JP2019184970A - Image printing device and system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image printing device capable of switching a language to a language according to a user easily.SOLUTION: An image printing device 2 comprises: a photographing part 101 for photographing a user; a reception part 102 for receiving an image which was sent to a server 3 from a user terminal 5 from the server 3; a printing part 103 for printing an image in which a user is photographed and an image received from the server 3; a language information acquisition part 105 for acquiring language information indicating a language which a user uses, from the user terminal 5; and a language setting part 106 for setting a language to be used on the image printing device 2 according to language information acquired by the language information acquisition part 105.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a multilingual image printing apparatus and an image printing system.

  There are various image print services for printing user images stored in a storage unit such as a smartphone with a street printing device, and it is possible to print with an image printing device installed in a convenience store, a consumer electronics store, etc. It is.

  Patent Document 1 describes a printing system that can download and print image data transmitted from a camera-equipped communication device (mobile phone) to a server in an ID photo shooting box.

  Some ID photo shooting boxes are multilingual. For example, a language selection button is provided on the top screen displayed in the shooting box, and when the user selects a language, the language of various screens displayed thereafter is set as the selected language.

JP 2004-240737 A

  In the ID photo shooting box, it is required to make it possible to easily print an image with as few operations as possible for the purpose of reducing the staying time of the user and increasing the rotation rate. In a multilingual shooting box, a process of switching to a language according to the user is essential, but the same applies to such a process.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image printing apparatus and the like that can be easily switched to a language according to a user.

  A first invention for solving the above-described problem is an image printing apparatus for printing an image, wherein the receiving unit receives an image from a server, the printing unit prints an image received from the server, and a user A language information acquisition unit that acquires language information indicating a language to be used from a user terminal or the server; a language setting unit that sets a language to be used in the image printing apparatus according to the language information acquired by the language information acquisition unit; An image printing apparatus comprising:

  The image printing apparatus according to the present invention automatically sets the language according to the user by acquiring the language information indicating the language used by the user from the user terminal or the server when receiving and printing the user image from the server. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, it is possible to easily switch to a language according to the user without the user selecting a language.

The language setting unit preferably sets a language used on a screen displayed on the image printing apparatus according to the language information.
By setting the language used in various screens displayed on the image printing apparatus to a language according to the user, a user using various languages can smoothly print an image.

The image printing apparatus includes: an order identification information acquisition unit that acquires a code including order identification information corresponding to an image received from the server from the user terminal to acquire the order identification information; a photographing unit that captures a user; And the print unit further prints an image of the user, and the image printing apparatus responds to the order identification information from the server in response to reading of the code from the user terminal. It is desirable to receive and print an image.
In this case, it is possible to automatically shift to the latter service by reading the code without selecting the photography service or the image print service, and to receive and print the image from the server, so that the user's operation becomes simple. However, if the language corresponding to the user cannot be set, the process proceeds with the default language, which is inconvenient for a user who does not use the language. Therefore, automatic language setting is particularly effective as in the present invention.

For example, it is preferable that the code includes the language information, and the language information acquisition unit acquires the language information by reading the code from the user terminal. Alternatively, the language information acquisition unit preferably receives and acquires the language information corresponding to the order identification information from the server when receiving an image corresponding to the order identification information from the server.
By these methods, the language can be automatically set by reading the code, so that the user's operation is further simplified.

  A second invention is an image printing system comprising the image printing apparatus of the first invention, the server, and the user terminal, wherein the user terminal transmits an image to the server. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image printing apparatus that can be easily switched to a language according to a user.

1 is a diagram illustrating an image print system 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the image printing apparatus 2. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an image printing apparatus 2. FIG. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the control apparatus 20. The figure which shows the reading part 27. FIG. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the server 3. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the user terminal 5. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image printing apparatus 2. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image printing method. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image printing method. An example of order data 321. An example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 5. The figure which shows the relationship between the language used by OS, the language which can be used by the image printing apparatus 2, and the language used by an application. 7 is an example of a screen displayed on the image printing apparatus 2. An example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 5.

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

(1. Image printing system 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image print system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image print system 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which an image print device 2 (photographing device), a server 3, and a user terminal 5 are communicably connected via a network 6.

  The image printing apparatus 2 also has a function as a photography apparatus in which a user takes a picture of itself, and is, for example, an ID photograph photography box installed on a street. The image printing apparatus 2 shoots the user and prints the image as an ID photo (photographing service), and also prints the user's image transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the server 3 (image print service). .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the image printing apparatus 2, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the image printing apparatus 2.

