JPH0443492A - Processor for purchasing time point advertising information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save labor by transferring a conversion code and a conversion data to an artwork printer side by a communicating means. CONSTITUTION:An access means 4 automatically converts the purchasing time point information of a storing means 1 to a code data format, which can be analyzed by the artwork printer, by a format conversion table 2. Then, a writing means 7 writes the code data in the converted format to another storing medium 6 so as to set the data to the artwork printer 5 or the code data is directly transferred to the artwork printer 5 by a communicating means 8. Thus, labor can be sharply saved by processing the purchasing time point information by the artwork printer 5 without manually inputting the information.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a point-of-purchase advertisement information processing device, which automatically converts advertisement information supplied from a client into a 7-auto format that can be analyzed and processed by a block printing device. The present invention relates to a device that saves labor in the process of conversion and printing of block copies.

[Prior Art] In supermarkets, retail stores, etc., it is customary to display point-of-purchase advertisements attached to products that are sold from time to time.

As shown in Figures 4 to 7, this point-of-purchase advertisement concisely displays the product name, price, manufacturer name, standards, production area name, and various other explanations related to the product by printing them on paper in a predetermined format. It also advertises products and provides explanations to customers.

Conventionally, the following procedure has been adopted for ordering, placing, and creating advertisements.

■Storage medium on which the client, such as a supermarket, has written point-of-purchase advertising information (paper designation code, layout designation code, advertising content designation data that corresponds to each advertising content attribute code, etc.) for products to be sold soon. Supply (magnetic tape, florape disks, etc.) to advertising agencies.

- Upon receiving this, the advertising agency causes a computer to read each piece of data in the storage medium and output it as a list-format manuscript.

■While referring to the manuscript, the operator performs key manual labor on a dedicated block printing device to create print data for point-of-purchase advertisements.

■Print a sample of the created print data using a block printing device,
Proofread text and make corrections while checking the sample.

■Output a draft manuscript based on the corrected print data.

(2) Read the output draft manuscript and the previous list manuscript, and once they have been verified, the draft is set in a separate high-speed printing device and a predetermined number of copies of the point-of-purchase advertisement are printed.

■Finally, the point-of-purchase advertisement as a product is delivered to the client.

Looking at the average time required to create 255 types of point-of-purchase advertisements in the above-mentioned advertisement creation procedure on the advertising agency side, it is found that It took 3 hours to check the specifications and whether or not there were any duplicates →■
It took 4 hours of manual labor to use a dedicated block printing device for the procedure → 2 hours for sample output, character proofreading, and input of corrections for the procedure.
Currently, it takes about 13 hours in total to print a product, such as 2 hours for outputting the manuscript in the step ➝➝ 2 hours for reading it in the step ➢.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, due to the nature of point-of-purchase advertisements, printing errors cannot be tolerated and delivery deadlines must be strictly adhered to, so accurate and prompt processing from order receipt to delivery is desired.

In this regard, it is extremely disadvantageous that the processing steps from ■ to ■ above take as long as 9 hours, but the paper size and printing style of point-of-purchase advertisements for the orders received are extremely diverse. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to save labor because it involves the editing and creation of a block image based on the list manuscript by key personnel. Furthermore, this processing procedure has the disadvantage that it involves many errors due to the intervention of human input.

Furthermore, on the advertising agency side, it takes a great deal of time to issue sales slips, cover letters, etc. at the stage of product delivery, or to create such forms.

Therefore, the present invention provides a processing device for advertisement information at the point of purchase that automatically executes at least the processing steps (1) to (3) above based on data supplied from the client side, and furthermore, the device is used to process information on advertisements at the time of purchase, including the process of creating a form. It was created with the aim of solving each of the problems mentioned above by making it possible to do this consistently.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The basic configuration of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, which prints a draft manuscript based on point-of-purchase advertisement information supplied from the client via a storage medium or communication means. In a printing system that performs
and each corresponding code in a format that can be analyzed and processed by the block printing device in correspondence with various paper specification codes, layout specification codes, advertisement content attribute codes, and advertisement content specification data specified by the client regarding point-of-purchase advertisements. and a format conversion table 2 storing corresponding data.
According to the instruction input means 3 and instructions from the instruction input means 3,
Detect paper designation code, layout designation code, advertising content designation code, and advertising content designation data from the point-of-purchase advertising information in the storage means 1, and search the format conversion table 2 based on each detected code and data to take action. An access means 4 for reading out the specified conversion code and conversion data, and a writing operation for writing each conversion code and conversion data read from the format conversion table by the access means 4 into a storage medium 6 set in the block printing device 5. The means 7 or the conversion code and conversion data are sent to the block printing device 5.
The present invention relates to a processing device for point-of-purchase advertisement information, characterized in that it is equipped with a communication means 8 for transmitting the information to the purchase point.

Further, in the present invention, a detection means 9 for detecting the project information of the client from the storage means 1, a form data editing means 10, and a form printing device 11 are combined, and the input point-of-purchase advertising information is When project information on the client side is included, the form data editing means 10 edits the form creation data based on the project information detected by the detection means 9, and the form printing device 11 prints the form related to the project. It can also be configured to output.

