JP2009230320A - Apparatus, system and method for generating print page, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print information included in a Web page, and directly desired by a user in easy-to-see and easy-to-understand ways, and to reduce sheet, ink or printing time in printing the Web page, or to generate highly advertising effects by using a sheet with the Web page printed thereon as a medium. <P>SOLUTION: A print page generation device 2 acquires a source code of a Web page from a Web server 3, and determines a print block and a non-print block in the source code. Also, the print page generation device 2 acquires advertisement information from an advertising server 4. Then, the print page generation device 2 generates a print page by combining the printing block and the advertising information, and outputs the print page to a printer 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print page generation device that generates a print page for printing a web page, a print page generation system, a print page generation method, and a computer program for executing the print page generation method.

  Currently, with the spread of the Internet, many people obtain useful information from websites provided by web servers.

  The source code of the web page on the website is described in a markup language such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). According to this markup language, the text and image to be displayed on the web page can be laid out so that the user can view the text and the image with a web browser.

  In many web pages, a menu that is convenient for selecting and switching a plurality of web pages, a banner advertisement with a link to an advertiser's website, and the like are arranged.

  Many people print web pages on paper using a printer in order to reuse the information contained in the web pages. For example, these people carry a web page-printed paper as a memorandum, bring it into a meeting room as a meeting material, or attach it to a report as a reference.

  However, in many cases, the text and images in the web page are laid out so as to be suitable for browsing by a web browser. In addition, menus and many banner advertisements are arranged in the web page. Furthermore, when the layout of the web page is a two-stage or three-stage column, a large white space may exist in the web page because the amount of characters or images differs between columns. On the other hand, a printing function of a popular web browser prints a web page displayed on the display of a personal computer by the web browser by a printer without maintaining the layout and excluding the menu and banner advertisement. .

  For this reason, when a user prints a web page on paper, there is a problem that information (content) that the user wants directly may be arranged at a position that is difficult to see on the paper. For example, the information that the user wants directly may be arranged at one corner of the paper on the paper on which the web page is printed, although the information is arranged in the center of the display in the layout of the web page. Sometimes, part of the information that the user wants directly protrudes from the paper and is not printed on the paper.

  Also, when a user prints a web page on paper, information unnecessary for the user, such as menus, banner advertisements, or other information unrelated to the information that the user wants directly, is printed on the paper. For this reason, there is a problem that information that the user wants directly becomes difficult to understand due to menus, banner advertisements or other unrelated information.

  Further, since information unnecessary for the user is printed on the paper, there is a problem that the paper, ink, or printing time is wasted.

  In addition, when the user prints a web page on paper, a large white space existing in the web page appears on the paper as it is, which causes a problem that the use efficiency of the paper is poor.

  In addition, when the user prints a web page on paper, the banner advertisement is printed on the paper as it is. However, the banner advertisement printed on the paper has a problem that sufficient advertising effect cannot be achieved. That is, in general, a banner advertisement is linked to an advertiser's website and is often designed to guide users to the advertiser's website. In other words, the banner advertisement is often configured so as to enhance a desired advertisement effect together with the linked advertiser's website. For this reason, the banner advertisement may not include sufficient information for appealing the advertiser's product or service to the user. Therefore, there is a problem that even if such a banner advertisement is printed on paper, a sufficient advertisement effect cannot be achieved.

  In other words, the problem is that the web page on which the banner advertisement is displayed and the paper printed by the user have completely different characteristics as an advertising medium. The printing needs of web pages are expanding rapidly, and the contents of web pages printed there are attached and stored as reference materials such as meetings, and are often carried as memorandums when going out. Thus, the following attributes as advertisement media are given to the paper to be printed out. Printed location information, time printed, weather at that time, contents of printed information, usage method estimated from user attributes, etc. are assigned as advertisement media attributes for each printed sheet of paper. The

  Paying attention to the attributes of the printed paper as such advertising media and utilizing it industrially, for example, all the paper printed at lunch on a day when the daytime temperature in summer is over 35 degrees It is possible to deliver the advertisement of newly released drinking water in detail so as to appeal to the user, or when the unique IP address assigned to the print page generation device or the printed information content is a map From the longitude and latitude information, it is possible to distribute local advertisements that have meaning in a limited area.

  However, until now, there has not yet been an apparatus, system, or computer program that focuses on the advertisement characteristics of web page printing paper and scientifically commercializes the advertisement characteristics.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and a first object of the present invention is to generate a print page that can be printed in an easy-to-understand or easy-to-understand manner that is included in a web page and that the user wants directly. An apparatus, a print page generation system, a print page generation method, and a computer program are provided.

  A second problem of the present invention is a print page generation apparatus, a print page generation system, a print page generation method, and a print page generation apparatus capable of reducing useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time when printing a web page. To provide a computer program.

  It is a third object of the present invention to provide a print page generation apparatus, a print page generation system, a print page generation method, and a computer program that can produce a high advertising effect through a sheet on which a web page is printed. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first print page generation apparatus of the present invention is a print page generation apparatus that generates a print page for printing a web page, and obtains a web page source code from a web server. Source code acquisition means for acquiring, print block determination means for determining print blocks and non-print blocks in the source code of the web page acquired by the source code acquisition means, and advertisement information acquisition for acquiring advertisement information from the advertisement server And a print page generation unit that generates a print page by combining the print block in the source code of the web page determined by the print block determination unit and the advertisement information acquired by the advertisement information acquisition unit. A printing apparatus for printing a print page generated by the print page generation means And a printed page output means for outputting.

