JP2011070433A - Electronic flier making device, electronic flier, electronic flier browsing device, and electronic flier system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and accurately make an electronic flier in which a link to the merchandise purchase page of an existing EC site is set for each merchandise. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic flier making device 2 creates original data 31 for a paper medium by the function of a DTP (Desk Top PUblishing) application 21. A merchandise identification object 41 is arranged for each merchandise in the original data 31 for a paper medium. The electronic flier making device 2 extracts the position coordinates of a merchandise identification object 41 arranged in the space of a flier based on the original data 31 for a paper medium by the function of a position coordinate extraction tool 22, and creates space data 32 and a position coordinate list 33. The electronic flier making device 2 creates an electronic flier 35 based on the space data 32, the position coordinate list 33 and the link information list 34 by the function of an electronic flier creation tool 23. The electronic flier 35 includes paper data 36, reference list 37, EC site information reflection program 38 and a flier browsing program 39 or the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic leaflet production device that produces an electronic leaflet that cooperates with an existing EC site.

A flyer, which is a printed product printed with product advertisements and advertisements, has information on daily special sales, event information, etc., and has the effect of promoting customers' willingness to purchase.
At present, electronic leaflets that can be viewed on PCs (personal computers), digital televisions, mobile phones, mobile terminals, game machines equipped with communication functions, etc., have been put into practical use by reading such paper-based leaflets with a scanner. Yes. The electronic flyer is browsed by a browsing application called a viewer. A general electronic flyer viewer has a link function that links to another Web site when a specific position of an image is clicked, in addition to an image enlargement / reduction, scroll function, and the like. Attempts have been made to use such a link function to lead to a product purchase page on an EC site for each product listed in an electronic flyer.

However, when the image data obtained by scanning a paper medium flyer is used as a manuscript, enormous manual work of setting a link destination for each product occurs in order to realize the above-described attempt. Therefore, at present, it takes enormous costs and time to create an electronic flyer that can be guided to the product purchase page on the EC site for each product.
There is also a method of creating an electronic flyer with a link added based on the DTP editing data of the flyer instead of inputting a paper medium flyer by scanner, but the work of adding the link is the same and extremely complicated. There is no change in what must be done.

  As conventional techniques for solving the above-described problems, there are elemental techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3. The techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 relate to a DTP (Desk Top Publishing) system for editing manuscript data of an advertisement printed matter such as a leaflet by a PC. In the DTP system, data (product name, price, product image, etc.) of products that are usually placed on a flyer is managed, and the layout of the advertisement printed matter is edited using the managed data.

  In Patent Document 1, from original data edited by a DTP system (product data in Patent Document 1), attribute information (character box, image, etc.) of component parts (paper box, character font, style, size) A technique for obtaining position information (starting point coordinates and end point coordinates if the component area is rectangular) based on the image file extension, file name, number of characters in the file name, etc. Are listed. Also, a technique for setting link information is described as one of utilization forms of the acquired position information.

  Patent Document 2 describes a technique for automatically picking up information on necessary items from document data edited by a DTP system (print making data in Patent Document 2) and generating a text data file that can be registered in a database. ing.

  In paragraphs [0002] to [0005] of Patent Document 3, a technique for calling an external function by providing a “non-display text” and providing a certain description rule for a character box object on a sheet of original data. Is described. Examples of the external function include a function that generates the current date as a character string.

JP-A-2005-208706 JP 2002-351895 A JP 2002-358300 A

However, the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3 are merely elemental techniques, and are not sufficient from the viewpoint of producing and providing an electronic leaflet that cooperates with an existing EC site system. As mentioned above, electronic flyers have a short production time due to the nature of posting daily special sale information and event information. On the other hand, if there is a link setting omission or the like, the customer cannot be guided to the EC site and the sales opportunity is lost. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether each link is correctly set. A mechanism for reducing link setting errors with a small amount of work is desired.
In addition, simply setting a link does not mean that it is linked to an EC site, and a sufficient sales promotion effect is not produced. For example, a mechanism for reflecting customer purchasing behavior on an EC site in an electronic flyer is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to accurately produce an electronic leaflet in which a link to a product purchase page of an existing EC site is set for each product in a short time. It is to provide an electronic leaflet production device and the like that can do. Also, it is to provide electronic leaflets etc. with high sales promotion effect in cooperation with EC sites.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention provides image data for displaying a flyer from DTP editing data, a link information list in which information for identifying a handled product and a URL of a product purchase page are associated with each other. A reference list that associates three types of information: paper data, identification information that identifies a product for each handled product, location information on the paper, and a URL that specifies one resource on the EC site management server; , An electronic leaflet production device for producing an electronic leaflet including: a paper data conversion unit that reads the DTP editing data and converts it into the paper data; and a product identification object that indicates product identification information that uniquely identifies a product to be handled A position coordinate list creating means for designating a search condition and extracting a position coordinate on the paper surface of the product identification object to create a position coordinate list; A reference list creating means for creating the reference list with reference serial link information list and the position coordinate list, which is an electronic flyer production apparatus characterized by comprising a. According to the first invention, an electronic leaflet in which a link to a product purchase page of an existing EC site is set for each handled product can be accurately produced in a short time.

  The second invention has three types: a browsing program, page data, identification information for specifying a product for each handled product, location information on the page, and a URL for specifying one resource on the EC site management server. Browsing on a monitor screen of a computer having a network communication means, comprising a reference list in which information is related, and an EC site information reflection program for accessing the EC site management server and acquiring predetermined information When the browsing program defines a link area for each product handled based on the reference list, displays the page data and the link area as an electronic leaflet, and the link area is selected Accesses the EC site management server via the associated URL, and further manages the EC site management server. When the last access time to the server receiving the interactive input event after a predetermined time is electronic leaflet, which is a program for executing the EC site information reflecting program. The electronic flyer according to the second invention can cooperate with the EC site to obtain a high sales promotion effect.

