JP2009020560A - Advertising system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an advertising system that can output advertising information according to an installation location. <P>SOLUTION: When an image forming apparatus has not been used for a predetermined time, a CPU acquires installation information about the image forming apparatus and access information for access to predetermined advertising information stored in a storage device of an information delivery server such as an advertising information source, and sends installation location information to the information delivery server. The CPU then acquires advertising information corresponding to the installation location information sent from a plurality of pieces of advertising information stored in the information delivery server, and displays the acquired advertising information via a UI device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an advertising system.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses an image forming apparatus that displays advertisement information about the apparatus on a display unit when there is no recording paper or toner consumables. Patent Document 2 predicts the usage time from when the user starts using the image forming apparatus to when it ends, searches for advertisement images according to the usage time, and edits the advertisement so that it falls within the usage time. An image forming system for displaying an image is disclosed. Patent Document 3 discloses a printing apparatus that displays advertisement information in a time zone in which the degree of attention to the printing device is high or a time zone in which the display is not effectively used.

JP 2001-217978 A JP 2003-152937 A JP 2004-155124 A

  An object of this invention is to provide the advertisement system which can output advertisement information according to an installation place.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 is directed to an advertisement information output means for outputting advertisement information, industry information indicating an industry related to an operator who operates the advertisement information output means, and the advertisement information. An advertisement system comprising: output control means for controlling the output of advertisement information by the advertisement information output means based on at least one of the installation place information indicating the installation places of the output means.

  In the present invention according to claim 2, the advertisement information output means outputs the advertisement information by at least one of an image and sound, and the output control means outputs the content of the image and the sound output by the advertisement information output means. The advertisement system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of content and volume is controlled.

  The present invention according to claim 3 further includes an operation accepting unit that accepts a predetermined operation, and the output control unit includes the advertisement information according to a time elapsed after the operation accepting unit accepted the predetermined operation. The advertisement system according to claim 2, wherein output of advertisement information by the output means is controlled.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit accepts an operation for the operation accepting unit to authenticate the operator. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output unit controls the output of advertisement information according to a time elapsed after the operation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the operation accepting unit accepts a payment operation by an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit accepts a payment operation by the operator. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output unit controls the output of advertisement information according to a time elapsed after the last time.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the output control means, the advertisement information output means lists advertisement information that can be output by the advertisement information output means in accordance with installation location information of the advertisement information output means. When the operation receiving unit receives an operation of controlling the output of the advertising information by the advertising information output unit so as to output and selecting any of the advertising information output by the advertising information output unit. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output means controls the output of advertisement information in accordance with the operation received by the operation receiving means.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit accepts an operation for the operation accepting unit to authenticate the operator. 4. The advertisement information output means controls to output predetermined advertisement information until the time when the operator authentication is canceled or until a predetermined time elapses after the operator authentication is canceled. It is an advertising system.

  In the present invention according to claim 8, the operation accepting unit accepts a payment operation by an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit accepts the operation of the operator by the operator. 4. The advertisement according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output means controls to output predetermined advertisement information until a payment operation is completed from the time of payment until a predetermined time elapses after the payment operation by the operator is completed. System.

  The present invention according to claim 9 further includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and the advertisement information output unit also serves as an apparatus operation receiving unit that receives an operation on the image forming apparatus. Any one of the advertising systems.

  The present invention according to claim 10 further includes an image forming apparatus that receives an operation and displays an image, and further includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and when the touch panel receives a predetermined operation, The advertisement system according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information is displayed.

  The present invention according to claim 11 includes a display unit for displaying an image and a control unit for controlling the display unit, and transmits and receives information between the image forming apparatus for forming an image and the image forming apparatus. And when the information regarding the installation place of the image forming apparatus is received from the image forming apparatus, the information forming apparatus receives predetermined advertisement information according to the received information. The image forming apparatus is an advertisement system that displays the advertisement information transmitted by the information processing apparatus on the display unit under the control of the control unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, advertisement information can be output according to an installation place.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, the outline | summary of the advertising system 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is illustrated. The advertising system 1 includes, for example, image forming apparatuses 10-1 to 10-3 installed in locations A to C, and an information distribution server (information processing apparatus) 50, and the image forming apparatuses 10-1 to 10- 3 and the information distribution server 50 are connected to each other via a network 60.