  A second print page generation apparatus according to the present invention includes the components of the first print page generation apparatus according to the present invention described above, and the non-print block is a banner advertisement.

  A third print page generation apparatus according to the present invention includes the above-described constituent elements of the first print page generation apparatus according to the present invention, and further, the print block determination means uses a print block in the source code of the web page as a user. Printing block designation means for designating.

  A fourth print page generation apparatus of the present invention includes the components of the third print page generation apparatus described above. The source code of the web page is divided into a plurality of blocks, a part or all of the plurality of blocks is assigned a title, and the print block designating unit is configured to provide a user with a title based on each title. In order to allow the user to designate a print block, the titles are read from the source code of the web page, and a list in which the titles are arranged is displayed on the display.

  In order to solve the above problems, a print page generation system of the present invention is a print page generation system that generates a print page for printing a web page, and includes the first print page generation apparatus of the present invention described above. An advertisement server, the advertisement server storing advertisement information storage means for storing a plurality of advertisement information, and a plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement information storage means for a website provided by the web server. An attribute, an attribute of a user of the print page generation device, an attribute of content included in the web page, an attribute of a time when the user is using the print page generation device, or a user using the print page generation device Advertisement information selection means for selecting advertisement information that matches the weather attribute when the advertisement information is selected, and the advertisement information selected by the advertisement information selection means And an advertising information sending means for sending the printed page generator.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a print page generation method of the present invention is a print page generation method for generating a print page for printing a web page, and a source for acquiring a web page source code from a web server A code acquisition step, a print block determination step for determining a print block and a non-print block in the source code of the web page acquired in the source code acquisition step, an advertisement information acquisition step for acquiring advertisement information from an advertisement server, A print page generation step for generating a print page by combining a print block in the source code of the web page determined in the print block determination step and the advertisement information acquired in the advertisement information acquisition step; Print the print page generated in the page generation process. And a printed page output step of outputting the.

  In order to solve the above problems, a computer program of the present invention includes a source code acquisition step of acquiring a web page source code from a web server, and a print block in the source code of the web page acquired in the source code acquisition step. A printing block determination step for determining a non-printing block, an advertisement information acquisition step for acquiring advertisement information from an advertisement server, a printing block in the source code of the web page determined in the printing block determination step, and the advertisement information A print page generation step for generating a print page by combining the advertisement information acquired in the acquisition step, and a print page output step for outputting the print page generated in the print page generation step to a printing apparatus. Let it run.

  In the first or second print page generation apparatus of the present invention described above, a print page is generated by combining the print block in the source code of the web page and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server. Output to the printer. Thereby, the print block in the source code of the web page and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server are printed on the paper. That is, the non-printing block in the web page source code is excluded from the printing page, and thus the non-printing block is not printed on the paper.

  Therefore, a block of source code corresponding to information directly desired by the user (for example, content that the user is interested in) included in the web page is used as a print block, and the menu, banner advertisement, and other information unrelated to the information directly desired by the user If the block of the source code corresponding to information unnecessary for the user is a non-printing block, the information unnecessary for the user can be excluded from the print page, and the unnecessary information is prevented from being printed on the paper. be able to. Therefore, the information directly desired by the user included in the web page can be printed on the paper in an easy-to-see or understandable manner. Further, when printing a web page, useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time can be reduced.

  Further, according to the first or second print page generation apparatus of the present invention, the banner advertisement is excluded from the print page by setting the block of the source code corresponding to the banner advertisement as the non-print block, and the banner advertisement is printed on the paper. To obtain advertising information from the ad server that contains sufficient information to appeal the user to the advertiser's products and services, and incorporate this advertising information into the print page. Can do. Thereby, a high advertising effect can be produced through the paper on which the print page is printed.

  In the above-described third print page generation apparatus of the present invention, the user specifies a print block in the web page source code. Thereby, the user can specify the information directly desired by the user included in the web page. Information not specified by the user included in the web page is excluded from the print page and is not printed on paper. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the visibility or easy-to-understand information on the sheet of information that the user wants directly, and to further reduce wasteful paper, wasteful ink or wasteful printing time when printing a web page. it can.

  In the above-described fourth print page generation apparatus of the present invention, in order to allow the user to specify a print block, a list in which titles attached to some or all of a plurality of blocks in the source code of the web page are arranged on the display is displayed. indicate. By viewing the list displayed on the display, the user can easily and reliably specify a block including information directly desired by the user as a print block.

  In the above-described print page generation system according to the present invention, the advertisement server includes a plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement server, a website attribute provided by the web server, a user attribute of the print page generation apparatus, a web Selecting advertisement information that matches the attribute of the content included in the page, the attribute when the user is using the print page generation device, or the weather attribute when the user is using the print page generation device; Such advertisement information is transmitted to the print page generating apparatus. Then, the print page generation apparatus acquires the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement server. The acquired advertisement information is incorporated into a print page and printed on paper. As a result, advertisement information that fits the needs or wants of the user of the print page generating apparatus can be printed on paper. Accordingly, it is possible to produce a higher advertising effect through the paper on which the printed page is printed.

  According to the above-described print page generation method of the present invention, as in the above-described first print page generation apparatus of the present invention, information that the user wants directly included in a web page is printed on a sheet in an easy-to-read or understandable manner. Can do. Further, when printing a web page, useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time can be reduced. In addition, a high advertising effect can be produced through the paper on which the printed page is printed.

