JP4736507B2 - Edit image output system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an edited image output system that outputs an edited image edited using an original image to an article.

  Conventionally, a system for transmitting an original image to various terminals has been provided, and the original image can be acquired by using these systems. Conventionally, there has been a system that uses such a system to transmit various images as a transmission target to a mobile phone or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1). Here, since the file formats that can be displayed for mobile phones are limited, this system is used to convert the file format that can be received by the mobile phone to be received and transmit it. . As a result, it was possible to capture as an image that can be processed by the mobile phone to be received, and to use the original image on the mobile phone.

By the way, in recent years, Internet sales in which orders are received and sold through the Internet or the like are becoming widespread, and various products such as contents and articles are handled as products.
JP 2002-149554 A

  However, in the above-described prior art, since the file format is converted for a mobile phone to be received, it has only been transmitted as an image that can be processed by a terminal on the receiving side. In addition, when the system of this prior art is used for Internet sales, the file format is merely sold in a file format that can be processed by the receiving terminal, and the system of Internet sales is fully utilized. Not necessarily.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an edited image output system capable of outputting an edited image edited using an original image to an article by utilizing the mechanism of Internet sales. There is to do.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention is an edited image output system having an image management device and an image output device, the image management device storing an original image to be edited, An original image storage unit from which an original image is read out to the terminal in response to a read request, an edited image receiving unit that receives an edited image generated in the terminal, and the edited image with respect to the edited image received by the edited image receiving unit An ID assigning unit that assigns an ID corresponding to the edit image storage unit that stores the edited image received by the edit image receiving unit and the ID assigned by the ID assigning unit in association with each other, and the terminal from the terminal In response to a request to read the edited image stored in the edited image storage unit, triggered by the input indicating that the editing of the image has been completed. A transmission unit that transmits an ID corresponding to the requested edited image to the image output device, and the image output device receives an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device. An image acquisition unit that acquires an ID image included in the order information transmitted by the terminal and corresponding to the ID received by the reception unit from the image management device, article information to be output, and the An article information storage unit that stores article information included in order information received from a terminal on which an ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed, the article information to be output and the ID received by the receiving unit in association with each other; , the article the article information stored in the article information storing section is shown, prints the edited image by the image acquiring unit an editing image corresponding to the stored ID in association with the article information acquired And having a power unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID, a receiving unit that receives an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management apparatus; An image acquisition unit that acquires an edit image corresponding to the ID included in the order information transmitted by the terminal and received by the reception unit from the image management device, the article information to be output, and the editing An article information storage unit which stores article information included in order information received from a terminal on which an ID corresponding to an image is displayed and which is to be output, and the ID received by the receiving unit in association with each other; the article the article information stored in the article information storing section indicates, output the image acquiring unit an editing image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the product information is printed edited image obtained And having a, the.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the above-described image output apparatus, an edit image storage unit that stores the edit image acquired by the image acquisition unit in association with the ID .

Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the above-described image output apparatus, the edited image includes digital watermark information .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image output method in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID, wherein the ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management apparatus is received. Then, based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal, an edited image is obtained from the image management apparatus, and the article information to be output and the ID corresponding to the edited image are Article information stored in an article information storage unit that stores article information included in order information received from the displayed terminal and associated with the article information to be output and the ID received by the receiving unit. An edit image corresponding to an ID stored in association with the article information and the acquired edit image is printed on the article .

The present invention also provides an image output program used in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID , the ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management apparatus Receiving the edited image from the image management apparatus based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal, the article information to be output, and the editing An article information storage unit that stores article information included in order information received from the terminal on which an ID corresponding to an image is displayed and that is to be output and the ID received by the receiving unit in association with each other. Printing the acquired edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the item information on the item indicated by the stored item information; Is executed by a computer.

The present invention also relates to a computer-readable recording medium that records an image output program used in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID. Receiving an ID corresponding to the transmitted edited image; obtaining an edited image from the image management device based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal; Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. An edited image corresponding to an ID stored in association with the article information indicated by the article information stored in the article information storage unit A recording medium recording an image output program for causing a computer to execute the step of printing the acquired edited image .

