Server, communication system, and computer program

Abstract

To determine an advertisement cost to be paid by an advertiser to a reasonable price.SOLUTION: The server includes an information receiving unit configured to receive specific information related to a consumable of a printer that prints the advertisement image, and a price determination unit configured to determine a specific price related to an advertisement cost paid by an advertiser of the advertisement image to be a first price when a printing condition of the advertisement image specified based on the specific information and related to a state of the consumable is a first condition, and determine the specific price to be a second price lower than the first price when the printing condition of the advertisement image is a second condition different from the first condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present specification relates to a server, a computer program for a server, and a communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] The advertising system described in Patent Document 1 displays an advertisement on the display of a user's personal computer when a printing device is loaded with consumables that are cheaper than regular consumables (for example, toner or ink). The advertisement display time is calculated based on the number of pages to be printed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-217313 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above technology does not provide sufficient ingenuity in determining the advertising fees paid by the advertiser, and there is a possibility that a reasonable price cannot be determined.

[0005] This specification discloses a new technology that can determine an appropriate price for advertising fees paid by advertisers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The techniques disclosed in this specification can be implemented in the following application examples.

[0007] [Application Example 1] A server, an information receiving unit that receives specific information related to consumables of a printer that prints an advertising image; and a price determining unit that, when the printing conditions of the advertising image specified based on the specific information and the printing conditions related to the state of the consumables are first conditions, determines a specific price related to advertising fees to be paid by an advertiser of the advertising image to be a first price, and when the printing conditions of the advertising image are second conditions different from the first conditions, determines the specific price to be a second price lower than the first price; A server comprising:

[0008] According to the above configuration, the specific price for the advertising fee to be paid by the advertiser can be determined to be an appropriate price in accordance with the printing conditions related to the consumables. As a result, the advertising fee to be paid by the advertiser can be determined to be an appropriate price.

[0009] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, such as a method for determining a specific price related to printing advertising images, a communication system including a printer for printing advertising images and a server, a computer program for realizing the functions of these servers, methods, and communication systems, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000. [Figure 2] 1 is an illustration of a printer and server database. [Figure 3] First sequence diagram showing the operation of advertisement printing processing [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a second sequence diagram showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. [Figure 5] Third sequence diagram showing the operation of the advertisement printing process [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram of an advertising space and an advertising image. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart of a minimum bid price determination process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a reference table RT according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart of a process for determining a minimum bid price according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a reference table RT according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A. First Example A-1. Configuration of System 1000 Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 1000. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the printer and server databases. Fig. 2 shows an excerpt of some of the information related to the embodiment from the information stored in various databases described below.

[0012] The system 1000 includes a management server 100, a remote print server 200, an advertisement distribution server 300, bidding servers 400A-400C, and a printer 500.

[0013] Printer 500 is a device that prints by consuming ink as a consumable item, and is used for utilizing a service (e.g., an advertising distribution service) for which a user has a contract. Printer 500 includes a CPU 510 as a controller for printer 500, a volatile storage device 520 such as DRAM, and a non-volatile storage device 530 such as a hard disk or flash memory. Printer 500 also includes a display unit 540 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying images, an operation unit 550 such as buttons or a touch panel for acquiring user operations, a printing mechanism 570, and a communication interface (IF) 580.

[0014] The communication IF 580 is an interface for connecting to the Internet IT, for example, a wired interface conforming to Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless interface conforming to the Wi-Fi standard.

[0015] The CPU 510 is a computing device (processor) that processes data. The volatile storage device 520 provides a buffer area for temporarily storing various intermediate data generated when the CPU 510 performs processing. The non-volatile storage device 530 stores a computer program PGp for controlling the printer 500 and a database DBp in which various information, described below, is recorded.

[0016] In this embodiment, the computer program PGp is ​​provided by being stored in advance in the nonvolatile storage device 530 at the time of manufacturing the printer 500. Alternatively, the computer program PGp may be provided, for example, in a form downloaded from a server connected via the Internet IT, or in a form recorded on a USB memory stick, a DVD-ROM, or the like.

[0017] The CPU 510 executes the computer program PGp to perform various processes for controlling the printer 500. For example, the CPU 510 controls the printing mechanism 570 to perform a printing process that causes the printing mechanism 570 to print an image. The CPU 510 also communicates with the management server 100 and the remote printing server 200 to perform processes related to the advertisement printing process, which will be described later.

[0018] The printing mechanism 570 is an inkjet printing mechanism. The printing mechanism 570 is equipped with a print head formed with nozzles for ejecting ink. The printing mechanism 570 prints on a printing substrate such as paper by ejecting multiple types of ink, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) ink from the nozzles under the control of the CPU 510. In this embodiment, ink cartridges CI, MI, YI, and KI containing ink of each color, C, M, Y, and K, are detachably attached to the printing mechanism 570. Alternatively, the printing mechanism 570 may be an electrophotographic printing mechanism that prints images using toner contained in a toner cartridge as a coloring material.

[0019] As can be seen from the above explanation, printer 500 is a color printer capable of printing using an achromatic ink (K ink) and two or more chromatic inks (CMY inks).

[0020] 2A shows an overview of the database DBp of the printer 500. The database DBp stores various information indicating setting information and status information (status) related to the printer 500.

[0021] Database DBp stores information indicating the remaining amount of ink. Specifically, database DBp stores information indicating the remaining amount of each of the CMYK inks. Each time printing is performed, CPU 510 calculates the amount of ink consumed and detects the amount of remaining ink using a remaining ink sensor, thereby updating the information indicating the remaining amount of ink.

[0022] The database DBp stores information indicating the type of ink. In this embodiment, two types of ink are assumed to be used: genuine ink and non-genuine ink. Genuine ink is, for example, ink manufactured by the manufacturer of the printer 500 or ink manufactured by a company authorized by the printer manufacturer. Non-genuine ink is ink different from genuine ink, for example, ink manufactured by a company not authorized by the manufacturer of the printer 500. Genuine ink is, for example, optimized for use in the printer 500. Non-genuine ink may have different properties and components, such as viscosity and color, compared to genuine ink. For this reason, when non-genuine ink is used, the quality of printed images is likely to be lower than when genuine ink is used. The database DBp stores information indicating whether each CMYK ink is genuine or non-genuine.

[0023] For example, a genuine ink cartridge is equipped with a memory accessible by the CPU 510 of the printer 500. This memory stores identification information such as the ink model number. The CPU 510 determines that the ink is genuine if it acquires identification information indicating that the ink is genuine from the memory of the ink cartridge that contains the ink. The CPU 510 determines that the ink is non-genuine if it cannot acquire identification information indicating that the ink is genuine from the memory of the ink cartridge that contains the ink. The CPU 510 determines whether the ink is genuine each time an ink cartridge is installed, and records information indicating the determination result in the database DBp.

[0024] The database DBp stores a color prohibition flag. The color prohibition flag is information that indicates whether the color prohibition mode is ON or OFF. The color prohibition mode is a print mode that is ON when at least one of the chromatic inks (CMY inks in this embodiment) is "empty" and the achromatic ink (K ink in this embodiment) is not "empty." Here, an ink being "empty" means that the remaining amount of ink is less than a predetermined threshold value THe. The threshold value THe is a small value that can be considered to be essentially zero remaining ink.

[0025] In the color prohibition state where the color prohibition mode is ON, only printing of monochrome images using achromatic inks (hereinafter also referred to as monochrome printing) is permitted in the printer 500. That is, in this state, printing of color images using chromatic inks (hereinafter also referred to as color printing) is prohibited in the printer 500. In this state, even if the printer 500 receives a print job for executing color printing, it will not execute printing based on the print job.

