KR100522358B1 - Digital photo printing service method based on internet - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of providing a digital photo printing service online or offline to a customer through a network of an offline business terminal, an online business, a local photo lab, and a service manager based on the Internet.

The present invention is a method of printing a digital photo by receiving an image print order through a terminal installed in an online operator or an offline business, and designating a laboratory closest to the offline company of the final destination among the online laboratories and transmitting the image.

Description

Internet based digital photo printing service method {DIGITAL PHOTO PRINTING SERVICE METHOD BASED ON INTERNET}

Current digital photo printing service is classified into online service, printing by automatic photo printing machine and printing by photo lab.

The online photo printing service selects the service you want online, selects the service you want, and sends the photo you want to print to the online company. It is costly and takes a long time to deliver. Some companies allow customers to go directly to a few spots, but this is too much for customers to use because the spots are set by the convenience of the company. In addition, when developing digital photos through online companies, images must be uploaded online. However, in this case, since the online operators receive all the images and then send them back to the laboratories, the traffic increases and the transmission speed is slow. There is this.

In addition, the prints in the laboratories have to go directly to the laboratories, but it is difficult to find the laboratories close to the customer's location, and there is an inconvenience in that they must be adjusted to the operating hours of the laboratories.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, a customer who wants to print a digital picture does not need to send an image to an online company through a computer, inserting a memory through a terminal installed in an offline business and the image from the terminal to the service manager server When the list is sent, the service manager server searches for the shop closest to the offline business that the customer wants to receive, sends the lab code to the terminal, and sends the image to the lab from the terminal installed in the offline business. This saves time so that customers can spend less time getting prints.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is based on the present invention, the digital photo printing service method based on the present invention is a network of offline business terminals, online operators, local photo laboratories, and service managers to provide digital photo printing services to customers online or offline. In the digital photo printing service based on the provided Internet, (a) the digital photo printing service provider connects offline businesses close to the laboratory with a network, and each laboratory terminal is formed with a plurality of offline business terminals. Storing it in a database in advance; (b) receiving a request from the offline business terminal to receive information about a destination for the offline business selected by the customer to receive a photo and requesting to provide a lab code; (c) retrieving a laboratory connected to the destination from a previously stored offline business database and a laboratory code database; (m) confirming whether the laboratory which is the search result is in service; (d) selecting a laboratory code corresponding to the laboratory as a result of the search and transmitting it to an offline business terminal; (e) transmitting the images to be printed from the customer terminal and the service provider server corresponding to the laboratory code from the offline business terminal, the image list, the quantity, the range, the size, the delivery method, and the receiving region; ; And (f) transmitting the print information from the lab terminal to the developing unit to start photo printing.

In addition, the digital photo printing service method based on the Internet for solving the above problems, before the step (b), (g) reading the image of the memory inserted into the terminal and outputting to the display unit of the terminal; (h) receiving an image list from a customer and storing the image list in an image list database of a storage unit of the terminal; (i) storing the selected image in an image database of a storage unit in the terminal; (j) selecting a quantity, a printing range, a size, etc. of a photo to be printed from a customer and storing it in a database of a storage unit in the terminal; (k) receiving delivery information regarding a delivery method and a receiving region of a photograph from a customer and storing the information in a database of a storage unit in the terminal; And (l) outputting order details and performing payment processing from the payment system.

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In addition, in order to solve the above problem, in the step (b), the digital photo printing service provider server is a plurality of laboratory from the offline business database and the laboratory code database, which are stored in advance, when there are a plurality of offline businesses which are destinations selected by the customer. The code is searched for and confirmed.

In the present invention, the offline business terminal is characterized in that to store the images provided from the customer to a portable recording medium, such as CD or DVD.

In addition, the offline business terminal in the present invention is characterized in that the image directly from the customer to send directly to the server of the online print company subscribed by the customer.

In addition, the offline business terminal in the present invention is characterized in that the image can be transmitted from the wireless mobile communication device via a wireless or cable.

