Server

Abstract

To maintain the print quality of distribution information and ensure the effects of the distribution information.SOLUTION: An advertisement providing server 100 includes: a communication unit 140; a memory unit 115 that stores a user ID or a printer 200 ID that identifies a printer 200 or a user of the printer 200; and a control unit 110. The control unit 110 distributes distribution information to the printer 200 via the communication unit 140 in S30, acquires quality information related to the print quality of the distribution information distributed in S30 in S220, and grants points corresponding to the quality information acquired in S220 to the user ID or the printer 200 ID in S200, S36 and S37.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a server that distributes information to a printer to cause it to print. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, a technique is known in which an advertisement providing server receives an advertisement information acquisition request from a host device of a user of an image recording device and transmits the advertisement information to the host device. When the advertisement providing server receives an advertisement printing completion notification from the host device, the advertisement providing server gives points to the user according to the advertisement printing. The user can receive a rebate service from the advertisement client according to the points. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-196540 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The system described in Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for issuing points to users who print advertisements. However, no particular consideration is given to the case where the image quality of the actually printed advertisement is poor and the effectiveness of the advertisement is insufficient.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a server capable of maintaining the print quality of distributed information and ensuring the effectiveness of the distributed information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides a server comprising a communication interface, a memory for storing identification information for identifying a printer or a user of the printer, and a controller, wherein the controller executes an information distribution process for distributing distribution information to the printer via the communication interface, an information acquisition process for acquiring quality information related to the printing quality of the distribution information distributed in the information distribution process, and a reward granting process for granting a reward to the identification information according to the quality information acquired in the information acquisition process.

[0007] In the present invention, the controller executes an information distribution process, an information acquisition process, and a reward granting process. In the information distribution process, distribution information is distributed to a printer, and the printer prints the distribution information. In the information acquisition process, quality information related to the print quality of the printed distribution information is acquired. In the reward granting process, a reward according to the acquired quality information is granted to the user's identification information or the printer's identification information. As a result, the present invention provides a reward to a user or printer who prints distributed information with a predetermined quality, thereby motivating the user to improve print quality. According to the present invention, the print quality of the distributed information can be maintained, and the effectiveness of the distributed information can be ensured. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the print quality of the distributed information can be maintained and the effectiveness of the distributed information can be ensured. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an information distribution system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 11 is a sequence flow illustrating an example of a flow of a process executed by cooperation between an advertisement providing server, an advertisement management server, a user management server, a terminal device, and a printer. [Diagram 3] 13 is a flowchart showing control operations executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in an image creation process. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing control operations executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in a point calculation process. [Diagram 5] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of correspondence between printer model numbers and base points. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart illustrating control executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in a point calculation process in a modified example in which a point award rate is determined according to a consumption amount of a consumable item. [Figure 7] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the association between a printer model number and a compensation point unit price. FIG. [Figure 8] 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the association between a printer model number and a basic point unit price. FIG. [Figure 9] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a calculation of compensation points, an example of a calculation of basic points, and an example of a calculation of total points. FIG. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart illustrating control executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in a point calculation process in a modified example in which a point allocation rate is determined according to print settings. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the appearance of a printed advertisement including a two-dimensional code in a modified example in which points to be awarded are determined based on the results of reading the two-dimensional code in the printed advertisement. FIG. [Figure 12] 11 is a sequence flow illustrating an example of a flow of a process executed by cooperation between an advertisement providing server, an advertisement management server, a user management server, a terminal device, and a printer. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing control operations executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in an image creation process. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing control operations executed by a control unit of an advertisement providing server in a point calculation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an information distribution system in which advertising information is distributed from a server to a printer and printed.

[0011] <Overall configuration of information distribution system> FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an information delivery system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information delivery system 1 includes an advertisement providing server (SSP: Supply Side Platform) 100, a printer 200, a terminal device 300, a user management server (DMP: Data Management Platform) 400, and an advertisement management server (DSP: Demand Side Plartform) 500. The servers 100, 400, 500, the printer 200, and the terminal device 300 each include a communication unit and can communicate with each other via a network NT. The network NT includes at least one of the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and a WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication unit may include multiple types of communication circuits for connecting to the network NT. In this case, devices connected to the network NT may communicate with multiple other devices using different communication circuits. In this embodiment, the multiple types of communication circuits are collectively referred to as a communication unit.

[0012] <Terminal device> The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user, and in this example, is connected to the network NT via wireless communication. The terminal device 300 may be any appropriate terminal other than the printer 200, and may be, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, or the like, other than a smartphone. Alternatively, the terminal device 300 may be a portable terminal or a stationary terminal provided for song selection, menu selection, product viewing, and the like in karaoke booths and various stores. The terminal device 300 has a display unit 301, a control unit 310, and an operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, and the like (not shown). Various programs are stored in the storage unit. A user ID, which is identification information of a user who owns or uses the terminal device 300, is associated with the terminal device 300. The control unit 310 executes various programs stored in the storage unit. The various programs include a program that executes a process shown in the flow of FIG. 2 described later.

[0013] The display unit 301 is configured, for example, by a touch panel that also serves as an operation unit, which is an integral combination of a liquid crystal display and a touch pad, and displays various types of information and accepts various input operations by the user.

[0014] A user can input various instructions to the terminal device 300 by operating the touch panel. A user can receive external services from outside the system via the Internet (registered trademark) by operating the touch panel. The external service is, for example, a service that can be used using a predetermined terminal other than the printer, and provides user information held in association with an external user ID for advertising targeting. Specifically, the external service is a service provided by a business operator other than the vendor that provides the printer, such as a payment service provider including QR code (registered trademark) payment and credit card payment, an ad network provider, an advertising platform provider, an EC mall operator or a social media provider including a retailer SNS, a service provider using various apps, a service provider such as a transportation IC card, a ride-sharing service provider such as a taxi app or a food delivery service, a service provider that has OTA (online travel agent) user identification information and user attribute / behavior information and uses the information for operational advertising (web advertising, SNS advertising), etc. The external service may be a service other than a service using a printer. An external user ID is given to a user as identification information unique to the user when receiving various external services. The external user ID is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 100 as described below, and is associated with the printer 200 specified by the user, for example, the printer ID of the printer 200 used by the user. The advertisement providing server 100 stores the external user ID and the printer ID as associated information.

[0015] <User management server> The user management server 400 manages user information via the terminal device 300. The user management server 400 has a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, etc. (not shown). The user information managed by the user management server 400 includes, for example, the user's gender, age, place of residence, occupation, place of employment, annual income, family structure, or behavioral information. The behavioral information includes, for example, the user's website browsing history, website search history, web advertisement display history, website click history, website purchase history, payment amount information, store information, GPS information, etc., when the user uses the above external service using the terminal device 300. The user's behavioral information is associated with the user's external user ID and is identified by the external user ID. The behavioral information of all users who use the external service is associated with the external user ID of each user and stored in the behavioral information database 401 of the storage unit.

