JP2020005159A - Image printing apparatus and image printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for printing an advertisement according to a service provider's request in printing images with advertisements.SOLUTION: The image printing apparatus includes: an advertisement condition setting unit (3) for setting an advertisement condition (21) for determining a condition of an advertisement component (22), which is information on a component of the advertisement information; an advertising component providing unit (6) for providing the advertising component (22) on the basis of the advertising condition (21); and an arrangement setting unit (5) for setting an arrangement in a print area with advertisement information composed of an image to be printed and a plurality of advertisement components (22).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The technology disclosed in the present specification relates to an image printing device and an image printing method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras and the Internet, there has been provided a photo printing service for distributing advertisements using a network, and for printing advertisement-attached photos in which photos and advertisements are printed on the same print medium. .

  The place where such a photo printing service is provided has hitherto been a photo store or a home electronics retail store. However, in recent years, the service is not limited to these, and the service is provided at stores of various types of industries such as convenience stores, pharmacies, hotels, and restaurants.

  In a conventional photo printing device, in order to provide an optimal advertisement of interest to a service user, the service user is specified from the attribute information of the photo to be printed, and further, the color preference of the service user's clothes. There has been proposed a method of printing an advertisement-attached photo after selecting an optimal advertisement from among such methods (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-210949 A

  In the method of the conventional photo printing apparatus, when an advertisement that does not match the corporate image or the store concept for the service provider is printed, the service user may deteriorate the image of the service provider to the service provider. Therefore, there was a problem that it was not possible to actively introduce a photo printing service with advertisement.

  The technology disclosed in the specification of the present application has been made to solve the problems described above, and a technology for printing an advertisement according to a service provider's request in printing an image with an advertisement. The purpose is to provide.

  A first aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is an image printing apparatus that prints an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium, and each of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. An advertising condition setting unit that sets an advertising condition that defines a condition of an advertising component that is information of the component; an advertising component providing unit that provides the advertising component based on the advertising condition; And an arrangement setting unit for setting an arrangement in the print area with the advertisement information including the advertisement component.

  A second aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is an image printing method for printing an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium, and each of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. An advertisement condition that defines a condition of an advertisement component that is information of the component is set, the advertisement component is provided based on the advertisement condition, and the advertisement including the print target image and a plurality of the advertisement components is provided. The arrangement with the information in the print area is set.

  A first aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is an image printing apparatus that prints an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium, and each of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. An advertising condition setting unit that sets an advertising condition that defines a condition of an advertising component that is information of the component; an advertising component providing unit that provides the advertising component based on the advertising condition; And an arrangement setting unit for setting an arrangement of the advertisement information in the print area with the advertisement information. According to such a configuration, the advertisement information composed of the advertisement component provided based on the advertisement condition is arranged in the print area together with the image to be printed, so that the advertisement-attached photo according to the service provider's request is provided. can do.

  A second aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is an image printing method for printing an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium, and each of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. An advertisement condition that defines a condition of an advertisement component that is information of the component is set, the advertisement component is provided based on the advertisement condition, and the advertisement including the print target image and a plurality of the advertisement components is provided. The arrangement with the information in the print area is set. According to such a configuration, the advertisement information composed of the advertisement component provided based on the advertisement condition is arranged in the print area together with the image to be printed, so that the advertisement-attached photo according to the service provider's request is provided. can do.

  The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the technology disclosed in this specification will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image printing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is an operation flowchart of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment regarding determination of an advertising component, which is information obtained by dividing advertising information into a plurality of pieces. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement condition of an entire arrangement area and an arrangement area of a print target image according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement condition when an advertisement component type and a priority order and an arrangement ratio for each advertisement component are set according to the embodiment; 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the advertisement component arrangement management unit according to the embodiment to determine the arrangement of the advertisement component of the image printing apparatus. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the advertisement component arrangement management unit according to the embodiment to determine the arrangement of the advertisement component of the image printing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of an advertising component of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The drawings are schematically shown, and for convenience of explanation, the configuration is omitted or simplified as appropriate. Further, the relationship between the size and the position of the configuration and the like shown in the different drawings is not necessarily described accurately, and can be changed as appropriate. Further, hatching may be applied to drawings such as plan views which are not cross-sectional views so as to facilitate understanding of the contents of the embodiments.

  In the following description, similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their names and functions are the same. Therefore, a detailed description of them may be omitted to avoid duplication.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, an image printing apparatus and an image printing method according to the present embodiment will be described.

<Configuration of Image Printing Apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, an image printing apparatus 100 includes an input device 101 such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting or selecting characters, a monitor 102 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying an image of a photograph or a selection screen, and image data of a photograph. A data input device 103 for reading data from a memory card or the like in which data is stored, a memory 104 including a nonvolatile memory for storing a control program and various setting data, and a temporary storage memory for data processing such as image processing; A CPU 105 for controlling the operation of the image printing apparatus 100 in accordance with a control program stored in the printer 104; a printing apparatus 106 for printing based on print data processed by the CPU 105; and a hard disk for storing advertisement parts or advertisement conditions 107 and their configurations In and a data bus 108 for exchanging data with each other.

