure for selecting information, and a procedure for transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the remaining information on the medium on which the document information on which the additional information is displayed is printed. May be executed.

  According to the additional information printing support system of the present invention, the server includes a server that provides additional information to be added to document information including insertion information, and a terminal device connected to the server via a network. In addition, the terminal device includes a display unit that displays document information, and a terminal side that transmits request information including insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information included in the document information displayed by the display unit to the server. Transmission means and means for creating print information by combining the additional information received from the server with the remainder area of the medium on which the document information is printed. Furthermore, the server receives the additional information from the additional information stored in the storage unit when receiving the request information from the storage unit that stores the additional information in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information. Additional information selection means for selecting additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the request information, and server-side transmission means for transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device. With such a configuration, it is possible to print additional information related to the document information that the user is interested in in the remaining area. Therefore, it is possible to provide additional information that meets the needs of the user who wants to utilize the document information acquired via the network.

  Further, according to the additional information printing support server of the present invention, the additional information printing support that provides additional information to be added to the document information connected to the terminal device that displays the document information including the insertion information through the network. A storage means for storing additional information in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information; and specifying insertion information to be displayed on the terminal device included in the document information from the terminal device Receiving the request information including the insertion information specifying information for selecting the additional information selecting means for selecting the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storing means; The server side that transmits the additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the remaining information on the medium on which the document information on which the additional information is displayed is printed And a signal means. With such a configuration, it is possible to print additional information related to the document information that the user is interested in in the remaining area. Therefore, it is possible to provide additional information that meets the needs of the user who wants to utilize the document information acquired via the network.

  Further, according to the additional information printing support method of the present invention, the server connected via the network to the terminal device that displays the document information including the insertion information provides additional information to be added to the document information. In the printing support method, the storage unit stores the additional information in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information, and the additional information selection unit stores the document information from the terminal device to the terminal device. When the request information including the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included and displayed is received, the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information is added from the additional information stored by the storage unit. A step of selecting information, and a print in which the server-side transmission means combines the selected additional information with a remainder area of the medium on which the document information on which the terminal information is displayed is printed To create a broadcast, because it is intended to include a step of transmitting to the terminal device, the user can be printed in an area much additional information relating to the document information that may be interested. Therefore, it is possible to provide additional information that meets the needs of the user who wants to utilize the document information acquired via the network.

  Further, according to the additional information printing support program of the present invention, a procedure for providing additional information to be added to the document information to a server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information. An additional information printing support program for execution, a procedure for storing additional information in a storage means in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying insertion information in a storage means, and a terminal When request information including insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included in the document information displayed on the terminal device is received from the apparatus, the request information is included in the received request information from the additional information stored in the storage unit. The procedure for selecting additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information, and the remainder of the medium on which the document information on which the terminal device displays the additional information is printed. In order to create print information synthesized in the area, a procedure for transmitting to the terminal device is executed, so that additional information related to the document information that the user is interested in can be printed in the remaining area. . Therefore, it is possible to provide additional information that meets the needs of the user who wants to utilize the document information acquired via the network.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the additional information printing system 10 of this example. The additional information printing system 10 includes a user terminal 20, a WWW (World Wide Web) server 30, and an advertisement information providing server 40. The user terminal 20, the WWW server 30, and the advertisement information providing server 40 are each connected to a communication network 50 such as the Internet. Note that any number of user terminals 20 and WWW servers 30 may be connected to the network 50.

  The user terminal 20 is configured by an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, for example, and is managed by a user who browses and collects information using the network 50. The user terminal 20 has an environment (an environment in hardware and software) in which connection to the network 50 and transmission / reception of information using the network 50 can be performed.

  The WWW server 30 is configured by an information processing device such as a workstation server. In this example, the WWW server 30 has various functions such as a function for managing information on member users. In this example, the WWW server 30 operates a web page for providing various information to member users, and provides various information by the web page. The WWW server 30 has a database 31 for storing various information posted on the Web page, member information, and the like.

  In this example, the WWW server 30 manages each user using character string information for identifying a user called Cookie. Here, a process in the case of performing user management using Cookie will be briefly described. First, the WWW server 30 generates a cookie and transmits the cookie to each user terminal (for example, the user terminal 20, specifically, a browser installed in the terminal) managed by the member user. When the cookie is acquired, each user terminal saves a file (cookie file) in which the cookie is stored. When accessing the WWW server 30, each user terminal transmits a cookie file using a browser function installed in the user terminal. Then, the WWW server 30 recognizes information about the user from the acquired cookie file. Since the information about each user can be recognized in this way, the WWW server 30 can grasp the latest user information, for example, according to the attribute of each user called a customized service. Services can be provided.