Locations A to C are, for example, a company a where only employees of a predetermined industry enter and exit, a travel agency b or a city hall c where employees and general customers come and go, or a public place where there are no restrictions It may be any place.
The image forming apparatuses 10-1 to 10-3 are multifunction machines having a printing function, a copying function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, and a scanning function, and output advertisement information distributed from the information distribution server 50 (FIGS. 2 to 4). Etc.). Further, the image forming apparatuses 10-1 to 10-3 are different in only their arrangement locations and predetermined settings, and have substantially the same components.
The information distribution server 50 stores a plurality of advertisement information and distributes the advertisement information according to a predetermined access.
Hereinafter, when any one of a plurality of components such as the image forming apparatuses 10-1 to 10-3 is indicated without being specified, it may be simply abbreviated as “image forming apparatus 10” or the like.

Next, the image forming apparatus 10 and the information distribution server 50 will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the image forming apparatus 10 and the information distribution server 50.
The image forming apparatus 10 includes, for example, a CPU 11 including a timer (not shown), a memory 12, a storage device 13 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), an electrophotographic printing device 14, an image reading device 15 such as a scanner, a display unit, and the like. A user interface (UI) device 16 that is a touch panel including an input receiving unit (both not shown), and a communication interface (IF) 17 that transmits and receives data to and from the information distribution server 50 and the like via a network 60 such as the Internet. A sound reproducing device 18 including a speaker or the like (not shown), a charging device 19 for charging a user (user of the image forming apparatus 10), and an authentication device 20 for authenticating the user. As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 has a function as a computer, and can acquire information distributed by the information distribution server 50 using a Web browser (not shown).

  The information distribution server 50 includes, for example, a CPU 21, a memory 22, a storage device 23 such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a user interface (UI) device 24 including a keyboard or the like (not shown), the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 60, and the like. A communication interface (IF) 25 for transmitting / receiving data to / from. Thus, the information distribution server 50 has a function as a computer.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the components of the image forming apparatus 10 and the information distribution server 50.
The image forming apparatus 10 includes an installation information setting unit 26, an installation information notification unit 27, a related device measurement unit 28, a related device operation unit 29, an advertisement information acquisition destination setting unit 30, an advertisement display control unit 31, an advertisement information acquisition unit 32, and An advertisement display means 33 is provided.

The installation information setting unit 26 receives, for example, settings by an installer who installs the image forming apparatus 10 and outputs the setting information to the installation information notification unit 27. For example, the business type of the company in which the image forming apparatus 10 is installed, the user form information such as an employee or general customer, and the installation location information of the image forming apparatus 10 are stored in the acquisition destination set by the advertisement information acquisition destination setting means 30. On the other hand, based on the instruction from the advertisement display control means 31, it is transmitted to the information distribution server 50 by the installation information notification means 27 via the advertisement information acquisition means 32.
Hereinafter, the installation location information (installation information) of the image forming apparatus 10 may include the business type of the company in which the image forming apparatus 10 is installed, and user form information such as an employee or a general customer.

  The information distribution server 50 includes installation information acquisition means 34, advertisement information transmission means 35, advertisement information selection means 36, and advertisement information holding means 37. The information distribution server 50 selects from the advertisement information held by the advertisement information holding unit 37 according to at least one of the user form information and the installation information acquired from the image forming apparatus 10 by the installation information acquisition unit 34. The optimum advertisement information is selected by the advertisement information selection means 36, and the selected advertisement information is sent to the image forming apparatus 10 by the advertisement information sending means 35.

Then, the image forming apparatus 10 displays the advertisement information acquired from the information distribution server 50 by the advertisement display unit 33.
When at least one of the charging device 19 and the authentication device 20 is connected to the image forming apparatus 10, for example, the time measured by the related device measurement unit 28 based on the operation received by the related device operation unit 29, etc. The image forming apparatus 10 updates the transmitted user form information and installation information according to the measurement state.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a display screen displayed by the UI device 16 of the image forming apparatus 10. The information distribution server 50 for sending advertisement information is registered as a server on the network 60 in a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) format such as “http://www.xxx.co.jp/yyyyy/zzzzzz”. . The image forming apparatus 10 displays the menu screen 40 by default on the UI device 16, and changes the display screen to, for example, the copy operation screen 41 according to an operation accepted by the UI device 16.