  According to the above-described computer program of the present invention, as in the above-described first print page generating apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to print information that the user wants directly included in the web page is easy to see or understand on the paper. . Further, when printing a web page, useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time can be reduced. In addition, a high advertising effect can be produced through the paper on which the printed page is printed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Web page printing system)
FIG. 1 shows a web page printing system. As shown in FIG. 1, the web page printing system 1 includes a print page generating device 2, a web server 3, an advertisement server 4, and a printer 5. The print page generation device 2, the web server 3, and the advertisement server 4 are connected to each other via a wide-area computer network (for example, the Internet 6 in this embodiment), and can communicate information with each other. The print page generation apparatus 2 and the printer 5 are connected to each other via a local computer network (in this embodiment, for example, a local area network (LAN) 7), and can communicate information with each other. The printer 5 is a specific example of a printing apparatus. Further, the connection means between the print page generation apparatus 2 and the printer 5 may be a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or an RS232C cable.

  The print page generation apparatus 2 is an embodiment of the print page generation apparatus of the present invention. Further, the print page generation device 2 and the advertisement server 4 constitute a print page generation system.

  The print page generation device 2 performs print page generation processing. The print page generation process is a process for generating a print page for printing a web page. Specifically, the print page generation apparatus 2 acquires a web page source code from the web server 3 and determines a print block and a non-print block in the source code. In addition, the print page generation apparatus 2 acquires advertisement information from the advertisement server 4. Then, the print page generation device 2 generates a print page by combining the print block in the web page source code and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server 4, and outputs the print page to the printer 5. The printer 5 prints the print page output from the print page generation device 2 on paper.

  The print page generation apparatus 2 determines that information directly desired by the user, for example, a block of source code corresponding to content, among the information included in the web page is a print block. In addition, the print page generation device 2 includes, among information included in the web page, information unnecessary for the user, for example, a source code block corresponding to a matter for performing a web page browsing operation such as a menu, and a banner advertisement, for example. A block of source code corresponding to additional information included in the web page is determined as a non-printing block.

  Therefore, the content included in the web page and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server 4 are arranged on the print page generated by the print page generating device 2, and the menu and banner advertisement included in the web page are excluded from the print page. Is done. As a result, the content included in the web page and the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server 4 are printed on the paper printed by the printer 5, and the menu and banner advertisement included in the web page are not printed.

  The print page generation device 2 is, for example, a personal computer (client PC). That is, the personal computer is caused to function as the print page generation apparatus 2 by causing the personal computer to execute a computer program for causing the personal computer to function as the print page generation apparatus 2. A computer program for causing a personal computer to function as the print page generating device 2 is transmitted from the web server 3 when the user uses the web page printing system 1 for the first time, and is installed in the personal computer (this computer program). Is stored in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 17 (see FIG. 2)).

  The web server 3 is a server computer that publishes a website on the Internet 6.

  The source code of each web page in the website provided by the web server 3 includes a source code corresponding to information included in a general web page such as content, menu, banner advertisement, etc. In addition, unique data and tags for generating an image, and a computer program (JAVA (registered trademark) script) for realizing a designated printing function to be described later are described.

  In addition, in order to install a computer program for causing a personal computer to function as the print page generating device 2 to a personal computer of a user who uses the web page printing system 1 for the first time, the web server 3 has an installation package for the computer program. Is remembered.

  The advertisement server 4 performs advertisement information transmission processing. The advertisement information transmission process is a process of transmitting the advertisement information incorporated into the print page generated by the print page generation apparatus 2 to the print page generation apparatus 2. Specifically, the advertisement server 4 stores a plurality of various advertisement information provided by the advertiser. The advertisement server 4 includes, from among a plurality of pieces of advertisement information, the user selects a website attribute provided by the web server 3, a user attribute of the print page generation device 2, a content attribute included in the web page, and a print page generation device 2 The advertisement information that matches the attribute of the time of use or the weather attribute when the user is using the print page generation device 2 is selected. Then, the advertisement server 4 transmits the selected advertisement information to the print page generation device 2.

(Print page generation device)
FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the print page generation apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the print page generation apparatus 2 includes a source code acquisition unit 11, a print block determination unit 12, a print block designation unit 13, an advertisement information acquisition unit 14, a print page generation unit 15, a print page output unit 16, A hard disk drive 17, a keyboard 18, a mouse (not shown), a display 19, a wide area communication interface 20, a LAN interface 21, and a general control unit 22 are provided.

  The source code acquisition unit 11 acquires the source code of the web page from the web server 3.

  Specifically, when the user is browsing the web page of the website provided by the website 3 with a web browser, the user clicks on the print button 43 (see FIG. 4) in the web page with the mouse, The source code of the web page being browsed is transmitted from the web server 3 to the print page generating apparatus 2 via the Internet 6. The source code acquisition unit 11 acquires this source code. The source code acquisition unit 11 is a specific example of source code acquisition means.

  The printing block determination unit 12 determines a printing block and a non-printing block in the source code of the web page acquired by the source code acquisition unit 11.

  Specifically, the source code of the web page is divided into a plurality of blocks as described later (see FIG. 6). The block corresponds to the content block in which the source code corresponding to the content is described, the menu block in which the source code corresponding to the menu is described, the banner advertisement block in which the source code corresponding to the banner advertisement is described, and the print button 43 There is a control block in which source code is written. The print block determination unit 12 determines that the content block is a print block unless otherwise specified by the user, and determines that the menu block, the banner advertisement block, and the control block are non-print blocks. The content block, menu block, banner advertisement block, and control block are identified based on a block tag attached to each block or an index attached to each block tag. The block tag and index will be described later. The print block determination unit 12 is a specific example of a print block determination unit.