  The EC site information reflection program according to a second aspect of the invention acquires shopping cart information of a user who is browsing the electronic leaflet held by the EC site management server, and corresponds to a product registered in the shopping cart. It is desirable to display an object indicating registered in the area or the periphery of the link area. Thus, the user can check the list of products already purchased on the electronic leaflet, so that the electronic leaflet is repeatedly checked every time the product is purchased, and a high sales promotion effect can be obtained.

  The EC site information reflection program according to a second aspect of the invention acquires the price change reservation information held by the EC site management server, and sets the time until the price change or the price changed in or around the link area. It is desirable that the object to be displayed is displayed. As a result, it is possible to notify the user when the special price sale is over and when it has already ended, and it is possible to prevent the user from making a mistake in purchasing the price.

  The EC site information reflection program according to a second aspect of the invention acquires product inventory information held by the EC site management server and displays an object indicating the number of products in stock in or around the link area. It is desirable that Thereby, since the number of stocks can be notified to the user in a list format in the electronic flyer, the user can check the product purchase page from the remaining few products and prevent the loss of purchase opportunities.

  It is desirable that the EC site information reflection program in the second invention identifies a user who is browsing the electronic leaflet and obtains information corresponding to the user from the EC site management server. Thereby, appropriate information for each user can be reflected in the electronic leaflet.

  In the EC site information reflection program according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the user who is viewing the electronic leaflet is a retailer in charge of sales, the sales information, inventory / order status information held by the EC site management server It is desirable that at least one of the previous year results information is displayed in the area of the link area or the periphery thereof. Thereby, the retail store sales representative can directly confirm the advertising effect of the electronic leaflet on the electronic leaflet.

  The third invention relates three types of information: paper data, identification information for specifying a product for each handled product, location information on the paper, and URL specifying one resource on the EC site management server. An electronic flyer browsing device for browsing an electronic flyer comprising a reference list, and an EC site information reflection program for accessing the EC site management server and acquiring predetermined information, comprising: a network communication means; Means and a leaflet browsing means, wherein the leaflet browsing means defines a link area for each handled product based on the reference list, displays the page data and the link area as an electronic leaflet, and the link area When selected, the EC site management server is accessed by the associated URL, and the EC site management is further performed. When the last access time to over server receives interactive input event after a predetermined time is electronic flyers viewing apparatus characterized by executing the EC site information reflecting program. The electronic leaflet browsing apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention can obtain a high sales promotion effect in cooperation with the EC site.

  The EC site information reflection program according to the third aspect of the invention acquires shopping cart information of a user who is viewing the electronic leaflet held by the EC site management server, and stores the information in the shopping cart. It is desirable to display an object indicating registered in the area of the corresponding link area or in the vicinity thereof. Thus, the user can check the list of products already purchased on the electronic leaflet, so that the electronic leaflet is repeatedly checked every time the product is purchased, and a high sales promotion effect can be obtained.

  The fourth invention relates three types of information: paper data, identification information for specifying a product for each handled product, location information on the paper, and URL specifying one resource on the EC site management server. An electronic flyer distribution server that distributes the electronic flyer, and a terminal that can view the electronic flyer, which includes a reference list, an EC site information reflection program that accesses the EC site management server and acquires predetermined information And an electronic flyer system to which an EC site management server for managing an EC site is connected via a network, the electronic flyer distribution server comprising distribution means for distributing the electronic flyer to the terminal, The EC site management server comprises transmission means for transmitting information held by the EC site management server to the terminal in accordance with a request from the terminal, At the end, a link area is defined for each product handled based on the reference list, the page data and the link area are displayed as an electronic leaflet, and when the link area is selected, the EC site is displayed by an associated URL. And a flyer browsing means for executing the EC site information reflection program when a dialogue input event is received after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server. This is an electronic leaflet system. With the electronic leaflet system of the fourth invention, it is possible to obtain a high sales promotion effect in cooperation with the EC site.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic leaflet production device and the like that can accurately produce an electronic leaflet in which a link to a product purchase page of an existing EC site is set for each product in a short time. In addition, it is possible to provide electronic leaflets and the like with high sales promotion effects in cooperation with EC sites.

Outline diagram of electronic flyer system 1 Computer hardware configuration diagram Functional block diagram of electronic leaflet production device 2 Electronic flyer production process flowchart Example of image cut out from part of paper data 32 The figure explaining the position coordinate of the goods identification object 41 Search condition input screen example of the position coordinate extraction tool 22 An example of the position coordinate list 33 An example of the link information list 34 Setting screen example of electronic flyer creation tool 23 Example of reference list 37 Example of confirmation screen of electronic flyer creation tool 23 Flow chart of flyer browsing program 39 Flow chart of EC site information reflection program 38 Image example showing registered object 203 Flow chart showing an example of electronic leaflet browsing process Diagram explaining the link between electronic flyer 35 and EC site Image example showing a balloon object 205 indicating the time until price change Image example showing a balloon object 205 indicating that the price has been changed Example image showing a balloon object 205 indicating the number of items in stock

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, a hardware configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic leaflet system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic leaflet system 1 is configured by connecting an electronic leaflet production device 2, an electronic leaflet distribution server 3, an EC site management server 4, and a terminal 5 via a network as necessary. ing.

  The electronic leaflet production device 2 is a computer that produces an electronic leaflet. The electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 is installed with a DTP application program, an electronic leaflet authoring application program, a program that realizes a function specific to the embodiment of the present invention, and the like, and executes processing to be described later.

