JP2008276437A - Image forming apparatus, advertisement display method and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more effectively display an advertisement than before. <P>SOLUTION: This image forming apparatus 2 having a display is provided with: a history information storage part 201 storing log data 7LG related to a job which has been executed; a main work discrimination part 204 discriminating a state of use of the image forming apparatus 2 based on the log data 7LG stored in the history information storage part 201; and an advertisement display part 207 making the display display the advertisement related to the state distinguished by the main work discrimination part 204. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an MFP and a method for displaying an advertisement in the image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, high-resolution displays have been provided in image forming apparatuses called MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) or multifunction peripherals. As a result, it is possible to display a screen showing many types and amounts of information at a time as displayed on the display of a personal computer.

  On the display of the image forming apparatus, a screen for giving a message or an instruction to the user, a screen for inputting processing conditions desired by the user, a screen showing a result of the image processing, and the like are displayed.

  Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose an invention for displaying an advertisement on a display such as an image forming apparatus. According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is detected that the copying apparatus has not been used for a predetermined period of time, and an advertisement acquired from a server or the like is displayed on a display device provided in the operation unit. For example, if the copying machine also has a fax function, when the user comes in front of the copying machine to check whether there is a received fax, etc. An advertisement is displayed and can be shown to the user.

  According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, in a facsimile apparatus, while a fax document is stored in a memory and while the document is transmitted, an advertisement acquired from a server or the like is displayed on a display device provided in the operation unit. . For example, an advertisement can be shown to a user who waits for the display device until the fax document is stored in the memory and the transmission is completed.

According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3, an advertising space is sold on the Internet, and a screen on which an advertisement by an advertiser who purchased the advertising space is described is displayed on the display unit of the image forming apparatus. When the image forming apparatus cannot display an advertisement due to machine trouble, the advertisement is displayed on the display unit of another image forming apparatus. For example, since a screen describing an advertisement can be displayed on a display unit of another image forming apparatus, even when the image forming apparatus cannot display a screen describing an advertisement due to a machine trouble, a user who uses the other image forming apparatus Can show advertisements.
JP 2001-326771 A JP 2001-333248 A JP 2002-44330 A

  If the advertisement is not related to the viewer, it is not expected to have a strong effect. In other words, indiscriminately displaying advertisements is not very efficient.

  However, according to the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, none of the devices for selecting advertisements to be displayed has been made and is not very efficient.

  In view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to display an advertisement more effectively than before.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus having a display, based on log data storage means for storing log data relating to an executed job, and the log data stored in the log data storage means A usage mode determining unit that determines a usage mode of the image forming apparatus; and an advertisement display control unit that displays an advertisement related to the mode determined by the usage mode determining unit on the display. To do.

  Preferably, the use mode determination unit determines, as the mode, what work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus for.

  Alternatively, the use mode determination unit determines the number of job executions for each type of job, and based on the number of executions, determines what work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus for. To do.

  Alternatively, the use mode determining unit obtains a job execution pattern and determines, based on the pattern, what work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus for.

  Alternatively, for each type of work, keyword storage means for storing a keyword related to the work and advertisement data related to the work determined by the use mode determination means are stored in the keyword storage means. An advertisement data acquisition unit that acquires from an advertisement server based on a keyword related to the work, the advertisement display control unit based on the advertisement data acquired by the advertisement data acquisition unit Display advertisements.

  Alternatively, the usage mode determination unit determines the type of work that the user is mainly using for the user every time a predetermined time elapses. The advertisement data is acquired every time the usage mode discrimination means discriminates what work the image forming apparatus is mainly used for.

  Alternatively, the advertisement display control means displays an advertisement when a time during which the image forming apparatus is not operated by the user exceeds a predetermined time.

  According to the present invention, an advertisement corresponding to a job executed by the image forming apparatus in the past is displayed. Therefore, an advertisement can be displayed more effectively than before.

  1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the image processing system 1, FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 2, and FIG. 3 is an example of functional configurations of the image forming apparatus 2 and the advertisement server 3. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system 1 includes an image forming apparatus 2, an advertisement server 3, a plurality of personal computers 4, a communication line 6, and the like. The image forming apparatus 2, the advertisement server 3, and the personal computer 4 can be connected to each other via a communication line 6. As the communication line 6, a LAN, the Internet, a public line, a dedicated line, or the like is used.