  The print block designation unit 13 allows the user to designate a print block in the web page source code. Hereinafter, a function that allows the user to specify a print block in the web page source code is referred to as a “designated print function”.

  Specifically, when the user clicks the designated print button 63 on the print page preview screen 60 (see FIG. 7 or FIG. 8) displayed on the display 19, the print block designation unit 13 causes the designated print form 70 (see FIG. 7). 9) is generated and displayed on the display 19. Each content block in the web page source code is given a title (title character string) (see FIG. 5). The print block designating unit 13 reads each title from the web page source code, and displays a list 71 in which the titles are arranged in the designated print form 70. The user can specify a content block to be printed based on the title in the list 71. In this case, the print block determination unit 12 determines that the content block designated by the user is a print block. The print block designation unit 13 is a specific example of a print block designation unit.

  The advertisement information acquisition unit 14 acquires advertisement information from the advertisement server 4.

  Specifically, the advertisement information acquisition unit 14 transmits an advertisement information request to the advertisement server 4 via the Internet 6. In response to this, the advertisement server 4 selects advertisement information to be incorporated into the print page, and transmits the selected advertisement information to the print page generation apparatus 2 via the Internet 6. The advertisement information acquisition unit 14 acquires the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement server 4.

  In addition, when the advertisement information acquisition unit 14 transmits the advertisement information request, the attribute of the website that provides the web page that is the target of the print page generation process, the attribute of the user of the print page generation device 2, the web page Attribute information indicating the attribute of the content included in the user, the attribute of the time when the user is using the print page generation device 2, the weather attribute when the user is using the print page generation device 2, and the like. The attribute information is transmitted to the advertisement server 4 together with the advertisement information request.

  The print page generation unit 15 generates a print page by combining the print block in the source code of the web page determined by the print block determination unit 12 and the advertisement information acquired by the advertisement information acquisition unit 14.

  More specifically, the print page generation unit 15 puts the content corresponding to the source code described in the print block (text or image constituting the content) on, for example, one or several A4 size sheets. Lay out to fit. Furthermore, the print page generation unit 15 adds the advertisement information acquired from the advertisement server 4 to, for example, the end of the laid-out content.

  In addition, the print page generation unit 15 generates a print page preview screen 60 (see FIGS. 7 and 8), and displays a print page preview image 61 in the print page preview screen 60. The print page preview screen 60 will be described later.

  The print page output unit 16 outputs the print page generated by the print page generation unit 15 to the printer 5.

  The hard disk drive 17 stores a computer program for causing a personal computer to function as the print page generating device 2. The display 19 is a liquid crystal display, for example. The wide area communication interface 20 includes, for example, a communication circuit for Internet connection. The LAN interface 21 includes a communication circuit for LAN connection. The comprehensive control unit 22 comprehensively controls the print page generation apparatus 2.

  The source code acquisition unit 11, the print block determination unit 12, the print block designation unit 13, the advertisement information acquisition unit 14, the print page generation unit 15, the print page output unit 16, and the general control unit 22 are controlled by a control unit 23 included in the personal computer. Realized. That is, the personal computer has a control unit 23 that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The control unit 23 executes the above-described computer program stored in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 17, thereby causing the control unit 23 to acquire the source code acquisition unit 11, the print block determination unit 12, the print block designation unit 13, and the advertisement information acquisition. Function as the unit 14, the print page generation unit 15, the print page output unit 16, and the general control unit 22. As a result, the personal computer functions as the print page generation apparatus 2.

(Ad server)
FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the advertisement server 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the advertisement server 4 includes an advertisement information storage unit 25, an advertisement information selection unit 26, an advertisement information transmission unit 27, and a general control unit 28. Further, the advertisement server 4 includes input / output devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a display, a wide area communication interface, and the like, like a general server computer.

  The advertisement information storage unit 25 is, for example, a hard disk, and the advertisement information storage unit 25 stores a plurality of various advertisement information.

  The advertisement information selection unit 26 is included in the website attribute provided by the web server 3, the attribute of the user of the print page generation device 2, and the web page from among a plurality of various advertisement information stored in the advertisement server 4. The advertisement information that matches the attribute of the content, the attribute of the time when the user is using the print page generation device 2, the weather attribute when the user is using the print page generation device 2, or the like is selected.

  The attributes of the website provided by the web server 3 include, for example, main objects (gender, age, occupation, etc.) that the advertisement medium assumes to be service objects, service types, and the like.

  The user attributes of the print page generation apparatus 2 include the user's gender, age, occupation, interest, and residential area.

  The attributes of the content included in the web page include a content genre and a target for providing the content.

  The attribute of the time when the user is using the print page generation device 2 includes the time zone (am, lunch, afternoon, midnight, etc.) the user is using the print page generation device 2 and the season (rainy season, Summer, winter, etc.).

  The attributes of the weather when the user is using the print page generation device 2 include the weather (rain, snow, clear weather, etc.) when the user is using the print page generation device 2, and the temperature (10 degrees or less, Over 30 degrees, cold, cool, hot, intense heat, etc.).

  The advertisement information transmission unit 27 transmits the advertisement information selected by the advertisement information selection unit 26 to the print page generation device 2.

