JP6740786B2 - Image processing device, information processing system, image processing program, and information processing system program - Google Patents

Description

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

Patent Document 1 has an object to obtain a coupon management system and a coupon management method in which a coupon can be easily used through a receipt or the like given to a user according to a product or a service, and copy protection is considered. , The user of the second user terminal reads the coupon information from the receipt received from the shop terminal, inquires the coupon information to the coupon management server, and the shop terminal registers the coupon information in the coupon information registration unit in advance. Then, the coupon issuing unit issues a coupon, the user can present this coupon to the store terminal and use it, and even if the coupon information is copied without permission, the coupon management server can control the issue of the coupon. Is disclosed.

According to Patent Document 2, a website that provides information such as sales promotion/privilege ticket product exchange printed on receipts at the time of liquidation of purchased items can be operated by reading a barcode without using a keyboard or mouse. The problem is to enable automatic access, and the communication terminal or over-the-counter information communication terminal uses a barcode reading device to read the barcode provided with the event (sales promotion/privilege) in advance in writing (for example, receipt). The bar code information is read and transmitted to the HP intermediation connection communication device together with the address information given to the terminal in order to obtain the event provision information, and the HP intermediation connection communication device is connected to the communication terminal or the store information communication terminal. Bar code information and address information from the communication terminal, and notifies the carrier communication device, the carrier communication device of the bar code information and address information received from the HP intermediary connection communication device, or a store information communication terminal. It is disclosed that the communication terminal or the in-store information communication terminal acquires the information (event contents) corresponding to the bar code information by connecting the line.

Patent Document 3 provides a system for posting advertisement information on a receipt or the like issued from a POS terminal device, and provides an advertisement placement processing method and system capable of performing an application procedure for the information placement via the Internet. The network system accepts an application for advertisement information from a client PC via the Internet, calculates a fee based on the information regarding the application for advertisement, and receives the advertisement information when the payment is confirmed. The store POS system, which has a distribution server system and a center computer that manages the specified number of outputs in the advertisement-related information, receives the advertisement information, and the store POS system receives the advertisement information at the time of the customer's settlement processing. At the same time, it is disclosed that the advertisement information is printed and the center computer gives an instruction to stop printing when the number of print outputs reaches a predetermined number.

Patent Document 4 aims to provide a user-friendly and safe electronic coupon system, and an electronic coupon system that provides an electronic coupon to a user who has a mobile phone equipped with a display device is an electronic coupon system. A coupon information storage unit that stores information about coupons, a barcode information processing unit that generates barcode information based on at least information about electronic coupons stored in the coupon information storage unit, and a barcode generated by the barcode information processing unit. It has a bar code information processing unit for transmitting code information to a mobile phone, and with such a configuration, an electronic coupon can be presented at a store (store) using the mobile phone and the existing bar code can be presented. It is disclosed that the code system allows the electronic coupon to be read.

JP, 2010-061378, A JP, 2003-099579, A JP, 2003-091781, A JP, 2002-189963, A

There is a technology for managing coupons using receipts.
By the way, in the case where a campaign that allows free printing is performed on the condition that a product is purchased, for example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 or the like, it is necessary to issue a coupon or information for uniquely identifying a user.
The present invention provides in performing a free print service, an image processing apparatus that does not need to issue the information for uniquely identifying the coupons or user, information processing system, an image processing program and an information processing system program The purpose is to do.

The gist of the present invention for achieving such an object resides in the inventions of the following items.
The invention of claim 1 includes an acquisition unit that acquires service identification information for identifying the print service, the number of purchases of goods information and the quotient article is information indicating an item from receipt of the image store issued the Extraction means for extracting specific information for identifying a receipt, transmission means for transmitting the service identification information, the product information, the number of purchases, and the specific information , a product name corresponding to the service identification information, and the product information. , The total number of times of printing corresponding to the service identification information is less than the upper limit number of times in the service identification information, and the number of printed times in the receipt from the specific information is printable in the receipt. The image processing apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives the number of printable times from the number of purchases and the number of prints completed when the number is less than the number of times .

A second aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third receiving means for receiving a cart and service identification information and the product information from the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein, in said service identification information corresponding, the information processing apparatus having a third transmission means for obtaining the number of times already printed by the printing service and the upper limit number of definitive print service to the product information, and transmits the number of times that can be printed on the image processing apparatus It is an information processing system that has .

The invention of claim 3 further comprises a printing means for performing printing according to the number of printable times received by the receiving means, and a second transmitting means for transmitting the number of times of printing by the printing means. The image processing device according to item 1.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further includes fourth receiving means for receiving the number of times of printing from the image processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, and storage means for storing the number of times . 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting unit 3 acquires the number of times of printing by using the number of times stored in the storage unit.

The invention according to claim 5 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein the extraction means performs character recognition on the image of the receipt to extract product information and the number of purchases.