In addition, the present invention, the digital photo printing service method based on the Internet is characterized in that it can provide an additional service for producing a fancy goods printed calendar, album CD or photo in addition to the photo printing service. In addition, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention is characterized in that the additional service provider close to the laboratory additionally connected to the network to transmit the image from the laboratory to the additional service provider.

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In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a digital photo printing based on the Internet, which provides a digital photo printing service to a customer online or offline through a network of an offline business terminal, an online operator, a local photo lab, and a service management company. A service comprising: (a) networking offline businesses close to a laboratory and storing in a database in advance; (b) receiving from the online operator program a destination information about the off-line business that the customer has chosen to receive the photo and requesting to provide the lab code; (c) retrieving a laboratory connected to the destination from a previously stored offline business database and a laboratory code database; (d) selecting a laboratory code corresponding to the laboratory as a result of the search and transmitting it to an online operator program; (e) transmitting the print image and image list, quantity, range, size and delivery method received from the customer from the online operator program to the lab terminal and the service provider server corresponding to the lab code, and printing information about the receiving region; ; And (f) transmitting the print information from the lab terminal to the developing unit to start photo printing. In addition, in order to solve the above problem, an offline business terminal, an online operator, a local photo lab, and service management are provided. An internet based digital photo printing system in which a company forms a network and provides a digital photo printing service to a customer online or offline, the offline operator terminal comprising: (a) a memory reading unit for reading an image of an inserted memory; (b) a display unit for outputting and displaying the read image; (c) an information storage unit for storing the print information of the image list, the image, the quantity of the photo to be printed, the printing range, the size, the delivery method, and the receiving region from the customer; (d) payment unit for outputting the order history and payment processing from the payment system; And (e) an information transmitting / receiving unit which transmits / receives destination information and print information to a service provider server and receives a laboratory code from the service provider server. And a memory reader for reading the image of the inserted memory in the offline operator terminal is characterized in that it is connected to an external device that can immediately output the image as a picture. And a photo lab, a service for solving the above problems In an Internet-based digital photo printing system in which a management company forms a network and provides digital photo printing services to customers online or offline, the service provider server stores offline business information in an offline business database, and stores offline business and network. A data storage unit for storing a laboratory code of a laboratory to form a laboratory code database; A retrieval unit that receives information about a destination from an offline operator terminal and searches for a laboratory close to an offline operator as a recipient; It is characterized in that it comprises an information transmitting and receiving unit for receiving the destination information from the offline operator terminal and transmits the laboratory code to the laboratory terminal.

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

Figure 1 shows the entire system for providing a digital photo printing service offline based on the present inventors, offline operator terminal 101, photo printer 102, service provider server 103, laboratory terminal 104 , Digital photo printer 105, delivery program 106.

The offline operator terminal 101 is connected to the Internet, and is equipped with a memory reader capable of reading seven memories, a hard disk of at least 10 gigabytes, and a touch screen for the customer to check and select a photo. If you want to print a photo printer 102 that is used for instant printing is connected to the terminal by USB.

The service provider server 103 searches for a laboratory closest to an offline business of a delivery destination connected to a network from an offline operator terminal in an online and offline-based digital photo printing service method of the present invention, and provides a service for informing the laboratory to an offline operator terminal. .

The lab terminal 104 receives print information from an offline operator terminal and transmits the print information to a developer connected to the lab terminal to print a digital picture.

When the digital photo developing device 105 receives print information and an image from a photo lab terminal, the digital photo developing unit 105 receives a photo printing command to develop a digital photo. The delivery program 106 receives the developed photo from the laboratory and delivers it to the offline operator who is the designated recipient.

FIG. 2 shows an entire system for providing a digital photo printing service online based on the present inventors' Internet. The online operator program 201, a service provider server 202, a laboratory terminal 203, and a digital photo printer are shown in FIG. 204, delivery program 205, and offline business operator 206.