  Further, for example, when a predetermined period of time elapses when the UI device 16 does not accept an operation by the user, the image forming apparatus 10 accesses the information distribution server 50 according to the user form information and the installation information, and the advertisement file ( Advertisement information) is acquired, and the acquired advertisement information is displayed by the UI device 16. The UI device 16 displays, for example, an advertisement screen 42 that displays one advertisement on the entire screen, or an advertisement screen 43 that displays a plurality of advertisements. The advertisement file can be a general file such as HTML (HyperText Markkup Language) when the image forming apparatus 10 includes a Web browser. The advertisement information may be output by the audio playback device 18.

  Next, communication when using HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) between the image forming apparatus 10 and the information distribution server 50 will be described. For example, “http://www.text.co.jp/catalog/jp/file.cgi” is stored in the storage device 23 of the information distribution server 50 and the access location is specified by the URL. Then, a document (advertisement information) acquisition request is transmitted (see FIG. 6). Here, the image forming apparatus 10 is configured to add, for example, an industry code and an installation location code to the User-Agent header. The industry code is, for example, a 4-digit JIS industry code. In addition, the installation location code is, for example, a one-digit code, “0” is for internal use (only available for users limited by authentication), “1” is for general use (can be used by unspecified users), “2” indicates mixed use (a case where only a limited user can be used and a case where an unspecified user can be used are mixed).

  When the information distribution server 50 receives the HTTP request shown in FIG. 6, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the information distribution server 50 includes a 4-digit industry code and a 1-digit installation location code in the file storage device 23. Is stored, and the advertisement information of the specified place is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10 as the selected advertisement information.

Next, a specific example of the operation of the advertisement system 1 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process (S10) performed by the image forming apparatus 10 in order to display advertisement information by the UI device 16.
As shown in FIG. 8, in step 100 (S100), the CPU 11 starts a timer to determine whether or not to start advertisement display. The timer value may be fixed or changeable.

  In step 102 (S102), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 10 has not been used for a predetermined time according to the timer activated in the process of S100. The process proceeds to the process, and in other cases, the process proceeds to S114.

  In step 104 (S104), the CPU 11 acquires access information for accessing predetermined advertisement information stored in the storage device 23 of the information distribution server 50, such as installation information of the image forming apparatus 10 and an advertisement information acquisition destination. To do.

  In step 106 (S106), the CPU 11 transmits the installation location information of the image forming apparatus 10 to the information distribution server 50 via the communication I / F 17.

  In step 108 (S108), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the advertisement information corresponding to the access information has been acquired. If acquired, the process proceeds to the process of S110. If not acquired, the process of S108 is continued. To do.

  In step 110 (S110), the CPU 11 displays the acquired advertisement information via the UI device 16. If the advertisement information is a moving image including sound, the advertisement information is reproduced via the UI device 16.

  In step 112 (S112), the CPU 11 determines whether or not a predetermined operation input has been received via the UI device 16. If there is an operation input, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of S114, and otherwise the process of S110. Proceed to processing.

  In step 114 (S114), the image forming apparatus 10 performs an operation designated via the UI device 16 or the like, and proceeds to the processing of S100.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process (S20) performed when the information distribution server 50 transmits advertisement information.
As shown in FIG. 9, in step 200 (S200), the CPU 21 determines whether or not installation location information has been received from the image forming apparatus 10 via the communication I / F 25. In other cases, the process of S200 is continued.

  In step 202 (S202), the CPU 21 retrieves (suitable) advertisement information corresponding to the received installation location information from the plurality of advertisement information stored in the storage device 23.

  In step 204 (S204), the CPU 21 transmits the searched advertisement information to the image forming apparatus 10.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing (S30) performed after the CPU 11 determines whether or not the charging device 19 or the authentication device 20 is used.
As shown in FIG. 10, in step 300 (S300), the CPU 11 first determines whether or not the charging device 19 or the authentication device 20 is used by the user. If the use of the authentication device 20 is permitted, the process of S302 is performed. If the use of the billing apparatus 19 is permitted, the process proceeds to S314. If neither the billing apparatus 19 nor the authentication apparatus 20 is permitted, the process ends.