  The advertisement information providing server 40 is configured by an information processing device such as a workstation server. The advertisement information providing server 40 has various functions such as a function of providing additional information (advertisement information in this example). Further, the advertisement information providing server 40 has a database 41 for storing additional information and various types of information (see FIG. 6) used for selecting additional information to be provided. Note that the WWW server 30 and the advertisement information providing server 40 may be configured by the same server.

  Next, information acquisition processing in the additional information printing system 10 of this example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing an example of information acquisition processing and processing timing in the additional information printing system 10 of this example. Here, it is assumed that the user A who manages the user terminal 20 performs processing for acquiring information provided by the WWW server 30. Note that user A is a member user who has previously registered personal information by presenting personal information and can browse a Web page operated by the WWW server 30. In the information acquisition process of this example, as shown below, the address of the advertisement information providing server 40 managed by the additional information provider affiliated with the administrator of the WWW server 30 is associated with the acquired page. Then, processing stored in the user terminal 20 is executed.

  In the information acquisition process, the user terminal 20 accesses the WWW server 30 via the network 50 according to the operation of the user A, and the home page of the web page provided by the WWW server 30 (the first page of the web page). Thus, for example, a request to obtain a table of contents for the entire Web page is made (step S201).

  Upon receiving a homepage acquisition request from the user terminal 20, the WWW server 30 receives information on the homepage of the web page operated by itself, and in this example, the address of the advertisement information providing server 40 (for example, URL (Uniform Resource Locator)). Is transmitted to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S202).

  When receiving the information from the WWW server 30, the user terminal 20 displays the home page on a display screen of a display device (not shown) based on the acquired information about the home page, and stores the acquired address of the advertisement information providing server 40. (Step S203). The acquired address of the advertisement information providing server 40 is stored in association with the URL of the home page. Then, the user A operates the user terminal 20 and browses the home page displayed on the display screen. In addition, when the user A performs an operation for acquiring information related to another page (for example, a mouse click operation for pressing an acquisition button for the next page), the user terminal 20 makes a user access to the WWW server 30. An acquisition request for information on a new page desired by A is made (step S204).

  When receiving an acquisition request for a new page from the user terminal 20, the WWW server 30 provides information about the requested page and an address of a provider of additional information related to the page (in this example, the advertisement information providing server 40). Are transmitted to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S205). As described above, in this example, the provider of the additional information related to each page of the Web page operated by the WWW server 30 is configured to be the advertisement information providing server 40. However, the additional information depends on the page. It is good also as a structure from which a provider of differs.

  Upon reception of information from the WWW server 30, the user terminal 20 displays the page on a display screen of a display device (not shown) based on the acquired information about the page, and also provides the acquired additional information provider (in this example). The address of the advertisement information providing server 40) is stored (step S206). Then, the user A operates the user terminal 20 and browses a new page displayed on the display screen. By repeatedly executing the processing as described above, the page is updated, and the address of the page and the provider of the additional information is stored. Each address is a storage means (not shown) such as a hard disk provided in the user terminal 20 in a state where the acquired page address is associated with the address of the additional information provider acquired together with the page. Saved).

  Next, the additional information composition printing process by the additional information printing system 10 of this example will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the additional information synthesis printing process by the user terminal 20 of this example (specifically, a browser installed in the user terminal 20). The additional information synthesis printing process illustrated in FIG. 3 includes, for example, an intention to perform a printing process by the user A (for example, a press operation of a print button provided in a browser installed in the user terminal 20). To be started. Here, a case where advertisement information is used as additional information will be described as an example.

  In the additional information composite printing process, when the user A performs settings related to printing (Y in step S301), the user A operates the user terminal 20 to perform print settings (step S302). In the print settings, for example, various settings relating to printing such as a page to be printed, a paper size, a printing direction (vertical, horizontal, etc.), vertical and horizontal margins, and selection of color / monochrome are performed. In this example, information posted on a page to be printed is referred to as “document information”.