The online entrepreneur program 201 is a program for developing digital images uploaded by a customer by ordering photo prints through an online site.

The service provider server 202 serves to provide a laboratory code to an offline operator terminal by searching for a laboratory connected to a network closest to the offline business which is a destination selected by a customer in the online and offline digital photo printing service methods of the present inventors.

The lab terminal 203 receives print information from an online operator program and transmits the print information to a developer connected to the lab terminal to print a digital picture.

When the digital photo developing device 105 receives print information and an image from a photo lab terminal, the digital photo developing unit 105 receives a photo printing command to develop a digital photo.

Thereafter, the photo developed by the delivery program 106 is delivered to the off-line business 206, which is a designated destination.

3 is a flow chart of a digital photo printing service offline based on the present inventors Internet.

First, customers who want to print pictures taken with a digital camera go to order prints from their offline businesses. At this time, the offline business may be a convenient place for customers such as convenience stores, PC rooms, photo shops, laboratories, and the like. The offline business has a terminal with a memory reader and a touch screen that can read the memory of the seven existing digital cameras, which are connected to the Internet and have at least 10 gigabytes of hard disk and customer photos. Equipped with a selectable touch screen. Memory card types include memory sticks, CF cards, smart media, and flash memory.

The customer inserts the memory he brought into the terminal with the help of an offline business employee, and the terminal outputs a list of images read from the memory to the touch screen (301). If the customer wants to print all the images, he presses the "Print All" button and selects the size of the photo to be printed. When the customer wants to print each picture in a different size, or only a part of the pictures, he selects 302 a picture or image list that he wants to print. The terminal stores the selected image on a storage medium, and in the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal stores the image on a hard disk (303). Both the analog photo printer and the digital photo printer do not print the entire image, but a portion of the photo is cut. This is called trimming. The conventional method determines the range to be printed on the same basis for all images. The customer can select the range he / she wants, and of course, if the customer does not select a range, the range is automatically set. The terminal also receives an input 304 of the quantity and size from the customer. Next, the terminal receives the shipping information from the customer (305). The shipping information is where the customer will receive the photo, allowing them to choose the offline business that is most accessible to them. In this case, when a customer ordering a photo phenomenon wants to designate a plurality of offline businesses as a destination, a plurality of offline businesses may be selected as a destination. In other words, when a customer takes a picture with several people, each member in the picture can select the offline business that is most accessible to each other. In this case, the phenomenon occurs at each laboratory closest to each offline business and delivers to each offline business. Each member can receive photos quickly and conveniently.

When the terminal outputs the order details and the customer presses a print button to order prints, the roll printer of the terminal outputs a list of images to be printed and a price receipt and payment is made with the help of the employee (306).

When the payment is made, the terminal requests the service provider server to designate a laboratory for developing the images ordered. That is, since the service provider server stores a laboratory code relating to a laboratory connected to an offline operator terminal with a network in a database, the terminal requests a laboratory code to the service provider server (307) and transmits the destination information (308). The service provider server searches (309) a laboratory closest to the recipient's offline business from a laboratory code database and an offline provider database connected to a network stored in advance, and determines whether the searched laboratory is currently in service (310). The laboratory code is determined (312). If not currently in service, another laboratory close to the addressee is searched to determine the laboratory code.

The service provider server transmits the determined laboratory code to the offline operator terminal (313), and the offline operator terminal is a laboratory terminal corresponding to the laboratory code, and the quantity, range, and size of the image list, image, and photo stored in the hard disk. And print information including the shipping information (315). If the number of pictures to be printed by the customer is large, it is not sent to the laboratories in a short time. Therefore, the terminal automatically sends print information including an image according to network conditions, and the received images are received at the laboratories until a certain time the next day. In other words, the laboratory terminal should be connected to the offline operator's terminal, but also connected to the digital photo printer.