  As described above, according to the present invention, the image management apparatus assigns an ID to an edited image that has been edited using the original image and stores the edited image. The ID corresponding to the image is transmitted, the image output device receives the ID transmitted from the image management device, acquires the edited image from the image management device based on the received ID, and the article information to be output The output target is specified based on, and the acquired edited image is output. This enables not only the user to specify the combination of parts that can be provided by the manufacturer, but also the content generated by the user to be included in the order and produce customized products for each user. It is possible to provide a product that is closer to the individual user's wishes by making use of the mechanism of build-to-order manufacturing.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the edited image is stored, the same content can be output again even if some trouble occurs after the produced product is delivered to the user. It is possible to enhance the service.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the digital watermark is added to the edited image, it is possible to prevent the edited image from being used illegally.

  Hereinafter, an edited image output system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an edited image printing system to which an edited image output system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this figure, the edited image printing system 1 is connected to an image management apparatus 10 and an image printing apparatus 20 and to a customer terminal 30. These image management device 10, image printing device 20, and customer terminal 30 are connected via a network such as the Internet. Although only one image management apparatus 10 is connected to the image printing apparatus 20 in this figure, a plurality of image management apparatuses 10 are connected to the image printing apparatus 20 according to the content to be provided. It is possible to connect.

  The image management apparatus 10 is provided in a content providing department for providing an edited image. In this image management apparatus 10, an original image storage unit 11 stores an original image to be edited. As this original image, for example, theme park characters and anime characters, images created by authors (natural paintings, landscape paintings, portraits), photographs taken by photographers, images created by illustrators, etc. are stored. Is done. The original image storage unit 11 also stores information such as text data used for image editing and a frame image as a background image.

  The edited image generation unit 12 has a function of editing the original image stored in the original image storage unit 11 based on an instruction from the customer terminal 30. For example, when editing an image, the edited image generation unit 12 cannot download or print the original image stored in the original image storage unit 11 to the customer terminal 30 and downloads it to the customer terminal 30 as an application that can only be edited. It may be realized by executing the editing. The edited image generation unit 12 has a function of generating an image including digital watermark information as an edited image.

  The edited image receiving unit 13 provided in the edited image generating unit 12 receives the edited image generated at the customer terminal 30 with reference to the original image storage unit 11 from the customer terminal 30. The ID assigning unit 14 assigns an individually identifiable ID to the edited image received by the edited image receiving unit 13. The edited image storage unit 15 stores the edited image received by the edited image receiving unit 13 and the ID assigned by the ID assigning unit 14 in association with each other. In response to a request for reading an edited image stored in the edited image storage unit 15, the transmission unit 16 transmits an ID corresponding to the requested edited image. The transmission of this ID is triggered by the input at the customer terminal 30 indicating that image editing has been completed as a trigger, and the image printing apparatus 20 is transmitted as the transmission destination.

Next, the image printing apparatus 20 is provided in a product production department that produces products.
The receiving unit 21 receives an ID for specifying an edited image transmitted from the transmitting unit 16 of the image printing apparatus. Based on the ID received by the reception unit 21, the image acquisition unit 22 acquires an edited image corresponding to the ID from the edited image storage unit 15 of the image management apparatus. The edited image storage unit 23 stores the edited image acquired by the image acquisition unit 22 in association with the ID. Here, when the digital watermark information is included in the edited image, the edited image is stored in a state where the digital watermark information is included.

  The order information storage unit 24 stores article information to be printed. This article information stores, for example, order information related to order production received from a customer when providing a build-to-order product such as BTO (Build To Order). The order information includes product information for specifying the ordered product, specification information for specifying the specification, user information for specifying the orderer, payment information that is information related to payment, and the like. Here, the article for which the edited image is to be printed is not limited as long as it is an article, but it is particularly desirable to provide after-sales service, such as a personal computer, a watch, a mobile phone, a television, etc. This includes household appliances, vehicles such as cars and motorcycles, and bicycles. The printing unit 25 specifies a print target based on the article information stored in the order information storage unit 24, and prints the edited image acquired by the image acquisition unit 22 or the image stored in the edited image storage unit 23 on the article. .

