Advertising evaluation system and printing device

Abstract

To provide a technology that can obtain user reactions to printed advertisements in a system that distributes advertising images to a printing device for printing. [Solution] The advertising evaluation system 1 includes a printer 200 and an advertising provision server 100. The advertising provision server 100 receives advertising image data in S22 and, in S30, causes the printer 200 to print an advertising image based on the received advertising image data. The printer 200 then outputs an evaluation form F for querying user evaluations of the printed advertising image. The advertising provision server 100 receives evaluation data for the outputted evaluation form F in S71a and S71b and stores evaluation data corresponding to the received evaluations in S73.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an advertisement evaluation system for evaluating advertisements printed by a printing apparatus, and to printing.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, a technology of a system for evaluating the sales promotion effect of printed advertisement matter is known. This system transmits the image data of the advertisement posted on the printed advertisement matter together with the edited data of a questionnaire for investigating the willingness to purchase the product posted in the advertisement to the terminal devices of questionnaire members. The system receives questionnaire response data from the questionnaire member terminal devices. The system calculates the degree of willingness to purchase the product based on the received response data.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

PATENT DOCUMENTS

[0003]

PATENT DOCUMENT 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] The system described in Patent Document 1 has no means for acquiring a user's reaction to a printed advertisement, for example.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology capable of acquiring a user's reaction to a printed advertisement in a system that distributes advertisement images to a printing apparatus for printing.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present disclosure relates to the following technology. An advertising evaluation system including a printing device, comprising: a receiving unit for receiving advertising image data; a print control unit for causing the printing device to print an advertising image based on the advertising image data received by the receiving unit; an information output unit for outputting inquiry information for inquiring about the evaluation of the advertising image printed by the printing device from the user of the printing device; an evaluation receiving unit for receiving the evaluation in response to the inquiry information output by the information output unit; and a storage unit for storing evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation received by the evaluation receiving unit. It is equipped with.

[0007] In the present disclosure, when a user of a printing device makes an evaluation of the inquiry information output by the information output unit, the evaluation reception unit receives the evaluation, and the storage unit stores evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation. According to the advertising evaluation system disclosed in this application, the printing device acquires user evaluation data for the advertisements it prints. This allows the system to provide advertisers with user evaluation data for the printed advertisements as user feedback. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, a system that delivers advertising images to a printing device and prints them can obtain user reactions to the printed advertisements. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows an example of the overall configuration of an advertising evaluation system according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram showing the processes performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, terminal device, and printer. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram showing the processes performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, terminal device, and printer. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of printing an image containing an advertisement and an evaluation form using a printer. [Figure 5]This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of what the evaluation form shown in Figure 4 looks like after a user has filled it in. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a user selection screen, including an input form, displayed on the printer's touch panel, in a modified configuration where user evaluations are received via the printer's display screen. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing the input screens for high and low ratings, which are displayed on the touch panel. [Figure 8] This is an explanatory diagram showing the advertisement selection screen displayed on the touch panel. [Figure 9] This is an explanatory diagram showing the individual evaluation screen displayed on the touch panel. [Figure 10] This is an explanatory diagram showing the image quality evaluation screen displayed on the touch panel. [Figure 11] This is an explanatory diagram showing the additional information processing screen and barcode display screen displayed on the touch panel. [Figure 12] This is a sequence diagram showing the processes performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, terminal device, and printer. [Figure 13] This is a sequence diagram showing the processes performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, terminal device, and printer. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to an advertising evaluation system that allows users to evaluate delivered advertisements.

[0011] <Overall structure of the advertising evaluation system> FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an advertisement evaluation system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the advertisement evaluation system 1 includes an advertisement providing server (SSP: Supply Side Platform) 100, a printer 200, a terminal device 700, a user management server (DMP: Data Management Platform) 400, and an advertisement management server (DSP: Demand Side Platform) 500. Each of the plurality of servers 100, 400, 500, the printer 200, and the terminal device 700 is provided with a communication interface, and can communicate with each other via a network NT. The communication interface is a network interface including a communication circuit for connecting to and communicating with the network NT. The network NT includes one or more of the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and a WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication interface may include a plurality of types of communication circuits for connecting to the network NT. A device connected to the network NT may communicate with a plurality of other devices using different communication circuits. In the present embodiment, the general term for the plurality of types of communication circuits is described as the communication interface.

[0012] <Advertisement Providing Server> The advertisement providing server 100 requests a bid related to an advertisement, and determines a winning advertisement that wins the bid for the advertisement from the bid result corresponding to the bid request. The advertisement providing server 100 acquires advertisement image data related to the winning advertisement. The advertisement providing server 100 adds additional information to the acquired advertisement image data to generate a distribution image, and distributes the distribution image to the printer 200. The printer 200 receives the distribution image distributed by the advertisement providing server 100, and prints the received distribution image. The advertisement is an advertisement for promoting the provision of a predetermined product or a predetermined service. The predetermined service includes, for example, sales, rental, purchase, and the like.

[0013] The advertisement providing server 100 includes a processor 110, a storage device 115, a communication circuit 140, and the like. The bus 105 connects the processor 110, the storage device 115, the communication circuit 140, and the like to enable information transmission and reception. The storage device 115 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, or the like. The storage device 115 stores various programs 120, various data 130, a product / service database 131, and an additional information database 132. The various programs 120 include programs executed by the advertisement providing server 100, which are represented by the sequence diagrams of Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 12, and Fig. 13 described later. The various data 130 includes the printer ID of the printer 200, user IDs, advertisement image data, and the like. The user ID is an example of user identification information. Note that in the present embodiment, for example, when there are a plurality of users of the printer 200, the data 130 includes a plurality of user IDs respectively corresponding to the plurality of users. The storage device 115 pre-stores the plurality of user IDs as, for example, a user list. The product / service database 131 stores product names or service names related to advertisements in association with the types of the corresponding products or services. The additional information database 132 stores additional information including an evaluation form F or an input form I, which will be described later.

[0014] The processor 110 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a CPU. The processor 110 executes the various programs stored by the storage device 115. The processor 110 performs various processes including data communication with the printer 200, the terminal device 700, the user management server 400, and the advertisement management server 500 connected to the network NT. The communication circuit 140 includes hardware such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to Ethernet. The communication circuit 140 is connected to the network NT, and performs communication with the printer 200, the terminal device 700, the user management server 400, and the advertisement management server 500.