[0026] If a release condition is met after the color prohibition mode is turned ON, the color prohibition mode is changed to OFF. The release condition includes, for example, the chromatic ink that is "empty" being replenished by replacing the ink cartridge. When this release condition is met, the printer 500 becomes capable of both color printing and monochrome printing. The release condition includes, for example, the passage of a predetermined period (for example, several days to several months) from the time the color prohibition mode is turned ON. When this release condition is met, the printer becomes unable to perform either color printing or monochrome printing until the chromatic ink that is "empty" is replenished.

[0027] The database DBp stores a purge execution flag. The purge execution flag indicates whether or not the printer 500 will execute a purge process before printing the next time it prints. If the purge execution flag is ON, the purge process will be executed before printing. If the purge execution flag is OFF, the purge process will not be executed before printing. The purge process ejects ink from all nozzles to prevent nozzle clogging. In the purge process, ink is ejected into a designated receiver provided in the printer 500. Because the purge process clears nozzle clogging, the printing immediately after the purge process is less likely to experience degradation in image quality (e.g., blurred images) due to nozzle clogging. In other words, the quality of the printed image is guaranteed when printing immediately after the purge process, compared to, for example, printing immediately before the purge process. The state in which the purge execution flag is ON is also referred to as a purge-required state.

[0028] The CPU 510 changes the purge execution flag from OFF to ON when predetermined purge execution conditions are met. The CPU 510 changes the purge execution flag from ON to OFF when a purge process is executed after the purge execution flag has been changed to ON. The purge execution conditions include, for example, a predetermined period (e.g., several days) having passed in a state in which the print head is prone to drying (e.g., a state in which the nozzles are not covered by a cover member), or a predetermined period (e.g., several months) having passed since the last time printing was executed. The purge execution conditions may further include a predetermined amount of printing having been executed since the last time purge processing was executed.

[0029] The management server 100, the remote printing server 200, and the advertisement distribution server 300 are, for example, computers, such as cloud servers, operated by a business operator that operates multiple types of services described below (for example, a business operator that manufactures and sells the printer 500).

[0030] The management server 100 is a server that manages users and printers (e.g., printer 500) used for multiple types of services. The multiple types of services are services provided using printers, and include an advertisement distribution service and a remote printing service.

[0031] The advertisement distribution service is a service provided by the advertisement distribution server 300 and the bidding servers 400A-400C. The advertisement distribution service is a service that distributes advertisements to users of the printer 500 by causing the printer 500 to print an image including one or more advertisement images at a predetermined distribution timing, in this embodiment, once a day at a fixed time.

[0032] In the narrow sense, advertising can mean informing people about a product or service for the purpose of promotion. However, in this specification, advertising is not limited to promotional purposes and refers generally to anything that an advertiser pays an advertising fee to inform people (in this example, printer users). An advertising image refers to an image showing the information to be advertised. Therefore, in this specification, advertising images are not limited to images showing information for the purpose of promoting a product or service provided by the advertiser, but also include images showing various information provided by the advertiser (for example, weather information, traffic information, or the advertiser's own work).

[0033] The remote printing service is a service provided by the remote printing server 200. The remote printing service is a service in which a user sends an image file stored on a server or a mobile terminal to the remote printing server 200, and the image file is printed by a printer (e.g., printer 500) via the remote printing server 200. A user of the remote printing service is assumed to be, for example, a printer user, but in this embodiment, the advertisement distribution server 300 uses the remote printing service to cause the printer to print an advertisement image.

[0034] The multiple types of services managed by management server 100 may further include various other services. For example, in this embodiment, the multiple types of services managed include an ink management service provided by a server (not shown). The ink management service manages the remaining amount of ink in the managed printers and delivers ink cartridges or ink bottles to users according to ink consumption.

[0035] The management server 100 includes a CPU 110 as a controller of the management server 100, a volatile storage device 120 such as a DRAM, a non-volatile storage device 130 such as a hard disk or flash memory, and a communication IF 180. The communication IF 180 is, for example, a wired interface that complies with Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0036] The CPU 110 is a computing device (processor) that processes data. The volatile storage device 120 provides a buffer area for temporarily storing various intermediate data generated when the CPU 110 performs processing. The non-volatile storage device 130 stores a computer program PGm and a database DBm.

[0037] The computer program PGm is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a service provider. The CPU 110 of the management server 100 executes the computer program PGm to perform various processes (described later) related to multiple types of services to be managed.

[0038] 2(B) shows an overview of the database DBm of the management server 100. The database DBm stores user IDs that identify users who use multiple types of services that are managed.

[0039] The database DBm further stores affiliated user IDs and device IDs in association with the user IDs. The affiliated user ID is a user ID assigned by a portal site used by the user (e.g., a site operated by a service provider such as Yahoo (registered trademark), Google (registered trademark), or Microsoft (registered trademark). The device ID is an ID that identifies a printer (e.g., printer 500) used when using multiple types of managed services. For example, when a user uses one of the multiple types of services for the first time, the user accesses the management server 100 using his or her own terminal device (not shown) and applies for use. The user ID is generated by the management server 100 at the time of the application for use and assigned to the user. The affiliated service ID and device ID are recorded in the database DBm of the management server 100, for example, based on input by the user at the time of the application for use.

[0040] The database DBm further stores contracted service information and bonus point information in association with the user ID. The contracted service information is information indicating the type of service to which the user has contracted. The bonus point information is information indicating the bonus points granted to the user. Bonus points are used instead of money, for example, when paying for the usage fees of paid services used by the user or for purchasing printer consumables (e.g., ink and toner).

[0041] The remote printing server 200 includes a CPU 210, a volatile storage device 220, a non-volatile storage device 230, and a communication IF 280, similar to those of the management server 100. The non-volatile storage device 230 stores a computer program PGr and a database DBr.

[0042] The computer program PGr is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a business operator that operates a remote printing service. The CPU 210 of the remote printing server 200 executes the computer program PGr to perform processing for realizing the remote printing service. For example, the CPU 210 generates a print job for printing an image using an image file transmitted from a device that uses the remote printing service (a user's terminal device or the advertisement distribution server 300). The CPU 210 transmits the generated print job to a printer, causing the printer to execute printing.

[0043] FIG. 2C shows an overview of the database DBr of the remote print server 200. The database DBr stores at least device information (e.g., device ID and device token) required to send a print job to a destination device. In this embodiment, the user of the printer 500 has a contract to use an advertisement distribution service. The advertisement distribution service uses a remote printing service to print advertisement images. For this reason, when the user signs a contract for the advertisement distribution service, the device information of the printer 500 is stored in the database DBr.

[0044] The advertisement delivery server 300 includes a CPU 310, a volatile storage device 320, a nonvolatile storage device 330, and a communication IF 380, similar to those of the management server 100. The nonvolatile storage device 330 stores a computer program PGa and a database DBa.

[0045] The computer program PGa is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by a business operator that operates an advertisement distribution service. The CPU 310 of the advertisement distribution server 300 executes the computer program PGa to function as a distribution control unit DC and an advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0046] The advertising space sales unit AS mainly communicates with the bidding servers 400A-400C, executes an auction process from the standpoint of selling advertising space, and determines the successful bidder for the advertising space. The advertising image of the successful bidder is determined as the advertising image to be printed. The distribution control unit DC executes processes other than the auction process executed by the advertising space sales unit AS among the processes for realizing the advertising distribution service, such as processes involving communication with the printer 500, the remote printing server 200, and the management server 100.

[0047] 2(D) shows an overview of the database DBa of the advertisement delivery server 300. The database DBa stores various information required for the delivery control unit DC and the advertisement space sales unit AS to realize the advertisement delivery service.

[0048] The database DBa records the user IDs of users who are registered in the management server 100 and who have signed a contract to use the advertisement distribution service.

[0049] The database DBa further stores affiliated user IDs and device information in association with the user IDs. The affiliated user ID is a user ID assigned by the portal site used by the user, as described above. The affiliated user ID is used when the advertising space sales department AS executes the auction process, as will be described later. The device information is information about the printer that should print the advertising image (for example, a device ID or a device token).