  The image printing apparatus 2 has a box-like appearance in which a user enters and takes a photograph, and includes a control device 20, a display unit 21, a charging unit 22, a photographing unit 23, an illumination 24, a printer 25, a printed matter outlet 26, A reading unit 27, a curtain 28, a sensor 29, an audio output unit 30, and the like are included.

  The control device 20 is provided inside the image printing apparatus 2 and controls the entire processing of the image printing apparatus 2.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the control device 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 20 can be realized by, for example, a computer configured by connecting a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, an input unit 203, a communication unit 204, and the like through a bus or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various configurations can be taken as appropriate.

  The control unit 201 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. The CPU calls and executes a program related to the processing of the control device 20 stored in a storage medium such as the storage unit 202 and the ROM in a work area on the RAM. ROM is a non-volatile memory, and permanently stores programs such as boot programs and BIOS, and data. The RAM is a volatile memory, and temporarily stores programs and data loaded from the storage unit 202, ROM, and the like, and includes a work area used by the control unit 201 to perform various processes.

  The storage unit 202 is a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory, or the like, and stores a program executed by the control device 20 during processing to be described later, data necessary for program execution, an OS (operation system), and the like. These programs and data are read and executed by the control unit 201 as necessary.

The input unit 203 inputs various settings to the control device 20.
The communication unit 204 is a communication interface that mediates communication via the network 6 and the like, and performs communication with the server 3 and the like.

  Returning to the description of FIGS. The display unit 21 is realized by a display with a touch panel that also serves as an input unit of the image printing apparatus 2. The display unit 21 displays various screens related to user operations and selections, and accepts user instruction inputs and the like by touch operations on the screen.

  The billing unit 22 includes a coin and banknote slot, a change return slot, a receipt outlet, a receipt printer, and the like (not shown), and manages billing and receipt issuance from the user.

  The photographing unit 23 is provided with a camera or the like inside the photographing window. For example, a high-resolution digital camera is used as the camera, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  The illumination 24 is illumination that illuminates the entirety of the box of the image printing apparatus 2. The illumination 24 is a surface light source that emits white light, for example, and is provided in the upper part of the photographing unit 23, but is not limited thereto. Note that a strobe light source is also provided in the box of the image printing apparatus 2 for flash at the time of shooting.

  The printer 25 prints an image on paper and is provided inside the image printing apparatus 2. The printed matter on which the image is printed is discharged to the printed matter outlet 26. There are no particular restrictions on the method or number of printers 25 installed.

  The reading unit 27 optically reads a two-dimensional code displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 5. The two-dimensional code will be described later. In the reading unit 27, as shown in FIG. 5A, an image scanner 270 is provided in the cover. The image scanner 270 is also provided with an illumination 271 for reading a two-dimensional code.

  The curtain 28 blocks the inside of the box of the image printing apparatus 2 from the outside.

  The sensor 29 is a sensor that detects a user who has entered the box of the image printing apparatus 2. The sensor 29 is, for example, an infrared sensor, but is not limited thereto.

  The sound output unit 30 is a sound processing device, a speaker, or the like for outputting a guide sound or sounding a notification sound or the like at each stage of user operation / selection.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The server 3 is a server that manages images to be printed by the image printing apparatus 2.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the server 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the server 3 can be realized by a computer configured by connecting a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a display unit 33, an input unit 34, a communication unit 35, and the like by a bus or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various configurations can be taken as appropriate.

  The functions of the control unit 31, the storage unit 32, the input unit 34, and the communication unit 35 are substantially the same as those of the control unit 201, the storage unit 202, the input unit 203, and the communication unit 204 described above. The display unit 33 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel.

  The storage unit 32 stores a program for causing the server 3 to execute processing to be described later. The input unit 34 includes a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, and an input device such as a numeric keypad.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The user terminal 5 is a computer terminal possessed by the user, and for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone can be used.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the user terminal 5. As shown in FIG. 7, the user terminal 5 is configured by connecting a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, a display unit 53, an input unit 54, a communication unit 55, a camera 56, a voice input / output unit 57, and the like through a bus or the like. . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various configurations can be taken as appropriate.

  The functions of the control unit 51, the storage unit 52, the input unit 54, and the communication unit 55 are substantially the same as those of the control unit 201, the storage unit 202, the input unit 203, and the communication unit 204 described above. The display unit 53 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and a touch panel as the input unit 54 is provided. The voice input / output unit 57 is a microphone, a speaker, or the like.