In the laboratory terminal, a program staff checks the print information and presses the print button of the developer to automatically send an image to the digital photo developing device for printing, or to send the image to the digital photo developing device with minimal work. Therefore, the developing device can print the picture while minimizing the manpower demand by receiving print information from the lab terminal. Digital photo printers have a small list of images, making it easy to sort by customer. In this way, the photos printed by customers are classified by the offline businesses to be delivered, and then delivered to each offline business from a certain time. Since 5 to 10 convenience stores are assigned to each lab and the convenience stores are determined to be close to the lab, it is not difficult to deliver them before 5 o'clock when office workers leave the office when they are looking for photos. Delivery may be provided by the operator, or may be directly delivered to each laboratory.

If the customer wants to print and find the picture on the fly, press the instant print button and the picture is printed on the photo printer connected to the terminal on the fly, and the customer can find the printed picture. In addition to photo printing, the service also provides various services such as calendars, album CDs, shirts with pictures, and cushions with pictures, which are currently offered by online companies. In the case of offline ordering, the customer can directly check and touch offline and then order the desired photo through the terminal. In case of such additional service, it takes a certain time to manufacture, and all the laboratories do not have the equipment to produce the additional service product. Therefore, a few companies are selected and produced in each region, and then delivered in a manner desired by the customer.

You can also download images from the digital camera's memory via an offline terminal and make them on a CD. In addition, images can be sent directly to the server of the online service provider that the user subscribed to, so that the user does not have to work twice. In this case, online service companies can use their services not only online, but also offline, which makes it easier to secure customers and prints the obtained images on their sites, thereby generating additional profits.

The service also works with mobile carriers to print photos taken with cell phones equipped with digital cameras. You can wirelessly transfer images from your mobile phone to an online service provider or your personal computer, but you will need to pay an additional fee. However, if you use an offline terminal with a connection cable provided with your mobile phone, you can print pictures without paying these costs. You can create a CD and save it to your computer.

In addition, service providers are responsible for the production and supply of photo print terminals, after-sales service, laboratories, and the allocation and distribution of off-line companies to laboratories, business advertisements, and delivery delays. Can be.

4 is a flow chart of a digital photo printing service online based on the present inventors Internet. The customer visits an operator's online site or an affiliate's online site and uses a service such as photo editing, which is similar to the current online printing service, to order prints. Operators providing print services in an online site receive an upload (401) image to print from a customer who wants to print a picture taken with a digital camera through a connection through the Internet. The image list to be printed is selected (402) and the selected image is stored in the image storage of the server (403). Thereafter, a quantity, range, and size of the photo to be printed are input (404). Here, the quantity, range, and size matters are the same as in the case of a digital photo printing service offline. Then, the customer receives the input of the delivery information (405). Similar to the existing online printing service, the customer can generally be delivered by courier or registered mail, or can select an offline business that is easily accessible to the customer. After that, the order history output and payment processing 406 is performed, and a process code is requested to the service provider server from the online site, and the process thereafter is as described with reference to FIG. 3. That is, the photo phenomenon is assigned to a laboratory close to the offline company where the customer will find a photo and prints it. The lab prints the pictures received by a certain time and delivers them to the designated offline company. The customer finds the photo he ordered where he wants. Here, the offline business becomes a convenience store, a PC room, a photo shop, and a laboratory that are easily accessible to customers. An online company can be an existing online business or a new company.

Even if you use the print service through the online site, postage delivery requires customers to pay additional shipping fee and wait for the delivery period (2 to 3 days). If you do, you can find it within a certain delivery time. In addition, the delivery from the laboratory to the offline company may be directly delivered to each laboratory, or the operator may select and deliver the delivery company.

Likewise, the service can use not only photo prints but also various services such as calendars, album CDs, shirts with pictures, and cushions with pictures, which are currently offered by online companies.

5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an offline business terminal in a digital photo printing service on-line and off-line based on the present invention.