  The image processing system 1 is a network system that performs image processing. Image processing may be performed by the image forming apparatus 2 or the personal computer 4 alone, or may be performed in cooperation between the image forming apparatus 2 and the personal computer 4.

  Further, in the image processing system 1, the user's needs are estimated based on how to use the image forming apparatus 2, and advertisements regarding products or services that meet the needs are provided to the user.

  The image forming apparatus 2 is an apparatus that integrates various functions such as copy, scanner, fax, box, and network printing. In general, it may be called a multi-function peripheral or MFP (Multi Function Peripherals).

  The “box function” refers to a storage area corresponding to a folder or directory in a personal computer called a “box” or “personal box” for each user who uses the image forming apparatus 2, It is a function that allows you to save document data etc. in file units in the box. One box can be shared by a plurality of users.

  “Network printing” is a function for receiving image data from a personal computer via a communication line and printing the image on paper. Sometimes called a “network printer function” or a “PC print function”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 2 includes a CPU 20a, a RAM 20b, a ROM 20c, a hard disk 20d, a control circuit 20e, a scanner unit 20f, a printing unit 20g, a LAN board 20h, a modem 20i, and an operation panel 20j. The

  The control circuit 20e is a circuit for controlling the hard disk 20d, the scanner unit 20f, the printing unit 20g, the LAN board 20h, the modem 20i, the operation panel 20j, and the like.

  The scanner unit 20f optically reads an image of a document such as a sentence, a mathematical formula, a symbol, a photograph, a chart, or an illustration written on a sheet, and generates image data.

  The printing unit 20g prints an image on paper based on the image data obtained by the scanner unit 20f or a print job transmitted from the personal computer 4 or the like.

  The LAN board 20h is a NIC (Network Interface Card) for communicating with the personal computer 4 or the like using a protocol such as TCP / IP. The modem 20i communicates with a fax terminal using a fax protocol via a public line.

  The operation panel 20j is a touch panel panel, a screen for giving a message or an instruction to the user, a screen for inputting a processing type and processing conditions desired by the user, and processing executed by the CPU 20a. A screen showing the result of the is displayed. Further, the user can give a command to the image forming apparatus 2 or specify processing conditions by touching a predetermined position on the operation panel 20j. As described above, the operation panel 20j serves as a user interface of a user who operates the image forming apparatus 2. Further, the operation panel 20j displays a screen on which an advertisement is described by a method described later.

  In the ROM 20c or the hard disk 20d, a history information storage unit 201, a storage history totaling unit 202, a totaling information storage unit 203, a main work determination unit 204, a keyword acquisition unit 205, an advertisement data acquisition unit 206, an advertisement display as shown in FIG. A program and data for realizing the unit 207, the advertisement display opportunity determination unit 208, and the like are stored.

  These programs and data are read into the RAM 20b as necessary, and the programs are executed by the CPU 20a. A part or all of the functions shown in FIG. 3 may be realized by a circuit such as the control circuit 20e.

  Further, the hard disk 20d is provided with an area for the box described above.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the advertisement server 3 provides the image forming apparatus 2 with advertisement data 7AD that is data for reproducing an image representing an advertisement.

  The hard disk of the advertisement server 3 stores programs and data for realizing the advertisement data search unit 301, the advertisement data storage unit 302, the advertisement data transmission unit 303, and the like as shown in FIG. These programs and data are read into the RAM as necessary, and the programs are executed by the CPU.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the personal computer 4 is a client that uses functions such as fax, box, and network printing of the image forming apparatus 2 described above.

  For example, the user can cause the image forming apparatus 2 to print a document created by application software such as word processing software or drawing software of the personal computer 4. Alternatively, the fax data addressed to the user received by the image forming apparatus 2 can be transferred to the personal computer 4. Alternatively, the file stored in the box of the image forming apparatus 2 can be downloaded to the personal computer 4.

  4 is a diagram showing an example of the history totaling table LT, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the job tendency table WT, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the related keyword table KT, and FIG. 7 is an example of displaying an advertisement image. FIG.

  Each unit of the image forming apparatus 2 illustrated in FIG. 3 performs processing for displaying an advertisement according to how to use the image forming apparatus 2. Each part of the advertisement server 3 performs processing for providing the advertisement data 7AD to the image forming apparatus 2 in response to a request. Next, how each part of the image forming apparatus 2 and the advertisement server 3 executes these processes will be described in detail.