  In the present embodiment, the hard disk 107 for storing the advertising component or the advertising condition is configured to be provided in the image printing apparatus 100. However, the hard disk 107 is provided outside the image printing apparatus 100. Is also good. For example, the image printing apparatus 100 includes a communication device connected to the Internet or the like, and the hard disk 107 serves as an external server that can store a result obtained by a service provider inputting or editing an advertising component or an advertising condition. It may be configured.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment regarding determination of an advertisement component, which is information obtained by dividing advertisement information into a plurality.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image printing apparatus 100 includes a data input unit 1 for inputting image data of a photograph extracted from a medium such as a memory card in which the image data of the photograph is stored, and the like. An image selecting unit 2 for selecting image data of a selected photo, an advertising condition setting unit 3 for setting an advertising condition 21 by a service provider, an image analyzing unit 4 for analyzing attribute information 40 of the selected photo, and setting. The advertisement component placement management unit 5 that acquires the advertisement component 22 and the layout information 23 from the set advertisement condition 21, and the advertisement component provision that provides the optimal advertisement component 22 and the layout information 23 according to the set advertisement condition 21. A print data creation unit 7 for creating print data based on the advertisement component 22 and the layout information 23 sent by the advertisement component placement management unit 5; It includes a print management unit 8 for managing the print data sent by the Department 7, and a printing unit 9 to perform printing according to an instruction of the print management unit 8.

  The data input unit 1 reads image data and the like from a card memory in a data input device 103 such as a memory card reader.

  The image selection unit 2 is displayed on a monitor 102 including, for example, a display monitor with a touch panel. Image data of a photograph taken by a digital camera or the like stored in a memory card owned by the service user is read in the data input unit 1. Then, the image selection unit 2 displays on the monitor 102 a selection screen of the image data of the photograph read in the data input unit 1.

  Then, the service user uses the image selection unit 2 to select an image such as a photograph to be printed (hereinafter, an image to be printed) (see step ST01 in FIG. 3). Then, the print target image is sent to the image analysis unit 4 and the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5.

  The image analysis unit 4 analyzes the selected image to be printed, and selects a photographing date, a photographing location, a category of a photograph such as a landscape or a portrait, a color tone of the photograph, or an age group of the subject or a subject. A characteristic element or characteristic amount such as a preference is extracted as attribute information 40 (see step ST02 in FIG. 3).

  The attribute information 40 extracted by the image analysis unit 4 includes an image size, an aspect type, a distinction between a portrait image and a landscape image, image data such as rotation information of an image, and an exchangeable image file format (Exif) attached to the image data. Any information that can be obtained from image data of a photograph, such as shooting information data such as information, face detection, pet or person determination, or scene classification, may be included.

  Further, the attribute information 40 may include user information registered in advance by the service user. Then, the attribute information 40 extracted by the image analysis unit 4 is stored as the advertisement condition 21 (see step ST03 in FIG. 3).

  The image analysis performed by the image analysis unit 4 may be performed on one print target image, or may be performed on a plurality of or all selected print target images collectively. It may be.

  On the other hand, the service provider uses the advertisement condition setting unit 3 to match the corporate image or concept with the background of the advertisement added to the photograph, the background design, the advertising category, or the corporate image or store concept for the service provider. The restrictions on the advertising component 22 such as keywords or target ages that may not be suitable are set in advance. Then, the service provider saves the information as the advertisement condition 21.

  Next, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 attempts to acquire the set advertisement condition 21 (see step ST04 in FIG. 3). Then, when the set advertising condition can be acquired, that is, when the answer corresponds to “YES” branched from step ST05 shown in FIG. 3, the advertising component placement management unit 5 acquires the acquired advertising condition. The advertisement condition 21 is sent to the advertisement component providing unit 6 (see step ST06 in FIG. 3). On the other hand, if the set advertisement condition cannot be obtained, that is, if it corresponds to “NO” branched from step ST05 shown in FIG. 3, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 The fact that there is no advertising condition 21 is transmitted to the advertising component providing unit 6 (see step ST07 in FIG. 3).

  When the advertising component placement management unit 5 sends the acquired advertising condition 21 to the advertising component providing unit 6, the advertising component providing unit 6 selects the advertising component 22 based on the advertising condition 21. Then, the advertisement component providing unit 6 sends the advertisement component information and the layout information 23 to the advertisement component placement management unit 5.

  As a unit for dividing the information of the advertisement into a plurality of advertisement parts 22, it is assumed that information of a plurality of components constituting the advertisement such as a background color, a design, an illustration, a logo or text is divided in various units. Is done.

  As the background color and the design, several types of background designs such as a monotone system, an earth system, a primary color system, a warm color system, a cool color system, a check, a dot or a design system are held in advance as the advertisement component 22. Then, the advertisement component providing unit 6 selects an optimum background color and design based on the advertisement condition 21.

  In the case of a single-color background, a background color list specified by a color code or RGB color values may be held in advance as the advertisement component 22.

  Similarly, for illustrations, logos, texts, character colors, fonts, and the like, a plurality of types of advertisement parts 22 are held in advance. Then, in the advertisement component providing unit 6, an appropriate one is selected based on the advertisement condition 21.