[0050] The database DBa also stores distribution setting information in association with the user ID and device information. The distribution setting information is various setting information related to the advertisement distribution service, and includes, for example, information indicating the distribution time and information indicating the print settings to be used when printing the advertisement image.

[0051] The database DBa also stores a reference table that is referenced in the minimum bid price determination process, which will be described later.

[0052] When a user uses the advertisement distribution service, the user accesses the management server 100 using, for example, a terminal device (not shown) and applies for use of the advertisement distribution service. In response to the application, a contract process for the advertisement distribution service is executed between the terminal device and the management server 100. After the contract process, the CPU 310 of the advertisement distribution server 300 acquires the user ID and the various pieces of information associated with the user ID from the management server 100 and records them in the database DBa. In this embodiment, the user of the printer 500 has signed a contract to use the advertisement distribution service. For this purpose, the database DBa stores the above-mentioned affiliated user ID, device information, and distribution setting information associated with the user ID of the user of the printer 500.

[0053] The bidding server 400A includes a CPU 410, a volatile storage device 420, a non-volatile storage device 430, and a communication IF 480, similar to those of the management server 100. The non-volatile storage device 430 stores a computer program PGb and a database DBb. In this embodiment, the bidding server 400A is operated by an operator that operates a portal site that issues affiliated user IDs.

[0054] The computer program PGb is provided, for example, in the form of being uploaded by the business operator that operates the bid server 400A. The CPU 410 of the bid server 400A executes the computer program PGb to function as a bid control unit BC and a consumer information management unit CM.

[0055] The bidding control unit BC communicates with the advertisement distribution server 300 and executes the auction process from the perspective of a bidder who is seeking to purchase an advertisement space. That is, the bidding control unit BC mainly executes the process for winning a bid for the advertisement space based on a request from an advertiser. The consumer information management unit CM manages consumer information (described later) that is recorded in association with an affiliated user ID.

[0056] FIG. 2(E) shows an overview of database DBb of bidding server 400A. Database DBb stores advertising images submitted by advertisers, advertising information, and the affiliated user IDs and consumer information described above. Advertising image data has a known data format, such as JPEG or PNG. Advertising images are either monochrome advertising images printed using one color of ink (usually black ink) or color advertising images printed using multiple colors of ink (for example, four colors of ink: CMYK).

[0057] The advertising information is, for example, information related to an advertising image. The advertising information includes, for example, type information indicating the type of the advertising image (monochrome or color), target information indicating the target (customer) to whom the advertising image should be delivered, and maximum price information indicating the maximum price that the advertiser is willing to pay when the advertising image is printed. The advertising information is provided, for example, by the advertiser when the advertising image is submitted.

[0058] Consumer information is information about the consumption behavior of a user who has an associated affiliated user ID. The consumer information is generated based on history information such as search history on a portal site, advertisement reference history, and browsing and purchasing history on a website. The consumer information may include, for example, information about the user's areas of interest, product information, and user attributes (e.g., age group, gender, purchasing power).

[0059] The bid servers 400B and 400C have the same configuration as the bid server 400A described above.

[0060] A-2. Operation of System 1000 Next, the operation of the system 1000 will be described. The system 1000 executes an advertisement printing process that causes a printer (e.g., printer 500) of a user who has subscribed to the advertisement distribution service to print an advertisement image. FIGS. 3 to 5 are sequence diagrams showing the operation of the advertisement printing process. The advertisement printing process is started by the distribution control unit DC of the advertisement distribution server 300 when a predetermined start condition is satisfied. The predetermined start condition is, for example, when a predetermined time has come.

[0061] In S2, the distribution control unit DC of the advertisement distribution server 300 transmits a request for ink-related information to the printer 500. In this embodiment, the printer 500 establishes a constant connection with a relay server (not shown) while the printer 500 is powered on. The constant connection is a connection that complies with a protocol called MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) or XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), for example. In this embodiment, communication between the advertisement distribution server 300 and the printer 500 (S2 and S4 in FIG. 3) is performed via the relay server.

[0062] When the printer 500 receives the ink-related information request, the CPU 510 of the printer 500 transmits the ink-related information to the advertisement distribution server 300 in S4. The ink-related information is information related to the state of ink in the printer 500. Specifically, the ink-related information in this embodiment includes information indicating the type of ink described above stored in the database DBp, a color prohibition flag, and a purge execution flag.

[0063] When the advertisement delivery server 300 receives the ink-related information, the delivery control unit DC acquires the ink-related information and requests the URL of the advertisement image from the advertisement space sales unit AS in S6. When requesting the URL of the advertisement image, the delivery control unit DC passes the ink-related information to the advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0064] When the advertising space sales unit AS receives a request for the URL of the advertising image, it executes a process for determining a minimum bid price in S8. The process for determining a minimum bid price is a process for determining the lower limit of the bid price (called the minimum bid price) that bidders may submit in an auction process for selling advertising space.

[0065] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an advertisement space and an advertisement image. FIG. 6(A) shows an example of an advertisement template PT. In this embodiment, in one advertisement printing process, the printer 500 prints an image for one sheet of paper of a predetermined size (e.g., A4). The advertisement template PT is a template for creating a print image for one sheet of paper. Four advertisement spaces AF1-AF4 of the same size are arranged in the advertisement template PT in FIG. 6(A). Note that the advertisement template PT in FIG. 6(A) is an example and is not limited to this. One advertisement space may be arranged in one advertisement template PT, or multiple types of advertisement spaces of different sizes may be arranged in one advertisement template PT.

[0066] Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the minimum bid price determination process of Example 1. The process of Fig. 7 is executed for each of the four advertising frames AF1-AF4 in Fig. 6(A).

[0067] In S210, the advertising space sales department AS sets color and monochrome base prices BPc and BPm. The color base price is the price that serves as the base for the minimum bid price when printing a color advertising image. The monochrome base price is the price that serves as the base for the minimum bid price when printing a monochrome advertising image. For example, a base price per A4 size is determined in advance for each of monochrome and color. The base price per advertising space is set by multiplying the base price per A4 size by a coefficient corresponding to the size of the advertising space. For example, the base price for each of the advertising spaces AF1-AF4 in Figure 6(A) is set to a price obtained by multiplying the base price per A4 size by (1 / 4). Because color images are considered to be more effective as advertising than monochrome images, if the image sizes are the same, the base price for color is usually higher than the base price for monochrome.

[0068] In S215, the advertising space sales unit AS determines whether the black (K) ink is genuine or not. Whether the black ink is genuine or not is determined based on the information indicating the type of black ink included in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC in S6 of Fig. 3.

[0069] If the black ink is genuine (S215: YES), the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome image quality degradation flag to OFF in S220. In S225, the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome price correction coefficient BV to 1.0.

[0070] If the black ink is not genuine, i.e., if it is non-genuine (S215: NO), the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome image quality degradation flag to ON in S230. In S235, the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome price correction coefficient BV to 0.5.

[0071] In S240, the advertising space sales unit AS identifies the number of genuine inks. The number of genuine inks is the number of genuine inks among the multiple colors of ink used by the printer 500. In this embodiment, four colors of ink, CMYK, are used, so the number of genuine inks is a value between 0 and 4. The number of genuine inks is identified based on information indicating the type of each CMYK ink contained in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC.

[0072] In S245, the advertising space sales department AS sets a color image quality degradation flag according to the number of genuine inks. The setting of the color image quality degradation flag is performed by referring to a reference table stored in the database DBa. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the reference table RT of the first embodiment. The reference table RT records the value of the color image quality degradation flag to be set for each of the possible values ​​0-4 of the number of genuine inks. As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, if the number of genuine inks is 0-3, the color image quality degradation flag is set to ON. If the number of genuine inks is 4, the color image quality degradation flag is set to OFF. Thus, in this embodiment, if even one color of non-genuine ink is used, there is a high possibility that the quality of the printed image will be degraded, so the color image quality degradation flag is set to ON.