  The customer terminal 30 has a function for inputting information for ordering a product at the BTO, and connects to the image management apparatus 10 to edit the original image and create an edited image according to a user instruction. And a function of connecting to the image printing apparatus 20 to input article information and registering order information, and inputting an order to print an edited image on the ordered article.

Next, the operation of the above-described edited image printing system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the edited image printing system 1. Here, the functions of the edited image generating unit 12, the edited image receiving unit 13, the ID assigning unit 14, and the transmitting unit 16 are the application 10A, the function of acquiring the order information is the application 20A, the receiving unit 21, and the image acquiring unit 22 is the application 20B. Will be described.
Here, when ordering at BTO, at the customer terminal 30, (1) when ordering a product, the image for printing on the product is edited in the image management apparatus 10, and then (2) the edited image. An order is made by two main processes of accessing the image printing apparatus 20 and inputting a target product for printing.

  First, when ordering a product, the user accesses a site holding the original image of the image management apparatus 10 in order to edit an image to be printed on a made-to-order product (FIG. 3) and “download”. The button is clicked (reference (a) in FIG. 3), and the image editing application is downloaded (step S1). Then, the customer terminal 30 executes the downloaded image editing application, accesses the image management apparatus 10, and performs image editing (step S2). Here, in response to a request for reading an original image from the customer terminal 30, the original image is read from the original image storage unit 11 (step S3), and the read image is used as an image to be edited. For example, according to a user instruction transmitted from the customer terminal 30, one or a plurality of original images of a certain character are combined (Fig. 4 (a)), or a background image is set (Fig. 4 (b)). ), Processing for setting text data such as a message is performed with reference to the editing screen (reference numeral (c) in FIG. 4). When the “next” button (reference numeral (d) in FIG. 4) is clicked, the image management apparatus 10 receives the edited image from the customer terminal 30 as an edited image, and assigns an ID to the edited image. Then, the edited image and the ID are associated with each other and stored in the edited image storage unit 15 (step S5).

  On the other hand, the edited image at the time when the editing is completed is output to the customer terminal 30 as a preview screen, and when the “image creation decision” button (reference (a) in FIG. 5) indicating that the editing is completed is clicked by the user. (Step S4), the image management apparatus 10 transmits the ID of the edited image to the image printing apparatus 20 triggered by clicking of the “image creation decision” button (step S6). Here, the URL of the image printing apparatus 20 is set as the link destination in the “image creation decision” button. For example, “http://xxx.jp/image.asp?ID=126” The content ID is added next to the URL.

  Next, when the “image creation decision button” is clicked on the customer terminal 30, the URL of the link destination set in the button, that is, the site of the image printing apparatus 20 is accessed, and the product specifications and the like are decided. Transition to a page. Here, after a product for which an edited image is to be printed is selected, as shown in FIG. 6, it is displayed that the character A is included as the edited image, and the article to be ordered is a PC. ID is displayed. Then, after the information on this screen is confirmed by the user, when the “next” button (reference numeral (a) in FIG. 6) is clicked, the specifications are specified from the customer terminal 30 according to the items displayed on the order screen. After the selection, the confirmation screen for the entered description information is displayed (Fig. 7). If the contents are correct and the "Purchase" button is clicked, the screen changes to a screen for entering user information, payment information, etc. Then, after the user confirms that the input user information and payment information are correct, the “Purchase” button is clicked. Thereby, order information is transmitted from the customer terminal 30 to the image printing apparatus 20 (step S7).