  For example, as the advertising condition 21, when selecting an advertising component 22 such as an illustration, a logo, a text, a character color or a font by focusing on the age of a service user or a subject, for example, only an illustration for a child Is selected. By doing so, it is possible to provide pop and fun advertisements based on primary colors. For a young person, for example, an advertisement component 22 that describes detailed information in small characters and guides a web page using a URL or a two-dimensional barcode is selected. By doing so, it is possible to provide an advertisement that can be felt close to the user with a familiar expression. For the elderly, for example, the advertisement component 22 that displays a polite expression based on a calm color with large characters is selected.

  As described above, by selecting the advertisement component 22 that is close to the service user's feeling based on the advertisement condition 21 focusing on the age of the service user or the subject, it is possible to provide an effective advertisement.

  Further, based on the advertising condition 21 focusing on the photographing scene of the photograph, for example, when the photograph is for a wedding, use of gold or silver or bright light is used so that the advertisement is beautiful on a white background. The advertisement component 22 is selected for a font such as a morning font. By doing so, it is possible to provide advertisements that do not destroy the atmosphere of the photograph.

  Further, based on the advertising condition 21 focusing on a photographing scene, for example, when the sea or the sky area is a large photograph, an advertising airship is placed in an empty area or an advertisement is placed in an ocean area. An advertisement component 22 that performs an elaborate effect such as floating a ship is selected. By doing so, the advertisement component 22 itself becomes one of the decorations, and the possibility that the service user can hold the advertisement-added photo for a long time is increased. By doing so, a sustainable effect of the advertisement can be expected.

  In addition, based on the advertisement condition 21 focusing on the photographing scene of the photograph, for example, when the photograph is a portrait such as a portrait, an advertisement component 22 is used to place an advertisement such as a cartoon using a speech balloon when arranging text. Not only information as an advertisement, but also a photograph of the service user itself becomes a part of the advertisement, such as by composing an image or adding a coordination plan of clothes worn by the person shown in the photograph. , Add useful information to the service users, and select those that can add advertisements with playfulness. By doing so, you can expect more interest in advertising.

  The service provider can provide the advertisement with confidence by restricting the background design or restricting the use of prohibited words based on the advertising conditions 21 set in advance by the service provider.

  Further, the advertisement conditions 21 set in advance by the service provider and the advertisement conditions 21 obtained by the image analysis in the image analysis unit 4 are adjusted by adjusting the priority order or weighting to each of the advertisement requester or the service provider. It is possible to create an advertisement that meets the intention of the person.

  Next, as a method of arranging the advertising component 22, for example, there is a method in which the location of the advertising component 22 is determined according to a preset advertising condition 21 (see step ST08 in FIG. 3). Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of arrangement conditions of the entire arrangement area and the arrangement area of the print target image according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement condition when the type of the advertisement component 22 and the priority order and the arrangement ratio for each advertisement component 22 are set according to the embodiment.

  The entire arrangement area in the example shown in FIG. 4 indicates the entire area where the image to be printed or the advertisement component 22 can be arranged. In addition, the arrangement area of the print target image in the example shown in FIG. 4 indicates an area where the print target image is pasted. The arrangement region of the print target image defines, for example, the position of the upper left end of the print target image and the vertical and horizontal lengths of the image size of the print target image in proportions.

  In addition, for each advertising component (specifically, illustration A, illustration B, text A, text B, and logo) whose example is shown in FIG. The ratio of the size of the region (that is, the arrangement ratio) is defined.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the operation of the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 for determining the arrangement of the advertisement component of the image printing device. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of an advertising component of the image printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

  As a procedure of the operation in which the advertisement component placement management unit 5 determines the placement of the advertisement component 22, first, a print image size, which is data indicating the size of an image to be printed, is acquired (see step ST21 in FIG. 6). For example, the print image size 200 in FIG. 8 is calculated.

  Next, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 acquires, for example, the placement conditions of the print target image or the advertisement component 22 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (see step ST22 in FIG. 6).

  Next, the advertising component placement management unit 5 calculates all placement areas according to the definition set in FIG. 4 (see step ST23 in FIG. 6). For example, the entire arrangement area 201 in FIG. 8 is calculated.

  Further, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 calculates the placement area of the print target image according to the definition set in FIG. 4 (see step ST24 in FIG. 6). For example, the arrangement area 202 of the print target image in FIG. 8 is calculated.

  Next, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 acquires the image data of the image to be printed (see step ST25 in FIG. 6). Then, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 resizes the print target image while maintaining the aspect so as to be inscribed in the placement area of the print target image, and changes the image size (see step ST26 in FIG. 6). The print target image for which the image size has been determined is arranged in the arrangement region of the print target image on the upper left basis (see step ST27 in FIG. 6). For example, the photographic image 203 in FIG. 8 is arranged.

  Here, when resizing the print target image, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 resizes the print target image while maintaining the aspect so as to circumscribe the placement region of the print target image. The print target image may be trimmed according to the size of the arrangement area of the image.