The invention according to claim 6 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein the extraction means cuts out an area in which the product information and the number of purchases are described from the image of the receipt.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the third receiving means receives an image in which the service identification information, the product information, and the number of purchases are described from the image processing apparatus in the sixth aspect , and the character is added to the image. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the recognition is performed to extract the product information and the number of purchases.

The invention of claim 8, buy computer, acquiring means for acquiring service identification information for identifying the print service, product information and quotient goods information indicating the items from the image of the receipt store issued Number and specific information for identifying the receipt, extraction means for transmitting the service identification information, the product information, the purchase number and the specific information, and a product name corresponding to the service identification information When the product information matches, the total number of times of printing corresponding to the service identification information is less than the upper limit number of times in the service identification information, and the number of printed times in the receipt from the specific information is It is an image processing program for functioning as a receiving means for receiving the printable number from the purchase number and the printed number when the print number is less than the printable number .

The invention of claim 9 includes: an image processing program according to claim 8, computer, third reception that receives a cart and service identification information and the product information from the computer where the image processing program of claim 8 is performed means, corresponding to the service identification information, acquires the number of times already printed by the printing service and the upper limit number of print service definitive to the product information, the number of printable image processing program according to claim 8, wherein the execution Is an information processing system program having an information processing program for causing the computer to function as a third transmitting unit.

According to the image processing apparatus of the first aspect, it is not necessary to issue the coupon or the information for uniquely identifying the user when performing the printing service.

According to the information processing system of claim 2, it is not necessary to issue the coupon or the information for uniquely identifying the user when performing the printing service.

According to the image processing device of the third aspect , the number of times of printing in the print service is transmitted.

According to the information processing system of claim 4 , the number of times of printing in the print service is received.

According to the image processing device of claim 5 , character recognition is performed on the image of the receipt to extract the product information and the number of purchases.

According to the image processing device of the sixth aspect, the region in which the product information and the number of purchases are described is cut out from the image of the receipt.

According to the information processing system of claim 7 , character recognition is performed from the received image, and product information and the number of purchases are extracted.

According to the image processing program of claim 8 , it is not necessary to issue the coupon or the information for uniquely identifying the user when performing the printing service.

According to the information processing system program of claim 9 , it is not necessary to issue the coupon or the information for uniquely identifying the user when performing the printing service.

It is a conceptual module block diagram about the structural example of this Embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing an example of a system configuration using this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process by this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process by this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the receipt used as the process target of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure example of a free print information table. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a print history information table. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a print history information table. FIG. It is a block diagram showing an example of hardware constitutions of a computer which realizes this embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment for realizing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual module block diagram of a configuration example of this embodiment.
Note that a module generally refers to a logically separable software (computer program), hardware, or other component. Therefore, the module in the present embodiment refers not only to the module in the computer program but also to the module in the hardware configuration. Therefore, the present embodiment is directed to computer programs for causing them to function as modules (a program for causing a computer to execute each procedure, a program for causing a computer to function as each means, and a computer having each function. And a system and method for realizing the above. However, for convenience of explanation, “store”, “store”, and similar words are used, but these words are stored in a storage device or stored when the embodiment is a computer program. This means that the device is controlled to be stored. Further, the modules may correspond to the functions one-to-one, but in the implementation, one module may be configured by one program, or a plurality of modules may be configured by one program, or conversely one module. May be composed of a plurality of programs. Moreover, a plurality of modules may be executed by one computer, or one module may be executed by a plurality of computers by computers in a distributed or parallel environment. Note that one module may include another module. Further, hereinafter, “connection” is used not only in the case of physical connection but also in the case of logical connection (data transfer, instruction, reference relationship between data, etc.). The term “predetermined” means that it is determined before the target processing, not only before the processing according to the present embodiment starts but also after the processing according to the present embodiment starts. Also, if it is before the target processing, it is used with the intention of being determined according to the situation/state at that time or according to the situation/state up to that point. When there are a plurality of "predetermined values", they may be different values, or two or more values (including, of course, all values) may be the same. In addition, the description "if A, do B" is used to mean "determine whether or not it is A, and if it is A, do B". However, the case where it is unnecessary to determine whether or not it is A is excluded.
Further, the system or device is configured by connecting a plurality of computers, hardware, devices, etc. by a communication means such as a network (including one-to-one correspondence communication connection), and also one computer, hardware, device The case where it is realized by the above is also included. "Device" and "system" are used as synonymous terms. Of course, "system" does not include what is merely a social "mechanism" (social system) that is an artificial arrangement.
In addition, when performing a plurality of processes in each module or in each module, the target information is read from the storage device, the processing result is written to the storage device after performing the process. is there. Therefore, the description of reading from the storage device before processing and writing to the storage device after processing may be omitted. Note that the storage device here may include a hard disk, a RAM (Random Access Memory), an external storage medium, a storage device via a communication line, a register in a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like.