  The history information storage unit 201 of the image forming apparatus 2 stores log data 7LG indicating the results every time the image forming apparatus 2 itself executes a job such as copying, PC printing, scanning, fax transmission, or fax reception. To do. That is, the job execution history is accumulated.

  The log data 7LG includes the date and time of job execution and the job type, as well as the file name of the image file used to print the image, the destination of the fax data, the source of the fax data, or the execution of the job. The identification information (for example, user name or user ID) of the user who commanded

  The old log data 7LG may be deleted at an arbitrary timing. For example, you may erase what passed 1 year or more once a year. It may be automatically deleted every time a predetermined time comes, or may be manually deleted by the user.

  In the present embodiment, the “image file” is a file indicating the content of an image printed on paper or displayed on a display, that is, an output image. Therefore, in addition to image data such as photographs or illustrations being filed, files created by word processing software or spreadsheet software, files obtained from a web server, files for reproducing web pages, CD-ROMs, etc. A PDF file distributed by the user is also included in the image file.

  The accumulation history totaling unit 202 totalizes the history accumulated in the history information accumulation unit 201 as shown in the history aggregation tables LT1 to LT4 in FIGS.

  That is, the number of executions for each job type of “copy”, “print”, “scan”, “fax send”, and “fax receive” is set to the latest count as shown in the history count table LT1 of FIG. Aggregate every hour, day (ie 24 hours), week, month and year.

  Further, as in the history tabulation table LT2 of FIG. 4B, the image file generated by executing the job or used when executing the job is the latest one hour, one day, one week, Aggregate every month and every year.

  “Total of all files” indicates the total number of image files handled during the period. Specifically, the number of image files generated by executing a scan job or used when executing a PC print job is shown.

  Each column (item, field) of “image file F1”, “image file F2”,..., “Image file Fn” includes image files F1, F2,. It shows how much it was handled (generated or used).

  The “number of files” indicates the number of image files that have been handled (that is, generated or used) even once during that period. That is, the number of columns of “image file F1” to “image file Fn” indicating a ratio larger than 0 is shown.

  Further, as in the history totaling table LT3 in FIG. 4C, the number of times image data has been transmitted by executing a job is totaled for the most recent hour, day, week, month, and year. To do.

  “Total of all transmission destinations” indicates the number of times image data is transmitted during the period, that is, the number of transmission destinations. Specifically, it indicates the number of times image data (such as an image file in a format such as GIF or fax data) is generated and transmitted to a specified destination by executing a scan job or a fax transmission job.

  Each column of “transmission destination T1”, “transmission destination T2”,..., “Transmission destination Tm” indicates how much of the transmission destination T1, transmission destination T2,. It shows whether image data has been transmitted to the previous Tm.

  The “number of transmission destinations” indicates the number of transmission destinations to which image data has been transmitted even once during that period. That is, the number of columns of “transmission destination T1” to “transmission destination Tm” indicating a ratio larger than 0 is shown.

  Further, as shown in the history tabulation table LT4 in FIG. 4D, the number of times the fax data is received by executing the fax reception job is set to the latest one hour, one day, one week, one month, and one year. To sum up.

  “Total of all transmission sources” indicates the number of times fax data is received during the period, that is, the number of transmission sources described.

  Each column of “transmission source R1”, “transmission source R2”,..., “Transmission source Rp” indicates the ratio of transmission source R1, transmission source R2,. It shows whether fax data has been received from the original Rp.

  The “number of transmission sources” indicates the number of transmission sources that have transmitted fax data even once during that period. That is, the number of columns of “transmission source R1” to “transmission source Rp” indicating a ratio larger than 0 is shown.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the tabulation information storage unit 203 stores the results tabulated by the accumulated history tabulation unit 202, that is, the history tabulation tables LT <b> 1 to LT <b> 4 as shown in FIG. 4.

  The main work determination unit 204 determines what kind of work the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used for based on the past job execution history of the image forming apparatus 2, that is, the history totaling tables LT1 to LT4. To determine. The determination is performed by the following method, for example.