[0015] <Advertisement Management Server> The advertising management server 500 is a server managed and operated by, for example, an advertising company. The advertising management server 500 transmits advertising image data for printing by the printer 200 to the advertising provision server 100. The advertising management server 500 has the same processor, storage device, and communication circuit as the advertising provision server 100, and receives bid requests from the advertising provision server 100 via the communication circuit. Network NT connects the advertising management server 500 to terminal devices or servers of multiple advertisers. The advertising management server 500 pre-acquires advertising image data, bid prices indicating the desired purchase price for advertising space, and target users to whom the corresponding advertising images should be delivered, from the terminal devices of multiple advertisers. It then stores and manages the acquired information in its storage device. The advertising management server 500 conducts an advertising auction and solicits bids in response to a bid request from the advertising provision server 100. The advertising management server 500 obtains bids from advertisers who have responded to the bidding request, based on information obtained from advertisers' terminals that is pre-stored in the storage device. The advertising management server 500 transmits the obtained bids to the advertising provider server 100 as bidding results in response to the bidding request. The advertising management server 500 may transmit bids that meet the bidding conditions included in the bidding request as bidding results. The ad provider server 100 receives the bid results sent from the ad management server 500 and selects the most suitable bid from among those bids. For example, the ad provider server 100 selects the bid with the highest price. The ad provider server 100 retrieves the ad image data of the bidder of the selected bid, i.e., the successful bidder, from among multiple ad image data managed by the ad management server 500. The ad provider server 100 adds additional information to the retrieved ad image data to generate a distribution image and sends the generated distribution image to the printer 200. The printer 200 prints the received distribution image onto the print paper S.

[0016] <Printer> The printer 200 prints the distributed images obtained from the advertising server 100 onto the paper S. The printer 200 includes a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display device 240, an operating device 250, a communication circuit 260, a printing mechanism 270, etc. The bus 205 connects the processor 210, the storage device 215, the display device 240, the operating device 250, the communication circuit 260, and the printing mechanism 270 so that information can be sent and received. The printer 200 is an example of a printing device, the printing mechanism 270 is an example of a printing unit, and the processor 210 is an example of a control unit. Although a detailed explanation is omitted here, printer 200 has both a printer function for printing images and a scanner function. The scanner function optically reads the document to be scanned using an image reading sensor and generates corresponding image data. Figure 1 omits the diagram of the configuration related to this scanner function.

[0017] The storage device 215 is, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, etc. The storage device 215 stores various programs 220 and various data 230. The various programs 220 include, for example, a program that causes the printer 200 to execute the processes shown in the sequence diagrams in Figures 2, 3, 12, and 13 described later. The various data 230 include the aforementioned printer ID, distributed images received from the advertising server 100, etc. The advertising server 100 may store some or all of the above various data in the storage device 115. Alternatively, one of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store the original data of some or all of the various data, and the other of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store a copy of that original data.

[0018] The processor 210 is a device that performs data processing, such as a CPU. The processor 210 executes various programs stored in the storage device 215. The display device 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, a touch panel, etc., and can display various information. The operating device 250 consists of, for example, a keyboard, buttons, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and accepts user input. The user can input various instructions to the printer 200 by operating the operating device 250. The communication circuit 260 is connected to the network NT and can communicate with servers 100, 400, 500 and terminal devices 700.

[0019] The printing mechanism 270 includes a carriage on which a print head is mounted, a motor and belt for driving the carriage, and a transport mechanism. The transport mechanism picks up the printing paper S on which the advertising image is printed from the paper tray and transports it. The printing mechanism 270 forms and prints an image using an inkjet method, ejecting ink from the print head onto the printing paper S transported by the transport mechanism. The printing mechanism 270 may also form the image using other methods. Other methods include a laser method that forms the image by electrostatic transfer using toner, a thermal method that forms the image by thermal transfer using a thermal head, and an LED method that forms the image by exposing a photosensitive drum with an LED head.

[0020] The printer 200 has multiple cartridge holders 280, each holding one cartridge 285. The cartridges 285 are cartridges containing multiple ink colors, such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

[0021] The printing mechanism 270 consists of, for example, an inkjet head, a carriage, and a motor and belt that drive the carriage. The printing mechanism 270 performs printing while consuming ink by ejecting ink from the cartridge 285 from the inkjet head onto the printing paper. The cartridge holder 280 is equipped with a reader / writer 290. The reader / writer 290 reads and writes cartridge information to an IC chip provided in the cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280. For example, the reader / writer 290 detects the type of cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280 by reading the cartridge information on the IC chip. The printer 200 may also obtain the amount of ink used or remaining ink stored in the IC chip in the cartridge 285 by reading it using the reader / writer 290.

[0022] <Terminal device> The terminal device 700 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user of the printer 200, and connects to the network NT via wireless communication. The terminal device 700 can be any suitable terminal other than the printer 200. The terminal device 700 may be, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, etc. The terminal device 700 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 700 has a display device, a processor, an operating device, a storage device, a communication circuit, etc. (not shown). The storage device stores various programs. The processor executes the various programs stored in the storage device. The user can input various instructions to the terminal device 700 by operating the operating device. The terminal device 700 may be equipped with an imaging device such as a camera.

[0023] <User Management Server> The user management server 400 manages user activity information, etc., via the terminal device 700. The user management server 400 is connected to the network NT. The user management server 400 includes a processor (not shown), a storage device, and communication circuits, etc.

[0024] Furthermore, a single "server" may constitute each of the above servers 100, 400, and 500, or multiple "servers" may constitute each of the above servers 100, 400, and 500. Alternatively, a single "server" may possess two or more functions from among servers 100, 400, and 500.

[0025] <Features of the Embodiment> As described above, the advertising evaluation system 1 of this embodiment requests bids related to advertisements and determines the winning advertisement from the bid results in response to the bid requests. The advertising evaluation system 1 then distributes the distribution image related to the winning advertisement to the printer 200, and the printer 200 prints the distributed image. In this context, advertisers of successful bids have a need to know how users react to their advertisements included in the printed distributed images. In particular, when a printer 200, which can be shared by multiple users, prints the aforementioned advertisement images, there is a need to identify which user reacted to each printed advertisement image and then obtain that user's reaction. A key feature of this embodiment is that it makes it possible to obtain user reactions to advertising images printed by a printer 200 that can be shared by multiple users, while identifying the user. The details of this process will be described below.

[0026] <Processing by the advertising evaluation system> Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams representing the processes executed by the advertising server 100, advertising management server 500, terminal device 700, and printer 200. In Figures 2 and 3, the entities that execute each process are the processor 110 of the advertising server 100, the processor of the advertising management server 500, the processor of the terminal device 700, and the processor 210 of the printer 200.

[0027] In Figure 2, in S1, the terminal device 700 configures settings related to additional information based on user input received via the operating device. These settings include, for example, information indicating whether or not to add additional information to the distributed image that the printer 200 prints on the print paper S shown in Figure 4 below. The terminal device 700 stores the settings information related to additional information in its storage device.

[0028] In S2, the advertising server 100 sends a request for configuration information regarding additional information to the terminal device 700.

[0029] In S3, the terminal device 700 reads configuration information regarding additional information from its storage device in response to a request received from the advertising server 100 and sends it to the advertising server 100. The advertising server 100 receives the configuration information regarding additional information sent by the terminal device 700 and stores it in its storage device 115.

