Information distribution and printing system

Abstract

To prevent or reduce situations where an advertisement cannot be printed despite winning a bid in response to a tender request. [Solution] The information distribution and printing system 1 includes an advertising provider server 100 that receives and distributes advertising images managed by an advertising management server 500. In S5, it sends a bidding request for an advertising image to the advertising management server 500. In S8, it determines which advertising image will be awarded the bid from the advertising images received from the advertising management server 500 in response to the bidding request sent in S5. In S30, it retrieves the advertising image determined in S8 from the advertising management server 500. In S35, it executes printing of an image based on the advertising image retrieved in S30. In S45 and S75, it determines whether the printing executed in S35 was successful or unsuccessful. If it is determined that the printing was successful, it notifies the advertising management server 500 in S140 of a request for compensation corresponding to the completion of printing the advertising image. If it is determined that the printing was unsuccessful, it re-executes the printing of the image in S35.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information distribution printing system that distributes distribution information to a printing device at a distribution destination for printing.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1 for example, a bid for an advertisement attached to an image of a printed matter printed by a printing device is solicited, a target advertisement is determined based on the bid results from a plurality of advertisers, and a charge corresponding to the bid amount of the advertisement is executed. A technique is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the technique disclosed in the above-cited Document 1, for example, when attempting to print an advertisement that has been successfully bid according to the bid amount, printing may fail due to some inconvenience or the like in the printing device. In this case, there is a problem that the advertiser of the advertisement misses the opportunity to obtain the effect of the advertisement.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution printing system that can prevent or reduce a situation where an advertisement cannot be printed despite winning a bid in response to a bid solicitation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an information distribution printing system comprising a printing device and a distribution information provision server that receives distribution information managed by a distribution information management server and distributes it to the printing device, the system comprising: a request transmission unit that transmits a request for bidding on distribution information to the distribution information management server; an information determination unit that determines specific distribution information to be awarded among the distribution information received from the distribution information management server in response to the request for bidding transmitted by the request transmission unit; a specific distribution information acquisition unit that acquires the specific distribution information determined by the information determination unit from the distribution information management server; a print execution unit that performs printing of a printable distribution image based on the specific distribution information acquired by the specific distribution information acquisition unit; a print success / failure determination unit that determines whether the printing performed by the print execution unit was successful or unsuccessful; a claim notification unit that, when the print success / failure determination unit determines that the printing was successful, notifies the distribution information management server of a claim for compensation corresponding to the completion of printing of the specific distribution information; and a print re-execution unit that, when the print success / failure determination unit determines that the printing was unsuccessful, re-executes printing of the printable distribution image.

[0007] In the information distribution and printing system of the present invention, a request transmission unit sends a bidding request to the distribution information management server, thereby soliciting bids. In response to the bidding request, the information determination unit determines which specific distribution information will be awarded the bid from among the distribution information received from the distribution information management server. The specific distribution information acquisition unit acquires the specific distribution information from the distribution information management server, and the print execution unit executes the printing of the distribution image for printing based on the acquired specific distribution information. The print success / failure determination unit determines whether the executed print job was successful or unsuccessful. If it is determined to be successful, the billing notification unit notifies the distribution information management server of the payment claim corresponding to the completion of printing the specific distribution information. If it is determined to be unsuccessful, the print re-execution unit re-executes the printing of the distribution image. According to the present invention, even if the printing of the printable distribution image related to the successful bid fails, the printing will be re-executed, thereby improving the probability of successful printing. As a result, it is possible to prevent or reduce situations where an advertisement cannot be printed despite having won the bid. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent or reduce situations in which an advertisement cannot be printed despite having won a bid in response to a tender request. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information distribution and printing system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This sequence flow illustrates an example of a processing flow executed through the collaboration of an advertising server, an advertising management server, terminal devices, and a printer. [Figure 3] This sequence flow illustrates an example of a processing flow executed through the collaboration of an advertising server, an advertising management server, terminal devices, and a printer. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a reprint confirmation screen on the display unit of a terminal device. [Figure 5] This sequence flow illustrates an example of a processing flow executed collaboratively by an advertising server, an advertising management server, a terminal device, and a printer in a modified case where print data including advertising images is stored on a server. [Figure 6] This sequence flow illustrates an example of a processing flow executed collaboratively by an advertising server, an advertising management server, a terminal device, and a printer in a modified case where print data including advertising images is stored on a server. [Figure 7] This sequence flow shows an example of the processing flow executed collaboratively by the advertising provider server, advertising management server, terminal device, and printer in a modified version where reprinting is automatically canceled after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the completion of printing. [Figure 8] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a reprint cancellation confirmation screen on the display unit of a terminal device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to an information distribution and printing system that distributes information from a server to a printer for printing.