  Further, the print target image may be placed in the placement area of the print target image by centering, or the front, rear, left, and right offset positions may be set. That is, the arrangement position of the print target image is not limited to the above.

  When the arrangement position and the image size of the print target image are determined, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 assigns a fixed ratio (for example, 80% of the difference) to the difference between the entire arrangement area and the image size of the print target image. By multiplication, the remaining area for placing the advertisement component is calculated (see step ST28 in FIG. 7). In FIG. 8, an area other than the area where the photographic image 203 is arranged in the entire arrangement area 201 is multiplied by a fixed ratio to obtain a remaining area for arranging the advertisement component.

  Next, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 distributes the calculated remaining area for the advertisement component arrangement to the respective advertisement components 22 based on the arrangement ratio set as shown in FIG. 5, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, areas are allocated to each of illustration A, illustration B, text A, text B, and logo.

  Then, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 resizes each of the advertisement components 22 so as to match the size of the area allocated to each of the advertisement components 22 while maintaining the aspect. Then, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 determines the image size of each advertisement component 22 (see step ST29 in FIG. 7).

  Here, the text size of the text in the advertising component 22 is determined according to the size of the allocated area. In this case, the line feed position of the text may be set in advance, or the line feed may be performed according to the size of the allocated area.

  Next, the advertising component placement management unit 5 determines whether or not the advertising component 22 can be placed in the remaining area for placing the advertising component (see step ST30 in FIG. 7).

  Then, when the advertisement component can be placed in the remaining area for placement of the advertisement component, that is, when it corresponds to “YES” branched from step ST31 shown in FIG. 7, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 Are arranged in the remaining area for placing the advertisement component in order from the advertisement component 22 having the highest priority (see step ST33 in FIG. 7).

  On the other hand, if the determined image size does not allow the advertisement component 22 to be placed in the remaining area for placement of the advertisement component due to the determined image size, for example, “NO” branches from step ST31 shown in FIG. , The advertisement component placement management unit 5 resizes the advertisement component 22 while maintaining the aspect so as to be inscribed in the remaining area for placement of the advertisement component (see step ST32 in FIG. 7). . Thereafter, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 arranges the advertisement components 22 in the remaining area for the advertisement component arrangement in ascending order of priority (see step ST33 in FIG. 7).

  The advertisement component placement management unit 5 repeats the above operation until the placement of all the advertisement components 22 is completed. Then, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 determines whether or not the placement of all the advertisement components 22 has been completed (see step ST34 in FIG. 7).

  Then, when the placement of all the advertising components 22 is completed, that is, when the advertisement component placement management unit 5 corresponds to “YES” branched from step ST34 shown in FIG. Proceed to ST35. Then, layout information 23 of the advertising component 22 is generated (see step ST35 in FIG. 7).

  On the other hand, when there is an advertisement component 22 whose placement has not been completed, that is, when the advertisement component placement management unit 5 corresponds to “NO” branched from step ST34 shown in FIG. It returns to step ST30 in.

  As described above, by arranging all the advertising components 22 in the advertising component arranging remaining area in order according to the priority order, the advertising component arranging management unit 5 sets the advertising component in the remaining area other than the arranging area of the print target image. 22 can be easily arranged.

  Here, by arranging the image to be printed or each advertisement component 22 vertically, horizontally, and so on using center alignment or horizontal alignment, it is possible to create a more beautiful advertisement-attached photo.

  In addition, a fixed ratio is set as a blank portion area in the remaining area for placing the advertising component, and a fixed distance is provided between the areas where the advertising component 22 is placed, thereby adding a background frame. By doing so, it is also possible to arrange the advertising components 22 in the remaining area for placing the advertising components at uniform intervals.

  In addition, every time one advertising component 22 is placed, the size of the area where the advertising component 22 can still be placed in the remaining area for placing the advertising component is recalculated, and the region to be placed has not been allocated yet. By redistributing the area to each advertisement component 22, it is possible to create a photograph with advertisement with few extra gaps.

  In addition, if the priority of the plurality of divided areas in the remaining area for placing the advertisement component is set in the advertisement condition 21, the advertisement component 22 having the higher priority can be placed in the region having the higher priority. . By doing so, the placement of the advertising component 22 according to the intention of the advertising client can be realized.

  Here, the arrangement area of the print target image is a preset area, but the arrangement area of the print target image may be determined as appropriate according to the aspect or the analysis result of the print target image.

  Further, if the arrangement or size of the advertising component 22 is determined in advance according to the type of the advertising component 22, and the type of each advertising component 22 is selected according to the advertising condition 21, it is more convenient. You can create photos with advertisements.

  In the above description, the placement area of the print target image and the placement area of the advertisement component 22 (that is, the remaining area for placement of the advertisement component) are completely independent of each other, but based on the analysis result of the print target image. If it is determined that there is an area in the print target image that does not greatly affect the print content even if it is hidden, the placement area of the advertisement component is superimposed on the placement area of the print target image (that is, the advertisement component placement area). (Remaining area) can also be set.

  Next, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 sends the advertisement component 22 and the layout information 23 to the print data creation unit 7 together with the image to be printed. The print data creation unit 7 arranges a print target image and a plurality of advertisement components 22 according to the layout information 23. Then, the print data creating unit 7 creates print data of the photograph with the advertisement (see step ST09 in FIG. 3).