[0030] In S5, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid request to the ad management server 500 to request bids related to the ad. The bid request includes, for example, a minimum bid price and bidding conditions. The minimum bid price includes, for example, the minimum bid price when additional information is added to the ad image and the minimum bid price when no additional information is added to the ad image. The bidding conditions include, for example, that the bid price must be equal to or greater than the minimum bid price.

[0031] The ad management server 500 conducts an ad auction and solicits bids in response to a bid request from the ad provider server 100.

[0032] In S7, the ad provider server 100 receives the bid results from the ad management server 500 for the bids solicited in the auction in response to the bid request sent in S5. The bid results include bids from bidders that meet the bid conditions requested in the bid request, if any bids meet those conditions. The bid results also include information indicating that no bids meet the bid conditions requested in the bid request.

[0033] In S8, the ad provider server 100 determines the winning ad based on the bidding results in response to the bidding request. The ad provider server 100 selects the bid that meets the winning criteria, for example, the bid with the highest price, as the winning ad. If there are multiple bids that meet the winning criteria, the ad provider server 100 may select multiple winning ads.

[0034] In S10, the ad provider server 100 sends a "hold notification" to the ad management server 500. The "hold notification" is a notification to the advertiser who has submitted a bid that meets the bidding conditions, i.e., the successful bidder, informing them that processing of their bid will be temporarily suspended until the bid is accepted and an invoice notification is sent. The ad management server 500 sends the received hold notification to the successful bidder's terminal device, etc. If there are multiple bids that meet the bidding conditions, the ad provider server 100 may send multiple hold notifications.

[0035] In S15, the ad provider server 100 sends a "defeat notification" to the ad management server 500. The "defeat notification" is a notification to advertisers who have submitted bids that do not meet the bidding conditions, i.e., non-winning bidders, informing them that their bids will not be accepted because there is another winning bidder. The ad management server 500 sends the received defeat notification to the terminal device of the non-winning bidder. If there are multiple bids that do not meet the bidding conditions, the ad provider server 100 may send multiple defeat notifications.

[0036] In S17, the ad provider server 100 sends an ad image data request to the ad management server 500 requesting the ad image data of the successful bidder who sent a hold notification in S10. If there are multiple successful bidders, the ad provider server 100 may send multiple ad image requests.

[0037] In S20, the advertising management server 500 responds to the above-mentioned advertising image data request and sends the advertising image data provided by the successful bidder to the advertising provider server 100.

[0038] In S22, the ad provider server 100 acquires the ad image data transmitted by the ad management server 500. The ad provider server 100 stores the acquired ad image data, etc., in a storage device 115, for example. The processor 110 of the ad provider server 100 that executes S22 is an example of a receiving unit.

[0039] In S23, the ad provider server 100 determines whether or not to add additional information to the ad image data acquired in S22, based on the setting information regarding additional information stored in the storage device 115. Based on the setting information regarding additional information, the ad provider server 100 determines No if the user does not wish to add additional information and proceeds to S25 as shown in Figure 3 below. Based on the setting information regarding additional information, the ad provider server 100 determines Yes if the user wishes to add additional information and proceeds to S24A.

[0040] In S24A, the ad provider server 100 determines whether the data 130 in the storage device 115 contains the aforementioned user list, or in other words, whether the user list is registered in the storage device. If the user list is not registered, the ad provider server 100 determines S24A as No and proceeds to S24C, which will be described later. If the user list is registered, the ad provider server 100 determines S24A as Yes and proceeds to S24B.

[0041] <Evaluation Form> In S24B and S24C, the advertising server 100 configures the evaluation form F shown in Figure 4 below. The evaluation form F is a form data for the printer 200 user to fill in their evaluation of the advertisement printed by the printer 200. The advertising server 100 pre-stores the evaluation form F in the storage device 115. In S24B and S24C, the advertising server 100 configures the contents of the evaluation form F.

[0042] If the ad provider server 100 has registered a user list and has determined S24A to be Yes, in S24B it incorporates the user selection field Fa into the evaluation form F. Subsequently, in S24C the ad provider server 100 incorporates the evaluation field Fb into the evaluation form F. In this case, the ad provider server 100 generates an evaluation form F that includes both the user selection field Fa and the evaluation field Fb. The evaluation form F shown in Figure 4 below is an example that includes both the user selection field Fa and the evaluation field Fb. If the ad provider server 100 determines S24A to be No because the user list is not registered, it does not execute S24B, and in S24C, it incorporates only the evaluation field Fb into the evaluation form F. In this case, the ad provider server 100 generates an evaluation form F that contains only the evaluation field Fb. Once S24C is complete, the ad delivery server 100 proceeds to S25, which is described below.

[0043] Moving to Figure 3, in S25, the ad provider server 100 generates a distribution image by adding evaluation form F as additional information to the ad image data acquired in S22. At this time, the ad provider server 100 selectively generates either a distribution image with the additional information added to the ad image, or a distribution image without the additional information added to the ad image, depending on the judgment result in S23.

[0044] In S30, the advertising server 100 sends the distribution image generated in S25 to the printer 200. If the distribution image includes an evaluation form F, that evaluation form F is an example of query information. The processor 110 of the advertising server 100 executing S30 is an example of an information output unit and is also an example of a print control unit. In addition, in S30, the advertising server 100 may distribute the images to the printer 200 via other relay devices. Alternatively, instead of sending the images to the printer 200, the advertising server 100 may send the printer 200 a page description language for printing the images, or a link to the images.

[0045] In S35, the printer 200 receives the distribution image sent by the advertising server 100 in S30 and stores it in the storage device 215. The printer 200 prints an image based on the received distribution image. If the advertising server 100 sends a link to the distribution image in S30, the printer 200 accesses that link in S35 to obtain the distribution image and then prints it. The process executed by the processor 210 in S35 is an example of print control processing and also an example of information output processing. The distributed image includes an advertising image corresponding to the advertising image data acquired by the advertising server 100 in S22. Furthermore, if the advertising server 100 adds evaluation form F in S24A to S24C, the distributed image also includes evaluation form F. When the distributed image includes evaluation form F, the printer 200 prints an image containing both the advertising image and evaluation form F.

[0046] <Example of printing using a printer> Figure 4 shows an example of printing an image containing advertising images A, B, and C and evaluation form F, which is performed by the printer 200 in step S35 above. In the example shown in Figure 4, an image 600 containing three advertising images 610, 620, and 630, and an evaluation form F, is printed on a sheet of paper S. The advertising images 610, 620, and 630, and the evaluation form F, are printed in areas that divide the sheet of paper S into four equal parts. The evaluation form F is printed in the upper left area of ​​the sheet of paper S. The user can evaluate the three advertising images 610, 620, and 630 printed on a single sheet of paper S by filling out the evaluation form F as described below.