The terminal is a device that can read the memory used in the digital camera through the memory reader 508, and can read all seven existing memories, and can be connected via USB and directly connected to the system board. That is, when the customer inserts the memory card into the terminal, the memory reader reads the image from the memory and outputs it to the touch screen. In addition, since the terminal used in the present invention has a touch screen 501 installed, it serves as a device for displaying various information and receives data, and also allows input of letters using a keyboard screen provided from a system board. Shows the list of images provided, input the quantity, range, and size of the photos to be printed, input the shipping information, and print out the order history. The touch screen may be replaced with an input / output device having a configuration such as an LCD monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, and an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard may be added to the touch screen.

In addition, in the present invention, the system board 502 is a motherboard having a CPU, a video memory, and a flash ROM 503, and an OS is installed and serves to connect and manage various additional devices. The system board is connected to various additional devices through the bus 506. The hard disk 504 temporarily stores the images read by the memory reader and serves as a storage that is displayed on the screen through the touch screen, and temporarily stores the images along with a list of images to be printed until the system automatically transmits the images to the laboratory through the network. It can be replaced by another physical device that can store the image. The network card 505 is controlled by the system and accesses a terminal of a service provider to receive laboratory information, and transmits an image stored in a hard disk to a laboratory, and may be connected to a wired network or a wireless network (IEEE). 802.11, WLAN) or a device that can be connected to the wireless network may be connected to the device. The roll printer 507 may be replaced with another type of printer capable of outputting a list of images to be printed and a price receipt ordered by a customer and outputting various types of information, and the receipt may be output in a photo form through a photo printer. The USB 509 serves to connect to an external device such as a photo printer and may be replaced with other connection means. In addition, by connecting and installing a storage device such as a CD-RW, DVD-RW, the terminal can store the image read by the memory reader to CD, DVD and other portable storage media to provide to the customer.

So far we looked at the preferred embodiment according to the present invention. The scope of the invention

The present invention is not limited to the above-exemplified embodiments, and common knowledge in the technical field of the present invention

Naturally, it is natural to have all embodiments that can be easily derived. Meanwhile, the methods of the present invention can be written as a computer executable program, and the above programs can be recorded on a computer readable recording medium. The recording medium includes a floppy disk, hard disk, CD, memory, and the like.

In the present invention, the customer can visit the offline store and place a print order simply by touch screen without having to transfer the image in the memory of the digital photo to the computer, and if desired, the image is provided on a site provided by the online company. You can use the services such as online albums provided by online companies by sending them, and various services may be provided rather than printing by an automatic photo printer, or they may be used at a low price.

In the case of the automatic digital photo printer, it is inconvenient to wait while the photos are printed to print several photos. However, this method allows you to print any number of photos you want with minimum time and movement. In addition, if you place an order through an online company and find it through an offline company, you can find photos in a short time and one visit.

In the case of offline operators, they can make additional profits without additional investment by utilizing existing manpower, and as the number of customers who visit the stores of offline operators increases, it is possible to expect additional profits from customers who want to print photographs as well as advertising effects. In the case of convenience stores, customers who print photographs visit at least two convenience stores, so more photo print customers can generate more sales.

In the case of local laboratories with a digital developing machine, profits are declining because a large number of digital photo prints are generated online, and the appearance of automatic digital photo printing machines is a hit on the sales of laboratories, threatening the survival of the laboratories. There is a certain amount of profit can be expected even without investing through the photo printing service of the present invention can be a great help for the survival of the laboratory. In the case of online companies, the introduction of offline delivery in the fierce competition among online companies can provide a competitive advantage compared to other online companies and eliminate shipping fees, thereby providing products to customers at a lower price.

In the present invention, since both the order and the phenomenon of the photo occurs in the area where the customer lives or uses, it may be helpful to the independence and vitalization of the local economy, thereby contributing to the community economy.

1 is a block diagram of an entire system for providing a digital photo printing service in a terminal installed in an offline business based on the present inventors Internet.

2 is a block diagram of an entire system for providing a digital photo printing service online based on the present inventors Internet.