[0073] In S250, the advertising space sales department AS sets a color price correction coefficient CV according to the number of genuine inks. The color price correction coefficient CV is set by referencing a lookup table stored in database DBa. As shown in FIG. 8, lookup table RT records the value of the color price correction coefficient CV to be set for each of the possible values ​​0-4 for the number of genuine inks. As shown in FIG. 8, the color price correction coefficient CV is set to a larger value the greater the number of genuine inks. Specifically, the color price correction coefficient CV is set to 0.5 when the number of genuine inks is 0, and is set to an increasingly larger value by 0.125 for each increase in the number of genuine inks, until it is set to 1.0 when the number of genuine inks is 4.

[0074] In S255, the advertising space sales unit AS determines whether the printer 500 that is to print the advertising image (hereinafter also referred to as the target printer) is in a color prohibition state. Whether the printer 500 is in a color prohibition state is determined based on the color prohibition flag included in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC.

[0075] If the printer 500 is in a color prohibited state (S255: YES), the advertising space sales unit AS increases the color price correction coefficient CV in S260. Specifically, the advertising space sales unit AS multiplies the color price correction coefficient CV by a coefficient greater than 1 (1.3 in the example of FIG. 7), and sets the resulting value as the new color price correction coefficient CV. If the printer 500 is not in a color prohibited state (S255: NO), the advertising space sales unit AS does not execute S260.

[0076] In S265, the advertising space sales unit AS determines whether the printer 500 that is to print the advertising image is in a state requiring purging. Whether the printer 500 is in a state requiring purging is determined based on the purge execution flag included in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC.

[0077] If the printer 500 is in a state requiring purging (S265: YES), the advertising space sales unit AS increases the monochrome price correction coefficient BV and the color price correction coefficient CV in S270. Specifically, the advertising space sales unit AS multiplies each of the monochrome price correction coefficient BV and the color price correction coefficient CV by a coefficient greater than 1 (1.1 in the example of FIG. 7), and sets the resulting values ​​as the new monochrome price correction coefficient BV and color price correction coefficient CV. If the printer 500 is not in a state requiring purging (S265: NO), the advertising space sales unit AS does not execute S270.

[0078] In S275, the advertising space sales unit AS calculates the minimum bid price by multiplying the base price set in S210 by the price correction coefficient set in S215-S270. Specifically, the value obtained by multiplying the color base price BPc by the color price correction coefficient CV is calculated as the minimum bid price for color advertising images. The value obtained by multiplying the monochrome base price BPm by the monochrome price correction coefficient BV is calculated as the minimum bid price for monochrome advertising images. Once the minimum bid price is calculated, the minimum bid price determination process ends.

[0079] In S10, which follows the minimum bid price determination process in S8 of FIG. 3, the advertising space sales unit AS transmits a bid request to the bidding servers 400A-400C. Similar processing is performed between the advertising delivery server 300 (advertising space sales unit AS) and each of the bidding servers 400A-400C. For this reason, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bidding servers 400A-400C are not distinguished from each other, and processing is described as being between the advertising delivery server 300 and the bidding server 400. Note that communication between the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising delivery server 300 and the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 is performed in accordance with a protocol called OpenRTB. RTB is an abbreviation for "Real Time Bidding."

[0080] The bid request includes frame information, minimum bid price information, image quality information, and affiliated user ID. Frame information is, for example, the size of the advertising frame (number of pixels in the vertical or horizontal direction). Minimum bid price information is information indicating the monochrome and color minimum bid prices determined in the above-mentioned minimum bid price determination process. Image quality information is information that is added when the image quality degradation flag is set ON in the above-mentioned minimum bid price determination process. When the color image quality degradation flag is set ON, the image quality information includes information indicating that the image quality may be degraded when printing a color advertising image. When the monochrome image quality degradation flag is set ON, the image quality information includes information indicating that the image quality may be degraded when printing a monochrome advertising image. The affiliated user ID is an affiliated user ID associated with the user ID of the user of printer 500.

[0081] When the bidding server 400 receives the bid request, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the bid request. In S12, the bidding control unit BC requests consumer information from the consumer information management unit CM. When requesting the consumer information, the bid control unit BC passes the affiliated user ID included in the bid request, i.e., the affiliated user ID of the user of the printer 500, to the consumer information management unit CM.

[0082] When the consumer information management unit CM receives the request for consumer information, in S14 it obtains the consumer information associated with the affiliated user ID of the user of the printer 500 from the database DBb and passes it to the bidding control unit BC.

[0083] When the bid control unit BC receives the consumer information, in S16 it determines the bid price when bidding in response to the bid request and the advertising image to be printed using the advertising space if the advertising space is won through the bid. The bid price is determined to be a price equal to or higher than the minimum bid price included in the bid request. The advertising image to be printed and the bid price are determined from multiple advertising images that have been submitted and stored in the database DBa. The advertising image and bid price are determined taking into consideration the minimum bid price, the advertising information described above (target information, upper limit price information, type information), the consumer information acquired in S14, the printing history of each advertising image, etc.

[0084] After determining the bid price and the advertising image, the bid control unit BC transmits a bid notification to the advertisement delivery server 300 in S18. The bid notification is transmitted as a response to the bid request received in S10. The bid notification includes a bid ID and a bid price. Note that the bid control unit BC may also determine multiple advertising images and bid prices in S16 and transmit multiple bid notifications to the advertisement delivery server 300.

[0085] The advertisement delivery server 300 transmits bid responses to the plurality of bidding servers 400A-400C in S10, and may receive one or more bid notifications from each of the plurality of bidding servers 400-400C in S18. In this embodiment, the advertisement delivery server 300 receives more bid notifications than the number of advertisement slots (for example, four).

[0086] In S20, the advertising space sales unit AS executes a winning bid process. The winning bid process is a process for determining a winning bidder and a winning bid price. The winning bidder is an advertiser who acquires the right to purchase advertising space. The winning bid price is the amount that the winning bidder must pay when purchasing advertising space. Specifically, the advertising space sales unit AS selects bids for the number of advertising spaces from the multiple notified bids in descending order of bid price. In this embodiment, since there are four advertising spaces, four bids are selected. The bidders who submitted the four selected bids are determined to be the winning bidders. The winning bid price is determined, for example, to be the bid price submitted by the winning bidder. Alternatively, the winning bid price may be the highest bid submitted by bidders who lost, or a price obtained by adding a predetermined amount (for example, 1 yen) to that highest bid.

[0087] In S22, the advertising space sales unit AS transmits a winning bid result notice corresponding to each of the multiple bid notices received in S18. The winning bid result notice is transmitted to the bidding server 400 (one of the bidding servers 400A-400C) that transmitted the bid notice. The winning bid result notice includes a bid ID and winning bid result information. The winning bid result information includes information indicating whether the bid was successful, and if the bid was successful, further includes information indicating the winning bid price.

[0088] When the bidding server 400 receives the bidding result notification, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the bidding result notification. If the bidding control unit BC acquires the bidding result notification indicating that the bid was unsuccessful, the processing executed between the advertisement delivery server 300 and the bidding server 400 is terminated. If the bidding control unit BC acquires the bidding result notification indicating that the bid was successful, the processing from S24 onwards in Fig. 4 is executed.

[0089] In S24, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 transmits a uniform resource locator (hereinafter also referred to as an advertising image URL) indicating the location of an advertising image to be printed using the successful advertising space to the advertising delivery server 300. When the advertising delivery server 300 receives the advertising image URL, the advertising space sales unit AS of the advertising delivery server 300 acquires the advertising image URL. In S26, the advertising space sales unit AS passes the advertising image URL to the delivery control unit DC.

[0090] In S28, the distribution control unit DC transmits an advertising image request (e.g., an HTTP request) including the received advertising image URL. Since the advertising image URL points to the advertising image data stored in the database DBb of the bid server 400, the advertising image request is transmitted to the bid server 400.