[0016] In this embodiment, the user's behavioral information associated with the external user ID is further converted into the form of corresponding user interest information and compiled. The user interest information is a user's item of interest that is set in advance in association with the content of the behavioral information, such as "cars," "health," "travel," "food," and "savings." The user interest information may also be information indicating the user's location (e.g., "Tokyo") estimated based on the content of the behavioral information. The user interest information associated with each external user ID in this way is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 100 via the communication unit.

[0017] <Advertisement server> The advertisement providing server 100 is, for example, a server installed and managed by a manufacturer of the printer 200. The advertisement providing server 100 acquires the user interest information linked to an external user ID corresponding to the printer ID of the destination printer 200 at a predetermined timing, and receives an advertisement image suitable for the user interest information from the advertisement management server 500. The advertisement providing server 100 distributes the acquired advertisement image to the printer 200 and causes it to print. The advertisement providing server 100 is an example of a server, and the advertisement image is an example of distribution information.

[0018] In detail, the advertisement providing server 100 has a control unit 110, a storage unit 115, a communication unit 140, and the like. The control unit 110 is an example of a controller, the communication unit 140 is an example of a communication interface, and the storage unit 115 is an example of a memory. The control unit 110, the storage unit 115, the communication unit 140, and the like are connected via a bus 105 so as to be able to transmit and receive information. The storage unit 115 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, a HDD, and the like. The storage unit 115 stores various programs 120 and various data 130. The various programs 120 include an information distribution program that executes the control contents of the advertisement providing server 100 shown in the flow of FIG. 2 described later, and the various data 130 include the above-mentioned user interest information, the printer ID of the printer 200, an external user ID, a user account, an advertisement image, and the like. This printer ID is linked to each of the user accounts and external user IDs of at least one user who uses the printer 200.

[0019] The control unit 110 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 110 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 115. The control unit 110 performs various processes including data communication with the printer 200, the terminal device 300, the user management server 400, and the advertisement management server 500 connected to the network NT. The communication unit 140 includes hardware for connecting to the network NT, such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to Ethernet, and performs communication between the printer 200, the terminal device 300, the user management server 400, and the advertisement management server 500.

[0020] <Advertisement management server> The advertisement management server 500 transmits an advertisement image to be printed by the printer 200 to the advertisement providing server 100. The advertisement management server 500 has a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, etc., not shown, and in this example, receives a bid request from the advertisement providing server 100 through the communication unit. The network NT is connected to terminal devices or servers of multiple advertisers, not shown, and the control unit of the advertisement management server 500 executes an auction corresponding to the bid request for advertisement images submitted by the advertisers, and acquires advertisement images suitable for the user interest information by bidding for the auction. The advertisement management server 500 may acquire the behavior information directly from the user management server 400 or indirectly via the advertisement providing server 100 instead of the user interest information, and acquire advertisement images suitable for the behavior information by bidding for the auction. When a successful bid that meets the predetermined conditions of the auction is made, the control unit of the advertisement management server 500 acquires a corresponding advertisement image from the terminal device, etc., of the advertiser who is the successful bidder. The acquired advertising image is transmitted from the advertising management server 500 to the advertising providing server 100 via the communication unit, and is further transmitted from the advertising providing server 100 to the printer 200 for printing. Note that the advertising providing server 100 may acquire the advertising image from the advertising management server 500, or the advertising management server 500 may further acquire an advertising image from another external server and transmit it to the advertising providing server 100.

[0021] Each of the above-mentioned servers 100, 400, and 500 may be composed of one single "server", or may be composed of multiple servers. Alternatively, at least two of the functions of the servers 100, 400, and 500 may be provided in one single "server".

[0022] <Printer> The printer 200 is assigned the printer ID described above. The printer ID is an example of identification information for identifying a printer. The printer 200 has a control unit 210, a memory unit 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication unit 260, a printing unit 270, a cartridge holder 280, and the like. The control unit 210, the memory unit 215, the display unit 240, the operation unit 250, the communication unit 260, and the printing unit 270 are connected via a bus 205 so as to be able to transmit and receive information.

[0023] The storage unit 215 is composed of, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, a HDD, and the like. The storage unit 215 stores various programs 220 and various data 230. The various programs 220 include, for example, a program for executing the control content of the printer 200 according to the flow shown in FIG. 2 described later. The various data 230 include the above-mentioned printer ID, and an advertisement image received from the advertisement providing server 100, acquired from a terminal device of a successful bidder among the advertisers, and transmitted from the advertisement providing server 100. Alternatively, in addition to the above, for example, performance information of the printer 200 for monochrome printing / color printing, specification information, use information such as home / office use, destination information, and the like may be stored in the storage unit 215. Furthermore, the number of printed sheets by the printing execution by the printing unit 270, and the like may be stored in the storage unit 215. Note that at least a part of the above various data may be stored in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. Alternatively, at least a part of the original data may be stored in one of the storage unit 215 of the printer 200 and the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100, and copy data of the original data may be stored in the other one of them.

[0024] The control unit 210 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 210 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 215. The display unit 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and can display various information. The operation unit 250 is, for example, a keyboard, buttons, etc., and accepts input operations by the user. The user can input various instructions to the printer 200 by operating the operation unit 250. The communication unit 260 is connected to the network NT, and can communicate with the advertisement providing server 100, the advertisement management server 500, the user management server 400, and the terminal device 300. The printing unit 270 includes a print engine, and forms and prints an image on the printing paper, for example, by an inkjet method, while taking out the printing paper from a paper tray and transporting it using a transport mechanism (not shown).

[0025] The cartridge holder 280 is configured to be able to house the cartridge 285. The cartridge 285 is configured with cartridges of multiple ink colors, such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The cartridge holder 280 is provided with an ink amount sensor (not shown) capable of detecting the remaining amount or consumed amount of each of the cartridges of multiple ink colors by a known method. Ink is an example of a consumable item. Note that the above-mentioned printing paper may also be an example of a consumable item (described later).

[0026] The printing unit 270 performs printing processing while consuming ink from the cartridge 285. The reader / writer 290 is provided in the cartridge holder 280. The reader / writer 290 reads and writes cartridge information from an IC chip provided in the cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280. For example, the reader / writer 290 detects the type, etc., of the cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280 by reading the cartridge information from the IC chip. Note that the amount of ink used or remaining in the cartridge 285 may be detected by the above reading by the reader / writer 290.

[0027] <Processing flow> In the information delivery system 1, first, the advertisement providing server 100 stores the external user ID and the printer ID in the storage unit 115 in association with each other. Specifically, the advertisement providing server 100 receives a request for a web page of the advertisement delivery service from a web browser running on the terminal device 300, and transmits display information of the web page to the terminal device 300, thereby causing the display unit 301 of the terminal device 300 to display the web page screen. The terminal device 300 inputs a user account including a user ID and a password based on a user's operation on the web page screen. The input user account is stored in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. Next, the terminal device 300 accepts input of the printer ID and external user ID of the printer 200 to which the advertisement is to be delivered, and transmits the accepted information to the advertisement providing server 100. The advertisement providing server 100 associates the external user ID and printer ID received from the terminal device 300 with the user account and stores them in the storage unit 115. At this time, the advertisement providing server 100 may receive the advertisement delivery time desired by the user from the terminal device 300 based on the user's operation on the web page screen, and store the advertisement delivery time in the storage unit 115 in association with the external user ID.

