JP2019066986A - Information providing system, image processing apparatus, information providing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To effectively convey contents of advertisement information to a user without impairing usability of the user.SOLUTION: An information providing system for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by a user comprises: acquisition means for acquiring print target information to be subjected to print processing in an image processing apparatus and history information of user operations on the display device displaying the advertisement information; generation means for generating print processing information indicating processing contents on the print target information on the basis of the acquired history information when receiving a print execution request for the acquired print target information; and transmission means for transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system, an image processing apparatus, an information providing method, and a program.

  A cloud print service is known which prints data stored in an information terminal such as a notebook PC (Personal Computer) using an image processing apparatus such as a printer connected to a network. In such a cloud print service, for example, data to be printed is registered from the information terminal to the cloud server, and the image processing apparatus downloads the registered data to print the data stored in the information terminal. It can be performed.

  In such a service, when printing data using an image processing apparatus, instead of the user paying a fee for use in print processing, advertisement information provided by an advertiser is provided to the user. A system for reducing user fees paid is being considered. In this case, the administrator of the system collects the advertisement fee from the advertiser who provides the advertisement information to the user instead of collecting the use fee from the user who performs the printing process. As a method of providing advertisement information, for example, there is a method of displaying advertisement information such as moving image data provided by an advertiser on an image processing apparatus that executes print processing, and allowing a user to view the advertisement information.

  For example, Patent Document 1 displays advertisement information on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine for the purpose of reducing the cost burden of the user accompanying printing processing, and the printing processing of the user according to the output of the advertisement information. A method is disclosed to make the accompanying charge variable.

  In the case of the above method, for example, a case may be considered in which the user who is the user leaves the side of the image forming apparatus on which the advertisement information is displayed and the user does not view the advertisement information. In this case, the effect of providing the advertisement information to the user is diminished, and the advantage of the advertiser paying the advertisement fee is reduced. Furthermore, when the user wants to use another application when executing print processing using the image forming apparatus, the usage fee will be collected if the advertisement information displayed on the image forming apparatus is not displayed. Therefore, the user can not use other applications in parallel when it is desired to execute the printing process while reducing the burden of the usage fee, which is the charging amount accompanying the printing process. Therefore, in the conventional method, the advertisement information can not be sufficiently transmitted to the user, and there is a problem that the usability of the user is impaired.

  An information providing system according to the present invention is an information providing system for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by a user, and displays print target information to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus and the advertisement information. Acquisition means for acquiring the history information of the user's operation on the display device to be processed, and the print execution request for the acquired print target information, the processing content for the print object information based on the acquired history information An information providing system, comprising: generation means for generating print processing information indicating: and transmission means for transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, in an information providing system for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by the user, the contents of the advertisement information can be effectively transmitted to the user without impairing the usability of the user. .

It is a figure showing an example of system configuration of an information providing system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of an outline of an information providing system concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of the image processing device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information provision apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the information provision apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment, an advertisement server, and an information terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the authentication information management list | wrist which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a job management list according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the advertisement information management list | wrist which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the registration process of the job data in the information-provision system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a job registration screen according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the advertisement information provision screen displayed on the information terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print job execution processing in the information providing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of a job execution screen displayed on the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of print processing information generation processing in the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the printing method of the advertisement data which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the advertisement information management list | wrist which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of acquisition processing of advertising data in an information providing device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the selection process of the advertisement data in the information provision apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the advertisement information management list | wrist which concerns on the modification 1 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the advertisement information management list which concerns on the modification 2 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the registration process of the job data in the information-provision system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the PIN code notification screen which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print job execution processing in the information providing system according to the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the job execution screen displayed on the image processing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a system configuration | structure of the information-provision system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the information-provision system which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a production | generation process of the printing process information in the information provision apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print job execution processing in the information providing system according to the fifth embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols and redundant description will be omitted.

First Embodiment
System Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of the information providing system according to the first embodiment. The information providing system 1 is a system for providing advertisement information to the user according to the print processing in the image processing apparatus 10, and the content of the advertisement information is effectively transmitted to the user without impairing the usability of the user. Is a system that can be When the user performs print processing using the image processing apparatus 10, the information provision system 1 can reduce the use fee associated with the user's print processing by providing advertisement information to the user.

  The information providing system 1 registers, for example, a print job of data stored in the information terminal 90 in a cloud service realized by the information providing apparatus 30. Then, the information providing system 1 uses the image processing apparatus 10 to print the registered job data. Further, the information providing system 1 provides the advertisement information to the user from the information providing apparatus 30 in response to the registration of the print job by the user.

  The information providing system 1 includes an image processing device 10, an information providing device 30, an advertisement server 50, and an information terminal 90. The image processing apparatus 10, the information providing apparatus 30, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 are connected to the network 5, and can communicate with each other. Note that the information providing system 1 may include a plurality of devices. The network 5 is a communication network such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN).

  The information providing device 30 is a server device that provides a service by cloud computing. When receiving the print job registration request from the user, the information providing device 30 provides the advertisement information to the information terminal 90 used by the user. Further, the information providing device 30 manages the print job registered by the information terminal 90 and the advertisement information received from the advertisement server 50. Then, when receiving the print execution request of the registered print job, the information providing apparatus 30 notifies the image processing apparatus 10 of the managed print job and the advertisement information. For example, when print processing of print target information corresponding to a print job is performed using the image processing apparatus 10, the information providing apparatus 30 provides a service for inserting advertisement information into a print sheet.

  The image processing apparatus 10 is an MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) having a scanner function, a print function, and the like. The image processing apparatus 10 is installed in, for example, a company or a university. A company employee, a university student, or the like uses the image processing apparatus 10 to execute a desired print process. The image processing apparatus 10 executes printing processing of print target information corresponding to the print job registered in the information providing apparatus 30 by the information terminal 90 in cooperation with the cloud service provided by the information providing apparatus 30. A trigger (a read request, a print execution request, etc.) using the image processing apparatus 10 is issued from the cloud service, and the image processing apparatus 10 can read and print data in accordance with the request from the cloud service.

  The advertisement server 50 is a server device that manages advertisement information provided to the user. The advertisement server 50 manages advertisement information registered by the advertiser. Further, the advertisement server 50 transmits the managed advertisement information in response to a request from the information providing device 30. The advertisement server 50 may have a function as software executed by the image processing apparatus 10 or the information providing apparatus 30.

  The information terminal 90 is a terminal device used by the user of the information providing system 1. The information terminal 90 is a terminal that can be realized using a personal computer of a general configuration such as a tablet terminal. The information terminal 90 can receive the registration request for the print job of the stored data, and can display the advertisement information provided from the information providing device 30. The information terminal 90 is an example of a display device. The information terminal 90 may be, for example, a mobile phone terminal, a smartphone, a game machine, a PC (Personal Computer), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, or the like.

Outline FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of an outline of an information providing system according to the first embodiment. 2 schematically illustrates the outline of the information providing system according to the first embodiment, and details of functions and the like realized by the information providing system 1 will be described using drawings and the like described later. . FIG. 2A shows a process in which the user registers data stored in the information terminal 90 in the information providing apparatus 30 as print target information. In FIG. 2A, the information providing apparatus 30 transmits the advertisement information included in the stored advertisement information management list 430 to the information terminal 90. The information terminal 90 reproduces the received advertisement information.

  The user who uses the information terminal 90 views the advertisement information being reproduced, and the user who uses the information terminal 90 can register the print job when the reproduction of the advertisement information is completed. A user who uses the information terminal 90 can also skip the advertisement information being reproduced and end the reproduction of the advertisement information. The information terminal 90 generates, as history information, information indicating a user operation on the advertisement information displayed on the information terminal 90. The history information is, for example, information indicating whether the advertisement information has been viewed, that is, whether the advertisement information has been reproduced to the end or whether the advertisement information has been skipped.

  The information terminal 90 transmits job data and history information to the information providing device 30. The information providing device 30 stores the received job data and history information in the job management list 420. Thus, the user who uses the information terminal 90 can register job data in the information providing apparatus 30. The job data is an example of print target information to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus 10.

  FIG. 2B shows a process in which the user uses the image processing apparatus 10 to print the job data registered in the information providing apparatus 30. In FIG. 2B, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits a print execution request for job data to the information providing apparatus 30 by the user's input operation. The information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content of the job data using the stored job management list 420.

  Specifically, based on the history information of the user operation on the information terminal 90 included in the job management list 420, the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content of the job data. For example, when the history information includes information indicating a user operation on the advertisement information, the information providing apparatus 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print the advertisement information together with the job data. On the other hand, when the history information does not include the information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information, the information providing apparatus 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print only the job data. The information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information is, for example, information indicating that the advertisement information is skipped by the user.

  Then, the information providing device 30 generates print processing information including the specified print processing content. The information providing device 30 transmits the requested job data and the generated print processing information to the image processing device 10. The image processing apparatus 10 executes print processing of job data based on the print processing content indicated by the received print processing information. As a result, the image processing apparatus 10 can print the job data based on the print processing information generated by the information providing apparatus 30 based on the history information.

  Thus, the information providing system 1 determines whether to print the advertisement information together with the job data, based on the presence or absence of the user operation on the advertisement information displayed on the information terminal 90, that is, the presence or absence of viewing of the user's advertisement information. . Therefore, the information providing system 1 can effectively convey the contents of the advertisement information to the user without impairing the usability of the user.

Hardware Configuration FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3 may have the same configuration in each embodiment, and components may be added or deleted as necessary. The image processing apparatus 10 has a controller 120. The controller 120 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 102, a flash memory 103, a hard disk drive (HDD) 104, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 105, and a communication unit 106.

  The ASIC 105 is a multifunction device board provided with a CPU interface, an SDRAM interface, a local bus interface, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus interface, a MAC (Media Access Controller), an HDD interface, and the like.

  The CPU 101 reads various programs from the HDD 104 via the ASIC 105 and executes the programs. The SDRAM 102 functions as a program memory for storing various programs, a work memory used when the CPU 101 executes various programs, and the like. Note that, instead of the SDRAM 102, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM) may be used.

  The flash memory 103 is a non-volatile memory, and stores a boot loader (boot program) for starting the image processing apparatus 10 and an OS (Operation System). The flash memory 103 also functions as an application memory for storing each program. Furthermore, the flash memory 103 functions as a service memory for storing software of each service (copy service, print service, facsimile service).

  Also, the flash memory 103 functions as a firm memory for storing firmware, and a data memory for storing a network address, a model number, and the like. Instead of the flash memory 103, a non-volatile RAM in which backup circuits using RAM (Random Access Memory) and a battery are integrated, or other non-volatile memory such as EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) is used. May be

  The HDD 104 is a non-volatile storage medium that stores data regardless of whether the power of the image processing apparatus 10 is on or off. The HDD 104 records programs and data other than the programs and data stored in the flash memory 103. The HDD 104 may be used as a firm memory. The communication unit 106 is an interface that communicates with the information providing device 30, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 according to an instruction of the CPU 101.