[0011] <Overall Configuration of the Information Distribution and Printing System> Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the information distribution and printing system 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information distribution and printing system 1 includes an advertising supply server (SSP: Supply Side Platform) 100, a printer 200, a terminal device 300, a user management server (DMP: Data Management Platform) 400, and an advertising management server (DSP: Demand Side Platform) 500. Servers 100, 400, and 500, printer 200, and terminal device 300 are each equipped with a communication unit and can communicate with each other via network NT. Network NT includes at least one of the following: the Internet, LAN (Local Area Network), or WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication unit may be configured to include multiple types of communication circuits for connecting to network NT. In this case, devices connected to network NT may communicate with multiple other devices using different communication circuits. In this embodiment, the collective term for multiple types of communication circuits is referred to as the communication unit.

[0012] <Terminal device> The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user, and in this example, it is connected to the network NT via wireless communication. The terminal device 300 can be any suitable terminal other than the printer 200, and may be a tablet PC, notebook PC, desktop PC, etc., in addition to a smartphone. Alternatively, the terminal device 300 may be a portable terminal or a stationary terminal installed in karaoke boxes or various stores for song selection, menu selection, product browsing, etc. The terminal device 300 includes a display unit 310 (see FIG. 4 described later), a control unit, an operation unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, etc. not shown in the figure. Various programs are stored in the storage unit. The control unit executes various programs stored in the storage unit. The various programs include programs that execute the processes shown in the flows of FIGS. 2, FIG. 3, etc. described later. The user can input various instructions to the terminal device 300 by operating the operation unit.

[0013] <User management server> The user management server 400 manages user information via the terminal device 300 or the advertising server 100. The user management server 400 includes a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, etc. not shown in the figure.

[0014] <Advertising server> The advertising server 100 is, for example, a server installed and managed by the manufacturer of the printer 200. The advertising server 100 receives an advertising image from the advertising management server 500 at a predetermined timing. The advertising server 100 distributes the acquired advertising image to the printer 200 to cause printing. The advertising server 100 is an example of a distribution image providing server, and the advertising image is an example of distribution information.

[0015] Specifically, the advertising server 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 115, a communication unit 140, etc. The control unit 110, the storage unit 115, and the communication unit 140, etc. are connected via a bus 105 so that information can be transmitted and received. The storage unit 115 is constituted by, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, etc. Various programs 120 and various data 130 are stored in the storage unit 115. The various programs 120 include an information distribution printing program that executes the control content of the advertising server 100 shown by the flows of FIGS. 2, FIG. 3, etc. described later, and the various data 130 include the printer ID of the printer 200, the user ID, the advertising image, etc.

[0016] The control unit 110 is a device that performs data processing, such as a processor like 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 such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to Ethernet, is connected to the network NT, and communicates with the printer 200, the terminal device 300, the user management server 400, and the advertisement management server 500.

[0017] <Advertisement management server> The advertisement management server 500 transmits an advertisement image for printing 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). In this example, the advertisement management server 500 receives a bidding request from the advertisement providing server 100 through the communication unit. A plurality of advertisers' terminal devices or servers (not shown) are connected to the network NT. The control unit of the advertisement management server 500 executes an auction corresponding to the above bidding request for the advertisement images submitted by those advertisers, and acquires a suitable advertisement image by bidding for the auction. When there is a winning bid that meets the predetermined conditions of the auction, the control unit of the advertisement management server 500 acquires the corresponding advertisement image from the terminal device of the advertiser who is the winning bidder. The acquired advertisement image is transmitted from the advertisement management server 500 to the advertisement providing server 100 via the communication unit, and further transmitted from the received advertisement providing server 100 to the printer 200 for printing. Note that the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire the above advertisement image from the advertisement management server 500, or the advertisement management server 500 may acquire an advertisement image from another server outside and transmit it to the advertisement providing server 100. The advertisement management server 500 is an example of a distribution management server.

[0018] The servers 100, 400, and 500 described above may each consist of a single standalone "server," or each may be composed of multiple servers. Alternatively, at least two of the functions of these servers 100, 400, and 500 may be provided by a single standalone "server."