The image printing apparatus 20 stores the order information received in step S7 and the ID received in step S6 in association with each other in the order information storage unit 24 (step S8). When the order information is stored in the order information storage unit 24, an order instruction indicating that an order has been placed in the application 20B is output together with the order information (step S9).
The application 20B transmits an edit image transmission request to the image management apparatus 10 based on the ID included in the order information (step S10). In response to this request, the variant image corresponding to the ID is read from the edited image storage unit 15 of the image management apparatus 10 and stored in the edited image storage unit 23 of the image printing apparatus 20 (step S11). The application 20B outputs the article information and the ID of the edited image to the printing unit 25 and also outputs a print instruction (Step S12).

  Based on an instruction from the application 20B, the printing unit 25 reads an edited image corresponding to the ID from the edited image storage unit 23 (step S13), and prints the instructed product (step S13). Here, the printing unit 25 prints white on the print target surface or prints the edited image to improve the finish when the edited image is printed before printing the edited image as necessary. Then, the coating process is performed. After these printings are completed, the product is assembled in the assembly process, the product is shipped according to the user information, and the payment process is performed according to the payment information. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the edited image is printed on the back surface of the PC (notebook type).

  As described above, since the image management device 10 and the image printing device 20 are provided separately in the content providing department and the product production department, respectively, even if the content providers that provide the original images are different. By providing each image management apparatus 10 and connecting to the image printing apparatus 20, each content provider can incorporate various contents provided by the content provider as an order item for a custom-made product. Considered products can be provided.

  In addition, after performing step S4 described above, in performing step S7, a transition is made automatically, thereby reducing the user's discomfort in the transition between sites of the content providing department and the product production department, and a series of orders. It can be grasped as a flow of.

  In the above-described embodiment, the edited image stored in step S11 may be deleted from the edited image storage unit 23 when the output is completed in step S13. Further, it may be stored in a state in which digital watermark information is included. Here, by storing the edited image on the image printing apparatus 20 side (edited image storage unit 23), even if the edited image is discarded in the content providing department (image management apparatus 10), it is unique in the product production department. For example, even if a part on which an edited image is printed is damaged, scratched, or the like, the part can be reproduced and used for a product after-sales service.

  In the embodiment described above, the payment information may be charged including the content price, and the content using the original image for the user when the edited image is generated in the image management apparatus 10. A fee may be charged, and the image printing apparatus 20 may charge the content printing fee and the product price.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the edited image is printed on the product by the image printing apparatus 20 has been described. However, the output method of the edited image is not limited to printing. That is, the printing unit 25 of the image printing apparatus 20 is replaced with an output unit, and an edited image is output from the output unit as image data such as an icon design or wallpaper to a product (for example, a PC or a portable terminal) and edited in the product. The image may be preinstalled as an icon design or wallpaper.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration in another embodiment of the image management apparatus 10 and the image printing apparatus 20 of FIG. In this figure, an image management apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 200, a storage unit 210 including a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a hard disk device, a keyboard, An input device 220 such as a mouse, an output device 230 such as a liquid crystal display device, and a communication interface 240 that communicates with various devices via a network are connected via a bus 250.
Similarly, the image printing apparatus 20 is configured in the form shown in FIG.

Here, a program (for example, application software) for realizing the functions of the edited image generating unit 12, the edited image receiving unit 13, the ID assigning unit 14, and the transmitting unit 16 in FIG. These programs may be realized by the CPU 200 reading and executing this program.
Further, a program (for example, application software) for realizing the functions of the reception unit 21, the image acquisition unit 22, and the printing unit 25 in FIG. 1 is stored in the storage unit 210, and the CPU 200 reads and executes this program. Thus, these functions may be realized.

  Further, these functions may be realized by recording this program on a computer-readable recording medium, and causing the computer to read and execute the program recorded on the recording medium.