  The operation unit 107 is connected to the controller 120 using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like. The operation unit 107 is an interface for a user who performs an operation on the image processing apparatus 10. The operation unit 107 includes various operation keys, a character display of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) as a display device, and a touch panel. The image processing apparatus 10 can input data, execute a print job, and display by operating the operation unit 107.

  Furthermore, the controller 120 includes a fax control unit 108, a USB 109 with which the storage medium 109a is detachable, a IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 (110), a plotter engine 111, a scanner engine 112, and the like via the PCI bus 114. A BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) module 113 and the like are connected. Thus, the image processing apparatus 10 can provide services such as a copy service, a print service, and a facsimile service. The plotter engine 111 may employ either an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

  The configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 3. For example, the communication unit 106 may be connected to the PCI bus 114. Further, the communication unit 106 may be connected to the network by wire, or may be connected by wireless such as a wireless LAN. Furthermore, the communication unit 106 may have a digital service unit (DSU) or a modem connected to a telephone network. You may have a communication apparatus connected to a mobile telephone network.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment. The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 4 may have the same configuration in each embodiment, and components may be added or deleted as necessary. The information providing device 30 includes a CPU 301, a read only memory (ROM) 302, a random access memory (RAM) 303, a storage 304, an input / output interface (I / F) 305, a communication unit 306, and a bus 307.

  The CPU 301 is an arithmetic device that implements each function of the information providing device 30 by reading programs and data according to the present invention stored in the ROM 302, the storage 304, and the like on the RAM 103 and executing processing. The information providing device 30 implements the information providing method according to the present invention, for example, by the CPU 301 executing the program according to the present invention.

  The ROM 302 is a non-volatile memory that can hold programs and data even after the power is turned off. The ROM 302 is configured by, for example, a flash ROM or the like. A software development kit (SDK) corresponding to various uses is installed in the ROM 302, and an application of the SDK can be used to realize functions of the information providing apparatus 30, network connection, and the like. The RAM 303 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 301.

  The storage 304 is, for example, a storage device such as an HDD or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage 304 stores an OS, an application program, various data, and the like. An input / output interface (I / F) 305 is an interface for connecting an external device to the information providing device 30. The external device includes, for example, a recording medium 305 a such as a USB memory, a memory card, an optical disk, or various electronic devices.

  The communication unit 306 is an interface that communicates with the image processing apparatus 10, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 according to an instruction of the CPU 301. The communication unit 306 may be connected to the network using wired communication or may be connected to the network using wireless communication such as a wireless LAN. The communication unit 306 may also have a DSU or a modem connected to a telephone network. Furthermore, the communication unit 306 may have a communication device connected to a mobile telephone network.

  A bus 307 is connected to the above-described components and transmits an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like. The CPU 301, the ROM 302, the RAM 303, the storage 304, the input / output interface (I / F) 305, and the communication unit 306 are mutually connected via the bus 307. Although the hardware configuration of the information providing device 30 is shown in FIG. 4, the advertisement server 50 may have a similar configuration.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information terminal according to the first embodiment. The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5 may have the same configuration in each embodiment, and components may be added or deleted as necessary. The information terminal 90 includes a CPU 901, a ROM 902, a RAM 903, a storage 904, an input unit 905, a display interface (I / F) 906, an input / output interface (I / F) 907, a communication unit 908, and the like.

  The CPU 901 controls the entire information terminal 90. The CPU 901 is an arithmetic device that implements the functions of the information terminal 90 by reading programs and data stored in the ROM 902, the storage 904, and the like on the RAM 903 and executing processing. A RAM 903 is a volatile memory used as a work area or the like of the CPU 901. The ROM 902 is a non-volatile memory that can hold programs and data even after the power is turned off.

  The storage 904 is, for example, a storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash ROM, and stores an OS, an application program, various data, and the like. The input unit 905 is an interface for the operator to input various instructions to the information terminal 90. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a voice input device, and the like.

  A display interface (I / F) 906 displays various information of the information terminal 90 in the form of a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, an image, or the like on the display 906 a in response to a request from the CPU 901. The display interface (I / F) 906 is, for example, a graphic chip or a display interface. An input / output interface (I / F) 907 is an interface for connecting another device to the information terminal 90. Other devices include, for example, a recording medium 907a such as a USB memory, a memory card, an optical disk, or various electronic devices.

  The communication unit 908 is a communication interface that performs communication (connection) with the image processing device 10, the information providing device 30, and the advertisement server 50 via the network 5. The communication unit 908 includes an antenna, a wireless unit, a MAC unit, and the like.

  A bus 909 is connected to the above-described components and transmits an address signal, a data signal, various control signals, and the like. The CPU 901, the ROM 902, the RAM 903, the storage 904, the input unit 905, the display interface (I / F) 906, the input / output interface (I / F) 907, and the communication unit 908 are mutually connected via a bus 909.

Functional Configuration FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment. The functions implemented by the information providing apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 6 include a transmitter / receiver 31, an authentication unit 32, a display image processing unit 33, a job management unit 34, an advertisement information management unit 35, a storage / readout unit 36 and a storage unit 37. It is an included function.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 is a function of exchanging data with an external device via the network 5. The transmission / reception unit 31 receives, for example, the acquisition request of the registration screen of the print job transmitted from the information terminal 90, and transmits the advertisement data 41 to the information terminal 90. The transmission / reception unit 31 also receives job data 40 (an example of print target information) to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus 10 and history information of user operation on the information terminal 90. The reception timing of the job data 40 and the history information is not particularly limited as long as the job data 40 and the history information are associated with each other. For example, the reception of the corresponding history information may be performed after the reception of the job data 40. Details of the history information will be described later. Further, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the download request of the print job transmitted from the image processing apparatus 10 and transmits job data 40 corresponding to the requested print job to the image processing apparatus 10. The print job download request is an example of the print execution request of the job data 40. The transmission / reception unit 31 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 306 and the CPU 301 of the information providing device 30 illustrated in FIG. 4. The transmission and reception unit 31 is an example of an acquisition unit and a transmission unit.

  The authentication unit 32 is a function of performing user authentication of the information providing system 1 in response to a user authentication request transmitted from the information terminal 90 or the image processing apparatus 10. Specifically, the authentication unit 32 performs user authentication of the user of the information providing system 1 using authentication information managed by an authentication information management DB 371 described later. The authentication unit 32 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The function of the authentication unit 32 may be provided to an external authentication server. The authentication unit 32 is an example of an authentication unit.

  The display image processing unit 33 is a function of generating a display image to be displayed on the image processing apparatus 10 or the information terminal 90. For example, in response to a request from the information terminal 90, the display image processing unit 33 generates a job registration screen 910 to be displayed on the information terminal 90. Further, in response to a request from the image processing apparatus 10, the display image processing unit 33 generates a job execution screen 210 to be displayed on the image processing apparatus 10. The display image processing unit 33 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

  The job management unit 34 is a function of managing print jobs registered by the information terminal 90. The job management unit 34 registers, for example, the job data 40 corresponding to the print job transmitted by the information terminal 90 in the job management DB 372, and generates the job management list 420. Details of the job management list 420 will be described later. When the job management unit 34 receives a request for downloading the job data 40 from the image processing apparatus 10, the job management unit 34 identifies the print processing content of the job data 40 based on the history information linked to the requested job data 40. The history information is information indicating a user operation on the advertisement information displayed on the information terminal 90, and is information indicating, for example, the presence or absence of viewing of the advertisement information by the user. Further, the job management unit 34 generates print processing information including the specified print processing content. The job management unit 34 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG. 4. The job management unit 34 is an example of a generation unit.

  The advertisement information management unit 35 is a function of managing the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement server 50. For example, the advertisement information management unit 35 registers the advertisement data 41 transmitted by the advertisement server 50 in the advertisement information management DB 373 and generates the advertisement information management list 430. The advertisement data 41 is moving image data or still image data indicating the content of the advertisement information. Details of the advertisement information management list 430 will be described later. Further, the advertisement information management unit 35 selects the advertisement data 41 to be displayed on the information terminal 90 from the advertisement information management list 430. The advertisement information management unit 35 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The advertisement information management unit 35 is an example of a selection unit.

  The storage / readout unit 36 has a function of storing various data in the storage unit 37 and reading out the various data from the storage unit 37. The storage / readout unit 36 and the storage unit 37 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the ROM 302, the storage 304, and the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The storage unit 37 is an example of a storage unit. Further, in the storage unit 37, an authentication information management DB 371, a job management DB 372, and an advertisement information management DB 373 are constructed.

○ Authentication information management DB
Here, the authentication information management DB 371 will be described with reference to FIG. In the authentication information management DB 371, an authentication information management list 410 as shown in FIG. 8 is managed. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the authentication information management list according to the first embodiment. The authentication information management list 410 manages authentication information of users registered in the information providing system 1.

  The authentication information management list 410 stores “user ID” and “password” in association with each other. The “user ID” is identification information for identifying a user registered in the information providing system 1. “Password” is an example of authentication information corresponding to a user ID. The authentication unit 32 of the information providing device 30 performs user authentication processing using the authentication information transmitted from the image processing device 10 or the information terminal 90 and the authentication information management list 410 shown in FIG.

○ Job management database
Subsequently, the job management DB 372 will be described with reference to FIG. In the job management DB 372, a job management list 420 as shown in FIG. 9 is managed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a job management list according to the first embodiment. The job management list 420 stores information of “job ID”, “file name”, “print setting information” 421, “pay / free flag” 422, and “advertisement ID” 423 in a linked manner. The “file name”, the “print setting information” 421, the “pay / free flag” 422, and the “advertisement ID” 423 are examples of registration information linked to the “job ID”. The “job ID” is identification information of a print job assigned to each print job to which a registration request has been sent from the information terminal 90. The “file name” is a file name of the job data 40 corresponding to the print job for which the registration request has been transmitted from the information terminal 90.

  The “print setting information” 421 is setting information used when the print processing of the job data 40 is transmitted from the information terminal 90 together with a print job registration request. The print setting information 421 includes, as shown in FIG. 9, information on print settings such as "number of copies", "color", "both sides / one side" and "margin". The print setting information 421 is set when the print job is registered by the information terminal 90. The items included in the print setting information 421 can be appropriately set or changed according to the function of the image processing apparatus 10 that executes the printing process.

  The “pay / free flag” 422 is a flag for determining whether to print the advertisement data 41 together with the job data 40 when printing the job data 40. When it is determined that the advertisement data 41 is viewed by the information terminal 90, a charge / free flag 422 is set as a free flag. For example, if it is determined that the advertisement data 41 provided from the information providing device 30 is reproduced to the end by the information terminal 90, the charge / free flag 422 sets the free flag as the advertisement data is viewed. Do. On the other hand, if it is determined by the information terminal 90 that the advertisement data 41 is not viewed, the pay / free flag 422 is set. For example, when it is determined that the advertisement data 41 provided from the information providing device 30 is skipped halfway, the charge / free flag 422 sets the charge flag as the advertisement data 41 is not viewed.