[0047] The evaluation form F includes an administrative ID, as well as the user selection field Fa and the evaluation field Fb mentioned above. The user selection field Fa includes the user name of the user who will be using printer 200, and a fill-in mark corresponding to each user name. The user selection field Fa labeled "Evaluation User" includes "User A," "User B," and "User C," and three fill-in marks corresponding to each user name. The user names "User A," "User B," and "User C" are examples of user identification information, and the filled-in circle marks are examples of user identification information. The rating field Fb, labeled "Rating," contains "Ad A," "Ad B," and "Ad C," corresponding to the three ad images 610, 620, and 630, respectively, along with a circle mark for filling in. Each ad image can be rated on a three-point scale, and each ad image has three fill-in marks corresponding to the three scales. To give the best rating, the user fills in the circle below "good." To give the worst rating, the user fills in the circle below "bad." To give a rating between "good" and "bad," the user fills in the circle between the circle below "good" and the circle below "bad." For example, the user takes the printed paper S with image 600 printed on it from the printer 200 and fills in the marks as described above using an appropriate writing instrument.

[0048] <Example of how to fill out the evaluation form> Figure 5 shows an example of the evaluation form F shown in Figure 4, after a user has filled it in as described above. Figure 5 shows an example where user B, one of the three users of printer 200, filled in the user selection field Fa and the evaluation field Fb. In the rating section Fb, User B filled in the middle circle for ad image 610 labeled "Ad A," indicating a moderate rating out of three levels. User B filled in the leftmost circle for ad image 620 labeled "Ad B," indicating the best rating out of three levels. User B filled in the rightmost circle for ad image 630 labeled "Ad C," indicating the worst rating out of three levels.

[0049] Returning to Figure 3, after S35 described above, in S50, the printer 200 sends a print success / failure notification to the advertising server 100 indicating whether the print performed in S35 was successful or unsuccessful.

[0050] In S55, the advertising server 100 determines whether the print success / failure notification received from the printer 200 is a notification indicating "printing successful". If the advertising server 100 determines that the print success / failure notification indicates "printing successful", it determines Yes and proceeds to S60.

[0051] In S60, the ad delivery server 100 sends a billing notice to the ad management server 500 to the advertiser who provided the ad images included in the distributed images sent to the printer 200 in S30. The billing notice is a notice to bill the advertiser for compensation for printing the ad images. In other words, in S60, the ad provider server 100 requests payment from the advertiser for printing the ad image on the printer 200. When the ad provider server 100 generates a distribution image with additional information added to the ad image data in S25, it may request a higher payment than when it generates a distribution image without additional information added to the ad image data.

[0052] In S65, the advertising management server 500 sends a billing notice to the terminal device of the relevant successful bidder based on the billing notice received from the advertising provision server 100.

[0053] In S70, the advertising server 100 stores the success history in the storage device 115. The success history includes the delivered image sent to the printer 200 in S30, the printer ID of the printer 200, the user ID of the user of the printer 200, the current time information, and the winning bid conditions corresponding to the advertising image included in the delivered image.

[0054] As described above, when a user fills in the evaluation form F, the printer 200 uses its scanner function to read the printed paper S after the form has been filled in. In S71a, the printer 200 generates evaluation data, which is image data corresponding to the reading result of the evaluation form F, and sends it to the advertising server 100. The process executed by the printer 200's processor 210 in S71a is an example of the evaluation reception process, and the printer 200's processor 210 executing S71a is an example of the evaluation reception unit. If the terminal device 700 is equipped with an imaging device, instead of reading the evaluation form F with the printer 200 as described above, the evaluation form F may be imaged using the imaging device. In S71b, the terminal device 700 generates evaluation data, which is image data corresponding to the reading result of the evaluation form F, and transmits it to the advertising server 100. The processor of the terminal device 700 that executes S71b is an example of an evaluation reception unit.

[0055] In S72, the ad delivery server 100 identifies the user who performed the evaluation based on the evaluation data received in S71a or S71b, for example, by performing known image processing. In the example shown in Figure 5, the ad delivery server 100 identifies that user B performed the evaluation by detecting that the fill mark corresponding to "User B" in the user selection field Fa is filled in. The processor 110 of the ad delivery server 100 that executes S72 is an example of an identification unit.

[0056] In S73, the advertising server 100 performs a predetermined analysis on the evaluation data received in S71a or S71b and stores it in the storage device 115. At that time, the advertising server 100 stores the evaluation data in association with user data such as the user ID of the user identified in S72. The processor 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S73 is an example of a storage unit.

[0057] In S57, the advertising server 100 awards additional points as a form of reward for user evaluations and sends a corresponding notification to the terminal device 700. Specifically, for example, the additional information database 132 stores the number of points held by each user, associated with their user ID. In S57, the advertising server 100 increments the number of points awarded by the additional points. The advertising server 100 then notifies the terminal of the user who awarded the points of the number of points awarded in S57.

[0058] In S74, the processor 210 of the printer 200 performs a predetermined analysis on the evaluation data read in S71a and stores it in the storage device 215. The processor 210 of the printer 200 that executes S74 is also an example of a storage unit. The processing performed by the processor 210 of the printer 200 in S74 is an example of storage processing. Once steps S73 and S74 are completed, the processing in this sequence is terminated.

[0059] On the other hand, in S55 above, if the print success / failure notification received from the printer 200 is a print success / failure notification indicating "print failure", the advertising server 100 determines it as No and proceeds to S75.

[0060] In S75, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid cancellation notice to the ad management server 500, revoking the bid that was decided in S8 above. Based on the bid cancellation notice received from the ad provider server 100, the ad management server 500 notifies the advertiser, who was the successful bidder for the ad in question, of the cancellation of the bid.

[0061] In S80, the ad delivery server 100 stores the failure history in the storage device 115 and terminates processing in this sequence. The failure history includes the delivery image for which the bid was canceled in S75, the bid conditions corresponding to the ad image contained in the delivery image, failure reason information, and the date and time the failure was confirmed, etc.

[0062] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the printer 200 prints the advertisement in S35 in response to a print instruction in S30 from the advertisement provision server 100. Subsequently, the user of the printer 200 performs some evaluation of the printed advertisement image on the evaluation form F. The evaluation is received by the printer 200 by reading in S71a, or by the terminal device 700 as an image capture result in S71b. The advertisement provision server 100 stores the evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation in S73. The printer 200 stores the evaluation data in S74. According to the advertising evaluation system 1 of this embodiment, user evaluation data for the advertising image printed by the printer 200 is acquired. This makes it possible to provide advertisers with user evaluation data for the printed advertising image as individual user responses.

[0063] In this embodiment, the printer 200 prints an evaluation form F for filling in the evaluation in S35. Then, in S71a, the printer 200 accepts the evaluation by reading the user's entries on the evaluation form F. In this embodiment, the printer 200 can obtain the user's evaluation content by reading the user's entries on the evaluation form F that it has printed itself.