  The print data of the photo with advertisement created by the print data creation unit 7 is sent to the print management unit 8. The print management unit 8 further sends the print data of the photo with advertisement sent from the print data creation unit 7 to the print unit 9. The printing unit 9 prints the photo with the advertisement based on the print data of the photo with the advertisement sent from the print management unit 8 (see step ST10 in FIG. 3).

  Here, the advertising conditions 21 may be set entirely by the service provider, or may be partially or entirely set by the advertising client.

  In the above description, the layout information 23 of the advertisement component 22 is created in the advertisement component providing unit 6, but the layout information 23 of the advertisement component 22 may be created in the advertisement component placement management unit 5.

  The advertisement component providing unit 6 may be a functional unit mounted on the same device as the advertisement component placement management unit 5, or each of the functional units may be mounted on another device on the Internet. You may.

  Further, the content of the advertisement may be determined for each print target image, or may be the same for a plurality of or all print target images. Furthermore, although the content of the advertisement is the same, the advertisement component 22 or the arrangement of the advertisement component 22 may be different for each print target image.

  As described above, when printing a photo with an advertisement by adding an advertisement to a print target image, the information of the advertisement is divided into a plurality of advertisement components 22, and the optimum advertisement component 22 is selected according to the advertisement conditions 21. By making the selection, it is possible to provide an effective advertisement.

<Second embodiment>
An image printing apparatus and an image printing method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same components as those described in the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<Configuration of Image Printing Apparatus>
FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the image printing apparatus 100 </ b> A is configured by adding a combination advertisement determining unit 10 to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2.

  Based on the advertisement component 22 selected by the advertisement component providing unit 6, the combination advertisement determination unit 10 has a high relevance to the advertisement component 22 (that is, the advertisement information and the relevance High) determine different advertising information.

  The service provider uses the advertisement condition setting unit 3 to set a maximum number of advertisement information that can be combined (hereinafter, a maximum number of advertisements) and an advertisement combination condition (hereinafter, an advertisement combination condition).

  The maximum number of advertisements and the advertisement combination conditions are stored as advertisement conditions 21. Then, it is sent to the advertisement component providing unit 6 by the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5.

  The advertisement component providing unit 6 selects the optimal advertisement component 22 (main advertisement) based on the advertisement condition 21 and sends the selected advertisement component 22, the maximum number of advertisements, and the advertisement combination condition to the combination advertisement determination unit 10, respectively. send.

  The combination advertisement determination unit 10 determines the advertisement information related to the main advertisement for the maximum number of advertisements (second to n-th advertisements), and sends the determined result to the advertisement component providing unit 6.

  As a method of determining related advertisement information, for example, keywords such as a business type, a product category, or a target user are added to each piece of advertisement information in advance. Then, related advertisement information can be determined based on the degree of matching of the keywords.

  Alternatively, by comparing the advertising components 22 obtained by dividing the respective advertising information, it may be determined that the advertising components 22 having the same color tone are held or the text contents are similar. Good. Further, a plurality of pieces of advertisement information may be paired in advance.

  The advertisement component providing unit 6 determines an advertisement component 22 that matches the advertisement condition 21 from the determined plurality of pieces of advertisement information.

  In addition to the advertising condition 21, by selecting the advertising component 22 in consideration of the similarity of the color tone or the text content among the advertising components 22 of the advertising information obtained by performing the combination, an advertisement with a more unified feeling can be obtained. Can be created.

  Further, the combination condition of the advertisement information may be set entirely by the service provider, or may be set partially or entirely by the advertisement requester.

  By combining a plurality of pieces of advertisement information in this way, a plurality of pieces of advertisement information that are highly relevant to the service user are printed at the same time. This can be expected to increase the advertising effect due to the synergistic effect.

  Further, if the competing advertisement information is printed at the same time, it is possible to provide advertisement information that can be easily compared with each other.

<Third embodiment>
An image printing apparatus and an image printing method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same components as those described in the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<Configuration of Image Printing Apparatus>
FIG. 10 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the image printing apparatus 100B is obtained by adding an advertisement information selection unit 11 and an advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 to the configuration illustrated in FIG.

  The advertisement information selection unit 11 selects one or a plurality of pieces of advertisement information from the plurality of pieces of advertisement information input from the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5. In addition, the advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 sends the advertisement information (that is, the selection result) selected by the advertisement information selection unit 11 to the advertisement requester.

  The service provider sets, in the advertisement condition setting unit 3, a service in which the service user can select one or a plurality of pieces of advertisement information from a plurality of pieces of advertisement information in addition to the normal advertisement conditions 21. The set service is stored as the advertisement condition 21. Then, the advertisement condition 21 including the service is sent to the advertisement component providing unit 6 by the advertisement component placement management unit 5.