[0091] When the bidding server 400 receives the advertising image request, the bidding control unit BC of the bidding server 400 acquires the advertising image request. In S30, the bidding control unit BC transmits data of the advertising image specified by the advertising image URL to the advertising delivery server 300 as a response to the advertising image request. In this embodiment, S28 and S30 are executed for each of the four advertising spaces, and therefore the advertising delivery server 300 receives four advertising images corresponding to the four advertising spaces.

[0092] When the advertisement delivery server 300 receives the advertisement image data, the delivery control unit DC of the advertisement delivery server 300 acquires the advertisement image data. In S32, the delivery control unit DC generates one print image using the acquired four advertisement images. FIG. 6(B) shows a print image PI generated using the advertisement template PT of FIG. 6(A). The delivery control unit DC generates the print image PI, for example, by placing the corresponding advertisement images AI1-AI4 in each of the four advertisement frames AF1-AF4 arranged in the advertisement template PT. The data of the print image PI has a known data format, for example, JPEG format, PNG format, or the like.

[0093] In S34, the distribution control unit DC sends a print instruction to the remote print server 200. The print instruction includes, for example, data of the print image PI, information indicating print settings for printing the print image PI, and a device token. The device token is authentication information for remote printing associated with the printer 500.

[0094] When the remote print server 200 receives the print instruction, in S36 the remote print server 200 and the printer 500 execute remote printing processing. For example, the CPU 210 of the remote print server 200 generates a print job for printing the print image PI according to the print settings. The CPU 210 identifies the printer 500 to which the print job is to be sent based on the device token. The CPU 210 sends the print job to the printer 500 via the relay server (not shown) that has established a constant connection with the printer 500. The CPU 510 of the printer 500 uses the print job to print the print image PI on paper. When the CPU 510 completes printing the print image PI, it sends a print completion notification to the remote print server 200 via the relay server.

[0095] When the remote printing process is completed, in S38, the CPU 210 of the remote printing server 200 transmits a print completion notification indicating that printing of the print image PI has been completed to the advertisement delivery server 300. When the advertisement delivery server 300 receives the print completion notification, the delivery control unit DC of the advertisement delivery server 300 acquires the print completion notification. In S40, the delivery control unit DC passes the print completion notification to the advertisement space sales unit AS.

[0096] When the advertising space sales unit AS receives the printing completion notification, in S42, an advertising fee settlement process is executed between the advertising space sales unit AS and the bidding server 400. The advertising fee settlement process is, for example, a process in which the advertiser of the advertising image pays the advertising fee to the business operator operating the advertising distribution server 300. The advertising fee settlement process is executed using a known so-called online settlement method. The amount of the advertising fee is, for example, the winning bid price.

[0097] When the advertising fee settlement process is completed, the advertising space sales unit AS passes a settlement completion notice to the distribution control unit DC in S44.

[0098] 5, the distribution control unit DC transmits an advertisement printing performance notification to the management server 100. The advertisement printing performance notification includes information indicating the user ID of the user of the printer 500 that printed the print image PI including the advertisement image, and the successful bid prices of the four advertisement frames corresponding to each advertisement image included in the print image PI.

[0099] When the management server 100 receives the advertisement printing performance notification, the CPU 110 of the management server 100 calculates, in S50, the bonus points to be returned to the user of the printer 500. Specifically, the CPU 110 calculates the bonus points to be returned as the amount obtained by multiplying the total successful bid prices of the four advertisement spaces by a predetermined return rate (for example, several percent to several tens of percent).

[0100] In S52, the CPU 110 executes a point granting process. Specifically, the CPU 110 adds the value of the bonus points calculated in S50 to the value of the bonus points associated with the user ID indicating the user of the printer 500 in the bonus point information stored in the database DBm. Once the point granting process is executed, the advertisement printing process ends.

[0101] According to the first embodiment described above, the advertisement delivery server 300 receives ink-related information, which is information about the ink in the printer 500, from the printer 500 (S4 in FIG. 3). The advertisement delivery server 300 varies the minimum bid price according to the printing conditions of the advertisement image specified based on the ink-related information, which are printing conditions related to the ink status (e.g., whether the ink used is genuine, whether purging is required, whether color printing is prohibited, etc.) (FIG. 7). That is, when the printing conditions related to the ink status are first conditions, the advertisement delivery server 300 determines the minimum bid price to be a first price. When the printing conditions are second conditions different from the first conditions, the advertisement delivery server 300 determines the minimum bid price to be a second price lower than the first price. The minimum bid price ultimately affects the advertising fee (winning bid price) paid by the advertiser of the advertisement image AI1-AI4. That is, the higher the minimum bid price, the more likely the winning bid price will be. For this reason, it can be said that the minimum bid price is a price related to the advertising fee paid by the advertiser. As a result, the minimum bid price can be determined to be an appropriate price depending on the printing conditions related to the ink state, and therefore the advertising fee paid by the advertiser can be determined to be an appropriate price.

[0102] For example, depending on the ink condition of the printer 500, there may be cases where the quality of the printed advertising image is likely to deteriorate, or there may be cases where the likelihood of deterioration is low. It is believed that a deterioration in the quality of the advertising image will also reduce the effectiveness of the advertisement. For this reason, it is not reasonable to have no difference in advertising fees between cases where the quality of the advertising image is likely to deteriorate and cases where the likelihood of deterioration is low. When the quality of the advertising image is likely to deteriorate, it is preferable to lower the advertising fee compared to cases where the likelihood of deterioration is low. Furthermore, depending on the ink condition, printing the advertising image may cause some disadvantage to the user of the printer 500. In such cases, it is preferable to increase the advertising fee and reward points given to the user. According to this embodiment, the advertising fee paid by the advertiser can be determined to be a reasonable price depending on the printing conditions related to the ink condition. This can, for example, increase the sense of satisfaction of advertisers and users of the printer 500, thereby promoting the use of advertising distribution services by advertisers and users of the printer 500.

[0103] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the advertisement delivery server 300 sets a lower minimum bid price for monochrome when the black ink is not genuine ink than when the black ink is genuine ink (S215, S225, S235 in FIG. 7). That is, the first condition includes that the ink is genuine ink, and the second condition includes that the ink is not genuine ink. When the ink is not genuine ink, the quality of the printed advertisement image may be lower than when the ink is genuine ink. For example, when non-genuine ink is used, the ink's characteristics differ from those of genuine ink, so printing may have to be performed at a lower resolution than the set print resolution. For this reason, it is preferable that the advertising fee (winning bid price) paid by the advertiser be lower when the ink is not genuine ink than when the ink is genuine ink. According to this embodiment, when the ink is not genuine ink, the minimum bid price is lower than when the ink is genuine ink, thereby inducing a lower winning bid price. Therefore, the winning bid price can be determined to be reasonable depending on whether the ink is genuine ink or not.

[0104] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the advertisement distribution server 300 sets a lower minimum bid price for color inks as the number of genuine inks (any of 0-4) decreases (S250 in FIG. 7, FIG. 8). That is, the first condition includes the number of genuine inks being n (n is an integer satisfying n≧1), and the second condition includes the number of genuine inks being m (m is an integer satisfying n>m≧0). When the number of genuine inks used in printing is small, the quality of the printed advertisement image may be lower than when the number of genuine inks is large. For this reason, it is preferable that the advertising fee (winning bid price) paid by the advertiser be lower as the number of genuine inks is small. According to this embodiment, when the number of genuine inks is small, the minimum bid price is lower compared to when the number of genuine inks is large, thereby inducing a lower winning bid price. Therefore, the winning bid price can be determined to be reasonable depending on the number of genuine inks.

[0105] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the advertisement distribution server 300 determines the minimum bid price for monochrome advertising images and the minimum bid price for color advertising images, respectively. The advertising value of monochrome advertising images and color advertising images may differ. In this embodiment, the minimum bid price for monochrome advertising images and the minimum bid price for color advertising images are determined separately, so that the winning bid price can be determined to be a reasonable price.