[0019] <Printer> The printer 200 is assigned the aforementioned printer ID. The printer 200 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, a communication unit 260, a printing unit 270, and the like. The control unit 210, storage unit 215, display unit 240, operation unit 250, communication unit 260, and printing unit 270 are connected via a bus 205 to enable information transmission and reception. The printer 200 is an example of a printing device.

[0020] The storage unit 215 is composed of, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, etc. The storage unit 215 stores various programs 220 and various data 230. The various programs 220 include, for example, a program that executes the control contents of the printer 200 according to the flow shown in Figures 2 and 3 below. The various data 230 include the aforementioned printer ID and advertising images received from the advertising server 100, which are acquired from the terminal device of the successful bidder among the advertisers and transmitted from the advertising server 100. At least a portion of the above various data may be stored in the storage unit 115 of the advertising server 100. Alternatively, at least a portion of the original data may be stored in either the storage unit 215 of the printer 200 or the storage unit 115 of the advertising server 100, and a copy of that original data may be stored in the other of the two.

[0021] The control unit 210 is a data processing device, such as a processor like 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, capable of displaying various information. The operation unit 250 is, for example, a keyboard or buttons, and accepts user input. 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 advertising server 100, the advertising management server 500, the user management server 400, and the terminal device 300. The printing unit 270 includes a printing engine and, using a transport mechanism (not shown), removes and transports printing paper from a paper tray, while forming and printing an image on the paper using, for example, an inkjet method or a laser method. The following explanation will use the inkjet method as an example.

[0022] The cartridge holder 280 is configured to accommodate a cartridge 285. The cartridge 285 consists of multiple ink color cartridges, such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The cartridge holder 280 is equipped with an ink level sensor (not shown) capable of detecting the remaining amount or consumption of each of the multiple ink color cartridges by a known method.

[0023] The printing unit 270 performs printing while consuming the ink in cartridge 285. The reader / writer 290 is provided in the cartridge holder 280. The reader / writer 290 reads and writes cartridge information to the IC chip provided in cartridge 285 housed in cartridge holder 280. For example, by reading the cartridge information from the IC chip, the reader / writer 290 detects the type of cartridge 285 housed in cartridge holder 280. The amount of ink used or remaining in cartridge 285 may also be detected by the above reading by the reader / writer 290.

[0024] <Features of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, an auction is held for the advertisement to solicit bids, and if there is a successful bid that meets the conditions, the winning advertisement image is distributed to the printer 200 and the advertisement is printed. At that time, the printer 200 may fail to print the winning advertisement due to some malfunction. The feature of this embodiment is to prevent or reduce the situation in which the advertisement cannot be printed despite winning the bid, thereby avoiding disadvantage to the winning bidder. The details of this process will be explained below with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figures 2 and 3 are sequence flows representing the control performed by the cooperation of the advertisement provision server 100, the advertisement management server 500, the printer 200, and the terminal device 300.

[0025] In Figure 2, first, in S5, the advertising server 100 determines the minimum bid price for soliciting bids for advertising images. This minimum bid price is, for example, uniquely predetermined and stored in the storage unit 115. In S5, the minimum bid price is determined based on the contents of the storage unit 115, and a bid request including this minimum bid price is sent to the advertising management server 500. The control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S5 is an example of a request transmission unit.

[0026] In response to the submitted bidding request, the ad management server 500 conducts an auction for suitable ads and solicits bids. At that time, the bidding request requires ad images that meet predetermined conditions, including having a bid price equal to or higher than the minimum bid price.

[0027] In S7, the bidding results from the auction conducted in response to the bidding request sent in S5 are received from the ad management server 500. The received content includes the URL of the ad image submitted by the bidder if there was a bid that met the specified conditions requested in the bidding request. If there were no bids that met the specified conditions requested in the bidding request, that fact is included in the received content.

[0028] In S8, the ad delivery server 100 determines, based on the content received in S7, whether or not there are bids that meet the winning conditions, and bids that meet the winning conditions are determined to be the winning advertisement. Winning conditions include, for example, having the highest bid price. In addition, meeting the predetermined conditions requested in the bid request may also be considered winning conditions. The determined advertisement is an example of specific distribution information, and the control unit 110 of the ad delivery server 100 executing S8 is an example of an information determination unit.