  Selection and transmission of advertisement information by the advertisement information selection unit 26 and the advertisement information transmission unit 27 are performed in response to an advertisement information request transmitted from the print page generation apparatus 2 to the advertisement server 4. Further, the selection of the advertisement information by the advertisement information selection unit 26 is performed based on attribute information transmitted together with the advertisement information request from the print page generation apparatus 2.

  The comprehensive control unit 28 comprehensively controls the advertisement server 4.

(Web page)
FIG. 4 shows a web page provided by the web server 3. As shown in FIG. 4, contents 31, 32, 33, menus 34, 35, banner advertisements 36 to 41, a print button arrangement area 42, and a print button 43 are arranged on the web page 30. Since the web page 30 has two columns and the amount of the banner advertisements 37 to 40 arranged in the left column is large, a blank 44 is formed at the bottom of the right column.

  The print button 43 is a button for causing the print page generating apparatus 2 to start print page processing. When the user clicks the print button 43 with the mouse, the source code of the web page 30 is transmitted from the web server 3 to the print page generating device 2.

  When the user uses the web page printing system 1 for the first time, when the user clicks the print button 43, the personal computer functions as the print page generation device 2 before the source code of the web page 30 is transmitted. A computer program is transmitted from the web server 3 to the personal computer, and this computer program is installed in the personal computer.

  FIG. 5 shows the header portion of the source code of the web page 30 provided by the web server 3. As shown in FIG. 5, a computer program (for example, JAVA (registered trademark) script) for realizing the above-described designated printing function is described in the header portion of the source code.

  In this computer program, the number of designated print items, that is, the number of content blocks that can be designated by the user is described as follows, for example.

XXPrint.SetContentsCount (3)
This description indicates that the number of designated print items is three.

  In the computer program, the title of the designated print item, that is, the title attached to the content block that can be designated by the user is described as follows, for example.

XXPrint.SetContentsTitle (1: '(above) Next year budget established');
XXPrint.SetContentsTitle (2: 'Middle Olympics');
XXPrint.SetContentsTitle (3: '(bottom) XX company net profit increased 80%');
This description indicates that the titles of the designated print items are “(Upper) Next Year Budget Established”, “(Medium) Olympics Held”, and “(Lower) XX Company Net Profit Increased by 80%”, respectively.

  When generating the designated print form 70 (see FIG. 9), the print block designating unit 13 reads the description of the titles of these designated print items, and displays a list 71 in which these titles are arranged in the designated print form 70.

  FIG. 6 shows the body part of the source code of the web page 30 provided by the web server 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the source code of the web page 30 is divided into a plurality of blocks. The blocks include content blocks in which source codes corresponding to the contents 31, 32, and 33 are described, menu blocks in which source codes corresponding to the menus 34 and 35 are described, and sources corresponding to the banner advertisements 36 to 41, respectively. There are a banner advertisement block in which a code is described, a control block in which a source code corresponding to the print button 43 is described, and the like.

  Block tags are inserted at the beginning and end of each block. The block tag is a tag indicating that a portion sandwiched between two corresponding block tags is defined as one block. The block tag is different for each content block, menu block, banner advertisement block, and control block. For example:

Content block tags: <XX_body>, </ XX_body>
Menu block tag: <XX_menu>, </ XX_menu>
Banner ad block tags: <XX_banner>, </ XX_banner>
Control block tag: <XX_control>, </ XX_control>
Thereby, the printing block determination part 12 can identify the kind of block based on a block tag.

  Each block tag is provided with an index for identifying a plurality of the same type of blocks one by one. For example, the indexes attached to the content blocks are as follows.

XXBODYINDEX = '1'
XXBODYINDEX = '2'
XXBODYINDEX = '3'
As a result, the printing block determination unit 12 can identify each of a plurality of the same type of blocks based on the index.

(Print page preview screen)
7 and 8 show a print page preview screen. When the user clicks the print button 43 in the web page 30, a print page generation process is executed in the print page generation apparatus 2, and the print page preview screen 60 is displayed by the print page generation unit 15 in the print page generation process. It is generated and displayed on the display 19.

  On the print page preview screen 60, a print page preview image 61 is displayed. The print page preview screen 60 includes a print execution button 62, a designated print button 63, a previous page movement button 64, a rear page movement button 65, and the like. The print execution button 62 is a button for outputting a print page to the printer 5 and causing the printer 5 to print the print page. The designated print button 63 is a button for displaying the designated print form 70 on the display 19 and executing the designated print function. The previous page movement button 64 is a button for returning the page of the print page to the previous page when the second and subsequent pages of the print page composed of a plurality of pages are displayed on the print page preview screen 60. The rear page move button 65 is a button for proceeding to the next page of the print page when a page other than the last page of the print page composed of a plurality of pages is displayed on the print page preview screen 60.

(Designated print form)
FIG. 9 shows the designated print form. When the user clicks the designated print button 63 in the print page preview screen 60, the designated print form 70 is generated by the print block specifying unit 13 of the print page generating apparatus 2 and displayed on the display 19. The designated print form 70 is a form for causing the user to designate a print block in the source code of the web page 30 and executing the above-described designated print function. In the designated print form 70, a list 71 in which the titles attached to the content blocks are arranged is displayed. The user can specify a content block to be printed by checking a title in the list 71 and clicking an OK button 72. Note that when all prints are checked and the OK button 72 is clicked, all content blocks are designated.