  The storage unit 52 stores a dedicated application program for executing processing to be described later of the user terminal 5, and causes the user terminal 5 to execute processing to be described later using the program.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the image printing apparatus 2. As shown in FIG. 8, the image printing apparatus 2 includes a photographing unit 101, a receiving unit 102, a printing unit 103, an order identification information acquiring unit 104, a language information acquiring unit 105, a language setting unit 106, and the like.

  The photographing unit 101 corresponds to the photographing unit 23 described above, and obtains an image by photographing a user in the box with a camera.

  The receiving unit 102 receives (downloads) an image transmitted (uploaded) from the user terminal 5 to the server 3.

  The print unit 103 corresponds to the printer 25 described above. The printing unit 103 prints an image taken of a user in the photo shooting service, and receives and prints an image transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the server 3 in the image print service.

  The order identification information acquisition unit 104 and the language information acquisition unit 105 receive from the user terminal 5 a two-dimensional code including an order ID (order identification information) corresponding to an image received from the server 3 and language information indicating a language used by the user. By reading, the order ID and the language information are acquired. The order ID and language information will be described later. Note that other codes may be used instead of the two-dimensional code, and for example, a bar code or the like may be used.

  The language setting unit 106 sets a language used in the image printing apparatus 2 in accordance with the language information acquired by the language information acquisition unit 105. In particular, in this embodiment, the language used on the screen displayed on the image printing apparatus 2 is set according to the acquired language information.

(2. Image printing method)
Next, the image printing method of this embodiment will be described. 9 and 10 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the image printing method. 9 is executed by the control unit 51 of the user terminal 5, and the processes of S102 to 104 of FIG. 9 and S209 to 210 of FIG. 10 are performed by the control unit of the server 3. 31 executes. Further, the processing of S201 to 202, S205 to 208, and S211 to 213 in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, first, the user starts up the application program (hereinafter referred to as an application) on his / her user terminal 5, and executes operations related to selection of an image to be printed and image print order.

  For example, the user selects one or a plurality of images to be printed from the images stored in the storage unit 52 on an image selection screen (not shown) displayed on the display unit 53, and edits the image as necessary. Do. Examples of image editing include, but are not limited to, image size, brightness, color adjustment, addition of a predetermined pattern to an image, drawing on an image, layout arrangement of a plurality of images, and the like.

  The user also sets information regarding print orders (hereinafter referred to as order information) such as the number of printed images and print size for each image, and instructs the server 3 to transmit the image.

  Then, the user terminal 5 transmits the selected image, its order information, and language information indicating the language used by the user (hereinafter referred to as an image or the like) to the server 3 (S101 in FIG. 9).

  The language information indicates the language used by the user, for example, information indicating the language set and used by the OS of the user terminal 5, and information indicating the language set and used by the application. In this embodiment, the user terminal 5 automatically acquires both of these language information and transmits them to the server 3, but either one may be transmitted to the server 3. In addition, the user can select a language on the user terminal 5 and transmit the selected language to the server 3 as language information.

  When the server 3 receives an image or the like from the user terminal 5 (S102), the server 3 creates an order ID corresponding to the image. The order ID is order identification information for identifying an image to be printed and order information thereof, and includes, for example, character information of a plurality of digits. An order ID is created for each image, and is recorded in the storage unit 32 as order data 321 in association with an image or the like (image and its order information and language information) as shown in FIG. 11 (S103).

  Further, the server 3 codes the order ID and language information for each image to create a two-dimensional code, and transmits it to the user terminal 5 (S104). The user receives the two-dimensional code at the user terminal 5 (S105).

  The user terminal 5 records the received two-dimensional code in the storage unit 52 in association with the corresponding image (S106).

  The user who prints the image transmitted to the server 3 in S101 goes to the image printing apparatus 2 on the street and enters the box of the image printing apparatus 2. When the image printing apparatus 2 detects the user by the sensor 29 (S201 in FIG. 10), the illumination 24 that illuminates the inside of the box is turned on, and the image scanner 270 of the reading unit 27 is activated and illumination for reading the two-dimensional code. 271 is turned on (S202).

  Note that the image printing apparatus 2 displays a top screen (not shown) on the display unit 21 upon detection by the user. On this top screen, a button for selecting a shift to a photography service or an image print service, a button for selecting a language to be used, and the like are displayed. However, in this embodiment, without the operation on the top screen, the two-dimensional code can be read by the reading unit 27 to directly shift to the image print service, and the selection operation on the top screen can be omitted. And

  In addition, when the shift to the photography service is selected on the top screen, an image photographed by the user by the photographing unit 23 is printed by the printer 25 as an identification photograph. Since this process is a process generally known as an ID photo photographing service, a description thereof will be omitted. On the other hand, when the transition to the image print service is selected on the top screen, a message prompting the reading unit 27 to read the two-dimensional code is displayed on the display unit 21, and so on. Similar processing is performed.