  The electronic leaflet distribution server 3 is a computer that distributes electronic leaflets. The electronic leaflet distribution server 3 transmits the electronic leaflet held by the electronic leaflet server 3 specified by the web browser of the terminal 5 or the electronic leaflet browsing viewer to the terminal 5.

  The EC site management server 4 is a computer that manages an EC (Electronic Commerce) site. EC sites are sites that sell products and services on the Internet. In the embodiment of the present invention, the EC site also includes an electronic shopping street (also referred to as “net shopping street”, “online mall”, etc.) in which pages of a plurality of shopkeepers are combined into one site. The EC site management server 4 holds a product purchase page for each product, and makes a settlement with a customer using a shopping cart (also referred to as a “shopping basket”). When the purchase button is pressed on the product purchase page, the target product is registered in the shopping cart. Items registered in the shopping cart can be settled together.

  The terminal 5 is a computer that browses electronic flyers. An electronic flyer browsing viewer or the like is installed in the terminal 5 and executes processing to be described later. The terminal 5 can be realized by a digital television, a mobile phone, a mobile terminal, a game machine equipped with a communication function, or the like instead of a general-purpose computer.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the computer. Note that the hardware configuration in FIG. 2 is an example, and various configurations can be adopted depending on the application and purpose. As shown in FIG. 2, the computer includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a media input / output unit 13, a communication control unit 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, a peripheral device I / F unit 17, etc. Connected through.

The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The CPU calls a program stored in the storage unit 12, ROM, recording medium or the like to a work memory area on the RAM, executes it, drives and controls each device connected via the bus 18, and performs processing performed by the computer. Realize.
The ROM is a non-volatile memory and permanently holds a computer boot program, a program such as BIOS, data, and the like.
The RAM is a volatile memory, and temporarily stores programs, data, and the like loaded from the storage unit 12, ROM, recording medium, and the like, and includes a work area used by the control unit 11 for performing various processes.

The storage unit 12 is an HDD (hard disk drive), and stores a program executed by the control unit 11, data necessary for program execution, an OS (operating system), and the like. With respect to the program, a control program corresponding to an OS (operating system) and an application program for causing a computer to execute processing described later are stored.
Each of these program codes is read by the control unit 11 as necessary, transferred to the RAM, read by the CPU, and executed as various means.

The media input / output unit 13 (drive device) inputs / outputs data, for example, a CD drive (-ROM, -R, -RW, etc.), DVD drive (-ROM, -R, -RW, etc.), MO drive, etc. And other media input / output devices.
The communication control unit 14 has a communication control device, a communication port, and the like, is a communication interface that mediates communication between the computer and the network 6, and controls communication with other computers via the network 6.

The input unit 15 inputs data and includes, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, and an input device such as a numeric keypad.
An operation instruction, an operation instruction, data input, and the like can be performed on the computer via the input unit 15.
The display unit 16 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and a logic circuit or the like (video adapter or the like) for realizing a video function of the computer in cooperation with the display device.

The peripheral device I / F (interface) unit 17 is a port for connecting a peripheral device to the computer, and the computer transmits and receives data to and from the peripheral device via the peripheral device I / F unit 17. The peripheral device I / F unit 17 is configured by USB, IEEE 1394, RS-232C, or the like, and usually includes a plurality of peripheral devices I / F. The connection form with the peripheral device may be wired or wireless.
The bus 18 is a path that mediates transmission / reception of control signals, data signals, and the like between the devices.

  Next, the function of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2.

The electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 is installed with programs such as a DTP application 21, a position coordinate extraction tool 22, an electronic leaflet creation tool 23, and the like. Although not shown, the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 also has an electronic leaflet authoring application program installed. The function of the electronic flyer authoring application program is used when the electronic flyer creation tool 23 is executed. Although not shown, the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 may be installed with an electronic leaflet browsing viewer program in order to confirm the operation of the produced electronic leaflet 35.
In addition, the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 may be configured by a plurality of computers. For example, it may be configured by a computer in which the DTP application 21 and the position coordinate extraction tool 22 program are installed, and a computer in which the electronic leaflet authoring application program, the electronic leaflet creation tool 23, and the electronic leaflet viewer program are installed.

  The DTP application 21 provides a function for performing operations such as letter composition, illustration creation, and layout of a paper medium flyer. With the function of the DTP application 21, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates paper medium document data 31 that is DTP editing data, and stores it in the storage unit 12. In the paper medium document data 31, characters, figures, images, and the like are arranged as objects.

FIG. 4 is an image example in which a part of the paper medium original data 31 is cut out. FIG. 4 is an image obtained by cutting out only a portion necessary for explanation, and several tens to several hundreds of products are posted in different layouts for each product as the entire paper surface.
In FIG. 4, for example, for the product “Kuroge Wagyu Beef Harbour 100g”, in addition to the graphic including the character string of the product name and price (text frame without a border line and no background filling), the product image, A graphic including the character string “5A0123” (application number) which is the identification object 41 is arranged. The application number is product identification information that uniquely identifies a product. In the paper medium document data 31, a product identification object 41 is arranged for each product.
These objects can be placed one on top of the other. For example, when two objects are arranged in an overlapping manner, which object is to be displayed in front is designated. In the example of FIG. 4, a product image and a text frame of a product name and a product identification object 41 are arranged on the back of the product image and superimposed on the product image.

  The position coordinate extraction tool 22 provides a function for extracting the position coordinates of the product identification object 41 arranged on the paper surface of the leaflet based on the paper medium document data 31. Further, the position coordinate extraction tool 22 provides a function for writing out paper surface data 32 which is image data (for example, JPEG format image data) of the entire paper surface to be posted on the web. With the function of the position coordinate extraction tool 22, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the paper surface data 32 and the position coordinate list 33 and stores them in the storage unit 12.