  The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The input device 220 is a keyboard, a mouse, or the like, and the output device 230 is a liquid crystal display device, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like. In the image management apparatus 10, the storage unit 210 corresponds to the original image storage unit 11 and the edited image storage unit 15 of FIG. The communication interface 240 realizes the function of the transmission unit 16 of FIG. In the image printing apparatus 20, the storage unit 210 corresponds to the edited image storage unit 23 and the order information storage unit 24 in FIG. 1. The communication interface 240 realizes the function of the receiving unit 21 in FIG.

  In addition, a program for realizing the functions of the edited image generating unit 12, the edited image receiving unit 13, the ID assigning unit 14, and the transmitting unit 16 in FIG. 1, the receiving unit 21, the image acquiring unit 22, and the printing unit 25 in FIG. The article management may be performed by recording a program for realizing the above function in a computer-readable recording medium, causing the computer system to read and execute the program recorded in the recording medium. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of an edited image printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the edited image printing system 1. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing which shows an example of the information displayed on the screen of a customer terminal. It is drawing for demonstrating other embodiment of an image management apparatus and an image printing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Edit image printing system 10 Image management apparatus 11 Original image memory | storage part 12 Edit image production | generation part 13 Edit image reception part 14 ID provision part 15 Edit image memory | storage part 16 Transmission part 20 Image printing apparatus 21 Reception part 22 Image acquisition part 23 Edit image Storage unit 24 Order information storage unit 25 Printing unit

Claims (7)

An edited image output system having an image management device and an image output device,
The image management device includes:
Storing an original image to be edited, and an original image storage unit from which the original image is read by the terminal in response to a read request from the terminal;
An edited image receiving unit for receiving an edited image generated in the terminal;
An ID assigning unit that assigns an ID corresponding to the edited image to the edited image received by the edited image receiving unit;
An edited image storage unit that stores the edited image received by the edited image receiving unit and the ID assigned by the ID assigning unit in association with each other;
In response to a request to read out the edited image stored in the edited image storage unit from the terminal , it is triggered by the input indicating that the editing of the image has been completed, and corresponds to the requested edited image A transmission unit that transmits an ID to be transmitted to the image output device;
The image output device includes:
A receiving unit that receives an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device;
An image acquisition unit that acquires, from the image management device, an edit image corresponding to the ID received by the reception unit and included in the order information transmitted by the terminal ;
Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. And store the article information storage unit,
An output unit that prints on the article indicated by the article information stored in the article information storage unit, an edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the article information and acquired by the image acquisition unit; ,
An edited image output system comprising: An image output device connected to an image management device that stores an edited image in association with an ID,
A receiving unit that receives an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device;
An image acquisition unit that acquires, from the image management device, an edit image corresponding to the ID received by the reception unit and included in the order information transmitted by the terminal ;
Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. An article information storage unit for storing
An output unit that prints on the article indicated by the article information stored in the article information storage unit, an edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the article information and acquired by the image acquisition unit; ,
An image output apparatus comprising:     The image output apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an edited image storage unit that stores the edited image acquired by the image acquisition unit in association with the ID. 4. The image output apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the edited image includes digital watermark information. An image output method in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID,
Receiving an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device;
Based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal , obtain an edited image from the image management device,
Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. An edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the article information and the acquired edited image is printed on the article indicated by the article information stored in the article information storage unit. Image output method. An image output program used in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID,
Receiving an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device;
Obtaining an edited image from the image management device based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal ;
Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. Printing the acquired edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the item information on the item indicated by the item information stored in the item information storage unit
Output program to make a computer execute. A computer-readable recording medium that records an image output program used in an image output apparatus connected to an image management apparatus that stores an edited image in association with an ID,
Receiving an ID corresponding to the edited image transmitted from the image management device;
Obtaining an edited image from the image management device based on the received ID that is included in the order information transmitted by the terminal ;
Correspondence between article information to be output and article information to be output included in order information received from the terminal on which the ID corresponding to the edited image is displayed and the ID received by the receiving unit. Printing the acquired edited image corresponding to the ID stored in association with the item information on the item indicated by the item information stored in the item information storage unit
A recording medium on which an image output program for causing a computer to execute is stored.

Images