The information processing system of the print center 100 and the image processing apparatus 160 according to the present embodiment controls a free print service (hereinafter, also referred to as a free print) for a receipt issued by a store. Free printing is a service that allows a user of the image processing apparatus 160 installed in a store 130 (for example, a convenience store, a mass retailer, etc.) to print without paying a print fee.
In some sales promotion campaign plans of stores, free prints are provided in association with (associated with) specific products. The printing target may be, for example, a coupon, bromide, or the like prepared by the store, or may be printing (or copying) an arbitrary document in the image processing device 160 installed in the store. Good.
In this sales promotion campaign plan, if the limit of free print is “first-come-first-served”, the number of prints will be consumed by mass printing by a malicious anonymous user.
As one of the measures, a sticker or the like with an individual identifier is attached to the product, and the purchase and the free print are associated with each other using the individual identifier as a key.
However, it is necessary to issue a large number of unique identifiers for free printing, attach a sticker on which the individual identifier is described, to the product, and associate the product with the individual identifier. In addition, even if a large amount is issued, only some of them are actually purchased and the individual identifier is used, which is inefficient.
In the present embodiment, in a campaign plan for providing free prints linked to products, the receipt information is regarded as an anonymous user, and whether or not free prints can be controlled. This provides a mechanism to suppress unintended mass printing.
Receipts issued by stores (hereinafter also referred to as receipts) use the same mechanism as for normal product purchases at stores, and use special identifiers (QR (Quick Response) code, bar code, etc.) for free printing. No need to print. That is, the existing receipt is used as it is. In addition, the user does not need to register in advance and the anonymous user is identified based on the receipt information. Then, it is not necessary to issue a large number of identifiers for the free print, and one receipt (service identification information (hereinafter also referred to as a service identifier) that is information for identifying a free print service) is used to generate receipt information Limit the number of free prints.

The print center 100 has an information communication module 105, a data reception module 110, a data management module 115, and a data storage module 120.
The information communication module 105 is connected to the data reception module 110 and the data management module 115. The information communication module 105 transmits/receives data to/from an external image processing device 160 (information communication module 165).
The information communication module 105 receives service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases from the image processing device 160 (information communication module 165).
Then, the information communication module 105 transmits the “free printable number of times” calculated by the data management module 115 to the image processing apparatus 160 (information communication module 165).
Further, the information communication module 105 may receive the number of prints (the number of free prints).
Further, the information communication module 105 may receive an image in which service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases are described from the image processing device 160 (information communication module 165). In that case, the data management module 115 performs character recognition on the image received by the information communication module 105 to extract product information and the number of purchases.

The data reception module 110 is connected to the information communication module 105 and the data management module 115. The data reception module 110 receives free print information (for example, print data, print attributes, etc.) by an operation of the planner using, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a voice, a line of sight, or a gesture. Here, the print data refers to electronic data output to a medium (mainly a paper medium), and is data to be printed. In the above example, images such as coupons and bromides are applicable. The printing attribute is an attribute for printing the print data, and corresponds to, for example, information indicating color or black and white, paper size, information indicating double-sided or single-sided, and the like.

The data management module 115 is connected to the information communication module 105, the data reception module 110, and the data storage module 120. The data management module 115 issues a unique identifier to the free print information acquired by the data reception module 110. Then, the data management module 115 manages data acquisition processing from the data storage module 120 in response to requests from the data reception module 110 and the information communication module 105. The data management module 115 acquires, from the data storage module 120, the maximum number of free print services in the product information corresponding to the service identification information and the number of times the print service has already been printed, and calculates the number of free print services. To do.
Further, the data management module 115 may use the number of times stored in the data storage module 120 to acquire the number of times of printing. Here, “acquiring the number of times printing has been performed using the number of times stored in the data storage module 120” specifically means calculating the total number of times stored in the data storage module 120 and calculating the total value. May be set as the number of times of printing.

The data storage module 120 is connected to the data management module 115. The data storage module 120 holds data such as free print information and print history.
Further, the data storage module 120 may store the number of times the information communication module 105 has received (the number of free prints).

A store cashier 140 and an image processing device 160 are installed in the store 130. The store cash register 140 is a device that calculates and records the sales amount of a product in the store 130, and may be an existing device that issues (prints) a receipt. The image processing apparatus 160 is, for example, a multi-function peripheral (an image processing apparatus having any two or more functions such as a scanner, a printer, a copying machine, and a fax).

The store cashier 140 has a product management module 145, a product payment module 150, and a receipt print module 155.
The product management module 145 is connected to the product payment module 150 and the receipt print module 155. The product management module 145 searches or acquires product information (product name, price) according to a request from the product payment module 150. In addition, the product management module 145 makes a print request to the receipt print module 155 based on the payment result (product name, price, number of products purchased) from the product payment module 150.
The product settlement module 150 is connected to the product management module 145. The product payment module 150 acquires information on the product purchased by the user (customer) from the product management module 145 and performs payment processing.
The receipt print module 155 is connected to the product management module 145. The receipt print module 155 prints the settlement result, the receipt ID, the store name, etc. on the receipt according to the print request from the product management module 145. The receipt ID (for example, serial number) is issued by an existing mechanism provided in each store.