[0106] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the printer 500 is not in a color-prohibited state (NO in S255 in FIG. 7 ), the advertisement delivery server 300 sets a lower minimum bid price for color (S255, S260 in FIG. 7 ) compared to when the printer 500 is in a color-prohibited state (YES in S255 in FIG. 7 ). That is, the first condition for determining the minimum bid price for a color advertisement image includes the printer 500 being in a color-prohibited state, and the second condition includes the printer 500 not being in a color-prohibited state. When the printer 500 is in a color-prohibited state, in order to print a color advertisement image, the user of the printer 500 needs to refill the chromatic color inks that are in an "empty" state to cancel the color-prohibited state. Furthermore, because a print job for an advertisement image is usually non-cancellable, the user cannot print monochrome images unless the printer 500 refills the ink and cancels the color-prohibited state. For this reason, sending a print job for a color advertisement image to a printer 500 in a color-prohibited state may impose an excessive burden or inconvenience on the user. For this reason, when the color prohibition state is established, it is preferable to increase the advertising fee for color advertising images and increase the points given to the user. In this embodiment, when the color prohibition state is established, the minimum bid price for color advertising images is set higher than when the color prohibition state is not established, so that the bid price can be determined to be a reasonable price depending on the state of the printer 500.

[0107] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the printer 500 is not in a purge-required state (NO in S265 in FIG. 7), the advertisement distribution server 300 sets a lower minimum bid price (S265, S270 in FIG. 7) compared to when the printer 500 is in a purge-required state (YES in S265 in FIG. 7). That is, the first condition includes the printer 500 being in a purge-required state, and the second condition includes the printer 500 not being in a purge-required state. When the printer 500 is in a purge-required state, a purge process is executed immediately before printing the advertisement image to clear clogging of the nozzles. Therefore, in this case, the image quality of the printed advertisement image is less likely to be degraded due to clogging of the nozzles, and the advertisement image is guaranteed to be printed with high image quality. Therefore, when the printer 500 is in a purge-required state, even if the advertising fee is high, it is unlikely to be a disadvantage to the advertiser. Furthermore, when the printer 500 is in a purging-required state, a purge process is executed to print the advertising image, which may result in an excessively large amount of ink being consumed against the user's will. In this case, the user may subsequently suffer disadvantages, such as being unable to perform a planned print job due to a lack of ink. For this reason, when the printer 500 is in a purging-required state, it is preferable to increase the advertising fee for the advertising image and increase the points given to the user. In this embodiment, when the printer 500 is in a purging-required state, the minimum bid price for the advertising image is higher than when the printer 500 is not in a purging-required state, so that the bid price can be determined to be an appropriate price depending on the state of the printer 500.

[0108] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the advertisement delivery server 300 receives one or more bids submitting bid prices from the bidding servers 400A-400C, and executes an auction process (S10-S22 in FIG. 3) to determine a successful bidder and a winning bid price based on the bid prices. The advertisement delivery server 300 determines a minimum bid price, which is the lower limit of the bid prices, based on the ink-related information (FIG. 7). The advertisement delivery server 300 transmits bid information including the minimum bid price to the bidding server (S10 in FIG. 3). Thus, according to this embodiment, by determining the minimum bid price to be an appropriate price, the winning bid price for printing the advertisement image, i.e., the advertising fee paid by the advertiser, can be determined to be an appropriate price.

[0109] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the minimum bid price is determined to be low due to a possible deterioration in image quality caused by the state of the printer 500, the advertisement delivery server 300 The bid server 400 transmits bid information including the minimum bid price and image quality information indicating that the image quality of the advertising image may be reduced when printed to the bid server 400A-400C (S10 in FIG. 3). As a result, the bid server 400A-400C can determine the bid price and whether to place a bid, recognizing that the image quality of the advertising image may be reduced when printed. For example, if there is a possibility that the image quality may be reduced when printed, the bid server 400 can decide not to place a bid even if the minimum bid price is low. As a result, for example, it is possible to prevent the image quality of the printed image from being reduced contrary to the bidder's intention, and the winning bid price is more likely to be determined to be a price that the bidder is satisfied with.

[0110] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the printer 500 prints an advertising image, the advertisement distribution server 300 determines the amount of bonus points according to the successful bid price determined based on the minimum bid price (S50 in FIG. 5), and executes a point granting process to grant the determined amount of bonus points to the user of the printer 500 (S52 in FIG. 5). As a result, if the state of the printer 500 could cause a burden or disadvantage to the user, more bonus points than usual can be granted. As a result, the user of the printer 500 can be more satisfied, which can promote the use of the advertisement distribution service.

[0111] As can be seen from the above explanation, in this embodiment, ink is an example of a printer consumable, and the minimum bid price is an example of a specific price.

[0112] B. Second Example In the second embodiment, the content of the ink-related information received from the printer 500 in S2 of FIG. 3 differs from that in the first embodiment. The ink-related information in the second embodiment includes information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the printer 500, instead of the information indicating the type of ink in the first embodiment. The information indicating the remaining amount of ink includes information indicating the remaining amount of each of the four colors of ink, CMYK. In the second embodiment, the content of the minimum bid price determination process differs from that in the first embodiment. Other configurations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the minimum bid price determination process in the second embodiment.

[0113] In S210B, similarly to S210 in FIG. 7, the advertising space sales department AS sets the basic prices BPc and BPm for color and monochrome.

[0114] In S215B, the advertising space sales unit AS determines whether the remaining amount of black (K) ink is low. In S6 of FIG. 3, whether the remaining amount of black ink is low is determined based on information indicating the remaining amount of black ink included in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC. Specifically, a "low" remaining amount of ink means that the remaining amount of ink is less than a predetermined threshold value THl. The threshold value THl is a value greater than the threshold value THe used to determine whether an ink is "empty" in the first embodiment. The threshold value THl is, for example, a value approximately 2-10% of the capacity of the ink cartridge at the time of purchase. Note that in this embodiment, if the remaining amount of ink is "empty," the remaining amount of that ink is not determined to be "low." In other words, in this embodiment, if the remaining amount of a specific ink is less than a predetermined threshold value THl and equal to or greater than the threshold value THe, the remaining amount of that specific ink is determined to be low.

[0115] If the remaining amount of black ink is low (S215B: YES), the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome image quality degradation flag to ON in S220B. In S225B, the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome price correction coefficient BV to 0.5.

[0116] If the amount of black ink is not small (S215B: NO), the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome image quality degradation flag to OFF in S230B. In S235B, the advertising space sales department AS sets the monochrome price correction coefficient BV to 1.0.

[0117] In S240B, the advertising space sales unit AS identifies the number of inks with low remaining amounts. The number of inks with low remaining amounts is the number of inks with low remaining amounts among the multiple colors of ink used by the printer 500. The determination of whether or not the remaining amount is low is as described above. In this embodiment, four colors of ink, CMYK, are used, so the number of inks with low remaining amounts is any value between 0 and 4. The number of inks with low remaining amounts is identified based on information indicating the remaining amounts of each of the CMYK inks contained in the ink-related information received from the distribution control unit DC.

[0118] In S245B, the advertising space sales department AS sets a color image quality degradation flag according to the number of small inks. The setting of the color image quality degradation flag is performed by referring to a reference table stored in the database DBa. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the reference table RTb of the second embodiment. The reference table RTb records the value of the color image quality degradation flag to be set for each of the possible values ​​0-4 of the number of small inks. As shown in FIG. 10, in this embodiment, if the number of small inks is 0, the color image quality degradation flag is set to OFF. If the number of genuine inks is any of 1-4, the color image quality degradation flag is set to ON.