  After selecting the print target image, the service user selects one or more pieces of advertisement information from the plurality of pieces of advertisement information displayed by the advertisement information selection unit 11. The selected advertisement information is sent to the advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 and the print data creation unit 7. Then, the print data creating unit 7 arranges the print target image and the advertisement component 22 according to the selected advertisement information and layout information 23. Further, the printing unit 9 prints the advertisement-attached photo based on the print data of the advertisement-attached photo transmitted from the print management unit 8.

  The selection of the advertisement information by the service user may be performed for each image to be printed, or may be collectively performed for a plurality of images to be printed. In addition, an advertisement group in which a plurality of advertisement information of the same series are collected may be selected for a plurality of print target images.

  On the other hand, the advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 sends the advertisement selection result 24, which is the result of the advertisement selection in the advertisement information selection unit 11, to the advertisement requester.

  Here, as a method of transmitting the advertisement selection result 24, a communication means such as an electronic mail may be used, or a mechanism of uploading the advertisement selection result to a server may be used.

  Further, the advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 transmits not only the finally selected advertisement information but also a change process when the service user selects the advertisement information, so that more detailed information can be provided. .

  As described above, by allowing the service user to select the advertisement information of interest from among the plurality of pieces of advertisement information and printing the advertisement information, it is possible to provide more effective advertisements, and the service user also has a preference. Advertising can be printed. By doing so, a high value-added service can be realized.

  Further, by sending the advertisement selection result 24 to the advertisement client and feeding it back, the information can be used as marketing information. Therefore, it can be reflected in effective advertisement distribution in the future.

<Fourth embodiment>
An image printing apparatus and an image printing method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same components as those described in the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

<Configuration of Image Printing Apparatus>
FIG. 11 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a software configuration of the image printing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the image printing apparatus 100 </ b> C is obtained by adding an advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13 to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2.

  The advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13 displays the advertisement guidance information 25 that is information for guiding to the advertisement information, and determines whether the service user has been guided to the specified advertisement.

  The service provider sets, in the advertisement condition setting unit 3, a service for displaying advertisement guidance information such as a URL of an advertisement WEB page or a two-dimensional barcode in addition to the normal advertisement condition 21. The set service is stored as the advertisement condition 21. Then, the advertisement condition 21 including the service is sent by the advertisement component placement management unit 5 to the advertisement component providing unit 6C.

  After the service user selects the image to be printed, the advertisement component providing unit 6C selects the advertisement guide information 25 according to the advertisement condition 21 while selecting the advertisement component 22C according to the advertisement condition 21.

  Then, the advertising component placement management unit 5 acquires the advertising component 22 and the advertising guidance information 25 based on the advertising condition 21 from the advertising component providing unit 6C.

  The advertisement guidance information 25 is sent from the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 to the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13. Then, it is displayed on a touch panel monitor or the like.

  When the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13 determines that the service user has browsed the advertisement information on the specified WEB page or the like according to the URL or the two-dimensional barcode of the advertisement WEB page displayed as the advertisement guidance information 25. The advertisement component placement management unit 5 does not place the advertisement information corresponding to the advertisement guidance information 25 on which the advertisement guidance has been performed (that is, the plurality of advertisement components 22 constituting the advertisement information) in the remaining area for the advertisement component placement. Then, the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13 sends the image data of the image to be printed to the print data creation unit 7. Then, in the printing unit 9, an image on which the advertisement information is not printed is printed.

  Here, as a method of determining whether or not the advertisement guidance has been performed in the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13, for example, the smartphone of the service user and the image printing apparatus 100C are connected by wireless communication, and the image printing apparatus 100C is mounted. By accessing the web application, it can be determined that the advertisement guidance has been achieved.

  Alternatively, the web application may be arranged on the Internet, and the image printing apparatus 100C may communicate with the web application on the Internet to determine that the advertisement guidance has been achieved.

  The method of determining whether or not the advertisement is guided is not particularly limited to the above. For example, the method may be such that a specified WEB page is acquired by a screen capture of a smartphone and transmitted to the image printing apparatus 100C. Is also possible, and various other methods may be used.

  As described above, when the service user browses the advertisement information through the advertisement guidance information 25, the area where the advertisement information is printed in the remaining area for the placement of the advertisement component is not substantially limited. Therefore, more advertisement information can be provided, and more optimal advertisement can be provided.

  In addition, since the service user does not add an advertisement to the print image, the service user can use the service using the advertisement guidance information 25 more positively.

<About the effect produced by the embodiment described above>
Next, examples of effects produced by the above-described embodiment will be described. In the following description, the effect is described based on the specific configuration of which an example is shown in the above-described embodiment. May be replaced with another specific configuration shown.

  Further, the replacement may be performed over a plurality of embodiments. That is, a configuration in which the same effects are obtained by combining the respective configurations illustrated in the different embodiments may be used.

  According to the embodiment described above, an image printing apparatus that prints a print target image and advertisement information on the same print medium includes an advertisement condition setting unit 3, an advertisement component providing unit 6, an arrangement setting unit, Is provided. Here, the arrangement setting unit corresponds to, for example, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5. The advertisement condition setting unit 3 sets an advertisement condition 21 that defines a condition of the advertisement component 22 that is information of a component of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. The advertisement component providing unit 6 provides the advertisement component 22 based on the advertisement condition 21. The advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 sets the arrangement of the print target image and the advertisement information including the plurality of advertisement components 22 in the print area.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the image printing apparatus includes the CPU 105 that is a processing circuit that executes a program, and the memory 104 that is a storage device that stores the program to be executed. The following operations are realized by the CPU 105 executing the program.