  The electronic leaflet creation tool 23 provides a function for creating an electronic leaflet 35 based on the page data 32, the position coordinate list 33, and the link information list 34. With the function of the electronic leaflet creation tool 23, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates an electronic leaflet 35 and stores it in the storage unit 12. The electronic leaflet 35 includes page data 36, a reference list 37, an EC site information reflection program 38, a leaflet browsing program 39 (an electronic leaflet viewer program).

Next, the electronic leaflet production process will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, FIG. 6 to FIG. 12 will be referred to as needed in describing FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the electronic leaflet production process. The electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 executes the electronic leaflet production process.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the paper medium original data 31 by the function of the DTP application 21 (S101). The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 arranges the product identification object 41 for each product in accordance with an instruction from the user via the input unit 15. The product identification object 41 can be arranged so as to be superimposed on a product image or the like. However, since a link is set to the product identification object 41, it is not preferable to arrange the product identification objects 41 so as to overlap each other.

  Next, the control part 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the position coordinate list 33 by the function of the position coordinate extraction tool 22 (S102). The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 displays the search condition input screen of the position coordinate extraction tool 22 on the display unit 16 and creates the position coordinate list 33 based on the data input via the input unit 15.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the position coordinates of the product identification object 41. The product identification object 41 illustrated in FIG. 6 is a text frame including a character string “5A0123”. In this case, the position coordinates of the product identification object 41 are determined by the upper left coordinates (x1, y1) and the lower right coordinates (x2, y2) of the text frame. A rectangular area for setting a link is defined by the coordinates of these two points. When a plurality of objects are grouped, a rectangular area corresponding to the entire grouped objects is defined.

The paper medium manuscript data 31 includes character strings included in the text frame, position coordinates of the text frame, and the like. Further, the paper medium document data 31 includes a character style, font, character color, font size, and the like of the character string.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the user unifies one or more of the character style, font, character color, and font size used for the character string of the product identification object 41 as the character attribute of the product identification object 41. Further, the user designs the paper without using the character attribute of the product identification object 41 for the other objects.
Then, the control unit 11 of the electronic flyer production apparatus 2 uses the character style, font, character color, font size, and the like as search conditions to retrieve the text frame (application number character string of the product identification object 41) from the paper medium manuscript data 31. Search for (including text frames).
Thereby, the control part 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 can acquire the position coordinates of all the product identification objects 41 included in the paper without excess or deficiency. Further, the user does not need to input whether the created text frame is the product identification object 41, and may perform the layout work as before. It should be noted that unifying the character attributes of objects having the same meaning is a common practice and is not a special task for the user.
The product identification object 41 may be, for example, a figure in which a text frame including a character string “5A0123” and a text frame including a character string “application number” are grouped. In this case, the character string “application number” can be used as a search condition.

FIG. 7 is an example of a search condition input screen of the position coordinate extraction tool 22. The search condition input screen shown in FIG. 7 is a screen for inputting search conditions for searching for a text frame of the product identification object 41. As the search condition, one or a plurality of conditions can be designated among the search character style 51, the search font 52, the search character color 53, and the search font size 54 shown in FIG. Of course, the search conditions are not limited to these.
In the example shown in FIG. 7, “DNP Gothic” is designated as the search font 52. In this state, when the user presses the search button 55 via the input unit 15, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 includes a character string whose search font 52 is “DNP Gothic” from the document data 31 for paper medium. Search for a text frame. Next, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 acquires the character string and position coordinates of the searched text frame, associates them with each other as one record, and writes it in the position coordinate list 33. The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 writes out character strings and position coordinates for all searched text frames.
When the user presses the cancel button 56 via the input unit 15, the position coordinate extraction process is terminated.

  FIG. 8 is an example of the position coordinate list 33. The position coordinate list 33 includes an application number 61, an upper left X coordinate 62, an upper left Y coordinate 63, a lower right X coordinate 64, and a lower right Y coordinate 65. In the example shown in FIG. 8, for example, for the data with the application number 61 “5A0123”, the upper left X coordinate 62 is “49”, the upper left Y coordinate 63 is “111”, the lower right X coordinate 64 is “92”, and the lower right The Y coordinate 65 is “81”. The unit of the coordinate numbers is one pixel of the leaflet paper image.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 5, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the paper surface data 32 by the function of the position coordinate extraction tool 22 (S103). The paper surface data 32 is image data of the entire paper surface of the paper medium original data 31, and the size, resolution, and the like are changed so as to be easily viewed when displayed on the display unit 16 of the terminal 5. In the page data 32 created in S103, the product identification object 41 is also converted into image data.

  Next, the control part 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 inputs the link information list 34 (S104). For example, the link information list 34 may be received from the EC site management server 4 via the network 6 or may be input from the media via the media input / output unit 13.

  FIG. 9 is an example of the link information list 34. The link information list 34 includes an application number 71 and a URL 72 of a product purchase page. In the example shown in FIG. 9, for example, the data with the application number 71 “5A0123” has the URL 72 of the product purchase page “http://www.xxx.co.jp/5A0123.html”.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 5, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the reference list 37 (S105). The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 displays an electronic leaflet creation tool setting screen on the display unit 16 and creates a reference list 37 based on data input via the input unit 15. The reference list 37 is referred to when the page data 36 is displayed by the electronic leaflet browsing viewer.

  FIG. 10 is a setting screen example of the electronic leaflet creation tool 23. The setting screen shown in FIG. 10 is a screen for designating a directory in which the page data 32, the position coordinate list 33, and the link information list 34 are stored for each page. As shown in FIG. 10, the setting screen includes a page addition button 91, a page deletion button 92, a page tab 93, a page specification directory specification area 94, a position coordinate list directory specification area 95, and a link information list directory specification area. 96, an OK button 97, and a cancel button 98.