  Job trend table WT indicating how the image forming apparatus normally tends to execute jobs when the image forming apparatus is mainly used for operations such as “data aggregation” and “document proofing” Are prepared in advance in the hard disk 20d.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a job trend table WT storing job trend data WD (WD1, WD2,...) For each work is prepared. The “work name” field of the job trend table WT indicates the name of the work. The “condition” field indicates how the image forming apparatus is mainly used for the work when the image forming apparatus executes a job. That is, the conditions for determining that the image forming apparatus is mainly used for the work are shown.

  Note that “x”, “y”, “z”, and “w” in the conditional expression shown in FIG. 5 are constants. The administrator of the image processing system 1 can obtain the relationship between the work and the job by analyzing the history and can arbitrarily set each conditional expression.

  The main work determination unit 204 indicates the values indicated in the history aggregation tables LT1 to LT4 stored in the aggregation information storage unit 203 in the “condition” field of each job trend data WD1, WD2,. By substituting into the conditional expression, it is determined for which work the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used.

  That is, first, in order to determine whether or not the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used for data aggregation work, “(FAX received / date) / day” shown in the “condition” field of the job trend data WD1. (Fax received / month)> x ”and“ (number of senders / day)> y ”in the conditional expressions of“ fax received / day ”,“ fax received / month ”, and“ number of senders / day ” Each variable includes a value indicated in the “fax received” field of the “/ day” record of the history totaling table LT1, a value indicated in the “fax received” field of the “/ month” record, and “/ day” of the historical totaling table LT4. "Substitute the value shown in the" Source "field of the record. When both the conditional expressions are satisfied, it is determined that the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used for data aggregation work. If any one of the conditional expressions is not satisfied, it is determined that it is not used mainly for data aggregation work.

  Similarly, the remaining work such as document proofing is determined by checking whether or not the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used for each work by satisfying the conditional expression.

  In this way, it can be determined for which work the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used. In some cases, it may be determined that it is used for one work, and in other cases, it may be determined that it is used for a plurality of works. When the image forming apparatus 2 is hardly used or not used at all, it may be determined that the image forming apparatus 2 is not used for any work.

  The keyword acquisition unit 205 acquires keywords related to the work determined by the main work determination unit 204. The process of acquiring the keyword can be performed by the following method, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a related keyword table KT storing related keyword data KD (KD1, KD2,...) For each work is prepared in the hard disk 20d in advance. The “work name” field of the related keyword table KT indicates the name of the work. The “keyword” field indicates a keyword related to the work. For example, keywords representing various items such as products or services often used in performing the work and the type of business of a contractor performing the work can be included as keywords. Multiple words can be included as keywords.

  The keyword acquisition unit 205 calls the related keyword data KD of the work determined by the main work determination unit 204 from the related keyword table KT. Then, the word (keyword) indicated in the “keyword” field of the related keyword data KD is extracted and acquired.

  When a plurality of keywords are shown in the “keyword” field, all of them may be extracted, or some of them may be extracted at random. Further, when a plurality of works are discriminated by the main work discriminating unit 204, keywords are extracted from the related keyword data KD of each work. Also in this case, all of them may be extracted, or some of them may be extracted at random.

  The advertisement data acquisition unit 206 requests the advertisement server 3 to acquire (download) advertisement data 7AD related to the keyword acquired by the keyword acquisition unit 205. At this time, the advertisement data acquisition unit 206 notifies the advertisement server 3 of the keyword.

  In the advertisement server 3, the advertisement data storage unit 302 stores and manages advertisement data 7AD of various advertisements. For example, a text file is used as the advertisement data 7AD.

  The advertisement data search unit 301 searches the advertisement data 7AD requested from the image forming apparatus 2 from the advertisement data 7AD stored in the advertisement data storage unit 302. Specifically, the advertisement data 7AD including the keyword notified from the image forming apparatus 2 is searched. When a plurality of keywords are notified, the advertisement data 7AD including all the keywords may be searched, or the advertisement data 7AD including any one keyword may be searched. That is, a search may be performed using a so-called AND condition, or a search may be performed using an OR condition.

  The advertisement data transmission unit 303 transmits the advertisement data 7AD searched by the advertisement data search unit 301 to the image forming apparatus 2 that is a request source. When a plurality of advertisement data 7AD including the keyword notified from the image forming apparatus 2 are searched, all of them may be transmitted, or some of them may be selected at random and transmitted. Alternatively, the advertisement data 7AD including the most keywords may be selected and transmitted.