[0029] In S10, a "hold notification" is sent to the ad management server 500 to inform advertisers who have submitted bids that meet the bidding conditions, i.e., the successful bidders, that their bids have been accepted and will be stored without being deleted. This hold notification is then forwarded by the ad management server 500 to the successful bidder's terminal device, etc. If there are multiple bids that meet the bidding conditions, multiple hold notifications may be sent.

[0030] In S15, a "defeat notification" is sent to the advertising management server 500 to inform advertisers who have submitted bids that do not meet the bidding conditions, i.e., non-winning bidders, that their bids will not be accepted because there is another winning bidder. The advertising management server 500 then forwards this defeat notification to the terminal device of the non-winning bidder. If there are multiple bids that do not meet the bidding conditions, multiple defeat notifications may be sent.

[0031] In S17, using the URL of the advertisement image obtained in S7, an advertisement image request is sent from the advertisement provider server 100 to the advertisement management server 500 requesting the advertisement image of the successful bidder for whom a hold notification was sent in S10. If there are multiple successful bidders, multiple advertisement images may be requested. In response to the above advertisement image request, in S20 the advertisement image from the advertisement management server 500 is sent by the successful bidder and received and acquired by the advertisement provider server 100. The acquired advertisement image is stored, for example, in the storage unit 115. The control unit 110 of the advertisement provider server 100 that executes S20 is an example of a specific distribution information acquisition unit.

[0032] In S30, a distribution image is created containing the winning bidder's advertisement image, that is, an information containing the advertisement image received from the advertising management server 500 in S20. Alternatively, instead of the advertising provider server 100 creating the distribution image, the advertising management server 500 may create the distribution image, and the advertising provider server 100 may acquire that distribution image. Alternatively, instead of creating the distribution image in S30, print data for printing the distribution image may be created using various page description languages. A print instruction containing the created distribution image is distributed to the printer 200. This print instruction may also include a command to instruct the printer 200 to stop printing if a printer error occurs in S75, as described later. The data such as the distribution image included in the print instruction sent in S30 is an example of print data corresponding to specific distribution information.

[0033] In S32, the printer 200 receives a print instruction based on the distribution image including the advertisement image that was transmitted in S30, and the distribution image is stored in the storage unit 215. Subsequently, in S35, printing of the distribution image included in the print instruction is started. This distribution image is an example of a printable distribution image based on specific distribution information, and the control unit 210 of the printer 200 that executes S35 is an example of a print execution unit. In S30, the advertising server 100 may distribute the images to the printer 200 via other relay devices. Alternatively, instead of distributing the images to the printer 200, the server may send a page description language for printing the images or a link to the images to the printer 200. If a link to the images is sent, the printer 200 accesses the link to retrieve the images and performs printing.

[0034] After S35, in S40, the advertising server 100 starts a waiting process to receive the print progress notification described later.

[0035] Moving to Figure 3, in S45, the printer 200 determines whether the printing of the distribution image, including the advertisement image, which was started in S35, has been completed. If printing is complete, it is determined as Yes, and in S50, it is recognized as a successful print. In S51, after the distribution image, including the advertisement image, stored in the storage unit 215 in S32 is deleted, the content of the print progress notification sent in S90 (described later) is set to "Print Successful". Then, in S90, the print progress notification indicating "Print Successful" is sent from the printer 200 and received by the advertisement provision server 100. The processing of the flow in Figure 3 in the printer 200 is then completed.

[0036] If printing is not completed in S45, it will be judged as No, and in S75, it will be determined whether or not a printer error has occurred. A printer error is a condition in which some kind of malfunction has occurred that prevents printing from being completed correctly, such as when the user is using the wrong size paper and printing cannot be done properly, when there is a paper jam, or when the printer 200's consumables such as ink have run out. If no printer error occurs, S75 is judged as No, and processing returns to S45. Printing continues until S45 is judged as Yes upon completion of printing. If a printer error occurs, S75 is judged as Yes, and processing moves to S80. The control unit 210 of the printer 200 that executes S45 and S75 is an example of a print success / failure determination unit.

[0037] In S80, the print process is stopped while the distribution image, including the advertisement image stored in the storage unit 215 in S32, is retained. Subsequently, in S81, a failure notification is sent from the printer 200 and received by the terminal device 300. This failure notification includes information about the reason for the print failure, i.e., what kind of printer error occurred. In terminal device 300, based on the failure notification received in S81, S85 displays a reprint confirmation screen on display unit 310 to ask the user whether or not to reprint the distributed image.