[0028] In the information delivery system 1 in which the external user ID and the printer ID are associated as described above, the user interest information linked to the external user ID is acquired by the advertisement providing server 100, and an advertisement image suitable for the user interest information corresponding to the printer ID of the destination printer 200 is transmitted from the advertisement management server 500 to the printer 200 for printing. The control executed by the advertisement providing server 100, the advertisement management server 500, the user management server 400, and the printer 200 in cooperation to carry out such a process flow will be described with reference to the sequence flow in FIG.

[0029] 2, in response to the advertisement providing server 100 requesting the user management server 400 for user interest information related to the external user ID, the user management server 400 transmits the user interest information of all users generated based on the behavior information as described above to the advertisement providing server 100 together with the corresponding external user ID. Note that this S5 may be executed periodically, for example, at a fixed cycle, or at any other appropriate timing. The transmitted user interest information of all users is received by the advertisement providing server 100 in S10.

[0030] In S15, the advertisement providing server 100 determines whether it is the advertisement delivery time for any of all users for which the user interest information has been received as described above. That is, in this embodiment, the advertisement delivery time for printing and providing an advertisement image is determined in advance for each of all users. That is, for example, the external user IDs of all users, the printer IDs of the corresponding printers 200, and the corresponding advertisement delivery times are associated with each other and stored as correlations in the storage unit 115. In S15, based on this correlation, it is determined whether the current time corresponds to the advertisement delivery time for any of the users.

[0031] If it is not the advertisement delivery time for any user, the judgment in S15 is No and the process returns to S10, and the same procedure is repeated from receiving the user interest information of all users transmitted in S5 above. If it is the advertisement delivery time for any user, the judgment in S15 is Yes and the process proceeds to S20.

[0032] In S20, the external user ID and the corresponding printer ID corresponding to the determination result in S15 are identified and acquired in the advertisement providing server 100. In S20, model number information of the printer 200 corresponding to the printer ID acquired in S10 is acquired. Note that the printer model number information may be stored in the storage unit 115 in association with the printer ID, or may be acquired by accessing a server of the manufacturer of the printer 200 connected via the network NT.

[0033] In S25, the user interest information of the user corresponding to the external user ID obtained in S20 is identified and obtained from the user interest information of all users received in S10.

[0034] In S100, the advertisement providing server 100, in cooperation with the advertisement management server 500, performs a delivery image creation process for creating an advertisement image to be printed by the printer 200 based on a bid from an advertiser.

[0035] <Delivery image creation process> The control contents executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in the delivery image creation process of S100 will be described with reference to the flow shown in FIG.

[0036] 3, first, in S120, a minimum bid price for soliciting bids for an advertisement image is determined. This minimum bid price is, for example, uniquely determined in advance and stored in storage unit 115. In S120, the corresponding minimum bid price is determined based on the contents stored in storage unit 115.

[0037] In S125, a bid request is sent to the advertisement management server 500. At that time, the lowest bid price determined in S120 and the user interest information acquired in S25 of FIG. 2 are sent to the advertisement management server 500 together. In response to the sent bid request, the advertisement management server 500 executes an auction of advertisements suitable for the received user interest information and invites bids. At that time, the bid request requests advertisement images that satisfy predetermined conditions including an advertisement that matches the user interest information and a bid price equal to or higher than the lowest bid price. As described above, since the user interest information is generated based on the behavioral information, an advertisement that matches the user interest information also corresponds to an advertisement that matches the behavioral information. Note that, as described above, an advertisement image that matches the behavioral information rather than the user interest information may be acquired by bidding.

[0038] In S130, the bidding results in the auction held in response to the bid request sent in S125 are received from the advertisement management server 500. If there is a bid that satisfies the predetermined condition requested in the bid request, the received content includes the advertisement image by that bidder. If there is no bid that satisfies the predetermined condition requested in the bid request, the received content includes a message to that effect.

[0039] In S135, it is determined whether or not there is a bid that satisfies the winning conditions based on the contents received in S130. The winning conditions may be, for example, the highest bid price. Alternatively, the winning conditions may be that a predetermined condition requested in the bid request is satisfied. If there is no bid that satisfies the winning conditions, the result is No, and the process moves to S120 described above, where the same process as above is repeated. In S120, which is executed when the result in S135 is No, for example, a price lower than the initially determined minimum bid price is determined as the minimum bid price. On the other hand, if there is a bid that satisfies the winning conditions in S135, the result is Yes, and the process moves to S140.

[0040] In S140, a "hold notice" is sent to the advertisement management server 500 to notify the advertiser who submitted a bid that satisfies the bidding conditions, i.e., the successful bidder, that the bid contents have been accepted and will be stored without being deleted. This hold notice is sent by the advertisement management server 500 to the terminal device, etc., of the successful bidder.

[0041] In S145, the advertisement image of the successful bidder included in the bidding result received in S130 from the advertisement management server 500 is identified and acquired. In S150, the bidding result of the successful bidder, i.e., the advertisement image etc. acquired in S145, is stored in, for example, the storage unit 115.

[0042] In S155, a "notice of defeat" is sent to the advertisement management server 500 to notify the advertiser who submitted a bid that does not satisfy the winning conditions, i.e., the non-successful bidder, that the bid content will not be accepted because there is another successful bidder. This notice of defeat is sent by the advertisement management server 500 to the terminal device or the like of the non-successful bidder. Then, the process proceeds to S175.

[0043] In S175, a delivery image in which the advertisement image of the successful bidder is arranged, that is, a delivery image in which information including the advertisement image included in the bidding result received from the advertisement management server 500 in S130 is arranged, is created. After that, the processing of this flow ends. In S175, the advertisement providing server 100 creates the delivery image. Instead, the advertisement management server 500 may create the delivery image, and the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire the delivery image. In S175, instead of creating the delivery image, print data for printing the delivery image may be created in various page description languages. In addition, the delivery image may include multiple advertisement images. In this case, in S145, the control unit 110 may acquire advertisement images from multiple advertisers, or may acquire an advertisement image from one advertiser. In addition, the control unit 110 may create a delivery image including multiple advertisement images, or may create multiple delivery images including one or more advertisement images.

[0044] <Processing after creating the image to be distributed> Returning to FIG. 2, when S100 is completed in the advertisement providing server 100 as described above, the process proceeds to S30. In S30, the advertisement providing server 100 distributes a print instruction for the delivery image created in S175 of the delivery image creation process of S100 to the printer 200. The process executed in S30 is an example of information distribution processing. In S30, the advertisement providing server 100 may distribute the delivery image to the printer 200 via another relay device. Also, instead of distributing the delivery image to the printer 200, a page description language for printing the delivery image or a link destination of the delivery image may be transmitted to the printer 200. When the link destination of the delivery image is transmitted, the printer 200 accesses the link destination and acquires the delivery image.