  When the print setting is not necessary (when the already set contents may be sufficient), or after the print setting is finished at step S302, the intention display of print execution by the user A (for example, a browser installed in the user terminal 20) (Step S303: Y), the user terminal 20 creates a print image based on the contents of the determined print settings, and creates a margin area (print paper). When the document information is printed, the size of the area where nothing is printed on the printing paper is calculated (step S304). In this example, the margin size of the lower part of the last sheet of printing paper on which document information is printed is calculated, and the maximum size that can be combined among a plurality of types of combined information sizes set in advance. The size is determined as a composite size (step S304). In this example, for example, a plurality of types of composite information sizes such as 180 [mm] × 30 [mm], 180 [mm] × 60 [mm], 180 [mm] × 90 [mm] are set in advance. For example, when the above three types of composite information sizes are set, and it is calculated that there is a margin area of 180 [mm] × 75 [mm], the maximum that can be included in this margin area The size of 180 [mm] × 60 [mm] is determined as the composite information size.

  When the composite information size is determined, the user terminal 20 uses the address of the source of the additional information stored corresponding to the document information (for example, the address of the advertisement information providing server 40 stored in step S206). In the example, connection is made to the advertisement information providing server 40, and advertisement request information including the address of the document information and the determined composite information size is transmitted via the network 50 (step S305). The connection to the advertisement information providing server 40 is not performed by the operation of the user A, but is automatically executed by the function of the user terminal 20 (specifically, the function of the browser installed in the user terminal 20). .

  In this example, the advertisement request information includes information for specifying document information (document specification information: for example, URL of a page that is set as document information), and a banner advertisement included in the document information. Information (for example, the URL of the banner advertisement posted in the manuscript information), information for specifying the banner advertisement that has been viewed (viewed information: for example, clicked, and it is acknowledged that the user A has browsed Banner information), information for specifying the combined information size, and information for acquiring user attributes from the WWW server 30 (user identifier: user ID, for example). The advertisement request information is configured, for example, as “document specifying information / information for specifying the combined information size, URL of the banner advertisement posted in the document information, browsed information, user identifier”.

  When the advertisement request information is output, the user terminal 20 waits to receive advertisement information from the advertisement information providing server 40, and performs a process of monitoring whether the advertisement information has been acquired (step S306). When the user terminal 20 acquires the advertisement information transmitted in the advertisement information selection process (specifically, the process of step S506, step S511, step S516, or step S518) described later (Y in step S306), Print information is created by combining the document information and the acquired advertisement information (step S307). In this case, the advertisement information is combined in the blank area. Then, the user terminal 20 prints the created print information using an output device (for example, a printer) (step S308).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a state of a print sheet on which print information is printed. FIG. 4 shows an example of the state of the last sheet of printing paper on which printing information has been printed in the printing process of step S308. As shown in FIG. 4, in this example, the advertisement information is printed in the blank area below the area where the document information is printed on the last sheet of printing paper. FIG. 4 shows a state where three banner advertisements are printed.

  Next, additional information selection processing by the additional information printing system 10 of this example will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of additional information selection processing executed by the advertisement information providing server 40. The additional information selection process illustrated in FIG. 5 is executed in response to the advertisement information providing server 40 obtaining the advertisement request information output by the user terminal 20 in step S305 described above. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of various types of information stored in the database 41 of the advertisement information providing server 40.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the database 41 stores various types of information divided into a plurality of advertisement information groups. Various types of information shown in FIG. 6 are registered in advance by the administrator of the advertisement information providing server 40. The advertisement information group is specified by information for specifying document information included in the advertisement request information (URL of a page used as document information) and a combined information size. For example, the advertisement request information includes document information “www.xyz.com/abc.html” and information indicating that the combined information size is “width 180 [mm], height 30 [mm]”. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6, the advertisement information group 1 is specified by the information.

  Each advertisement information group is associated with a plurality of advertisement information. Each advertisement information belonging to each advertisement information group includes information related to corresponding manuscript information (manuscript information set in the advertisement information group to which the user belongs. The same applies to other information hereinafter). ing. For example, each advertisement information corresponding to manuscript information in which a description about a car is included includes information related to a car such as an advertisement about new car sales, an advertisement about used car sales, and an advertisement about car insurance. In addition, each advertisement information belonging to the advertisement information group is created in a corresponding size.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each advertisement information group is associated with a rotation counter that is used to determine advertisement information to be combined from the advertisement information group. Further, each advertisement information is associated with a banner interlocking flag, interlocking banner information, a browsed posting flag, a user search flag, and attribute information. Each advertisement information has a predetermined order of selection as advertisement information to be combined in the corresponding advertisement information group (not necessarily selected in order).