  Information on the charge / free flag 422 is generated by the information terminal 90 that reproduces the advertisement data 41, and is transmitted to the information providing device 30. The pay / free flag 422 may be any information indicating whether it is determined by the information terminal 90 that the advertisement data 41 has been viewed. For example, the pay / free flag 422 may be information indicating whether the advertisement data 41 is skipped. The charge / free flag 422 is an example of history information of user operation on the information terminal 90. For example, when a user operation is performed on the advertisement data 41 displayed on the information terminal 90, that is, when the advertisement data 41 is skipped by the user, a paid / paid flag 422 is set. On the other hand, the charge / free flag 422 is set to a free flag, for example, when the user operation on the advertisement data 41 displayed on the information terminal 90 is not performed, that is, when the advertisement data 41 is not skipped by the user. Be done.

  The “advertisement ID 423” is identification information for identifying the advertisement data 41 provided to the user. The job management list 420 stores an advertisement ID in association with each registered job data 40 in order to provide the user with the advertisement data 41 managed in the advertisement information management list 430 described later in the printing process of the job data 40. doing.

○ Advertising information management DB
Subsequently, the advertisement information management DB 373 will be described with reference to FIG. In the advertisement information management DB 373, an advertisement information management list 430 as shown in FIG. 10 is managed. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the advertisement information management list according to the first embodiment. The advertisement information management list 430 stores information of “advertisement ID”, “moving image name”, and “still image name” in a linked manner.

  The “advertisement ID” is identification information of the advertisement data 41 assigned to each of the advertisement data 41 received from the advertisement server 50. The advertisement ID is the same as the advertisement ID 423 included in the job management list 420 shown in FIG. The advertisement ID is assigned by the advertisement information management unit 35. The advertisement ID may be assigned by the advertisement server 50 that transmits the advertisement data.

  The “moving image name” is a file name of the advertisement data 41 as moving image data received from the advertisement server 50. The “still image name” is a file name of the advertisement data 41 as still image data received from the advertisement server 50. As shown in FIG. 10, the advertisement information management list 430 stores moving image data and still image data in association with one advertisement ID. The moving image data and the still image data linked to one advertisement ID are advertisement information of the same or related content. For example, moving image data and still image data linked to one advertisement ID are advertisement information provided by a common advertiser.

  The advertisement information management unit 35 selects an advertisement ID of the advertisement data 41 to be provided to the user from among the advertisement data stored in the advertisement information management list 430. Then, when the advertisement data 41 is transmitted to the information terminal 90 used by the user who registers the print job, the advertisement information management unit 35 provides moving image data associated with the selected advertisement ID. On the other hand, when the advertisement data 41 is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10 that executes the printing process of the job data 40 corresponding to the registered print job, the advertisement information management unit 35 sets the stillness tied to the selected advertisement ID. Send image data. As a result, common advertisement information can be provided to the same user who performs print processing of the job data 40.

  Subsequently, functional configurations of the image processing apparatus 10, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the image processing apparatus, the advertisement server, and the information terminal according to the first embodiment. The image processing apparatus 10, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 can communicate with the information providing apparatus 30 via the network 5.

  First, the mechanical configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. The functions realized by the image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 7 are functions including the transmission / reception unit 11, the display control unit 12, the reception unit 13, the print processing unit 14, the storage / readout unit 15 and the storage unit 16.

  The transmission / reception unit 11 is a function of exchanging data with an external device via the network 5. The transmission / reception unit 11 receives, for example, the job execution screen 210 transmitted from the information providing device 30. In addition, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits, for example, a print execution request for the job data 40 to the information providing device 30, and receives the job data 40 and the print processing information from the information providing device 30. Details of the job execution screen 210 will be described later. The transmission / reception unit 11 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 106 and the CPU 101 illustrated in FIG. The transmission / reception unit 11 is an example of a request transmission unit.

  The display control unit 12 is a function that causes the operation unit 107 shown in FIG. 3 to display the job execution screen 210 received by the transmission / reception unit 11. The display control unit 12 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG.

  The receiving unit 13 is a function of receiving a user input to the operation unit 107 shown in FIG. The receiving unit 13 receives, for example, an input of authentication information from a user of the information providing system 1. Further, the reception unit 13 receives an input of a print execution request for a print job included in the job execution screen 210. The receiving unit 13 is realized by a program or the like executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG.

  The print processing unit 14 is a function of executing print processing of the job data 40 transmitted from the information providing device 30. The print processing unit 14 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG. The print processing unit 14 is an example of a print processing unit.

  The storage / readout unit 15 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 16 and reading out various data from the storage unit 16. The storage / readout unit 15 and the storage unit 16 are realized by, for example, programs executed by the flash memory 103, the HDD 104, and the CPU 101 shown in FIG. The storage unit 16 also stores job data 40. The job data 40 is data to be transmitted from the information providing apparatus 30 and to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus 10.

  Next, the functional configuration of the advertisement server 50 will be described. The function realized by the advertisement server 50 shown in FIG. 7 is a function including the transmission / reception unit 51, the advertisement information management unit 52, the storage / readout unit 53, and the storage unit 54.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is a function of exchanging data with an external device via the network 5. The transmitting and receiving unit 51 transmits, for example, the advertisement data 41 stored in the storage unit 54 to the information providing device 30. The transmission / reception unit 51 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 306 and the CPU 301 illustrated in FIG.

  The advertisement information management unit 52 is a function of managing advertisement information provided by an advertiser. The advertisement information management unit 52 manages, for example, the advertisement data 41 stored in the storage unit 54. The advertisement information management unit 52 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

  The storage / readout unit 53 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 54 and reading out various data from the storage unit 54. The storage / readout unit 53 and the storage unit 54 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the ROM 302, the storage 304, and the CPU 301 shown in FIG. The storage unit 54 also stores advertisement data 41. The advertisement data 41 is data provided from the advertiser and includes moving image data and still image data.

  Next, the functional configuration of the information terminal 90 will be described. The functions realized by the information terminal 90 shown in FIG. 7 are functions including a transmission / reception unit 91, a display control unit 92, a reception unit 93, a storage / readout unit 94, and a storage unit 95.

  The transmission / reception unit 91 is a function of exchanging data with an external device via the network 5. The transmission and reception unit 91 receives, for example, the job registration screen 910 transmitted from the information providing device 30. Details of the job registration screen 910 will be described later. Further, the transmitting and receiving unit 91 transmits, to the information providing apparatus 30, a registration request for a print job of the document / image data 96 stored in the storage unit 95, for example. The transmission / reception unit 91 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 908 and the CPU 901 illustrated in FIG.

  The display control unit 92 has a function of causing the display 906 a shown in FIG. 5 to display the job registration screen 910 received by the transmission / reception unit 91. The display control unit 92 is realized by, for example, a program or the like executed by the CPU 101 shown in FIG.

  The accepting unit 93 is a function of accepting an input operation by the user on the input unit 905 shown in FIG. The accepting unit 93 accepts, for example, an input of authentication information from the user of the information providing system 1. Further, the receiving unit 93 receives an input of a request for registration of a print job of the document / image data 96 stored in the storage unit 95 from the user. The accepting unit 93 is realized by a program or the like executed by the CPU 901 shown in FIG.

  The storage / readout unit 94 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 95 and reading out various data from the storage unit 95. The storage / readout unit 94 and the storage unit 95 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the ROM 902, the storage 904, and the CPU 901 shown in FIG. The storage unit 95 also stores document / image data 96. The document / image data 96 is data as a target of a print job registration request to the information providing device 30 and corresponds to the job data 40.

Process of Providing Advertisement Information Subsequently, a process of providing advertisement information in the information providing system according to the first embodiment will be described. First, a print job registration process by the information terminal 90 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of registration processing of job data in the information providing system according to the first embodiment.

  In step S101, the information terminal 90 transmits, to the information providing apparatus 30, the authentication information input by the user. Specifically, the transmitting and receiving unit 91 of the information terminal 90 transmits the authentication information accepted by the accepting unit 93 to the information providing device 30 by the user's input operation. In step S102, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the received authentication information to the authentication unit 32. In step S103, when detecting the output authentication information, the authentication unit 32 of the information providing device 30 performs a user authentication process using the authentication information management list 410 illustrated in FIG.

  In step S104, the authentication unit 32 of the information providing device 30 outputs the authentication result to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S105, the transmitting and receiving unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the authentication result to the information terminal 90. By performing the above processing, user authentication of the user who uses the information terminal 90 is completed, and the authenticated user can use the cloud service provided by the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S106, the information terminal 90 receives a request for acquiring a print job registration screen from the user authenticated by the authentication unit 32. Specifically, the reception unit 93 of the information terminal 90 receives a print job registration screen acquisition request by accessing a predetermined URL (Uniform Resource Locator) using a browser by a user's input operation. In step S107, when the transmission / reception unit 91 of the information terminal 90 receives the acquisition request for the print job registration screen, the transmission / reception unit 91 transmits the acquisition request for the print job registration screen to the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S108, when the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing apparatus 30 receives the acquisition request for the print job registration screen, the transmission / reception unit 31 outputs the received acquisition request for the print job registration screen to the display image processing unit 33. In step S109, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects the output request for acquiring the print job registration screen, the display image processing unit 33 outputs the acquisition request for the advertisement data 41 to the advertisement information management unit 35.

  In step S110, when the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 detects a request for acquiring the output advertisement data 41, the advertisement information management unit 35 reads the advertisement information management list 430 from the storage unit 37. Specifically, the advertisement information management unit 35 outputs a read request for the advertisement information management list 430 to the storage and readout unit 36. When the storage / readout unit 36 detects the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads the advertisement information management list 430 stored in the authentication information management DB 371 included in the storage unit 37.

  In step S111, the storage unit 37 of the information providing device 30 outputs the advertisement information management list 430 to the advertisement information management unit 35. Specifically, the storage unit 37 outputs the advertisement information management list 430 corresponding to the read request to the storage and read unit 36. Then, the storage / readout unit 36 outputs the output advertisement information management list 430 to the advertisement information management unit 35.

  In step S112, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 selects advertisement information to be provided to the user from the output advertisement information management list 430. Specifically, the advertisement information management unit 35 selects the advertisement ID of the advertisement information to be provided to the user from the output advertisement information management list 430. Then, the advertisement information management unit 35 reads the advertisement data 41 corresponding to the moving image data associated with the selected advertisement ID. The selection of the advertisement information to be provided to the user may be selected based on predetermined predetermined criteria, or may be randomly selected.

  In step S113, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 outputs the selected advertisement data 41 to the display image processing unit 33. In step S114, the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 outputs the output advertisement data 41 and the job registration screen 910 to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S115, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the output job registration screen 910 and the advertisement data 41 to the information terminal 90.