[0045] The transmitted print instruction is received by the printer 200 in S30, and in S31, the printer 200 starts printing the advertisement corresponding to the delivery image included in the received print instruction. After the printing starts and one page of printing is completed, in S32, the printer 200 sends a one-page completion notification to the advertisement providing server 100, and the notification is received by the advertisement providing server 100.

[0046] <Points Awarding> In this embodiment, points are given to the user in accordance with the advertisement printing as described above, and the user can enjoy desired services in accordance with the points. The points are an example of a reward. In this example, the points are calculated by a method described below each time one page of advertisement printing is completed in the printer 200. When the advertisement providing server 100 receives the one-page completion notification in S32, the advertisement providing server 100 performs a point calculation process in S200. The control contents executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in the point calculation process in S200 will be described with reference to the flow shown in FIG. 4.

[0047] In FIG. 4, first, in S210, the corresponding base points are acquired based on the model number of the printer 200 acquired in S22 in FIG. 2 described above. The base points are based on the ink cost when, for example, the printer 200 prints one page of color on A4 size printing paper with standard print settings, and include a compensation for the ink cost consumed by the printer 200 when printing an advertisement, and a reward for printing the advertisement. In the example shown in FIG. 5, for example, the ink cost when printing one page of A4 size printing paper on the printer 200 with the model number "P-AAA" is 10 [yen], and the base points are set to 100 [pt] corresponding to this. Note that in this example, the user can utilize 1 [pt] = 1 [yen], so the base points are awarded in a conversion of 10 times the ink cost when printing A4 size. Similarly, for a printer 200 with model number "P-BBB", the ink cost for printing one page of A4 size paper is 5 yen, and the corresponding base point is set to 50 pt. For a printer 200 with model number "P-CCC", the ink cost for printing one page of A4 size paper is 3 yen, and the corresponding base point is set to 30 pt.

[0048] Returning to Fig. 4, in S220, type information of the cartridge 285 attached to the cartridge holder 280 of the printer 200 is acquired based on the detection result of the reader / writer 290. The type information here is mainly information on whether the cartridge 285 is a genuine product provided by the manufacturer for use in the printer 200, or a non-genuine product. As described above, when cartridges 285 of multiple ink colors are attached to the cartridge holder 280, type information is acquired for all of them. The type information is an example of quality information related to the print quality of the distribution information, and the process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S220 is an example of information acquisition processing.

[0049] In S230, it is determined whether all the cartridges 285 mounted in the cartridge holder 280 are genuine products based on the type information acquired in S220. Ink stored in a genuine cartridge 285 is an example of a specific type of consumable. If all the cartridges 285 are genuine products, S230 is determined as Yes, and in S240, the multiplier by which the base points are multiplied when points are calculated is set to 100%. If even one non-genuine cartridge 285 is present, S230 is determined as No, and in S250, the multiplier by which the base points are multiplied when points are calculated is set to 50%. These multipliers are associated with each type of cartridge 285 and stored in advance in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. The multiplier is an example of a reward grant rate.

[0050] In addition, when genuine cartridges 285 are prepared in a plurality of types with different ink qualities, the ink quality information may be acquired as type information, and the above-mentioned magnification may be determined according to the ink quality. In addition, the above description has been given by taking the ink in cartridge 285 of printer 200, which is an inkjet printer, as an example of a consumable, but this is not limiting. If printer 200 is, for example, a laser printer, toner in a toner cartridge may be used as a consumable. Also, the above-mentioned printing paper may be used as a consumable. In this case, paper quality information as type information may be acquired based on a user's input on an operation panel or the like provided on printer 200. The same applies to each of the modified examples described below.

[0051] After the multiplier is set in S240 or S250, the process moves to S260, and the amount of points issued for the aforementioned one page is Points issued = Base points x multiplier Then, the process shown in the routine of FIG. 4 is terminated.

[0052] 2, in the printer 200, S33 is judged as No until the advertisement printing started in S31 is completed for all pages, a one-page printing completion notice is sent in S32 every time printing of one page is completed, and the advertisement providing server 100 calculates the corresponding points in S200. When the advertisement printing of all pages is completed in the printer 200, S33 is judged as Yes, and an all-page printing completion notice is sent in S34, which is received by the advertisement providing server 100. When this all-page printing completion notice is received in the advertisement providing server 100, S35 is judged as Yes, and the process moves to S36, which will be described later. Until the advertisement providing server 100 receives a all-page printing completion notice in S34, S35 is judged as No, and the point calculation process in S200 continues every time printing of one page is completed in the printer 200, and the calculated points are accumulated for the number of pages of the advertisement printed by the printer 200 (see S36, which will be described later). Therefore, the process executed in the advertisement providing server 100 in S34 is an example of a print amount obtaining process.

[0053] In S36, the points calculated for each page as described above are totaled. That is, the points calculated for each page in S200 are added up for the number of pages of the advertisement printed by printer 200 to determine the total points to be awarded to the user and acquired.

[0054] In S37, the points determined in S36 are transmitted to the terminal device 300 corresponding to the user account previously associated with the printer ID of the printer 200. The points are also associated with the user account stored in the storage unit 115 and granted to the corresponding user. Note that the points may be granted to the printer 200 by associating them with the printer ID of the printer 200 corresponding to the user, rather than with the user. The processes executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in the above-mentioned S200, S36, and S37 are an example of a reward granting process. In the terminal device 300, the transmitted points are displayed on the display unit 301 in S38.

[0055] In S40, the advertisement providing server 100 transmits a billing notice to the advertisement management server 500 to bill the advertiser who provided each advertisement image included in the delivery image transmitted in S30 for the advertisement printing costs. In S45, the advertisement management server 500, which has received the billing notice, transmits the billing notice to the terminal device or the like of the successful bidder and performs billing processing.

[0056] In S50, the advertisement providing server 100 links the delivery image sent in S30 with the printer ID of the corresponding printer 200, the corresponding user's external user ID or the above-mentioned user account, current time information, and the bidding conditions at the time of the successful bid for the advertising image included in the delivery image, and stores them in the memory unit 115, and the processing according to the sequence flow of Figure 2 is terminated.

[0057] <Effects of the embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, distribution information is distributed to printer 200 and printed in S30 executed by control unit 110. Quality information related to the print quality of the printed distribution information, in the above example, type information of cartridge 285, is acquired in S220. Points according to the acquired quality information are assigned to the user ID of the user or the printer ID in S200, S36, and S37. As a result of the above, in this embodiment, when distributed information is printed using a type of cartridge that can be expected to have a certain quality, such as the genuine cartridge 285 in the above example, points are awarded to the user or printer 200. This makes it possible to motivate the user to improve the print quality of the printer 200. According to this embodiment, the print quality of the distributed information can be maintained, and the effectiveness of the distributed information can be ensured.