  The advertisement display opportunity determination unit 208 of the image forming apparatus 2 determines an opportunity (timing) for displaying the advertisement on the operation panel 20j as follows, for example.

  The time when the image forming apparatus 2 itself is not operated by the user is measured. And when the time of the state passes predetermined time, it will discriminate | determine that the opportunity to display an advertisement has come. Alternatively, when a web service (for example, a web browser) built in the image forming apparatus 2 itself is activated, it is determined that an opportunity to display an advertisement has come. Alternatively, when displaying a message notifying that a job such as copying or fax transmission is being executed, it is determined that an opportunity to display an advertisement has come.

  The advertisement display unit 207 displays an advertisement image on the operation panel 20j using the advertisement data 7AD downloaded from the advertisement server 3 when the advertisement display opportunity determination unit 208 determines that the opportunity to display the advertisement has come. . When it is determined that the opportunity has come due to the non-operation state continuing for a predetermined time, an advertisement image is displayed on the entire operation panel 20j as shown in FIG. When it is determined that the opportunity has come due to the activation of the Web service, an advertisement image is displayed on a part of the operation panel 20j as shown in FIG. 7B. When it is determined that the opportunity has come due to the display of a message notifying that the job is being executed, an advertisement image is displayed together with the message as shown in FIG.

  When a plurality of advertisement data 7AD are downloaded, advertisement images are displayed one by one in turn every predetermined time.

  In addition, the advertisement display unit 207 displays an advertisement image when any operation is performed on the image forming apparatus 2 when the non-operation state continues for a predetermined time or when the web service is terminated. To cancel.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a series of processes for displaying an advertisement.

  Next, a flow of processing for displaying an advertisement executed by the image forming apparatus 2 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 2 always checks whether it is time to count job histories and whether it is time to display advertisements (# 101, # 108).

  When it is detected that the timing for counting job histories has come (Yes in # 101), the job histories are totaled to generate a history totaling table LT as shown in FIG. 4 (# 102).

  The image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used for what kind of work by referring to the history tabulation table LT and the job tendency table WT as shown in FIG. 5 to check whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. Is determined (# 103).

  If any of the conditions is satisfied, that is, if the main target operation of the image forming apparatus 2 can be determined (Yes in # 104), the keywords related to the determined operation can be selected from the related keyword table KT as shown in FIG. Extract and obtain (# 105).

  By notifying the acquired keyword, the advertisement server 3 is requested for the advertisement data 7AD (# 106).

  Then, the advertisement server 3 searches the advertisement data 7AD including the notified keyword, and transmits the found advertisement data 7AD to the image forming apparatus 2.

  The image forming apparatus 2 receives the advertisement data 7AD from the advertisement server 3 and stores it (# 107).

  If the main target operation of the image forming apparatus 2 cannot be determined (No in # 104), the acquisition of the advertisement data 7AD is stopped.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the timing for displaying the advertisement has come (No in # 101, Yes in # 108), an advertisement image is displayed using the stored advertisement data 7AD (# 109).

  The image forming apparatus 2 executes the processes of steps # 102 to # 107, that is, the process of acquiring the advertisement data 7AD every time a predetermined timing comes while the power is on. When the advertisement data 7AD is newly acquired, the old advertisement data 7AD stored until then is deleted. In addition, the process of step # 109, that is, the process of displaying an advertisement is executed every time a predetermined timing comes. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 2 can show the user an advertisement suitable for the recent main work.

  According to this embodiment, it is determined for what kind of work the user is using the image forming apparatus 2 on a daily basis, and an advertisement corresponding to the work is displayed on the operation panel 20j of the image forming apparatus 2. be able to. Therefore, the effect of the advertisement can be improved as compared with the conventional case where the advertisement is displayed indiscriminately.

  Moreover, since the advertisement data 7AD is periodically collected again, a new advertisement can be shown to the user.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the job execution pattern table PT. Incidentally, in general, the image forming apparatus 2 often executes a plurality of jobs before completing one operation. Trends specific to the content of the workflow are seen for each type of work. Therefore, what kind of job is executed in what order has a unique tendency for each type of work.

  For example, when a document proofreading operation is performed, there is a tendency that after the PC print job is executed, the same user executes the PC print job again for the document of the same file. Or, in the case of handwriting ordering work, a tendency is often seen that a PC print job is executed and then a printed matter generated by the PC print job is added to execute a fax transmission job.