  The banner interlocking flag is information indicating whether or not the advertisement information is added in conjunction with the banner advertisement published in the manuscript information. Linked banner information is information (for example, URL of the banner advertisement published in the manuscript information) for specifying the banner advertisement published in the corresponding manuscript information, and corresponds to the advertisement information related to the banner advertisement. It is attached. The browsed publication flag is a flag indicating whether or not to add the advertisement information when the banner advertisement specified by the corresponding linked banner information has been browsed by the user. When the user browses the banner advertisement set in the linked banner information, if the user wants to add the advertisement information, the viewed publication flag is set to ON.

  The user search flag is a flag indicating that the attribute information of the user is searched and the advertisement information is added when they match. The attribute information is information indicating an attribute of a user who is a notification target of the corresponding advertisement information. For example, the region is set in the attribute information corresponding to the advertisement information that is effective to notify the user in a specific region. Further, for example, the target age is set in the attribute information corresponding to the advertisement information that is effective to be notified to the user of a specific age. Note that the area and age are examples, and various classifications such as hobbies, sexes, and occupations may be set as attributes.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the advertisement information selection process, the advertisement information providing server 40 identifies an advertisement information group based on the document specifying information and the combined information size included in the received advertisement request information (step S501). . For example, if the advertisement request information includes document specifying information “www.xyz.com/abc.html” and a combined information size of “width 180 [mm], height 30 [mm]”, The advertisement information group 1 is specified (see FIG. 6). Next, it is confirmed whether or not there is advertisement information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter of the specified advertisement information group (step S502). When the value of the rotation counter exceeds the maximum value of the order of the advertisement information belonging to the advertisement information group, and there is no advertisement information having the corresponding order (for example, the value of the rotation counter of the advertisement information group 1 is 6) If it is, the value of the rotation counter is returned to 1 (step S503), and the process of step S502 is executed again. If there is advertisement information corresponding to the value of the counter for rotation, the user search flag (for example, if the value of the counter for rotation is “3”, it is associated with the advertisement information whose order is “3”. Whether or not the user search flag is on) is checked (step S504).

  If the user search flag is not on (N in step S504), the process proceeds to a process of checking the browsed posting flag (step S506). If the user search flag is on (Y in step S504), the attribute information corresponding to the user attribute information and the value indicated by the rotation counter (for example, if the value of the rotation counter is “3”, the order It becomes the attribute information associated with the advertisement information whose is “3”.) (Step S505). The user attribute information is a database that the advertisement information providing server 40 accesses the WWW server 30 using, for example, the URL of the WWW server 30 included in the advertisement request information, and uses the user identification information included in the advertisement request information. It acquires by acquiring the attribute information of the user who becomes the object stored in 31, or by acquiring the attribute information of the user stored in the Cookie file of the user terminal 20.

  When the attribute of the user does not match the attribute information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter (for example, the age of 16 years is indicated in the user attribute and the target age of 18 years or older is indicated in the attribute of the advertisement information) If it is shown) (N in step S505), after adding 1 to the value of the rotation counter (step S512), it is checked whether the rotation counter has made a full turn (step S513). That is, it is confirmed whether or not all or some of steps S502 to S509 have been executed for all the advertisement information belonging to the advertisement information group specified in step S501. More specifically, in this example, whether or not the rotation counter has made a round is determined by checking that the value indicated by the rotation counter is the same as the value when the advertisement information group is specified in step S501. It is done by checking whether or not. If the rotation counter has not yet made a round (N in step S513), the process proceeds to step S502 described above.

  When the attribute of the user matches the attribute information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter (for example, the age of 30 years is indicated in the user attribute and the target age of 18 years or older is indicated in the attribute of the advertisement information) In the case where it is shown) (Y in step S505), the process proceeds to a process of confirming the browsed posting flag (step S506).

  As described above, in this example, even when the attribute of the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter matches the attribute of the user, the advertisement information is not selected as additional information by itself. However, when the attribute of the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter matches the attribute of the user, the advertisement information may be selected as additional information without depending on other conditions. In this case, if it is determined in step S505 that the attributes match each other (Y in step S505), the process may be shifted to step S510 described later. If comprised in this way, in the advertisement information selection process comprised by step S501-step S505, step S510-step S513, the advertisement information provision server 40 will be the attribute corresponding to the value of the rotation counter of the specified advertisement information group. Is the attribute that matches the user's attribute, and if it matches the user's attribute, the corresponding advertisement information is selected as additional information, and the process of transmitting to the user terminal 20 is executed. Will be able to.