[0038] Figures 4(a) to 4(c) show examples of the reprint confirmation screen in the display unit 310. The example shown in Figure 4(a) is what happens when the incorrect paper size is used, and the message M1, "The advertisement was not printed correctly. Please check the paper size," along with the "Reprint" button 311 and the "Cancel" button 312 are displayed on the display unit 310. The example shown in Figure 4(b) is the display when the aforementioned paper jam occurs, and the message M2, "Advertisement printing was not completed. Please fix PaperJam and try printing again," along with the same "Reprint" button 311 and "Cancel" button 312 as above, are displayed on the display unit 310. The example shown in Figure 4(c) is the display when the consumables for the aforementioned printer 200 run out. The message M3, "Advertisement printing could not be completed because the consumables ran out. Please replenish the consumables and try printing again," along with the same "Reprint" button 311 and "Cancel" button 312 as above, are displayed on the display unit 310.

[0039] In all of the above screens, the "Reprint" button 311 and the "Cancel" button 312 function as the aforementioned control units. When the "Reprint" button 311 is pressed, S86 in Figure 3 becomes a "Yes" result, and in S88, a reprint instruction is sent from the terminal device 300 and received by the printer 200 (see Figure 2). The "Reprint" button 311 is an example of a re-execution instruction receiving unit. As a result, in S35, as described above using Figure 2, the printer 200 starts printing the distributed image that was retained without being erased as described above, in other words, a reprint. The control unit 210 of the printer 200 that executes S35 is an example of a print re-execution unit. After the reprint is executed in S35, the processing from S45 onwards is carried out as described above. When the "Cancel" button 312 is pressed, S86 in Figure 3 becomes "No", and in S84, a print cancellation instruction is sent from the terminal device 300 and received by the printer 200. The "Cancel" button 312 is an example of a cancellation instruction receiving unit. Upon receiving the print cancellation instruction, the printer 200 stops the print process in S80, remaining in a state of print failure due to a printer error. Then, in S90, the print progress notification sent to the advertising server 100 is set to "Print Failure," indicating that the print failure has been confirmed. In this case, the print progress notification includes information on the reason for the print failure, i.e., what kind of printer error occurred, and information such as whether the user did not operate the aforementioned "Reprint" button 311 in that state.

[0040] In S90, the printer 200 sends a print progress notification indicating the processing progress in the printer 200, such as "print successful" or "print failed." The advertising server 100 receives the print progress notification from S90 after the waiting process starts in S40.

[0041] Subsequently, in S117, it is determined whether the print progress notification received from printer 200 in S90 indicated a "print failure". If the print progress notification indicated a "print failure", S117 is determined to be Yes, and processing moves to S120, which will be described later. If the print progress notification indicated a "print success", it is determined to be No, and processing moves to S140.

[0042] In S140, the ad provision server 100 sends a billing notification to the ad management server 500 to the advertiser, who is the successful bidder and provided the ad images included in the distributed images sent in S30, to request payment for the printing of the ad. The control unit 110 of the ad provision server 100 that executes S140 is an example of a billing notification unit.

[0043] In S145, the advertising management server 500, which receives the transmitted billing notice, sends the billing notice to the terminal device of the successful bidder.

[0044] In S150, the advertising server 100 stores the distributed image sent to the printer 200 in S30 in the storage unit 115 as a success history, associating it with the printer ID of the corresponding printer 200, the user ID of the corresponding user, the current time information, and the bidding conditions when the advertising image included in the distributed image was successfully bid on, and then terminates processing.

[0045] In S120, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid cancellation notice withdrawing the aforementioned winning bid determined in S8, and this notice is received by the ad management server 500. The ad management server 500 then notifies the advertiser, who was the winning bidder for the ad in question, of the cancellation of the bid.

[0046] In S130, the ad provider server 100 stores the distribution image for which the bid was canceled in S120 as a failure history in the storage unit 115, linking it with historical information such as the bid conditions when the ad image included in the distribution image was won, the aforementioned failure reason information, and the date and time the failure was confirmed, and then terminates processing.