The page addition button 91 is a button for instructing addition of a page tab 93. The page deletion button 92 is a button for instructing deletion of the page tab 93. The page tab 93 corresponds to one page of the electronic leaflet. For example, when the electronic leaflet is double-sided, a directory such as the paper surface data 32 is designated in the two paper surface tabs 93.
The page designation directory 94 for the page data, the directory designation area 95 for the position coordinate list, and the directory designation area 96 for the link information list designate the directories in which the page data 32, the position coordinate list 33, and the link information list 34 are stored. It is an area to do.
The OK button 97 is a button for instructing creation of the reference list 37. The cancel button 98 is a button for instructing the end of processing.

  When the user designates a directory in which the page data 32, the position coordinate list 33, and the link information list 34 are stored and presses an OK button 97, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 causes the position coordinate list 33 and the link to be linked. The matching process of the information list 34 is executed. In the matching process, for example, a search is performed as to whether or not there is an application number that matches the link information list 34 with respect to an application number included in the position coordinate list 33. The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates a reference list 37 in which the position coordinates and the URL of the product purchase page are associated with each application number. In addition, paper surface data 36 is created. The page data 36 is obtained by converting the page data 32 into a file format for an electronic leaflet viewer.

  FIG. 11 is an example of the reference list 37. The example shown in FIG. 11 is a result of performing the matching process on the data having the application number “5A0123” in the position coordinate list 33 shown in FIG. 8 and the link information list 34 shown in FIG. The reference list 37 is, for example, an XML format file as shown in FIG. A range from 81 <item> to 88 </ item> represents one piece of data. 82 <order_no> is the application number tag, 83 <left_upper_no> is the upper left X coordinate tag, 84 <left_upper_y> is the upper left Y coordinate tag, 85 <right_lower_x> is the lower right X coordinate tag, 86 <Right_lower_y> is a tag of the lower right Y coordinate, and <link_url> of 87 is a tag of the URL of the product purchase page.

  FIG. 12 is an example of a confirmation screen of the electronic leaflet creation tool 23. The confirmation screen shown in FIG. 12 is a screen for confirming the created reference list 37. As shown in FIG. 12, the confirmation screen includes a title display area 101, a paper image display area 102, a paper number display area 103, a link function presence / absence display area 104, an image size display area 105, a list content display area 106, and a flyer creation button 107. including.

  The title display area 101 is an area for displaying the title of the electronic leaflet. The page image display area 102 is an area for displaying the page data 36. The page number display area 103 is an area for displaying a page number. The link function presence / absence display area 104 is an area for displaying the presence / absence of the link function. The image size 105 is an area for displaying the image size of the page data 36. The list content display area 106 is an area for displaying the contents of the reference list 37. The determination column of the list content display area 106 displays “◯” when the application number, upper left X coordinate, upper left Y coordinate, lower right X coordinate, lower right Y coordinate, and URL of the product purchase page are not NULL. . If there is at least one NULL, “X” is displayed. The leaflet creation button 107 is a button for instructing creation of the electronic leaflet 35.

Returning to the description of FIG. 5, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production apparatus 2 creates the electronic leaflet 35 (S106), and stores the electronic leaflet 35 in the storage unit 12 (S107). When the user presses the leaflet creation button 107 shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet production device 2 compiles and creates an electronic leaflet 35 in a file format that can be executed by the electronic leaflet viewer. The created electronic leaflet 35 is stored in the storage unit 12 of the electronic leaflet distribution server 3 and distributed to the terminal 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic leaflet 35 includes page data 36, a reference list 37, an EC site information reflection program 38, and a leaflet browsing program 39.
The leaflet browsing program 39 is a viewer for browsing an electronic leaflet and is a program installed in a computer. The leaflet browsing program 39 is distributed separately from the page data 36 and the like, and may not be included in the electronic leaflet 35. The leaflet browsing program 39 will be described later with reference to FIG.
The EC site information reflection program 38 is a computer in which the leaflet browsing program 39 is installed, accesses the EC site management server 4, acquires information held by the EC site management server 4, and stores predetermined information in the page data 36. This is a program for causing a function to be displayed in the area. The EC site information reflection program 38 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  Next, the leaflet browsing program 39 and the EC site information reflecting program 38 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the leaflet browsing program 39. The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is executed by the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 (electronic leaflet browsing device) that downloaded the electronic leaflet 35.
The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 starts a leaflet browsing program 39 included in the distributed electronic leaflet 35 (S121), reads the page data 36 (S122), and reads the reference list 37 (S123).
Next, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 sets a link area based on the read reference list 37, and displays it on the display unit 16 so as to overlap the page data 36 (S124). The link area is a rectangular object determined by the upper left coordinates and lower right coordinates of the reference list 37, and has a function of linking to the link destination of the reference list 37 when the mouse pointer is turned on. For example, the link area may be invisible in the standard state, and the user may select visible or invisible. Even if the link area is invisible, the link is made if the mouse pointer is turned on.

Next, the control part 11 of the terminal 5 waits until the input event with respect to the electronic leaflet 35 occurs (S125). The electronic leaflet 35 according to the present embodiment is capable of enlarging / reducing, scrolling, and EC site transition.
When the user designates enlargement / reduction via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 enlarges / reduces the electronic leaflet 35 and displays it on the display unit 16 (S126).
When the user drags the paper surface via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 scrolls the electronic leaflet 35 and displays it on the display unit 16 (S127).
When the user clicks the link area via the input unit 16 of the terminal 5, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 transitions to the EC site linked to the reference list 37 (S128).
In any of the processes of S126 to S128, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 confirms whether a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server 4 (S131). Thereby, it is possible to prevent the access to the EC site management server 4 from being concentrated.
When the predetermined time has not elapsed (No in S131), the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 proceeds to S125.
When the predetermined time has elapsed (Yes in S131), the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 proceeds to S129.
In S129, the EC site information reflection program 38 is executed. After the EC site information reflection program 38 is executed, the process returns to S125.
When the user clicks the close button via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 closes the electronic leaflet 35 and ends the process (S130).