[0064] In this embodiment, the advertising server 100 outputs an evaluation form F, in which a circle mark for identifying a user can be filled in, to the printer 200 in S30 and prints it. In S71a, the printer 200 reads the filled-in circle mark in the user selection field Fa of the evaluation form F. In S73 and S74, the advertising server 100 and the printer 200 store the user data corresponding to the filled-in circle mark in the user selection field Fa that they read, associating it with the evaluation data. In this embodiment, by associating and storing user data and evaluation data of those who fill out the evaluation form F, it is possible to obtain user reactions to advertising images printed by a printer 200 that can be shared by multiple users, while identifying each user. Furthermore, it is possible to reliably obtain reactions for each individual user.

[0065] In this embodiment, the evaluation form F includes a user selection field Fa. The user selection field Fa is a field in which the user can select one of several usernames of users pre-registered in association with the printer 200. In S71a, the printer 200 reads the username selected in the user selection field Fa. In S72, the advertising server 100 identifies the corresponding user data based on the username read in S71a. In S73, the advertising server 100 stores the user data of the user identified in S72 in association with the evaluation data. In this embodiment, when filling in the user selection field Fa of the evaluation form F, the user selects and fills in a fill mark ○ corresponding to one of the usernames. Then, the printer 200 reads the selection result in S71a, and the advertising server 100 identifies the corresponding user in S72. According to this embodiment, even when the printer 200 is shared by multiple users, it is possible to easily identify the person who filled out the evaluation form F.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user can individually enter their evaluation for each of the multiple advertising images in the evaluation field Fb of the evaluation form F. According to this embodiment, evaluations for multiple advertising images can be obtained at once.

[0067] <Variation> This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from its spirit and technical concept.

[0068] (1) When user evaluations are accepted on the printer's display screen. In this modified example, the printer 200 displays an input form I on the display device 240. The user evaluates the advertisement image by performing appropriate input operations on the displayed input form I. For this purpose, in this modified example, the printer 200 has a touch panel TP which serves as both a display device 240 and an operating device 250. In this modified version, the user of the printer 200 can evaluate the advertising image after printing it on the print paper S by entering information into an input form I displayed on the touch panel TP.

[0069] <Input form> Figure 6 shows an example of a user selection screen 300, including an input form I, which is displayed on the touch panel TP of the printer 200. In the user selection screen 300 shown in Figure 6, the input form I includes an evaluation button display unit 301, a user selection button display unit 302, a screen transition button display unit 303, an "OK" button 304, and a remaining time display unit 305.

[0070] <Rating button display area> The evaluation button display unit 301 allows users to give two types of evaluations to the advertisement image printed on the printing paper S. To this end, the evaluation button display unit 301 includes a high-rating button 301a for giving a good rating and a low-rating button 301b for giving a bad rating.

[0071] <User selection button display area> In the user selection button display unit 302, a button is displayed that shows the identification information of the user performing the evaluation. For example, if there are multiple users of the printer 200, the data 130 in the storage device 115 of the advertising server 100 contains multiple user IDs corresponding to each of the multiple users. The illustrated example corresponds to a scenario where the printer 200 is shared and used by a family of four. The user selection button display unit 302 includes a "Dad" button 302a, a "Mom" button 302b, a "Taro" button 302c, and a "Hanako" button 302d. Of the four family members, including two children, the father operates the "Dad" button 302a when performing the evaluation, and the mother operates the "Mom" button 302b when performing the evaluation. Of the two children, the son operates the "Taro" button 302c, which corresponds to his own name, when performing the evaluation. The daughter operates the "Hanako" button 302d, which corresponds to her own name, when performing the evaluation. "Dad" and "Mom" are examples of user identification information representing the relationship of each user in the family, and "Taro" and "Hanako" are examples of user identification information representing the name of each user. In this modified version, the advertising server 100 awards points to the user who performed the evaluation. Specifically, the advertising server 100 associates the number of points to be awarded with the user ID of the user who performed the evaluation. For example, a user operates either the high rating button 301a or the low rating button 301b, then operates one of the buttons 302a to 302d on the user selection button display unit 302, and finally operates the "OK" button 304. This operation confirms the user's rating. As a result, the advertising server 100 assigns the corresponding number of points to the user's user ID.

[0072] <Screen transition button display area> The screen transition button display unit 303 includes a "Reason for evaluation" button 303a, a "Evaluation for a specific advertisement" button 303b, a "Get additional information" button 303c, and a "Poor print quality" button 303d.

[0073] The "Reason for Evaluation" button 303a is a button that transitions to the evaluation reason input screens 310A and 310B. When a user operates the "High Rating" button 301a and the "Reason for Rating" button 303a, the display on the touch panel TP changes to the "Reason for Rating" input screen 310A, as shown in Figure 7(a). The "Reason for Rating" input screen 310A displays multiple options for selecting the reason for the high rating, along with checkboxes. In the illustrated example, the "Reason for Rating" input screen 310A includes options for reasons such as "This advertisement is interesting" and "This is useful information." When a user operates the low rating button 301b and the "Reason for Rating" button 303a, the touch panel TP displays the low rating reason input screen 310B, as shown in Figure 7(b). The rating reason input screen 310B displays multiple options for selecting the reason for the low rating, along with checkboxes. In the illustrated example, the rating reason input screen 310B includes options for reasons such as "This ad is inappropriate," "I'm not interested in this ad," "I've seen this ad many times," and "This is a scam ad." For example, the user operates either button 301a or 301b and one of buttons 302a to 302d, and checks the checkbox on the evaluation reason input screen 310A or 310B. This operation confirms the user's evaluation. The advertising server 100 then assigns the user's user ID an additional number of points on top of those mentioned above. As shown in Figure 6, the advertising server 100 assigns points with an additional 1 point.

[0074] The "Evaluate a specific advertisement" button 303b in Figure 6 is used to identify one advertisement image to be evaluated when the image printed on the paper S by the printer 200 contains multiple advertisement images. When the user operates the "Rate a specific ad" button 303b, the display on the touch panel TP changes to the ad selection screen 350 shown in Figure 8. The ad selection screen 350 includes an ad selection area 350A for specifying one ad image to be evaluated, and an OK button 350B. In the illustrated example, the ad selection area 350A represents an example where the printer 200 has printed eight ad images, each 1 / 8 the size of A4, on A4 size paper S. The ad selection area 350A abbreviates the eight ad images with buttons numbered "1", "2", ... "8". The user specifies the ad image to be evaluated by operating one of these eight numbered buttons S.