[0119] In S250B, the advertising space sales department AS sets a color price correction coefficient CV according to the number of small inks. The color price correction coefficient CV is set by referring to a reference table stored in database DBa. As shown in FIG. 10, reference table RTb records the value of the color price correction coefficient CV to be set for each of the possible values ​​0-4 of the number of small inks. As shown in FIG. 10, the color price correction coefficient CV is set to a smaller value the greater the number of small inks. Specifically, the color price correction coefficient CV is set to 1.0 when the number of small inks is 0, and is set to a value that gradually decreases by 0.125 for each increase in the number of small inks by 1, and is set to 0.5 when the number of small inks is 4.

[0120] The processing of S255 to S275 in FIG. 9 is the same as the processing of the same reference numerals in FIG. 7 of the first embodiment (the processing of S255 to S275 in FIG. 7), and therefore a description of S255 to S275 in FIG. 9 will be omitted.

[0121] According to the second embodiment described above, when the remaining amount of black ink is low, the advertisement delivery server 300 sets the monochrome minimum bid price lower than when the remaining amount of black ink is not low (S215B, S225B, S235B in FIG. 7). That is, the first condition for setting a higher minimum bid price includes the remaining amount of ink being greater than the threshold THl, and the second condition for setting a lower minimum bid price includes the remaining amount of ink being less than the threshold THl. When the remaining amount of ink is low, for example, the amount of ink ejected from the nozzles during printing becomes insufficient, increasing the likelihood of defects such as blurring or reduced density occurring in the printed image. Thus, when the remaining amount of ink is low, the image quality of the printed advertisement image may be lower than when the remaining amount of ink is not low. For this reason, it is preferable that the advertising fee (winning bid price) paid by the advertiser be lower when the remaining amount of ink is low than when the remaining amount of ink is not low. According to this embodiment, when the remaining amount of ink is small, the minimum bid price is set lower than when the remaining amount of ink is not small, thereby inducing a lower successful bid price. Therefore, the successful bid price can be determined to be a reasonable price depending on whether the ink is genuine ink or not.

[0122] Here, we will explain why it is not determined that the remaining ink amount is low when the remaining ink amount is "empty." When the remaining ink amount is "empty," printing is not performed, so the advertising image is printed after the "empty" ink is replenished by replacing the ink cartridge. For this reason, even if the remaining ink amount is "empty" at the time of the minimum bid price determination process, it is believed that this will not cause a deterioration in the image quality of images printed thereafter. For this reason, in this embodiment, when the remaining ink amount is "empty," it is not determined that the remaining ink amount is low.

[0123] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the advertisement distribution server 300 sets a lower minimum bid price for color inks as the number of inks with low amounts of ink (any of 0-4) increases (S250B in FIG. 9, FIG. 10). That is, the second condition includes the number of inks with low amounts of ink being n (n is an integer satisfying n≧1), and the first condition includes the number of inks with low amounts of ink being m (m is an integer satisfying n>m≧0). When the number of inks with low amounts of inks is large among the multiple inks used for printing, the aforementioned blurring and reduced density are more likely to occur compared to when the number of inks with low amounts of ink is small, which may increase the possibility of a decrease in the quality of the printed advertisement image. For this reason, it is preferable that the advertising fee (winning bid price) paid by the advertiser be lower as the number of inks with low amounts of ink is large. According to this embodiment, by setting a lower minimum bid price when the number of inks with low amounts of ink is large compared to when the number of inks with low amounts of ink is small, it is possible to induce a lower winning bid price. Therefore, the winning bid price can be determined to be a reasonable price depending on the number of inks with low amounts of ink.

[0124] C. Variations (1) In the above embodiments, ink-related information is used as information related to consumables. If the printer 500 is an electrophotographic printer that uses toner for printing, information related to the toner, such as information indicating whether the toner is genuine or the amount of toner remaining, is used instead of ink-related information.

[0125] (2) Information about a printing substrate, such as paper, may also be used as information about consumables. For example, if the paper is plain paper, the quality of the printed image is more likely to be degraded than if the paper is glossy paper. For this reason, the advertisement delivery server 300 may receive information from the printer 500 for identifying whether the paper is plain paper or glossy paper. Then, if the paper is plain paper, the advertisement delivery server 300 may determine a lower minimum bid price compared to when the paper is glossy paper.

[0126] (3) In the second embodiment described above, the ink-related information includes information indicating the remaining amount of ink. The advertisement delivery server 300 then determines whether the remaining amount of ink is low, in other words, whether the remaining amount of ink is less than the threshold value THl, based on the information indicating the remaining amount of ink. Alternatively, the printer 500 may determine whether its own remaining amount of ink is less than the threshold value THl, and transmit information indicating the determination result, i.e., information indicating whether the remaining amount of ink is low, to the advertisement delivery server 300 as ink-related information. Generally speaking, it is sufficient for the advertisement delivery server 300 to receive information that can identify whether the remaining amount of ink in the printer 500 is low.

[0127] In each of the above embodiments, the advertisement delivery server 300 receives a color prohibition flag and a purge execution flag from the printer 500 as ink-related information. The advertisement delivery server 300 then uses the color prohibition flag and the purge execution flag to determine whether the printer 500 is in a color prohibition state or a purge-required state. Alternatively, for example, the advertisement delivery server 300 may receive information indicating an ink consumption history that indicates changes in the remaining ink amount. The advertisement delivery server 300 may then determine whether the printer 500 is currently in a color prohibition state or a purge-required state based on the ink consumption history. Generally speaking, it is sufficient for the advertisement delivery server 300 to receive information that can identify whether the printer 500 is in a color prohibition state or a purge-required state.

[0128] (4) In each of the above embodiments, the advertisement delivery server 300 receives ink-related information from the printer 500. For example, if a user of the printer 500 uses an ink management service, the printer 500 may frequently upload information such as the remaining ink level and the printer 500's status to a server that provides the ink management service. In such a case, the server that provides the ink management service recognizes the status of the printer 500 in almost real time. Therefore, in this case, the advertisement delivery server 300 may receive ink-related information from the server that provides the ink management service.

[0129] (5) In each of the above embodiments, the advertisement delivery server 300 executes an auction process (S10-S22 in FIG. 3) with the bidding server 400. Alternatively, the advertisement delivery server 300 may sell the advertising space at a fixed selling price without executing the auction process. In this case, for example, the advertisement delivery server 300 may determine the selling price in accordance with the printing conditions identified using the ink-related information, instead of the minimum bid price. In this case, for example, the selling price may be determined in the same manner as the method for determining the minimum bid price in the minimum bid price determination process of FIGS. 7 and 9. As can be seen from the above explanation, in each of the above embodiments, the minimum bid price is an example of a specific price, and in this modified example, the selling price is an example of a specific price.

[0130] (6) In the minimum bid price determination process in each of the above embodiments, two minimum bid prices are determined, one for color advertising images and one for monochrome advertising images. However, one minimum bid price common to both color advertising images and monochrome advertising images may be determined.

[0131] (7) The settings of the monochrome image quality degradation flag and color image quality degradation flag in the above embodiments are merely examples and are not limited to these. For example, in S230 of Fig. 7 and S220B of Fig. 9, the monochrome image quality degradation flag is set to ON, but it may also be set to OFF. In this case, image quality information indicating the possibility of image quality degradation is not transmitted to the bidding server 400, even if non-genuine ink is used or the remaining ink level is low.

[0132] 8, in the first embodiment, the color image quality degradation flag is set to ON when the number of genuine inks is 0 to 3. Alternatively, the color image quality degradation flag may be set to ON when the number of genuine inks is 0 to 1, or when the number of genuine inks is 0 to 2, or the color image quality degradation flag may be set to ON only when the number of genuine inks is 0.

[0133] 10, in the second embodiment, the color image quality degradation flag is set to ON when the number of small amounts of ink is 1 to 4. Alternatively, the color image quality degradation flag may be set to ON when the number of small amounts of ink is 2 to 4, or the color image quality degradation flag may be set to ON when the number of small amounts of ink is 3 to 4, or the color image quality degradation flag may be set to ON only when the number of small amounts of ink is 4.