  Therefore, a job execution order pattern may be obtained, and based on the obtained pattern, it may be determined for which work the image forming apparatus 2 is mainly used. Here, this determination method will be described.

In advance, for each type of work, what job is to be executed by the image forming apparatus 2 in what order in the workflow, that is, a job execution pattern (hereinafter referred to as “job execution pattern”). ) And a job execution pattern table PT indicating each job execution pattern as shown in FIG. 9 is prepared in the hard disk 20d.
Based on the log data 7LG stored in the history information storage unit 201, the storage history totaling unit 202 instead of counting the number of executions for each type of job, each job execution pattern shown in the job execution pattern table PT is predetermined. The number of occurrences during the period is counted.

  Then, the total information storage unit 203 stores the count (total) result, and the main work determination unit 204 performs the work related to the job execution pattern whose number of times is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as the main operation of the image forming apparatus 2. It is determined that the target work is performed.

  Each job included in the job execution pattern does not need to be continuous. In other words, another job may be executed between two adjacent jobs as long as the execution order of each job matches.

  In the processing of the accumulation history totaling unit 202, the fact that the same user has executed a PC print job for a document of the same file a plurality of times indicates that the file name of the image file used for the log data 7LG and the user identification information are as described above. Since it is included, it can be checked easily.

  However, for example, it is not possible to check in the log data 7LG that the fax transmission job of the content (image) added to the printed matter generated after the PC print job is executed is executed. As described above, the log data 7LG cannot check a job execution pattern in which a job that involves printing is executed and then a job that involves scanning a printed matter generated by the job is executed. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 2 may be configured as follows.

  When a job involving paper such as a copy job and a fax reception job is executed in addition to a PC print job, an identifier for identifying a target image is issued, and the image of the identifier is printed on the paper together with the image. For example, a QR code representing an identifier is printed at a predetermined position in one of the top, bottom, left, and right margins of the paper. Alternatively, a stegano image representing an identifier is embedded in the target image. In addition, log data including the identifier is stored in the history information accumulation unit 201 as the log data 7LG of the job.

  When executing a job involving scanning of a printed matter such as a fax transmission job, a QR code or a stegano image is detected from the scanned image, and an identifier indicated by the QR code or the stegano image is used as log data 7LG of the job. The included log data is stored in the history information storage unit 201.

  The accumulation history totaling unit 202 determines whether or not two jobs correspond to the above-described job execution pattern by comparing identifiers included in the log data 7LG of both jobs. In this way, it is possible to check the above-described job execution pattern that could not be checked conventionally.

  In the present embodiment, the advertisement server 3 is provided in the image processing system 1, but a third party server that distributes advertisements that already exists on the Internet may be used instead of the advertisement server 3. For example, a web site server called a “portal site” that provides services such as web page search, news distribution, or web mail may be used. Alternatively, a server of an advertising agency that specializes in the distribution of so-called net advertisements may be used. Further, the image forming apparatus 2 may charge an advertisement insertion fee according to the number of times the image forming apparatus 2 has displayed the advertisement, and collect it from the website operator, the advertising agency, or the advertiser.

  The image forming apparatus 2 may be configured so that various messages and other messages related to charging can be registered and notified to a website operator, an advertiser, an advertiser, or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 2 performs processing such as history aggregation, determination of main work in which the image forming apparatus 2 is used, and acquisition of advertisement data 7AD every time a predetermined time elapses. However, it may be executed every time when an advertisement is displayed.

  In the present embodiment, a text file is used as the advertisement data 7AD. However, an image file of an image representing an advertisement such as a so-called banner image may be used. However, in this case, the advertisement data storage unit 302 of the advertisement server 3 stores the advertisement data 7AD (image file) in association with a keyword indicating what advertisement the advertisement data 7AD relates to. The advertisement data search unit 301 performs a search by comparing the keyword with the keyword notified from the image forming apparatus 2.

  In this embodiment, the advertisement is displayed on the operation panel 20j of the image forming apparatus 2. However, when the user operates the personal computer 4 to use the image forming apparatus 2, the image forming apparatus 2 receives the advertisement data 7AD. The data may be transferred to the personal computer 4, and the personal computer 4 may display an advertisement based thereon. The advertisement may be displayed together with a dialog box for inputting a user ID and a password for logging in to the image forming apparatus 2 or may be displayed together with a dialog box for giving a job to the image forming apparatus 2. Good.