[0058] Also, for example, when the ink is a genuine product of the printer 200 manufacturer, print results are less likely to be defective and print quality is often higher than when the ink is a compatible product that is a non-genuine product. Also, when there are multiple genuine product types, there may be cases where the genuine products include a type that is of higher quality and a type that is not. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above in S230, S240, and S250 of FIG. 4, points are awarded according to the type of ink contained in the printer 200. Points are awarded for ink types that can be expected to be of high quality compared to points awarded for ink types other than those. According to this embodiment, it is possible to motivate the user to improve print quality.

[0059] Furthermore, particularly in this embodiment, in S36 of Fig. 2, the point value is determined by multiplying the number of pages printed by the magnification set for each ink type in S260 of Fig. 4. According to this embodiment, the magnification when the ink is of a type that can be expected to produce high quality is greater than the magnification when the ink is of other types, thereby providing the user with an incentive to improve print quality.

[0060] Particularly in this embodiment, in S240 and S250, the number of pages printed is multiplied by a multiplier according to the number of genuine cartridges 285, and the point value is determined in S36. According to this embodiment, the multiplier when the multiple cartridges 285 attached to the cartridge holder 280 of the printer 200 are all genuine products is set to be larger than the multiplier when the cartridges include other types. As a result, it is possible to motivate the user to use genuine products as much as possible to improve print quality.

[0061] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and technical concept of the present invention. Below, such modifications will be described in order. The same reference numerals will be used to designate parts equivalent to those in the above-described embodiment, and the description will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0062] (1) When determining the point allocation rate according to the amount of consumables consumed In the above embodiment, the magnification is determined only according to the type of cartridge 285, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the magnification may be determined according to the consumption amount of the consumables. Such a modified example will be described with reference to Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9.

[0063] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing details of the point calculation process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S200 of the sequence in FIG. 2 described above in this modified example.

[0064] In this modification, the points associated with the user account or printer ID are composed of the sum of compensation points calculated according to the consumption amount of the consumables and basic points calculated according to the type of the cartridge 285. First, in S270, the corresponding compensation point unit price is acquired based on the model number of the printer 200 acquired in S22 of FIG. 2 described above. The compensation point unit price is set as the unit price per picoliter of ink when, for example, color printing of one page of A4 size printing paper is executed by the printer 200 with standard print settings. The compensation points include an amount to compensate for the cost of ink consumed by the printer 200 when printing an advertisement and an amount to be paid for printing the advertisement, similar to the base points in the above embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, for example, in the printer 200 with the model number "P-AAA", the black ink is set to 1.0 [pt / pl] and the color inks other than black are set to 2.0 [pt / pl]. Similarly, in the printer 200 with model number "P-BBB", the settings are 0.5 [pt / pl] for black ink and 1.0 [pt / pl] for color inks other than black. In the printer 200 with model number "P-CCC", the settings are 0.3 [pt / pl] for black ink and 0.6 [pt / pl] for color inks other than black. In this modified example, as in the above, the user can utilize 1 [pt] = 1 [yen] equivalent.

[0065] Returning to FIG. 6, in S272, the corresponding basic point unit price is acquired based on the model number of the printer 200 acquired in S22 of FIG. 2 described above. The basic point unit price is based on the ink cost when, for example, the printer 200 performs color printing of one page of A4 size printing paper with standard print settings. In the example shown in FIG. 8, for example, in the printer 200 with model number "P-AAA", the basic point unit price is set to 10 [pt] corresponding to the ink cost when printing one page of A4 size printing paper. Similarly, in the printer 200 with model number "P-BBB", the basic point unit price is set to 5 [pt] corresponding to the ink cost when printing A4 size. In the printer 200 with model number "P-CCC", the basic point unit price is set to 3 [pt] corresponding to the ink cost when printing A4 size.

[0066] Returning to Fig. 6, in S274, the amount of ink consumed in printing one page is acquired from the printer 200 together with the notification of completion of one page in S32. As described above, this ink consumption is based on the detection result of the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge 285 or the amount of ink consumed by an ink amount sensor (not shown) provided in the printer 200. Alternatively, the amount of ink consumption may be detected by a method of counting the number of times ink droplets are ejected from the recording head. The amount of ink consumed is an example of the amount of consumption of a consumable, and the process executed in the advertisement providing server 100 in S274 is an example of a consumption amount acquisition process.

[0067] 4 described above, type information of the cartridge 285 mounted in the cartridge holder 280 of the printer 200 is acquired based on the detection result of the reader / writer 290. As described above, when cartridges 285 of multiple ink colors are mounted in the cartridge holder 280, type information is acquired for all of them. The type information is an example of quality information related to the print quality of the delivered information, and the process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S276 is an example of information acquisition processing in this modified example.

[0068] In S278, as in S230 described above, for a cartridge 285 of a certain color mounted in the cartridge holder 280, it is determined whether the cartridge 285 is a genuine product based on the type information acquired in S220. The ink stored in the genuine cartridge 285 is an example of a specific type of consumable in this modified example. If the cartridge 285 is a genuine product, S278 is determined as Yes, and in S280, the compensation point multiplier by which the compensation point unit price is multiplied is set to 100%. If the cartridge 285 is a non-genuine product, S278 is determined as No, and in S282, the compensation point multiplier by which the compensation point unit price is multiplied is set to 50%. These compensation point multipliers are associated with each type of cartridge 285 and are stored in advance in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. The compensation point multiplier is an example of a reward grant rate in this modified example.

[0069] After the compensation point magnification is set in S280 or S282, the process proceeds to S284, where the compensation points for one page for the ink of the color are calculated. Compensation points = compensation point unit price x ink consumption x compensation point multiplier It is calculated as follows.

[0070] In S286, it is determined whether or not the compensation points have been calculated for all colors of ink cartridges 285 attached to the cartridge holder 280. If there are colors that have not yet been calculated, the result is No and S278 to S284 are repeated. If the calculation of compensation points for all colors has been completed, the result is Yes and the process proceeds to S288 described below.

[0071] For example, Fig. 9(a) shows a calculation example of compensation points for the printer 200 of model number "P-AAA" shown in Fig. 7. In this example, the compensation points are 16 [pl] for black ink, 10 [pl] for cyan ink, 12 [pl] for magenta ink, and 14 [pl] for yellow ink, for the compensation point unit price of 1.0 [pt / pl] and 2.0 [pt / pl] for black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink, respectively. As a result, the compensation points for the genuine cartridge 285 are 1.0 x 16 = 16 [pt] for black ink, 2.0 x 10 = 20 [pt] for cyan ink, 2.0 x 12 = 24 [pt] for magenta ink, and 2.0 x 14 = 28 [pt] for yellow ink. In addition, the compensation points for non-genuine cartridges 285 are 1.0 x 16 x 0.5 = 8 [pt] for black ink, 2.0 x 10 x 0.5 = 10 [pt] for cyan ink, 2.0 x 12 x 0.5 = 12 [pt] for magenta ink, and 2.0 x 14 x 0.5 = 14 [pt] for yellow ink.