The image processing device 160 has an information communication module 165, an image analysis module 170, a print control module 175, and a print module 180.
The information communication module 165 is connected to the print control module 175. The information communication module 165 transmits/receives data to/from the print center 100. The information communication module 165 transmits service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases to the print center 100 (information communication module 105).
Then, the information communication module 165 receives the number of times printing is possible free of charge from the print center 100 (information communication module 105) in response to the transmission.
The information communication module 165 may also transmit the number of times printed by the print module 180 (the number of free prints).

The image analysis module 170 is connected to the print control module 175. The image analysis module 170 analyzes the scanned receipt image and extracts a character string.
That is, the image analysis module 170 extracts product information, which is information indicating a product, and the number of purchases of the product from the image of the receipt issued by the store.
Here, the receipt may include the product information that is information indicating the product and the number of purchases of the product, and corresponds to, for example, a receipt printed by a register installed in a store.
Then, in the receipt, product information, which is information indicating the product, and the number of purchases of the product are described in characters. This character can be visually recognized (read) by humans.
The image analysis module 170 may also perform character recognition on the image of the receipt to extract the product information and the number of purchases.
Further, the image analysis module 170 may cut out the area in which the product information and the number of purchases are described from the image of the receipt.

The print control module 175 is connected to the information communication module 165, the image analysis module 170, and the print module 180. The print control module 175 determines whether printing is possible based on the information obtained from the print center 100 and the information obtained from the image analysis module 170, and performs a print request process to the print module 180.
The print control module 175 acquires service identification information that is information for identifying a free print service. For example, the service identification information is acquired by a user operation using a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a voice, a line of sight, a gesture, or the like.
Then, the print control module 175 controls the print module 180 so as to perform free printing according to the number of times the information communication module 165 receives the medical examination.

The print module 180 is connected to the print control module 175. The print module 180 performs printing in accordance with a print request from the print control module 175 (including print data, print attributes, the number of copies, etc.).

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration example using this embodiment.
A store cash register 140A and an image processing device 160A are installed in the A store 130A. A store cash register 140B-1, a store cash register 140B-2, and an image processing device 160B are installed in the B store 130B. Of course, three or more store cash registers 140 may be installed in one store, and a plurality of image processing devices 160 may also be installed.
The print center 100, the image processing device 160A of the A store 130A, and the image processing device 160B of the B store 130B are connected to each other via a communication line 290. The communication line 290 may be wireless, wired, or a combination thereof. For example, the communication infrastructure may be the Internet, an intranet, or the like. Further, the function of the print center 100 may be realized as a cloud service.
For example, first, the user browses the user notification site (Web page) of the print center 100 with a smartphone or the like, and acquires service identification information for free printing. Purchase a product for free printing at the A store 130A. Then, the user obtains the printed receipt from the store cashier 140A. The receipt describes the product name and the number of purchases of the product. The service identification information is input using the image processing apparatus 160A, and the receipt is read by the scanner. The image processing apparatus 160A transmits the service identification information, the product information in the receipt, and the purchase quantity to the print center 100. The print center 100 transmits to the image processing apparatus 160A the number of printable times for the transmission of free printing. The image processing apparatus 160A accepts a print instruction from the user within the number of times and prints for free. The user will obtain the printed matter in the free print.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing example according to this embodiment. It shows a pre-process in the present embodiment, and specifically shows an example in which a free print registration process is performed by the operation of the planner 392 and a process example in which the user 390 obtains a receipt.
In step S302, the planner 392 operates the print center 100 to register a free print service. According to the operation of the planner 392, the data to be free-printed is registered in the print center 100 in association with the “product name” and the “maximum number of prints”.

In step S304, the print center 100 registers data. For example, the free print information table 900 is generated according to the process of step S302, and the free print information table 900 is registered in the data storage module 120. The example illustrated in FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a data structure example of the free print information table 900. The example shown in FIG. 9B shows the description of each column of the free print information table 900.
The free print information table 900 has a service identifier column 902, a file name column 904, a print data column 906, a registration date and time column 908, an expiration date column 910, a print upper limit number column 912, a product name column 914, and a print attribute information column 916. doing. The print attribute information column 916 has a color mode column 918, a paper size 920, and a double-sided column 922.
A unique identifier (service identification information) indicating a free print service is stored in the service identifier column 902, and for example, “E28577AF” or the like is provided as the service identification information.
The file name column 904 stores the name of the print data of the free print. For example, the name of the print data is “not for sale_sales promotion bromide”.
The print data column 906 stores the print data itself of the free print, for example, "print data in binary data" and the like. The print data itself may be a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or the like in which the print data is stored.
The registration date and time column 908 stores the date and time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second, second or less, or a combination thereof) of performing free print registration. 2016/03/01 12:34:56” and the like.
The expiration date column 910 stores the printable period of the free print, for example, “2016/03/331 23:59:59”.
The upper limit number of prints column 912 stores an upper limit value for printing free prints, and for example, there is “10000 times” as the upper limit value. The maximum print count is set during registration.
The product name column 914 stores the name of the product associated with the free print. For example, the product name includes “product A”. A symbol or the like may be used as long as the product can be specified. However, since it is used for comparison with the product information transmitted from the image processing device 160, it is the information described on the receipt.
The print attribute information column 916 stores print attribute information, and the print attribute information includes “color mode”, “paper size”, “double-sided”, and the like.
In the color mode column 918, "monochrome" or "color" is stored as the color mode, and for example, there is "color" or the like.
The paper size 920 stores different types of paper size such as “A4”, “A3”, “B4”, “B5”, and “photo”, for example, “photo”.
In the double-sided column 922, “Yes” or “No” is stored as a selection of double-sided printing, and for example, “No” is set.