  In step S116, the information terminal 90 reproduces the received advertisement data 41. Specifically, when the transmitting / receiving unit 91 receives the advertisement data 41 which is moving image data, the display control unit 92 of the information terminal 90 causes the display 906 a to display the advertisement information providing screen 920 and reproduces the advertisement data 41. Do.

  Here, the job registration screen 910 and the advertisement information provision screen 920 displayed on the information terminal 90 will be described. FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a job registration screen according to the first embodiment. The job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the display 906 a by the display control unit 92 of the information terminal 90. The job registration screen 910 is screen information for registering (uploading) document / image data 96 to be printed using the image processing apparatus 10 as a print job in the information providing apparatus 30. The job registration screen 910 is displayed on the information terminal 90 that has sent the print job registration screen acquisition request by, for example, accessing the URL of the job registration screen 910 provided from the information providing device 30 by the user's input operation. Be done.

  The job registration screen 910 includes a “reference icon” 911, a “print setting” icon 912, a “registration” icon 913, and the like. A job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 shows a state in which no print job is registered. The information terminal 90 reads out data desired to be registered from the document / image data 96 stored in the information terminal 90 when the user using the information terminal 90 selects the “reference” icon 911.

  Further, the information terminal 90 performs print setting of the document / image data 96 to be registered when the user using the information terminal 90 selects the “print setting” icon 912. The print setting can set processing contents that can be executed by the image processing apparatus 10, such as the number of copies, black and white / color, double-sided printing / single-sided printing, the presence or absence of a margin, and the presence or absence of grouping. The set print setting information is stored as print setting information 421 included in the job management list 420 shown in FIG.

  When the user who uses the information terminal 90 selects the “registration” icon 913, the information terminal 90 transmits a registration request for the read document / image data 96 to the information providing apparatus 30. As a result, the user who uses the information terminal 90 can register the document / image data 96 that he / she wishes to print as job data 40 in the information providing apparatus 30. The layout of the job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 is not limited to this.

  Subsequently, the provision screen of the advertisement data 41 displayed on the information terminal 90 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement information provision screen displayed on the information terminal according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13A, the advertisement information providing screen 920a is screen information for reproducing moving image data which is the advertisement data 41 and causing a user who uses the information terminal 90 to view moving image data.

  The advertisement information provision screen 920 a includes a “skip” icon 921. When the user using the information terminal 90 selects the “skip” icon 921 during reproduction of moving image data, the information terminal 90 ends the reproduction of moving image data being reproduced and ends the provision of advertisement data. On the other hand, the information terminal 90 ends the provision of the advertisement data also when the reproduction of the moving image data being reproduced is finished to the end without selecting the "skip" icon 921. Selection of the “skip” icon 921 is an example of a user operation on the advertisement data 41.

  FIG. 13B is a modified example of the advertisement information providing screen 920a shown in FIG. The advertisement information provision screen 920b shown in FIG. 13B includes reference information 922 for presenting the process performed when the advertisement data 41 is skipped to the user. As shown in FIG. 13B, as the reference information 922, for example, when moving image data is skipped, a message indicating that the advertisement data 41 is to be printed together with the job data 40 is displayed. The advertisement information provision screen 920 b can display a warning to a user who uses the information terminal 90 by specifically displaying the contents of the process performed when the advertisement data 41 is skipped. The layout of the advertisement information providing screen 920 shown in FIG. 13 is not limited to this.

  Returning to FIG. 11, the description of the print job registration process by the information terminal 90 will be continued. In step S117, the information terminal 90 transmits a print job registration request to the information providing apparatus 30. The information providing apparatus 30 receives the registration request of the print job transmitted from the information terminal 90 (an example of an acquisition step). Specifically, when the reproduction of the advertisement data 41 by the advertisement information providing screen 920 shown in FIG. 13 is completed, the information terminal 90 displays the job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 and can register the print job. That is, the information terminal 90 can not register the print job until the reproduction of the advertisement data 41 is completed. This is because there is a high possibility that the user skips the advertisement data 41 halfway when the advertisement data 41 is reproduced after the registration of the print job is completed.

  The information terminal 90 reads out the document / image data 96 as a print job on the job registration screen 910, and transmits a print job registration request by selecting the “register” icon 913. The registration request for the print job is the document / image data 96 read on the job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12, the information set by the “print setting” icon 912, and the user for the advertisement data 41 displayed on the information terminal 90. It contains the history information of the operation etc.

  Here, "the reproduction of the advertisement data 41 is ended" includes "when the advertisement data 41 is reproduced to the end and ended" and "when the advertisement data 41 is ended due to being skipped halfway" . In the case where “the advertisement data 41 is ended by being skipped halfway”, it is assumed that the user does not view the advertisement data 41 and information indicating the user operation on the advertisement data 41 is used as history information in the information providing apparatus 30. Send to. The information indicating the user operation on the advertisement data 41 is, for example, information indicating that the advertisement data 41 is skipped by the user. On the other hand, in the case where "the advertisement data 41 is reproduced to the end and ended", it is assumed that the user views the advertisement data 41, and the user operation on the advertisement data 41 is made in the history information transmitted to the information providing device 30. Do not include the information shown.

  In addition, the user who uses the information terminal 90 performs processing of reproducing the advertisement data 41 to the end or skipping the advertisement data 41 in the middle, and does not end viewing of the advertisement data 41; Can not do. Therefore, the information providing device 30 can grasp the presence or absence of the advertisement data 41 by the user.

  In step S118, when receiving the print job registration request, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the print job registration request to the job management unit 34. In step S119, when detecting the output print job registration request, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates the job management list 420. Specifically, the job management unit 34 creates the job management list 420 shown in FIG. 9 using the information included in the output print job registration request. The job management unit 34 associates the job data 40 included in the print job registration request, the print setting information, and the history information of the user operation on the information terminal 90, and adds the information to the job management list 420.

  In step S120, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 stores the generated job management list 420 in the storage unit 37. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs the generated job management list 420 to the storage / readout unit 36. Then, when detecting the output job management list 420, the storage / readout unit 36 stores the job management list 420 stored in the job management DB 372 included in the storage unit 37.

  Subsequently, print job execution processing in the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of print job execution processing in the information providing system according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 14, it is assumed that a print job is registered in the information providing apparatus 30 by the process shown in FIG.

  In step S201, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits, to the information providing apparatus 30, the authentication information input by the user. Specifically, the transmitting and receiving unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10 transmits the authentication information accepted by the accepting unit 13 to the information providing apparatus 30 by the user's input operation. In step S202, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the received authentication information to the authentication unit 32. In step S203, when detecting the output authentication information, the authentication unit 32 of the information providing device 30 performs a user authentication process using the authentication information management list 410 shown in FIG.

  In step S204, the authentication unit 32 of the information providing device 30 outputs the authentication result to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S205, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the authentication result to the image processing device 10. By performing the above processing, the user authentication of the user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 is completed. Then, the authenticated user can use the image processing apparatus 10 to use the cloud service provided by the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S206, the image processing apparatus 10 receives a request for acquiring a print job execution screen from the user authenticated by the authentication unit 32. Specifically, the receiving unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the acquisition request of the print job execution screen by the input operation of the user. In step S207, when the transmission / reception unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the acquisition request for the print job execution screen, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the acquisition request for the print job execution screen to the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S208, when the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 receives the acquisition request for the print job execution screen, the transmission / reception unit 31 outputs the received acquisition request for the print job execution screen to the display image processing unit 33. In step S 209, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects an output screen acquisition request of the print job execution screen, the display image processing unit 33 outputs an acquisition request of the job data 40 to the job management unit 34. Specifically, the display image processing unit 33 outputs, to the job management unit 34, an acquisition request for the job data 40 associated with the user who has transmitted the acquisition request for the execution screen of the print job.

  In step S210, when the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 detects an acquisition request for the output job data 40, the job management unit 34 reads the job management list 420 from the storage unit 37. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs a request for reading the job management list 420 to the storage and reading unit 36. Then, upon detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads out the job management list 420 stored in the job management DB 372 included in the storage unit 37.

  In step S211, the storage unit 37 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job management list 420 to the job management unit 34. Specifically, the storage unit 37 outputs the job management list 420 corresponding to the read request to the storage and read unit 36. Then, the storage / readout unit 36 outputs the output job management list 420 to the job management unit 34.

  In step S 212, when detecting the output job management list 420, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job management list 420 to the display image processing unit 33. In step S 213, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects the output job management list 420, the display image processing unit 33 outputs the job execution screen 210 to the transmission / reception unit 31. Specifically, the display image processing unit 33 extracts the job data 40 included in the job management list 420 and associated with the user who transmitted the request for acquiring the job execution screen 210, and generates the job execution screen 210 described later. . Then, the generated job execution screen 210 is output to the transmission / reception unit 31.

  In step S214, when detecting the output job execution screen 210, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the job execution screen 210 to the image processing apparatus 10. In step S215, when the image processing apparatus 10 receives the job execution screen 210, the image processing apparatus 10 selects a print job on which print processing is to be performed by the user's input operation on the displayed job execution screen 210. Specifically, the display control unit 12 of the image processing apparatus 10 causes the operation unit 107 to display the received job execution screen 210. Then, the reception unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 selects a print job for which print processing is to be performed from the print job list included in the displayed job execution screen 210 according to the user's input operation.

  Here, the job execution screen 210 displayed on the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 15 is a view showing an example of a job execution screen displayed on the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The job execution screen 210 shown in FIG. 15 is screen information displayed on the operation unit 107 by the display control unit 12 of the image processing apparatus 10. The job execution screen 210 is screen information for allowing the user to select a print job to be subjected to print processing using the image processing apparatus 10 out of the registered print jobs of the information providing device 30.

  The job execution screen 210 shown in FIG. 15 includes a print job list 211 and an “execution” icon 212. The print job list 211 is a list of print jobs registered in the information providing apparatus 30 by the user who has been authenticated by the image processing apparatus 10. In the print job list 211, information of “job ID”, “file name” and “registration date” is linked for each registered print job. The user selects one print job from the print job list 211 and selects the “execution” icon 212. Then, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits, to the information providing apparatus 30, a download request for the selected print job. The print job download request is an example of the print execution request of the job data 40.

  Thus, the user of the information providing system 1 can print the document / image data 96 registered using the information terminal 90 using the image processing apparatus 10. The layout of the job execution screen 210 shown in FIG. 15 is not limited to this.

  Returning to FIG. 14, the description of print job execution processing in the image processing apparatus 10 will be continued. In step S216, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits, to the information providing apparatus 30, a download request for the selected print job. In step S <b> 217, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the received download request to the job management unit 34. In step S218, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 identifies print processing content of the job data 40 corresponding to the output download request, and generates print processing information including the identified print processing content (generation step An example of

  Here, details of print processing information generation processing in the information providing device 30 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of print processing information generation processing in the information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In step S301, if the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 detects a print job download request, the process proceeds to step S302. On the other hand, when the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 does not detect the print job download request, the process of step S301 is repeated.