  In order for the reading unit 27 to read the two-dimensional code, the user first starts the application on the user terminal 5 and causes the display unit 53 to display the two-dimensional code by operating the user terminal 5. 12A and 12B are examples of display screens at this time.

  In the present embodiment, a selection screen for selecting an image to be printed is first displayed as shown in FIG. On this selection screen, a message 531 for prompting selection of an image to be printed, a thumbnail image 532 of the image transmitted to the server 3 in S101, a feed button 533, a print button 534, and the like are displayed. Of these, the message 531 is the language set and used by the application (for example, “Touch the image what you want to print”) (English in this embodiment). ) Is displayed.

  When the user touches the send button 533, the thumbnail images 532 of the images transmitted to the server 3 in S101 are sequentially displayed. The user displays a desired thumbnail image 532 on the screen and touches a print button 534 to select an image corresponding to the thumbnail image 532 as an image to be printed. When the user terminal 5 accepts this image selection (S203), the two-dimensional code corresponding to the selected image is displayed on the display unit 53 as shown in FIG. 12B (S204).

  On the display screen of FIG. 12B, the two-dimensional code 535 and a message 536 that prompts the user to hold the two-dimensional code 535 over the reading unit 27 are displayed. As described above, the message 536 is displayed in a language set and used by the application, such as “Please hold the 2D code over the reading unit” (for example, hold the two-dimensional code over the reading unit).

  Note that the screens of FIGS. 12A and 12B are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, on the selection screen in FIG. 12A, a plurality of thumbnail images 532 of the images transmitted to the server 3 in S101 may be displayed in a list.

  The user holds the two-dimensional code 535 displayed on the display unit 53 over the reading unit 27 as shown in FIG. The image printing apparatus 2 determines to shift to the image print service in accordance with the reading of the two-dimensional code 535 by the reading unit 27 (S205), and performs the following processing.

  That is, the image printing apparatus 2 first acquires the order ID and language information by decoding the two-dimensional code read in S205 (S206).

  Then, the image printing apparatus 2 sets a language used in the image printing apparatus 2 according to the acquired language information (S207). In this embodiment, the language information includes the OS language information of the user terminal 5 and the application language information. If the two language information is the same, the subsequent screen display is set to be performed in that language.

  On the other hand, if the OS of the user terminal 5 and the language information of the application are different, priority is given to the language information of the OS, for example. Set the language for.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the language used in the OS has many variations (number of languages), so it is estimated that the language matches the language that the user usually uses. However, the languages that can be used in the image printing apparatus 2 are limited. In addition, the application is not normally developed in a language that cannot be used in the image printing apparatus 2, and the language used in the application is included in the language that can be used in the image printing apparatus 2.

  The image printing apparatus 2 sets the language used in the image printing apparatus 2 in this way (assumed to be set to English in the present embodiment), and transmits the order ID acquired in S206 to the server 3 (S208).

  Upon receiving the order ID (S209), the server 3 transmits an image corresponding to the order ID and its order information to the image printing apparatus 2 (S210).

  When the image printing apparatus 2 receives the image and the order information (S211), the image and the print fee according to the order information are displayed on the display unit 21 to prompt the user to confirm the image and charge the print fee.

  FIG. 14A shows an example of a display screen at this time. An image 211 to be printed, billing information 212 such as a print fee and a current deposit amount, a message 213 for confirming the image and charging the print fee, and the like are displayed. The The message 213 is displayed in the language set in S207, for example, “Please confirm the image and pay for printing”. The same applies to the language of the billing information 212.

  The user confirms the image 211 displayed on the screen and charges the printing fee at the charging unit 22. When receiving the charge (S212), the image printing apparatus 2 prints the image 211 with the printer 25 (S213).

  During printing of the image 211, the image printing apparatus 2 displays a standby screen as shown in FIG. In the standby screen, the language set in S207 is used, and in this embodiment, a message 214 indicating that printing is in progress is displayed as “Now printing”. When printing is completed, the image printing apparatus 2 displays a thank-you message 215 ("Thank you" in the example in the figure) on the display unit 21 in the language set in S207 as shown in FIG.