In step S306, the print center 100 issues a service identifier. It is stored in the service identifier column 902 of the free print information table 900. That is, the print center 100 issues a service identifier for specifying data or the like at the time of printing.
In step S308, the planner 392 performs an operation of posting the user notification site. That is, according to the operation of the planner 392, the service identifier issued by the print center 100 is disclosed to the user 390. Specifically, the service identifier is posted on the user notification site, and, of course, the content of the free print (the target product, the content of the print data that is the target of the free print, etc.) is posted. The user notification site may be provided in the print center 100 or may be provided on another server.
In step S310, the user 390 refers to the service identifier from the user notification site.

In step S312, the user 390 enters the store 130.
In step S314, the user 390 purchases the product targeted for free printing.
In step S316, the store cashier 140 acquires the product information of the product. For example, the product name, price, etc. are acquired from the barcode attached to the product. Of course, the number of products is also acquired.
In step S318, the store cashier 140 performs product settlement.
In step S320, the store cashier 140 outputs a receipt. That is, the receipt in which the product name, the number of purchased products, and the receipt identification information (receipt ID, store name, etc.) are described is output. For example, the receipt 800 is printed. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the receipt 800 that is the processing target of the present embodiment. The receipt 800 displays a store name column 802, a product settlement date/time column 804, a receipt ID column 806, a purchase detail column 808, a purchase price column 810, a product purchase number column 812, a product name column 814, and a total price column 816.
The store name column 802 describes the store name. The item payment date and time column 804 describes the item payment date and time. The receipt ID column 806 describes the receipt ID. The purchase details column 808 describes the purchase details. The purchase amount column 810 describes the purchase amount. The item purchase number column 812 describes the item purchase number. The product name column 814 describes the product name. The total amount column 816 shows the total amount.
In step S322, the user 390 acquires a receipt.

4, 5, and 6 are flowcharts showing a processing example according to the present embodiment. It shows an example of processing regarding the use of a free print service by a user and the limitation on the number of free prints.
In step S402, the user 390 inputs the service identifier in the image processing device 160. That is, the user 390 inputs the service identifier for printing the free print on the image processing apparatus 160.
In step S404, the image processing apparatus 160 requests the print center 100 to obtain free print information corresponding to the service identifier input by the user 390.

In step S406, the print center 100 searches for free print information in the data storage module 120. That is, the print center 100 searches for free print information corresponding to the service identifier received from the image processing device 160. As the free print information, for example, the print history information table 1000 may be used. The example illustrated in FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a data structure example of the print history information table 1000. The example illustrated in FIG. 10B illustrates the description of each column of the print history information table 1000.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the print history information table 1000. The print history information table 1000 has a service identifier column 1002, a file name column 1004, a print date/time column 1006, a print number column 1008, a receipt information column 1010, a print fee column 1016, and a billing amount column 1018. The receipt information column 1010 has a store name column 1012 and a receipt ID column 1014.
The service identifier column 1002 stores a unique identifier (service identification information) indicating a free print service, for example, “E28577AF” or the like as the service identification information.
The file name column 1004 stores the name of the print data of the free print. For example, the name of the print data is “not for sale_sales promotion bromide”.
The print date/time column 1006 stores the print date/time. For example, the date/time is “2016/03/04 18:00:00”.
The number of printed copies column 1008 stores the number of printed copies (number of times). For example, the number of copies is “2”.
Receipt information is stored in the receipt information column 1010, and the receipt information includes, for example, “store name” and “receipt ID”.
The store name column 1012 stores the store name acquired from the receipt, and has, for example, "XX station front store" as the store name.
The receipt ID column 1014 stores the receipt ID acquired from the receipt, and has, for example, “REC123456789” as the receipt ID.
The print fee column 1016 stores a print fee, and for example, the fee is “0 yen”.
The bill amount column 1018 stores the amount to be billed to the planner side, and for example, there is “200 yen” as the amount.