[0072] As described above, if the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all genuine products, the total compensation points for all colors is 88 [pt], which is the sum of the black ink 16 [pt], cyan ink 20 [pt], magenta ink 24 [pt], and yellow ink 28 [pt]. If the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all non-genuine products, the total compensation points for all colors is 44 [pt], which is the sum of the black ink 8 [pt], cyan ink 10 [pt], magenta ink 12 [pt], and yellow ink 14 [pt]. If the black, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all genuine products and only the cyan cartridge holder 285 is non-genuine, the total compensation points for all colors is 78 [pt], which is the sum of the black ink 16 [pt], cyan ink 10 [pt], magenta ink 24 [pt], and yellow ink 28 [pt].

[0073] Returning to FIG. 6, in S288, similarly to S230 described above, it is determined whether or not all cartridges 285 attached to the cartridge holder 280 are genuine products based on the type information acquired in S220. If all cartridges 285 are genuine products, S288 is determined as Yes, and in S290, the basic point multiplier by which the basic point unit price is multiplied is set to 100%. If even one non-genuine cartridge 285 is present, S288 is determined as No, and in S292, the basic point multiplier by which the basic point unit price is multiplied is set to 50%. These basic point multipliers are associated with each type of cartridge 285 and are stored in advance in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. The above multipliers are also an example of a reward grant rate.

[0074] After the basic point multiplier is set in S290 or S292, the process proceeds to S294, where the basic points for that page are multiplied by Basic points = Basic point unit price x Basic point multiplier It is calculated as follows.

[0075] For example, Fig. 9(b) shows a calculation example of basic points for the printer 200 with model number "P-AAA" shown in Fig. 8. In this example, the basic point unit price for that model number is set to 10 [pt], so if the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all genuine products, the basic points for one page will be 10 x 1.0 = 10 [pt]. If any one of the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 is a non-genuine product, the basic points will be 10 x 0.5 = 5 [pt].

[0076] Returning to FIG. 6, in S296, the amount of points to be issued per page is determined by adding up the total compensation points for all color cartridges 285 calculated by repeating S278 to S286 and the basic points calculated in S294, and processing by this routine is then terminated.

[0077] As a result, as shown in FIG. 9C, for example, in the printer 200 with the model number "P-AAA", if the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all genuine products, the total of the compensation points for all colors is 88 [pt] + basic points 10 [pt], which is 98 [pt]. If the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are all non-genuine products, the total of the compensation points for all colors is 44 [pt] + basic points 5 [pt], which is 49 [pt]. If the black, magenta, and yellow cartridges 285 are genuine products and the cyan cartridge 285 is non-genuine, the total of the compensation points for all colors is 78 [pt] + basic points 5 [pt], which is 83 [pt].

[0078] The other processes are similar to those described in the above embodiment with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc., and therefore will not be described.

[0079] In this modified example, the point value is determined by multiplying the ink consumption amount obtained in S274 by the compensation point multiplier set for each type of cartridge 285. For example, by making the compensation point multiplier for a type of ink that can be expected to be of high quality, such as the cartridge 285 being a genuine product in the above example, larger than the compensation point multiplier for other types, it is possible to provide the user with an incentive to improve print quality.

[0080] (2) When determining the point allocation rate based on the print settings In the above embodiment, the magnification is determined according to the type of cartridge 285, but this is not limiting, and the magnification may be determined according to the print settings in printer 200. Such a modified example will be described with reference to FIG. 10, which corresponds to the above-mentioned FIG. 4.

[0081] FIG. 10 is a flow showing details of the point calculation process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S200 of the sequence of FIG. 2 in this modified example. In FIG. 10, after S210 similar to that in FIG. 4 is executed, S221 provided instead of S220 is executed. In S221, the print setting in the printer 200, in this example, the print operation mode pre-installed in the printer 200 is acquired. In this example, a fine mode and a normal mode are set according to the high or low print resolution in the print engine of the printing unit 270. This print setting is an example of quality information related to the print quality of the distribution information, and the high resolution image quality in the fine mode and the low resolution image quality in the normal mode are examples of print quality. In addition, the process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S221 is an example of information acquisition process. Note that the contents of the print setting may be acquired by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 from the printer 200 or from the terminal device 300. Alternatively, in a case where the advertisement management server 500 stores the print settings corresponding to each piece of distribution information, the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire the print settings from the advertisement management server 500.

[0082] In S231, which is provided instead of step S230, it is determined whether the above-mentioned printing operation mode is the fine mode or not based on the print settings acquired in S221. If it is the fine mode, S231 is determined as Yes, and the multiplier for the base points is set to 100% in S240 similar to the above. If it is not the fine mode, in the above example, in the normal mode, S231 is determined as No, and the multiplier for the base points is set to 50% in S250 similar to the above. As described above, these multipliers are associated with each printing operation mode and are stored in advance in the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100. The above multiplier is an example of a reward grant rate.

[0083] After the multiplier is set in S240 or S250, the process moves to S260 as described above, and the amount of points issued for one page is Points issued = Base points x multiplier Then, the process shown in the routine of FIG. 10 is terminated.

[0084] The other processes are similar to those described in the above embodiment with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc., and therefore will not be described.

[0085] In this modification, for example, when the print operation mode according to the print settings of the printer 200 is a fine mode, the print quality is higher than that of the normal mode. Therefore, in this modification, points are given according to the print settings of the printer 200. When the print settings are a fine mode in which high quality can be expected, the points are more than the points for other modes. In detail, in this modification, the value of the points is determined by multiplying the magnification set variably in S240 and S250 for each print quality by the number of pages printed in S36 of FIG. 2. This can motivate the user to improve the print quality. This is particularly effective when the visual impact of the print quality is large, such as when the distribution information is an image of fresh food.

[0086] (3) When determining whether or not to award points based on the results of reading a two-dimensional code in a printed advertisement For example, as shown in Fig. 11, when the layout of a delivery image printed by the printer 200 includes multiple advertisement frames, a two-dimensional code is printed in one of them, and when the two-dimensional code is correctly read, points are awarded as the advertisement has been printed normally. Such a modified example will be described below with reference to Figs. 12 and 13, which correspond to Figs. 2 and 3 of the above embodiment, respectively.

[0087] Fig. 12 is a flow showing details of control executed by the advertisement providing server 100, the advertisement management server 500, the user management server 400, and the printer 200 in cooperation with each other in this modified example. In Fig. 12, after S5 to S25 similar to those in Fig. 2 of the above embodiment are executed, the advertisement providing server 100 executes S100' instead of S100 in Fig. 2. In S100', similar to the above S100, in cooperation with the advertisement management server 500, a delivery image creation process is performed to create an advertisement image to be printed by the printer 200 based on a bid from an advertiser.

[0088] The control contents executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in the delivery image creation process of S100' above are shown in Fig. 13. In Fig. 13, after S120 to S155 similar to Fig. 3 of the above embodiment, S160 to S170 are provided in addition to S175 of Fig. 3.

[0089] That is, in S160, it is determined whether or not N (where N is 2 or more) advertisement frames are included in the layout of the delivery image printed by the printer 200. If only one frame is included in the advertisement image, the result is No, and the processing of this routine is terminated. If two or more frames are included in the advertisement image, the result is Yes, and the processing proceeds to S162.