  When the user search flag corresponding to the rotation counter value of the advertisement information group identified in step S501 is not on (N in step S504), or the user search flag is on and the attribute of the corresponding advertisement information If (the attribute corresponding to the value of the counter for rotation) matches the attribute of the user (Y in step S505), the browsing completed corresponding to the value indicated by the counter for rotation of the advertisement information group specified in step S501 Whether or not the posting flag (for example, if the value of the rotation counter is “3”, the viewed posting flag associated with the advertisement information having the order “3”) is turned on. Confirmation is made (step S506).

  If the browsed posting flag is not on (N in step S506), the process proceeds to a process for checking the banner interlocking flag (step S508). If the viewed posting flag is on (Y in step S506), it is confirmed whether or not the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter matches the browsed information in the advertisement request information (step S507). . If they match, the advertisement information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter is selected and transmitted to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S510). Thereafter, the advertisement information providing server 40 increments the value of the rotation counter by 1 (step S511). If they do not match (N in step S507), the value of the rotation counter is incremented by 1 (step S512), and the process proceeds to the above-described step S513.

  As described above, in this example, the attribute of the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter matches the user attribute (Y in step S505), and the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter is When it matches the browsed information of the advertisement request information (Y in step S507), the advertisement information is selected as additional information. However, when the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter matches the browsed information of the advertisement request information (Y in step S507), the corresponding advertisement information is selected as additional information regardless of other conditions. You may make it do. In this case, the advertisement information selection process may be configured by step S501 to step S503, step S506, step S507, and step S510 to step S513. If comprised in this way, the advertisement information provision server 40 will have the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter of the specified advertisement information group posted on the viewed banner advertisement (the page that is regarded as the manuscript information) It confirms whether it relates to the banner advertisement which the user browsed among the banner advertisements, and when it relates to the banner advertisement which has been browsed, the advertisement information is selected as additional information and is directed to the user terminal 20. The process to transmit can be executed.

  When the user search flag corresponding to the rotation counter value of the advertisement information group identified in step S501 is not on (N in step S504), or the user search flag is on and the attribute of the advertisement information is the user's attribute. If it matches the attribute (Y in step S505) and the viewed posting flag is not on (N in step S506), the value indicated by the rotation counter of the advertisement information group specified in step S501 is set. Whether or not the corresponding banner link flag is set (for example, if the value of the rotation counter is “3”, the banner link flag is associated with the advertisement information whose order is “3”). Is confirmed (step S508).

  If the banner link flag is not on (N in step S508), the advertisement information providing server 40 selects advertisement information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter and transmits it to the user terminal 20 via the network 50. (Step S510). Thereafter, the advertisement information providing server 40 increments the value of the rotation counter by 1 (step S511).

  If the banner link flag is on (Y in step S508), it is checked whether the link banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter matches the banner advertisement URL of the advertisement request information (step S509). By this confirmation, it is confirmed whether or not the corresponding advertisement information includes information related to the banner advertisement placed on the page that is the manuscript information. If they match (Y in step S509), advertisement information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter is selected and transmitted to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S510). Thereafter, the advertisement information providing server 40 increments the value of the rotation counter by 1 (step S511). If they do not match (N in step S509), 1 is added to the value of the rotation counter (step S512), and the process proceeds to the above-described step S513.

  As described above, in this example, the attribute of the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter matches the user attribute (Y in step S505), and the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter is If it matches the banner advertisement URL of the advertisement request information (Y in step S509), the advertisement information is selected as additional information. However, when the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter matches the banner advertisement URL of the advertisement request information (Y in step S509), the corresponding advertisement information is selected as additional information regardless of other conditions. You may make it do. In this case, the advertisement information selection process may be configured in steps S501 to S503 and steps S508 to S513. If comprised in this way, the advertisement information provision server 40 is related to the banner advertisement with which the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter of the specified advertisement information group was published on the page that is set as the manuscript information If it is determined whether or not it is related to the banner advertisement, the advertisement information can be selected as additional information and transmitted to the user terminal 20 can be executed.

  In the advertisement request information, if the condition for interlocking with the banner advertisement placed on the page that is the manuscript information is not specified (the banner interlocking flag is not on) (N in step S508), the advertisement information The providing server 40 selects advertisement information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter identified in step S501 and transmits the advertisement information to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S510). Thereafter, the advertisement information providing server 40 increments the value of the rotation counter by 1 (step S511).