[0075] When the user operates the button to select an advertisement image in the advertisement selection area 350A and then the "OK" button 350B, the display on the touch panel TP transitions to the individual evaluation screen 360, which is shown as an example in Figure 9. Figure 9 shows an example where the user operates the button numbered "3" in the advertisement selection area 350A. The individual evaluation screen 360 includes an input area 360A for high ratings and an input area 360B for low ratings. The input area 360A for high ratings includes displaying evaluation reasons such as "This ad is interesting" and "This is useful information," similar to the input area 310A for high ratings in Figure 7(a). The input area 360B for low ratings includes displaying evaluation reasons such as "This ad is inappropriate," "I'm not interested in this ad," "I've seen this ad many times," and "This is a scam ad," similar to the input area 310B for low ratings in Figure 7(b). For example, after the user operates one of the buttons 302a to 302d described above, they check the checkboxes in the evaluation reason input areas 360A and 360B using the procedure described above. This operation finalizes the user's evaluation. The advertising server 100 then assigns the user's user ID an additional number of points on top of those mentioned above. As shown in Figure 6, the advertising server 100 assigns points with an additional 1 point.

[0076] In Figure 6, the "Poor Print Quality" button 303d is a button for transitioning to the image quality evaluation screen 360. The user can operate the "Poor Print Quality" button 303d to display the image quality evaluation screen 380 on the touch panel TP. Figure 10 shows the image quality evaluation screen 380 displayed by the touch panel TP. In the illustrated example, the image quality evaluation screen 380 includes checkboxes 381, 382, ​​383, etc., for reporting specific aspects of poor image quality. For example, checkbox 381 is a box for indicating that the advertisement image printed by the printer 200 was blurry. Checkbox 382 is a box for indicating that the color of the advertisement image printed by the printer 200 was not good. Checkbox 383 is a box for indicating that there was a printing misalignment in the advertisement image printed by the printer 200. For example, after operating one of the buttons 302a to 302d described above, the user checks one or more checkboxes 381, 382, ​​383, etc. on the image quality evaluation screen 380 using the procedure described above. This operation finalizes the user's evaluation. Furthermore, on the user selection screen 300, the "Poor Printing" button 303d may initially be hidden or disabled. Then, the "Poor Printing" button 303d may be displayed or enabled on the user selection screen 300 in response to the user operating the low rating button 301b. Image quality evaluation screen 380 is an example of a declaration screen in this modified example.

[0077] Returning to Figure 6, the "Get Additional Information" button 303c is a button for transitioning to the additional information processing screen 370. Before the user's evaluation content is finalized as described above, the user can operate the "Get Additional Information" button 303c to display the additional information processing screen 370 on the touch panel TP. Figure 11 shows an example of an additional information processing screen 370 displayed by the touch panel TP. In the example shown, the additional information processing screen 370 includes a checkbox 371 for printing additional information and a checkbox 372 for displaying a detailed page.

[0078] When the user checks checkbox 371, the printer 200 can print more detailed information related to the advertisement image it has printed onto the paper S. This detailed information may include, for example, the shape, dimensions, weight, color, price, main use, and vendor information of the product represented in the advertisement image. Alternatively, the detailed information may include the service provided, the date and time of provision, price, and vendor information of the service represented in the advertisement image. When the user checks checkbox 372, the display on the touch panel TP changes to the barcode display screen 373 shown at the bottom of Figure 11. The user reads the two-dimensional barcode Q displayed on this barcode display screen 373 with the imaging device of the terminal device 700. The two-dimensional barcode Q is an example of address information. The display device of the terminal device 700 can then display a web page that has been set in advance by the advertiser of the advertisement. This web page includes, for example, the shape, dimensions, weight, color, price, main use, and vendor information of the product represented by the advertisement image, similar to the detailed information described above. Alternatively, the web page may include the service provision method, provision date and time, price, and provider information of the service represented by the advertisement image. Furthermore, on the user selection screen 300, the "Get additional information" button 303c may initially not be displayed or may be disabled. The "Get additional information" button 303c may then be displayed on the user selection screen 300 or become operable in response to the user operating the high rating button 301a.

[0079] <Remaining time display section> Returning to Figure 6, in this modified example, a time limit is predetermined between the completion of printing and the completion of input form I. The remaining time display unit 305 displays the remaining time until the time limit expires in real time. The remaining time display unit 305 prompts the user to quickly fill out input form I.

[0080] <Processing by the advertising evaluation system> Figures 12 and 13 are sequence diagrams representing the processes executed by the advertising server 100, the advertising management server 500, the terminal device 700, and the printer 200. Figures 12 and 13 correspond to Figures 2 and 3 of the above embodiment. The entities that execute each process in Figures 12 and 13 are the processor 110 of the advertising server 100, the processor of the advertising management server 500, the processor of the terminal device 700, and the processor 210 of the printer 200.

[0081] In the sequence shown in Figure 12, the processes S1-S3 and S23-S24C described in Figures 2 and 3 of the above embodiment are omitted. Steps S5 to S22 in Figure 12 are the same as those in Figure 2. The ad provider server 100 executes the same S22 as described above, and after acquiring the ad image data sent by the ad management server 500, proceeds to S25', which replaces S25.

[0082] In S25', the ad provider server 100 generates an ad image based on the ad image data acquired in S22.

[0083] Subsequently, in S30', which replaces S30, the advertising server 100 sends the advertising image generated in S25' to the printer 200. The processor 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S30' is an example of an information output unit and also an example of a print control unit in this modified example. As mentioned above, in S30', the advertising server 100 may distribute the advertising images to the printer 200 via other relay devices. Alternatively, instead of sending the advertising images to the printer 200, the advertising server 100 may send the printer 200 a page description language for printing the advertising images or a link to the distributed images.

[0084] In S35', which replaces S35, the printer 200 receives the advertisement image sent by the advertisement server 100 in S30' and stores it in the storage device 215. The printer 200 prints the received advertisement image. If the advertisement server 100 sends a link to the advertisement image in S30, the printer 200 accesses that link in S35' to obtain the advertisement image and then prints it. The processing performed by the processor 210 in S35' is an example of print control processing and also an example of information output processing.

[0085] After S35', the printer 200 executes S50, similar to Figure 3 above, and sends a print success / failure notification to the advertising server 100. In S55, similar to Figure 3 above, the advertising server 100 determines whether the print success / failure notification received from the printer 200 indicates "print success". If the advertising server 100 determines S55 as No due to a print success / failure notification indicating "print failure", it executes S75 and S80, similar to Figure 3, and terminates the processing according to the sequence shown in Figure 12.

[0086] On the other hand, in step S55 above, if the advertising server 100 determines "Yes" based on the print success / failure notification indicating "printing successful", it proceeds to the newly established step S85 shown in Figure 13.

[0087] Moving to Figure 13, in S85, the advertising server 100 sends a display instruction to the printer 200 to display the aforementioned user selection screen 300 for the user to perform an evaluation. At this time, the advertising server 100 also sends various screen data such as screens 310A, 310B, 350, 360, 370, 373, 380, etc., which are transitioned from the user selection screen 300, to the printer 200. The above display instruction is an example of inquiry information in this modified example, and the processor 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S85 is an example of the information output unit in this modified example.