[Operation] In the conventional printing procedure for a draft manuscript, the code/data format of the point-of-purchase advertising information supplied by the client is different from the format that can be analyzed and processed by the draft printing device. The user then outputs the image as a manuscript, and edits and creates the image of the draft manuscript by hand while referring to the list.

In the present invention, the purchase point information stored in the access means 4 or the storage means 1 is automatically converted using the format conversion table 2 into a code/data format that can be analyzed and processed by the block printing apparatus.

Then, the writing means 7 writes the code/data in the converted format to another storage medium 6 so that it can be set in the block printing apparatus 5, or the communication means 8 directly sends the code/data to the block printing apparatus 5 side. To transfer data,
The block printing device 5 can now process advertisement information at the time of purchase without manual input, resulting in significant labor savings.

In addition, the point-of-purchase advertisement information provided by the client side does not simply contain information related to the advertisement manuscript, but often includes project information such as the unit price and quantity of each ordered advertisement.
It becomes possible to create a form based on the project information.

In the present invention, by adding a project information detection means 9, a form data editing means 1O, and a form printing device 11 to the point-of-purchase advertisement information processing device, it is possible to print cover letters, sales slips, etc. at the stage before creating the first version. It allows you to create invoices.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 2 to 7.

FIG. 2 shows a system circuit diagram of a processing device for point-of-purchase advertisement information according to an embodiment.

In the figure, 11 is a ROM that stores a system control program, 12 is a RAM which is a main memory, 13 is a RAM that stores management data and management blocks read from an auxiliary storage device, and 14 is an I/F for a disk device. , 15
is a floppy disk device (FDD), 16 is a tape reader I/F, 17 is a tape reader 18 is a communication 1
/F, 19 is a line control unit (CCU), 20 is a printer I/F, 21 is a printer, 22 is a RAM that stores display control data including character generation cheats, and 23 is a CR
I/F for T, 24 is CRT, 25 is I/F for keyboard
, 26 is a keyboard, and these units etc. are CP
It is connected to the path line of U27 as shown in the figure, and the entire system is controlled by the CPU 27 executing the ROMII program. , the CPU 27 executes the processing using the programs and data loaded into the RAM 13.

In order to perform code/data conversion processing and form creation processing for point-of-purchase advertisement information in this device, management data and a management program for executing these processings are loaded into the RAM 13 as a premise.

In other words, a dedicated floppy disk (FDa) that stores management data and management programs for this advertising client.
is set in the FDD 15, and the program data of the FDD 15 is loaded into the RAM 13 by giving a download instruction from the keyboard 26.

This blockrum data has the following contents.

(Code/data conversion table): Various paper specification codes, layout specification codes, advertisement content attribute codes, advertisement content specification data predefined regarding the advertisement information at the point of purchase on the client side, and the corresponding versions. A table consisting of each corresponding code and corresponding data in a format that can be analyzed and processed by the printing device.

(Data for editing and creating forms): Fixed data for analyzing and editing project information included in the point-of-purchase advertising information by the client.

(Display control data): Display control data that includes a character generation table equivalent to the one built into the block printing device.

(Execution program): A control program for causing this device to execute code/data conversion processing of point-of-purchase advertisement information, form creation processing, etc., which will be described later.

By the above procedure, management data and management program
The procedure of code/data conversion processing, form creation processing, etc. by this device will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3.

First, the magnetic tape 30 supplied by the client and on which point-of-purchase advertising information is written is placed in the tape reader 17, and a reading instruction is given from the keyboard 26.
The information read by the tape reader 17 is loaded into the RAM 12 [Steps (1) to (March).

Once this rotation is complete, the floppy disk (FDb)
) to the FDD 15 and give conversion/display instructions [steps (4) to (7)].

Then, based on this instruction, the first advertisement information of the point-of-purchase advertisement information stored in the RAM 12 is read out [Step (August). This information includes a paper specification code related to the advertisement. .

Layout specification code, advertisement content attribute code.

and advertisement content specification data.

Here, the significance of each code is that the "paper specification code" is a code that selects and specifies the paper size, and the "layout specification code" is a code that specifies how advertising strings with various attributes are arranged on the paper. "Advertisement content attribute code" refers to a code that indicates attributes such as manufacturer name, product name, product specifications, price, various explanations, etc. It has been established in response to the above, and the data indicating the content of the specified character string related to this advertisement, or rather, each code and data are stored separated by a ladder.

When the first advertisement information is read out using the above procedure, each time each code is read out, the (code/data conversion table) loaded in the RAM 13 in advance is referred to, and the code and data read out are compared. The corresponding code and data corresponding to the data are read out, and each code and data stored in the RAM 12 are rewritten into the converted corresponding code and data [Step (9) (lo)
].

In addition, each code and data after rewriting are transferred from RAM12 to I
/F 23 [Step (11)].