[0047] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, in the information distribution and printing system 1 of this embodiment, a bid request is sent to the advertising management server 500 in S5, soliciting bids. In S8, the winning advertising image is determined from among the advertising images received from the advertising management server 500 in response to the bid request. In S20, the advertising image is acquired from the advertising management server 500, and in S35, printing of the acquired advertising image is performed. In S45 and S75, it is determined whether the printing started in S35 was successful or unsuccessful. If it is determined to be successful, in S140, the advertising management server 500 is notified of a request for payment corresponding to the completion of printing the advertising image. If it is determined to be unsuccessful, S86 is determined to be Yes, and the process returns to S35 to restart the printing of the advertising image. According to this embodiment, even if the printing of the advertisement image related to the successful bid fails in S35, the process can return to S35 and re-execute the printing of the advertisement image, thereby improving the probability of successful printing. As a result, it is possible to prevent or reduce situations where an advertisement cannot be printed despite having won a bid.

[0048] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if printing is determined to have failed in S45 and S75, a "reprint" button 311 is provided to accept a manual instruction to re-print the image. In S35, if a manual instruction is given using the "reprint" button 311, the printing of the advertisement image is re-executed. This allows users to choose whether or not to attempt a print retry when an advertisement image print fails in S35.

[0049] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if it is determined in S45 or S75 that printing has failed, a "cancel" button 312 is provided to accept a command to cancel the printing of the image. In S35, when returning from S88, if a cancellation command is given using the "cancel" button 312, the printing of the advertisement image is stopped. This allows users to cancel printing if they do not wish to re-print an advertisement image after a printing failure.

[0050] In this embodiment, the advertising server 100 sends print data corresponding to the advertising image to the printer 200, the printer 200 receives the print data sent from the advertising server 100 and stores the advertising image in S32, prints the advertising image in S35 based on the stored print data, and if printing is successful, deletes the distribution image including the stored advertising image (S51), and if printing fails, retains the distribution image including the stored advertising image. By saving the print data to the printer 200 instead of the server 100,500, when reprinting is performed in S35 on the printer 200 after a print failure, the saved print data can be used as is, and printing can be reexecuted without any special data transmission or reception with the server 100,500.

[0051] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from its spirit and technical idea. Such modifications will be described in order below. The same reference numerals are used for parts equivalent to those in the above embodiments, and their descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0052] (1) When saving delivery images (print data) including advertising images to the server In the above embodiment, when reprinting after a printing failure, printing was performed using the distribution image stored in the printer 200 in S32, but this is not limited to this. That is, when reprinting, the distribution image including the advertisement image stored in the advertisement provision server 100 may be retrieved again and printed. In such a modified example, the sequence flow representing the processing flow executed by the cooperation of the advertisement provision server 100, the advertisement management server 500, the terminal device 300, and the printer 200 is shown in Figures 5 and 6, which correspond to Figures 2 and 3, respectively.

[0053] In Figure 5, S30' is provided in place of S30 in Figure 2, and S32' is provided in place of S32. After S17, in S30', the advertising server 100 distributes a print instruction to the printer 200 that includes, in addition to the distribution image created by arranging the advertising images received from the advertising management server 500, as in S30 above, the distribution image, and further includes identification information for the distribution image.

[0054] In S32', the identification information of the distributed image received in S30' is stored in the storage unit 215. Subsequently, S35, similar to that in Figure 2, is executed in the printer 200. Note that the distributed image is not retained in the printer 200 after printing.

[0055] In Figure 6, S51' is provided in place of S51 in Figure 3, and S89 is newly provided after S81. If the printing of the advertisement image is successful and a "Yes" result is obtained in S45, then after S50 is performed, in S51' the identification information of the distributed image stored in the storage unit 215 in S32' is deleted. The subsequent processing is the same as in Figure 2. If the printing of the advertisement image fails and a "No" result is obtained in S45, the printing process is stopped in S80, after S75, while retaining the identification information of the distributed image stored in the storage unit 215 in S32, and a failure notification is sent to the terminal device 300 in S81.

[0056] In terminal device 300, as in Figure 2, after receiving a failure notification in S81, the process proceeds through S85, and as in the same manner as above, the operation of the "Reprint" button 311 results in a Yes determination in S86, and in S88, a reprint instruction similar to that in Figure 2 is sent. In Figure 5, printer 200 has S29 before S32', which corresponds to S32 in Figure 2, and S31' is also provided. When the reprint instruction in S88 is sent, S29 in Figure 5 is determined to be Yes, and in S31', printer 200 sends a request to reacquire the distribution image including the advertisement image, along with the identification information of the distribution image already stored in S32', which is received by the advertisement server 100.