In step S408, the print center 100 returns the free print information. That is, the print center 100 returns the free print information including the “product name” to the image processing device 160.
In step S410, the image processing apparatus 160 requests receipt information from the user 390.
In step S412, the user 390 operates the image processing apparatus 160 to give an instruction to scan a receipt. That is, the receipt of the receipt is displayed on the display of the image processing apparatus 160 so as to be scanned. Then, according to the instruction from the user 390, the image processing apparatus 160 scans the receipt.

In step S414, the image processing apparatus 160 analyzes the receipt information 480. The receipt information 480 includes a product name, the number of products purchased, store information, and a receipt ID. That is, the image processing apparatus 160 extracts the “product name” and the “product purchase number, store name, and receipt specifying information” from the scan information of the receipt. The image processing device 160 compares the “product name” returned in step S408 with the “product name” extracted from the scan information of the receipt. It is confirmed that the two match, and if they match, the process moves to the next step S416. If they do not match, the fact that the products are different is displayed on the display, and the process ends.

In step S416, the image processing apparatus 160 inquires of the print center 100 about the printable number associated with the receipt information. That is, when the “product name” returned in step S408 and the “product name” extracted from the scan information of the receipt match, the image processing apparatus 160 informs the printer center 100 of the “number of product purchases, store name, and receipt identification information”. Is sent. The print center 100 receives this “number of purchased products, store name, and receipt identification information” from the image processing apparatus 160.

Step S418 is composed of the processes of steps S420, S422, and S424. The process of step S418 will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in the example of FIG.
In step S420, the print center 100 calculates the number of printable times. That is, the print center 100 inquires the print history of the data associated with the service identifier, and obtains the remaining printable count from the total print count that has already been printed.
In step S422, the print center 100 checks the print history. The print center 100 acquires the number of print histories corresponding to “the number of purchased products, store name, and receipt identification information” in the print history of the service identifier.
In step S424, the print center 100 returns the number of printable times. That is, the print center 100 compares the remaining printable count acquired in step S420 with the number of print histories acquired in step S422, and prints a receipt having “the number of purchased products, store name, and receipt identification information”. The remaining number (printable number) is returned to the image processing apparatus 160.

In step S426, the image processing apparatus 160 acquires the printable count from the print center 100.
In step S428, the image processing apparatus 160 checks the number of printable times. If “printable number=0”, the process proceeds to step S430, and if “printable number>0”, the process proceeds to step S434.
In step S430, the image processing apparatus 160 presents “print not possible” on the display.
In step S432, the user 390 knows from the display that "printing is not possible".
In step S434, the image processing apparatus 160 displays a request for the number of print copies on the display.
In step S436, the user 390 specifies the number of print copies with the image processing apparatus 160. That is, the user 390 specifies the number of free prints on the image processing apparatus 160.

In step S438, the image processing apparatus 160 acquires the number of print copies according to the operation of the user 390.
In step S440, the image processing apparatus 160 checks the number of print copies, and if “printable number≧print number”, the process proceeds to step S442, and if “printable number<print number”, returns to step S436. That is, the image processing apparatus 160 compares the number of copies (print count) specified in step S436 with the printable count acquired in step S426, and limits the print count.

In step S442, the image processing device 160 executes free printing.
In step S444, the user 390 acquires a free printed matter from the image processing device 160.
In step S446, image processing device 160 transmits print history information 482 to print center 100. The print history information 482 includes the number of prints, store information, and receipt ID. In other words, the image processing apparatus 160 transmits to the print center 100 the “number of items purchased, store name, and receipt identification information” and the number of times actually printed in step S442.
In step S448, the print center 100 updates the print history information in the data storage module 120. That is, the print center 100 adds “the number of purchased products, store name, and receipt identification information” and the number of times of actual printing in step S442 to the print history of the service identifier.

The scan information (image) of the receipt may be captured by a camera (may be a camera such as a smartphone) instead of being scanned by the image processing apparatus 160, and the captured image may be transmitted to the image processing apparatus 160.
A character recognition process may be performed to acquire the product name, the number of purchased products, the store name, and the receipt identification information from the scan information. The “scan number of the product, store name, and receipt identification information” may be the scan image of the receipt itself (cutout image of the area). In that case, the structure of the receipt (the number of items purchased, the store name, and the relative position of the receipt specifying information) at the store cashier 140 is extracted in advance, the scan image of the receipt is analyzed, and the region is cut out. Good. When using the scanned image of the receipt, the print history information table 1100 may be used instead of the print history information table 1000. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the print history information table 1100. The example illustrated in FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a data structure example of the print history information table 1100. The example illustrated in FIG. 11B illustrates the description of each column of the print history information table 1100. The print history information table 1100 is the print history information table 1000 shown in the example of FIG. 10 with a receipt image column 1120 added. That is, the service identifier column 1102 to the billing amount column 1118 are equivalent to the service identifier column 1002 to the billing amount column 1018 of the print history information table 1000. The receipt image column 1120 stores the storage location of the receipt image, and includes, for example, “receipt image in binary data”, “URL”, and the like.
The pattern matching process of the image data may be used for the process of determining whether the store name and the receipt ID match. Further, the print center 100 (the data management module 115) may character-recognize the store name, the receipt ID, the product name, the number of purchases, etc. in the receipt image.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing example according to this embodiment. It shows a detailed example of the processing in step S418 described above.
In step S702, the print history (print history A) corresponding to the service identifier is searched from the print history information table 1000.
In step S704, the total number of prints (print count A) corresponding to the service identifier is calculated.
In step S<b>706, the maximum print count corresponding to the service identifier is acquired from the free print information table 900.
In step S708, it is determined whether or not “print upper limit number>print number A”, and if “print upper limit number>print number A”, the process proceeds to step S710, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S724.