As described above, when the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 receives a dialogue input event after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server 4 (except for the close button), the EC site information is reflected. The program 38 is executed.
In the above description, in S121, the leaflet browsing program 39 included in the downloaded electronic leaflet 35 is started. However, the already installed leaflet browsing program 39 may be started. In this case, the distributed electronic leaflet 35 need not include the leaflet browsing program 39.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the EC site information reflection program 38. The flowchart shown in FIG. 14 shows the details of S129 in FIG. 13, and is executed by the control unit 11 of the terminal 5.

  The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 saves the current time (S141). The time saved here is used as the previous access time to the EC site management server 4 in S131 of FIG.

  In S142, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 accesses the EC site management server 4 via the network 6 and requests shopping cart information. The EC site management server 4 transmits shopping cart information (a registration file indicating the shopping cart registration status) to the terminal 5 via the network 6 (S143).

  In S144, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 updates the shopping cart information held in its own storage unit 12 based on the received shopping cart information. Specifically, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 replaces the registration file received at the previous access with the registration file received at the current access.

  In S145, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 corresponds to the product registered in the shopping cart (the product for which the application number is written in the registration file) based on the shopping cart information stored in the storage unit 12 of the terminal 5. An object indicating registration is displayed in the area of the link area or the periphery (S306). Accordingly, the user can check the list of products already purchased on the electronic leaflet 35, so that the electronic leaflet 35 is repeatedly checked every time the product is purchased, and a high sales promotion effect can be obtained.

  FIG. 15 is an image example showing an object 203 indicating registered. In the example shown in FIG. 15, an image indicating an object 203 indicating registration in the area of the link area 201 with the application number “5A0123” or in the vicinity thereof (an image simulating a cart including the characters “Registering cart!”). Are overlaid.

  According to the above description, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to produce an electronic leaflet 35 in which a link to a product purchase page is set for each product in a short time. In addition, it is possible to produce an electronic leaflet 35 that is free of link setting errors and link setting omissions. Moreover, since the electronic leaflet 35 in which the EC site information reflection program 38 is embedded is produced, it is possible to produce the electronic leaflet 35 having a high sales promotion effect in cooperation with the EC site.

  Next, the electronic leaflet browsing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the electronic leaflet browsing process. In the following description, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 5 has logged into the EC site that is the target of the electronic leaflet. S203, S204, and S209 are steps related to the screen for displaying the electronic leaflet 35, and S206, S207, S211, and S213 are steps related to the screen for displaying the EC site.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 requests the electronic leaflet 35 from the electronic leaflet distribution server 3 via the network 6 (S201). The control unit 11 of the electronic leaflet distribution server 3 distributes the electronic leaflet 35 requested from the terminal 5 to the terminal 5 via the network 6 (S202).

  The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 displays the received electronic leaflet 35 on the display unit 16 (S203). When the user clicks the link area 201 corresponding to one of the application numbers included in the page data 36 of the electronic leaflet 35 via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5 (S204), the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 37, the URL of the product purchase page corresponding to the clicked link area 201 is acquired. And the control part 11 of the terminal 5 requests | requires the web page which concerns on URL of the acquired goods purchase page with respect to EC site management server 4 via the network 6. FIG. The control unit 11 of the EC site management server 4 transmits the requested web page (product purchase page) to the terminal 5 via the network 6 (S205).

  The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 displays the received product purchase page on the display unit 16 (S206). When the user clicks the purchase button on the product purchase page via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5 (S207), the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 sends a shopping cart to the EC site management server 4 via the network 6. Request registration to. The control unit 11 of the EC site management server 4 registers the product for which the purchase button is clicked in the shopping cart (S208). Here, the EC site management server 4 creates a registration file indicating the registration status of the shopping cart for each user, and writes the application number in the registration file. When making a payment using a shopping cart, the general EC site management server 4 creates such a registration file. Therefore, even when the present invention is applied to the existing EC site management server 4, there is no need to modify a large-scale program.

When the purchase of the product is continued (Yes in S210), the process proceeds to S204 or S209. In S204, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 executes the processes of S128 and S129 of FIG. In S209, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 executes the input event process for the electronic leaflet 35 described in S125 to S130 of FIG. In the case of S204, the control unit 11 of the terminal 5 executes the EC site information reflection program 39 (see S129 in FIG. 13), and in the area of the link area 201 corresponding to the product registered in the registration file in S208 or in the vicinity thereof. , Display an object indicating registered. In S209, the EC site information reflection program 39 is also executed in the same manner when enlargement / reduction (see S126 in FIG. 13) or scrolling (see S127 in FIG. 13) is performed (see S129 in FIG. 13).
When the purchase of the product is not continued (No in S210), the user clicks a settlement button on the EC site via the input unit 15 of the terminal 5 (S211). The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 requests settlement processing from the EC site management server 4 via the network 6. The control unit 11 of the EC site management server 4 executes a settlement process (S212), and transmits a settlement result to the terminal 5. The control unit 11 of the terminal 5 displays the settlement result on the display unit 16 (S213).