[0057] In the advertising server 100, after receiving the re-acquisition request and the identification information of the delivered image in S31', the delivered image corresponding to the identification information of the acquired delivered image is sent again to the printer 200 in S30'. The printer 200 then proceeds through S32' and in S35 performs reprinting of the advertisement using the delivered image acquired in S30'.

[0058] The processing procedures in this modified example, other than those described above, are the same as those in Figures 2 and 3, and therefore their explanation is omitted.

[0059] As explained above, in this modified example, the ad delivery server 10 sends a distribution image corresponding to the ad image and identification information of the distribution image to the printer 200 in S30'. The printer 200 receives the identification information sent from the ad delivery server 100 and stores it in S32'. Based on the received distribution image, the printer 200 prints the ad image in S35. If the print operation is successful, the identification information of the distribution image is deleted in S51'. If the print operation fails, the identification information of the distribution image is retained. As described above, by not saving the distributed image (print data) containing the advertisement image as a backup in case of printing failure on the printer 200, but instead saving it on the advertisement provider server 100 and having the printer 200 retrieve it, the amount of storage capacity required on the printer 200 can be reduced.

[0060] (2) When the reprint is automatically canceled after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the print job was completed. In this modified example, Figure 7, corresponding to Figure 3, shows a sequence flow representing the processing flow executed through the cooperation of the advertising server 100, advertising management server 500, terminal device 300, and printer 200.

[0061] In Figure 7, after receiving a failure notification in S81, similar to Figure 2, the terminal device 300 executes the newly added S82. In S82, it is determined whether a predetermined period has elapsed since the failure in S80. Until the predetermined period has elapsed, S82 is determined to be No, and the reprint confirmation screen 310 (see Figure 4 above) is displayed in S85, similar to Figure 2, and processing moves to the newly added S87.

[0062] In S87, it is determined whether the "Cancel" button 312 on the reprint confirmation screen 310 has been pressed. If the "Cancel" button 312 has been pressed, the result is "Yes," and a cancellation instruction is sent to the printer 200 in S84, similar to Figure 2 above. If the "Cancel" button 312 is not pressed, the result is "No," and the process moves to S86, similar to Figure 2, where it is determined whether or not the "Reprint" button 311 was pressed.

[0063] If the "Reprint" button 311 is pressed, a "Yes" result is obtained, and the process moves to S88, similar to Figure 2, and the same process is executed thereafter. If the "Reprint" button 311 is not pressed, the result is "No," and the process returns to S82, and the same process as above is repeated. If the predetermined period has elapsed during this repetition, S82 is determined to be "Yes," and in the newly added S83, a reprint cancellation confirmation screen is displayed on the display unit 310.

[0064] Figure 8 shows an example of the reprint cancellation confirmation screen on the display unit 310. As shown in Figure 8, in this example, the message M4 "Due to a printing error, the advertisement printing could not be completed." and the "OK" button 321 are displayed on the display unit 310.

[0065] Returning to Figure 7, after the above display in S83, the process moves to S84, and thereafter the same processing as described above is carried out.

[0066] The processing procedures in this modified example, other than those described above, are the same as those in Figures 2 and 3, and therefore their explanation is omitted.

[0067] According to this modified example, if neither the "Reprint" button 311 nor the "Cancel" button 312 on the reprint confirmation screen illustrated in Figures 4(a) to (c) is pressed on the terminal device 300 when a print failure occurs, a timeout process can be initiated after a predetermined period has elapsed since the print failure, and the reprint can be automatically canceled. Alternatively, the printer 200 may determine when the predetermined time has elapsed. In this case, the printer 200 should automatically cancel the print if it does not receive a reprint instruction within the predetermined time after the print failure.

[0068] (3) Others In the embodiments described above using Figures 2 and 3, and in the modified example (1) described using Figures 5 and 6, when a print failure occurs, the process for subsequent reprinting is performed only after waiting for the user to manually press the "Reprint" button 311 on the reprint confirmation screen. However, the process is not limited to this. In other words, even after a printing failure, the advertising server 100, advertising management server 500, terminal device 300, and printer 200 can work together to detect that the error has been resolved, and automatically reprint the advertising image without any manual operation by the user. In this case as well, the effect of improving the success rate of printing can be obtained by re-executing the printing of the advertising image, as described above.