In step S710, the total remaining print count (remaining print count A) corresponding to the service identifier is calculated. Specifically, it is calculated using the formula “remaining print count A=upper limit print count−print count A”.
In step S712, the number of times printing has been completed (print count B) corresponding to the receipt information is calculated from the print history.
In step S714, it is determined whether "the number of purchases of the product>the number of prints B", and if "the number of purchases of the product>the number of prints B", the process proceeds to step S716, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S724.
In step S716, the number of remaining prints (remaining number of prints B) that can be performed using the receipt information is calculated. Specifically, it is calculated using the formula “remaining print count B=product purchase count−print count B”. That is, the number B of times of printing already performed on the receipt is subtracted from the number of times the receipt can be printed (the number of product purchases (in this case, one print per product)) to calculate the remaining number of prints B. There is.

In step S718, it is determined whether or not "remaining print count B>remaining print count A", and if "remaining print count B>remaining print count A", the process proceeds to step S720, and otherwise, step Proceed to S722.
In step S720, the remaining print count A is returned to the image processing apparatus 160 as the printable count.
In step S722, the remaining print count B is returned to the image processing apparatus 160 as the printable count.
In step S724, 0 times is returned to the image processing apparatus 160 as the number of printable times.

An example of the hardware configuration of the print center 100 and the image processing device 160 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration shown in FIG. 12 is configured by, for example, a personal computer (PC) or the like, and shows a hardware configuration example including a data reading unit 1217 such as a scanner and a data output unit 1218 such as a printer.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1201 is the various modules described in the above embodiments, that is, the information communication module 105, the data reception module 110, the data management module 115, the information communication module 165, the image analysis module 170, and the print control. It is a control unit that executes processing according to a computer program that describes the execution sequence of each module such as the module 175.

A ROM (Read Only Memory) 1202 stores programs and calculation parameters used by the CPU 1201. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 1203 stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 1201 and parameters that appropriately change in the execution. These are connected to each other by a host bus 1204 including a CPU bus and the like.

The host bus 1204 is connected to an external bus 1206 such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus via a bridge 1205.

A pointing device 1209 such as a keyboard 1208 and a mouse is a device operated by an operator. The display 1210 is a liquid crystal display device, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like, and displays various information as text or image information. Further, a touch screen or the like having both functions of the pointing device 1209 and the display 1210 may be used.

The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 1211 has a built-in hard disk (which may be a flash memory or the like), drives the hard disk, and records or reproduces a program or information executed by the CPU 1201. The hard disk stores the image of the receipt 800, the analysis result, and the like in the image processing apparatus 160, and the free print information table 900, the print history information table 1000, and the print history information table 1100 in the print center 100 (data storage module 120). Etc. are stored. Further, various other data, various computer programs, etc. are stored.

The drive 1212 reads out the data or program recorded in the removable recording medium 1213 such as a mounted magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory, and outputs the data or program to the interface 1207 and the external bus 1206. , A bridge 1205, and a RAM 1203 connected via a host bus 1204. The removable recording medium 1213 can also be used as a data recording area.

The connection port 1214 is a port for connecting the external connection device 1215, and has a connection unit such as USB and IEEE1394. The connection port 1214 is connected to the CPU 1201 and the like via the interface 1207, the external bus 1206, the bridge 1205, the host bus 1204, and the like. The communication unit 1216 is connected to a communication line and executes data communication processing with the outside. The data reading unit 1217 is, for example, a scanner and executes document reading processing. The data output unit 1218 is, for example, a printer (print module 180), and executes document data output processing.

Note that the hardware configurations of the print center 100 and the image processing apparatus 160 shown in FIG. 12 show one configuration example, and the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. It is only necessary that the described module can be executed. For example, some modules may be configured with dedicated hardware (for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), and some modules are in an external system and are connected by a communication line. Alternatively, a plurality of systems shown in FIG. 12 may be connected to each other through a communication line so that they cooperate with each other. Further, in particular, in addition to personal computers, it is incorporated in portable information communication devices (including mobile phones, smartphones, mobile devices, wearable computers, etc.), information appliances, robots, copiers, fax machines, scanners, printers, multifunction machines, etc. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, one print is made for each product, but one print may be made a plurality of times, or conversely, a plurality of products may be purchased for one print. May be required.
Further, when inquiring about the print history, control may be performed such that the number of prints is only once for one piece of receipt information. In addition, the output location may be limited to only the stores that are purchased based on the “number of purchased products, store name, and receipt identification information”.