[0090] The printing of the two-dimensional code exemplified in FIG. 11 in this modified example is not performed every time an advertisement is printed, but is performed randomly once every few times to check the print quality. In S162, it is determined whether such a random check is performed. Specifically, for example, a known method using random numbers is used to set the timing for the above check to be performed approximately once every 10 times. In S162, it is determined whether it is the appropriate timing. If it is not the appropriate timing, the result is No, and the process moves to S175. In S175, the control unit 110 creates a delivery image by arranging the N advertisement images acquired in S145 in the N advertisement placement frames, and then proceeds to S170 described later. If it is the appropriate timing in S162, the result is Yes, and the process moves to S164.

[0091] In S164, since one of the aforementioned N advertising spaces is used for the two-dimensional code, N-1 advertising images to be fitted into the remaining N-1 advertising spaces are obtained from the advertising image obtained in S145 above.

[0092] In S166, a two-dimensional code to be used in the spot check is created by a known method. The control unit 110 issues a job ID, encodes a URL for accessing a specific web page of the advertisement providing server 100 and the issued job ID, and includes the encoded information in the two-dimensional code. The job ID is identification information of the advertisement print job generated in S170 described later. The advertisement providing server 100 stores the job ID in the storage unit 115. The two-dimensional code is an example of code information. In S168, the two-dimensional code created in S166 is applied to one advertisement frame, and the N-1 advertisement images acquired in S164 are respectively applied to the remaining N-1 advertisement frames to create an advertisement layout image as a delivery image.

[0093] In S170, an advertisement print job is created that includes the delivery images created in S168 and S175. Then, the processing of this routine ends.

[0094] Returning to Fig. 12, in S30', which is executed instead of S30 in Fig. 2, the advertisement print job created in S170 is delivered to the printer 200. The process executed in S30' is an example of information delivery process in this modified example. As described above, in S30', the advertisement providing server 100 may deliver the advertisement print job to the printer 200 via another relay device. Also, a page description language for printing the advertisement layout image included in the advertisement print job and a link destination of the advertisement layout image may be transmitted to the printer 200.

[0095] The transmitted advertisement print job is received by the printer 200 in S30', and in S331, the printer 200 starts printing the advertisement corresponding to the advertisement layout image included in the received advertisement print job. When printing is completed, in S332, the printer 200 transmits a print success notice to the advertisement providing server 100, which receives it. If printing fails, a print failure notice is transmitted to the advertisement providing server 100, which receives it.

[0096] In the advertisement providing server 100, a point calculation process of S200' is executed instead of S200 in Fig. 2. The control contents executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in the point calculation process of S200' will be described with reference to the flow shown in Fig. 14 which corresponds to the above Fig. 4.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 14, after S210 similar to FIG. 4, in S232, it is determined whether or not the advertisement printing was successful based on the notification received from the printer 200 in S332. If a printing success notification was received in S332, S232 is determined as Yes, and in S241, the magnification by which the base points are multiplied when the points are calculated is set to 100%. If a printing failure notification was received in S332, S232 is determined as No, and in S251, the magnification by which the base points are multiplied when the points are calculated is set to 0%. That is, in S241 and S251, it is essentially switched whether or not points are awarded depending on whether the printing was successful. Note that these magnifications are stored in, for example, the storage unit 115 of the advertisement providing server 100.

[0098] After the magnification is set in S241 or S251, the process proceeds to S260 as in FIG. 4, where the amount of points to be issued is calculated in accordance with the execution of the advertisement print job. Points issued = Base points x multiplier Thereafter, in a newly provided step S261, the advertisement providing server 100 temporarily reserves the decision as to whether or not to grant the points calculated in step S260, and the process shown in the routine of Fig. 14 is terminated. In this modified example, a predetermined time limit is set for the temporary reservation of the points calculated in the point calculation process of Fig. 14. Although not shown, if the reservation is not released within this predetermined time limit, the points will not be granted and will become invalid.

[0099] Returning to Fig. 12, in S333, the two-dimensional code included in the advertisement layout image printed as described above is read by the camera provided in the terminal device 300 based on a user operation. At this time, for example, in the advertisement layout image exemplified in Fig. 11, a message such as "Please scan the two-dimensional code for authentication. Points will not be issued unless authentication is performed" is printed together, or a message with the same content is displayed on the display unit 301 of the terminal device 300 when the above-mentioned printing success notification is sent. This can motivate the user to read the two-dimensional code.

[0100] As described above, the two-dimensional code contains a specific URL in an encoded form, and in S334, the terminal device 300 accesses the advertisement providing server 100 based on the read URL. As described above, the two-dimensional code also contains a job ID in an encoded form, and by reading the code, reading result information including the job ID is transmitted from the terminal device 300 and received by the advertisement providing server 100. The job ID is an example of print specification information. This received reading result information is an example of code reading information, and is also an example of quality information related to the print quality of the delivery information in this modified example. The receiving process executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 at this time is an example of information acquisition process.

[0101] In S335, the advertisement providing server 100 uses the job ID included in the read result information received in S334 to identify the corresponding advertisement print job. The job ID attached when transmitting the advertisement print job of the delivery image including the two-dimensional code in S30' is stored in the advertisement providing server 100, and this stored job ID is verified against the job ID included in the read result information received from the terminal device 300 in S334 for authentication. In this way, based on the reception of the read result information, the advertisement providing server 100 determines whether the two-dimensional code has been correctly read in the terminal device 300. The process executed in S335 in the advertisement providing server 100 is an example of authentication processing.

[0102] If the authentication in S335 finds that the two-dimensional code read by the terminal device 300 matches that in the advertisement print job sent in S30', the reserved points in S261 are released in S336, and the points calculated in S260 are given to the user or the printer 200. The advertisement providing server 100 also releases the previously calculated reserved points for advertisement print jobs without two-dimensional codes executed before the authentication process of the job ID of the current advertisement print job in S335. Specifically, if one or more advertisement print jobs of delivery images not including two-dimensional codes are sent to the printer 200 and executed by the printer 200 before the authentication of the current job ID in S335 and after the previous authentication of another job ID and the release of the reserved points for that job ID in S335, when the advertisement providing server 100 receives a print success / failure notification, it executes the point calculation process in S200', calculates the number of points for the advertisement print job in S260, and reserves the points in S261. 12, the advertisement providing server 100 releases the reservation of these points for these advertisement print jobs, accumulates the number of points, and grants the accumulated points to the user or the printer 200. In S37, the points totaled and granted in S336 are transmitted to the terminal device 300. Note that the processes executed by the control unit 110 of the advertisement providing server 100 in S200', S336, and S37 are an example of a reward granting process in this modified example. On the other hand, if the two-dimensional code read by the terminal device 300 does not match the one in the advertisement print job transmitted in S30' in the authentication in S335, the reservation of points in the above S261 is canceled, and the process ends without granting the points calculated in S260 to the user or the printer 200.