  In step S302, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 reads out the registration information associated with the job ID corresponding to the detected download request. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs a request for reading the job management list 420 to the storage and reading unit 36. Then, upon detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads out the job management list 420 stored in the job management DB 372 included in the storage unit 37. The storage / readout unit 36 outputs the read job management list 420 to the job management unit 34.

  In step S303, when the registration information included in the read job management list 420 includes the “pay” flag, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S304. On the other hand, when the “pay” flag of the registration information included in the read job management list 420 is not included, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S310. In step S310, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print only the job data 40 corresponding to the download request. In this case, the advertisement data is not printed on the sheet on which the job data 40 is printed.

  In step S304, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 reads the advertisement data 41 corresponding to the advertisement ID included in the registration information. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs a read request for the advertisement information management list 430 to the storage and read unit 36. Then, when detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads the advertisement information management list 430 stored in the advertisement information management DB 373 included in the storage unit 37. The storage / readout unit 36 outputs the read advertisement information management list 430 to the job management unit 34.

  In step S305, if the print setting information included in the registration information is single-sided printing, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the process to step S306. In step S306, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print the advertisement data 41 read in step S304 on the back side of the sheet on which the job data 40 corresponding to the download request is printed. Do.

  On the other hand, in step S305, if the print setting information included in the registration information is duplex printing, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the process to step S307. In step S307, if the print setting information included in the registration information has a margin, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the process to step S308. In step S308, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print the advertisement data 41 read in step S304 in the margin of the sheet on which the job data 40 corresponding to the download request is printed. Do.

  On the other hand, in step S307, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the process to step S309 when the print setting information included in the registration information has no margin. In step S309, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print the advertisement data 41 read in step S304 on a sheet on which the job data 40 corresponding to the download request is printed. Do.

  In step S311, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates print processing information based on the print processing content specified in the processing in steps S306, S308, S309, and S310. For example, in the printing process information generated for the process of step S306, the job data 40 and the advertisement data 41 are alternately arranged.

  Here, the printing method of the advertisement data 41 by the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing method of advertisement data according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the image processing apparatus 10 determines the printing method of the advertisement data 41 based on the print setting information associated with the job data 40.

  For example, in the case of step S306 shown in FIG. 16, as shown in FIG. 17A, the advertisement data 41 is printed on the back side of the printing paper with respect to the job data 40. Further, in the case of step S308 shown in FIG. 16, as shown in FIG. 17B, the advertisement data 41 is printed outside the frame of the printing paper with respect to the job data 40. Furthermore, in the case of step S309 shown in FIG. 16, as shown in FIG. 17C, the advertisement data 41 is printed on the job data 40 with the watermark on the background of the printing paper.

  The printing method of the advertisement data 41 shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 is not limited to this. For example, the advertisement data 41 may be inserted into the last page of the job data 40. Further, the printing method of the advertisement data 41 may be set as a default without passing through the processing of steps S305 to S309 shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 14, the description of print job execution processing in the image processing apparatus 10 will be continued. In step S 219, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 outputs the requested job data 40 and the generated print processing information to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S220, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the output job data 40 and print processing information to the image processing device 10 (an example of the transmission step).

  In step S221, when receiving the job data 40 and the print processing information, the image processing apparatus 10 executes the print processing of the job data 40 based on the print processing information. Specifically, the print processing unit 14 of the image processing apparatus 10 executes print processing of the job data 40. Thus, the information providing system 1 can provide the advertisement data 41 while printing the job data 40 requested by the user. Furthermore, when printing the job data 40 registered using the image processing apparatus 10, the user simply selects a print job to be printed from the print job list 211 included in the job execution screen 210, Print processing of job data 40 can be performed.

  Although the print setting information is described as an example in which the advertisement data 41 is inserted into the job data 40, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, when a sheet on which only the advertisement data 41 is printed is set in the image processing apparatus 10, the job management unit 34 of the information providing apparatus 30 applies a sheet corresponding to the printing method of the set advertisement data 41. The print setting information may be generated to print the job data 40.

Effect of the First Embodiment As described above, the information providing system according to the first embodiment determines the image processing apparatus 10 based on the presence or absence of the user operation on the advertisement data 41 displayed on the information terminal 90. Print processing information indicating the used processing content is generated. Then, the information providing system 1 notifies the generated print process information to the image processing apparatus 10 that executes the print process of the job data 40. Therefore, when the information providing system 1 provides the advertisement data 41 to the user when printing the job data 40, the content of the advertisement information is effective for the user without impairing the usability of the user. Can communicate.

Second Embodiment
Next, an information providing system according to the second embodiment will be described. The information providing system according to the second embodiment stores, in the advertisement information management DB 373 of the information providing device 30, an advertisement information management list 430a including the number of times of reception and the number of times of viewing of the advertisement data 41. Thus, the information providing system according to the second embodiment can preferentially provide the advertisement data 41 not provided to the user and the advertisement data 41 determined to be not viewed by the user. It can enhance the value of provision. The same configuration and function as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement information management list according to the second embodiment. The advertisement information management list 430a illustrated in FIG. 18 includes information of “the number of times of reception” 431 and “the number of times of viewing” 432 in addition to the information included in the advertisement information management list 430 illustrated in FIG.

  The “number of receptions” 431 is information indicating the number of times the corresponding advertisement data 41 has been received from the advertisement server 50. For example, when the advertisement information management unit 35 receives the advertisement data 41 from the advertisement server 50, the advertisement information management unit 35 adds 1 to the number of receptions associated with the advertisement ID identical to the received advertisement data 41. On the other hand, the number of times of reception of the advertisement data 41 that has not been received from the advertisement server 50 is zero.

  The “number of times of viewing” 432 is information indicating the number of times the advertisement data 41 transmitted from the information providing device 30 is determined to have been viewed by the information terminal 90. For example, when the charge / free flag 422 transmitted from the information terminal 90 is free, the advertisement information management unit 35 determines that the advertisement data 41 has been viewed, and the advertisement information management unit 35 determines that the number of viewing times associated with the advertisement ID of the advertisement data 41 is one. Add On the other hand, if, for example, the paid / free flag 422 transmitted from the information terminal 90 is paid, the advertisement information management unit 35 adds the number of viewings as it is determined that the advertisement data 41 is not viewed. Not performed.

  Here, the process of acquiring the advertisement data 41 from the advertisement server 50 in the information providing device 30 will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of advertisement data acquisition processing in the information providing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In step S401, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 shifts the process to step S402 when there is an advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more. In step S402, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 sends, to the advertisement server 50, a request for transmitting advertisement data associated with an advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more. Send to.

  On the other hand, in step S401, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 moves the process to step S403 when there is no advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more. Let

  In step S403, in the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30, the advertisement ID in which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more and the number of viewings 432 is not counted one or more If it exists, the process proceeds to step S404. In step S404, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 does not count the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a as one or more and the number of viewings 432 as one not more than one. A transmission request for linked advertisement data 41 is transmitted to the advertisement server 50.

  On the other hand, in step S403, in the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30, the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more, and the number of viewings 432 is not counted one or more If there is no advertisement ID, the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S405, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 transmits, to the advertisement server 50, a request for transmitting the advertisement data 41 associated with the advertisement ID with the smallest number of viewing times 432 included in the advertisement information management list 430a. Do. In step S405, if the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 has the same number of pieces of advertisement data 41 associated with the advertisement ID including the smallest number of viewing times 432 included in the advertising information management list 430a, the number of viewing times 432 is the highest. The transmission request may be transmitted at random among the advertisement data 41 linked to the small advertisement ID.

  In step S406, the advertisement server 50 receives the transmission request for the advertisement data 41 transmitted from the information providing device 30. Specifically, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the advertisement server 50 receives the transmission request of the advertisement data 41 transmitted from the information providing device 30 by the process of step S402, step S404 or step S405.

  In step S407, the requested advertisement data 41 of the advertisement server 50 is read out from the storage unit 54. Specifically, the advertisement information management unit 52 of the advertisement server 50 outputs a read request for the advertisement data 41 to the storage / readout unit 53. Then, when detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 53 reads the advertisement data 41 stored in the storage unit 54. The storage / readout unit 53 outputs the read advertisement data 41 to the advertisement information management unit 52.

  In step S408, the advertisement server 50 transmits the read advertisement data 41 to the information providing device 30. Specifically, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the advertisement server 50 transmits the advertisement data 41 output by the advertisement information management unit 52 to the information providing device 30.

  In step S409, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 stores the advertisement data 41 received from the advertisement server 50 in the advertisement information management DB 373 configured by the storage unit 37. Specifically, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the advertisement data 41 received from the advertisement server 50 to the advertisement information management unit 35. Then, the advertisement information management unit 35 generates an advertisement information management list 430 for the output advertisement data 41. The advertisement information management unit 35 stores the generated advertisement information management list 430 in the advertisement information management DB 373 configured by the storage unit 37.

  Thus, the information providing device 30 can acquire the advertisement data 41 from the advertisement server 50. In addition, the information providing apparatus 30 can select the advertisement data 41 acquired from the advertisement server 50 based on the number of times of reception and the number of times of viewing of the advertisement data 41. Therefore, the advertisement data 41 suitable for the user of the information providing system 1 You can get In addition, the acquisition process of advertisement data shown in FIG. 19 is an example, and is not limited to this. For example, the timing for acquiring the advertisement information may be transmitted from the advertisement server 50 at predetermined constant intervals.

  Subsequently, selection processing of the advertisement data 41 to be transmitted to the information terminal 90 in the information providing device 30 will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of advertisement data selection processing in the information providing apparatus according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 20, it is assumed that the advertisement data 41 is stored in advance in the advertisement information management DB 373 by the process shown in FIG.

  In step S501, when the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 detects a request for acquiring the advertisement data 41, the process proceeds to step S502. On the other hand, when the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 does not detect the acquisition request of the advertisement data 41, the processing of step S501 is repeated.

  In step S502, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 reads the advertisement information management list 430a stored in the advertisement information management DB 373. Specifically, the advertisement information management unit 35 outputs a request for reading the advertisement information management list 430 a to the storage and reading unit 36. Then, when detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads the advertisement information management list 430 a stored in the advertisement information management DB 373 included in the storage unit 37. The storage / readout unit 36 outputs the read advertisement information management list 430 a to the advertisement information management unit 35.

  In step S503, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S504 when there is an advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the read advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more. . In step S504, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 selects advertisement data associated with an advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more.

  On the other hand, when there is no advertisement ID for which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more in step S503, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 transfers the process to step S505. Let

  In step S505, in the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30, the advertisement ID in which the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more and the number of viewings 432 is not counted one or more If it exists, the process proceeds to step S506. In step S506, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 does not count the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a as one or more and the number of viewings 432 as one or more. The advertisement data 41 to be linked is selected.

  On the other hand, in step S505, in the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30, the number of receptions 431 included in the advertisement information management list 430a is not counted one or more, and the number of viewings 432 is not counted one or more If there is no advertisement ID, the process proceeds to step S507.