[0134] Furthermore, the process of using the monochrome image quality flag and the color image quality flag may be omitted. In this case, image quality information indicating the possibility of image quality degradation is not transmitted to the bidding server 400.

[0135] (8) In the above embodiments, the printing conditions (ink type, remaining amount, purge required status, color prohibited status) taken into consideration to change the minimum bid price are merely examples and are not limited to these. In each embodiment, some of the printing conditions taken into consideration may be omitted. For example, in the above embodiments, the printing conditions of whether or not a purge required status or a color prohibited status do not need to be taken into consideration when determining the minimum bid price. Furthermore, the advertisement distribution server 300 may not change the minimum bid price depending on whether or not a color prohibited status is in effect, but may instead not accept bids for printing a color advertising image if a color prohibited status is in effect.

[0136] Furthermore, other printing conditions related to the ink status may be taken into consideration depending on the settings of the printer 500. For example, assume that the printer 500 is configured to switch to a print mode that reduces image quality in exchange for reducing ink consumption when the remaining number of printable sheets based on the remaining ink amount falls below a predetermined number. In this case, the advertisement delivery server 300 may set the minimum bid price lower when the remaining number of printable sheets based on the remaining ink amount is below the predetermined number than when the remaining number of printable sheets is greater than the predetermined number.

[0137] (8) In each of the above embodiments, in S50 of FIG. 5, the amount of bonus points is calculated by multiplying the total winning bid prices of the four advertising spaces by a predetermined return rate. Alternatively, the management server 100 may calculate the amount of bonus points by multiplying the total minimum winning bid prices of the four advertising spaces by a predetermined return rate. Furthermore, the management server 100 may vary the return rate depending on the state of the printer 500. For example, if the printer 500 is in a required purge state and a purge process is performed when printing an advertising image, the amount of ink required to print the advertising image will be greater than if the purge process is not performed. In this case, the management server 100 may set the return rate to a value higher than usual.

[0138] (9) In each of the above embodiments, the advertisement distribution service is realized by the cooperation of four types of servers 100-400. The servers providing the advertisement distribution service may have various configurations. For example, the distribution control unit DC and the advertisement space sales unit AS of the advertisement distribution server 300 may be separate servers. Similarly, the bidding control unit BC and the consumer information management unit CM of the bidding server 400 may be separate servers.

[0139] Furthermore, the processes executed by the management server 100, the remote print server 200, and the advertisement delivery server 300 may be executed by a single server. Alternatively, the processes executed by any two of the management server 100, the remote print server 200, and the advertisement delivery server 300 may be executed by a single server.

[0140] (10) In the above embodiments, part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, part or all of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[0141] The present invention has been described above based on examples and modifications, but the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0142] 1000...system, 100...management server, 110...CPU, 120...volatile storage device, 130...non-volatile storage device, 180...communication IF, 200...remote print server, 210...CPU, 220...volatile storage device, 230...non-volatile storage device, 280...communication IF, 300...advertising distribution server, 310...CPU, 320...volatile storage device, 330...non-volatile storage device, 380...communication IF, 400A-400C...bidding server, 410...CPU, 420...volatile storage device, 4 30...nonvolatile storage device, 480...communication IF, 500...printer, 510...CPU, 520...volatile storage device, 530...nonvolatile storage device, 540...display unit, 550...operation unit, 570...printing mechanism, 580...communication IF, AS...advertising space sales unit, BC...bidding control unit, CM...consumer information management unit, DBa, DBb, DBm, DBp, DBr...database, DC...distribution control unit, PGa, PGb, PGm, PGp, PGr...computer program, RT, RTb...reference table

Claims

1. a server, an information receiving unit that receives specific information related to consumables of a printer that prints the advertising image; a price determination unit that determines a specific price related to an advertising fee to be paid by an advertiser of the advertising image as a first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image specified based on the specific information are first conditions related to the state of the consumables, and determines the specific price as a second price lower than the first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image are second conditions different from the first conditions; A server comprising:

2. 2. The server of claim 1, The information receiving unit receives the specific information from the printer.

3. 2. The server of claim 1, the identification information includes information for identifying whether the consumables used to print the advertising image are genuine products, the first condition includes that the consumable is a genuine product; The second condition includes that the consumable is not a genuine product.

4. 2. The server of claim 1, the consumables include color materials of multiple colors; the identification information includes information for identifying whether each of the color materials of the plurality of colors is a genuine product, the first condition includes that the number of genuine color materials among the plurality of color materials is n (n is an integer satisfying n≧1); The second condition includes that the number of genuine color materials among the plurality of color materials is m (m is an integer satisfying n>m≧0).

5. 2. The server of claim 1, the specifying information includes information for specifying whether the remaining amount of the consumable is greater than a first reference value; the first condition includes that the remaining amount of the consumable is greater than the first reference value; The second condition includes that the remaining amount of the consumable item is less than the first standard.

6. 2. The server of claim 1, the consumables include color materials of multiple colors; the second condition includes that the number of color materials whose remaining amounts are less than a first reference value is n (n is an integer satisfying n≧1), among the color materials of the plurality of colors; The first condition includes that the number of color materials of the plurality of colors whose remaining amounts are less than the first reference is m (m is an integer satisfying n>m≧0).

7. 2. The server of claim 1, The advertising images include monochrome advertising images printed using a single color material and color advertising images printed using a plurality of colors, The price determination unit determines the specific price for printing the monochrome advertising image and the specific price for printing the color advertising image.

8. 8. The server according to claim 7, The printer A color printer capable of printing using an achromatic color material and two or more chromatic color materials, when the remaining amount of at least one of the two or more chromatic color materials is less than a second reference value, a color prohibition state is set in which printing of a color image using the chromatic color materials is prohibited until the chromatic color material whose remaining amount is less than the second reference value is replenished, the identification information includes information for identifying whether the printer is in the color-prohibited state, the first condition for determining the specific price for printing the color advertising image includes the printer being in the color-disabled state; The server, wherein the second condition for determining the specific price for printing the color advertising image includes the printer not being in the color inhibit state.

9. 2. The server of claim 1, the consumables include ink; The printer an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting the ink from a nozzle, a purge process for ejecting the ink to prevent clogging of the nozzles can be performed; the identification information includes information for identifying whether the printer is in a state requiring purging, in which the purging process should be performed before printing; the first condition includes the printer being in the purge required state; The second condition includes the printer not being in the purge required state.

10. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: an auction processing unit that receives one or more bids presenting bid prices from a bidding server, and determines a successful bidder and a successful bid price based on the bid prices, and the advertisement image of the successful bidder is printed by the printer; the price determination unit determines, as the specific price, a minimum bid price that is a lower limit of the bid prices; The auction processing unit transmits bid information including the minimum bid price to the bidding server.

11. 11. The server of claim 10, When the minimum bid price is determined to be the second price, the auction processing unit transmits the bid information, which includes the minimum bid price and image quality information indicating that the image quality of the advertising image may be reduced when printed, to the bidding server.

12. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: The server is provided with a reward processing unit that executes a reward process in which, when the printer prints the advertising image, the amount of a reward is determined according to the specific price or an advertising price determined based on the specific price, and the determined amount of the reward is granted to the user of the printer.

13. A communication system including a printer that prints advertising images and a server, obtaining specific information regarding consumables for said printer; A communication system that determines a specific price for advertising fees to be paid by an advertiser of the advertising image as a first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image specified based on the specific information are first conditions, and determines the specific price as a second price lower than the first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image are second conditions different from the first conditions.

14. A computer program comprising: an information receiving function for receiving specific information regarding consumables of a printer that prints advertising images; a price determination function that determines a specific price related to the advertising fee to be paid by the advertiser of the advertising image as a first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image specified based on the specific information are first conditions related to the state of the consumables, and determines the specific price as a second price lower than the first price when the printing conditions of the advertising image are second conditions different from the first conditions; A computer program that makes the computer realize the above.

Images