(Print page)
FIG. 10 shows a print page. The print page 80 is generated by the print page generation unit 15 of the print page generation apparatus 2 in the print page generation process. The print page 80 is generated by combining the print block in the source code of the web page 30 determined by the print block determination unit 12 and the advertisement information 45 acquired by the advertisement information acquisition unit 14.

  10 is a print page generated when the user specifies a content block corresponding to the content 31 and a content block corresponding to the content 33 in the web page 30 in FIG. is there. Since the content block corresponding to the content 32 is not designated by the user, it is excluded from the print block 80.

  As can be seen from the comparison between the web page 30 in FIG. 4 and the print page 80 in FIG. 10, the print page 80 includes menus 34 and 35, banner advertisements 36 to 41 in the web page 30, a print button arrangement area 42, and a print. The button 43 is excluded. Further, in the print page 80, the blank 44 existing in the web page 30 does not exist.

  In the print page 80, the contents 31 and 33 designated by the user are subjected to layout processing such as centering of the entire contents and enlargement / reduction of text and images in the contents. For easy viewing.

  In the print page 80, the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 is added below the content 33. Unlike the banner advertisements 36 to 41 arranged on the web page 30, the advertisement information 45 is another advertisement that is not arranged (displayed) on the web page 30. The advertisement information 45 has appropriate content as an advertisement using, for example, a paper medium. That is, the advertising information 45 does not have a content that increases the advertising effect in combination with the website linked to the banner advertising, but a content that increases the advertising effect by the advertising information 45 alone. is doing. For example, the advertisement information 45 sufficiently includes information on the performance and price of products and services that are advertisement targets.

(Print page generation process and advertisement information transmission process)
FIG. 11 shows print page generation processing by the print page generation device 2 and advertisement information transmission processing by the advertisement server 4.

  When a user is browsing a web page provided by the website 3 with a web browser, if the user clicks the print button 43 (see FIG. 4) in the web page 30 with the mouse, the print page generation device 2 performs a print page generation process. Is started.

  When the print page generation process is started, as shown in FIG. 11, first, the source code acquisition unit 11 of the print page generation apparatus 2 acquires the source code of the web page from the web server (step S1: acquisition of source code). Process).

  Subsequently, the print block determination unit 12 of the print page generation device 2 determines a print block and a non-print block in the source code of the web page acquired in step S1 (step S2: print block determination step). Immediately after the execution of the print page generation process is started, in order to display the preview image 61 of the initial print page on the print page preview screen 60, the print block determination unit 12 performs all of the source code of the web page 30. Are determined to be print blocks.

  Subsequently, the advertisement information acquisition unit 14 of the print page generation apparatus 2 collects attribute information as described above, and transmits the collected attribute information to the advertisement server 4 together with the advertisement information request (step S3).

  Subsequently, the advertisement server 4 receives the advertisement information request and attribute information transmitted from the print page generation device 2. Then, the advertisement information selection unit 26 of the advertisement server 4 responds to the advertisement information request, based on the attribute information, from among the plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement information storage unit 25 of the advertisement server 4 as described above. The advertisement information 45 that matches the attribute is selected (step S4).

  Subsequently, the advertisement information transmitting unit 27 of the advertisement server 4 transmits the advertisement information 45 selected in step S4 to the print page generating device 2 (step S5).

  Subsequently, the advertisement information acquisition unit 14 of the print page generation device 2 acquires the advertisement information 45 transmitted from the advertisement server 4 (step S6: advertisement information acquisition step).

  Subsequently, the print page generation unit 15 of the print page generation apparatus 2 combines the print block (all content blocks) in the source code of the web page determined in step S2 and the advertisement information 45 acquired in step S6. Thus, a print page is generated (step S7: print page generation step).

  Subsequently, the print page generation unit 15 generates a print page preview screen 60 (see FIG. 7), and displays the print page preview image 61 generated in step S7 in the print page preview screen 60 (step S8). .

  As a result, the preview image 61 of the initial print page in which all the content blocks included in the web page 30 that the user is currently browsing with the browser and the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 is arranged is the print page. It is displayed on the preview screen 60 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

  Subsequently, the general control unit 22 of the print page generating apparatus 2 determines whether or not a content block is designated by the user (step S9).

  As described above, when the user clicks the designated print button 63 in the print page preview screen 60 with the mouse, the designated print form 70 (see FIG. 9) is displayed on the display 19. Then, when the user checks one of the titles displayed in the list 71 of the designated print form 70 and clicks the OK button 72, the content block with the checked title is designated. As described above, when the content block is designated by the user (step S9: YES), the print block determining unit 12 of the print page generating apparatus 2 determines that the content block specified by the user is a print block (step S9). S10: Print block determination step).

  Subsequently, the print page generation unit 15 of the print page generation apparatus 2 prints the print block (content block specified by the user) in the source code of the web page determined in step S10 and the advertisement information 45 acquired in step S6. Are combined to generate a print page 80 (see FIG. 10) (step S11: print page generation step).

  Subsequently, the print page generation unit 15 displays the preview image of the print page 80 generated in step S11 on the print page preview screen 60 (step S12).

  Thereby, among the content blocks included in the web page 30 that the user is currently browsing with the browser, the content block specified by the user and the print page 80 in which the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 is arranged. A preview image is displayed on the print page preview screen 60.

  Subsequently, the overall control unit 22 of the print page generation apparatus 2 determines whether or not the print execution button 62 in the print page preview screen 60 has been clicked by the user (step S13).