[0103] The process from S37 onwards is the same as in FIG. 2, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0104] In this modification, a delivery image including a two-dimensional code and an advertisement image generated in the advertisement providing server 100 is delivered to the printer 200 and printed, and reading result information based on the reading result of the printed two-dimensional code is acquired in S334. Points are awarded in S37 according to the acquired reading result information. According to this modification, points are awarded when the two-dimensional code can be sufficiently read by the scanner function of the terminal device 300, and points are not awarded in other cases, thereby providing a motivation for the user to improve print quality.

[0105] In particular, in this modified example, when the two-dimensional code is delivered to the printer 200, a job ID is attached as print specification information, and the job ID is compared with the job ID included in the read result information acquired in S334 for authentication. Points are awarded according to the authentication result, so if authentication is unsuccessful, no points can be awarded. According to this modified example, it is possible to prevent fraudulent acquisition of points by, for example, disguising a two-dimensional code printed by a different printer as the printout result of the printer 200 and having the terminal device 300 read it.

[0106] It should be noted that, as the print specification information, a printer ID may be used instead of the above job ID. In this case, for example, whether or not all points for the current month will be awarded will be determined by the above authentication using the results of reading the two-dimensional code.

[0107] (4) When determining whether or not to award points based on the results of reading printed advertisements That is, in this modification, an image of an advertisement printed by the printer 200 is read by, for example, a scanner provided in the printer 200 or a camera provided in the terminal device 300. The scanner or camera is an example of a reading unit. Print image quality information based on the result of reading the image is transmitted as quality information and acquired by the advertisement providing server 100. Points are then calculated according to the acquired print image quality information and awarded to the user of the printer 200 or the printer 200. Note that the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire the reading result from the printer 200 or the terminal device 300 as print image quality information and perform image quality analysis at the advertisement providing server 100, or the result of reading and image quality analysis at the printer 200 or the terminal device 300 may be transmitted to the advertisement providing server 100 as print image quality information.

[0108] According to this modification, for example, in the advertisement providing server 100, the print quality is checked by comparing the print image quality information based on the reading result with the original image delivered to the printer 200 for printing. Then, by giving more points when the reading result by the reading unit is of sufficiently high quality than when the reading result is otherwise, the user can be motivated to improve the print quality.

[0109] (5)Other Although the advertisement providing server 100 has been described above as a single device, the advertisement providing server 100 may function as a result of a plurality of devices operating in cooperation with each other. In the above, the advertisement providing server 100 acquires advertisement images that satisfy a predetermined condition such as conformity with the behavioral information or user interest information of each user based on a bid, but this is not limited to the above. The advertisement providing server 100 may acquire advertisement images that satisfy the above-mentioned predetermined condition by other appropriate methods. For example, the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire advertisement images that conform to user information including the gender, age, place of residence, occupation, place of employment, annual income, and family structure of a user who uses an external service.

[0110] In the above, the advertisement information has been described as an example of information managed by the advertisement management server 500 and delivered to the advertisement providing server 100, but the information is not limited to this and may be other service content. Examples of the service content may be, for example, a part of an image of a comic or a novel, a video, a thumbnail image of a part of the video, etc.

[0111] In the above, the reward points are associated with the user account or the printer ID, but this is not the only option. In other words, if the printer 200 is configured to be able to print within the range of the number of printable sheets purchased by the user through a user charge based on a contract concluded in advance, the number of printable sheets may be associated with the user account or the printer ID as the reward.

[0112] In addition, in the above, the sequences or flows shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, etc. do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the above flows, and steps may be added or deleted, or the order may be changed, etc., within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit and technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0113] In addition to the above, the methods according to the above embodiments and their modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

[0114] Although not specifically illustrated, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 1 Information distribution system 100 Advertisement server (example of server) 110 Control unit (an example of a controller) 115 Memory unit (an example of memory) 140 Communication unit (an example of a communication interface) 200 Printers 300 Terminal Equipment 301 Display section 400 User Management Server 500 Ad Management Server

Claims

1. A server including a communication interface, a memory for storing identification information for identifying a printer or a user of the printer, and a controller, The controller: an information distribution process for distributing distribution information to the printer via the communication interface; and an information acquisition process for acquiring quality information relating to the print quality of the distribution information distributed by the information distribution process. a reward granting process for granting a reward corresponding to the quality information acquired in the information acquisition process to the identification information; A server that runs

2. The controller: In the information acquisition process, type information of consumables stored in the printer is acquired from the printer as the quality information; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the reward is awarded in the reward awarding process in accordance with the acquired type information.

3. The memory includes: a reward award rate corresponding to each type of the consumable identified by the type information is stored; The controller further comprises: execute a print volume acquisition process for acquiring a print volume of the distribution information in the printer; In the reward granting process, The server according to claim 2 , wherein the reward is a value obtained by multiplying the print volume acquired in the print volume acquisition process by the reward rate according to the type of the consumable.

4. The printer includes: A plurality of the consumables can be accommodated; The memory includes: a reward award rate according to the number of the consumables of a specific type identified by the type information; The controller further comprises: execute a print volume acquisition process for acquiring a print volume of the distribution information in the printer; In the reward granting process, The server according to claim 2 , wherein the reward is a value obtained by multiplying the print volume acquired in the print volume acquisition process by the reward rate according to the number of the specific type of consumables.

5. The memory includes: a reward award rate corresponding to each type of the consumable identified by the type information is stored; The controller further comprises: execute a consumption amount acquisition process for acquiring the consumption amount of the consumable in the printer; In the reward granting process, The server according to claim 2 , wherein the reward is a value obtained by multiplying the consumption amount acquired in the consumption amount acquisition process by the reward rate according to the type of the consumable.

6. The controller: In the information acquisition process, print settings of the printer that are set when the distribution information is printed are acquired as the quality information; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the reward is awarded in the reward awarding process in accordance with the acquired print setting.

7. The memory includes: a reward award rate corresponding to each print quality indicated by the print setting is stored; The controller further comprises: execute a print volume acquisition process for acquiring a print volume of the distribution information in the printer; In the reward granting process, The server according to claim 6 , wherein the reward is a value obtained by multiplying the print volume acquired in the print volume acquisition process by the award rate according to the print quality.

8. The controller: In the information distribution process, predetermined code information is distributed to the printer together with the distribution information; In the information acquisition process, code read information corresponding to a result of reading an image based on the predetermined code information printed together with the distribution information is acquired as the quality information; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the reward is awarded in accordance with the acquired code reading information in the reward awarding process.

9. The controller: In the information distribution process, print specification information is added to the code information and the code information is distributed to the printer; and performing an authentication process for authenticating the code read information acquired in the information acquisition process using the print specific information. The server according to claim 8 , wherein the reward granting process grants a reward corresponding to an authentication result in the authentication process to the identification information.

10. The controller: In the information acquisition process, print image quality information of the distribution information based on a reading result of a reading unit that reads an image of a printout of the distribution information printed by the printer is acquired as the quality information; The server according to claim 1 , wherein the reward is awarded in accordance with the acquired print image quality information in the reward awarding process.

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