  In step S507, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 selects the advertisement data 41 associated with the advertisement ID with the smallest number of viewing times 432 included in the advertisement information management list 430a. In step S507, if the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 has the same number of pieces of advertisement data 41 associated with the advertisement ID including the smallest number of viewing times 432 included in the advertising information management list 430a, the number of viewing times 432 is the highest. You may select at random from the advertisement data 41 linked to the small advertisement ID.

  Thereby, the information providing device 30 can select the advertisement data 41 to be provided to the user using the information terminal 90 from the advertisement information management list 430. Further, since the information providing apparatus 30 can select the advertisement data 41 to be provided to the user using the information terminal 90 based on the number of times of reception and the number of times of viewing of the advertisement data 41, it is suitable for the user of the information providing system 1. Advertising information can be provided.

Effect of Second Embodiment As described above, in the information providing system according to the second embodiment, the advertisement provided by the information providing apparatus 30 to the user based on the number of times of receiving the advertisement data 41 and the number of times of viewing. Data 41 is selected. Therefore, the information providing system according to the second embodiment can preferentially provide the advertisement information not provided to the user and the advertisement information not viewed by the user, thereby enhancing the provision value of the advertisement information to the user. Can.

Modification 1 of Second Embodiment
Next, an information providing system according to a first modification of the second embodiment will be described. The information providing system according to the first modification of the second embodiment includes information on the number of skips of the advertisement data 41 in place of the information on the number of viewings 432 included in the advertisement information management list 430a according to the second embodiment. . FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the advertisement information management list according to the first modification of the second embodiment. In the advertisement information management list 430 b illustrated in FIG. 21, the “number of skips” 433 of the advertisement data 41 is stored in association with each of the advertisement data 41.

  The “number of skips” 433 is information indicating the number of times the advertisement data 41 transmitted from the information providing device 30 has been skipped by the user using the information terminal 90. For example, when the advertisement data 41 is skipped by the user using the information terminal 90, the advertisement information management unit 35 adds 1 to the skip number associated with the advertisement ID of the advertisement data 41.

  The advertisement information management unit 35 may select the advertisement data 41 having a large number of skips in the selection process of the advertisement data 41 shown in FIG. In this case, the advertisement data 41 having a large number of skips can provide new advertisement information to the user because there is a high possibility that the user has not watched yet. On the other hand, the advertisement information management unit 35 may select the advertisement data 41 with a small number of skips in the selection process of the advertisement data 41 shown in FIG. In this case, the advertisement data 41 having a large number of skips is highly likely to be advertisement data that does not match the preference or taste of the user. Therefore, the advertisement information management unit 35 can provide advertisement information that matches the user's preference and taste by selecting the advertisement data 41 with a small number of skips.

Modification 2 of Second Embodiment
Next, an information providing system according to a second modification of the second embodiment will be described. An information providing system according to the second modification of the second embodiment includes information of a user ID in addition to the information included in the advertisement information management list 430a according to the second embodiment. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the advertisement information management list according to the second modification of the second embodiment. The advertisement information management list 430c illustrated in FIG. 22 stores, for each “user ID” 434, the number of times of reception 431 and the number of times of viewing 432 associated with the advertisement data.

  The “user ID” 434 is identification information for identifying a user registered in the information providing system 1. The user ID 434 is the same as the user ID included in the authentication information management list 410 shown in FIG. The advertisement information management unit 35 performs selection processing of the advertisement data 41 shown in FIG. 20 using the advertisement information management list 430c shown in FIG. As described above, by managing the number of times of reception 431 and the number of times of viewing 432 of the advertisement data 41 for each user, advertisement information more suitable for the user of the information providing system 1 can be provided.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the information providing system according to the third embodiment, when document / image data 96 is registered from information terminal 90 to information providing apparatus 30, a PIN (Personal Identification) for identifying registered job data 40. Number) code is issued. Then, when the printing process of the job data 40 registered using the image processing apparatus 10 is performed, the user can perform the printing process of the job data 40 by inputting the issued PIN code.

  The information providing system according to the third embodiment is, for example, a system used in the case where the image processing apparatus 10 is used as a shared device in which user authentication is not performed. The same configurations and the same functions as the first embodiment and the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Process of Providing Advertisement Information FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a job registration process in the information providing system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 23 is described on the assumption that the user authentication process of the user who uses the information terminal 90 is not performed unlike the process shown in FIG. In addition, since the process to step S601-S610 is the same as the process of step S106-S115 shown in FIG. 11, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In step S611, the information terminal 90 transmits a print job registration request to the information providing device 30. Specifically, on the information terminal 90, a job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed, and registration of a print job becomes possible. Then, the information terminal 90 registers the document / image data 96 on the job registration screen 910 and selects the “register” icon 913 to transmit a print job registration request. The print job registration request includes the job data 40 attached on the job registration screen 910 shown in FIG. 12, print setting information, and history information of user operation on the information terminal 90.

  In step S612, the information terminal 90 reproduces the received advertisement data 41. Specifically, when the transmitting / receiving unit 91 receives the advertisement data 41 which is moving image data, the display control unit 92 of the information terminal 90 causes the display 906 a to display the advertisement information providing screen 920 and reproduces the advertisement data 41. Do.

  Here, unlike the processing shown in FIG. 11, the print job registration request processing in step S612 and the reproduction processing of advertisement data in step S612 are performed in parallel. This is because, in the case of the information providing system according to the third embodiment, the PIN code is issued at the time of registration of a print job, and the user can not execute the registered print job without confirming the PIN code. . Therefore, even if the print data can not be registered after the reproduction of the advertisement data 41 is completed, the possibility that the advertisement data 41 is skipped halfway is reduced. Thus, the information providing system according to the third embodiment can simultaneously perform the reproduction of the advertisement data 41 and the registration of the print job. The job registration screen 910 and the advertisement information provision screen 920 may be displayed on the display 906 a in one screen.

  In step S613, when receiving the print job registration request, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the print job registration request to the job management unit 34. In step S614, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates a PIN code for the print job associated with the output registration request. Also, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates a job management list 420 including the generated PIN code. The job management list 420 generated by the job management unit 34 is the same as that generated at step 119 of FIG. 11 except that the PIN code is stored for each job ID.

  In step S615, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 stores the generated job management list 420 in the storage unit 37. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs the generated job management list 420 to the storage / readout unit 36. Then, when detecting the output job management list 420, the storage / readout unit 36 stores the job management list 420 stored in the job management DB 372 included in the storage unit 37. In step S616, the job management unit 34 outputs the generated PIN code to the display image processing unit 33. Note that the order of the processes in step S615 and step S616 may be reversed or performed in parallel.

  In step S617, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects the output PIN code, the display image processing unit 33 outputs a PIN code notification screen 930 to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S618, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the PIN code notification screen 930 to the information terminal 90.

  In step S619, the information terminal 90 displays the received PIN code notification screen 930. Specifically, when the transmission / reception unit 91 receives the PIN code notification screen 930, the display control unit 92 of the information terminal 90 causes the display 906a to display the PIN code notification screen 930.

  Here, the notification screen 930 of the PIN code displayed on the information terminal 90 will be described. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a PIN code notification screen according to the third embodiment. The PIN code notification screen 930 shown in FIG. 24 displays a PIN code associated with the registered print job, together with a message indicating that the registration of the print job is completed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 24, the PIN code is "123456". The user stores the PIN code displayed on the PIN code notification screen 930 in the information terminal 90 by a method such as storing it or writing it down separately. Thereby, the user can use the displayed PIN code when performing print processing of the job data 40 corresponding to the print job registered using the image processing apparatus 10.

  Subsequently, print job execution processing in the image processing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of job execution processing in the information providing system according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 25, as in the process shown in FIG. 23, it is assumed that the user authentication process of the user who uses the image processing apparatus 10 is not performed. Further, FIG. 25 is described on the assumption that the PIN code is issued to the job data 40 registered in the information providing device 30 as shown in FIG.

  In step S701, the image processing apparatus 10 receives a request for acquiring a print job execution screen from the user. Specifically, the receiving unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the acquisition request of the print job execution screen by the input operation of the user. In step S702, when the transmission / reception unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the acquisition request for the print job execution screen, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the acquisition request for the print job execution screen to the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S703, when the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 receives the acquisition request for the print job execution screen, the transmission / reception unit 31 outputs the received acquisition request for the print job execution screen to the display image processing unit 33. In step S704, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects the acquisition request of the output screen of the print job, the display image processing unit 33 outputs the acquisition request of the job data 40 to the job management unit 34.

  In step S 705, when the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 detects an acquisition request for the output job data 40, the job management unit 34 reads the job management list 420 from the storage unit 37. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs a request for reading the job management list 420 to the storage and reading unit 36. Then, upon detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads out the job management list 420 stored in the job management DB 372 included in the storage unit 37.

  In step S706, the storage unit 37 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job management list 420 to the job management unit 34. Specifically, the storage unit 37 outputs the job management list 420 corresponding to the read request to the storage and read unit 36. Then, the storage / readout unit 36 outputs the output job management list 420 to the job management unit 34.

  In step S 707, when detecting the output job management list 420, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job management list 420 to the display image processing unit 33. In step S 708, the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job execution screen 210 a to be described later to the transmission / reception unit 31 because the job management list 420 includes the information of the PIN code.

  In step S709, when detecting the output job execution screen 210a, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the job execution screen 210a to the image processing apparatus 10. In step S710, when the image processing apparatus 10 receives the job execution screen 210a, the image processing apparatus 10 receives an input of a PIN code by the user's input operation on the displayed job execution screen 210a. Specifically, the display control unit 12 of the image processing apparatus 10 causes the operation unit 107 to display the received job execution screen 210 a. Then, the reception unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the input of the PIN code on the displayed job execution screen 210a by the input operation of the user.

  Here, a PIN code input screen displayed on the image processing apparatus 10 will be described. FIG. 26 is a view showing an example of a job execution screen displayed on the image processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. In the job execution screen 210a shown in FIG. 26, an input space for receiving an input of a PIN code and an "execution" icon 212 are displayed. The user inputs the PIN code acquired at the time of registration of the print job into the input space 213 and selects the “execute” icon 214 to download the print job corresponding to the inputted PIN code by the information providing device 30. Can be sent to The layout of the job execution screen 210a shown in FIG. 26 is not limited to this.

  Referring back to FIG. 25, the description of the print job execution process in the image processing apparatus 10 will be continued. In step S711, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits the input PIN code to the information providing apparatus 30. In step S 712, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the received PIN code to the job management unit 34.

  In step S 713, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates print processing information for performing print processing on the job data 40 corresponding to the output PI code. Specifically, when there is job data 40 corresponding to the PIN code received from the image processing apparatus 10 in the job management list 420, the job management unit 34 prints the job data 40 corresponding to the PIN code. Identify the content. Then, the job management unit 34 generates print processing information including the specified print processing content. The process of specifying the print process content and the process of generating print process information are the same as the process illustrated in FIG.