  In step 302 (S302), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the authentication by the authentication device 20 has been cancelled. If it has been cancelled, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of S304, and otherwise ends the process.

  In step 304 (S304), the CPU 11 starts a timer in order to determine a period for setting the installation location information for displaying the advertisement information to be used internally (installation location code: “0”).

  In step 306 (S306), the CPU 11 saves the currently set installation location information in the memory 12, for example.

  In step 308 (S308), the CPU 11 changes the installation location information to be transmitted to the information distribution server 50 to in-house use.

  In step 310 (S310), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the timer has timed out. If timed out, the process proceeds to step S312; otherwise, the process continues to step S310.

  In step 312 (S312), the CPU 11 restores the installation location information saved in the process of S306.

  In step 314 (S314), it is determined whether or not the billing operation by the billing device 19 is finished. If finished, the process proceeds to S316, and otherwise the process is finished.

  In step 316 (S316), the CPU 11 starts a timer in order to determine a period for setting the installation location information for displaying advertisement information to general use (installation location code: “1”).

  In step 318 (S318), the currently set location information is saved in the memory 12, for example.

  In step 320 (S320), the CPU 11 changes the installation location information to be transmitted to the information distribution server 50 to general use.

  In step 322 (S322), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the timer has timed out. If timed out, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of S324, and otherwise the process of S322 is continued.

  In step 324 (S324), the CPU 11 restores the installation location information saved in step S318.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a modified example (S40) of processing performed after the CPU 11 determines whether or not the charging device 19 or the authentication device 20 is used.
As shown in FIG. 11, in step 400 (S400), the CPU 11 first determines whether or not the charging device 19 or the authentication device 20 is used by the user. If the use of the authentication device 20 is permitted, the process of S402 is performed. If the use of the billing apparatus 19 is permitted, the process proceeds to S422. If neither the billing apparatus 19 nor the authentication apparatus 20 is permitted, the process is terminated.

  In step 402 (S402), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the authentication by the authentication device 20 has been started. If it has been started, the process proceeds to S404, and if not, the process ends.

  In step 404 (S404), the CPU 11 changes the installation location information to be transmitted to the information distribution server 50 to in-house use.

  In step 406 (S406), the CPU 11 acquires access information for accessing predetermined advertisement information stored in the storage device 23 of the information distribution server 50, such as installation information of the image forming apparatus 10 and an advertisement information acquisition destination. To do.

  In step 408 (S408), the CPU 11 transmits the installation location information of the image forming apparatus 10 to the information distribution server 50 via the communication I / F 17.

  In step 410 (S410), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the advertisement information corresponding to the access information has been acquired. If acquired, the process proceeds to the process of S412. If not acquired, the process of S410 is continued. To do.

  In step 412 (S412), the CPU 11 displays an advertisement information button 45 on a part of the operation screen 44 that receives an operation on the image forming apparatus 10 via the UI device 16 (see FIG. 12A).

In step 414 (S414), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the user has pressed the advertisement information button 45 via the UI device 16. If the CPU 11 determines that the advertisement information button 45 has been pressed, the process of S416 is performed. In other cases, the process of S414 is continued.
The advertisement information button 45 is a soft button for receiving an instruction from the user for the UI device 16 to display predetermined advertisement information.

  In step 416 (S 416), the CPU 11 displays advertisement information on the screen of the UI device 16.

  In step 418 (S418), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the authentication device 20 cancels the authentication or the charging device 19 terminates the charging operation. If it is determined that either has been performed, the processing of S420 is performed. In other cases, the process of S418 is continued.

  In step 420 (S420), the CPU 11 returns the installation location information to the state set before using the charging device 19 or the authentication device 20.

  In step 422 (S422), the CPU 11 determines whether or not the charging operation by the charging device 19 has been started. If it has started, the CPU 11 proceeds to the processing of S424, and otherwise ends the processing.

  In step 424 (S424), the CPU 11 changes the installation location information to be transmitted to the information distribution server 50 to general use.

  In the process of S40, the advertisement information 46 may be directly displayed on a part of the operation screen 44 (see FIG. 12B) instead of the processes of S412 to S416.