In this way, the user can select products one after another on the paper surface data 36 of the electronic leaflet 35 and register it in the shopping cart of the EC site. Further, the user can check the registration status of the shopping cart on the paper data 36 of the electronic leaflet 35.
The electronic leaflet browsing process shown in FIG. 16 is an example, and the order of the processes is not limited to this. In particular, the input event processing for the electronic flyer in S209 occurs at various timings.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the linkage between the electronic leaflet 35 and the EC site. FIG. 17 schematically shows a screen displayed on the display unit 16 of the terminal 5.
FIG. 16A shows the state of S203, S204, and S209 in FIG. 16, where an electronic leaflet screen 211a is displayed on the front and an EC site screen 213a is displayed on the back. Thus, the terminal 5 displays the electronic leaflet 35 and the EC site screen separately. The user selects a product on the electronic flyer screen 211a and clicks the link area 201 of the product to be purchased. As a result, the display unit 16 of the terminal 5 enters the state (B).

  FIG. 16B shows the state of S206 in FIG. 16, in which an EC site screen 213b is displayed on the front and an electronic leaflet screen 211b is displayed on the back. The EC site screen 213b displayed on the front is a product purchase page. The user confirms the details of the product on the EC site screen 213b.

FIG. 16C shows the state of S207 in FIG. 16, in which an EC site screen 213c is displayed on the front and an electronic leaflet screen 211c is displayed on the back. The EC site screen 213c displayed on the front is a product purchase page. The user clicks a button 215 to add to the cart on the EC site screen 213c. As a result, the terminal 5 registers the product in the shopping cart.
When the user selects the electronic flyer screen 211c, the display unit 16 of the terminal 5 is in the state (A). In this case, the electronic flyer screen 211a displays an object 203 indicating registered in the area of the link area 201 corresponding to the product registered in the shopping cart or in the vicinity thereof.

As described above, the user registers the product to be purchased in the shopping cart by repeating the procedures in (A) to (C). At this time, the user can confirm the product registered in the shopping cart on the electronic flyer screen.
In FIG. 16, the electronic flyer screen and the EC site screen are separate windows, but different tabs may be used in the same window.

  Next, another EC site information reflection program will be described with reference to FIGS. The other EC site information reflecting programs are the same as those in FIG. 14 in the processing flow, and only the information received from the EC site management server 4 in S143 is different.

FIG. 18 is an example of an image showing a balloon object 205 indicating the time until the price change. In this example, the electronic flyer 35 displays the time required to stop selling special prices at the EC site and return to normal sales.
The EC site management server 4 holds a price change reservation file for reserving a price change for each product in the storage unit 12. The price change reservation file is a list of product application numbers, price change times, changed prices, and the like.
The terminal 5 accesses the EC site management server 4 in the step S142 in FIG. 14, receives the price change file instead of the shopping cart information in the step S143, and the products included in the price change reservation file in the steps S144 and S145. On the other hand, the remaining time from the current time until the price change is calculated, and an object 205 indicating the time until the price change is displayed in the area of the link area 201 or the vicinity thereof.
In FIG. 18, a balloon object 205 including characters “5 hours remaining until special sale!” Is displayed.

FIG. 19 is an example of an image showing a balloon object 205 indicating that the price has been changed. In this example, it is displayed on the electronic leaflet 35 that the special price sale is stopped on the EC site and the sale is returned to the normal price.
The EC site management server 4 holds a price change reservation file for reserving a price change for each product in the storage unit 12. The price change reservation file is a list of product application numbers, price change times, changed prices, and the like.
The terminal 5 accesses the EC site management server 4 in the step S142 in FIG. 14, receives the price change file instead of the shopping cart information in the step S143, and the products included in the price change reservation file in the steps S144 and S145. On the other hand, it is confirmed whether or not the price change time has elapsed, and a balloon object 205 indicating that the price has been changed is displayed in or around the link area 201 of the product for which the price change time has elapsed.
In FIG. 19, a balloon object 205 including characters “Special price sale has ended” is displayed.

Since conventional electronic leaflets do not link with EC sites, the prices described on the electronic leaflets often differ from the prices described on the product purchase page of the EC site. In this case, there is a case where the user misunderstands special price sales and purchases at a normal price.
In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a balloon object 205 indicating the time until the price change or the price change is displayed in cooperation with the EC site. As a result, it is possible to notify the user when the special price sale is over and when it has already ended, and it is possible to prevent the user from making a mistake in purchasing the price.

FIG. 20 is an example of an image showing a balloon object 205 indicating the number of items in stock. In this example, the number of items in stock is displayed on the electronic leaflet 35.
The EC site management server 4 holds an inventory file indicating the number of inventory for each product in the storage unit 12. The inventory file is a list of product application numbers and inventory numbers. The stock file is updated by the EC site management server 4 every time a product is purchased.
In step S142 of FIG. 14, the terminal 5 accesses the EC site management server 4, receives an inventory file instead of the shopping cart information in step S143, and for the products included in the inventory file in steps S144 and S145. The balloon object 205 indicating the stock of the product is displayed in the area of the link area 201 or the periphery thereof.
In FIG. 20, a balloon object 205 including characters “The number of remaining inventory is 30!” Is displayed.

  Conventional electronic leaflets do not link with EC sites, and thus cannot inform the user of the number of stocks. In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 20, a balloon object 205 indicating the inventory of goods is displayed in cooperation with the EC site. Thereby, since the number of stocks can be notified to the user in the form of a list in the electronic leaflet 35, the user can check the product purchase page from the remaining few products and prevent the loss of purchase opportunities.