  That is, the advertisement condition 21 that defines the condition of the advertisement component 22, which is the information of the component of the advertisement information composed of a plurality of components, is set. Then, the advertising component 22 is provided based on the advertising condition 21. Then, the arrangement of the print target image and the advertisement information including the plurality of advertisement components 22 in the print area is set.

  According to such a configuration, since the advertisement information including the advertisement component 22 provided based on the advertisement condition 21 is arranged in the print area together with the image to be printed, the advertisement-attached photo according to the service provider's request. Can be provided. Further, since the advertising condition 21 is imposed on the advertising component 22 which is a part of the advertising information, the advertising component 22 which does not meet the advertising condition 21 is replaced with the advertising component 22 using the advertising component 22. , The degree of freedom of the advertisement information that can be arranged in the advertisement-attached photo can be increased.

  It should be noted that other configurations other than these configurations, examples of which are shown in the specification of the present application, can be omitted as appropriate. That is, if at least these components are provided, the effects described above can be produced.

  However, when at least one of the other configurations exemplified in the specification of the present application is appropriately added to the above-described configuration, that is, in the specification of the present application which has not been referred to as the above-described configuration. The same effect can be obtained even when other configurations shown in FIG.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the advertisement condition 21 includes the arrangement ratio of each advertisement component 22 in the print area. Then, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 sets the arrangement of the plurality of advertisement components 22 based on the arrangement ratio. According to such a configuration, it is possible to change the arrangement ratio of the advertisement component 22 based on the advertisement condition 21 and provide an effective advertisement.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the advertisement condition 21 includes the priority of the arrangement of each advertisement component 22. Then, the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5 sets the arrangement of the plurality of advertisement components 22 in descending order of priority. According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide, for example, an advertisement that easily attracts the interest of the service user by preferentially arranging the advertisement component 22 having a high priority based on the advertisement condition 21.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the image printing apparatus includes the image analysis unit 4 that analyzes the attribute information of the image to be printed. Then, the advertisement condition setting unit 3 includes the attribute information in the advertisement condition 21. According to such a configuration, when the atmosphere of the image to be printed is not compatible with the advertisement information to be printed, the combination can be avoided by the advertisement condition 21. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the service user from feeling bad about the advertisement information due to the feeling of strangeness in the above combination.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the advertisement component and the advertisement condition are stored in an external storage unit connected to the network. Here, the external storage unit corresponds to, for example, the hard disk 107. According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to secure a storage capacity for storing the advertising component and the advertising condition in the image printing apparatus, so that the degree of freedom of the configuration is increased.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the image printing apparatus determines, based on the advertisement condition 21, a combination advertisement that determines other advertisement information related to the advertisement information arranged by the advertisement component arrangement management unit 5. A determination unit 10 is provided. According to such a configuration, by combining a plurality of pieces of advertisement information, a plurality of pieces of advertisement information highly relevant to the service user are printed at the same time. This can be expected to increase the advertising effect due to the synergistic effect.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the image printing apparatus includes the advertisement information selecting unit 11 and the result transmitting unit. Here, the result transmitting unit corresponds to, for example, the advertisement selection result transmitting unit 12. The advertisement information selection unit 11 selects at least one piece of advertisement information from a plurality of pieces of advertisement information including a plurality of advertisement parts 22 provided by the advertisement part providing unit 6. In addition, the advertisement selection result transmission unit 12 transmits the selection result in the advertisement information selection unit 11. According to such a configuration, by allowing the service user to select the advertisement information of interest from the plurality of pieces of advertisement information and printing the advertisement information, it is possible to provide a more effective advertisement, and to provide the service user with You can print an advertisement that suits your taste very much. By doing so, a high value-added service can be realized.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the advertisement component providing unit 6 provides the advertisement guidance information 25 which is information for guiding to the advertisement information based on the advertisement condition 21. Then, the image printing apparatus includes a guidance success / failure determination unit that determines whether or not guidance to the corresponding advertisement information has been made based on the advertisement guidance information 25. Here, the guidance success / failure determination unit corresponds to, for example, the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13. When the advertisement guidance success / failure determination unit 13 determines that guidance to the advertisement information has been performed, the advertisement component placement management unit 5 does not place the corresponding advertisement information in the print area. According to such a configuration, when the service user browses the advertisement information via the advertisement guidance information 25, the area where the advertisement information is printed in the remaining area for the placement of the advertisement component is not substantially limited. Therefore, more advertisement information can be provided, and more optimal advertisement can be provided. In addition, since the service user does not add an advertisement to the print image, the service user can use the service using the advertisement guidance information 25 more positively.

  According to the embodiment described above, in an image printing method for printing a print target image and advertisement information on the same print medium, an advertisement which is information of a component of the advertisement information including a plurality of components. An advertisement condition 21 for setting a condition of the component 22 is set. Then, the advertisement component 22 is provided based on the advertisement condition 21. Then, the arrangement of the print target image and the advertisement information including the plurality of advertisement components 22 in the print area is set.