[0069] Furthermore, in the above, the printer 200 made a determination in S75 as to whether a printer error occurred and whether printing failed, and enabled reprinting if it failed, but this is not limited to this. That is, the determination of whether a printer error occurred in the printer 200 and printing failed or whether printing was successful may be made on the server side, such as the advertising server 100, based on predetermined information transmitted from the printer 200 and obtained. In this case, the server that makes the determination is an example of a print success / failure determination unit.

[0070] Furthermore, although the advertising server 100 has been described as a single device in the above explanation, multiple devices may work together to perform the function of an advertising server 100.

[0071] Furthermore, the sequence flows shown in Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 do not limit the present invention to the procedures shown in the above flows, and additional or deleted procedures or changes in order are permitted without departing from the spirit and technical idea of ​​the invention.

[0072] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their respective modifications may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0073] Furthermore, although not to be exemplified individually, the present invention may be implemented with various modifications without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1. Information distribution and printing system 100 Ad serving servers (an example of a delivery server) 110 Control Unit 200 Printers (an example of a printing device) 311 "Reprint" button (an example of a re-execution instruction receiving section) 312 "Cancel" button (an example of a section that receives cancellation instructions) 500 Ad management server (an example of a delivery management server)

Claims

1. An information distribution printing system comprising a printing device and a distribution information provision server that receives distribution information managed by a distribution information management server and distributes it to the printing device, A request transmission unit that sends a request for bidding on distribution information to the distribution information management server, An information determination unit determines the specific distribution information that will be awarded the bid from among the distribution information received from the distribution information management server in response to the bid request transmitted by the request transmission unit, A specific distribution information acquisition unit acquires the specific distribution information determined by the information determination unit from the distribution information management server, A print execution unit that performs printing of a printable distribution image based on the specific distribution information acquired by the specific distribution information acquisition unit, A print success / failure determination unit determines whether the printing performed by the print execution unit was successful or unsuccessful, If the printing success / failure determination unit determines that the printing was successful, the billing notification unit notifies the distribution information management server of a request for payment corresponding to the completion of printing of the specified distribution information, If the print success / failure determination unit determines that the printing has failed, the print re-execution unit re-executes the printing of the print distribution image, An information distribution and printing system having the following features.

2. If the print success / failure determination unit determines that the printing has failed, the re-execution instruction receiving unit receives a manual instruction to re-execute the printing of the print distribution image, It further possesses, The aforementioned print re-execution unit, When the manual instruction is received by the re-execution instruction receiving unit, the printing of the print-ready distribution image is re-executed. The information distribution and printing system according to claim 1, configured as described above.

3. If the print success / failure determination unit determines that the printing has failed, the cancellation instruction receiving unit receives an instruction to cancel the printing of the printable distribution image, It further possesses, The aforementioned print re-execution unit, When the cancellation instruction is received by the cancellation instruction receiving unit, the printing of the print-ready distribution image is stopped. The information distribution and printing system according to claim 1, configured as described above.

4. The aforementioned distribution information providing server comprises the request transmission unit, the information determination unit, the specific distribution information acquisition unit, and the request notification unit. The information distribution printing system according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus comprises the printing execution unit, the printing success / failure determination unit, and the printing re-execution unit.

5. The aforementioned distribution information providing server is The print data corresponding to the specified distribution information is transmitted to the printing device. The aforementioned printing apparatus, The system acquires and stores the print data transmitted from the aforementioned distribution information server, and executes the printing of the printable distribution image based on the stored print data. If the print operation is successful, the stored print data is deleted. The information distribution and printing system according to claim 4, which is configured to retain the stored print data if the executed print fails.

6. The aforementioned printing apparatus, If the aforementioned print operation fails, the print distribution image will be re-executed using the stored print data. The information distribution and printing system according to claim 5, configured in such a manner.

7. The aforementioned distribution information providing server is The print data corresponding to the specified distribution information and the identification information of the print data are transmitted to the printing device. The aforementioned printing apparatus, The system acquires and stores the print data and identification information transmitted from the aforementioned distribution information providing server, and executes printing of the printable distribution image based on the stored print data. If the print operation is successful, the stored print data and identification information are deleted. The information distribution printing system according to claim 4, which is configured to erase the stored print data and retain the identification information if the executed printing fails.

8. The aforementioned printing apparatus, If the executed print fails, the stored identification information is sent to the distribution information server to obtain the corresponding print data. The print distribution image is re-executed using the acquired print data. The information distribution and printing system according to claim 7, configured in such a manner.

Images