  If the attribute of the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter does not match the attribute of the user (N in step S505), the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter is the already-read information of the advertisement request information. If it does not match (N in Step S507), or if the linked banner information corresponding to the value indicated by the rotation counter does not match the banner advertisement URL of the advertisement request information (N in Step S509), the value of the rotation counter is set to 1. If the rotation counter has made a round in the confirmation after the addition (step S512) (Y in step S513), the advertisement information providing server 40 performs the above-described steps S502 and S503 (FIG. 5). Not shown in the table) Select respond to advertisement information, and transmits to the user terminal 20 via the network 50 (step S510). Thereafter, the advertisement information providing server 40 increments the value of the rotation counter by 1 (step S511).

  As described above, in this example, advertising information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter is selected as additional information when none of the user search flag, the browsed flag, and the banner interlocking flag is on. However, the advertisement information corresponding to the value of the rotation counter may be selected as additional information regardless of other conditions. In this case, the advertisement information selection process may be configured by steps S501 to S503, S510, and S511. If comprised in this way, the advertisement information provision server 40 will perform the process which selects one of each advertisement information contained in the specified advertisement information group as additional information, and transmits to the user terminal 20 Will be able to. Further, the advertisement information is selected as additional information in order (according to the “order” shown in FIG. 6), and each advertisement information can be provided equally.

  As described above, when the advertisement information providing server 40 prints the posting information of the Web page established on the network, it is based on the size of the page serving as document information and the margin area of the printing paper. Since the advertisement information to be combined with the blank area is selected, the advertisement information related to the manuscript information (for example, if the manuscript information is information about a car, the advertisement information about car sales, car insurance, car supplies, etc.) Can be printed in the margin area. Information that is intended to be viewed and printed by browsing a Web page is assumed to be information that is of interest or interest to the user, and information related to such information can be added. Can be printed in the margin area. Accordingly, it is possible to provide advertisement information that matches the user's needs to utilize the posted information on the Web page (that is, advertisement information that matches the user's interests, interests, hobbies, and preferences). In addition, since the advertising information can be provided to users who are interested in the products and services to be advertised, there is an advantage that the advertiser can efficiently perform the advertising activities.

  In addition, as described above, the advertisement information providing server 40 selects the advertisement information related to the banner advertisement placed on the page that is the manuscript information as additional information to be printed in the blank area. Advertisement information related to the banner advertisement included in the manuscript information can be printed in the blank area. Since the banner advertisement posted on each page of the web page is often content related to the content of the web page, it can be expected that the content of the banner advertisement is also interesting information for the user. In the embodiment described above, information related to the contents of such a banner advertisement can be added, so that it is possible to print information that the user is interested in in the blank area.

  Further, as described above, the advertisement information providing server 40 selects the advertisement information related to the banner advertisement that has been posted on the page that is set as the manuscript information as additional information to be printed in the blank area. Thus, the advertisement information related to the browsed banner advertisement included in the document information can be printed in the blank area. Among the banner advertisements posted on each page of the web page, it can be expected that information that the user is interested in is included for those that the user selects and browses. In the above-described embodiment, information related to the content of the banner advertisement viewed by the user can be added, so that information that the user is interested in can be printed in the blank area. .

  Further, as described above, the advertisement information providing server 40 selects the advertisement information having the attribute that matches the user attribute as the additional information, so that the optimum advertisement information that matches the user attribute is selected as the blank area. Can be printed on. In this way, since it is configured to provide advertising information that matches the user's attribute information, information is provided to users who are not eligible for the product or service listed in the advertisement (outside target age, outside target area) Can be suppressed, and advertising activities can be performed efficiently.

  Further, as described above, since the additional information is printed in the margin area, it is not necessary to use wasted printing paper. In addition, since it is not an advertisement-only paper, it can be avoided that the user disposes immediately after printing.

  In addition, as described above, since the advertisement information selected using the rotation counter is configured to be sequentially changed, it is possible to avoid providing the same advertisement information continuously, and each advertisement is almost evenly distributed. Information can be provided. Moreover, when providing the same user with the same size of advertisement information continuously, different advertisement information can be provided.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the user performs a print execution operation by the function of the user terminal 20 (specifically, the function of the browser installed in the user terminal), the advertisement information providing server automatically. Since the advertisement information is acquired by connecting to the terminal 40, the advertisement information can be printed in the blank area without making the user aware of it.