  On the other hand, when there is no job data 40 corresponding to the PIN code received from the image processing apparatus 10 in the job management list 420, the job management unit 34 specifies print processing content (generates print processing information) Since the job data 40 for) does not exist, the process ends. In this case, the information providing device 30 may transmit a message to the image processing device 10 to the effect that the input PIN code is not correct.

  In step S 714, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job data 40 corresponding to the input PIN code and the generated print processing information to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S <b> 715, the transmitting and receiving unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the output job data 40 and print processing information to the image processing device 10. In step S 716, when the image processing apparatus 10 receives the job data 40 and the print processing information, the image processing apparatus 10 executes the print processing of the job data 40 based on the print processing information. Specifically, the print processing unit 14 of the image processing apparatus 10 executes print processing of the job data 40.

  Thus, the information providing system 1 can provide the advertisement data 41 while printing the job data 40 corresponding to the PIN code input by the user. The PIN code is an example of information for identifying the job data 40 registered in the information providing device 30, and may be a job ID or the like shown in FIG. In addition, it is preferable that the PIN code is not a simple value as shown in FIG. 24 but a random number so as not to be guessed by other users.

Effect of Third Embodiment As described above, the information providing system according to the third embodiment is issued when the document / image data 96 is registered from the information terminal 90 to the information providing apparatus 30. The printing process of the job data 40 can be performed by inputting the PIN code to the image processing apparatus 10 that executes the printing process of the registered job data 40. Therefore, in the information providing system according to the third embodiment, the PIN code is associated with each registered job data 40 even when print processing is performed using the image processing apparatus 10 in which user authentication is not performed. Thus, it is possible to effectively convey the contents of the advertisement information to the user without impairing the usability of the user.

Fourth Embodiment
System Configuration Subsequently, a fourth embodiment will be described. The information providing system according to the fourth embodiment acquires billing amount information indicating the billing amount by the user of the information providing system 1 a in addition to the information providing system 1 according to the first to third embodiments. And a charge server 70 for managing the charge amount. Even when the advertisement data 41 is skipped when registering the job data 40, the information providing system 1a does not print the advertisement data 41 by paying the usage fee associated with the printing process of the job data 40. Can. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of the information providing system according to the fourth embodiment. The same configuration and function as those of the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  The charging server 70 is a server device that stores and manages the charging status of the user of the information providing system 1a. The charging server 70 is connected to the network 5 and can communicate with each of the image processing device 10, the information providing device 30, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90. The charging server 70 stores and manages charging amount information indicating information etc. of the charging amount for each user. Further, in response to a request from the information providing device 30, the charging server 70 transmits the managed charging amount information. The charging server 70 is an example of a charging unit.

  The charging server 70 may have a function as software executed by the image processing apparatus 10 or the information providing apparatus 30. Further, the charging server 70 may be a terminal device set to accompany the image processing apparatus 10.

Functional Configuration FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the information providing system according to the fourth embodiment. The functions realized by the charging server 70 shown in FIG. 28 are functions including the transmission / reception unit 71, the charging amount information management unit 72, the storage / readout unit 73, and the storage unit 74. The functions realized by the information providing device 30, the image processing device 10, the advertisement server 50, and the information terminal 90 according to the fourth embodiment are the same as in the first to third embodiments. I omit explanation.

  The transmitting and receiving unit 71 is a function of exchanging data with an external device via the network 5. The transmitting and receiving unit 71 transmits, for example, the billing amount information 80 stored in the storage unit 74 to the information providing device 30. The transmission / reception unit 71 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the communication unit 306 and the CPU 301 illustrated in FIG.

  The billing amount information management unit 72 is a function of managing the billing status of the user of the information providing system 1a. The charge amount information management unit 72 manages, for example, the charge amount information 80 stored in the storage unit 54. The billing amount information management unit 72 is realized by, for example, a program executed by the CPU 301 shown in FIG.

  The storage / readout unit 73 is a function of storing various data in the storage unit 74 and reading out various data from the storage unit 74. The storage / readout unit 73 and the storage unit 74 are realized by, for example, a program executed by the ROM 302, the storage 304, and the CPU 301 shown in FIG. Further, the storage unit 74 stores billing amount information 80. The billing amount information 80 is information indicating the billing status for each user, such as the billing amount charged by the user of the information providing system 1.

Process of Providing Advertisement Information FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of providing advertisement information in the information providing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a modification of the print setting information generation process shown in FIG. 16, and the processes of step S301 and step S302 shown in FIG. 16 will be described as being already performed.

  In step S801, when the registration information included in the job management list 420 includes the “pay” flag, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S802. On the other hand, when the “pay” flag of the registration information included in the job management list 420 is not included, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S812. In step S812, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print only the job data 40 corresponding to the download request from the information terminal 90. In this case, the advertisement data 41 is not printed on the sheet on which the job data 40 is printed.

  In step S802, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits an acquisition request for the billing amount information 80 to the billing server 70. Specifically, when the “paid” flag is included in the registration information included in the job management list 420, the job management unit of the information providing device 30 corresponds to the billing amount information corresponding to the user of the information terminal 90 that has transmitted the download request. An 80 acquisition request is output to the transmission / reception unit 31. Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 31 transmits, to the charging server 70, an acquisition request for the charging amount information 80 corresponding to the user of the information terminal 90 that has transmitted the download request.

  In step S 803, the transmission / reception unit 71 of the charging server 70 receives the acquisition request for the charging amount information 80 from the information providing device 30. In step S 804, the charge amount information management unit 72 of the charge server 70 reads the requested charge amount information 80 from the storage unit 74. Specifically, the billing amount information management unit 72 outputs a reading request of the billing amount information 80 corresponding to the requested user to the storage and reading unit 73. Then, when detecting the output read request, the storage / readout unit 73 reads out the billing amount information 80 stored in the storage unit 74. The storage / readout unit 73 outputs the read charge amount information 80 to the charge amount information management unit 72.

  In step S 805, the transmission / reception unit 71 of the charging server 70 transmits the read charging amount information 80 to the information providing device 30. In step S806, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 acquires the billing amount information 80 transmitted from the billing server 70. In step S807, if the balance of the billing amount included in the billing amount information 80 is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold value, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S808. On the other hand, when the balance of the billing amount included in the billing amount information 80 is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 shifts the processing to step S811.

  Here, the predetermined threshold is a charge to be collected for the user when the job data 40 is printed using the image processing apparatus 10 in the information providing system 1a. For example, the predetermined threshold may be a charge to be collected for the user when printing one sheet of job data 40 using the image processing apparatus 10. That is, in the process of step S 807, it is determined whether the user who is about to print the job data 40 can collect the usage fee based on the billing amount information 80.

  In addition, the predetermined threshold may be information on a preset number of printable sheets corresponding to the balance of the billing amount of the user. In this case, when the number of print processes to be executed is smaller than the printable number of sheets included in the billing amount information 80, the process proceeds to step S809, and the number of printing processes to be executed is the billing amount information 80. If the number of printable sheets is larger than the number of printable sheets contained in the image file, the process proceeds to step S811. The predetermined threshold is not limited to the above example, and can be appropriately set or changed by the administrator of the information providing system 1a.

  In step S808, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 pays the usage fee to the charging server 70 because the balance of the charging amount included in the charging amount information 80 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold. Specifically, the job management unit 34 outputs, to the transmission / reception unit 31, information related to the usage fee associated with the printing process. The transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the output information on the usage fee to the charging server 70. The information on the fee for use may be information on the number of copies to be subjected to the printing process, or may be information obtained by converting the printing process to be executed into a fee.

  In step S809, the charge amount information management unit 72 of the charge server 70 reduces the charge amount corresponding to the received usage charge from the charge amount information 80 of the corresponding user stored in the storage unit 74. The charge amount information management unit 72 causes the storage unit 74 to store the charge amount information 80 obtained by reducing the charge amount.

  In step S810, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content so as to print only the job data 40 corresponding to the download request from the information terminal 90. In this case, the advertisement data is not printed on the sheet on which the job data 40 is printed since the user pays the usage fee associated with the printing process.

  In step S811, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 prints the job data 40 corresponding to the download request for the advertisement data 41 because the balance of the charging amount included in the charging amount information 80 is smaller than the predetermined threshold. Specify the print processing content to print on paper. Note that the printing method of the advertisement data 41 may be determined by the processing of steps S305 to S309 shown in FIG.

  In step S813, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 generates print processing information based on the print processing content identified in the processing of steps S810, S811, and S812. Then, the information providing device 30 transmits the generated print setting information to the image processing device 10 together with the corresponding job data 40.

Effect of Fourth Embodiment As described above, the information providing system according to the fourth embodiment includes the charging server 70 that manages the amount charged by the user of the information providing system 1a, and is managed by the charging server 70. Using the charge amount information 80, it is determined whether to print the advertisement information together with the registered job data 40. Therefore, even when the advertisement data is skipped when registering the job data 40, the information providing system 1a does not print the advertisement data by paying the usage fee associated with the printing process of the job data 40. User's convenience can be improved.

Fifth Embodiment
The fifth embodiment will be described next. The information providing system according to the fifth embodiment uses not only the printing process of the document / image data 96 stored in the information terminal 90 but also the image processing apparatus 10 like the copy function and the scanner function of the image processing apparatus 10. This system is also applicable to printing of read document / image data. In the information providing system according to the fifth embodiment, the function realized by the information providing device 30 may be a function as software executed by the image processing device 10.

Process of Providing Advertising Information FIG. 30 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a job execution process in the information providing system according to the fifth embodiment. Unlike the job execution process shown in FIG. 14, in the job execution process shown in FIG. 30, the print job registration request by the user also serves as the print job execution request. In addition, since the user authentication process of step S901-step S905 is the same as the process of S201-step S205 shown in FIG. 14, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In step S 906, the image processing apparatus 10 receives a request for acquiring a print job registration screen from the user authenticated by the authentication unit 32. Specifically, the reception unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives an acquisition request for the print job registration screen. In step S 907, when the transmission / reception unit 11 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the acquisition request for the print job registration screen, the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the acquisition request for the print job registration screen to the information providing apparatus 30.

  In step S 908, when receiving the acquisition request for the print job registration screen, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the received acquisition request for the print job registration screen to the display image processing unit 33. In step S909, when the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 detects the output request for acquiring the registration screen of the print job, the display image processing unit 33 outputs an acquisition request for advertisement data to the advertisement information management unit 35.

  In step S 910, when the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 detects the output advertisement data acquisition request, the advertisement information management unit 35 reads the advertisement information management list 430 from the storage unit 37. Specifically, the advertisement information management unit 35 outputs a read request for the advertisement information management list 430 to the storage and readout unit 36. When the storage / readout unit 36 detects the output read request, the storage / readout unit 36 reads the advertisement information management list 430 stored in the authentication information management DB 371 included in the storage unit 37.