By the way, the (display control data) loaded in the RAM 13 is transferred to the RAM based on the display instruction in step (7).
■/F23 uses that (display control data) to display the first point-of-purchase advertisement on CRT24.
[Step (12)]. In this case, I/
Each code and data loaded into the F23 has been converted using the code/data conversion table, so it is in a format that can be analyzed by the block printing device, and the display control data is also Since the control data is equivalent to that built into the block printing device, CRT
24, it becomes possible to display on a monitor the same content as the block print output from the block printing device.

By looking at this display content, the operator may be able to infer the printing mode of the block, or may need to make corrections.

For example, when a product name or standard is a long character string, placing the character string using the standard starting coordinates based on the layout specification code will create bias and make the layout unnatural. Sometimes it is necessary to make corrections to the writing.

In such a case, input corrections from the keyboard 26, thereby correcting the codes and data in the I/F 23 and RAM 12, and configuring the optimal layout while looking at the CRT 24 [Steps (13) to (16)] .

Then, if the correction is not necessary or if the correction has been completed in the above procedure, a registration instruction is given from the keyboard 26 [step (13)].

(16)→(17)].

When this registration instruction is received, the first purchase point advertisement information stored in the RAM 12 as converted code data is transferred to the I/F 14 and written to a predetermined address area of the FDb [Step (18) ].

In addition, along with this writing, the project information included in the first purchase point advertisement information in the RAM 12 is also written.
Load to F20 [Step (19)].

This project information includes the unit price, quantity, etc. of the advertisement.

Therefore, the I/F 20 edits and creates form print data such as cover letters and sales slips based on the data loaded in the RAM 13 (data for editing and creating forms), and causes the printer 21 to print out the forms. Step (20)
(21)].

The above steps (7) to (21) are performed in the RAM 12.
The process is executed for each advertisement information until all the loaded point-of-purchase advertisement information has been processed, and when all the processing is completed, converted point-of-purchase advertisement information that can be input directly to the block printing device is written to the FDb. This means that
In addition, documents such as cover letters and sales slips have been created [Step (22)].

Therefore, when the FDb is taken out from the FDD 15 [step (24)] and set in the block printing device, continuous block printing becomes possible immediately.

In this embodiment, the advertising information at the time of purchase from the requester is supplied via a magnetic tape, but the advertisement information may also be supplied via a communication line, in which case the CCU l9.
will receive the information and write the received information to RAM 12. Furthermore, if the CCU 19 is provided, the copy printing device is also equipped with a communication function, so that the converted point-of-purchase advertisement information can be directly transmitted to the printing device without using the FDb.

[Effects of the Invention] By having the above configuration, the present invention has the following effects.

The invention of claim (1) depends on! By converting the code and data of the point-of-purchase advertising information supplied from the I party into a format that can be analyzed and processed by the block printing device, input operations to the block printing device can be omitted and the point-of-purchase advertising information can be obtained. Significantly reduces the time required from start to finish printing. For example, with the conventional procedure, it took an average of 13 hours to print 255 types of advertisements.
By using the processing apparatus of the present invention, the time can be shortened to about 3.5 hours.

Furthermore, since no manual input operation is required except when special corrections are required, input errors can be prevented and the operator's labor can be significantly reduced.

The invention as claimed in claim (2) automatically outputs documents such as cover letters and sales slips before drafting, based on project information included in point-of-purchase advertisement information, thereby eliminating the need for conventional document creation work. Significantly reduce the huge amount of man-hours and time required.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a system circuit diagram of a processing device for point-of-purchase advertisement information, and Fig. 3 is a code/data conversion process, a form creation process, etc. by the processing device. A flowchart showing the procedure, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are diagrams showing examples of point-of-purchase advertisements, respectively. l... Storage means 2... Format conversion table 3... Instruction input means 4... Access means 5...
Block printing device 6...Storage medium 7...Writing means
8...Communication means 9...Detection means lO...Form data editing means Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. Fig. Fig.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a printing system that prints a draft manuscript based on point-of-purchase advertisement information supplied from a client via a storage medium or communication means, a storage means for accumulating input point-of-purchase advertisement information; Correspondence with each corresponding code in a format that can be analyzed and processed by the block printing device in correspondence with various paper specification codes, layout specification codes, advertisement content attribute codes, and advertisement content specification data specified by the client regarding point-of-purchase advertisements. Using the format conversion table storing the data, the instruction input means, and the instructions from the instruction input means, the paper designation code, layout designation code, advertising content designation code, and advertising content designation data are respectively detected from the point-of-purchase advertising information in the storage device. and an access means for searching a format conversion table based on each detection code and the detection data and reading out the corresponding conversion code and conversion data, and each conversion code and conversion read by the access means from the format conversion table. A processing device for point-of-purchase advertisement information, characterized in that it is equipped with a writing means for writing data into a storage medium set in a printing device, or a communication means for transmitting the conversion code and conversion data to the printing device. . (2) It includes a detection means for detecting the client's project information from the storage means, a form data editing means, and a form printing device, and the client's project information is included in the input point-of-purchase advertising information. The point-of-purchase advertisement according to claim (1), wherein the form data editing means edits form creation data based on the project information detected by the detection means, and the form printing device outputs a form related to the project. Information processing device.