  According to such a configuration, since the advertisement information including the advertisement component 22 provided based on the advertisement condition 21 is arranged in the print area together with the image to be printed, the advertisement-attached photo according to the service provider's request. Can be provided.

  It should be noted that other configurations other than these configurations, examples of which are shown in the specification of the present application, can be omitted as appropriate. That is, if at least these components are provided, the effects described above can be produced.

  However, when at least one of the other configurations exemplified in the specification of the present application is appropriately added to the above-described configuration, that is, in the specification of the present application which has not been referred to as the above-described configuration. The same effect can be obtained even when other configurations shown in FIG.

  If there is no particular limitation, the order in which the processes are performed can be changed.

<Modifications of the above-described embodiment>
In the embodiments described above, the dimensions, shapes, relative arrangement relationships, or implementation conditions of the respective components may be described, but these are only examples in all aspects. It is not intended to be limited to what is described herein.

  Thus, innumerable variations and equivalents, not shown, are contemplated within the scope of the technology disclosed herein. For example, when at least one component is modified, added, or omitted, or when at least one component in at least one embodiment is extracted and combined with components of another embodiment. Shall be included.

  Unless inconsistency arises, "one or more" of the components described as "one" provided in the above-described embodiment may be provided.

  Furthermore, each component in the embodiment described above is a conceptual unit, and one component includes a plurality of structures within the scope of the technology disclosed in this specification. And a case where one component corresponds to a part of a structure, and a case where a plurality of components are provided in one structure.

  In addition, each component in the above-described embodiment includes a structure having another structure or shape as long as the same function is exhibited.

  In addition, the description in the specification of the present application is referred to for all purposes related to the present technology, and none of them is admitted to be prior art.

  Also, each component described in the above-described embodiment is assumed to be software or firmware, or hardware corresponding thereto, and in both concepts, each component is referred to as a “unit”. Or, it is called a “processing circuit”.

  In addition, the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application may be in a case where each component is distributed and provided in a plurality of devices, that is, in a mode such as a system.

  1 data input section, 2 image selection section, 3 advertisement condition setting section, 4 image analysis section, 5 advertisement component arrangement management section, 6, 6C advertisement component provision section, 7 print data creation section, 8 print management section, 9 printing section , 10 combination advertisement determination section, 11 advertisement information selection section, 12 advertisement selection result transmission section, 13 advertisement guidance success / failure determination section, 21 advertisement conditions, 22, 22C advertisement parts, 23 layout information, 24 advertisement selection result, 25 advertisement guidance information , 40 attribute information, 100, 100A, 100B, 100C image printing device, 101 input device, 102 monitor, 103 data input device, 104 memory, 105 CPU, 106 printing device, 107 hard disk, 108 data bus, 200 print image size, 201 All arrangement area, 202 arrangement area, 203 Photo image.

Claims (9)

An image printing apparatus that prints an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium,
An advertising condition setting unit that sets an advertising condition that defines a condition of an advertising component that is information of each of the components of the advertising information configured by a plurality of components;
An advertisement component providing unit that provides the advertisement component based on the advertisement condition;
The print target image, and the advertisement information composed of a plurality of the advertising components, comprising an arrangement setting unit that sets the arrangement in a print area,
Image printing device. The advertisement condition includes an arrangement ratio of each of the advertisement components in the print area,
The arrangement setting unit sets the arrangement of the plurality of advertisement components based on the arrangement ratio,
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1. The advertisement condition includes a priority order of placement of each of the advertisement components,
The placement setting unit sets the placement of a plurality of the advertising components in order of the priority.
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1. An image analysis unit for analyzing attribute information of the image to be printed is further provided,
The advertisement condition setting unit includes the attribute information in the advertisement condition.
The image printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The advertisement component and the advertisement condition are stored in an external storage unit connected to a network,
The image printing device according to claim 1. Further comprising a combination advertisement determination unit that determines other advertisement information related to the advertisement information placed by the placement setting unit based on the advertisement condition,
The image printing device according to claim 1. An advertisement information selection unit that selects at least one of the plurality of pieces of advertisement information configured from the plurality of advertisement components provided by the advertisement component providing unit;
A result transmitting unit that transmits a selection result in the advertisement information selecting unit,
The image printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The advertisement component providing unit provides, based on the advertisement condition, advertisement guidance information that is information for guiding to the advertisement information,
The advertisement guidance information further includes a guidance success / failure determination unit that determines whether or not guidance to the corresponding advertisement information has been performed,
The arrangement setting unit does not arrange the corresponding advertisement information in the print area when it is determined that the guidance to the advertisement information is performed by the guidance success / failure determination unit.
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1. An image printing method for printing an image to be printed and advertisement information on the same print medium,
An advertisement condition that defines a condition of an advertisement component that is information of each of the components of the advertisement information including a plurality of components is set,
Providing the advertising component based on the advertising condition;
The print target image, and the advertisement information composed of a plurality of the advertising components, setting the arrangement in a print area,
Image printing method.

Images