  In step S 911, the storage unit 37 of the information providing device 30 outputs the advertisement information management list 430 to the advertisement information management unit 35. Specifically, the storage unit 37 outputs the advertisement information management list 430 corresponding to the read request to the storage / readout unit 36. Then, the storage / readout unit 36 outputs the output advertisement information management list 430 to the advertisement information management unit 35.

  In step S912, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 selects advertisement data from the output advertisement information management list 430. In step S 913, the advertisement information management unit 35 of the information providing device 30 outputs the selected advertisement data 41 to the display image processing unit 33. In step S 914, the display image processing unit 33 of the information providing device 30 outputs the output advertisement data 41 and the job registration screen 910 to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S 915, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the output job registration screen 910 and the advertisement data 41 to the image processing device 10.

  In step S916, the image processing apparatus 10 reproduces the received advertisement data 41. Specifically, when the transmitting / receiving unit 11 receives the advertisement data, the display control unit 12 of the image processing apparatus 10 reproduces the advertisement data 41 which is moving image data. The reproduction process of the advertisement data 41 in step S916 is the same as the process of step S116 shown in FIG.

  In step S 917, the image processing apparatus 10 transmits a print job registration request to the information providing apparatus 30. Here, in step S 917, registration of the job data 40 is not selected from the stored document / image data 96 as in the process of step S 117 shown in FIG. 11 but copying of the image processing apparatus 10 The job data 40 is registered by reading the document / image data using the function or the scan function. The other processing in transmitting the print job registration request is the same as the processing in step S117 shown in FIG.

  In step S 918, when receiving the print job registration request, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 outputs the print job registration request to the job management unit 34. In step S919, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 specifies the print processing content for the job data 40 corresponding to the output registration request. Then, the job management unit 34 generates print processing information including the specified print processing content. The process of specifying print processing content and the process of generating print process information in step S919 are the same as the process of step S218 illustrated in FIG.

  In step S 920, the job management unit 34 of the information providing device 30 outputs the job data 40 corresponding to the registration request and the generated print processing information to the transmission / reception unit 31. In step S 921, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the information providing device 30 transmits the output job data 40 and print processing information to the image processing device 10.

  In step S922, when the print processing unit 14 of the image processing apparatus 10 receives the job data 40 and the print processing information, the print processing unit 14 executes the print processing of the job data 40 based on the print processing information. Thus, the information providing system 1 can provide the advertisement data 41 while printing the job data 40 requested by the user.

Effect of Fifth Embodiment As described above, the information providing system according to the fifth embodiment is not limited to the printing process of the document / image data 96 stored in the information terminal 90, but also of the image processing apparatus 10. Even when printing a document or image data read by the image processing apparatus 10, such as a copy function or a scanner function, the contents of the advertisement information can be effectively displayed to the user without impairing the usability of the user. I can tell.

● Summary ●
As described above, the information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention provides information for providing advertisement data 41 (an example of advertisement information) to an information terminal 90 (an example of a display device) which can be operated by a user. The system 1 acquires job data 40 (an example of print target information) to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus 10 and history information of user operation on the information terminal 90 displaying the advertisement data 41. Then, when the information providing system 1 receives the print execution request of the acquired job data 40, the information providing system 1 generates print processing information indicating the processing content for the job data 40 based on the acquired history information, and generates the generated print Processing information is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10. Therefore, the information providing system 1 can effectively convey the contents of the advertisement information to the user without impairing the usability of the user.

  In addition, the information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention prints the print processing information so as to print only the job data 40 linked to the history information, when the history information does not include the information indicating the user operation on the advertisement data 41. When the history information includes information indicating a user operation on the advertisement data 41, print processing information is generated so as to print the advertisement data 41 together with the job data 40. Therefore, the information providing system 1 determines whether to print the advertisement information together with the job data 40 based on the user's viewing of the advertisement information. It can communicate the contents effectively.

  Furthermore, in the information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the user using the information terminal 90 selects the advertisement data 41 with a small number of viewing times, and selects the selected advertisement data 41 before acquiring the job data 40. It transmits to the information terminal 90. Therefore, the information providing system 1 can preferentially provide the advertisement data not provided to the user and the advertisement data not viewed by the user, so that the provision value of the advertisement information can be enhanced.

  Further, the information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention authenticates the user in response to an authentication request including authentication information from the user, and generates print processing information for the job data 40 associated with the authenticated user. . Therefore, since the information providing system 1 identifies the print processing content for each authenticated user, security of the information providing system 1 can be enhanced, and the provision value of the advertisement information to the user can be enhanced.

  Furthermore, the information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention stores the PIN code in association with the acquired job data 40, and if the PIN code input by the user matches the stored PIN code, the PIN is stored. Print processing information for job data 40 associated with a code is generated. Therefore, even when the information providing system 1 executes the printing process using the image processing apparatus 10 in which the user authentication is not performed, the PIN code is associated with each registered job data 40, thereby making the user's convenience It is possible to effectively convey the contents of the advertisement information to the user without loss.

  Further, the information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires the billing amount information 80 indicating the billing amount according to the printing process of the job data 40 and stores the billing amount information 80 for each user. The advertisement data 41 is printed together with the job data 40 in a case where the history information includes information indicating a user operation on the advertisement data 41 and the charge amount indicated by the charge amount information 80 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. Print processing information is generated as follows. Therefore, even when the advertisement data 41 is skipped when registering the job data 40, the information providing system 1a causes the advertisement data 41 to be printed by paying the usage fee associated with the printing process of the job data 40. Since it can be eliminated, the user's usability can be improved.

  Furthermore, the information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information providing method performed by the information providing system 1 for providing the advertisement data 41 to the information terminal 90 that can be operated by the user. In the case of receiving an acquisition step of acquiring job data 40 to be subjected to print processing and user operation history information on the information terminal 90 displaying the advertisement data 41, and receiving a print execution request of the acquired job data 40, A generation step of generating print processing information indicating processing content for the job data 40 and a transmission step of transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus 10 are executed based on the history information thus obtained. Therefore, the information provision method according to the embodiment of the present invention can effectively convey the contents of the advertisement information to the user without impairing the usability of the user.

  The functions of each embodiment can be realized by computer-executable programs described in a legacy programming language such as assembler, C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark) or an object-oriented programming language, etc., ROM, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), Flash Memory, Flexible Disc, CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, CD-RW (Re-Writable), DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM It can be stored in a device readable recording medium such as a DVD-RW, a Blu-ray disc, an SD card, a MO (Magneto-Optical disc) or the like, or can be distributed through a telecommunication line.

  In addition, some or all of the functions of each embodiment can be implemented on a programmable device (PD) such as, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Circuit configuration data (bit stream data) to be downloaded to the PD to realize the functions of each embodiment on the PD, hardware description language (HDL) for generating the circuit configuration data, and very high speed integrated circuit (VHDL) It can be distributed by a recording medium as data described in Circuits Hardware Description Language), Verilog-HDL, and the like.

  Although the information providing system, the image processing apparatus, the information providing method, and the program according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and other embodiments, additions Modifications, deletions, etc. can be made within the scope of those skilled in the art, and any modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

1 Information Providing System 10 Image Processing Device 11 Transmission / reception unit (an example of request transmission means)
14 print processing unit (an example of print processing unit)
30 Information Providing Device 31 Transmission / Receiving Unit (Example of Acquisition Means and Transmission Means)
32 Authentication unit (an example of authentication means)
34 Job Management Department (an example of generation means)
35 Advertising Information Management Department (an example of selection means)
37 Memory unit (an example of memory means)
50 advertising server 70 billing server (an example of billing means)
90 Information terminal (example of display device)

JP, 2002-82581, A

Claims (14)

An information providing system for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by a user, comprising:
An acquisition unit configured to acquire print target information to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus and history information of a user operation on a display apparatus displaying the advertisement information;
A generation unit configured to generate print processing information indicating processing content for the print target information based on the acquired history information when receiving a print execution request for the acquired print target information;
Transmission means for transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus;
Information provision system provided with When the history information does not include information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information, the generation unit generates the print processing information so as to print only the print target information.
2. The print processing information according to claim 1, wherein, when the history information includes information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information, the generation unit generates the print processing information so as to print the advertisement information together with the print target information. Information provision system.   The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information is information indicating that the advertisement information is skipped by the user. The advertisement information includes moving image data and still image data linked to the moving image data,
The display device displays the moving image data as the advertisement information,
The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the generation unit generates the print processing information using the still image data as the advertisement information. The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:
A selection unit configured to select the advertisement information to be provided to the user;
An information providing system, which transmits the selected advertisement information to the display device before acquiring the print target information.   The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein the selection unit selects the advertisement information with less viewing frequency by the user. The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:
Storage means for associating and storing the acquired print target information and history information;
The information providing system, wherein the generation unit generates the print processing information based on the history information linked to the stored print target information when the print execution request for the stored print target information is received. The information providing system according to claim 7, further comprising:
An authentication unit configured to authenticate the user in response to an authentication request including authentication information from the user;
The storage unit stores the print target information and the history information for each user.
The information providing system, wherein the generation unit generates print processing information for print target information linked to the authenticated user. The storage unit stores a PIN code in association with the acquired print target information.
8. The information providing system according to claim 7, wherein the generation unit generates the print processing content for the print target information linked to the PIN code, when the PIN code input by the user and the stored PIN code match. system. The information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:
The charge amount information indicating the charge amount according to the print processing of the print target information is acquired, and a charge unit that stores the charge amount information for each user is provided.
When the history information includes information indicating the user operation on the advertisement information, and the charge amount indicated by the charge amount information is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the generation unit prints the advertisement information together with the print target information. The information provision system which produces | generates the said printing process information to do. An information providing system comprising: an information providing device for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by a user; and an image processing device for executing printing processing of print target information,
The information providing device is
An acquisition unit configured to acquire the print target information and history information of a user operation on a display device that displays the advertisement information;
Generation means for generating print processing information in the image processing apparatus based on the acquired history information when receiving a print execution request for the acquired print target information;
And transmission means for transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus.
The image processing apparatus is
Request transmission means for transmitting the print execution request input by the user to the information providing apparatus;
Print processing means for executing print processing of the print target information based on the print processing information;
Information provision system provided with An image processing apparatus capable of communicating with an information providing apparatus for providing advertisement information to a display apparatus operable by a user, comprising:
Request transmission means for transmitting a print execution request for the print target information input by the user to the information providing apparatus;
Print processing means for executing print processing for the print target information based on print processing information of the print target information generated based on history information of user operation on the display device displaying the advertisement information;
An image processing apparatus comprising: An information providing method performed by an information providing system for providing advertisement information to a display device operable by a user.
An acquisition step of acquiring print target information to be subjected to print processing in the image processing apparatus and history information of a user operation on a display apparatus displaying the advertisement information;
A generation step of generating print processing information indicating processing content for the print target information based on the acquired history information when receiving a print execution request for the acquired print target information;
Transmitting the generated print processing information to the image processing apparatus;
How to provide information to do.   A program that causes a computer to execute the information provision method according to claim 13.