  When the print execution button 62 is clicked by the user (step S13: YES), the print page output unit 16 of the print page generation device 2 outputs the print page 80 generated in step S11 to the printer 5 (step S14: Print page output process).

  As a result, the print page 80 in which the content block specified by the user and the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 among the content blocks included in the web page 30 that the user is currently browsing with the browser is arranged. Printed on paper.

  On the other hand, in step S9, when the user clicks the print execution button 62 without specifying a content block (step S9: NO, step S13: YES), the print page output unit 16 is generated in step S7. The printed page is output to the printer 5 (step S14: print page output step).

  As a result, a print page on which all the content blocks included in the web page 30 that the user is currently browsing with the browser and the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 is arranged is printed on paper.

  As described above, the print page generation apparatus 2 generates the print page 80 by combining the print block in the source code of the web page 30 and the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4. Output to the printer 5. Thereby, the print block in the source code of the web page 30 and the advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4 are printed on the paper. That is, since the non-printing block in the source code of the web page 30 is excluded from the printing page 80, the non-printing block is not printed on the paper.

  Unless specified by the user, the print page generation device 2 is content 31, 32, 33 that is normally considered to be information that the user wants directly among the information included in the web page 30 that the user is browsing with the web browser. The block of the source code corresponding to is determined as a print block. The print page generation apparatus 2 also includes menus 34 and 35, banner advertisements 36 to 41, and the like that are normally considered to be unnecessary information for the user among the information included in the web page 30 that the user is browsing with the web browser. The block of the source code corresponding to is determined as a non-printing block. As a result, information unnecessary for the user can be excluded from the print page 80, and the unnecessary information can be prevented from being printed on the paper.

  Therefore, the information directly desired by the user included in the web page 30, that is, the contents 31, 32, 33 can be printed on the paper in an easy-to-see or understandable manner.

  Further, when printing a web page, useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time can be reduced.

  FIGS. 12 and 13 show the web page 30 shown in FIG. 4 printed on paper using a printing function installed in a general web browser. A printing function installed in a general web browser prints a web page displayed on the web browser on a sheet while maintaining its layout. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the contents 31, 32, and 33, which are information directly desired by the user, are arranged on the left side of the sheet, and the left end of the contents 31, 32, and 33 protrudes from the sheet. It doesn't appear on the paper. Information unnecessary for the user such as the menus 34 and 35 and the banner advertisements 36 to 41 occupies a wide portion of the paper.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the print page 80 generated by the print page generation apparatus 2 includes contents 31 and 33 that are information directly desired by the user, and advertisement information 45 acquired from the advertisement server 4. Has been placed. The print page 80 excludes information unnecessary for the user such as the menus 34 and 35 and the banner advertisements 36 to 41.

  As can be seen by comparing FIGS. 12, 13, and 10, by outputting the print page 80 generated by the print page generation apparatus 2 to the printer 5, information that the user wants directly included in the web page 30 is directly displayed on the sheet. Can be printed easily or clearly. Further, since the number of print pages is reduced by the amount of information unnecessary for the user being excluded, useless paper, useless ink, or useless printing time can be reduced when performing printing.

  Further, according to the print page generation device 2, the banner advertisements 36 to 41 are excluded from the print page 80 by determining that the block of the source code corresponding to the banner advertisements 36 to 41 is a non-print block, and the banner advertisements 36 to 41 can be prevented from being printed on paper, and advertisement information 45 sufficiently including information for appealing to the user of the advertiser's product or service is acquired from the advertisement server 4. Can be transferred to a print page. Therefore, a high advertising effect can be produced through the paper on which the print page 80 is printed.

  Further, the print page generation device 2 allows the user to specify a content block in the source code of the web page 30. Thereby, the user can specify the content which the user included in the web page 30 wants directly. Content not specified by the user is excluded from the print page and is not printed on paper. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the legibility or understandability of the content that the user wants directly on the paper, and further reduce wasteful paper, wasteful ink, or wasteful printing time when the web page 30 is printed. Can do.

  In addition, the print page generation apparatus 2 displays a list 71 in which titles assigned to a plurality of content blocks in the source code of the web page 30 are arranged on the display 19 in order to allow the user to specify content blocks. By viewing the list 71 displayed on the display 19, the user can easily and surely specify a content block including the content that the user wants directly.

  In the print page generation system configured from the print page generation device 2 and the advertisement server 4, the advertisement server 4 provides a website provided by the web server 3 from among a plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement server 4. Attribute of the user of the print page generation device 2, the attribute of the content included in the web page, the attribute of the time when the user is using the print page generation device 2, or the user using the print page generation device 2 The advertisement information 45 that matches the weather attribute when the user is present is selected, and such advertisement information 45 is transmitted to the print page generation apparatus 2. Then, the print page generation device 2 acquires the advertisement information 45 transmitted from the advertisement server 4. The acquired advertisement information 45 is incorporated into the print page 80 and printed on paper. Accordingly, the advertisement information 45 that fits the needs or wants of the user of the print page generating apparatus 2 can be printed on the paper. Therefore, it is possible to produce a higher advertising effect through the paper on which the print page 80 is printed.

  Further, as discussed above as the subject of the present invention, the paper on which the web page (print page 80) is printed has characteristics different from the web page as an advertising medium. According to the print page generation system composed of the print page generation device 2 and the advertisement server 4, such advertisement characteristics of the web page printing paper can be scientifically commercialized.