  In the above-described embodiment, in the advertisement information selection process, the advertisement information is selected using a plurality of types of selection processes. However, the advertisement information is selected using a part of the means. Also good. For example, the advertisement information selection process in FIG. 5 is a first selection process (for example, the process in step S510 is performed after Y in step S505) for selecting advertisement information having an attribute that matches the attribute of the user as additional information. In the case of the configuration, advertisement information selection processing configured in steps S501 to S505 and steps S510 to S513), and advertisement information related to the banner advertisement that has been posted on the page that is the document information and has been viewed Is selected as additional information (for example, advertisement information selection processing composed of step S501 to step S503, step S506, step S507, and step S510 to step S513) and the page that is the document information. Select ad information related to the banner ad that was posted as additional information Selection processing (for example, advertisement information selection processing comprised of steps S501 to S503 and steps S508 to S513) and fourth selection for selecting advertisement information whose original information matches the synthesized information size as additional information Four selection processes of processing (for example, advertisement information selection process configured by steps S501 to S503, step S510, and step S511) are included, and a configuration in which advertisement information is selected by some of the selection processes. It is good.

  Specifically, the advertisement information selection process may be configured by only the first selection process, only the second selection process, only the third selection process, or only the fourth selection process. Further, the four types of selection processes described above, for example, the advertisement information selection process is composed of a first selection process and a second selection process, or is composed of a first selection process and a third selection process. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for selecting advertisement information by arbitrarily combining.

  In the above-described advertisement information selection process (see FIG. 5), the advertisement information corresponding to the rotation counter value is advertisement information having an attribute that matches the attribute of the user (first condition), and is the document information. The advertisement information related to the banner advertisement that has been posted and viewed on the page (second condition), and the advertisement information related to the banner advertisement that has been published on the page that is the manuscript information Among the (third conditions), the advertisement information is selected as additional information when the first condition and the second condition are satisfied and when the first condition and the third condition are satisfied. However, it is good also as a structure which selects the advertisement information which satisfy | fills the conditions of other combinations, such as when satisfy | filling any one of 1st conditions-3rd conditions, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the advertisement information is taken as an example of additional information to be printed in the margin area. However, for example, other information such as part or all of the member users or notification information for individual users is used as additional information. A configuration may be adopted in which printing is performed in the margin area. In this case, the database 31 of the WWW server 30 is searched using the user identifier, and if there is information to be notified to the user, the information may be printed in the blank area as additional information. As the notification information, for example, when the manuscript information is a page operated by a Web page manager who receives a product order, information on the service provided on the Web page (for example, “Taro Suzuki, product number 01-001). Information such as “Please wait for a while as it is scheduled to be delivered around the end of this month,” or “Taro Suzuki, member number 0001, is now 100 points.” ) Is considered.

  In the embodiment described above, the advertisement information related to the document information includes information directly or indirectly related to the content of the document information. For example, if the manuscript information is content for high school students, the advertising information related to products and services for high school students is advertising information related to the manuscript information. Further, for example, when the manuscript information is content related to baseball, not only advertisements related to baseball but also advertisements related to other sports have relevance in terms of sports. It is.

  Although not specifically described in the above-described embodiment, the advertisement information providing server 40 operates according to a control program (additional information printing support program) for executing the above-described processes. This control program is a program for providing additional information to be printed in the remaining area of the paper medium on which the document information is printed. For example, the control program provides the advertisement information providing server 40 with the size of the remaining area and the content of the document information. Receiving request information including document specifying information for specifying, and selecting additional information matching the document specifying information and size included in the received request information in response to receiving the request information; And a step of transmitting selected additional information via a network.

  Although not specifically described in the above-described embodiment, the user terminal 20 operates in accordance with a control program (additional information printing program) for executing the above-described processes. This control program is an additional information printing program for printing additional information acquired via the network in the remaining area of the paper medium on which the document information acquired via the network is printed. Specifically, request information including a step of calculating the size of the surplus area, and the document specifying information for specifying the content of the surplus area and the content of the document information is calculated on the browser mounted on the user terminal 20. This is a control program for executing a transmitting step and a step of receiving additional information that matches the content and size of the document information.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of a structure of the additional information printing system in one embodiment of this invention. It is a timing chart which shows an example of information acquisition processing and processing timing in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the additional information synthetic | combination printing process in one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the state of the printing paper on which the printing information in one embodiment of this invention was printed. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the additional information selection process in one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the storage state of the information stored in the database of the additional information provision server in one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Additional information printing system 20 User terminal 30 WWW server 31, 41 Database 40 Advertisement information provision server 50 Network

Claims (10)