[0088] In response to the content received from the advertising server 100 in S85, the printer 200 displays the user selection screen 300 on the display device 240 in S90. Furthermore, in response to various operations performed by the user on the touch panel TP after the display of the user selection screen 300, the printer 200 displays the respective screens 310A, 310B, 350, 360, 370, 380, etc., as appropriate, following the flow described above.

[0089] In S95, the printer 200 receives the aforementioned evaluation by the user based on the user's input results and various operations on the user selection screen 300 and the various screens to which it transitions thereafter. When buttons 302a to 302d on the user selection button display unit 302 are operated on the user selection screen 300, the printer 200 also receives the user selection results based on those operations. When the button for specifying an advertisement image is operated on the advertisement selection screen 350, the printer 200 also receives the advertisement image selection results based on those operations. When checkboxes 381, 382, ​​383, etc. are checked on the image quality evaluation screen 380, the printer 200 also receives the report of poor image quality based on those operations. The specific form of poor image quality corresponding to the checkboxes 381, 382, ​​383, etc. checked by the user is an example of the report content related to poor image quality. Printer 200 will finalize the results received above as the final evaluation result. The process executed by the printer 200's processor 210 in S95 is an example of the evaluation acceptance process in this modified example. The printer 200's processor 210 that executes S95 is an example of the evaluation acceptance unit and is also an example of the declaration acceptance unit in this modified example.

[0090] In S100, the printer 200 determines whether the user evaluation confirmed in S95 was a high rating or not. If it is not a high rating, the printer 200 determines S100 as No and proceeds to S115 described below. If the user evaluation is high, the printer 200 determines S100 as Yes and proceeds to S105.

[0091] In S105, the printer 200 determines whether the user has operated the checkbox 372 in the above-described sequence to display the details page related to the additional information on the additional information processing screen 370. If the checkbox 372 has not been operated, the printer 200 determines S105 as No and proceeds to S115 described below. If the checkbox 372 has been operated, the printer 200 determines S105 as Yes and proceeds to S110.

[0092] In S110, the printer 200 displays the barcode display screen 373, which includes the two-dimensional barcode Q, on the display device 240. After that, the printer 200 proceeds to S115.

[0093] In S115, the printer 200 generates evaluation data corresponding to the user's evaluation result of the advertisement image, as determined above, and sends it to the advertisement server 100. The transmitted content at this time includes identification information of the printer 200, such as the printer ID, in addition to the evaluation data. Furthermore, if the user has operated one of the buttons on the user selection button display unit 302, the transmitted content further includes user identification information such as the corresponding user ID. The advertisement server 100 receives the evaluation data transmitted by the printer 200.

[0094] In S120, the ad provider server 100 stores the evaluation data received in S115 in the storage device 115. At that time, if the content received in S115 includes user identification information as described above, the ad provider server 100 stores the evaluation data in association with user data such as a user ID. If the content received does not include user identification information, the ad provider server 100 obtains a pre-registered user ID corresponding to the printer identification information such as a printer ID that was received, and stores the evaluation data in association with user data such as a user ID. When a button for specifying an ad image is pressed on the ad selection screen 350, the ad provider server 100 also stores identification information corresponding to the selection result of the ad image based on that operation, such as an ad ID, in association with the evaluation data. The processor 110 of the ad provider server 100 that executes S120 is an example of a storage unit in this modified example.

[0095] After S115, in S117, the printer 200 stores the evaluation data generated in S115 in the storage device 215. When a button for specifying an advertisement image is pressed on the advertisement selection screen 350 displayed by the display device 240, the printer 200 stores the result of the advertisement image selection based on that operation in the storage device 215, associating it with the evaluation data. The processor 210 of the printer 200 that executes S117 is also an example of a storage unit. The processing executed by the processor 210 of the printer 200 in S115 is also an example of a storage process.

[0096] Following S120 above, the ad provider server 100 executes S57, S60, and S70 as in Figure 3 above. The ad management server 500 executes the process in S65 as in Figure 3 above, based on the billing notification received from the ad provider server 100 in S60.

[0097] Once the processes in S70, S65, and S117 are completed, the processing according to the illustrated sequence in this modified example is terminated.

[0098] <Effects of the modified example> In a modified version of the above configuration, in response to a display instruction from the advertising server 100 in S80, the printer 200 displays the user selection screen 300 displayed in S90 and various subsequent screens. On these screens, the user of the printer 200 evaluates the advertising images. The printer 200 receives this evaluation in S95. The advertising server 100 stores the evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation in S120, and the printer 200 stores it in S117. According to this modified advertising evaluation system 1, similar to the above embodiment, user evaluation data for advertisements printed by the printer 200 is acquired. This makes it possible to provide advertisers with each user's evaluation data as individual user responses, even when multiple users share the printer 200.

[0099] Furthermore, in this modified example, the display device 240 of the printer 200 displays an input form I for inputting the evaluation on the user selection screen 300. The printer 200 accepts the evaluation in S95 based on the user's input via the operating device 250 to the displayed input form I. In this modified example, the user's evaluation can be obtained based on the user's input results into the input form I displayed by the display device 240. Alternatively, another terminal device connected to the printer 200 may be used instead of the printer 200's operating device 250.

[0100] In this modified example, the display device 240 displays a user selection screen 300 for selecting a user to input an evaluation into the input form I. In S95, the printer 200 receives the user's selection result via the operating device 250 on the user selection screen 300. In S120 and S117, the advertising server 100 and the printer 200 store the user data and evaluation data of the user whose selection was received in S95, associating them together. In this modified example, by associating and storing the user data and evaluation data of the inputter who made a selection on the user selection screen 300, it is possible to reliably obtain the response of each user.

[0101] Furthermore, in this modified example, the printer 200 displays a user selection screen 300 in which the user can select one of several user identification information entries that have been pre-registered and associated with the printer 200. In this modified example, the user selects one of the user identification information entries on the user selection screen 300. Therefore, even when the printer 200 is shared by multiple users, the user can be identified from the selection result. According to this modified example, it becomes possible to easily identify the person who entered the evaluation in input form I.

[0102] In this modified example, the printer 200 displays an advertisement selection screen 350 in which the user selects an advertisement image to be evaluated using input form I. In S95, the printer 200 receives the result of selecting an advertisement image via the operating device 250 on the advertisement selection screen 350, and the evaluation of the selected advertisement image. In S120 and S117, the advertisement provision server 100 and the printer 200 store the identification information of the advertisement image selected in S95 in association with the evaluation data. In this modified version, the user can input a rating for each of multiple ad images. According to this modified version, ratings for multiple ad images can be obtained at once.

[0103] Furthermore, in this modified example, the display device 240 of the printer 200 can, in S210, display a two-dimensional barcode Q, which is address information for accessing a web page related to the advertisement image, as additional information to the advertisement content of the advertisement image. In this modified example, for instance, a user who has achieved significant advertising effectiveness can refer to the two-dimensional barcode Q to learn more about the advertisement. Alternatively, the display device 240 may display a URL that can display information related to the advertisement as address information instead of the two-dimensional barcode Q.