  In the web page printing system 1 described above, the web server 3 and the advertisement server 4 are configured by two independent server computers, and the function of providing the web page and the function of providing the advertisement information are provided to both. Although the case of assigning each is given as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. One server computer may have a function of providing a web page and a function of providing advertisement information.

  In this case, advertisement information can be described in advance in the web page. When the advertisement information is described in advance in the web page, the advertisement information is prevented from being displayed on the web browser when the user browses the web page with the web browser. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the source code block corresponding to the advertisement information is enclosed in a comment tag (<!-->), And the source code block corresponding to the advertisement information is excluded from the display target of the web browser. .

  Further, in the above-described print page generation apparatus 2, the content block (the content block specified by the user when the content block is specified by the user) included in the source code of the web page is determined as the print block, and the menu block Although the case where the banner advertisement block and the control block are determined to be non-printing blocks has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. Which block included in the source code of the web page is set as a printing block or a non-printing block can be arbitrarily determined by a producer of a computer program that causes a personal computer to function as the printing page generation device 2, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the print page generation apparatus 2 is a personal computer (client PC) is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The print page generation device 2 may be a television device or a game device. The display 19 is not limited to a monitor for a personal computer, but may be a large display of a television device or a small display of a game device.

  Further, the present invention can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and a print page generation apparatus, a print page generation system, and a print that accompany such changes A page generation method and a computer program are also included in the technical idea of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows a web page printing system. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of a print page production | generation apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of an advertisement server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the web page which a web server provides. It is explanatory drawing which shows the header part of the source code of the web page which a web server provides. It is explanatory drawing which shows the body part of the source code of the web page which a web server provides. It is explanatory drawing which shows the print page preview screen in which the 1st page of the preview image of the print page was displayed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the print page preview screen on which the 2nd page of the preview image of the print page was displayed. It is explanatory drawing which shows a designated printing form. It is explanatory drawing which shows the print page produced | generated by the print page production | generation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the print page production | generation process by a print page production | generation apparatus, and the advertisement information transmission process by an advertisement server. It is explanatory drawing which shows what printed on the paper using the printing function which a general web browser has. It is explanatory drawing which shows what printed on the paper using the printing function which a general web browser has. It is explanatory drawing which shows the source code corresponding to the advertisement information described on the web page.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Web page printing system 2 Print page generation apparatus 3 Web server 4 Advertising server 5 Printer (printing apparatus)
11 Source code acquisition unit (source code acquisition means)
12 Print block determination unit (print block determination means)
13 Print block designation section (print block designation means)
14 Advertising information acquisition part (Advertising information acquisition means)
15 Print page generation unit (print page generation means)
16 Print page output section (print page output means)
25 Advertising information storage unit (advertising information storage means)
26 Advertising information selection part (Advertising information selection means)
27 Advertising information transmission unit (Advertising information transmission means)
30 Web pages 71 List 80 Print pages

Claims (7)

A print page generation device that generates a print page for printing a web page,
A source code acquisition means for acquiring a source code of a web page from a web server;
A printing block determination unit that determines a printing block and a non-printing block in the source code of the web page acquired by the source code acquisition unit;
Advertising information acquisition means for acquiring advertising information from an advertising server;
Print page generation means for generating a print page by combining the print block in the source code of the web page determined by the print block determination means and the advertisement information acquired by the advertisement information acquisition means;
A print page generation apparatus comprising: a print page output means for outputting a print page generated by the print page generation means to a printing apparatus.   The print page generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the non-print block is a banner advertisement.   The print page generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print block determination unit includes a print block specifying unit that allows a user to specify a print block in the source code of the web page. The web page source code is divided into a plurality of blocks, each of some or all of the plurality of blocks is given a title,
The printing block designating means reads the titles from the source code of the web page and displays a list in which the titles are arranged on a display in order to allow the user to designate a printing block based on the titles. The print page generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein A print page generation system for generating a print page for printing a web page,
A print page generation apparatus according to claim 1 and the advertisement server.
The advertising server
Advertisement information storage means for storing a plurality of advertisement information;
Among the plurality of advertisement information stored in the advertisement information storage means, the website attribute provided by the web server, the attribute of the user of the print page generation device, the attribute of the content included in the web page, the print Advertisement information selection means for selecting advertisement information that matches the attribute of the time when the user is using the page generation device or the weather attribute when the user is using the print page generation device;
A print page generation system comprising: advertisement information transmission means for transmitting advertisement information selected by the advertisement information selection means to the print page generation device. A print page generation method for generating a print page for printing a web page,
A source code acquisition step of acquiring a source code of a web page from a web server;
A printing block determination step of determining a printing block and a non-printing block in the source code of the web page acquired in the source code acquisition step;
An advertising information acquisition step of acquiring advertising information from an advertising server;
A print page generation step of generating a print page by combining the print block in the source code of the web page determined in the print block determination step and the advertisement information acquired in the advertisement information acquisition step;
A print page generation method comprising: a print page output step of outputting the print page generated in the print page generation step to a printing apparatus. A source code acquisition step of acquiring a source code of a web page from a web server;
A printing block determination step of determining a printing block and a non-printing block in the source code of the web page acquired in the source code acquisition step;
An advertising information acquisition step of acquiring advertising information from an advertising server;
A print page generation step of generating a print page by combining the print block in the source code of the web page determined in the print block determination step and the advertisement information acquired in the advertisement information acquisition step;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute a print page output step of outputting a print page generated in the print page generation step to a printing apparatus.

Images