  When the printing of the image 211 is completed, the image printing apparatus 2 transmits information indicating that the image 211 has been printed to the server 3 together with the order ID. The server 3 deletes the order data 321 corresponding to the received order ID from the storage unit 32.

  As described above, the image printing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment receives from the user terminal 5 language information indicating the language used by the user when receiving and printing the user image transmitted from the user terminal 5 to the server 3. By acquiring, it becomes possible to automatically set a language according to the user. Therefore, it is possible to easily switch to a language according to the user without the user selecting a language.

  In this embodiment, the language used on the various screens displayed on the image printing apparatus 2 is set to the language corresponding to the user, so that the user using various languages can smoothly print the image.

  In this embodiment, since the image print service is automatically shifted to by reading the two-dimensional code, it is not necessary to select a photo shooting service or an image print service, and the user's operation is simplified. However, if it is not possible to set the language according to the user, the process proceeds with the default language (for example, Japanese) and transitions to various screens, which is inconvenient for users who do not use the language. Become. Therefore, automatic language setting is particularly effective as in the present embodiment. If language information is included in the two-dimensional code, the language can be automatically set by reading the two-dimensional code, so that the user's operation is further simplified.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in this embodiment, the language information and the order ID are coded to create a two-dimensional code. For example, the two-dimensional code is obtained by coding only the order ID, and the language information is read in S205. In step S210, the image corresponding to the acquired order ID may be transmitted from the server 3 to the image printing apparatus 2 together with the image and order information.

  In step S211, the image printing apparatus 2 receives an image and order information from the server 3, and also receives and acquires the language information from the server 3, and can set a language according to the language information. This also makes it possible to automatically set the language by reading the two-dimensional code without selecting the language by the user.

  Alternatively, as described above, the two-dimensional code is obtained by coding only the order ID, and the language information is automatically acquired by the user terminal 5 when the two-dimensional code is displayed on the user terminal 5 in S204. Can also be displayed separately. In this case, it is not necessary to transmit language information to the server 3 in S101.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of display on the display unit 53 in this case. The language information 537 (“English” in the example in the figure) is displayed together with the two-dimensional code 535, and the two-dimensional code 535 and the language are displayed by the reading unit 27. Information 537 can be read. Alternatively, the language information can be acquired by reading the message 536 displayed on the display unit 53 to determine the language used in the application. In these cases, OCR processing of the language information 537 and the message 536 is required.

  In this embodiment, an example of printing an image in the ID photo shooting box has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an image print that does not have a photo shooting function installed in a convenience store, a consumer electronics store, or other stores. Even if it is an apparatus, the method of this embodiment is applicable similarly to the above, if it is connected with the server 3 so that communication is possible.

  In this embodiment, the language used on the display screen of the image printing apparatus 2 is set to the language acquired by the image printing apparatus 2, but instead of or in combination with this, the audio output unit of the image printing apparatus 2 The language used for the guide voice emitted at 30 may be set to the language acquired by the image printing apparatus 2.

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

1: Image printing system 2: Image printing device 3: Server 5: User terminal 20: Control device 21: Display unit 22: Billing unit 23, 101: Shooting unit 24: Illumination 25: Printer 26: Printed material outlet 27: Reading Unit 28: Curtain 29: Sensor 30: Audio output unit 102: Reception unit 103: Print unit 104: Order identification information acquisition unit 105: Language information acquisition unit 106: Language setting unit

Claims (6)

An image printing apparatus for printing an image,
A receiver for receiving images from the server;
A print unit for printing an image received from the server;
A language information acquisition unit that acquires language information indicating a language used by the user from the user terminal or the server;
A language setting unit for setting a language used in the image printing apparatus according to the language information acquired by the language information acquisition unit;
An image printing apparatus comprising:   The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the language setting unit sets a language used on a screen displayed on the image printing apparatus in accordance with the language information. The image printing apparatus includes:
An order identification information acquisition unit for acquiring the order identification information by reading a code including order identification information corresponding to an image received from the server from the user terminal;
A shooting section for shooting the user;
Further comprising
The print unit further prints an image of the user,
3. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image printing apparatus receives and prints an image corresponding to the order identification information from the server in response to reading of the code from the user terminal. Image printing device. The code includes the language information,
The image printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the language information acquisition unit acquires the language information by reading the code from the user terminal.   The language information acquisition unit, when receiving an image corresponding to the order identification information from the server, receives and acquires the language information corresponding to the order identification information from the server. 4. The image printing apparatus according to 3. An image printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The server;
The user terminal;
Have
The image printing system, wherein the user terminal transmits an image to the server.

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