  In the present embodiment, the main work is determined based on the use history (log data 7LG) of one image forming apparatus 2, but the determination may be made with reference to the use history of the personal computer 4. Further, when there are a plurality of image forming apparatuses 2, the determination may be made with reference to the usage history of these image forming apparatuses 2. In this case, a server such as the advertisement server 3 collects the log data 7LG from the image forming apparatus 2 and the personal computer 4, and performs processing such as job aggregation and work discrimination. Alternatively, any of the image forming apparatuses 2 or the personal computer 4 may perform these processes as a representative.

  When users or groups who perform different operations share the image forming apparatus 2, the main operations may be determined for each user or group.

  In this embodiment, the advertisement corresponding to the main work is displayed, but information other than the advertisement may be displayed. For example, when the image forming apparatus 2 is used mainly for document proofreading, a message prompting double-sided printing or 2-in-1 printing is displayed to save paper, and an image is mainly used for handwritten ordering or FAX reply. If the forming apparatus 2 is used, a message prompting to place an order or reply via e-mail may be displayed if possible to save communication costs.

  In addition, the configuration of the entire image processing system 1, the image forming apparatus 2, and the advertisement server 3, or each unit, processing content, processing order, table configuration, advertisement display mode, and the like are appropriately changed in accordance with the spirit of the present invention. be able to.

It is a figure which shows the example of the whole structure of an image processing system. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a functional structure of an image forming apparatus and an advertisement server. It is a figure which shows the example of a log | history totaling table. It is a figure which shows the example of a job tendency table. It is a figure which shows the example of a keyword extraction table. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the image of an advertisement. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the flow of a series of processes for displaying an advertisement. It is a figure which shows the example of a job execution pattern table.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing system 2 Image forming apparatus 4 Personal computer (terminal device)
201 History information storage unit (log data storage means)
204 Main work discriminating unit (usage mode discrimination means)
206 Advertising data acquisition unit (Advertising data acquisition means)
207 Advertisement display section (advertisement display control means)
208 Advertisement display opportunity discriminator (advertising display control means)
20j Operation panel (display)
KT related keyword table (keyword storage means)

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus having a display,
Log data storage means for storing log data relating to executed jobs;
A usage mode determination unit that determines a usage mode of the image forming apparatus based on the log data stored in the log data storage unit;
Advertisement display control means for causing the display to display an advertisement related to the aspect determined by the usage state determination means;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The use mode determining unit determines, as the mode, what kind of work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus for,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The usage mode determination unit determines the number of executions of a job for each type of job, and determines, based on the number of executions, what work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus for.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The usage mode determination unit determines a job execution pattern, and determines, based on the pattern, what work the user is using the image forming apparatus mainly for.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. For each type of work, keyword storage means for storing keywords related to the work;
Advertisement data acquisition means for acquiring advertisement data of an advertisement related to the work determined by the use mode determination means from an advertisement server based on a keyword related to the work stored in the keyword storage means; Have
The advertisement display control means displays an advertisement based on the advertisement data acquired by the advertisement data acquisition means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The use mode determination unit determines for which work the user is mainly using the image forming apparatus every time a predetermined time elapses,
The advertisement data acquisition unit acquires the advertisement data every time the usage mode determination unit determines what work the user is using the image forming apparatus for.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. The advertisement display control means displays an advertisement when a time when the image forming apparatus is not operated by the user exceeds a predetermined time;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. An image forming apparatus used in connection with a terminal device,
Log data storage means for storing log data relating to executed jobs;
A usage mode determination unit that determines a usage mode of the image forming apparatus based on the log data stored in the log data storage unit;
An advertisement display control means for causing the terminal device to display an advertisement related to the determined aspect;
An image forming apparatus comprising: Log data relating to a job executed by the image forming apparatus is stored in a log data storage unit;
Based on the log data stored in the log data storage means, determine the mode of use of the image forming apparatus,
Displaying an advertisement related to the mode determined by the usage mode determining means;
An advertisement display method characterized by the above. A computer program used for an image forming apparatus having a display,
In the image forming apparatus,
Processing to store log data related to executed jobs;
A process of determining the mode of use of the image forming apparatus based on the stored log data;
Processing to display an advertisement related to the determined aspect on the display;
A computer program for executing

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