[0104] (2) Others In the modified example of (1) above, when the user operates the button to specify an advertising image on the advertising selection screen 350 in Figure 8 and then operates the "OK" button 350B, the user is taken to an individual evaluation screen 360 equipped with evaluation reason input areas 360A and 360B, but the user is not limited to this. When the user operates the button to specify an advertising image and then operates the "OK" button 350B, the touch panel TP may display a button to identify whether the user gave a low or high rating to the specified advertising image. In this case, when the user operates the button corresponding to a low rating, the touch panel TP displays a screen equipped only with the low rating reason input area 360B. When the user operates the button corresponding to a high rating, the touch panel TP displays a screen equipped only with the high rating reason input area 360A. The processing of the printer 200 after displaying these screens can be the same as the modified example in (1) above, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Furthermore, in the modified example of (1) above, the display device 240 of the printer 200 displayed input form I for inputting the evaluation. However, the system is not limited to this, and the information may also be displayed on the display device of the terminal device 700 connected to the printer 200. Furthermore, in the modified example of (1) above, the printer 200 received user input on the displayed input form I via the operating device 250. However, the system is not limited to this, and user input may also be received via the operating device of the terminal device 700 connected to the printer 200.

[0105] In the above, an auction was conducted to solicit bids from advertisers, and the image corresponding to the winning bid for the advertising image data was distributed to the printer 200 for printing of the advertising image. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, even when an auction is not conducted and the corresponding advertising image is printed by distributing an image corresponding to a predetermined advertising image data to the printer 200, the contents of the above embodiment and its modifications can be applied.

[0106] In the above, printing paper was given as an example of what the printer 200 prints on, but it may also be a sheet-like printing medium such as cloth.

[0107] Furthermore, although the advertising server 100 was configured as a single device in the above description, multiple devices may work together to perform the function of the advertising server 100.

[0108] Furthermore, the sequence diagrams shown in Figures 2, 3, 12, and 13 above do not limit this disclosure to the procedures shown in the above flow chart. You may add, delete, or change the order of the procedures, etc., as long as it does not deviate from the purpose and technical concept of the disclosure.

[0109] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their variations may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0110] In addition, although not to be exemplified hereby, this disclosure may be implemented with various modifications, provided that it does not deviate from its intended purpose. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1. Ad Evaluation System 100 Ad Provider Servers 110 processors 200 Printers (an example of a printing device) 210 Processor (Example of a control unit) 240 Display device 250 Operating device 270 Printing mechanism (an example of a printing unit) 300 User Selection Screen 310A Evaluation Reason Input Screen 310B Evaluation Reason Input Screen 350 Ad Selection Screen 360 Individual Evaluation Screen 360 Image Quality Evaluation Screen 370 Additional Information Processing Screen 373 Barcode display screen 380 Image Quality Evaluation Screen (Example of a Declaration Screen) 400 User Management Server 500 Ad Management Server 610 advertising images 620 advertising images 630 advertising images 700 terminal devices F Evaluation Form Fa User Selection Field Facebook review section I Input Form Q: Two-dimensional barcode (example of address information) S Printing Paper

Claims

1. An advertising evaluation system including a printing device, A receiving unit that receives advertising image data, A print control unit that causes the printing device to print an advertising image based on the advertising image data received by the receiving unit, An information output unit outputs query information for inquiring about the user's evaluation of the advertisement image printed by the printing device, An evaluation receiving unit that receives the evaluation for the inquiry information output by the information output unit, A storage unit that stores evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation received by the evaluation reception unit, An advertising evaluation system equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned information output unit is As the aforementioned inquiry information, the printer outputs and prints an evaluation form for filling in the evaluation. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit, The advertising evaluation system according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation is received by reading the results of the user's entries on the printed evaluation form.

3. The aforementioned information output unit is The evaluation form, on which user identification information for identifying the user can be entered, is output to the printing device and printed. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit further, The user identification information entered in the evaluation form is read, The aforementioned storage unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 2, wherein user data corresponding to the user identification information read by the evaluation reception unit is stored in association with the evaluation data.

4. The aforementioned information output unit is The evaluation form, which includes a user selection field in which the user can select and enter one of the user identification information of a plurality of users pre-registered in association with the printing device as user identification information, is output to the printing device and printed. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit, The user identification information selected in the user selection field is read, The aforementioned advertising evaluation system further, The system includes an identification unit that identifies the corresponding user data based on the user identification information read by the evaluation reception unit, The aforementioned storage unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 3, wherein the user data identified by the identification unit is stored in association with the evaluation data.

5. The aforementioned information output unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 3, wherein the evaluation form for recording the evaluation for each of the multiple advertising images is output to the printing device and printed.

6. It further includes a user-operable control panel and a display panel, The aforementioned information output unit is As the aforementioned inquiry information, an input form for entering the evaluation is output and displayed on the display unit. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit, The advertising evaluation system according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation is received based on the user's input results via the operation unit to the displayed input form.

7. The aforementioned information output unit further, The display unit outputs and displays a user selection screen for selecting the user to input the evaluation into the input form. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit further, The user's selection result is received via the operation unit on the user selection screen. The aforementioned storage unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 6, wherein the user data of the user selected by the evaluation reception unit is stored in association with the evaluation data.

8. The aforementioned information output unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 7, wherein the display unit displays a user selection screen on which the user can select one of a plurality of user identification information entries that have been pre-registered in association with the printing device.

9. The aforementioned information output unit further, The display unit outputs and displays an ad selection screen in which the ad image to be evaluated is selected using the input form. The aforementioned evaluation reception unit, The selection result of the advertisement image via the operation unit on the advertisement selection screen and the evaluation of the selected advertisement image are received. The aforementioned storage unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 6, wherein the system stores the identification data of the advertising image selected by the evaluation reception unit in association with the evaluation data.

10. The aforementioned display unit is The aforementioned printing device can display a reporting screen for reporting poor image quality in the printed advertising image. Furthermore, the advertising evaluation system is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 6, further comprising a declaration reception unit for receiving declarations related to the poor image quality on the declaration screen.

11. The aforementioned display unit is The advertising evaluation system according to claim 6, which is capable of displaying address information for accessing a web page related to the advertising image as additional information to the advertising content of the advertising image.

12. A printing apparatus comprising a printing unit for printing images and a control unit, The control unit, A print control process that causes the printing unit to print an advertising image based on advertising image data, Information output processing for outputting inquiry information to receive evaluations from users of the printing device regarding the advertisement image printed by the printing unit, An evaluation acceptance process that accepts the evaluation of the query information output in the information output process, A storage process for storing evaluation data corresponding to the evaluation received in the evaluation acceptance process, A printing device that performs this task.

Images