3 is a flow chart of a digital photo printing service method provided by a terminal installed in an offline business based on the present inventors Internet.

4 is a flowchart for providing a digital photo printing service online based on the present inventors Internet.

5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an offline business terminal in a digital photo printing service based on the present invention.

Claims (15)

In the Internet-based digital photo printing service, which is a network of offline business terminals, online operators, local photo labs, and service providers to provide digital photo printing services to customers online or offline, (a) a digital photo printing service provider connects offline businesses close to a laboratory to a network, and each laboratory terminal is formed with a plurality of offline business terminals and stored in a database in advance; (b) receiving a request from the offline business terminal to receive information about a destination for the offline business selected by the customer to receive a photo and requesting to provide a lab code; (c) retrieving a laboratory connected to the destination from a previously stored offline business database and a laboratory code database; (m) confirming whether the laboratory which is the search result is in service; (d) selecting a laboratory code corresponding to the laboratory as a result of the search and transmitting it to an offline business terminal; (e) transmitting the images to be printed from the customer terminal and the service provider server corresponding to the laboratory code from the offline business terminal, the image list, the quantity, the range, the size, the delivery method, and the receiving region; ; And and (f) transmitting the print information from the lab terminal to the developing unit to start photo printing. The method of claim 1, wherein before step (b) (g) reading, by the offline business terminal, an image of the memory inserted into the terminal and outputting the image to the display unit of the terminal; (h) receiving an image list from a customer and storing the image list in an image list database of a storage unit of the terminal; (i) storing the selected image in an image database of a storage unit in the terminal; (j) selecting a quantity, a printing range, a size, etc. of a photo to be printed from a customer and storing it in a database of a storage unit in the terminal; (k) receiving delivery information regarding a delivery method and a receiving region of a photograph from a customer and storing the information in a database of a storage unit in the terminal; And (l) outputting the order history and payment processing from the payment system further comprising the Internet-based digital photo printing service method. delete The process of claim 1, wherein in step (b) The digital photo printing service provider server searches for and confirms a plurality of laboratory codes from a prestored offline business database and a laboratory code database when there are a plurality of offline businesses that are selected by the customer. How to print your photos. delete The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, The off-line business terminal is a digital photo printing service method based on the Internet, characterized in that for storing the images provided from the customer to a portable recording medium. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, The off-line business terminal is a digital photo printing service method based on the Internet, characterized in that for transmitting the image provided from the customer directly to the server of the online print company subscribed to by the customer. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, The off-line business terminal is a digital photo printing service method based on the Internet, characterized in that the image can be transmitted from the wireless mobile communication device via wireless or cable. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, A digital photo printing service method based on the Internet, characterized in that, in addition to the photo printing service, a calendar, an album CD, or an additional service of manufacturing fancy goods printed on a photo may be provided. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4, An Internet-based digital photo printing service method characterized by transmitting an image from a laboratory to an additional service provider by additionally connecting an additional service provider close to a laboratory. In the Internet-based digital photo printing service, which is a network of offline business terminals, online operators, local photo labs, and service managers to provide digital photo printing services to customers online or offline, (a) networking offline businesses close to the laboratory and storing in advance in a database; (b) receiving information from the on-line operator program and receiving site information on the off-line business that the customer has chosen to receive the photo, and requesting to provide the lab code; (c) retrieving a laboratory connected to the destination from a previously stored offline business database and a laboratory code database; (d) selecting a laboratory code corresponding to the laboratory as a result of the search and transmitting it to an online operator program; (e) transmitting image information to the lab terminal corresponding to the lab code from the online entrepreneur program and print information about the image list, quantity, range, size, delivery method, and receiving region; And and (f) transmitting the print information from the lab terminal to the developing unit to start photo printing. delete delete delete 12. A recording medium on which a program capable of executing the method of any one of claims 1, 2, 4, and 6 to 11 is executed by a computer.