A server for providing additional information to be added to document information including insertion information;
A terminal device connected to the server via a network;
The terminal device
Display means for displaying the document information;
Terminal-side transmission means for transmitting request information including insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information displayed and included in the document information by the display means to the server;
Means for creating print information obtained by combining the additional information received from the server with a remainder area of a medium on which the document information is printed;
The server
Storage means for storing the additional information in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
When the request information is received from the terminal device, additional information selection means for selecting the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage means;
And a server-side transmission unit that transmits the selected additional information to the terminal device. A server for providing additional information to be added to document information including insertion information;
A terminal device connected to the server via a network;
The terminal device
Display means for displaying the document information;
Request information including document information specifying information for specifying the document information displayed by the display means, and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included and displayed in the document information, Terminal-side transmission means for transmitting to the server;
Means for creating print information obtained by combining the additional information received from the server with a remainder area of a medium on which the document information is printed;
The server
Storage means for storing the additional information in association with original information specifying information for specifying the original information and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
When the request information is received from the terminal device, the additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information is selected from the additional information stored by the storage unit Information selection means;
And a server-side transmission unit configured to transmit the selected additional information to the terminal device. The terminal device further includes calculation means for calculating the size of the remaining area of the medium on which the document information is printed,
The request information further includes the size of the remainder area calculated by the calculation means,
The storage means further stores additional information for each different size,
The additional information printing support system according to claim 1, wherein the additional information selection unit further selects additional information corresponding to a size of a surplus area included in the received request information. An additional information printing support server for providing additional information to be added to the document information, connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network,
Storage means for storing the additional information in association with insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
When receiving the request information including the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information to be displayed included in the document information from the terminal device, from the additional information stored in the storage unit, Additional information selection means for selecting the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information;
Server-side transmission means for transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the additional information with a remaining area of the medium on which the displayed document information is printed. And an additional information printing support server. An additional information printing support server for providing additional information to be added to the document information, connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network,
Storage means for storing the additional information in association with original information specifying information for specifying the original information and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
The request information including original information specifying information for specifying the original information from the terminal device, and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information displayed in the original information included in the terminal device. , Additional information selection means for selecting the additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage means;
Server-side transmission means for transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the additional information with a remaining area of the medium on which the displayed document information is printed. And an additional information printing support server. The request information further includes the size of the remainder area calculated by the terminal device,
The storage means further stores additional information for each different size,
The additional information printing support server according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the additional information selection unit further selects additional information corresponding to a size of a surplus area included in the received request information. A server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information provides an additional information printing support method for providing additional information to be added to the document information,
A storage means for storing the additional information in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
When the additional information selecting means receives the request information including the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information displayed in the terminal apparatus by being included in the document information from the terminal device, the storage means Selecting the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information to be accumulated;
The server-side transmitting means creates the print information obtained by combining the additional information selected by the terminal device with the remainder area of the medium on which the displayed document information is printed. A method for supporting additional information printing. A server connected via a network to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information provides an additional information printing support method for providing additional information to be added to the document information,
A storage means for storing the additional information in association with document information specifying information for specifying the document information and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
The additional information selecting means specifies from the terminal device original information specifying information for specifying the original information, and insertion information specifying for specifying the insertion information included in the original information and displayed on the terminal device. Selecting the additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage unit when receiving the request information including information; ,
The server-side transmitting means creates the print information obtained by combining the additional information selected by the terminal device with the remainder area of the medium on which the displayed document information is printed. And a step of transmitting the additional information printing support method. An additional information printing support program for causing a server connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network to execute a procedure for providing additional information to be added to the document information.
In a computer with storage means,
A procedure for accumulating the additional information in the storage means in association with the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
When receiving the request information including the insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information to be displayed included in the document information from the terminal device, from the additional information stored in the storage unit, Selecting the additional information corresponding to the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information;
A step of transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the additional information with a remaining area of a medium on which the displayed document information is printed. Additional information printing support program. An additional information printing support program for causing a server connected to a terminal device that displays document information including insertion information via a network to execute a procedure for providing additional information to be added to the document information.
In a computer with storage means,
A procedure for storing in the storage means the additional information in association with document information specifying information for specifying the document information and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information;
The request information including document information specifying information for specifying the document information from the terminal device, and insertion information specifying information for specifying the insertion information included in the document information and displayed on the terminal device. A step of selecting the additional information corresponding to the document information specifying information and the insertion information specifying information included in the received request information from the additional information stored by the storage unit;
A step of transmitting the selected additional information to the terminal device in order to create print information in which the terminal device combines the additional information with a remaining area of a medium on which the displayed document information is printed. Additional information printing support program.

Images