The program described may be stored in a recording medium and provided, or the program may be provided by communication means. In that case, for example, the program described above may be regarded as an invention of “a computer-readable recording medium in which the program is recorded”.
The "computer-readable recording medium recording the program" means a computer-readable recording medium in which the program is recorded, which is used for installing, executing, distributing the program, and the like.
The recording medium is, for example, a digital versatile disk (DVD), which is a standard defined by the DVD Forum, such as “DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, etc.” or DVD+RW. Blu-ray discs (DVD+R, DVD+RW, etc.), compact discs (CD), read-only memory (CD-ROM), CD recordable (CD-R), CD rewritable (CD-RW), etc. Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), magneto-optical disk (MO), flexible disk (FD), magnetic tape, hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable and rewritable read-only memory (EEPROM (registered trademark) )), flash memory, random access memory (RAM), SD (Secure Digital) memory card, and the like.
Then, all or part of the program may be recorded in the recording medium and stored or distributed. In addition, by communication, for example, a wired network used for a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, or the like, or wireless communication. It may be transmitted using a transmission medium such as a network or a combination thereof, or may be carried on a carrier wave.
Furthermore, the above program may be a part or all of another program, or may be recorded in a recording medium together with a separate program. Further, the data may be recorded separately on a plurality of recording media. Further, it may be recorded in any form as long as it can be restored, such as compression or encryption.

100... Print Center 105... Information Communication Module 110... Data Reception Module 115... Data Management Module 120... Data Storage Module 130... Store 140... Store Cash Register 145... Merchandise Management Module 150... Merchandise Payment Module 155... Receipt Print Module 160... Image Processing Device 165... Information communication module 170... Image analysis module 175... Print control module 180... Print module 290... Communication line 390... User 392... Planner

Claims (9)

An acquisition unit that acquires service identification information for identifying the print service,
Extraction means for extracting product information that is information indicating a product, the number of purchases of the product, and specific information that identifies the receipt from the image of the receipt issued by the store,
Transmitting means for transmitting the service identification information, the product information, the number of purchases, and the specific information ,
When the product name corresponding to the service identification information and the product information match,
The total number of prints corresponding to the service identification information is less than the upper limit number of times in the service identification information,
Receiving means for receiving the printable number from the purchase number and the printed number when the printed number of times on the receipt is less than the printable number of times on the receipt from the specific information
Image processing apparatus having a. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A third receiving means for receiving service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases from the image processing apparatus according to claim 1;
Corresponding to the service identification information, the third transmission means for obtaining the number of times already printed by the printing service and the upper limit number of definitive print service to the product information, and transmits the number of times that can be printed on the image processing apparatus Information processing device
Information processing system having . Printing means for performing printing according to the number of printable times received by the receiving means;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second transmitting unit that transmits the number of times the printing has been performed by the printing unit. The information processing device,
Fourth receiving means for receiving the number of times of printing from the image processing apparatus according to claim 3 ;
Further comprising storage means for storing the number of times,
The third transmitting unit acquires the number of times of printing by using the number of times stored in the storage unit,
The information processing system according to claim 2. The extraction means performs character recognition on the image of the receipt to extract product information and the number of purchases,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3. The extraction means cuts out an area in which the product information and the number of purchases are described, from the image of the receipt,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3. The third receiving unit receives an image in which service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases are described from the image processing apparatus according to claim 6 ,
Character recognition is performed on the image to extract product information and the number of purchases.
The information processing system according to claim 2. Computer,
An acquisition unit that acquires service identification information for identifying the print service,
Extraction means for extracting product information that is information indicating a product, the number of purchases of the product, and specific information that identifies the receipt from the image of the receipt issued by the store,
Transmitting means for transmitting the service identification information, the product information, the number of purchases, and the specific information ,
When the product name corresponding to the service identification information and the product information match,
The total number of prints corresponding to the service identification information is less than the upper limit number of times in the service identification information,
Based on the specific information, when the number of prints on the receipt is less than the number of prints on the receipt, the reception unit receives the number of prints based on the number of purchases and the number of prints. Image processing program. An image processing program according to claim 8,
Computer,
A third receiving means for receiving service identification information, product information, and the number of purchases from a computer that executes the image processing program according to claim 8 .
Corresponding to the service identification information, computer obtains a number of times already printed by the printing service and the upper limit number of definitive print service to the product information, the number of printable claim 8, wherein the image processing program is executed Processing program for functioning as third transmitting means for transmitting to
An information processing system program having.

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