It is a lineblock diagram showing an outline of an advertising system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an image forming apparatus and an information delivery server. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the component of an image forming apparatus and an information delivery server. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed by a UI device of the image forming apparatus. It is an example of installation information notification in an advertising system. It is an example of selection of advertising information in an advertising system. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process (S10) performed by the image forming apparatus in order to display advertisement information by the UI apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process (S20) performed when an information delivery server transmits advertisement information. It is a flowchart which shows the process (S30) performed after CPU determines the presence or absence of use of an accounting device or an authentication device. It is a flowchart which shows the modification (S40) of the process performed after CPU determines whether the charging apparatus or the authentication apparatus is used. FIG. 5A is an example of an operation screen displayed by the UI device, where FIG. 5A is an example of an operation screen including an advertisement information button in the operation screen, and FIG. 5B is an example of an operation screen including advertisement information in the operation screen.

Explanation of symbols

1 advertising system 10-1 to 10-3 image forming apparatus 11 CPU
12 Memory 13 Storage Device 14 Printing Device 16 UI Device 17 Communication I / F
18 Voice playback device 19 Billing device 20 Authentication device 21 CPU
22 Memory 23 Storage device 24 UI device 25 Communication I / F
40 Menu screen 41 Copy operation screen 42 Advertising screen 43 Advertising screen (in the case of enumeration)
44 Operation Screen 45 Advertisement Information Button 46 Advertisement Information 50 Information Distribution Server 60 Network

Claims (11)

  Based on at least one of advertisement information output means for outputting advertisement information, industry information indicating an industry related to an operator who operates the advertisement information output means, and installation location information indicating an installation location of the advertisement information output means And an output control means for controlling the output of the advertisement information by the advertisement information output means.   The advertisement information output means outputs advertisement information by at least one of image and sound, and the output control means controls at least one of the content of the image, the sound content and the volume output by the advertisement information output means. The advertising system according to claim 1.   Operation receiving means for receiving a predetermined operation is further provided, and the output control means controls the output of advertisement information by the advertisement information output means according to a time elapsed after the operation receiving means has received the predetermined operation. The advertising system according to claim 2.   The operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit is configured to respond to an elapsed time after the operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating the operator. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output unit controls output of advertisement information.   The operation accepting unit accepts an operation of payment by an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit is configured according to a time elapsed after the operation accepting unit accepts an operation of payment by the operator. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output unit controls output of advertisement information.   The output control means outputs the advertisement information so that the advertisement information output means enumerates and outputs the advertisement information that can be output by the advertisement information output means according to the installation location information of the advertisement information output means. The operation received by the operation receiving means when the operation receiving means receives an operation for controlling the output of the advertisement information by the means and selecting any of the advertisement information output by the advertisement information output means. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output means controls the output of advertisement information according to.   The operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit cancels the authentication of the operator from when the operation accepting unit accepts an operation for authenticating the operator. 4. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output means controls to output the predetermined advertisement information until a predetermined time elapses until a predetermined time elapses after the operator authentication is canceled.   The operation accepting unit accepts a payment operation by an operator who operates the operation accepting unit, and the output control unit finishes the payment operation when the operation accepting unit accepts a payment operation by the operator. The advertisement system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement information output means controls to output predetermined advertisement information until a predetermined time elapses after the payment operation by the operator is completed.   The advertisement system according to claim 1, further comprising an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, wherein the advertisement information output unit also serves as an apparatus operation receiving unit that receives an operation on the image forming apparatus.   A touch panel that receives an operation and displays an image, and further includes an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium, and the touch panel displays advertisement information when a predetermined operation is received. 8. The advertising system according to any one of the above.   An image forming apparatus that forms an image, and an information processing apparatus that transmits and receives information to and from the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus including a display unit that displays an image and a control unit that controls the display unit; When the information processing apparatus receives information about the installation location of the image forming apparatus from the image forming apparatus, the information processing apparatus transmits predetermined advertisement information to the image forming apparatus according to the received information, and the image forming apparatus The apparatus is an advertisement system that displays the advertisement information transmitted by the information processing apparatus on the display unit under the control of the control unit.

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