Further, in the EC site information reflecting means described above, it is assumed that only a product purchaser is provided as a partner to provide information. However, information different from the product purchaser may be provided to a retail store sales person. good.
For example, the storage unit 12 of the EC site management server 4 stores information such as “sales data”, “inventory / order status”, “previous year results”, and the like. In step S142 of FIG. 14, the EC site management server 4 identifies whether the accessing user is a merchandise purchaser or a retail store sales representative, and the user is a retail store sales representative. Reflects information such as “sales data”, “inventory / order status”, “previous year results”, etc., and displays them in the area of the link area 201 or in the vicinity thereof. If the user is a product purchaser, the information such as the shopping cart described above is reflected and displayed in the area of the link area 201 or in the vicinity thereof. For example, user information stored in the storage unit 12 of the EC site management server 4 is used as information for identifying a product purchaser and a retail store sales representative.
Thereby, appropriate information can be provided for each user. In particular, the retail store sales representative can directly confirm the advertising effect of the electronic leaflet 35 on the electronic leaflet 35.

  The preferred embodiments of the electronic leaflet production apparatus and the like according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed in the present application, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

1. Electronic flyer system 2. Electronic leaflet production device 3. Electronic leaflet distribution server 4. EC site management server 5. Terminal 6 ... Network 21 ... DTP application 22 ... ... Position coordinate extraction tool 23 ......... Electronic leaflet creation tool 31 ......... Document data for paper medium 32 ......... Page data 33 ......... Position coordinate list 34 ......... Link information list 35 ......... Electronic leaflet 36 ... …… Page data 37 ………… Reference list 38 ………… EC site information reflection program 39 ………… Flyer viewing program 41 ………… Product identification object 201 ………… Link area 203 ………… Object 205 indicating registered ...... Callout object

Claims (10)

The DTP editing data, the link information list in which the information for identifying the handled product and the URL of the product purchase page are associated with each other, the page data that is image data for displaying the flyer, and the product for each handled product are specified. An electronic flyer production apparatus that produces an electronic flyer including identification information, positional information on a paper surface, and a reference list that associates three types of information: a URL that designates one resource on an EC site management server. And
A page data conversion means for reading the DTP edit data and converting it into the page data;
A position coordinate list creating means for designating a search condition of a product identification object indicating product identification information for uniquely identifying a handled product, extracting a position coordinate on the paper surface of the product identification object, and creating a position coordinate list;
A reference list creating means for creating the reference list with reference to the link information list and the position coordinate list;
An electronic leaflet production device comprising: A reference that associates three types of information: browsing program, page data, identification information that identifies a product for each product handled, location information on the page, and URL that specifies one resource on the EC site management server An electronic flyer that includes a list and an EC site information reflection program that accesses the EC site management server and acquires predetermined information, and is browsed on a monitor screen of a computer having network communication means. And
The browsing program is
Define a link area for each product handled based on the reference list,
Display the page data and the link area as an electronic flyer,
When the link area is selected, the management server of the EC site is accessed by the associated URL,
Furthermore, the electronic flyer is a program for executing the EC site information reflection program when a dialog input event is received after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server.   The EC site information reflection program acquires shopping cart information of a user who is browsing the electronic leaflet held by the EC site management server, and stores the link area corresponding to the product registered in the shopping cart. 3. The electronic flyer according to claim 2, wherein an object indicating registration is displayed in an area or a surrounding area.   The EC site information reflection program obtains price change reservation information held by the EC site management server, and displays an object indicating the time until the price change or the price has been changed in or around the link area. The electronic leaflet according to claim 2, wherein the electronic leaflet is a thing.   The EC site information reflection program acquires product inventory information held by the EC site management server, and displays an object indicating the number of products in stock in or around the link area. The electronic flyer according to claim 2.   3. The electronic leaflet according to claim 2, wherein the EC site information reflection program identifies a user who is viewing the electronic leaflet and acquires information corresponding to the user from a management server of the EC site. .   When the user viewing the electronic flyer is a retail store sales representative, the EC site information reflection program stores sales information, inventory / order status information, and previous year results information held by the EC site management server. The electronic flyer according to claim 2, wherein at least one is displayed in an area of the link area or in the vicinity thereof. A reference list that associates three types of information: paper data, identification information that identifies a product for each product handled, location information on paper, and a URL that specifies one resource on the EC site management server, An electronic leaflet browsing device for browsing an electronic leaflet composed of an EC site information reflection program that accesses an EC site management server and acquires predetermined information,
Network communication means, display means, flyer browsing means,
The flyer browsing means is:
Define a link area for each product handled based on the reference list,
Display the page data and the link area as an electronic flyer,
When the link area is selected, the management server of the EC site is accessed by the associated URL,
Further, the electronic leaflet browsing apparatus is configured to execute the EC site information reflection program when a dialog input event is received after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server.   The EC site information reflection program acquires shopping cart information of a user who is browsing the electronic leaflet held by the EC site management server, and stores the link area corresponding to the product registered in the shopping cart. 9. The electronic leaflet browsing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an object indicating registration is displayed in an area or a surrounding area. A reference list that associates three types of information: paper data, identification information that identifies a product for each product handled, location information on paper, and a URL that specifies one resource on the EC site management server, EC site information reflection program for accessing EC site management server and acquiring predetermined information; a terminal capable of viewing electronic leaflets, an electronic leaflet distribution server for distributing electronic leaflets, and managing EC sites An electronic flyer system connected to the EC site management server via a network,
The electronic leaflet distribution server comprises a distribution means for distributing the electronic leaflet to the terminal,
The EC site management server comprises transmission means for transmitting information held by itself to the terminal in accordance with a request from the terminal,
The terminal
Define a link area for each product handled based on the reference list,
Display the page data and the link area as an electronic flyer,
When the link area is selected, the management server of the EC site is accessed by the associated URL,
Further, a flyer browsing means for executing the EC site information reflection program when a dialogue input event is received after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous access time to the EC site management server,
An electronic flyer system comprising: